PHASE 145 (LEO 25°): A LARGE CAMEL IS SEEN CROSSING A VAST AND FORBIDDING DESERT.

KEYNOTE: Self-sufficiency in the face of a long and exhausting adventure.

The camel here represents a living organism that is able to sustain itself independently of its environment at the start of a trying journey. (The original formulation of the symbol did not refer to "a man on camel back.") The organism carries within itself what is absolutely needed for survival. At the deeper human level 'of consciousness it is easy to see the value of self-reliance and self-sufficiency as one enters the occult Path leading to a more dynamic and more inclusive realm of existence.

The camel carries water within its body, and it is said that the dromedary is able to utilize the matter stored in its large protuberance as food. The suggestion here is that in order to be released from bondage to the "old world" we should be completely self-contained emotionally; having absorbed the mental food which this old culture has given us, we are ready to face "the desert," nothingness, Sunya . . . until we reach the "new world." We need TOTAL INDEPENDENCE from our surroundings and utter SELF-RELIANCE.