How Do You Know It’s True?

I finally got the hardbound Sanskrit version of one of the most important astrological books in history. It’s name is really long. Would you like to try to say it? Ok, try this: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra.

Good try.

In English it means something like “Parashara’s Encyclopedic Scripture of Astrology”. Parashara, by the way, is a person’s name. You see, according to the legend at least,  astrology was first only known to the person who actually created the stars and planets, the god Brahma. But he taught astrology to his son, the sage named Narada. Of course, this was billions of years ago – but these sorts of beings live a very long time, to say the least. So Narada eventually taught the secrets of Astrology to his own disciple, a student named Shaunaka, who in turn taught it to Parashara – the person who is the author of the book I got in the mail from India yesterday.

Well sort of.

Brahma instructs his son, Narada

The book was written over a dozen centuries ago, one might estimate. Predating the press by a lot. It was lost for centuries. We knew it had existed, but we had no copies of it. Then (I think about 400 years ago more or less?) a supposedly complete version of it was found.

So honestly, we have no way of knowing for sure if this is the real book in it’s original form. And in fact we are pretty aware that it is a modified form of what the original probably was.

But still – it is a seriously awesome thing to hold in your hand.

An “Encyclopedic Scripture of Astrology” written by a man who learned astrology from the student of the student of the son of the universal creator, Brahma!

So, as you would expect, the whole book is stunning through and through. I mean, extremely stunning. But I particularly have been struck by the 10th chapter, and that’s what I specifically wanted to write about today.

More or less you could use this as the title for the 10th chapter. This chapter discusses how the astrological birth chart will confirm exact and specific situations during the birth itself. For example, you can count how many people were involved in assisting the birth, and then look at the chart with a special rule. If the rule does not match, there must be something wrong with how the chart was calculated, it must be recalculated.

You see we may have lost a lot of things over the ages, but we have gained a lot in terms of technically accurate tools. We have atomic clocks, for example. In the old days they told the time by the position of the Sun over special instruments. It was not always easy to get an exact time, not easy at all. So the 10th chapter of the book talks about how to infer the conditions of the chart on the basis of what you physically see around you at the time of birth! With these conditions you can verify that you have an accurate and true birth time or not. You can know if the chart is “true.”

Location of Birth

Some of the conditions are astounding. For example, where did the birth take place – in the maternal home, the paternal home, or in transit. You can tell this from the nature of the chart… Sun/Saturn representing paternal, Moon/Venus representing maternal, (Sun for day births, Saturn for night births. Moon for night births, Venus for day births) the stronger of the two planets in the horoscope describes if the child was born in the maternal home or paternal home.

If however the Moon is rising, and the benefics are debilitated without helpful aspects – the birth occurs without a proper shelter at all; “in transit.”

Unfortunately times have changed quickly in recent years and some of these principles therefore become confusing in how exactly they should be applied – since most kids today are born in hospitals away from home.

Lighting in the Delivery Room

There are other things too. If The Sun is strong and connected to Mars there would have been a lot of light in the room. But if the Moon was strong, (for example in a water sign in the 4th house) and connected to Saturn there would have been a darkened environment in the delivery room.

Again, I don’t think this can be applied literally to modern situations – since the practical environments have changed so much so quickly. But still this means that I should have been born with a lot of lights shining on my mom, and my first son should have been born in a fairly darkened room. I can confirm that he was.

The Lights

It goes into so much detail it is astounding! In those days lights were earthen bowls full of oil with a cotton wick. The sign of the sun being movable, fixed or dual is supposed to be visible in the nature of how the flames would waver (or not) at the time of birth!

Even the direction of the door of the delivery room should corroborate to the chart!

Nurses

The number of nurses is supposed to equal the number of planets between the Ascendant and the Moon’s sign. In my older son’s case this would be a lot: 5 or 7 (I am not sure if Parashara would have us count the nodes as planets for this purpose).

Vedic scripture is always written in what is called sutra format, which means just the main thread of the idea is given, not the full deal. This is because they want to protect their knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. So they write it in an encoded, thread-only format – and it requires a living guide to expand upon. So just reading the book, you always have a lot of unanswered questions.

It seems to me that the above is to be the general number of nurses observed to be assisting with the delivery. I was not counting nurses when my boy was born, but memory does corroborate that there were about a half dozen.

Now there is more detail. Some nurses would be inside the delivery room at the time of birth, while others would be outside. The planets in the visible sky (from Ascendant to Descendant) indicate how many nurses are visible inside the delivery room, while the planets in the invisible sky (from Descendant to Ascendant) indicate how many are working outside in support.

Again, I would love to ask Parashara questions directly. Does he mean that planets we already identified as nurses (i.e. which fall between the ascendant and the moon) should be the only ones included in this count? Or does he mean that all the planets should be counted?

Anyway, assuming it’s all my son should have had  2 or 3 of them should have been active inside the delivery room when he was actually born. This is true as far as I can recall.

The majority of the nurses (4 or 5 of them) should have been doing things outside the room at the time.

Looking at this Sanskrit which describes all this – I think he next gives two alternative verification methods if this main one does not yield correct results, yet other things incline us to believe that the chart / birth time is accurate. It really gets fantastically detailed.

Closing

Astronomy of the Ancients

I hope this glimpse into an overlooked chapter of an ancient Sanskrit scripture on astrology at the very least gives you some idea of just how much substance and thoroughness the science of Vedic Astrology possesses. Also I hope it makes you more aware of the fact that this system of astrology intends itself to be verifiably accurate and reliable.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

More Proof That I Am a Rogue

In my opinion, reading ones own chart correctly requires humility, sincerity, tolerance, patience and so forth – far more than it requires technical astrological expertise or experience. Therefore it is really good to hear from OTHER PEOPLE about one’s own chart. Here is my response to the insights another astrologer (who is not at all fond of me) has given on my chart.

They are not “nice” insights – but then without polishing, you can’t really shine, right?

To those who might wish to follow this in more detail, my birth data is July 27th, 1970 at 7:38pm in Bay Shore, New York. For those without software to calculate this chart, I will include a graphic of my chart here. You can enlarge it in a new window perhaps if you wish.

Here is the Chart…

My Chart - Cntl/Cmd Click to Enlarge in another window?

What follows is quoted from my response to the lady who was giving the critical imput on my chart:

My 2nd house is occupied by Rahu who is in Satabhishak nakshatra

I agree with you this can be very negative. It will take “1000 Doctors” (Satabhishak) to cure the rebelliousness (Rahu) of my words (2nd House)! I will never let anything conventional pass my lips. This can be extremely burdensome and tiring on those who seek to govern or control or even beneficially guide and direct me. My Guru, for example, has had to show me the utmost patience and tolerance to grant me the blessings of his teachings. For this I am very grateful as well as sorry for how difficult I am to control.

On the other hand, Sri Rahu thus blesses me with the ability to revolutionize things under his guidance. I can therefore create a true revolution in human society.

My 2nd house lord, Saturn (the lagnesh) is debilitated in the 4th house

I agree that the debilitated lord weakens the significations of the house. With Saturn debilitated I have found that I lack the intrinsic ability to “apply the brakes” – to know when to stop – to know when “enough is enough” Therefore I say things I should have refrained from saying.

For example, in the reply which insulted you so, I actually wrote “I know you will take this as an insult but…” yet continued to write. If Saturn were not debilitated perhaps I would have stopped there, thinking, “Well since she would only take this as an insult, don’t bother writing it.”

On the other hand it is rather enjoyable and nice to have the 2nd lord here in the 4th house – I feel it lends to sincerity. I say (2nd house) what is in my heart (emotional heart – 4th house) without trying to hide, calculate or restrain it much (saturn).

Do note that saturn has three positive amshas, though. And modification of debility. Perhaps this is why there are also some positive benefits of Saturn in my chart which I am fortunate to have and cherish.

Disrespectful to the Traditions

This astrologer said that I am a “heterodox” who is disrespectful to traditions and traditional teachers because my 9th lord was surrounded by malefics in the 8th house – at the same time that Jupiter was aspected by debilitated Saturn & mars

In a sense you are perfectly accurate. I value religion and spirituality with an extreme depth – and it is for that very reason that I abhor dogma and “tradition for tradition’s sake alone.” As you say, I am constantly involved in activities associated with religion – but at the same time I am a great opponent of institutionalized and organized religious dogmas. A perfect interpretation!

However do note that certain planets are  very prominent – my exalted Moon in the 5th, and Saturn in my 4th for example – which make me completely fascinated with traditional and ancient things and concepts. It is not entirely to say that I am rebellious against these things which I actually adore. Rather I rebel against there suffocation and death which, in my opinion, occurs under the stranglehold of dogmas. Dogmas arise when the creative self is subordinated needlessly to the dictates of the non-self.

My debilitated Saturn aspects Jupiter who is in my 10th House, in Chitra, which is a nakshatra owned by Mars.

From this I think you are indicating that the Jupiter in my 10th house is under malady from having his nakshatra lord debilitated and aspected by a malefic who is debilitated. This is one of two factors leading you to point out that I am compelled to be a teacher and “guru” even though I am not qualified? (The 2nd factor being the compelling Rahu in the house of knowledge).

Honestly I am not entirely sure I can see this from your point of view.

Should we take into account that all of these mutual kendras (between Jupiter, Saturn and Mars) are giving strength and support to one another, improving their debilities rather than amplifying their faults? Should we also take into account that Jupiter’s mutual aspect with Saturn forms a “Parvata Yoga” – which more or less causes a native to rise above the masses of people as a result of erudition and oratory skill?

My 9th lord is in the 8th house with Ketu. And Jupiter (the natural representative of the 9th house) is also afflicted as described above.

I also may not, unfortunately, be blessed to see your point of view here. I apologize. For the reasons I mentioned above, I can’t see the view that Jupiter is significantly damaged in my chart.

I see what you are saying that my 9th lord is in the 8th house w/ ketu – of course. from what I see Parashara does not give a negative description to this lordship yoga pertaining to the natives attitude towards religion or piety (of course you know more than me of the jyotish shastra dictums – so please correct me if I am missing something).

It seems you were seeing this situation as an illustration that I have poor morals or poor humility?

Isn’t the 8th house a rather humble and humiliating place in the sky? Planets there are falling towards the Western horizon, coming face to face with their inevitable “death” when they set. I would think that maybe the 9th lord in the 8th house could promote a morality which has that flavor? Especially in combination with the humble/humiliating Ketu, right?

On the other hand, not only is the 9th lord in my 8th house – also my 10th lord is there: yogakaraka Venus. This makes things really interesting since it is now a dharma-karma-adhipati yoga, correct? And this yoga occurs on the Rahu/Ketu axis. Might not this yoga have some important bearing on the planets who occupy the houses owned by the planets involved: the Moon in Taurus and Jupiter in Libra? And also upon Rahu himself. So maybe this auspicious yoga should be factored in to ones evaluation of my Rahu and Jupiter? Did you do so?

My 8th house Mercury is really a problem spot, though. I agree. I speak well on mystical matters and occult, but boy I have a tendency to get myself arguments and cause huge flareups of controversial discussion!!! This accompanies me everywhere I go at all times. Between Rahu in my second house and Mercury here in this degree of the 8th I am like a walking debate! =)

I think a contributing factor why this Mercury has burdened me so in this way is that he is at 1º27″ and my Ascendant is at 1º40″. This is recognized in tajjika/western aspects, but in Vedic astrology we see the effect of these “orbs” in peculiar patterns throughout the vargas. Mercury is extremely effective in my chart as a result of this.

On the negative side “8th house speech” is just about all I can talk! On the bright side this gives me a special ability to discuss the symbolic and spiritual.

On this same topic the only planet closer than Mercury in “orb” to my ascendant is Jupiter. My two most effective planets are Jupiter (the teacher) and Mercury (the student).

Of course Jupiter is a negative lord for the Capricorn rising sign – since he owns the 12th and 3rd house. Additionally, being opposite my Saturn he has become inimical to my chart lord. So it can certainly support views that I am a lusty miscreant barbarian! On the other hand, with a kinder eye one can see that not only am I a lusty miscreat barbarian, I am also a person who relatively well succeeds in taking foreign (12th house) concepts – especially occult and spiritual foreign concepts – and expressing them clearly (chitra) in writing (3rd house) a part of my guidance / councelling / teaching (Jupiter) oriented career (10th house).

Of course this assessment has exclusively been aimed at finding ways for me to understand how I am a rogue. Therefore we have ignored things which might obviously be to the contrary – though I admit maybe they are few! In any case, thank you for taking the time to help me understand myself. I hope that you will continue to do so and offer your valuable insight.

Sincerely,

Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Stereotypes: Male vs. Female / Malefic vs. Benefic

Male and Female are equally blessed and cursed. Neither is better than the other. Both have to struggle to unlock the blessings in their curses. Women, due to being made from water and earth, exist on a very deep level. A woman would be shocked to enter the being of a man and see how simple and clear cut everything appears, you could say “shallow, and superficial” actually. Men are made, astrologically speaking, from fire and air. A man would be just as shocked to enter the being of a woman and experience how deep and connected and “feeling” everything appears – again you could use the typical words “confusing and self-absorbed” (where the word “self” refers to things deep inside).

There is good reason for this difference: men and women have different roles to play. Of course this is stereotypical and actual individuals should be encouraged to deviate from the norm so that the human race grows. But as a basis you can understand the different roles of men and women by contemplating the fact that every earth or water sign, that is, every female sign, is “benefic”; and every fire or air sign – every male sign – is “malefic.”

Now we are REALLY dealing with strong stereotype words! Male vs. Female. Malefic vs. Benefic. That’s good. We don’t improve anything by ignoring it. I think modern society is trying to become better by ignoring stereotypes, but maybe we would make more progress by really trying to deeply understand them.

We will gain a lot of knowledge of Male and Female in the world, as well as the concept of “Malefic” and “Benefic” in astrology when we come to understand these stereotypes deeply. A deep understanding of a stereotype transforms it from a rigid and limiting dogma into a fluid and vibrant means of greater understanding.

We need malefic forces in our horoscope (yes, I said, “need” – they are actually desirable) for the same reason that we need men in the world. Malefics are not careful, not very smart, not particularly kind either – but they get things done. “Malefic” astrological forces are the ones with the “muscle.” They have the strength to get things done. They are valued for their ability to get the dirty work done: earning sustenance, protecting against enemies, taking out the garbage, these are the fire and air energies of Mars and Saturn – the “malefics”. It is also the fundamental role of those who are made of fire and air, men.

The Sun is the archetype male at his best.

We need benefic forces for the same reason why the world needs women. Benefics bring peace, happiness, beauty and enjoyment – and they allow higher and deeper things to flourish: knowledge and mutual understanding. “Benefic” astrological forces are the ones with the “heart.” They have insight, knowledge, and higher values. They can direct and inspire the malefic forces not to compete and kill each other endlessly but to work for good goals. Jupiter and Venus, embodying water/earth combinations, are examples of these benefic forces. The benefic force in human society is the woman, made as she is of earth and water.

The Moon is the archetype female benefic.

Nothing is entirely good nor bad. Malefics forces (men, for example) have a tendency to be violent, harsh, unfeeling, and selfish. These are all traits which astrology attributes to the dark side of the malefic planets – Saturn, Mars and the Sun. Benefic forces (women, for example) have the tendency to lack decisiveness and clarity; to be unsure of their own strength; and to have an inordinate need for being pampered and comforted. These are also traits which astrology attributes to the negative side of the benefic planets – Jupiter, Venus and the Moon.

Male and Female must mutually support one another in society. In fact in very great spiritual persons you will usually find an obvious integration of male and female energies within a single person – we call this a “balanced yin and yang” usually. It makes an individual great in the same way a society which equally balances and supports men and women becomes truly outstanding in history.

In an astrological birth chart, we also hope to find the malefics being guided by sensitivity of the benefics with the benefics being supported by the strength of the malefics. This usually translates into seeing the malefic planets having aspects from the benefic ones while they are in houses which correlate to the individuals “muscle” and “strength.” But this is only one example of infinite possibilities.

I hope that by contemplating this information with an open mind you will come to deeper and deeper understandings of the mutual roles of men and women, and the importance and value in astrology of both the benefics and the malefics.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Career Assessment in Vedic Astrology

The Vedic Paradigm holds that there are 4 essential roles a person can play in society:

• Intellectual – Thinkers, students, philosophers, scientists, teachers, guides and advisors.
• Leader - Rule makers & enforcers, ralliers, and sportspersons.
• Business - Bankers, merchants, and food growers.
• Tactile - Artists, builders, manual laborers

There are other groups as well, subgroups which are recognized as assisting or playing some role in connection with these four main types. These are those who are:

• Assistants
• “Dirty work” doers
• Rebels

I find it extremely interesting that Vedic sociology recognizes these groups as being somehow helpful and important in society, especially the rebels. But mainly we will focus on the main four.

When a person wants to know their ideal career or life-path – the first thing to do is narrow down the general category they are best suited for. Then, within that category one can start to get details on the specific choices. To make this first step one first needs to know how the zodiac represents these categories of social roles. This is what I intend to explain here in this article.

Fundamental Roles of the Signs

At the simplest level you will find (if you explore the classic text of Vedic astrology with a keen eye, Brihat Parashara Horam Ch.4) that the elements earth, water, fire, and air directly correlate to the four social roles. The fire signs are places generating leaders. The earth signs generate people involved in business roles. The air signs generate tactile people. While the water signs generate intellectuals.

If you were to stop here, however, you would not have a very useful or realistic understanding of how the zodiac corresponds to ones career and social role. Let’s go further.

Each sign is owned by a specific planet, and each planet represents a specific one of the four social roles. Let’s map those out to the signs now.

Roles of the Planets who own the Signs

The Sun and Mars are leaders so their signs – Leo, Aries and Scorpio – gain this trait.

The Moon and Mercury play business roles. Their signs – Cancer, Gemini and Virgo – acquire this trait.

Jupiter and Venus are intellectual they are the teachers of the heavens. Their signs – Pisces, Sagittarius, Libra and Taurus – take on this quality as a result.

Saturn is solid and  tactile. His signs – Capricorn and Aquarius – become infused with this social role.

Now we have two divergent descriptions of the social roles played by the various signs of the zodiac – as you can see the two diagrams above paint different pictures. You will make a big step forward in astrology when you see simultaneous realities rather than “either / or” situations. So let’s combine the two diagrams into a single overlay.

Combination of Signs and Rulers

Now we are starting to see some variation and “full spectrum” which more accurately reflects the true nature of life. We see Aries and Leo remain strongly leadership oriented. But Sagittarius has changed to orange. Indeed is not the “Philosopher-King” the very often used archetype to describe the nature of Sagittarius? A combination of the yellow intellectual with the red leader creates this orange.

Scorpio is a deeper orange. It has more red. It is more about leadership than philosophy, but is similar to sagittarius in that it is a blend of the two.

Virgo remains pure green – pure business. Cancer has become greenish, indicating a sign where intellectualism moves towards practical results helpful for sustaining the home and family. Taurus has moved similarly – a sign where business advising and philosophy is favored.

Capricorn becomes a teal. Combining blue and green – a sign where one works practically, solidly and hard for financial ends. Libra is most interesting. Blue blends with Yellow creating brown, a balanced color – anything is possible here!

Pisces remain the only purely yellow, intellectual sign. And Aquarius remains the only purely blue, tactile sign.

Qualities of the Lunar Mansions

Now we will look at the qualities possessed by the lunar mansions. If you don’t know what lunar mansions are, you can start with this article –  The Beautiful Math Behind the Zodiac Divisions.

The lunar mansions are the only places in the zodiac which take into account the three sub-roles in society which I defined in the outset. I represent them here as follows – light grey is the assistant, medium grey is the dirty-worker, and dark grey is the rebel. To be fair there are two planets which also represent the rebel role in society – these are Rahu and Ketu. But since they own no signs, they do not yet come into our discussion.

This data – which roles are played by which lunar mansions – that I have made a visual representation of here, comes from the authoritative book, Light on Life, by Heart de Fouw. I am not aware of the original Sanskrit source.

Combining the Lunar Mansions

When we overlay the lunar mansions traits with the traits of the signs we start to get very interesting and useful information.

There is too much to point out in words here. A pleasant and relaxed consideration of the graphic (which you can enlarge, btw) with your eye will reveal all details. I will point you to look at how the lunar mansions change the areas of the signs they occupy. Look at leo, for example – The front part of it is a more practical, tactile sense of hands-on leadership (represented by red combining with blue, making purple) to a more philosophical, ideological leadership in the second mansion of the sign (orange, the yellow of the lunar mansion blends with the red of leo). To a small section at the very end of leo which is the purest red place in the entire zodiac (so far, at least)!

Go on and examine the interplay of colors in this way and let the knowledge come easily into your mind through your eyes.

Navamsha

Next we should consider the navamsha. Again, if you are uncertain what this is, the article I cited above is a helpful place to start. The Beautiful Math Behind the Zodiac Divisions. That article also links to two further articles to give you more details if you desire them.

We will assign to the navamshas the essential root characteristics of the signs they represent. Thus every water sign in the navamsha is yellow (intellectual influence), every earth sign green (expressing it’s business influence, etc.).

Next we will take these and overlay them onto the combination we have created so far!

The Total Picture

This illustration gives you a rich and rather complete visual picture of exactly what influences predominate for each 3º20′ of the zodiac! If you know about how colors combine you will be enjoying all the information you get from contemplating it!

Notice the pure yellow section at the very beginning of Pisces? See how certain lunar mansions and navamshas combine to change the nature of a particular spot within a sign? For example, look at Taurus. It started out pure green (business). Got a brighter yellowish green from it’s owner being an intellectual. Then there is a lunar mansion at the front of it, called Krittika, which makes it still yellower. And within that lunar mansion, the 4th quarter – the navamsha of Pisces within Taurus is quite a bright yellow. In this specific area of Taurus there would be a whole lot more intellectualism than a few degrees down in the Gemini Navamsha, for example.

Now you take the planets in an individuals chart, knowing already what roles they represent. And see how the color of that role affects the specific spot in the zodiac they occupied when the individual was born. Especially take the 10th lord, since the 10th house pertains to career. Look at the “color” created by the 10th lord in the position of zodiac it occupies. What does this tell you about the person’s ideal career? A lot!

Factor in the other planets – especially consider the color occupied by the Ascendent and the ruler of the Ascendant, as well as the Moon.

Now you are ready to give some helpful and clear advice!

Addendum

Updated Varna Wheel

I wasn’t happy with the color fidelity in the first set of graphics. This is the color scheme I am now using. The principles are identical, only the graphic elements have been made more accurate and easily identifiable.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com