Astrological Remedies

English dictionaries define remedy as “a treatment that corrects a disease, injury, fault, flaw, error, evil, etc.” Giving a “remedy” for fate implies that something somewhere is wrong, flawed, evil, etc. The vast majority of people believe that it is their fate which is evil, flawed and faulty; in need of cure.

This is absolutely wrong. There is no flaw in destiny, it is flawless. God controls and enforces destiny, and God is good and flawless. Destiny is the just reward for the condition of our freewill. If we must face painful fates it is unfortunate, but not a mistake! It is simply the just reward for a big flaw that we carry within us.

It is extremely crucial to embrace this concept, but extremely difficult because it destroys the treasured notion that we are basically flawless and don’t deserve any correction or punishment. This notion is at the root of false-ego, which itself is the first link in the chain that binds us to pain and suffering. Destroy this shackle by embracing the fact that destiny is fair and just. This in and of itself is the best karmic remedy.

When a child is corrected by a parent, he might become resentful. This is because he can’t admit that he did something wrong and deserves the punishment. So long as he doesn’t admit his fault, the punishment cannot be effective at its task of correcting and improving the child’s character, and thus his or her life! As long as the child is in denial of his own guilt the punishment must continue, take different forms, and perhaps even escalate. When the child finally admits that he did something wrong, and should endeavor to correct himself, the punishment almost immediately stops and a happy and pleasant parent-child relationship again resumes.

This is exactly our situation. Souls are children being raised by Mother Nature so that we can grow up to be fit and capable of directly participating in the spiritual bliss of selfless divine love. Destiny is the punishment and reward of our mother. The mother does not need fixing, the child does. We must not seek a remedy to change the fate our mother gives us! We must ask for a remedy that will enable us to correctourselves, and thus please our mother.

It is not our destiny that must be “remedied,”
it is our misuse of freewill that requires a cure!

Anyway, it is not even possible to change your present destiny. The present is created by the past, and creates the future. Thus we can change our future, but we cannot change the present. The opportunity to do that has already passed! We havealready created our present. We cannot go back in time and redo it. We canchange our future, and we must use the present as instruction from our loving universal mother as to what we should change and how we should change it.

A “remedy” is really a treatment
to correct the flaw in how we deal with our present,
and thus create our future.

The Sanskrit word used in this context is upāya. It means, “(1) coming near, approaching, joining; and  (2) that by which one reaches one’s aim.” This is a much better term than the English “remedy” because it communicates that the means of attaining happiness is to come closer to embracing the corrections given to us by destiny.

Types of Remedy

Ancient and Classical Vedic texts are replete with self-knowledge and paths towards it. They also explain that the first and foremost cause of suffering is avidya,lack of knowledge. Thus the most essential of all remedies is knowledge itself.

It cannot be overstated that making progress, however small, towards self-realization is the first and best remedy for suffering! In addition to this fundamental truth, classical texts on Indian astrology specify specific remedies tailored to particular issues and planets:

• Intentional association with the qualities of the specific planet. Via:
  • colors
  • clothes
  • body language
  • activities
  • places
  • people
  • flavors
  • directions
  • etc.
• Meditation upon the planet via mantra and prayer
• Charity
• Rituals

Gemstones are not given as a remedy anywhere except by very modern authors. The practice probably started only a few centuries ago as an extension of the color therapy mentioned above, combined with a belief in special properties of gems and crystals. Gems and crystals probably do have unique powers and properties, but noclassical authority on astrology ever suggests using them in an astrological context, and certainly never explains how to do so. So, I do not include gemstones among the remedies I teach and recommend.

~~~

Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Spiritual Horoscope Reading

There are three houses particularly important for spirituality; these are the 4th, 8th and 12th houses. The 4th represents the inner spiritual self, the “heart” or “soul” which is full of emotions and feelings (path of feeling, bhakti). The 8th represents the metaphysics which enliven and enable all spiritual paths. From this house comes the ability to penetrate occult mystery and see the realities that are invisible to those under illusion. The 12th house represents knowledge which undoes the illusion of physicality and selfishness. Every house has its importance spiritually and religiously. Particularly the 5th and 9th are also important to morality and educational capacity – which both have a lot to do with advancing on spiritual paths. Nevertheless, the 4th, 8th, and 12th are the houses of primary importance when reading a chart for spirituality. The connections between these houses, the prominence of the lords of these houses, and the planets which occupy these houses are the essential factors in the horoscope to examine for making a good evaluation of the spiritual potentials and directions appropriate for an individual.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Spirituality in a Horoscope

Often, people interested in astrology are interested in spirituality in general as well. Therefore astrologers often receive questions on this subject.

The fire triangle (houses 1, 5, and 9) represent different facets of religion and morality. The water triangle (houses 4, 8, and 12) represent different facets of the personal spiritual quest.

In the fire triangle, the first house pertains to personal character and individual morality. The fifth house pertains to the ability to practice, understand and learn moral and religious disciplines. The ninth house represents ones relationship to gurus, guides, etc. as well as to religion and religious institutions as well as the entire attitude towards philosophical subjects in total.

In the water triangle the eighth house represents mystical powers and ability to see the unseen or “occult” reality in the world (“siddhi”). The twelfth house pertains to ones humility and detachment from physical and worldly affairs, as well as the logic and knowledge which supports such attitudes (“jnana”). The fourth house – domain of the innermost self – pertains the the ultimate goal, self-realization and to the sublime understanding of the role of emotions in a spiritual setting (“bhakti”).

The sixth has been ascribed to “yoga” but this is mainly in the health-supporting sense of that word.

Among planets, look particularly at Ketu.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

© 2010 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved

The Role of Faith

What is “Faith”?

“Faith” itself is a touchy subject. So let’s talk about the word first. A basic dictionary says:

Faith: (1) complete trust or confidence in someone or something. (2) strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

If there is something that you can’t prove or know for sure on your own… this is where faith comes into the picture. Classic, sort of corny, example of faith is having a person stand behind you and trusting that the person will catch you when you fall backwards. You can’t see the person so you can’t verify on your own that he or she is really there with arms outstretched. You therefore need faith.

The Spiritual Connotations of “Faith”

Thus “faith” is strongly connoted with spiritual and religious things. We cannot directly see for ourselves the main topics of spirituality and religion – so we must have faith in them. I personally have some reservations or contentions in agreeing that you can not directly perceive the realities of the occult – but I have no hesitation in admitting that for the “common man” occult and spiritual realities are beyond direct comprehension. Therefore the “common man” can not access such things without faith. And that is why the modern world – throughly saturated with “common men” uses the word faith almost synonymously with religion.

Faith & Astrology

Astrology holds the power to reveal the things a common man cannot directly see and know. We can tell you your past, and your future, and we can tell you thousands of things about your present which are whizzing past you invisibly and unbeknownst to you. Since astrology deals implicitly with the stuff of which you are not personally aware, you require faith if you wish to avail yourself of it.

Faith & Reason

Please be aware that “blind faith” is not the only type of faith that exists. It is just one variety – a rather “stupid” variety, to put it bluntly. To really make good use of the occult and astrology you must have faith, but not blind faith.

Blind faith means that your own intelligence plays no role whatsoever in the subject you are concerned with. For example, let’s say a priest tells you that Christ killed a dinosaur. If you have blind faith, you will believe this. If however you have rational faith – you will inquire further from the priest and ask him to explain himself to a certain point at least.

Rational faith is positive. It recognizes that there is a certain point at which our intellect and perception fails us and cannot reach any further. Beyond that point faith is required, but up to that point intellect and reasoning is very useful.

Application of Faith in Astrology

You, yes you, must play an active role in your own enlightenment.

Eventually you (yes, you) will directly perceive occult realities. In the meantime, however, you still must play an active role. You must apply your reason and intelligence carefully and patiently so that you can determine where to place your faith.

In the case of astrology – you have to first learn something about it. Once you know at least the basics you then have to evaluate various astrologers and their level of knowledge and expertise in their occult practice. You have to use your intellect and reason to find a competent astrologer to place your faith and trust in. And once you have placed your faith and trust in that astrologer or guide, you must continue to use your intellect and reason as tools to more deeply and fully understand the guidance and answers you faithfully receive from the astrologer.

Be aware, please, that until you put your full faith into the process, you will not be able to get guidance.

I had a woman approach me once. She asked me to tell her when and how her husband would die. I told her he would die soon of an injury to the stomach involving internal bleeding, and it would happen while he was close to home. She told me that she was just testing me, her husband had already died a few months prior… when on an international visit to the home he grew up in – dying from an unknown injury causing a massive hemorrhage in his lower abdomen. Surprisingly, she was dissatisfied with my reading! She was a professional empiric scientist and revealed to me that she did not believe in astrology after all, but wanted to test it.

In other words, if you have little or no faith in something – then even if you are given an amazingly good answer, you will not be able to avail yourself of it.

Here’s a little scenario:

Your astrologer tells you, “Please be careful of cars today. Look both ways when crossing the street.”

Will you complain that this is generic advice which could come out of a 25 cent horoscope or newspaper column? Yes, it could be out of a newspaper column. But it is not. Yes it could be told to anyone, but it was not told to anyone, it was told to you. Are you going to need to get hit by a car before you trust that it was told to you because you needed to look out for cars?

Perhaps astrologers should be more explanatory? Perhaps instead of saying “Be careful for cars” we should say, ”Your 4th Lord is under aspect from Mars while conjoined Ketu at the same time you are in the Ketu subsubcycle of your Mars cycle of the era of your 8th Lord…. so be careful for cars.”

Would you understand any of that though? Most of you would not. In fact you would more likely find it confusing. Most of you would prefer your astrologer to just tell you, “Watch out for cars!”

To really get the full worth of astrological, occult, or spiritual guidance, you need full faith in your astrologer / guide. The astrologer should not require your blind faith. Generally people only require blind faith when they are not worthy of being seen clearly for what they really are.

The important part about rational faith is that you should ask questions when you don’t understand something. And if your astrologer (or priest or whomever is acting as the guide) answers reasonably and intelligibly, then you can increase the strength of your faith. Whereas if the answer is “C’mon just trust me” or “faith is more important than the answer” – well you probably just discovered you got involved in something or someone not worthy of your faith.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com