Why You Can’t Make Clear Sense of Astrology

Image by euthman via Flickr

To become a chef, first you have to learn about the ingredients, then you can learn how to cook. Finally, having mastered both the ingredients and the cooking, only then can you make delicious meals all the time, consistently, and thus call yourself a chef.

To become an astrologer first you have to understand the Symbols of Astrology in isolation, only then can you learn how they combine; and only once you have learned how they combine are you capable of understanding how the things in a birth chart pertain to the real thing in the mirror in the real world.

You have learned about the “atoms.” The atoms of astrology are the planets, the signs, the houses. Now you are looking at how atoms combine to form molecules. “Moon in Cancer” for example is an astrological “molecule.” Still, even molecules are INVISIBLE to the naked eye! Astrological molecules do not produce visible effects on their own.

Student: u mean the 2 atoms – the planet and the sign = moon in cancer…right?

Right, one atom here is the Moon

another atom is Cancer

Student: both making the molecule… ok

Right, when they combine they form a certain molecule: “moon in cancer”

You can read in Brihat Jataka and other textbooks about the properties of this molecule:

- “fast habits”

- “curvy, voluptuous body”

- etc.

Those ARE the valid properties of the MOLECULE, (and if you understand the atoms well, you will understand why the molecule they form has these properties; and your understanding of those properties will not be confined to their literal form in a text book). Still, even if you perfectly understand the molecules of astrology – in the real world molecules are too small to see. We only see molecules when they combine with other molecules of a similar / compatible nature, and thereby form “compounds” – substances that we can actually touch and see.

Similarly the “atoms” of the planets, signs and houses form molecules when they join together, but the properties of those molecules do NOT have tangible effects, unless and until they combine with other molecules with similar properties; thereby forming “compounds.” Those compounds are tangible in the visible, real world.

Do you get it now?

Student: I think so..slowly but surely. Its forming in my mind the seeds

great!

You have a certain molecule in your horoscope: “Moon in Cancer.” One property of the Moon in Cancer molecule is that a curvacious body results. If your horoscope has OTHER molecules that also have the property of creating a curvacious body, and if those molecules combine with the Moon-in-Cancer molecule, then they can form a compound that makes a real tangible effect in your life.

The biggest bar to 95% of the population getting the truth out of astrology is that they think what they read about the properties of the molecules is supposed to be the outcome of their chart. It is not. The astrological expert has to read the chart to see how the properties of all the molecules in it COMBINE to produce tangible compounds that affect the real world

Student: Its an interaction of all the other molecules around that makes up the whole.

Perfect!

Student: What are those other molecules?

The other molecules are the other combinations of atoms (planets, signs and houses) in the chart. For example, another molecule in your chart is called Ascendant-in-Taurus. One property of this molecule can support one property of the Moon in Cancer molecule – to make a curvy figure. The next question is, “can the two molecules reach one another to form a compound?”

The answer in your chart is yes, by something called “rashi drishthi” the conditions of things in Cancer can combine with the conditions of things in Taurus. So there is some avenue for a compound to form between those two molecules of your chart. The compound formed from the linking of these two molecules improves the likelihood of your actually having curves, etc.

But still these are only two molecules of you! Another molecule in your chart is “Saturn in the First House.” The property of THIS molecule (which relates to the compound we are exploring) is “skinny, long, and has bad posture.” Will this molecule interact with the other compound formed by the atoms of the Moon and Ascendant? Certainly and strongly because it is physically located in the house of your Ascendant, the First House.

Therefore to understand the astrological compound that actually manifests in your real life, one has to at least figure out the combination of these three molecules:

1) Moon in Cancer (since we started there)

2) Asc in Taurus

3) Saturn in 1st House

Does it make sense?

Student: I think so yes

I would like to post this section of our conversation – from where I started using the atoms/molecules/compounds analogy – is that OK with you?

Student: yes

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

What Gives Planets Power Over Us?

Image via Wikipedia

Q: Can you tell em lil bit more about Durga Mata
as to how she is the Base diety of Rahu?
etc

yes that is an important topic actually, because it explains what gives planets “power over us.”
the essentials are this…
(i may have to stop suddenly if/when the appointment comes online)

Q: np
Q:

the essentials are…
that energy flows from a source
always
every wire is connected to a turbine, eventually
and every turbine works on principles eventually manifested by the original turbine of the universe, the sun
and that sun manifests a reflection of the transcendental turbine – the brahmajyoti
and that bhramajyoti is the effulgence coming of the self-manifesting turbine of bhagavan
so
parashara begins his hora shastra by saying,
“the nine planets manifest the energy of Vishnu…
… for the sake of administering the karma of jivas”
thus each planet is “plugged” into the power source of vishnu
but each has a different wire
and a different outlet
the outlets are the nine primary of the ten avatars
excluding kalki
Sun comes from Vishnu as Rama
Moon comes from Vishnu as Krsna
Mars comes from Vishnu as Narasimha

Q: Oh Moon is Krsna I didnt know..Thanks

Mercury Vishnu as Buddha
Jupiter Vishnu as Vamana
Venus Vishnu as…. hmmm i have to check…
Saturn is Vishnu as Kurma
Rahu is Matsya
no Rahu is Varaha
Ketu is Matsya
AHA Venus is Parashurama
the peace lover

Q: (how do we reconcile shukra with shukracharya and Vishnu and parsurama?
but that is separate question…you address some other time
pls continue

then there is a chain of “turbines” from the outlet to the graha
Take the Sun
All power comes from Svayam Bhagavan
then into the world through Sri Rama
then towards the Sun through Shiva
Shiva passes the energy to Agni
Agni gives it to Surya
thus the Sun Graha becomes empowered to control karmas
each planet has this trail

Venus for example
Power comes ultimately, as always, from the Supreme Person… into the world through his incarnation as Parashurama (the man who loved peace so much that he killed all the warriors)
Parashurama hands the power to Indra
Indra gives it to his wife, Indrani
Indrani gives it to Shukra(acarya)
who uses it to empower the Graha, “venus”
see?

Apparently my appointment is not coming online

Q:

so I can tell you the rest of the planets
see each personality takes the energy from the former and imparts unto it his or her own unique characteristics
This is why Venus is so opulent, skilled, beautiful and peaceloving
as a result of the chain of energy flow TO Shukracarya
so then there is the Moon

Q: Oh…Parsurama-Indra-Indrani-Shukracharya connection…
and Durga Mata?

From the Fountainhead the energy flows into the world through the incarnation of Krsna. Krsna sends the power forward to Parvati – Shiva’s consort. Parvati gives it to Apas, the Water goddess, Apas gives it to Chandra who uses it to empower the “Moon.”
That’s the Moon
Now about Durga
She empowers Rahu
the energy path is…
From the fountainhead through Varaha, the boar incarnation, to Durga the destructive goddess, to Rahu who empowers the “north node” to control karma.
see?

Q: so its a connection with Vishnu
always
whether Rahu or Shukra

Ketu’s path is: Fountainhead -> Matsya (the fish) -> Chitragupta, the reckoner of death -> Ketu -> “S. Node”

Q: oic

Parashara is in line with the Vedantic Siddhanta:
The Vedantic Siddhanta (Perfect conclusion of the Veda) is summarized in the Sutra: Janma-adi-yasya yatha
meaning “everything comes from Vishnu”

Q: Oh ok

so he clearly states at the beginning of his work, the Hora Shastra, that all the planets and all their power comes from Vishnu
therefore his work can be accepted as “Vedic”

Q: )
Q: so my Narayan Hriday Stotras– actually end up giving me grace marks? in all power outlets??

Correct Correct Correct!
I will post this, OK?

Q: OK

It is an interesting read for people

Q: NP

Let me tell the other planet’s paths

For MARS…. From the Fountainhead into the world through Narasimha (the feirce Man-Lion) who passes it to Skanda (God of War) to Bhumi (the Goddess of the Earth) to Kuja who is the being empowering the graha/planet called “Mars”
You can see the fierceness all the way

Q: Mars is also the’ Bhumiputra’

And Bhumi gives the ability to conquer the earth and gain territory
Mars is born without a father
only of the Earth
and he takes no wife
because he is selfish and self-oriented and doesn’t want to deal with cooperating with a woman!

Q: ‘Men are from Mars’ I would say ‘Single Men are from Mars’

Yep! Good one

now for MERCURY… From the Fountainhead into the world through Buddha (The enlightened) on to Narayana (the maintainer of the cosmos) on to Vishnu as a demigod who maintains the substance of the cosmos, on to Budha the deity who empowers the planet “Mercury” to hold our karmas
you can see the organizational skill and the intelligence all the way

Q: Now you are saying Narayan and Vishnu to be two different

They have different roles
one is the “karanodakshayi vishnu”
the other is the “ksirodaksayi vishnu”
and people have more than one name, so it can get confusing, I agree
in this case I believe that Narayana refers to the karanodaskayi Vishnu – the “Quantum Vishnu” lying on the ocean of causality.
And then “Vishnu” refers to the demigod vishnu
who lies on the ocean of milk
and maintains the substance of the cosmos
ok?

Q: ok
got it
Q: Multiple Hats worn by same Power

right

JUPITER… From the Fountainhead into the world through Vamana (the small boy who expands to fill the whole universe) on to Brahma (creator of all law and wisdom) on to Indra and then to Brihaspati who uses it to empower the planet “Jupiter”

Q: ok

only Saturn remains…
of course always last…
SATURN gets power from Godhead entering the world as Kurma (the turtle who held a mountain on his back). From there it passes to the Prajapati (The creator of life). Then to Yamaraja (God of death), finally to Shani, who is the deity of the planet “Saturn”

It is actually the deities – Shani, Shukra, Surya, Chandra, etc. – who control the karma of us all, NOT the rocks out in space which merely move to indicate their intentions
in Saturn’s case you can see the flow of energy creating forebearance, longevity, inescapable reality and death

Q: The Rocks with their pull exert force on us
I believe the deities control us through that force

no they do not

Q: They dont?

the effect of the gravity of the planets is absolutely negligable

Q: oh ok

there is more gravitational pull from a candle down the hall than there is from Saturn

Q: except that of Moon?

regardless of the amount, gravity is a physical law
it is NOT the physical bodies in outer space that control our destiny!

Q: Okie

it is the deities of inner space who control that destiny
the globes floating around out there merely represent or reflect their inner movements and intentions
Ultimately the planetary deities are called “Graha”
it means they “hold” things
what do they hold?

Q: Fruits?
Q: and Rewards?

apples
right, “fruits” as in results
foolish people think the planets hold YOU
they do not
they hold things in the same way a tape recorder holds sound
they record
and hold records of your freewill
and thus administer the proper “fruits” or results

Q: You mean to say…you are naked in front of them?

they are within you
so you are not “in front of them” really
they are inside your being, they COMPOSE your being
Sun is your ego
Moon is your heart/mind
Mercury your thoughts
Venus your body and senses
Mars your energy
Jupiter your wisdom
Saturn is your limitation

Q: what is Rahu?
within a human body

Rahu is your ability to go forward in time
Ketu is your ability to go backwards and remember

Q: Is ketu linked to Past Birth memories?

yes Ketu is

Q: and then would Rahu be responsible for fortune tellers

Rahu is responsible for people who see the future, yes – fortune tellers, inventors, innovators, revolutionaries, etc.

being within you the planetary deities record everything, every way you utilize your will
and they hold on to those recordings
until the right conditions allow them to erase the recording by bestowing the just reward or punishment for what they recorded

A chain of deities decending from God gives them the AUTHORITY to do so
that is the chain we discussed

Q: yes..

OK, time for me to GO
I will post this now OK?

Q: Ok np
“To be contd…”

Krsne Matir Astu!

Q: Jai Sri Krishna

Career Astrology – Preface to New Book

Here is the draft of the preface to a new book I am working on, called Career Astrology.

Astrology of Career

By Vic DiCara

Preface

In this compact book I will explore the nitty gritty details and techniques involved in accurately assessing the difficult task of determining a person’s most ideal career from their horoscope. Let’s get a few important topics clear right away:

Many, many, many articles and books have been written using the horoscopes of famous people as examples of how to assess an ideal career. It goes something like this, “Here is the horoscope of a famous Hollywood actress. These are the astrological reasons why she is an actress…” That sort of thing is not useful. It is too easy, and it is not real-life at all. In real life situations you are looking at the horoscopes of people whose career you don’t know! You have to figure out their career by looking at the horoscope. It is a whole different ballgame from being handed a horoscope stamped “Actress” and being asked, “OK explain why she is an actress.”

So in this book, we are not going to fall into this easy trap. We are going to do just the opposite. I will hand myself a horoscope marked “Actress” and will set about to figure out how the horoscope might show her to be a zillion other things besides an actress! Then we will have to figure out why she wound up an actress and not one of the other possibilities we saw in the horoscope. This is a hell of a lot more tiring and exhaustive, but it will really teach us how to asses a horoscope for it’s ideal career.

Another thing is that principles which only work in one or two horoscopes aren’t worth much to a real astrologer trying to guide real people in the real world. We need to find principles that work on all horoscopes, or at least on the significant majority of them. To get there we are going to have to take what worked on our first example horoscope and see what results it gives us when applied as is to our second example horoscope, and so on. In so doing we will weed out what theories that were coincidentally accurate vs. theories that are truly accurate.

Being this thorough isn’t easy, but it gives very strong results fairly quickly. So we don’t need to look at more than about a half dozen horoscopes before we will gain a truly outstanding grasp of how to assess career.

Now, some technical stuff to get out in the open ASAP:

1.       You already need to know the basics of how astrology works. This book is going to jump headfirst into nuts and bolts practical working details relevant to professional grade astrologers. At the very least you should already be intimately familiar with all the material in my “101” textbook, Symbolic Keys of Astrology. If you have also surveyed my “201” textbook, Unlocking the Meanings of a Horoscope, all the better.

2.       I use “ancient” astrology. I don’t necessarily always call it “Vedic” astrology mainly because that lumps me in with a large group of astrologers who I am not really sure if I ought to jump to be lumped in with. Also, I do like to believe that the ancient principles of astrology recorded in Sanskrit were fairly universal to the entire earth, not just an “Indian thing.” I also believe that ancient principles are better because (a) ancient people were more in touch with spirituality and mysticism than we are, and (b) a great deal of confusion caused by an erroneous application of the tropical zodiac created the necessity that was the mother of the invention of all the more modern astrological ideas and theories. If we avoid the erroneous application of the tropical zodiac, we zero out the need for all those inventions and can rely soundly on the very mystical wisdom and knowledge of the ancient seers.

3.       Let me clarify what my idea of “ancient” astrology is.

a.       Sidereal zodiac. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely do not think that the tropical zodiac is “wrong” or “bogus.” The tropical zodiac is also used by ancient astrology as recorded in Sanskrit texts. However it is used for calculation of seasons , and the creation of the seasonal calendar, not for Natal astrology. The Sidereal zodiac and the Tropical zodiac both have their uses in ancient astrology, the error is to use one where the other is supposed to be used. The tropical zodiac defines the seasons and months of the practical year. To use a sidereal zodiac for this (which by the way is the common practice in modern India) is wrong. The sidereal zodiac defines the twelve portions of the zodiac stars out in space, which the planets actually move through. It is to be used for natal astrology and the interpretation of planets in signs and houses. To use a tropical zodiac for this purpose is wrong and generates the confusion that necessitates all the flurry of new inventions in modern astrology.  The tropical zodiac does have some effect on natal interpretation, because it factors into several of the calculations to determine the sixfold-strengths of the planets (ṣaḍ-bāla). But the actual charts used for natal interpretation are to utilize the sidereal zodiac, in the opinion of ancient astrology as I understand it. So in this book you will find only the sidereal representations of zodiac charts.

b.      Whole sign houses. Unequal house systems are useful, but according to how I understand ancient astrology they are not at all the primary system to be used for natal astrology. So in this book you will see all charts presented and examined using whole sign houses.

c.       Outer planets. There are 7 planets in ancient astrology. Additionally there are the two nodes of the moon which are extremely relevant. These are the 9 planetary points I will utilize in the course of this book. There are other planets besides these in ancient astrology. They are called sub-planets (upa-graha). However they are too sophisticated for the current scope of study. We will leave them out of this and pray it is not a grave error to do so. Modern outer planets take a third-row seat behind these sub-planets, in my opinion. So we will not discuss them in this book. We want to narrow down our variables to the most tried and true: 7 real planets and 2 lunar nodes.

d.      Aspects are by degree! I know every “Vedic” astrologer and his or her mother’s uncle thinks things like “Planets aspect the 7^th house from them” but that is only partially true, regardless of how many people think this way. The correct thing to say is that planets aspect their degree in the 7^th sign from them, in other words the aspect 180° from their position, and the amount of influence from their aspect varies depending on how near to far the aspected cusp or planet is from that exact 180° focal point. It is something like the “orb of influence” theory more recent astrologers have come up with, but is more sophisticated. For a full examination of true Vedic planetary aspects you can consult my book, Unlocking the Meanings of a Horoscope, which has an entire chapter dedicated to the subject.

e.      Dashas are by nakshatra year! Not by modern calendar year. Again, I know that every astrologer and his mother’s brother’s aunt believes that the Moon dasha is 10 calendar years long, however it is not true. Or at least, it is not what the ancient texts tell us. The ancient text specifies to use nakshatra time for predictive astrology. The modern calendar year is 364 and a quarter “days” long. The nakshatra year is the equivalent of just about 359 “days” long. That makes for a bit of a difference. It is not a huge bone of contention in this book, because what we are examining primarily is dasha-independent. However I want to make it clear where the dasha dates I will use come from, just so everyone from here to Jupiter doesn’t write me saying, “there are typos in your book, you calculated the dashas wrong according to my such-and-such-software.”

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com
© 2011 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved

Maturity and Astrology

Image by Glenn Loos-Austin via Flickr

Every human being has a natural progression of planetary cycles affecting them as they grow.

1) MOON (Birth – 1) – they develop their emotional senses and are attached to their mother

2) MARS (1-3) – they first become their own independent person and start following their interests and passions around, learning to move on their own and walk to get to what they desire. Quite accident prone.

3) MERCURY (3-12) – the planet of the intellect governs the maturity through the most important ages of primary learning and education

4) VENUS (12-32) – Puberty. This is the most physically beautiful time of life (12-32), thus the maturity through this period is governed by the most beautiful and healthy planet, Venus. Marriage usually happens in this period as well.

5) JUPITER (32-50) – At this stage Jupiter should make us mature in the sense of having achieved some career success and thus have financial abundance and to start developing better sense of morality and philosophy about life.

6) SUN (50-70) – This is when the full maturity and power of a human being should come out. We should really be shining in this period as a result of all our experience and learning throughout our life so far.

7) SATURN (70-100) – This is when maturity inevitably causes severe gradual breakdown in our physical selves and we need to become wise, detached, and realistic about death.

You will find that persons with significant weaknesses to the above planets in their birth charts will not mature properly in maturity area/ages governed by that planet. Visa versa, excellent planets in the chart will have excellent maturity in their areas and ages.