CHAPTER NINE
The Zodiacal Earth-Field - 10

The Earth as an Organic Whole
By establishing correspondences between the signs of the zodiac and 30-degree longitude-bands at the surface of the globe, all I intend to say is that, as one considers the planet Earth as an organized system of interdependent activities (and perhaps as a "living" organism, if one gives to the term life, a broadly cosmic meaning), one can identify significantly the root-centers of this system of activities by using the zodiac of signs as a kind of "measuring rod." At the risk of repeating myself — but repetitions are necessary where there is so much confusion — I shall add that the tropical zodiac of signs refers to the relationship between the Sun (source of all vital energies) and the globe of the Earth — and primarily to the Earth's biosphere. When we are projecting zodiacal signs upon this biosphere, we are therefore using these projected signs as means of defining six or twelve geographical regions, each of which should be dominated by some focusing center of energy — one might say, by a planetary chakra.
      Starting from the premise that the earth-location of the Sphinx and the Pyramid (31º07'57" east longitude and 29º58'44º" North latitude) corresponds to the cusp between the zodiacal signs, Leo and Virgo, we find that Leo 0º corresponds to east longitude 100º08'; Cancer 0º to west longitude 28º52'; Gemini 0º to west longitude 58º52'; Taurus 0º to west longitude 88º52'; Aries 0º to west longitude 118º52'.
      Going eastward (following the direction of the globe's rotation around its axis), we find Libra 0º corresponding to east longitude 61º08'; Scorpio 0º, to east longitude 91º08'; Sagittarius 0º, to east longitude 121º08', etc. The International Date Line in mid-Pacific at east longitude 180º would therefore correspond very closely to the Capricorn-Aquarius cusp.; i.e. it would fall at 1º08' Aquarius.
      Let us briefly study these longitude zones beginning with east longitude 121º08' and proceeding westward.

SCORPIO ZONE: from 121º08' to 91º08'. This region includes China and Mongolia, the Siberian Lake Baikal county (which has been said by some travellers to have a very magical, occult atmosphere); and to the south, Indo-China and Indonesia. This is the cradle-land of the yellow races, which I believe are "ruled" by Scorpio insofar as their physical organisms and root-nature are concerned. The great Mongolian invasions which unfurled upon Europe during the Christian era were presumably launched from such a region. We might add that as Neptune is passing through the zodiacal sign Scorpio, one of the main spotlights in world-affairs — perhaps the most vital — has been focused upon Mao Tse Tung's arousal of the Chinese youth and upon the war in Viet Nam, also upon the anti-Communist power-struggle in Java.
      The Libra-Scorpio cusp falls just at the capital of Tibet, Lhassa at geographical east longitude 91º11'; and if anything is Scorpionic in nature it certainly is, or was, the Tibetan social system, so deeply influenced by Tantric procedures and occult magic. The mysterious Gobi desert is included in this Scorpio zone; and the occult invisible city, Shamballah, is supposed to be located there.

LIBRA ZONE: from 91º08' to 61º08'. This zone encompasses the whole of India and Ceylon, Western Tibet, and an important section of Siberia, cut from north to south by the river, Yenisei, one of the world's largest. It seems most fitting to see greater India (the ancient Aryavarta) in such a Libra zone, which includes also the eastern part of Persia, Turkestan and the Ural mountains region — a vital part of Soviet Russia. It was thanks to the industrial activities of this region that Russia was able to defeat the Nazi armies. The important cities of Sverdlovsk and Magnetovorsk (60º38') mark the beginning of this 30-degree zone of longitude, while Calcutta, India, is located at 88º20'. Calcutta dominates the Bengal region from which the philosophy and practices of the Tantra seem to have originated, at least with reference to what we know today of this approach to life.
      If we consider Libra and Scorpio as two poles "male-female" aspects of one zodiacal unit, we see that this dyad includes by far the larger part of Asia, from the Urals to Peking, China. It stands at the geographical polar opposite (the antipodes) of most of North America — that is, of the continental region bordered, on the one hand by Los Angeles, California, and Labrador in Eastern Canada. Lhassa in Tibet is at the antipodes of St. Louis. The Mountain States of the United States, centering at about 112º (Grand Canyon, Arizona) are located at the antipodes of Benares and the Himalayas.
      In the Sepharial scheme of "geodetic equivalents" most of India and Tibet would be located in the Cancer zone, and the whole of the American Mid-West in the Capricorn zone. This does not seem too adequate a correlation, while relating this American Mid-West to Taurus, symbol of fruitfulness and productivity certainly makes much sense.