The Great Wheel: a commentary on the System of W.B. Yeats' A Vision

The Great Wheel is the wheel of karma;of reincarnation - of death and rebirth.It is the wheel of the law;the wheel of retribution.It is number and it is measure.It consists of wheels upon wheels,and wheels within wheels;and it is symbolized bythe phases of the moon.

"On the afternoon of October 24th, 1917, four days after my marriage, my wife surprised me by attempting automatic writing. What came in disjointed sentences, in almost illegible writing, was so exciting, sometimes so profound, that I ... offered to spend what remained of life explaining and piecing together those scattered sentences." - William Butler Yeats

It is often said in spiritual literature that time and space are an illusion, maya, samsara. But what exactly does this mean? And what implications does it have for how you should live your everyday life? The Great Wheel is an explanation of the System of birth, death, and rebirth which Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats' described in his masterpiece, A Vision.

Starting out with a discussion of how you can connect with your true purpose in this life - the reason why you incarnated on the earth at this time - The Great Wheel describes simple techniques you can use (such as past life regressions, probable reality progressions, and recapitulation of present life memories) to glimpse different facets of your Daimon (your oversoul; the totality of who you are), in order to understand clearly how you got to where you are at right now. To live your true life's purpose rather than drift along helplessly, it is necessary to see how your present life situation is the end result of decisions which you, yourself, made in other lifetimes and realities.

W.B. Yeats' "System" - a symbolic model of consciousness based upon four levels of memory (ancestral voices = Creative Mind; past lives = Mask; probable realities = Body of Fate; and present life = Will) - is explained in detail, with particular reference to how these levels impinge upon and shape your everyday, moment-to-moment experience: your sense of "who" you are.

An in-depth discussion of twenty-eight personality types (depending upon where you were born in the moon's monthly cycle of phases) illuminates your individual true purpose in incarnating in this life, and helps you to understand where you belong and where you are going.

The Great Wheel concludes with a fascinating explanation of what reality is all about: Mind and Memory, Waking and Dreaming, Change, Familiarity, and the Akashic Records.



"This new work in Bob Makransky's excellent and thought provoking 'Introduction to Magic' series ... is a fascinating and illuminating take on the meaning of the Moon. It's truly a Moon book unlike any other and is guaranteed to alter your perception of yourself and the world." - Paul F. Newman, author LUNA: The Astrological Moon



"Bob Makransky ... is directing the reader to access the higher consciousness. He gives many wonderful techniques for it . ... This is not the kind of book you just read and it's finished. It's really a work book. You have to practice the exercises he gives. You have to apply the lunar phases to your own chart and to others. Many statements require thought and reflection. Not beach reading material. Be prepared to be educated and also shocked!" - Joseph Polansky, Diamond Fire magazine

"It is difficult to change thought patterns to find a new path, and that is the primary reason I read The Great Wheel and encourage others to read it. ... To use a 1960's term, this is a heavy book. It is very deep, thorough and forces one to step back and start looking at the big picture. What aspect of your personality could use some help? This book has the tools to help you". - Peggy Mathias, Psychic-Magic magazine