New Mansions for New Men

by Dane Rudhyar

Rudhyar, Dane

Genres: Astrology

273 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

French-American astrologer, one of the most noted and respected astrologers of the 20th century.

He was called a modern renaissance man for his ability to express himself in many fields; music, painting, poetry, philosophy and metaphysics.

He wrote for national magazines since the '30s and was the author of many books.

Reviews

[Yitzchok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rudhyar, as usual, has brilliant insights and exquisite pieces that are a delight to read. Other parts of the book can be a bit much. At the end of the day, the nuggets of delight are well worth wading through some of the more, not-as-interesting or too dense material.

Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

“…is represented by the mysterious “Waters” which pour from the urn of the Water-bearer, symbolizing the zodiacal sign Aquarius. … “nectar of the gods” …the Greek Ambrosia…

But such is the reality of the eleventh mansion: that men therein make ideals, see great visions, become aflame with the noble determination to transfigure themselves and their world. And the power that compels them to do so is the electric Aquarian “Water” which is the gift of the whole to those of its parts who have well achieved; who have received the mantle of power from the collectivity of their great ancestors. It is that collectivity of the liberated thinkers and doers of the past which inspires the man of the present to work toward the future. Some call such a collectivity the “Council of the Great Ancestors”; others, the great “White Lodge”…Names matter little. What such names veil is the reality of the successful planetary Man – the living memory of great moments of civilization, which sands and storms may obliterate in the physical evidence – yet which can never die spiritually.

…This is the reality of the “White Lodge” to which so many thinkers now refer and toward which ever more searching souls are irresistibly and gloriously drawn. And it is this “White Lodge” which must be called the transfiguring agency of mankind. For it bestows upon man illumination…And this Holy Spirit is the spiritual blood of the greater whole, the divine Ambrosia, the Aquarian Waters that are “light and life” for those who have become Companions – civilizers – in the brotherhood of the great dreamers, the great idealists, the great friends of mankind.” – Pages 82-87

This is the best description of ‘meditation’ that I have ever seen!

“Meditation is the process by means of which a particular earth-born personality turns away from the sense of being in bondage to the conditions of its earthly birth, and re-polarizes the energies derived from heredity and environment, so that they serve to energize a universal or archetypal image with which the transfigured personality wills to identify itself. …Meditation is then a process aiming at a transcendental union with one’s spiritual Archetype.” – Page 91

In other words any process that takes you out of your current, but not freely chosen, life-circumstances (molded by family, culture, and society), and transplants you to a space of existence of your choosing, is meditation! #Love it! #SignMeUp

“The criminal rapes society. The genius fecundates society and gives to mankind a radiant progeny. The former is a throwback, a resurgent image of past social and individual failures. The latter is the agency through which the future calls to the present, urging it to transcend itself. Both suffer. Both, in a broad sense, are maladjusted.” – Page 94

[Michaella Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I begin this review would you allow me to meditate on the title- New Mansions for New Men?

The term mansion itself carries an ancient connotation, hence a new mansion almost could feel like an oxymoron.

However, let us remember what Carl Jung called for in his Red Book - “The task is to give birth to the old in a new time”. The Red Book, The Way of the Cross, Page 311.

Rudhyar writes “today is a new birthday for ancient gods” (p. XV)

Thus there is a call to construct new mansions of self for the ancient gods who live through us. Rudhyar’s old “mansion” is reflected in the luxurious elaboration of the houses topic in astrology which will then be made anew in the present time.

In a way this book gives a map to how to give birth to your ancient self in a new time- a new mansion for the new “human” that we are. And birthing an ancient self takes as much time as birthing a mansion.

Why the need to birth a new mansion of self? Because humans “become confused by the accretions which cling to once pure Images, as barnacles to a ship” (p. 273) and “ it is needful indeed that new names be revealed- new streams gushing forth from the immortal Rock of Significance, a new feast of symbols for hungry souls, new mansions for new men” (p. 273)

In a way it is heralding a new world though mostly in terms of consciousness. And it is calling for a new form of inclusiveness of individual self-development in contrast to the exclusivity of old mansions.

In his astrological houses book Rudhyar introduces us to the astrology chart as a map of understanding an individual’s orientation to their surrounding universe.

In this book Rudhyar feels more like a tour guide through mansions that are ancient, futuristic, beyond time in an eternal realm. Rudhyar writes that it should be read as an epic poem (p. XV).

Dane Rudhyar guides us through the cosmic scenery that are consistent for each individual. Thus there is a theoretical artistry and egalitarian value in referring to a process of unfoldment as a mansion of possibility for everyone.

Everyone deserves the care to create their own mansion of self. I like how Rudhyar respects that the steps to development of the mansion are unique for each person and also a result of the cosmic downpouring of energy. Spiral staircase in a mansion, movement through the houses is a cyclical ascent through one’s self hood. And this process of mansion-selfhood is made in time with a unique rhythm for each person. The mansions are those of significance.

I have perfectionistic tendencies so it can be scary to build a mansion of oneself- looking at oneself in the cosmic mirror. But the good thing is it is not all at once and the mansion is already there at the start in the birth chart, all we do is add onto it layer upon layer and the newness of it is that of seeing it differently through time in the “cyclic modification of the light”(p. xiii)

Like any good poem, though,“It is however a book which leaves many things unsaid. It suggests more than it states”(p. XIV).

There is a delicacy of feeling when walking into a theoretical mansion where what one experiences is suggestion rather than statement. Part of the luxury is it allows you to fill in the blanks- allowing you to be the subject of one’s own story and meditation.

In the end the mansion is a unification of above and below, a kingdom of heaven both in the sky and in our earthly existence that everyone could have the possibility to experience. The birthchart can be read as a poem of ourselves that allows us to host divine energies as we give birth to our ancient selves in a new time.