Always Delighted by Understanding Impermanence – The blessing of the 7th lord in the 5th house

In Parashara’s Encyclopedia of Astrology (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra), the great Vedic seer illustrates the nature of what various astrological placements promote for an individual who has those placements in their birth chart. A very useful section is his depiction of images conveying the nature of what arises for people with various house lords occupying various houses.

In particular one placement really catches my attention today. He says:

If the 7th lord is in the 5th house, the native will be always delighted.

“Always delighted” means one understands that sense gratification is not tremendously important. Why is this the meaning? Because, the 7^th house represents the setting sun and disappearance. The 5^th house is one’s intellect. When the 7^th lord is in the 5^th house the implication is that one is better able to understand the impermanent nature of things. Therefore one becomes detached from sense gratification, the idea that happiness and pleasure comes as a result of contact with “desirable” temporary objects.

Sense gratification – the idea of exploiting things for senory pleasure – is itself inevitably always the source of grief, because there are only three possible outcomes:

1. One cannot obtain sufficient contact with the object of desire = grief.
2. One obtains sufficient contact with the object, but it does not live up to its attractive appearance = grief.
3. One obtains sufficient contact with the object, it is all that one hoped for, but it dies, breaks, or wears out and one loses it = grief.

Therefore by intelligently understanding the impermanent nature of the world and thus becoming less enamored of exploiting its temporary objects, one becomes more free from sources of grief. Thus one is “always delighted.” That is the idea conveyed by this quotation.

– Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com