Jupiter Enters Aries

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Today Jupiter enters Aries (the constellation, not the monthly “sign”) – along with a bunch of other planets: Venus & Mercury, Mars, and for a few more days, the Sun. Let’s forget about all the others, because it’s just too complicated. Let’s think about Jupiter in Aries. The first question always is “What does it mean?”

The question itself betrays a little bit of naivety on behalf of the asker – because there is not one universal meaning to Jupiter going into Aries. It means different things in different contexts for different people. So, the question soon becomes, “What does it mean to me?“

Any mass media answer is bound to be overly simplified, because how can one answer address an nearly infinite number of different individuals asking the question? Some writers try to overcome this hurdle by giving twelve different answers – one for each “sign” (and what “sign” means always depends on the writer’s definition: for some it is the month you were born, for others it is the constellation of your Moon, for others it is the constellation or “sign” that was rising when you were born, etc.)

You know what, I think that’s a pretty reasonable way to address an unsolvable dillema – so long as we remember that we are being broad. In fact, I will go a step further and use the required generic broadness to our advantage by encouraging you to individualize what I say for your own self.

Here is my suggestion for how to understand the major, simple, underlying theme of what Jupiter in Aries means for you.

First of all get your birth chart made. Have it made in a “sidereal” format (since we are talking about Jupiter going into sidereal Aries, after all). All you need to know from it is this: What is my sidereal rising sign?

Depending on what your rising sign is, Aries represents a different house for you. Here is a table to show you.

If your rising sign is…	Aries is your…
Aries	1st House
Taurus	12th House
Gemini	11th House
Cancer	10th House
Leo	9th House
Virgo	8th House
Libra	7th House
Scorpio	6th House
Sagittarius	5th House
Capricorn	4th House
Aquarius	3rd House
Pisces	2nd House

Now here is the simple key to figuring out the central theme of Jupiter in Aries for you:

Jupiter represents fortune, growth, and faith. Whatever house Aries is for you represents the main place you will obtain good fortune from by concentrating on cultivating the growth of and developing your faith in – during the duration of Jupiter’s stay in sidereal Aries. (From now till next May, 2012)

Brief examples for the 12 rising signs

I will illustrate the essential examples of what the transit means to each rising sign – but I encourage you to use my articles on the houses to fully explore and envision the themes that will bring you good fortune by your investing time and trust in them this year.

Aries Rising

Jupiter transits your 1st house – so cultivate self-growth, self-faith this year, and trust in all things visible, practical and tangible.

Taurus Rising

This is a transit of your 12th house – so cultivate trust and faith in humility, deference to others, quietness, solitude, spiritual knowledge, and “foreign” philosophies. Spend money only on truly good things.

Gemini Rising

11th house transit – so place all your trust and faith in your children, your friends, and your teachers. Concentrate your efforts on pleasing them.

Cancer Rising

10th house transit – so trust in society and play your social role with morality. Concentrate on your career.

Leo Rising

9th house transit – give your heart to religion and philosophy. Travel in search of such inspirations. Pursue “higher” education.

Virgo Rising

8th house transit – be less practical, trust the unknown, enjoy mysterious secrets that cannot be quantified rationally. Explore the mystery of life and death. Enjoy the occult. Enjoy procreation.

Libra Rising

7th house transit – learn to trust your spouse more deeply and fully. Concentrate your energies on cooperating with them. Economic transactions, commerce, will benefit this year from similar trust and attention.

Scorpio Rising

6th house transit – clean your liver – eat clean foods – no meat, less oils. Your health will skyrocket if you do. Trust in your ability to overcome your oppenents and challenges in a fair, open, moral and mutually trusting way.

Sagittarius Rising

5th house transit – study! Develop your intellect and creativity this year!

Capricorn Rising

4th house transit – work on your homelife, your private life. Trust in the ability of your domestic life to provide you firm and stable happiness as a good foundation for your life. Concentrate on your house and the family who live in it.

Aquarius Rising

3rd house transit – trust your ambitions, work on expressing yourself through words and sounds. Have faith in your ability to achieve your inner desires. Concentrate on these this year, and you will find fortune.

Pisces Rising

2nd house transit – Concentrate on nurtition. Concentrate on financial stability. Put all your trust and attention into the things which truly support your practical life: your family, your food, your assets, your wisdom.

A note about this transit from the Moon

You can do the same thing but from the perspective of your Moon. This will tell you a different story – the story of what will be on your mind this year (now through next may). Look at your sidereal birth chart and find the sign that the Moon is in. Then look up that sign in the table I wrote out earlier, to figure out what house Aries represents from your Moon. Then you can consider the themes of whatever that house is and understand what will be the underlying theme of what occupies your mind – i.e. what your will desire fortune from – for the duration of Jupiter’s stay in Aries.

I hope you all enjoy this post, and that Sri Hari blesses you to derive good personal guidance from it. Please bless me with stability and happiness for my family this year, and with the sincere and ardent desire to be a source of pleasure for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Thank you,

Vic DiCara (Vraja Kishor das)

www.vicdicara.com <- please come and request a reading!

Do “Malefic” Planets Have Value?

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What is “malefic”? In Sanskrit it is क्रुर (“krura”) -  “rough, harsh, strong.” Malefic planets possess this nature, that is why they are called क्रुर or “malefic.”  By contrast, “benefic” planets are सैम्य (“saumya”) or “gentle, soft, and generous.” What we really learn about life is that there is a right time and place for everything. There is a right time and place for energy that is strong and rough – and there is a wrong time for it. Similarly there is a right time and place for energy that is soft and gentle – and there is a wrong time for that as well.

What are the right circumstances for “krura” energy to use its brute strength? In astrology we express the answer to this question using the terminology of the houses. We say that krura strength is welcome and needed “in the third, sixth, tenth and eleventh houses.” What does this mean? It means that toughness and strength (which is what so-called “malefic” planets carry) is welcome regarding our own personal desires and ambitions (3^rd house), how we deal with challenges and opposition (6^th house), how we conduct ourselves in the unsafe public world (10^th house) and how we go about earning profits for ourselves (11^th house).

This is why classical astrology welcomes “malefic” planets into these four houses.

Astrology “ABC”s from Ancient Sanskrit Texts

Learn how to think, not what to think

There are several medieval and ancient Sanskrit astrology textbooks that have a great wealth of knowledge – but are completely misunderstood by readers without the cultural background required to correctly approach them. This handicap is not the special curse of non-Indian’s by any means! All humans since the dark ages have lost the intellectual culture required to make good use of Sanskrit literature.

The most important point of that culture to understand is this: Gurus do not come to teach you what to think! They come to teach you how to think!

Thus, the statements in the Sanskrit astrological texts (or “scripture”) are examples given by gurus to illustrate to us students the way to think like a guru! We are not supposed to Xerox, memorize, or cut-and-paste these statements. We are supposed to enter into them and discover their spirit.

I hope that I can now manage to share with you a few examples of how to use Sanskrit knowledge, particularly the knowledge in the Astrological texts, as a result of the grace my guru has kindly shown me. I will give examples of very basic “ABC”-level statements from a text entitled Brihat Jataka (“The Encyclopedia of Natal Astrology”) and will show you how to not just read or memorize the statements but instead to enter into them and understand the thought process which the examples in those statements serve to illustrate.

If you are familiar with the basic meanings of the planets this will all make amazing sense to you, I think. If not you may first want to start by learning about the planets.

Another obstacle we have to overcome is the impulse to jump to final conclusions prematurely. For example, a guide will make some statement to illustrate the nature of what happens when, say, the Sun is in Virgo… our first impulse is to say, “Wait, I have the Sun in Virgo (or I know so and so with the Sun in Virgo) and that’s not how things are for them.” I will say three things to help us deal with this short circuiting impulse:

• A single factor (such as Sun in Virgo) is just a single fact. The final conclusion is made when we understand how that single factor resonates with the many other factors in the horoscope.
• It is good to see how the principle plays out in the real world – but be sure to consider all the astrological factors (or at least many of them), not just one before drawing a conclusion on how practically useful the knowledge is for you.
• We can have some amount of faith - it is very important. The points mentioned may not always be at the fore of existence for an individual, but they are always there in some degree and in some permutation. With faith we have the patience to search for the full understanding rather than dismissing what initially confuses us.

Now lets dive into gaining a deeper, more useful insight into the Sanskrit astrological texts:

SUN IN VIRGO

Remember, Virgo is a sign that belongs to Mercury. The following bullet points are statements from Brihat Jataka (as translated by Ernst Wilhem) about this very basic placement. Between the bullet points, I will explain what the author of Brihat Jataka was thinking, what he was illustrating by his statement.

• The individual will be a writer, painter, poet,mathematician, and well up in other subjects of knowledge,

Sun (Career) + Mercury (communication & intelligence)

Thus, the Career operates in fields related to communication and intellect.

• but he will possess a feminine body.

Sun (Self) + Mercury (Beautiful)
Thus the body (visible self) operates in a beautiful way.

MARS IN GEMINI OR VIRGO

Remember, both Gemini and Virgo belong to Mercury.

• One will become spirited

Mars (passion) + Mercury (intellect) – Thus one’s thoughts are full of passion and ambition – one is “spirited.”

• and intolerant,

Mars (selfish) + Mercury (diplomatic relations) – Selfishness enters into ones diplomatic relations, so one appears “intolerant.”

• will get many sons and

Passion (Mars) + Intellect (Mercury) leads to enjoyment/copulation/children.

• no friends.

Mars (selfish) + Mercury (friendly) – Selfishness enters into ones ability to have friends and can spoil it.

• He will be doing good to others,

Mars (insight/incisive) + Mercury (intelligence) = knows that to do good karmas is in ones own self-interest, therefore does good deeds for the sake of getting good karma in return.

• and be clever in music, singing and in the knowledge of warfare

Mars (insight/ incisive) + Mercury (intellect) = insight in the arts (particularly martial arts)

•  The individual will be a miser

Miser means keeping money, not spending.

Mars (Practicality, Utility) + Mercury (Party) = one prefers not to party, but rather to be pratical and do things that have utility and purpose. Therefore he does not enjoy and expend.

• fearless

Mars (bravery) + Mercury (intelligence)

• and desirous of wealth

Mars (conquering property) + Mercury (commerce) – The passion to conquer and control enters into ones commercial interactions, one becomes “desirous of wealth”

MERCURY IN VIRGO

Virgo belongs to Mercury, and Mercury is “exalted” in a portion of Virgo. Brihat Jataka says that one born under this combination will become (bullet points):

• unselfish,and generous

Mercury (balanced and flexible) is strong in this sign. This leads to a person who is flexible to others needs, “unselfish and generous.”

•  a learned scholar

Mercury (intelligence, education) is strong

• endowed with many qualities

Mercury (master of arts and sciences) is strong – so one has an intellect that is open to education and thus one learns many things and thereby develops many good qualities.

• happy and forgiving

Mercury (diplomatic and witty) is strong

• He will know how to convince others by reasoning

Mercury (intelligent communication) is strong – therefore one can communicate diplomatically and intelligently, and use that rather than force or coercion to accomplish ones goals.

• and will be void of any fear.

Mercury (intelligence) is strong – “fear of unknown” is diminished.

JUPITER IN SAGITTARIUS OR PISCES

Jupiter owns both these signs – Sagittarius and Pisces (we don’t consider new planets like Uranus in Sanskrit texts). So remember that this placement basically indicates a strengthened Jupiter. The Brihat Jataka says the individual will become:

• the head of an assemblage

Jupiter (the teacher at the front of the class) is strong in these signs. This placement enables and encourages the individual to be in a similar position, at the front of a group giving instruction and guidance.

• or the ruler of a province, a minister to a king, or a general

Jupiter (the guide, wise leader) is strong. The idea all these specific statements illustrate is that one with Jupiter in these signs is enabled to be a guide and leader for others.

•  and will be wealthy

Jupiter (prosperity) is strong.

VENUS IN LEO

Leo belongs to the Sun. Brihat Jataka says the individual born under this combination will

• get money through wife or women

Venus (Women & Money) + Sun (Career). So the career brings money when women/cosmetics/beauty/sensuality/arts are involved.

• exalt his excellent wife as the most high

Venus (Wife) + Sun (Royalty). So one is inclined to treat the spouse/opposite sex like they are royalty. This also implies loyalty and submission to the opposite sex/spouse.

• and will possess few sons

Venus (Fertility) + Sun (Sterility).

SATURN IN TAURUS

Taurus belongs to Venus.

• Practicing illicit intercourse with women of low caste not fit to be approached

Saturn (perverted/low class) + Venus (women & sexuality). Here the guru makes a specific statement, don’t tie your brain to the specific statement itself, but to the concept that it illustrates! The concept is that one will be fond of women (or to remove the male bias, “spouses”) who are not really worthy of ones fondness for one reason or another. Maybe they are old, maybe they are low class, maybe they are uncultured and unrefined and insensitive. But still one has fondness for them for some strange reason. Probably the strong, persistent desire to be with women prompts one to accept any and every woman. “Perversions” are enjoyable and attractive from this placement.

•  not at all wealthy

Saturn (Poverty) + Venus (Wealth)

• having many wives

Saturn (Perversion) + Venus (sexuality). Saturn is an insatiable, unstoppable force. One is inclined to enjoy many partners when this force contacts Venus energy as it does for example when Saturn is in Venus’ Taurus.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

The Mars Effect: Hitler vs. Mother Teresa

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I just fulfilled a long cherished dream. I took one of the most poorly applied techniques of modern “vedic” astrology – mangala dosha – and created a properly thorough and exactly accurate report on “The Mars Effect” which I can offer for a very inexpensive price ($9!). This report examines the effect of selfishness and personal ambition on ones ability to sustain close loving relationships. To order a report for yourself, please see my site.

I have two interesting case studies to share, which also serve as samples of what the report is. I looked for two extremes, one who would be very selfish and self-centered in how they deal with their relationships to the world; and another who was very selfless and humanitarian. I thought of Adolf Hitler vs. Mother Teresa!

You can read these two reports here!