The Zodiac as you know is composed of 360 degrees divided into 12 rashis/signs. The first half of the zodiac is the first 180 degrees composed of rashis from the 1st one, Aries/Mesh to the 6th one, Virgo/Kanya. This is the personal half of the zodiac, its all about you. It is about the person, the individual, it expands out from the person. These six signs focus on the individual. These signs are in the stage of self-discovery. You might feel them to be perhaps selfish, self-centered or immature. Ego creates itself in Aries, explores, sustains itself throughout the next four signs. It then realises what exactly it has gained because of its focus on ‘self’, this is when it reaches Virgo. Product of self-ego is Karma on the spiritual side. On a material side, this half is about how a person develops himself till he becomes qualified enough to serve in the society. In this half, there are forces who take care of you and help you develop yourself. These forces are more personal and close to you. Here you are sheltered, allowed to develop your inclinations and tendencies. You are more in control of the situations here. To some extent, you are allowed to exercise free will.
The second half of the zodiac starts from Libra/ Tula and ends with Pisces/ Meen. This is where the personality diffuses, the larger picture comes into focus. The person sacrifices his individuality for the sake of the larger perspective. This is the disintegration of the self-ego and gradual immersion into the larger Self. Here the soul starts with a desire to balance in Libra and continues on this theme in the next four signs till it reaches the dissolution of karma in Pisces. You are required to work to rebalance karma, and you do work. On the material side this half-zodiac curve shows how you give back to the society. As you give, your physical structure also deteriorates and finally dissolves. Here the forces who interact with you are ‘grown-up’ and more impersonal. You are required to behave in society and contribute to its maintenance, the social dimension is more important. You are allowed scope to act in a way which affects several people/groups, this is an a way ‘diffused’ or ‘non-personal’. The situations here will be more in the hands of ‘destiny’/Daiva.
The signs of the zodiac are all about symbols and meanings which flow into each other, it is about consciousness evolving.
Now the houses are slightly different. They are oriented as per the degree of the zodiac which was rising at the east the instant you were born. The houses are the actual aspects of your own personal life. These houses take on some influences of the signs which occupy them, the planets which occupy them, the planet owning the sign occupying, the natural sign which could have occupied it and its owner planet too. A rather convoluted analysis this!
The Signs deal with subtle aspects which influence and the Houses will indicate what actually is.
So here is this psychological concept in keywords, these pair of rashi/signs and houses too are subtly opposite, mirror images but also fill-in-the blanks for each other at the physical, emotional and spiritual levels.
- Aries – Personal, self-confidence, lone ranger, challenger, pioneer, Ego, self before everything else, raw power. Energy unfolds with will and the urge to act.
- Libra – partnership, legal bindings under the law of the land, partnerships, relationships, equal and fair, power of intellect, adjustments, community economy
The 1-7 axis, is all about how you define yourself. At the very basic you define yourself with your body and environment. This is the first half of the zodiac, very personal things are seen from here. This 1st house is your personal ambition, initiative, drive, pioneering spirit etc. But as you grow/mature you define yourself with your relationships. You are increasingly someone’s wife/husband, son/mother, business partner. Your loved ones, significant “others” are linked to you defining you. This link is not random but as per some rule. This rule is mutually acceptable and can be moral, legal, social, spiritual etc rule. You evolve your Personality by adding Value.
- Taurus – assets, family, treasuries, hoards, capacity, family time, parties, small intimate family gatherings. Perseverance and the strength to form and consolidate.
- Scorpio – Aloneness, secrecy, delving deep into the self, travelling exploring, working hard, termination of the physical, emergence of the metaphysical,
The 2-8 axis is first about your personal assets and then how you change them using small intense windows of opportunities. Your abilities, how articulate you are, your share in your family’s assets etc is the 2nd house. Your personal interactions with your close family. Your identity is first linked to your birth family group, all its history, culture and reputation is by default yours. The 8th is the change in this by-default identity. It is the inheritance you receive from your family members on their physical death. Your spouse’s family changes changes your understanding of ‘family’.
- Gemini – duality, personal thoughts and actions, skills, siblings, personal courage, vivaciousness, actions within personal control, versatility. Awareness of the superficial.
- Sagittarius – inclusive, philosophies, patrons, peers, spiritual father, hope and destiny, luck, not in individual’s control, the faith of the people
The 3-9 axis is choice in its various dimensions. First you are aware of your choices then you become aware of the philosophical implications of your choices. The 3rd allows you to explore and understand the choices available to you. You are given the mental capacity to grasp the possibilities and also the boldness to act on your chosen option. These options are generally of the material and the superficial universe. The 9th is about inclusion. You go beyond the concept of distinct options and begin to appreciate the essential oneness in all. The superficial differences between options blur as you expand your understanding. This is deep philosophy as opposed to rational logic. You appreciate that there are experiences beyond the immediate material world.
- Cancer – Home, security, comfort, mother, homeland, tradition, childhood environment, schools. Feelings, parental love and nurture.
- Capricorn – social reputation, profession, constant work, salary, struggle for self-preservation, work to maintain the social structure, patience
The 4-10 axis about security. For better or worse, your birth mother is the most important force in your life. This is the deepest of the deep, the nadir of the circle of the zodiac. The deepest influences of the astral and subconscious. To a great extent, you get things here. You get these because of some personal emotional connect with others. It is your emotional stability and comfort. All the familiar things which soothe, comfort food, security of a mother’s lap, soothing traditions of your homeland, the sturdiness of the house the safety of your vehicles. It is also physical and mental strength, which is a result of nutrition and nurture. The 10th house is the security which you create. Your social standing, profession, professional reputation, work ethics, hard work, willingness to work for the greater society, your contribution to the social structure. This is also the things you receive because of your own rather impersonal interactions with several. The house of the natural father who passes on his social standing and profession talent to his offspring. This is the zenith of the circle of the zodiac at the time of your birth.
- Leo – higher education, regal, self- centered, maturity, personal children, offsprings. Will to create and self confidence
- Aquarius – earnings, gains, like-minded social groups, final result, patience rewarded,
The 5-11 axis is about self confidence and the gains thereof. The 5th house is where you are confident about yourself, self entitlement and self referential behaviour. You are not afraid to express yourself because you know that you are correct. You stand in the spot light and channelise your spark of divine intellect. your Higher education, children, students, disciples, success in speculations is seen from here. You radiate your energy here. You spread your influence further. You reach out to like-minded groups of people in the 11th house. How your personal creativity translates into name and fame. You now understand what your outgoing energy of the 5th house has really accomplished. For creating lasting wealth and fame both 5th and 11th need to be powerful.
- Virgo – conflicts, actions, awareness of imbalance, aloneness, karma weighs on the soul, care, meticulousness, diligence. Utilisation of what has the ego has sown.
- Pisces – diffusion, merging, beyond personal control, loss of individuality, destruction of physical form and ego, creation of the seed for the new to come.
The 6-12 axis or the Virgo-Pisces axis is awareness. The 6th house is awareness of karma that you have accumulated and the work that you are now required to rebalance it. You are very analytical here as you should be as you are accounting for your karma! You logically work out the tangled knots. You are not emotional or intuitive about this. The 6th can be a harsh house, you either serve or suffer here. But this makes sense in the 12th house. All the pain and hard work of the 6th pays off in the 12th. The 12th is final diffusion and the meditative states which help you reach this ultimate goal. You have succeeded in rebalancing the karma and freed yourself.
This is the zodiac belt mapped out at the moment of your birth. One half is the bright, one the dark. One is the hidden half, of the inward-moving energies, rather private, more personal, where the focus is on you and every action here is with you in the focus. The other half is the public, the social side of you, your visible actions. Here you use up your energy for the greater cause, for the society.
Thus zodiac starts from a single focussed impulse of Aries or the 1st house and ends in the infinite nebulous of Pisces or the 12th house.
psychologically astrology 