Zechariah 4:8,11,14
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick, and upon the left side thereof?
Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

   From an historical viewpoint, the two olive trees "that stand by the Lord" refer to Joshua and Zerubbabel. But there is also an initiatory interpretation pertaining to the alchemy of the two nervous systems, which play such an important part in human regeneration. The sympathetic nervous system is the stronghold of the vital body, or life forces, the desire body having seized control of the cerebro-spinal system. As the contibl of the nerves of both the cerebro-spinal and the sympathetic nervous systems, the powers of which are greatly augmented. The neophyte then becomes aware of ethereal, but mighty, forces pouring purification process goes forward the universal Life Spirit attains to through Nature in great tides. Being aware of them, he is able to use them advantageously in creating a more perfect world and in achieving Illumination for himself. The cerebro-spinal system is predominately the channel for the masculine (positive) forces of creation on the material plane; the sympathetic is predominantly the channel for the feminine (negative) forces. When a harmonious balance is attained between them, neither one nor the other being dominant, Love and Reason function together as a unit. This balance is described in the words of Zechariah: "These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."

Zechariah 4:12
And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves.

   The ego functions in the blood. The more work that is accomplished in the refining of bodies, the more rarified and gaseous becomes the blood until it is a bright fire in the veins and is visible to clairvoyant vision. Nerve fluid also becomes rarified. The golden oil is the refined essence of the new combined blood and nerve fluid.

Zechariah 4:2
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof.

   Continuing the initiatory interpretation, the golden candlestick is the spinal canal while the golden bowl is the head wherein the uplifted serpent fire has awakened the dormant pineal and pituitary glands and set them vibrating. To spiritual sight, these glands are then seen to be penetrated by a scintillating vortex of force of inconceivable splendor and brilliancy. The seven golden pipes are the seven pairs of cranial nerves that take on new functions with the further development of man's seven senses. These seven senses are the five physical (hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling and seeing) and the two spiritual senses of intuition (a feminine faculty) and spiritual perception (a masculine faculty).

   Astrologically, the seven lamps refer to the Sun, Moon and the planets of the Ptolemaic system which have rulership over the various functions of man's body. Also to Planetary Spirits, or Archangels, who are the Spirits before the Throne of God. The candlestick is the Christ Archangel Himself, who occupies the solar throne.

Zechariah 5:6-11
And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
And, behold there was lifted up a talent of lead; and this is a woman Mat sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the winds was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
And he said unto me, To build it an house in the Land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

   Esoterically, ephah means darkness, or the burden of causation; thus it correlates with the dark Saturnian principle here considered under its feminine aspect. Superficial students think of Saturn as an evil power because it is the planet of cosmic Law that causes every man to reap as he has sown. If he has sown with understanding his harvest is Illumination; but if he has sown in ignorance his is a crop of sorrow and trouble. One of the two women represents the feminine principle in its lower aspect, when bound to the flesh; the other is its higher, when linked with spirit. The higher is that body of Light wherein men of the new race will transcend time and space and soar beyond all common bounds of earth.

   Shinar means rest. When Initiate consciousness is firmly established in the understanding and love of cosmic Law — and this is no mere formalistic intellectual exercise, but a living union with Divine Intelligence — its evolution is upon a sound base, like the house spoken of by the Master Jesus that is built upon a rock and cannot be dislodged by the storms of earthly living. To some degree this state of consciousness Will be realized in the Aquarian Age, for Aquarius is ruled by Saturn. But it will not be fully realized until the Capricornian Age, since it is to the feminine Capricornian principle that the "ephah" particularly refers. Then the cross, symbolizing a lack of balance, will no longer typify the Christian religion; instead, it will be represented by the two columns (olive trees) that guard the entrance to every Wisdom Temple, and between which a candidate must pass to find the Light he is seeking.

 — Corinne Heline