The Gnostic Circle is an alchemical Key of knowledge from the Vedic
texts of ancient India revealing the primary role of Time in our
developmental process. Most astrological systems are oriented toward
the individual’s egoic development, but the Gnostic Circle provides a
means by which we can perceive the imperatives of the Soul and its
hidden but primary influence in our lives. It is the unifying
element of a complete astrological work-up which helps us to understand
the cyclic nature of our developmental process; where we have been in
the past, where we happen to be at the present moment and what we are
moving toward in the future.
“The Gnostic Circle is the most effective method for understanding
the transformation of human consciousness. It represents a vision of
wholeness and has only one objective: it deals with the soul or seed of
the divine in each created thing and reveals the process by which that
seed is made to flower in its process of becoming.” – Patrizia
Norelli-Bachelet
Used in conjunction with the practice of yoga, the Gnostic Circle
reverses the long-standing perception of Time as the destroyer and
presents mankind with an entirely new awareness of Time as the
integrative mechanism by which a Divine purpose is expressed in the
world, thus it contains the highest wisdom of our age.
“The Gnostic Circle allows us to measure the progression of any event in time. And it provides the means of assessing an event’s relevance to time and place within a global and universal context. Above all, it permits us to appreciate the interconnectedness of events through a unified, spherical approach to Time. The
Gnostic Circle is a yardstick which can be applied to any event and by
which that event or object may be made to reveal its intrinsic nature
and objective value. In ancient literature and tradition, such a tool was sometimes referred to as the Golden Rod, or the Philosopher’s Stone. Its
value resided in the fact that because of its special relation to Time
and Space, it could provide an objective means to assess the
truth-conscious substance of any given situation or event or object. In
a word, it could objectively reveal the element’s inner pulse and place
within the greater harmony of life on Earth and within the solar
system.” The Vishaal Newsletter, – Oct 30, 1991
For each person there are two ways of being in the world, two
existential situations critical to our perception of life and reality.
The first and most common is an experience of the world from the historical perspective of linear time.
The second, and more rare, is the direct perception of non-linear time or cosmic cycles.
These modes of awareness represent two different worlds, one within the other. Non-linear
or sacred time appears under the paradoxical aspect of whole time, an
eternal present which is connected with man’s deepest spiritual
dimension. It is based upon a perception that time does not proceed
endlessly in a straight line. Rather it is always and everywhere a
closed curve, although from our ordinary perception, we do not see that
it’s movement is either curved or closed.
To move beyond the illusion of linearity and recover a realization of
whole time one must undergo a process of yoga which illumines the
cyclical nature of the life experience. This is most easily achieved
through the application of a cosmological model which highlights
certain essential relationships between man and the universe and which
unveils a common center. In ancient times these cosmological models
were based upon the known universe which was believed to consist of six
planets and a central Sun. It was not until the 20th century, following
the discovery of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, that the complete
cosmological key could be revealed and man’s integral transformation
fully understood.
In ancient India, as in all other traditional societies, the
unveiling of this axis or ‘center’ was achieved through a disciplined
study of the archetypal language contained in the zodiacal hieroglyphs
and a knowledge of the principles of the Cosmic order. Once these
foundations are laid, one’s lived experience becomes revelatory. The
awareness gradually shifts from the ordinary linear perspective of past,
present and future to an experience of time as a cyclical developmental
process. As the individual lives and repeats these cycles of whole
time, he becomes imprinted with their order and aligned with their
harmonies. The axis of his being gradually shifts from the pivot of ego,
to a higher perceptual center. For it is by observing the cycles of his
own microcosmic process, that man comes to know the macrocosm and the
principles of its evolution. In the Veda, this realization is known as SWAR or Truth-Consciousness, and grants the seeker a direct and unequivocal perception of Unity.
‘The Gnostic Circle is merely the combination of the zodiac – the
occult circle which contains the knowledge of the evolution – and the
structural pattern of the solar system. The Circle of 12 is the zodiac,
and the Circle of 9 is our actual solar system, each orbit representing
one year of Earth life. The joint harmony of these two, superimposed or
synthesized in one circle, is what constitutes our key to the evolution
and flowering of the seed of the Spirit. In fact we can say that the
Gnostic Circle is mainly for this purpose. It shows mankind the ultimate
and ideal perfection that can be attained during this particular phase
of the evolution, during this great transition point from animal-mental
to the more divine mankind.’ – The Gnostic Circle p. 159, 1975, Patrizia Noreill-Bachelet
Occult Aspects 