"The symbolic meaning of the human leg is one that few occultists are aware of. It was intended as a constant reminder of a major goal of earth incarnation, namely to bring the lower self into alignment with The Higher Self. To this end, the lower part of the leg denotes the lower self, while the upper part, the thigh, represents The Higher Self or Soul."
"The symbolic meaning for the lower portion of the leg, the calf, is tied to the fact that the lower leg has two bones (the tibia and fibula) in it compared with the single bone (the femur) in the upper part."
"The lower self (the ego/personality), as it manifests on The Earth Plane, typically includes both male and female characteristics (the animus and anima). Usually, The Higher Self will allow the traits which partake of the sexual identity of the body to be to the fore and to manifest more strongly. At the same time, the traits which belong to the sex opposite that of the body will be more hidden and suppressed."
"It is important to understand that The Higher Self, The Soul, does not have a sexuality as such, at least not to the same degree as is found upon The Earth. The Higher Self generally possesses a more balanced mixture of male and female traits, even though, in general, a given Soul would be found to lean somewhat more to one sexual category than to the other. When a Soul projects a selection of its characteristics down into earth manifestation, It may choose to do so in either sexual identity in terms of the physical body. When It manifests as female on The Earth Plane, It draws mainly upon its female side to form the outer personality. However, there will always be some flavor of the male side as well, these masculine tendencies being largely present in the subconscious and only partially manifesting through the conscious personality. The degree of suppression of the traits belonging to the opposite sex depends upon a number of factors, among them the family attitudes, cultural pressures, and the genetically inherited drives and tendencies of the body itself."
"Conversely, a Soul That projects into a male body will normally select mainly the masculine characteristics of Itself for conscious manifestation, including some female traits as well -- at either the subconscious or conscious levels."
"Now, the presence of a dominant sexual identity and a hidden sexual identity exactly corresponds to the position and relative prominence of the 2 bones in the lower leg. Taking a female personality as an example, the composite of female traits which make up the conscious self is represented by the bone that is toward the front in the lower leg. This is called the shin bone or tibia. It is this bone that takes the brunt of any blow on that part of the anatomy, and it is the one that can be easily felt by the hand along its whole length."
"Conversely, the fibula, the second bone of the lower leg, is smaller than the tibia and generally is covered up by the calf muscle, so that it cannot easily be felt with the hand except near its extremities. The hidden position of the fibula denotes the hidden or suppressed nature of the opposite-sex characteristics of the lower self. In our example of the female personality, the fibula then represents the male side."
"The relative availability of these 2 bones, i.e. the ease with which they can be felt by the hand, represents, in a general way, the relative weights of the 2 sexual sides in the personality. Hence, those with very little calf muscle, and whose fibula is easily felt, will generally demonstrate a more equal mix of male and female traits. This is not to say that the presence of both sides will detract necessarily from the physical appearance. It is safe to assume that persons who have noticeably thin calves probably have chosen to manifest some prominent trait of the opposite sex in this life pattern."
"When any damage, accident, or illness occurs in one of the 2 lower leg bones, there is a 90% likelihood that the person's Guides are using the incident as a way of reminding the individual, at the subconscious level, that some key concept relating to one of the sexual halves is being highlighted, needs to be thought about, or whatever. For example, a child around the age of puberty may damage one or both of these bones in an accident. The particular bone damaged will be an indicator that some aspect of that side of the sexual picture is requiring effort or a learning process. The possibilities, in terms of specific lessons, are very broad, and We cannot set down a hard and fast rule to use in all such cases."
"For a man, the hidden fibula denotes the female or anima characteristics of sensitivity, emotionalism, domestic and nurturing urges, and receptivity. For a woman, this recessed bone relates to the male or animus traits of assertiveness, athletic leanings, rationality, and practical creativity."
"Injuries to the lower leg are directly manipulated from a higher level in order to stress to the individual some important point relating to the balance, suppression, or incompleteness of the animus/anima composite within."
"Many lower leg accidents occur among children at around puberty. When these take place, it is almost invariably to remind the individual, at the subconscious and higher self levels, to correct some developing imbalance in the personality which is arising due to the peer-pressures, family pressures, or rapid organic changes that are occurring at that time. Often it is due to a tendency to suppress the characteristics of the opposite sex due to the influence of other children, in particular the patterns of behavior that have been adopted by the peer group."
"Turning now to the upper leg or thigh, it is well known that this part of the leg contains only a single bone, the femur. The femur is the longest and strongest of all the bones in the human body and must be so in order to handle the mechanical loading that is placed upon it during strenuous sports."
"The femur represents The Higher Self or Soul. The fact that there is but a single bone in the upper leg denotes the fact that The Soul is, in general, far more unitary than the personality in terms of sexual characteristics. The Soul Level is That on which all traits of both sexes -- to the extent that The Soul has acquired these -- manifest freely."
"Any diseases affecting the femur show an imbalance or problem in The Higher Self which is, at the time of the difficulty, being struggled with through the life-pattern of the physical personality. To explain the symbolic nature of these indicators, We first must point out the significance of the knee and the hip, the anatomical parts at either end of the femur."
"The knee is, literally, the joining link between the femur and the bones of the lower leg. As such, it represents the connection or link between The Higher and the lower selves. If the knee is weak or subject to disease, it is signalling that the communication between the personality and The Soul is weak or very rudimentary. Usually, this occurs to a person who has allowed the attractions of the world to sway him away from any interest in higher spiritual things. A person for whom material possessions are everything, or who thinks only of sex, or the self, or money, is one to whom such a reminder might be given."
"Any knee problems point to a difficulty being experienced in terms of allowing higher self energies to express through the lower personality. Whenever pain is felt in the knee, it symbolizes the painful bottling up or blockage of something from The Higher Part which is trying to manifest but cannot due to the attitudes or inclinations which the personality has developed."
"The patella (knee cap) itself is the concrete symbol of the channels or 'pipes' along which the higher urges pass to the lower self. Indeed, the knee cap, in actuality, transmits muscular force from the muscles above the knee (the quadriceps) to the tibia in order to straighten the leg. When the leg is straightened, the upper leg is in line with the lower leg, and this relationship represents the hoped-for alignment of The Higher and lower selves through the full and proper use of the channels for energy, which are represented by the patella or knee cap."
"In those occasional instances where chronic conditions arise in the knee cap itself, particularly where the knee cap has to be amputated, the message is that, through disuse, the channels which connect the lower self to The Higher Self have become permanently atrophied, damaged, or closed. This is a signal of supreme importance to the individual, for unless great effort is quickly expended in seeking to re-establish contact with one's Higher Part, there is a serious risk that the personality itself could, literally, be lost, so that it would not, after death, become a part of the higher self's composite picture through assimilation and would become lost in the lower astral worlds."
"In such rare instances, the loss of the personality is mourned deeply by all those who from higher levels cherished it and watched over its developement. We refer here to The Guardian Angel and the other human helpers who have contributed to the personality's progress."
"Turning to the hip joint, this is constituted by a socket in the hip bone, the acetabulum, into which the head of the femur fits. The joint is a universal one, allowing the femur to swivel to many directions and not limiting motion only to a given plane. The fact that the joint is universal represents the freedom which The Soul or Higher Self is given by the Creative Forces to forge its own path through the planes of reality. Man has free will, and though He is expected to learn to harness that freedom into the service of creation and love, He is nonetheless allowed the perfect right to travel in any direction He chooses, on the understanding that He must always pay his dues under The Karmic Law of Cause and Effect."
"The pelvis, being the first recipient of the creative sexual energy coming through The Root Chakra, symbolizes 'The Creative Forces' at a level above that of The Human Soul or Higher Self. This may be thought of as The Creator God (The Monad or Higher Self of The Higher Self). Being 'creative' in its symbolic meaning, it is natural that this part of the body should house the most creative, i.e. the pro-creative, organs."
"When there is any chronic problem associated with this bone, as happens in many older persons, it is certain that the root chakra energies are not flowing properly. This may be due to a damming up of these energies through the operation of certain insidious thought-patterns often connected with prudishness, though in many cases where older persons develope weakness of the pelvic bone, the difficulty arises because of improper diet over many decades combined with negative emotional states that have become habitual. Such conditions cause terrible depredations throughout the physical body, and therefore it is no wonder that the power available in the various chakras is diminished."
"Turning again to the femur, it will be grasped that the meaning of any disease or break in the femur is dependent upon the location of the femur which is involved. A disease of the femoral head, for example, will point to the link between The Soul and The Higher Planes beyond It, from Which It draws sustenance. Any such disease or break will suggest that The Higher Self must learn to integrate Itself more into Creation, and this can be accomplished by doing the same at the lower self level."
"In other words, the lower personality has only one possibility of influencing The Higher Self or Soul, and that is to work on itself. For any changes which take place in the lower self automatically are reflected in The Higher Self. Thus, one who has a problem of any kind at the upper end of the femur should turn his attention toward the higher truths and The Cosmic Laws, for if these can be assimilated at the conscious level, they will automatically become a part of The Soul."
"If the disease or break is at or close to the knee, the signal likely is that the soul's ability to communicate with the lower personality is impaired in some way. This may be a flaw in The Soul (most likely), although it could also be the fault of the conscious personality. Effort will have to be expended in re-establishing the faltering communication between the lower and The Higher Parts of the individual."
"Finally, the most intriguing symbol of all regarding the leg is that of straightening it out. To straighten the leg from a bent condition involves bringing the upper into alignment with the lower part. The meaning is, of course, to bring The Higher Self into alignment with the lower or conscious personality."
"A last word is in order about the act of kneeling as when praying. The act of kneeling has always represented the subjugation of one's will to that of another, whether to a king or to God. By bringing the lower end of the femur into contact with the ground in the act of kneeling, the individual is literally making contact between The Earth and that part of his anatomy which designates the link between his lower and Higher Selves. This represents the most significant part of his Soul-structure, for without this link nothing of value can be learned from an earth incarnation. By touching The Earth Itself with the symbol of the higher/lower link, one is symbolically stating the importance of the link with respect to earth life. By assuming this position in prayer, the ego, the subconscious, and The Higher Self are all reminded that the goal of material incarnation is to weld The Higher and lower together and that God's help is needed in the task."
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