Planets that Break Your Face

This is my blood.

Two days ago, at about 3:30 in the afternoon – I broke my face. Well, not really, but that’s a figure of speech I grew up using and which is quite appropriate to what actually happened. See, my 5th grade son wanted me to play this complex version of “tag” with him and about 20 other 5th and 6th graders. I could only catch 1 or 2 of ‘em. They were just too fast for me. So I decided to get on my bike and chase ‘em down.

You see, I’m really good on a bike. I used to be a semi-pro freestyle trickster. But these Japanese bikes are different, they are bigger and, this is the really import part, they get the brakes backwards. Yeah – they put the front brake on the right-hand side. So, I am fully absorbed in irresponsible kid-mode, chasing these 10-11 year olds at super-high speed around turns when, after reaching out to tag one, I suddenly need to stop right away before hitting a wall.

So, I do what instinct tells me – get ready to fishtail the back tire out to the right, and turn left, while “skidding out”. So, of course, I slam on the brakes to start the skid… the right-hand brake.

Oppps…

In about a half a second my face hit the road. I had sunglasses on, to look like this character the kids wanted me to look like. The right side smashed against the street just before my skull. My son was kneeling at my side in about 3 seconds (divine arrangement), “Are you OK dad?”

“I don’t know, am I OK?” I asked and showed him the right side of my face.

“No. You’re not OK at all. It’s really bad. There is blood everywhere.”

As it turns out, it wasn’t really that bad. Just two gashes, no damage to my eye or skull. Tons of blood. More blood than I ever spilled out of a wound before. But it turned out to be fun, and a good way to show my son how dangerous a bike can be, and stuff like that. But anyway, now for the astrology. Let’s see if we can figure out what planets “caused” me to break my face.

Basic Data

I’m:

Vic DiCara

July 27, 1970 at 7:38 pm

Bay Shore, New York, USA

I’m doing this chart as I do with all charts: whole-sign houses, tropical signs, sidereal (lahiri) nakṣatra, degree-specific Indian aspects, and basic viṁśottarī daśā using nakṣatra year-length (359.017 days)

Bear In Mind

Before you jump off explaining how my birth chart is prone to face-breaking, please bear in mind that I don’t usually break my face. In fact in my whole life I never broke a bone – despite being a BMXer, skateboarder, and spending my youth and twenties in really dangerous situations.

Also bear in mind a few other things about this same day.

• It was my janma-tithi (the same lunar phase as the day I was born) – well not exactly it was the same phase, but in the opposite fortnight. I was born on kṛṣṇa-ekādaśī and this face-breaking event happened on gaura-ekādaśī.
• I met my son’s new 5th grade teacher earlier that day for the first time. It was pleasant and she gave a very positive review for him
• A court case was held that I am connected with as the plaintiff.
• Later in the day I received a large parcel from Vṛṇdāvana, India with a super-excellent new mṛdāṅga drum to replace my old one that had broken.

Initial Theories

Where does one look for a physical injury? Well certainly it would be ludicrous to give an explanation that doesn’t involve the first house and lord – since that is the house of physical things like the body. My first house is Capricorn (Asc at 25 degrees), so my first lord is Saturn, who at my birth was at 21 degrees of Taurus.

Besides this there is more standard, fundamental theory: accidents and pain comes from natural malefics and painful, detrimental house lords. Those lords for me might be Mercury (6th lord), Sun (8th lord), and Jupiter (12th lord).

Daśā

My usual astro software malfunctioned and still isn’t fixed, but it appears from my calculations that my face-breaking ceremony happened in the Jupiter / Venus / Rahu / Mercury Daśā. All the natural benefics are involved here, but we can also take note that Jupiter is the 12th lord and Mercury the 6th. Meanwhile Venus is my 5th lord – and the accident did involve children (a 5th house topic).

Transits

Four planets have congregated in Taurus – which is my 5th house (children) and the home of my 1st lord (Body / Physical). Two of them are Malefics: Mars and the Sun. The sun also happens to be my 8th lord. The two of them, Mars and Sun, are nearly 180 degrees away from my natal Jupiter, and thus cast a strong aspect upon it. Jupiter is my daśā lord, and the 12th lord (detraction from physical) and the 3rd lord too (sports, like riding a bike). On that note, Mars is the lord of the 11th house (games, like playing tag).

So the daśā lord has something inherently disposing it towards allowing events that involve detraction from/to the physical being, and can also have to do with sports – and it was at the time influenced both by the 8th lord (unforeseen events) who is also a malefic, and Mars (injury) who is also the 11th lord (games). So it does facilitate the event of getting a sudden physical injury while playing a game involving athletics.

Further, Saturn was in transit of my natal Sun/Mars combo in my eighth house. Additionally, the transiting Sun/Mars previously mentioned are also under the aspect of transiting Saturn.

We’ve seen how the daśā planet, Jupiter was involved (being aspected by Sun/Mars, who themselves are aspected by Saturn). Now, the inner-daśā planet, Venus, is also involved because it is the closest transiting planet to the Sun/Mars transit pair – and also conjoins transiting Ketu. This means transiting Venus was with two malefics (Sun/Mars) and Ketu (a planet who can really amplify and exacerbate malefics in it’s vicinity).  Furthermore transiting Venus and Ketu are not outside the significant influence of transiting Saturn’s 180 degree aspect.

The inner-inner daśā planet, Rahu is also involved, transit-Rahu being conjoined transit Saturn while transit Ketu is conjoined Sun/Mars/Venus.

My first lord and house are also involved. Transiting Saturn has a strong 60 degree aspect to my ascendant, while it’s 270 degree aspect falls upon my Sun/Mars combo in the 8th house, and it’s 180 degree aspect falls upon my natal 1st lord. As mentioned before, the congregation of Sun/Mars/Venus/Ketu also occupies the same sign as my natal 1st lord.

It’s also curious that the ascendant at the time was almost exactly opposite my natal ascendant.

Conclusion

No doubt we can see that there is considerable transiting malefic influence on my natal 1st lord and all the daśā planets, not excluding my 8th house factors and 1st house itself. Therefore we can accept that a physical injury happened at this point. We also see that much of the action in the transit chart focuses on the 5th and 11th houses, so we can accept that an event can arise involving playing games with children. So the event – breaking my face while playing with kids – is quite acceptable from the astrological point of view.

In final conclusion, this is the sort of thing that gives confidence that astrology is a substantial science; yet at the same time demonstrates that the complexity of the science is quite off-putting and daunting. While it is not impossible to reverse engineer the astrological significance after the event occurs, it still seems nearly impossible to look through the nearly infinite possibilities of transits for a given period of time, find this one as being particularly significant, and then correctly predict that an injury will occur while playing with children. It’s not impossible, but it’s similar to finding a needle or two thrown into a haystack.

And that, my friends, is just a fact of how astrology works, and the complexity of life, destiny and karma.

Riding home from soccer practice the next night with my son, he said to me, “Dad, I think Krishna wanted you to pull the wrong break. I mean, when you get a boo-boo like that it’s supposed to hurt a lot. But it didn’t hurt you at all. So Krishna must be doing something. And I think he wanted me to see you fall so I can see how bad I could get hurt if I don’t wear a helmet.”

I love that boy.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Escaping Destiny – Astrology?

Astrology…

Is just a way to make sense of what is happening in the universe by looking at the configurations of the universe itself. Since you can use math to rewind those configurations into the past or fast forward them into the future, astrology also becomes a way to make sense of what happened in the past and what will happen in the future.

In astrology there are 9 planets 12 signs and so on. In the real world there are 94 quintillion zillion gagillion possibilities per minute. So obviously the configuration of the stars, planets, and signs of the universe don’t literally spell out the past, present and future for you. You have to “interpret” the configuration. In other words the configuration is an abstract symbol and if you want concrete details you have to interpret them from the abstract symbol.

There is a very valid reason why the astrological configurations are abstract. It’s because destiny is somewhat abstract. It’s not written in stone that you will get bit by a mosquito 3 cm above your left elbow at 6:38 on March 29th 2013. But it is written in stone that you will feel uncomfortable on your skin around then.

If a person loses a loved one, was that their destiny – or could they have done something to change it? The real thing to understand is that the events of the world, pleasant and unpleasant, are not altogether real in the same way that we instinctively think they are real. There is a reality to them, but it is not what we instinctively percieve as reality. The reality of a situation like losing a loved one is the necessity to experience loss, pain, to increase (or otherwise affect) ones affection for dear people, etc. – in other words, the reality of a situation is more abstract than the concrete details we focus on. So, could we have done something different and avoided the loss of our loved one? Probably not, practically speaking – because such a catastrophic event is very deep and already quite abstract and terribly profound. But even if for argument’s sake we say, “yes, you could have” but the you cannot escape the underlying reality of what is in your destiny – so if you escape one permutation of it taking shape in one way, you only cause it to come at you from a different angle in a different permutation.

The essence of destiny is unavoidable.

Of course this is not fatalism, because destiny is merely a response to our choices of how we use our freewill. So by choosing wisely to be selfless and loving in all ways possible, we create a bright and progressively positive destiny for ourselves. Our future is not out of our control, but our past is. And the present is a mixture.

Zodiac Signs in the Southern Hemisphere

 

The character of the 12 signs is a result of three or four things overlapping:

1. The character of the planet that owns the sign
2. The character of the element the sign is made from
3. The character of the mode the sign moves in
4. The natural “house” order of the sign
   

The character of the zodiac signs does not have anything to do with seasons or weather. Thus it is irrelevant if the native is in the northern or southern hemispheres. The signs are what they are, regardless of the hemisphere you look at them from – because the factors that make the signs what they are are independent of hemispheric considerations.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

The Most Imporant Things I Have Learned About Astrology

The  six most important things I have learned so far about astrology:

1. You can’t “think outside the box” without knowing what the box is.
2. Experience and observation is overrated and under documented.
3. Everything you ever need to know, you learn in kindergarten.
4. Intuition is not mystical.
5. It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear.
6. Don’t be “right,” be helpful.

Thinking Outside the Box

If you really want to think outside of a box, first of all you must thoroughly know the dimensions and location of that box! Otherwise, you don’t really know if you are in or out of it. You’re not thinking outside the box, you are “all over the place.”

Are we enamored to learn “out of the box” stuff about Lilith, Neptune, Galactic Centers and what-have-you, without using or perhaps even understanding the “in the box” stuff like extra-normal planets (upagraha)? I’m not suggesting that we restrict ourselves to thinking “inside the box.” Fundamentalism is a zombie, I say. But the most important thing I have learned about astrology is that the only way to truly get out of the box is to deeply, intimately, patiently and thoroughly comprehend it.

Don’t be eager for new principles. Be eager for new understandings.

Experiential Observation:
Overrated, Under Documented

Yes, we must apply our intellect to astrology via practical observations and experiences, but don’t lose perspective on the proper place of this principle. Even if you have tons of experience – hundreds or thousands of happy clients – put that into perspective. Compare it to the hundreds and perhaps thousands of years of accumulated experience recorded in jyotiṣa śāstra (the scriptures of astrology) by persons far more divinely rooted than any of us. Be real: If your observational experience arrives at a conclusion which contradicts the ācāryas of our ancient science, where is the first and most likely place the error lies: in your observation or in the ācārya’s?

Let’s also be honest as to the quality of our observation. If we are going to go out on a limb and depart from the traditional descending process of acquiring knowledge through submissive inquiry from guru-paramparā, if instead we will embrace the ascending process of gaining knowledge through empirical observation and research, let us not masquerade in white lab-coats without truly becoming scientists. Scientific method demands hundreds and thousands of carefully chosen test subjects, duplication of observations by peers, and full disclosure of the methodology, variables and constants involved. Only then does observation warrant a new hypothesis being validated as a working theory. For sure, you have the right to observe and feel that “Neptune really affects” lots of people (your mom, uncle, babysitter, girlfriend and sister) but is this really a scientific observation worthy of adjusting, amending or redefining our ancient systems?

Be humble. Strive to correct yourself, not your teacher.

Everything I need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

A kindergarten genius is preferable to a post-doctorate fool. Don’t get high, get deep.

Astrology is simple. There are a few dozen core symbolic images to become intimate with, each of which can be clearly encapsulated in a few simple symbolic words. These simple elements interact with one another to form sophisticated karmic structures. The outcome is fantastically complex, but the components are not.

Astrology seems hopelessly complicated when we don’t deeply understand its fundamental components clearly and simply. I have never become a better astrologer by trying to adapt some new complex calculation or technique or system. Every time I have improved as an astrologer it has been a result of trying to more clearly and simply understand fundamental components like the 9 planets, 12 houses, and 12 signs.

“I know the basics.” Erase that phrase from your mouth. Never say it. Never think it. Strive for absolute simplicity. In simplicity dwells harmony, symmetry, perfection, and beauty. It is the birthplace of intuition.

Intuition is not Mystical

Intuition is the ability to make connections between things that have no obvious connection.

Astrology requires intuition. You can’t be a descent astrologer without it. The good news is that you can learn intuition and constantly improve it. We don’t so much improve our intuition by sitting pretzel-legged on a Himalayan glacier as we do by becoming the best kindergarten student in the history of the school.

The more deeply I understand the planets and houses, for example, the more succinctly my mind can amalgamate the information about them into compact, easy to handle images and phrases. These compact, meaning-rich symbols are the very atoms which combine in the alchemy of intuition. They are full of connectors to other astrological symbols. Thus by becoming intimate with them I learn to make rapid, deep connections between patterns and situations in a horoscope – connections which become semi-subconscious and rapid and appear to an onlooker as mystical intuition.

A kindergarten genius is intuitive. Strive for that.

It’s Not What you Say, It’s What They Hear

Once you actually understand something about a person’s fate… now the huge challenge is to give that understanding to the person. This is at least as difficult as understanding the chart in the first place. It is not enough to know the truth, we must speak it. And it is not enough to speak the truth, the truth must be understood by whom we speak it too!

Therefore communication skill is as important as astrological acumen. To communicate effectively we must put ourselves in the querent’s shoes and ask, “would what I am saying make sense to me if I were them? How might I misunderstand it?” Edit yourself accordingly.

I have found that I can usually decipher a dozen or more important things about someone’s karma by looking at their birth charts for a few minutes. But it takes one, two, even three hours to explain all of what I see in an effective way. I have found that I give better readings by spending less time analyzing the charts, selecting fewer topics from it to discuss, and giving most of my time and energy to clearly and patiently explaining these few points and their ramifications and practical implications.

Concentrate on communication as much as you concentrate on astrology.

Don’t Try To Be Accurate

Obviously you should try to be accurate. It should not, however, be your prime motivation. Your prime motivation must be seva – service. We astrologers are not here to be looked up to or admired for being accurate, right, and “the best.” That is all māyā-sukhāya, illusionary gratification, and pratiṣṭha, false prestige. We are here on Earth to be servants of God and of humanity. Do not ask to be called a “pundit” (expert), call yourself “dāsa” (servant). Water never flows up a mountain! Similarly divine knowledge never flows to someone who thinks himself high and mighty, big, knowledgeable, expert and important. Be a humble kindergarten student of the astrological masters, and be the humble servant of anyone who comes to you for a reading.

Scriptures reprimand us not to be motivated for donations. Do not practice astrology to collect donations towards your pride and ego! Your first motivation must be to serve in whatever manner you can. Help people! Assist them! Serve them! In pursuit of this only, desire to be accurate.

Hari bolo.

 

Thank you,

Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

New Birth Chart Reading

I have significantly improved my birth chart overview… please have a look at it: here. Thank you.

Astrological Caste System?

I just want to quickly say that you cannot declare what someone’s “varna” is by looking at their horoscope! Especially not by simply looking at the Nakshatra of their moon. If you want to get some idea of where they most likely are on the spectrum of various varnas, for the purpose of selecting an ideal career – you can do that, if you blend the nakshatra in with the varnas of the rashi, navamsha, and planets. Here is an old example I once gave in this regard: Career Assessment in Vedic Astrology.

You cannot look at a horoscope and say – “you are a shudra” or “you are a vaishya” etc. etc. It is absolutely preposterous to anyone who understands the difference between the pre-modern, corrupt caste system and the beautiful, ancient varna system. The horoscope is an artifact of an individual’s birth. Social status based on a factor of birth is caste. It is bogus. The varna system is based on actual behavior and character (“guna and karma“). That is why Krishna declares in Bhagavad Gita catur-varnyam maya srishtham, guna-karma-vibhagasa - “I created the four social classes, differentiated by character and behavior.”

Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

The Philosophy of Astrology

Astrology is a tool for understanding your destiny. Obviously, it is founded on the supposition that destiny exists. This is a very reasonable supposition, because every part of the universe moves like a pre-ordained mathematical clockwork that reeks of destiny.

But, why? Why does destiny exist? And why do you have a specific destiny?

Do we get our destinies by chance? Is it by chance that one person is born to become a successful hair dresser, while another is destined to be a ruined stock broker? Well, that wouldn’t make any sense at all, honestly, because destiny itself antithetical to chance. Destiny means things that are supposed to happen, not things that happen at random.

Look at the word itself, destiny. Do you see the same root in the word “destination”? A destination is “the place you intend to reach.” Destiny has intention. It is not allotted by chance. It follows a reason, a pattern, a law: cause-and-effect.

What is the cause of your destiny? Your freewill! Your free choices today determine the inescapable circumstances of your future. The decisions you made in the past, therefore, determine your present fates and fortunes. This cause-and-effect is a universal principle, but it is very well developed and explained in the ancient and classical Sanskrit literature of India, called by the term karma.

But there is another problem to address: A birth chart, the most essential tool of astrology, depicts the moment of birth; directly implying that we are we born with a destiny. If destiny is a result of our past freewill, why should we start out with destiny already determined?

The only answer is that birth is not the beginning of our existence!

We forget this. As soon as we are born, with each and every breath we identify more and more solidly with the body we inhabit, and forget that our existence extends above, beyond, before and after that body. Nonetheless our past extends beyond the date and time on our birth certificate and into a vast span of limitless time that even words like “ancient” cannot do justice.

Again, this is a universal concept, but the philosophical and spiritual traditions of India have really explored and explained this principle, “reincarnation.”

This sort of talk is a “trip” and “blows our minds” – which is great. But there are practical reasons I think it is the most important thing to get straight first, before going further into astrology or into a reading:

• Whatever happens to you – regardless if it’s something you prefer or dislike – is supposed to happen to you.
• It’s supposed to happen to you because you made some decisions in the past that require you to experience it.
• You require these experiences because they are instrumental in your evolution as a living being.
• The right way to approach you destiny then, is with open arms.

So: Never be afraid of your destiny.

We are an embryo in the cosmic womb. Our universal, loving mother is trying to mature us; trying to make us capable to be born into the real world. It is only smallness of mind that allows us to fear or hate some destiny our mother has allotted for our evolution.

Before you go further, stop here for a while. At the very least, spend a few deep breaths imbibing this concept into your understanding.

When you are ready to go further, always remember this: The wins and losses of this tiny lifetime are no more significant than scores in a video game. What is significant is that we use these wins and losses to make progress in the direction our universal mother is ushering us. Do not use astrology in an attempt to tinker with the ups and downs of an infinitesimal fragment of lifetime. Use it to help you embrace the ups and downs of this lifetime in a positive manner, as vehicles for evolution towards birth into the real, spiritual world of selflessness and divine love.