1. The Sun Sign - In this case Sagittarius conditions circumstances, indicating inheritance and forcing the environment to be declarative in connection with the subject.
2. The Rising Sign - The ascendant can be one of the other eleven signs.
3. The Mutable Cross - The four energies which meet "at the midway point" and have a united and definite effect upon the subject. The same statement applies to the other two Crosses.
4. The Orthodox Planets - These condition the personality. In this case we have Mercury and Jupiter. The twelve houses governed by the planets are likewise of prime importance from the angle of the transmitted energy.
5. The Esoteric Planets - These bring in renewed or increased planetary energy and ray energy in a more dynamic manner. In the case of Sagittarius these energies are Venus, the Moon, the Earth and Pluto.
6. The Planetary Ruler of a Hierarchy - In this particular case, this planet is Mars, ruling the sixth Creative Hierarchy, the lunar Lords (the elementals of the threefold personality) who have to be brought under the control of the solar Lord.

A study of the above will reveal most interesting relationships and prove my point anent the multiplicity of energies to which the wonderful mechanism of man can respond and [187] to which, as evolution proceeds, he can become increasingly sensitive.

I cannot here enter into a detailed analysis of the many energies which pour through the disciple as he arrives at the final stages upon the Mutable Cross, and in Sagittarius achieves the determination to "direct his steps into another way of life and with ardor firm to mount another Cross," as the Old Commentary puts it. I can only point out that the following ray forces pour onto the man through the medium of the following planets:

• Exoteric
  Mercury - 4th Ray - Harmony through Conflict.
  Jupiter - 2nd Ray - Love-wisdom.
• Esoteric
  Venus - 5th Ray - Concrete Science. Mind.
  The Moon - 4th Ray - Harmony through Conflict.
  The Earth - 3rd Ray - Active Intelligence.
  Pluto - 1st Ray - Destructive aspect.
• Hierarchical
  Mars - 6th Ray - Devotion. War to the death of the personality or form.

An analysis of this will show that the "forces of conflict" are powerful in this sign, primarily in the life of the disciple. Harmony through Conflict is ceaselessly active and appears in both the orthodox and the esoteric assignments. The destructive power of the first ray, focused in Pluto, brings change, darkness and death. To this intensity and potency of Pluto must be added the forceful and dynamic energy of the planet Mars. This brings the entire human family, as well as the individual, under the law of strife, based this time upon sixth ray devotion to an ideal, high or low. All these play upon the individual born in the sign of [188] Sagittarius, as well as upon the fourth Creative Hierarchy as a whole. This, you can see for yourself, brings in a terrific situation, and the forces playing upon the disciple are of a momentous nature - provided that the mechanism of awareness is adequate to respond. These forces in all the signs are ever present, but responsiveness and sensitivity to their impact is dependent upon the nature of the response apparatus. Ponder upon this thought, for it is this sensitivity which marks the difference between the disciple and the average man.