New Heavens and The New Heavens
Two verses in the Book of Isaiah gave me the idea for the name of this blog - Isaiah 65:17 and Isaiah 66:22.
The words are found in this order in the book, new heavens then the new heavens. Both talk about God creating new heavens. I will be writing in future posts about what these two verses mean in the context of each chapter in the book of Isaiah.
Here we are interested in two lines.
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the first ones shall not be remembered, neither shall they come into mind.
For, as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making, stand before Me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name stand.
This is what I think the verses mean.
Heavens and Earth are the way people live and relate to the cosmos. This changes over time and one point of view is succeeded by another - “the first ones shall not be remembered”.
"The new heavens" is how I have come to see the heavens, meaning the zodiac and the classical planets, through my reading of Kabbalah as explained by the Chassidic Masters.
There are new heavens in general, they come and go, and there are the new heavens which is the way I look upwards and inwards. This is a God-given gift to each of us - “that I am making”. Diversity of viewpoint is a good thing and we all see things differently. Your new heavens are equal in value to my new heavens. For you, as for me, it is always the only new heavens.
"Seed" in the verse can be understood as children or plants in the metaphorical sense of consequences or results. "Name" can mean reputation as in my standing or value. I am taking these words as saying that rereading the zodiac is the flip side of renewing and reinvigorating life on earth. This is happening all around us. The verse promises that my teaching will endure and it will enhance knowledge of astrology and the wellbeing of the planet.
I see a lot of overlap from astrology to the messianic and end of days prophecies in the books of Isaiah, Daniel and Zachariah. I have studied and led study groups on every single chapter over the course of many years. I would be very happy to organize a group to read all or part of these books in person or on Zoom.
This is my first post. Starting with this reading of these two verses, I am empowered to learn and share my new heavens - my way of seing the cosmos. I have chapter and verse to back up my insights. God wants me to think for myself and share my thoughts with you.
I have a friend who tells me I have the gift to explain Kabbalistic Astrology in plain English. My command of the language is good and I am an experienced speaker. The gift I have is this - I read a book and three or four points are being made. I see the next point that the author intended as the main thought but did not put on paper.
The source in the mystical texts and its explanation in astrological terms is obvious and clear and all there on the page. I seem to be unique in co-reading the source together with the explanation and seeing the connection to us here and now. Stars, planets, crystals, angels and all the other factors merge in my mind and I can tell you what we need to know. I can even get the message being sent to me.
It would be very easy to write the way I talk with myself (I talk to myself a lot) and when I teach this material to a knowledgeable group. There’s a lot of jargon and some specialized terminology that I feel at home with. I will do my best not to insult your intelligence but I must be certain that you have a firm grasp of a few basic terms and ideas.
Let’s start with definitions from the dictionary and in later posts, I will share my way of understanding these words. I think differently from most people and everything here is my own thinking based on my way of learning sources and ideas found in texts.
Esoteric means understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest. A philosophical doctrine to be revealed only to the initiates of a group. This is no longer the case with the Jewish mystical tradition. Everything is open and available for everyone.
Kabbalah is an esoteric school of thought in Jewish mysticism. This is often spoken of as The Zohar which is the foundational work. In Hebrew, the word ZOHAR means splendor, light or radiance and KABBALAH means reception, tradition or correspondence in the sense of being parallel. Seeing the parallels in the Cosmos, how we are all the same. Most kabbalistic astrology is based in the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation, a separate book of Kabbalah.
Chassid means a spiritual person. The Chassidic movement was begun by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, 1698 - 1760, transformed Judaism into a continuous adventure, giving every single person a ladder to climb upwards. Some of the Chassidic Masters write about astrology in a less than completely organized manner. There is a lot to read and I promise to do my best to put this wisdom into plain English that everyone can understand.
Mysticism and astrology are truly universal. Some people say no to this way of looking at things. Some even consider astrology to be idolatry. This view can be disputed with chapter and verse references. In my classes on astrology in Jewish circles, I always start with these texts. I believe it is OK to learn and take advice from the stars.
Let’s be clear about something. The stars do not talk to me. The stars that make up a constellation do not connect and they are not close to each other in space. The stars of, for example, Pisces form the shape of fish in the sky only from our point of view. If I stand on another planet or if I come from a different cultural background the stars line up to make different pictures.
Here is the important point again - the stars have no power of their own. The constellations of the zodiac help us understand how the cosmos works. They divide up time for us. This is what astrology does best. It gives us a framework that tells us what we should work on this month or this day. Astrology also helps us understand ourselves by looking at the factors of the month of our birth. We will be talking a lot about this.
If you have a religious orientation, God shows us how He operates the universe we live in. I am a religious person and I see God giving us access to the programming He has set in place for everything. The contribution of the Chassidic Masters is that we can now access and work with the programming code of all existence.
I cannot promise you the ability to do magic or know future lottery numbers or decide who to marry and vote for in elections. I can promise insights into the dilemmas we face in our lives. Relationships, fears, hopes can become clearer and gain context. Winning lottery numbers are not part of this. Except, of course, that we are all trying to define and then win the lottery of life. When I have learned and shared my learning on a day like today, I know I have won what is really worth winning.