Confession of a Ghost. 33. 8. Jupiter the Guru

“CONFESSION of a GHOST”
a novel by Alexandra Kryuchkova
in the “PLAYING ANOTHER REALITY” series

8 BEFORE/33 AFTER. HOUSE No.11

*****JUPITER the GURU*****

***
Somewhere in the Universe


“Hello, Rukh!” a man in a purple robe greeted me at the Ziggurat. “I’m your Jupiter, or simply Guru.”

“Guru, are you good or evil?” I asked just to get it from the beginning.

“As you can see, the Mist is already going away here. On my floor, you feel a solid foundation under your feet. Look around – my chambers are majestic. Let’s go to the terrace, talk under the starry sky… Traditionally, I’m considered the Great Benefactor, the best planet. I give an abundance of various forms in various Spheres and symbolize a certain fund of something accumulated. For a developed Higher Self, it means information or knowledge, a cultural fund. Unlike Saturn, I expand my horizons, being responsible for large scale, abundance, luck, authority, spiritual and/or material wealth, philosophy, religion, travel. I stay in Taurus, the earthly Sign of Venus. Your Venus, which resides in my favorite Sign of Piscis, and I are in good relationship, so you’ll be a harmonious creature, in search for a stable ground under your feet and a male patron who will give you confidence in the Future. Don’t dwell on the Pluto’s people, when they will hypnotize you like boas do rabbits, don’t look them in the eyes. Jupiter in Taurus usually means rich people with high social status. At best, they are well-established, loving art, true connoisseurs of beauty and harmony, gourmets and generous benefactors, broad-minded, drawn to spiritual practices and travel. Jupiter can also signify representatives of the clergy, church hierarchies, gurus of spiritual Knowledge, as well as lawyers. In the worst case, especially in conjunction or opposition with Uranus, people block the flow or squander it on earthly things, thus attracting financial ruin. They are characterized by everything with the word ‘excessive’ and the prefix ‘over’ – overeating, an excess of sensual pleasures, overspending, and so on. Wealth overshadows their spirit and common sense, pride and arrogance go off scale, they commit thoughtless acts. Or, on the contrary, they are overly focused on greedy savings, forgetting that they are just intermediaries, and money must be transformed into positive energy, including spiritual, by transferring it to those in need, for the benefit of the world.”

“The characteristic of the good Jupiter in Taurus,” the Guardian clarified, “is a reliable and stable ground under your feet. It’s exactly what you will lack.”

“Reliability, stability, sustainability, material comfort, steadfastness, guarantees. More often we see here realists, pragmatists, conservatives. They possess the charm of Venus. Many people even consider a wedding from the point of view of whether the project is profitable for financial investments. However, some made revolutions when the accumulated force reached its limits, for example, Lenin. Presidents Kennedy, Francois Mitterrand, and Roosevelt, with whom your grandmother spoke, and even the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, had Jupiter in Taurus. Some Jupiters will be found among your acquaintances, and you’ll have spiritual Knowledge about the Heavenly Spheres and stars, about the Future. You can create your own school or philosophical system. House No. 11 is called the House of my joy, since everything that you receive from me, you’ll give to the world.”

“Everything touched by Jupiter’s hands turns into gold,” the Guardian smiled. “Money and high status, glory and success, in your case it’s through knowledge of the Subtle World, spiritual practices, astrology.”

“We are in the House of your Dreams and Hopes, they’ll surely come true,” Jupiter smiled.

“They will come true in the Future,” I chuckled.

“Whatever you do in the name of the Future is not in vain. Recognition will overtake you in my Jupiter scale! I’m in House No. 11, a sign of longevity and posthumous glory of a name that leaves a tangible mark on Earth. Don’t dwell on material desires, you are unlikely to find yourself begging, wish what your Higher Self desires. The Sun and I want your manifestation in the masses, don’t stand in the shadow. Accepting people as they are, lead them along the path of spiritual development, patronizing the worthy and helping the weak.”

“Who would help me get rid of the Pluto’s people?”

“With such House No. 11, you should be patronized throughout your incarnation, including Heaven’s support. Father’s acquaintances, paternal uncle, priests… By the way, your uncle is a priest, which is rare for the time and country of your incarnation. But let’s continue the list of patrons – high-ranking clergymen, politicians, patrons of arts, cultural figures, famous writers, poets, astrologers, clairvoyants, spiritual teachers – they will definitely manifest themselves and help you on the Path, as well as Saints, establish personal contact with them!”

“What degree are you in?” I asked.

“Someone calls it the degree of mathematicians and a profitable marriage of the Moon and Sagittarius, others consider it the degree of an affectionate calf, of commanders, healers, occultists, artists. Your favorite stargazer wrote, ‘A man throws handfuls of seeds on the ground, and as soon as they touch it, they bear fruit and bend towards him.’ This is the degree of Venus, Happiness and Good Luck, because one will be at the right time in the right place. Childhood is hard, but the hopes and dreams born with the person come true as that person grows up.”

“What Sphere of Life do you manage, Jupiter?”

“If we consider all the planets, I’m Neptune’s assistant to House No. 10, your status and achievements. If we take into consideration only the main 7 planets,  I’m the Master of your House No.10.”

“Become a Warrior of Light, and success is guaranteed!” the Guardian smiled, and I looked at the starry Universe with interest.

“Do you like it?” Jupiter smiled.

“Very much! Will you really find me on Earth and not leave me?”

Jupiter hugged me, covering with a purple robe, and smiled,

“Let’s just admire the Universe in silence.”


***
Library of the Universe


“He didn’t answer my question,” I sighed.

“Didn’t he?” the Guardian smiled.

“My God, he has an opposition to Uranus! Will Uranus deprive me of Jupiter, as Pluto of the Sun?” I exclaimed, stopping abruptly.

“Just as abruptly as you’ve stopped now!”

“Oh no!”

“Oh yes! Among the Jupiters in Taurus, you’ll meet their worst representatives, who will face financial ruin!”

“It can’t be like that! Well, what for! Why! No, no, no! It’s not fair!” my heart sank again.

“It’s not all that bad! You’ll get Jupiter, even afflicted, although with difficulty. Perhaps the amount of assistance will be less than deserved. They can deceive, promise and not keep promises. Such people are like soap bubbles, and you imagine pink castles… However, as soon as a person will be played off in your life, he will disappear, just don’t look back.”

“When will he be played off?”

“When Uranus reaches Jupiter. A person will obviously appear earlier. To destroy something, you must first build something!”

“What do you mean ‘Uranus reaches Jupiter’?”

“Oh-oh-oh… Great story,” I breathed grimly.

“Take it as a plot for your novel. You’ve promised to write about me, right? So write a couple of lines about Jupiter and Uranus there. When Uranus passes exactly half of the Circle, he comes in opposition to himself, every person on Earth feels this at their own time like a crisis. As for you, Uranus will first deal with Jupiter, and then, after 3 degrees, Uranus will start dealing with himself. Most often, the opposition between Jupiter and Uranus, as well as their conjunction, means financial collapse.”

“My air castle was destroyed by Pluto,” I sighed.

“Perhaps Pluto-Jupiter. Or Pluto has a spoiled Jupiter. Maybe one was lucky with Jupiter at first, and then Neptune clouded one’s consciousness, Saturn took one in his harsh embrace, and Uranus bang-banged. Uranus kills instantly, Saturn kills slowly. Shift your focus to the Higher Self, and Uranus can give you an original idea in the Sphere of the planet he encounters. In exchange for the ruined pink castle, you’ll receive something in the color of your Jupiter’s mantle. You’ll either catch it or let it pass by.”

“The mantle?”

“The idea!” the Guardian laughed. “When Uranus meets Jupiter, your Sun, if we talk not about the usual movement in the Circle, but about directions, will enter House No. 12.”

“And when my Sun leaves my House No. 12 for House No. 1, will the Sun get inside me, in my Self? I’ll become the Sun, won’t I?”

The Guardian looked at me with sadness and said,

“Yes, it’s a paradox. You are born to shine to the world and be the Sun, but… Your Sun will never get out of House No. 12. It’s too big. Even in the best-case scenario, you won’t wait for your Sun to rise in time just a little bit.”

I curled up in a ball of resentment. The book flew into my hands and opened at the page with the story “A Sinner”.

“It’s not about you, Rukh, just as a sample of spoiled Jupiter.”

In a parishioner dying of cancer, the priest recognized his first love, whom he had exchanged for money and abandoned to the mercy of fate, and denied her absolution in the end.

“That same evening, Father Alexey left his cassock at home and went with friends to a pub. Having drunk heavily, the next morning he skipped the liturgy and spent the entire Holy Week with friends, remembering the Passion of Christ without parting with the bottle. On Easter, in order to avoid losing his job again, Father Alexey had to sober up.”


*****The BLESSED SILENCE*****

***
Somewhere in the Mist


He entered my office absolutely devastated. Bruises under the eyes. All gray, drooping like an abandoned dog. How old was he? 50? 55? He sat down in front of me and was silent for a long time, then whispered,

“Mom’s dead.”

“She’s not dead, Dim. She is standing right next to you now, really.”

I wanted to add, “And it hurts her to see you like this”, but I didn’t. He turned around, didn’t see his mother and sighed heavily.

“There is an icon ‘Seeking for the Perished’. Visit it in Yelokhovo Cathedral.”


***
Moscow


I opened my eyes at the icon “Seeking for the Perished”.

“I’m trying to remember how I knew about this icon, Ray.”

“Don’t you remember even that either? To whom are you reading the Akathist on Athos?”

“My uncle, my father’s cousin, was a priest. His wife became my godmother. I was attacked by ghosts and entities of the Lower Astral in our old flat. Of course, my father’s mother, a Catholic, took me to their cathedral. However, at the age of 13, I ended up to be baptized in the Orthodox Church of the Unexpected Joy in Maryina Roshcha. I went to a church school and sang in the Cathedral of Patriarch Alexey II, who served there then. Coming to the Cathedral outside holidays, during the liturgy, I stood up at the icon ‘Seeking for the Perished’. The icon called me to Her and helped me.”

“The girl sang in the church choir,” Ray quoted Blok’s poem. “All the Saints helped you, didn’t they?”

“Yes, but… My God! Why didn’t I remember it right away! Children! The icon helps children who are left without parents! Thank God, glory to Thee! Orphanage, Ray! Children’s library was for orphanage!” I jumped up to the ceiling joyfully and began to dance in the air. “A will! I wanted to give books to children!”

“Haven’t you forgotten anything else?” Ray was watching me with interest.

I froze in another circle and landed on the bed. Ray sat down on the floor by the fireplace, in front of me. I looked around the room and started walking through the walls around the flat.

“But my son in the Court said only ‘Children’ and ‘Seeking for the Perished’!”

“What if he said something else, and you didn’t hear it? Or someone else said.”

“Do you mean boots?”

“Maybe boots, maybe shoes. You know, everyone has their own. What do you have?”


***
Ouranoupoli


I was enjoying orange juice at a cafe when I noticed Kiri walking by and called out to her,

“Hi, how are you?”

“St. Stephen left,” Kiri waved her hand, sitting down next to me, “the patron of priests, but he patronizes them badly. Do you see that old monk by the shop window? Do you know why he came here from Athos? For the boys. He orders them from the city. Everyone here turns up their noses at him. You are one of us, so you should know it not to idealize the monks.”

“I’ve read a story by a pilgrim on Athos, who sheltered from a sudden thunderstorm and rain in a cave, and instead of a candle and an icon, found a shabby porn magazine.”

“Right,” Kiri sighed. “How many of those who should be imprisoned escaped to Athos?”

“People are all different. We too have priests with a smell. Once, during a liturgy, a priest publicly shouted at a parishioner who came up to touch the relics at the ‘wrong’ moment, saying that there was no cross on her. Imagine, what if she couldn’t stand the entire liturgy to wait for the ‘right’ moment?”

“Nightmare! Here people go to church as home and can touch the relicts at any moment!”

“The icon ‘Saviour the Blessed Silence’ helps the monks too. It depicts Christ before incarnation.”

“And who was He before it?”

“An angel, probably. He has an octagonal halo above His head. There are many interpretations of the icon. For me personally, it means humility. He knew what He was getting into, what awaited Him during the incarnation… There is also the icon of St. Silouan the Athonite. A Russian monk wanted to get to the Kiev Lavra, or Monastery of the Caves, but ended up on Athos in the monastery of St. Panteleimon. For a long time, he indulged in passions, and eventually became a Saint. People came to him as to already a Saint, he lived for 72 years, died in 1938, was canonized in 1987 and recognized in Russia under Patriarch Alexey II in 1992. St. Silouan helps to overcome temptations, reconciles those who are in wars, prompts the choice at crossroads. Actually, like all Saints, he helps in everything. At the very least, he can transfer the request to another Saint, who will be able to help faster. They hear us, trust me. We don’t hear them, but they hear us. There’s a pillar of Light above Mount Athos. The temptations on the Mount are stronger than in our world. Do you think there is not a single monk of Light on Athos?”

“I think there is,” Kiri said thoughtfully, “and not just one.”

“The prayer of even one person can save the world. The hardest thing is not to judge anyone, especially those who hurt you personally.”


***
Tower of Ouranoupoli


“Joice!” I exclaimed as I flew into the Tower. “Children’s library is for the orphanage!”

“Excellent, Alice!” Joice complimented me, visualizing tea with cups. “How will you arrange it?”

I was struck dumb by the thought.

“My God, almost on the eve of erasing my memory, I wanted to write a deed of gift or a will. However, there were no such papers in my things! Joice! What’s to do now? How?”

I flew up to the ceiling and started rushing around the room.

“Land, calm down. Let’s discuss all the possible ways,” Joice said as if nothing had happened.

“All? Possible? Yes, yes, the ghosts have a bunch of them! No. 1 is to get a piece of paper from the drawer, take a pen and… Joice, don’t you find it funny?”

“You easily turn on electric fireplaces and kettles!”

“To turn on the kettle and to write, don’t you feel the difference?”

“Well, don’t be boiling, you are not a kettle!” Joice smiled.

“Moreover, Ray says it’s not only the books… Woe to me, woe!”

“You have a week! Go to the Library, Alice. Scratch your Moony’s ear and calm down! When you’re nervous, you lose sight of a lot.”


***
Library of the Universe


“Moony, what else do you think I have forgotten?”

“You’ve forgotten almost everything,” my Moon Cat purred, flipping through the pages of the diary with the tail.

“But I don’t have time to remember ‘almost everything’!”

“Well, remember the miracles.”

“Sometimes something incredible happens, against logic, but exactly where the pattern is broken there’s something real. I’m reading John Moskh, so many miracles of all kinds, but it’s like the prose of life… I’ve been to Nea Roda, there’s a miraculous icon (painted by Luke), which talks to me and instantly reacts, there’s a living being behind the painted face! The way back to Ouranoupoli is 15 km. The last bus broke down. A hurricane wind raised up. Neither phone nor money for a taxi, and they don’t stop on the road. I prayed, and the first car gave me a ride for free! The driver was a Bulgarian, who knew Italian and Russian, visited Tibet, studied comparative analysis of the religions, and came on Athos to his friend.”

“There is a line of detachment from the earthly, beyond which miracles happen all the time and everywhere, you hardly have time to think, even if your thought is not about heavenly things! Having returned from Athos, on my way to the office, I thought, ‘The belt is old in my jeans. It’s ugly, shabby for the trash, worn out to death. However, it’s not particularly visible under a sweater, just sometimes its tail crawls out.’ I arrived in the office. The employee silently takes out a leather belt from the drawer of her desk, ‘Take it, a new one, as a gift! It didn’t fit my daughter in size!’”

“Svetlana’s relative got sick (sometimes she is normal, sometimes like a substitute). Suddenly, Svetlana got a call from a man who had been called by a nun from a monastery on the Volga (!) – he visited it about 10 (!) years before – since the nun said to urgently bring to their monastery a girl named like the sick (she has a rare name). So the man called his acquaintances asking who had a girl with such name.”

“I lived in a remote village on the border with Kazakhstan. On the 4th day my phone charger died. There were neither phones, nor chargers, and nor many other things in the middle of nowhere, they got water at certain hours only. I had 2 more days to stay there. The phone went off on Thursday lunchtime. In the evening, reading the Akathist to Nicholas the Wonderworker, I said, ‘If you can, charge the phone, please, so that I have enough till home. I won’t use it. I’ll text to my son, well, just in case.’ I went for a walk, returned and found the phone (which had had a charge of 0%, cut off and not even switched on in the already inactive charge) showed me 13%. I thought, probably it had been so, 13%. On Friday, I wake up, thought, for sure it must have passed out during the night (it always discharges during the day, even if I don’t use it). I got up, sneaked with a sinking heart to the phone and saw 24%. I asked mentally, ‘If possible, just a little more, so that it will last straight to my home!’ I left the phone there, on the bedside table. At 14:00, the phone showed 42%. I went to have lunch. At 16:00, the charge was at 60%, and they stopped charging it. I wrote a text message to my son, he replied – 58%. On Saturday, when I returned home, it was 48%. I showed my son both the phone and the charger. He checked the charger, it was dead. On Saturday after the Palm’s Eve liturgy in the church, I went to the store, showed the charger, they declared death too. I bought a new one. The phone showed 40%. So in the evening, I decided to spend those 40% on calling Vadim to share the miracle! Do you know what that’s all about? If even such little things are heard, uttered without emotion, once, silently, in a calm inner voice without any hope, when we ask for something global, loudly, a million times in a row, they hear us 100%! Happy Palm Sunday:)”