Real Estate and Astrological Planets

Modern Real Estate is about commerce

A student recently asked:

Mars and Saturn are connected with real estate.If these are in the 4th then it is not good for emotional happiness but could be good for real estate. Is this right?

Everyone commonly says that Mars conjoined Saturn is a symbol pertinent to real estate. I think this concept may be at least a bit out of cultural context, however. Mars is the planet that has ambitious goals and goes after what it wants bravely. Saturn is the planet that has no resources of its own and therefore knows how to take resources from elsewhere. So the combination of Mars and Saturn lends itself well to military conquest: setting sights on someone else’s property and then bravely going and conquering it.

I think that is really the context in which Saturn+Mars = Land (increased territory). I think it is a bit of a stretch to apply this to the modern-day acquisition of real estate. Modern aquisition of real estate is conducted squarely within the realm of business and finance, and therefore strikes me as a predominantly Mercurial affair. Perhaps the combination of Moon (a domestic force) and Mercury (a business force) is a better planetary symbol for modern real estate.

What you can learn from just words

What do these words have in common?

• Soulful
• Lunatic
• Mercantile
• Venereal
• Martial
• Jovial
• Stern

They are adjectives formed from the proper Latin-based names of the seven main astrological planets: Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn!

The Sun’s proper name is Sol. It represents the Soul, the singular center of all things, the core of our identity or “ego.” So the it is soulful. The word “sole” could also apply because the Sun / soul is of singlular importance and centrality.

The Moon’s proper name is Luna. And from this we get the words lunacy, lunatic, looney and all that. The Moon represents the subjective mind, the repository of all our emotions and opinions… the stuff that makes us crazy.

The Moon also has many interesting adjectives from it’s title, “Moon.” My favorite is mood. The mind controls our moods and moodiness.

Mercury is the planet of intellect. Intellect is the mother of communication, and communication enables exchange. Therefore we have the word mercantile indicating trade, exchange, barter, etc.

Venus is the planet of senses. When you hear the word venereal you immediately think of VD (unless you are from the new generation where they renamed the stuff STD for some weird reason, maybe Venus protested?). VD, venereal disease, is a “disease of the sense organs.” Especially the reproductive ones. And the implication is that it results from overuse of sensuality.

Martial is among the more familiar of this group of adjectives, sadly. Mars is the planet of energy, which means ambition, which leads to competition, which becomes war. So anything competitive or warlike we call martial.

Jupiter’s older name is Jove, source of the word jovial. Jupiter makes things positive and happy… but why? Well Jupiter is actually the planet of wisdom. Wisdom leads to morality (doing what is best for everyone). Morality creates lasting happiness and joviality more fully than anything else.

Saturn gives us “st” adjectives – all with meaning matching the hard, cold sound of those letters: stoic and stern especially come to mind. Saturn is the planet of reality, which buldozes through our masquerades with hard and fast limitations, and restrictions that we fools tend to perceive as “misery.” Saturn is stern and when you don’t run away from Saturn you become more stoic.

The Sanskrit name for Saturn, shuni also seems to have had an effect on the English word “shun.” We all try to shun Saturn, and Saturn represents the shunned. And if we become very serious and stoic like Saturn, the shallow people of the world may start to shun us a bit.

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Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

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Looney! =)

 

9 Planets – 9 States of Personal Evolution

What are the Planets, and Why?

Planets are the active principles of astrology. Knowledge of what the planets represent is fundamental clearly understanding every other component of astrology – so learn carefully and well!

If you look up at the sky, it’s clear to see that the planets are “the active principles.” Go ahead and look up at night. You will see hundreds or thousands of points of light. Look night after night, very carefully, and you will notice that all of the points always form the same patterns relative to each other – almost all of them! There are a handful that move around with their own free will. They are the active stars, the “planets.”

As astronomy goes through various changes in modern times it might discover or declare various objects to be or not to be “planets.” That does not concern authentic astrology. Astrology is about the observable heavens. It is a science of foretelling the destiny of human beings, based on observing the sky with the natural human eye.

Thus astrological “planets” are the lights we see in the sky which are active – they move around. There are seven that are obvious, starting with the Sun and Moon. Next there is the dim but very swift light, Mercury; the bright and beautiful diamond-like light, Venus; the reddish and very unpredictable light, Mars; the slow but bright and pleasing light, Jupiter; and the dim, cold, crawling light, Saturn.

In addition to these main planets there are many “sub-planets” that are like satellites revolving around these seven. Most of these are beyond the scope of what we need to learn to get a working grasp of astrology, but there are two from this group that are elevated to a very high status, almost the same as the seven major planets, because unlike the others, they have a very dramatic and powerful visible effect of their own. These two are Rahu and Ketu – and their effect is to eclipse the Sun and Moon.

So altogether there are nine important planets crucial to the function of classical, authentic astrology: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.

Before learning about each planet separately, I want you to clearly understand how each functions as a part of a unified whole.

Mandala of Planets

Envision a circle with the Sun at the top, flowing in a counter-clockwise manner. Rahu is on the left side of the circle, Ketu is on the right, and they are the forces keeping the energy of the circuit flowing. Visualize three planets evenly spaced going down the left side of the circle, and the remaining three evenly spaced on the going up the right.

Starting from the Sun, Rahu takes us counter-clockwise to the Moon, then to Mercury, and finally to Venus. At that point Ketu takes us to the right side of the circuit and we come first to Mars, then Jupiter, and finally Saturn. This is the mandala (visual aid) to bear in your mind at all times as a symbol which will come to encapsulate everything you will learn about the planets.

All the planets revolve around the Sun. This is literally true in modern astronomy and in ancient astrology too, at least symbolically, because the Sun is the focal point of meaning for all the other planets.

The Sun represents the soul – the light within us that allows us to be alive, conscious and aware of existing. Every other planet is a stage of the soul’s transformation on its journey into and out of this temporary material world – the kingdom of destiny, fate, and karma.  The Moon, Mercury and Venus (“inner planets” in modern terms) are stages of our consciousness evolving outward and downward towards the phenomenal world. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (“outer planets”) are stages of our consciousness evolving inward and upward towards its original pristine nature.

Seven Transforations of Sunlight

The Sun is light – consciousness. The first transformation of sunlight is the Moon, which is the light of the Sun reflecting into the night. The Moon is the mind – which reflects spiritual consciousness onto material things and thereby acquires desires and emotions.

Next, the Moon transforms into Mercury – intelligence – because the mind needs to be able to interact with the world that it desires and has feelings for. Mercury thus evolves from the sunlight and becomes our intellect, the faculty by which we can communicate and exchange.

Mercury then evolves into Venus – the senses – because the capacity to interact with this world requires actual tools of perception and action: “senses.” This marks the apogee of outward evolution from the soul’s brilliant light of consciousness towards the dark night of temporary objects.

Thereafter begins the return journey. First Mars evolves as our first attempt to deal with the inevitable problems that arise from attempting to enjoy the limited resources of temporary objects. Mars is the sunlight evolving the energy and strength to rise above in such a competitive environment.

Next, Mars transforms into Jupiter – moral guidance – because ambition and strength becomes terrible without it.  Jupiter then evolves into Saturn – reality’s limitations – because positive moral encouragement eventually must face the fact that the material world is not inherently a positive residence for the soul.

Paradoxically, by enforcing unbendable limitations and restrictions like misery, time and death, Saturn delivers the sunlight back to its original, blissful condition – completing the circuit of evolution.

Rahu and Ketu are the forces of transformation itself. Rahu facilitates the outward transformations orchestrated by the inner planets. Ketu empowers the outer planets to make their transformations to the soul.

The Nine-Planet Sutra

We must now begin to dive into the vast, spreading branches of meaning contained within each planet. But first I want to give you a verbal tool to go along with the visual diagram, as an aid to helping you remember and get deep context on the meanings of each planet.

A sūtra is a word or a few short words into which great volumes of meaning have been compressed. I will give you a sutra that will act like a filing cabinet in which to store and easily retrieve all the detailed knowledge you are about to learn about the planets.

The Sun: the soul.

The Moon: the mind.

Mercury is intellect.

Venus: the senses.

Mars is energy.

Jupiter: guidance.

Saturn: reality.

Rahu & Ketu are transformation, external and internal.

…

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

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Discipline – An Astrological Perspective

Image via Wikipedia

The planets utilize the resources of the signs and houses. Therefore the planets are the main forces in astrology. Let’s look at the astrological planets in light of the question, “what is discipline and where does it come from?”

First lets ask a dictionary what we mean by “discipline” as a noun. It answers – “Discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.”

So the primary component of discipline is an action – it is enforcement. Training people to obey. Enforcing punishment if they do not. Discipline has a secondary component as well: the rules and codes of behavior being enforced. There is also an implied third component of discipline: the capacity of those being disciplined to accept the oppression and regulation being trained upon them.

One planet rules each component of discipline.

Mars is energy (sattva). Energy is ambition. Ambition is willpower. Willpower expressed towards others is enforcement, discipline. Thus Mars rules the primary component of discipline – enforcement. This is why Vedic astrological texts depict Mars as a warrior, a general giving commands. Mars is the police force – the agents of enforcement.

The Sun is the central essence (atma). The center is the thing around which all else revolves and aligns. Thus the center is the authority, the king, the factor with the greatest gravity. Therefore the Sun rules the secondary component of discipline – the rules themselves. The Sun is the authority by which Mars enforces discipline. Thus the Vedic texts describe the Sun also as a warrior, but not as a general, as a King.

In the analogy where Mars is the police, the Sun is the government. In the analogy where Mars is the general, the Sun is the King.

Saturn is grief (duhkha). Grief comes from encountering reality. Reality is limiting. Limitation is a result of the enforcement of discipline. Saturn also provides the tenacity and perseverance to endure such limitations and continue to operate and survive in their grip. Thus Saturn represents the third component of disciple – its effect. Thus Vedic texts describe Saturn as the proletariat who labors under the rule of others.

In the analogy where Mars is the police and the Sun the government, Saturn is the population. In the analogy where Mars is the general and the Sun the king, Saturn is the soldier.

Now we understand the planetary representations of discipline. The more they are prominent in a horoscope the more a person possesses their respective qualities.

It is most interesting also to note that there are three “malefic” planets in classical astrology – Mars, Saturn and the Sun. Thus we find that discipline is a virtue given by the “malefics.”

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com