Key 9, Virgo and Scripture

As I reflect on the various treatments of key 9 in the BOTA lessons I have the keen sense that the One Self high on the mountain top only seems remote to those laboring down below. I suspect that from the perspective of the Self however there is more consciousness, awareness, empathy and compassion for every struggling individual than we could ever imagine. The astrological correspondence for The Hermit is VIRGO. The first and foremost task of the Virgo type is developing empathy.

Virgo is the astrological sign associated with the “bowels.” The Hermit's LAMP with its outpouring LIGHT is the visible manifestation of this charity, which "fills his bowels." Consequently, whenever I see Key 9, I am reminded of the scriptures which describe the "bowels of compassion" which "yearn" for good – which are filled with lovingkindness and mercy (1 Kings 3:26; SoS 5:4). The "bowels" (SH 4578, me'ah, GV 0115) are conceived as the seat of the tenderest of human emotions. The word is occasionally translated "heart." Hence we find this verse, most appropriate for The Hermit:

"Look down from heaven [O God], and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me?" (Isaiah 63:15; see 16)

And:

"Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore, my heart (SH 4578, me'ah) yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:20 NIV).

In the Christian Greek scriptures, this same idea is articulated in numerous places (Philip. 1:8; Col. 3:12-14). It is closely associated with the concept of charity -- that charity which is the root and seed of UNITY:

"If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind" (Philippians 2:1-2).

It is in fact, the LOVE OF GOD within us:

"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:17).

Hence, Mormon scriptures describe Jesus as "having ascended into heaven, having ... bowels of mercy," meaning of course that he his "filled with compassion towards the children of men" (Mosiah 15:9):

"And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy" (3 Nephi 17:6-7).

Mormons are encouraged to develop this same attribute, in the following words that are pregnant with meaning for the kabbalist:

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever" (D&C 121:45-46).