The Gnostic Doctrine, considers woman the most beautiful manifestation in the Universe; and man, the strongest (see full definition for: strength and beauty). When humans start entering the third cycle of their life, a few years before the age of 21, youth will naturally start  to flourish beauty in women and strength in men. It is around this time that young people should be conscious that all power requires responsibility. Both forces properly nurtured and developed by their respective sexes will naturally yield many open paths with very little resistance, and although this sounds great it also becomes a liability. The individual can go anywhere and do what he or she wants. As this is happening time is also continuing its cycle within the person. If wisdom has not been cultivated through out the next two cycles, a few years after age 35, the cushy carpet of beauty or strength is suddenly pulled out of the individual’s feet. This is the age when slight physical symptoms from excesses may start to show. Relationships will tend to become unbearable because of emotional abuses in previous years. Even the mental process undergoes a shift. Things that were pleasurable or exciting no longer cause the same effect. For the individual the shift will happen almost overnight, suddenly people no longer respond to them as they did before. The perks are suddenly gone. There is less ease, less eye contact and fewer smiles and if they happen the reasons are usually not reassuring to the ego. Life starts to take a somber tone.

If the years of beauty and strength have been lived properly and responsibly, by the fifth cycle, the body will be healthier, emotions will be light and jovial, and the mind will naturally flow towards the shift. The “Force” doesn’t go away, it just shifts from an external direction towards an internal one. From the diffused beauty or strength of the body towards the focused will, wisdom and virtue within the mind. This can be appreciated in oriental martial arts, where the older master can beat a younger pupil. The same dynamic can be observed in alchemy, mysticism, theurgy, etc. Actually all arts are but a vehicle for the inner development of the practitioner, given that the art is not solely reliable on the physical body.

The good news regardless of your age, is that Natural Law is universal and unaffected by time, space or circumstances. With your free-will, at any time within this life, the directions can be shifted. Your “Force” never decreases, because it is you. It is all a matter of just centering yourself and aligning your life with your inner compass. As the years progress if you feel as if life is not getting better, this is the sign that you may need to shift your focus.