mars

Scorpio and its Strange Karma

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I have written two posts on Scorpio. One on Scorpio ascendant and the other on Moon in Scorpio. One friend, a Scorpio Moon herself, called up to say that the posts are very accurate but a bit harsh. But Scorpio, as a sign, is very harsh, on others and on its own self too. You cannot sugar-coat the Scorpio! The most occult of the signs, it is perhaps the most powerful sign of the zodiac. The natural 8th of the zodiac, in charge of the sudden terrifying transformations which change you forever in an instant. And Scorpio cannot be understood unless you step into the metaphysical. Scorpio is the structure of the nadis and the pran movement in them. Mars, its ruler, is the energy of life, death and the uncharted beyond. Mars’s other sign Aries, is the physical body and the power coursing through it. Scorpio is the occult/ pranic body and its power, ie pran/ vital energy.

If you have your ascendant in Scorpio or your Moon sign is Scorpio in in your birth chart (or even the navamsha D9 chart), you are a very different individual.

Scorpio and its strange Karma

A scorpion has three appendages of power, two claws and one tail sting. These three are, metaphorically, the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna nadi-s. This animal has an articulated body tapering in the sting, something like the vertebral column. The tail sting would then be the location of the Kundalini for the higher Scorpios and the sex organs for the lower ones. As a Scorpio, you always have the choice to feed desire/ energy to the sex organs or the Kundalini. It is either one or the other, you cannot have both at the same time.

Generally Scorpios have some imbalance in their Ida and Pingala nadis. This is the reason for the extreme touchiness, sensitivity to slights and the subsequent triggered aggression. Ida the Chandra-nadi is connected to the Moon. When Ida is active you use the pran you pull in for your nourishment and growth. Pingala is the Surya-nadi, when it is active, you burn your reserve energy, you use up pran to project yourself on others. The neutral Sushumna nadi is available for very brief periods where you can briefly be in touch with your spiritual self, there is no coming or no going of energy, it is a state of perfect stillness in terms of energy. General Scorpios cannot balance their Ida and Pingala energies which leads to their typical harsh Scorpio nature. Balancing the flow of pran in these nadis requires knowledge of their working, the desire to control them and extreme focus. Only then can you control the movement of pran and guide it consciously in the subtlest nadis. In case you do manage to do so, ie by regular spiritual practice, you can eventually access the Sushumna, wake the Kundalini, guide it till the Brahma-randhra and possibly gain the prize of self-realization. This biggest prize requires the hardest work, the strictest focus and the greatest sacrifices, but it is very much worth it.

Scorpions are solitary animals, they avoid contact with other animals, except when they want to attack or eat them. They also avoid contact with their own species unless they have to fight or mate. And it is a fight to the death. And after mating the female generally devours the male. This is a clear indication of the Scorpios highly individualistic and inherently aggressive nature.

Sexual and sensual passion is a part of the Scorpio world, but this reflects the lower nature of Scorpio. A lower energy Scorpio desires personal gratification and gets lost in this sensation for a life-time. This causes him harm in the long run and the end of life is often bitter and alone. But then just look at the spiritual equivalent of this physical act, this indicates merger of the individual soul into the Eternal! Those higher Scorpios who have understood this secret, focus on this higher aspect, balance their Ida/Pingala, access their Sushumna, drive the pran and then the Kundalini into it and achieve realization. The ability to consciously control pran/ Kundalini is the most important exclusive ability of Scorpio. (If you study the charts of enlightened Seers, you will see Scorpio or the 8th house or Mars playing an important role in either the birth chart or the Navamsha charts.)

As a Scorpio, you are aggressive but subtle, your real power is the psychological, astral, occult, stuff definitely not of the physical world. You hide your nature, your objectives and actions. There is nothing visible about your behaviour which can put others on alert. And your actions are always very lethal, targeted, focussed. A Scorpio will study his target with his unusual intelligence, will identify the most vulnerable points and eventually will attack. The basic nature is to dominate, to control. (But what should really be controlled? What is the ultimate thing you can dominate with your Will? Where should you focus your unusual intelligence on? Ask yourself.)

Scorpio is the energy of ‘secret depths’, you know how to use this confidently. This talent is exclusive to Scorpio. In the lower energy form, this means the utter depths of sexuality and base emotions, cruelty, separations, breaking, dominance, indifference etc. A Scorpio knows how to use physical intimacy or emotional tools to get back at people whom he thinks have insulted or rebelled against him. He can turn physical pleasures to physical punishment in an instant. In case a Scorpio has learnt to control pran, but not his nature as yet, if provoked, he can attack on the astral, psychic or occult levels too, this can get very dangerous for all concerned.

Scorpios are sensitive, ie cannot stand it if someone defies them. But here, the underlying emotion strangely is a secret fear! So if you are influenced by Scorpio, do think on this sometime. What are you deeply afraid of? Rejection, pain, suffering, loneliness, loss of control (over what?), abandonment? If Scorpio is involved, it always indicates a deep karmic fear which exists in the psychological realms. The source of this karmic fear is a secret kept away from your conscious self. This fear can be addressed by deep introspection, mediation or some spiritual practice where you delve into your own subconscious and face whatever is shown to you with your characteristic courage.

Scorpio and its strange Karma

Moon is debilitated in this sign, this is a very significant information. It is a warning and an opportunity both. (No planet is exalted in Scorpio.)

  • This Moon’s extreme discomfort in Scorpio means that the Mind can get deeply engrossed in the lower sensual, material, Mooladhar chakra related stuff, the ‘dull’ energy. If you remain passive, let your mind flow uncontrolled in the sensory urges of this lowest Mooladhar chakra, if you do not attempt to consciously control it, you will eventually be in trouble. The typical destructive nature of Scorpio will be given its full expression. Destructive for yourself and also for the others around you.
  • Or because this Moon’s energies are so different, the mind can be more easily subsumed by the Will. This will later lead to the Unmani-avastha, ‘absence’ of mind, which is an essential step in self-realization. But for this to happen, you have to consciously rein in your attraction to his senses. The vicious cycle of materialistic desires has to be broken. The consciousness has to be kept in strict control at all times. Especially after you starts your spiritual practice, start waking up your pranic power/ Kundalini. In such a situation you cannot afford to let your lower sensory desires to influence your Mind. If you lose control at this stage then you can become very dangerous as everything spirals out of your conscious control.

A very strong sign Scorpio, you, born with its influence are very tough. It is impossible to win over, dominate, influence or break a Scorpio. There is a core of subtle strength within you which defends, offends, avenges and revenges. If  someone crosses you, you can go to any extent to revenge yourself. You have the unfathomable reserves of strength and the ability to carry on through circumstances which would utterly terrify others.

( I have mentioned that Scorpio in D1 birth chart would give the outer actual behaviour and Scorpio in the navamsha would indicate the core, the potential, the expectations that one has in life. So if you are D1 Scorpio and D9 Sagittarius, your outer behaviour will be as per Scorpio’s attributes. But the inner core will be Sagittarius. So you have divine luck, blessings, positive karma and auspicious merits hidden within you. You will have to focus on these inner attributes and bring them out in your outer behaviour. The outer harsh Scorpio manner can be managed easily with a bit of conscious effort as Sagittarius grants benevolence and ability to accept things on faith. You might feel a bit contradictory in the initial life, as your outer actions may go against your inner inclinations. But later as planets mature this could become a harmonious combination as these two signs are placed one after the other, they represent a continuing evolution. If you wish to do spiritual practice, use the higher Scorpio energy consciously, the inner Sagittarius potential will not let you to fail in your endeavour. All secrets can be known in Scorpio and accepted/ assimilated in Sagittarius. But if it is the other way round. ie if you have eg Sagittarius in your D1 and backed by Scorpio in the D9 then things will be a bit different. First no one analyses the D9 so you won’t know about your Scorpio core. Outwardly you will behave like the generous, benevolent Sagittarius but your inner core will be the harshness of Scorpio. )

Scorpio and its Strange Karma

Mars and his Scorpio. So if you feel like it, try to carefully nurture the positive attributes of Mars, eg. initiative, willingness to explore, take up challenges, face hardships, to find new things, to invent, personal dynamism, capacity to be alone, to push to the limits, fearlessness, courage to take risks, face ordeals, venture into uncharted territory etc. And use these attributes in a way which can bring positive changes in yourself and the others around you.

Scorpio and Mars give tremendous power, psychological, mental, emotional, occult, etc. But how to use this unusual power is the question. Most Scorpios do not get guidance or proper direction as they never share their innermost problems and issues with anyone. And they do not listen to anyone either. They’d rather not read posts like this and even if they do they will try to find faults in the information rather than picking up the bits relevant to them. (This is a generic post, the actual horoscope will give exact readings). Their nature is so typical that their possible well-wishers fearing their sting, avoid offering help and eventually move away (Everyone has well-wishers and more likely in the early life. Later these people are pushed away by Scorpio’s harsh nature. Scorpios are often lonely the later life). So the average Scorpio does not know how to best use his potential, which aggravates the issue. Temperaments and Choices!

Mars is a warrior, but he can also be a protector, he need not be an aggressor all the time. So, Dear Scorpio, the toughest one, find something which you can protect forever within you. Search for that prize which you can really fight for, the biggest prize ever, the Self. Search for the Self and keep it safe in your Awareness, this is the real challenge before you and this is the only one worthy of your talents.

 

Scorpio and its strange Karma

Chidra Dasha the closure part 2

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This is a continued post. I have written about the closing sub periods of the planets, Ketu, Venus and Sun in my previous post. This is now about the closure periods/chidra-dasha, i.e. the last sub period/antardasha of the Moon, Mars and Rahu main period/Mahadasha in the Vimshottari system.

The Moon mahadasha is for 10 yrs and takes off after the Sun’s main-period. Then the last sub-period of Moon mahadasha belongs to the Sun and this lasts for 6 months. In this chidradasha you will consolidate all that you experienced in your Moon mahadasha and cut off all the lessons you failed to learn. The moon is mind, emotions, the astral, sub-conscious, nurturing, security, comforts etc. In his period depending on what all he stands for in your chart, his karakatva, he will have given you opportunities to gain all those things which bring you emotional fulfilment. Maybe your relationship with your mother, maternal relatives, home culture, traditions, landed property etc will have increased. ‘Need’ based love relationships or nurturing relationships will have prospered. You may have acted as a caregiver or offered maternal love to others.

Now the last sub-period here belongs to the regal Sun. Sun is personal confidence, ego, entitlement and to quite an extent ‘selfishness’. Now he will, with his characteristic confidence, clean-out the Moon persona and prepare the foundation of the Mars persona which is to follow. He will prepare a dispassionate list of things which worked for you and which were more for the use of others in your life. If you have given of yourself to others during the Moon mahadasha, you might suddenly find these others being systematically cut off. Only the basic unavoidable relationships which you intellectually feel necessary will be sustained, e.g to the mother, own family, personal lands etc.

Thus during this Moon mahadasha, do not go with your emotions always, keep an intellectual leash on your feelings. This will help you consolidate when you reach the last sub-period ruled by the Sun. See you have tried to balance karma related to the position of the Moon in your chart and might have gone through an emotional period too perhaps. But now Sun will decisively end all those emotionally draining things which clearly did not work. And for those things which did work, he will ruthlessly remove their emotional components, leaving you with their intellectual appreciation.

e.g If the Moon actually signifies your mother in your chart, she might actually leave her body during this period. Or if he is the owner of the 10th house, profession, this might indicate an end of the career. However before jumping to conclusions do analyse the Karakatva of the planets and how their interactions with each other will modify results. Look for patterns in placements.

Chidra Dasha the closure part 2

After you are done with the Moon main-period, you start on your Mars mahadasha which lasts for 7yrs. The last sub-period here belongs to the Moon and lasts for 7 months.

Mars is the force of your personality in action. Depending on his position in your chart, you will challenge, pioneer, enter into new territories, compete and win. You might have been quite ruthless in achieving your goals, perhaps taken on more than you could manage. In the headlong rush of exploration and conquest perhaps you have used all your resources. Your personality may have changed, you may be more mentally ruthless and able to take calculated risks now.

So now in this final chidra dasha/sub period, belonging to the Moon, you will release all those unmet goals, unfulfilled aspirations and silently move away from the competition. You might get to enjoy a quiet domestic life in this period too. You will appreciate the emotional value of the things Mars has given you in his period. The Moon will grant you an understanding of what you have achieved for yourself. All the risks you took will finally mean something stable in your life. Maybe you protected something or someone, or maybe you created your own personal comforts and security. You will look back on your actions with a deeper intuitive emotional perspective. He will cut off disputes, legal cases, unsolved mysteries etc related to Mars. As the Moon cuts away needless aggression from your Mars persona, you will focus on those things you have actually achieved, and have the potential to sustain you in the future.

If, during your Mars main-period, you try to bring in intuition and emotional understanding, you will gain better. In the rush of competition, do keep in mind why? are you doing this. Ultimately everything we do is for internal comfort, security and happiness.

Chidra Dasha the closure part 2

Following Mars mahadasha, is the Rahu mahadasha period of 18yrs. His main period ends with the last chidra dasha sub-period of Mars which lasts for 12 months.

Before doing anything with your Rahu or Ketu, do understand that your karma will be in full force during this period. These 2 give results as per the houses they are placed in, their house owners, and the planets aspecting/conjunct them. So first analyse their karakatva carefully before analysing the dasha results. Ketu will detach and Rahu will desire.

Rahu’s main-period is quite long at 18yrs, and quite a lot of things happen in 18yrs of time. He obsessively desires, so as per his karakatva you will also desire. Rahu differs from Mars, in that Mars is fair and competes with confidence, Rahu is often sneaky and tries to grasp by any means possible. You will find ways and means to get what you desire. You will obsess about possessing things which cannot be legitimately yours. You might work hard, or find short-cuts, or even break rules. Your moral compass will be shaky and you will be willing to do anything and everything irrespective of the consequences. Rahu’s pattern is to fall on his face just as he is in grasp of his goal, he cannot enjoy his achievement. He cannot be satisfied. This is Rahu’s main-period, so you might get the impossible things that you desire, but you will not be able to enjoy them.

Rahu is in perpetual retrograde motion so rewinds and replays the experiences of your life so that you can extract the maximum learning from it. Rahu’s period is thus very intense on the psychological and inner spiritual levels.

Then comes the chidradasha, sub-period of Mars where he will clean up the Rahu persona and make you ready for the Jupiter’s main-period to come. Mars will decide and keep only those things which you have won fairly. Any stuff which you are not entitled to, he will cut away. And this period can get quite traumatic, as desires for things which you really do not deserve, and created by Rahu will be destroyed. You might be distraught mentally, emotionally and even may fall physically ill.

During Rahu’s mahadasha, do try to keep your moral compass intact as the law of karma always operates. 18yrs are a significant chunk of your life’s path. You will be doing a lot of things during such a long period. Try to work for your desires with a sporting and fair spirit. Running after unattainable goals and breaking rules will consume energy and have repercussions later. And because this is a very long period, you might think that this is life and Rahu is your personality. But remember that this persona will be vigorously dismantled by Mars at the end of these 18yrs.

Chidra Dasha the closure part 2

(Have continued with the closing sub periods of the Mahadashas of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury in my next post.)

 

 

Yogkarak planets, functional benefics

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Yogkarak planets are an important concept in reading a chart. These are functional benefics for the chart and are determined as follows. In your chart, the basic birth chart with the ascendant as the 1st house, check out the following planets,

  1. The lords of houses 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th (these are called the Kendra houses)
  2. The lords of the houses 5th, 9th (these are called the Kona houses, together with the 1st they make up the Dharma trikon)

If you have a planet which simultaneously owns a house in both of these categories then it is a Yogkarak, a powerful functional benefic for the chart and your life.

Here is the list of Yogkarak planets for the ascendants,

  1. Aries ascendant – None of the planets fulfil this condition
  2. Taurus ascendant – Saturn is the lord of the 9th house (sign is Capricorn) and the lord of the 10th house (sign is Aquarius).
  3. Gemini ascendant – None of the planets fulfil this condition
  4. Cancer ascendant – Mars as he owns one Kona house i.e. 5th house (sign is Scorpio ) and one Kendra, the 10th house (sign is Aries).
  5. Leo ascendant – Mars, as the lord of the 4th house, Kendra (sign here is Scorpio) and also owns a Kona, i.e. is the lord of the 9th house (sign here is Aries).
  6. Virgo ascendant– None of the planets fulfil this condition
  7. Libra ascendant – Saturn, he is the lord of one Kendra, lord of 4th house (sign is Capricorn) and also owns the 5th house (sign here is Aquarius).
  8. Scorpio ascendant – None of the planets fulfil this condition
  9. Sagittarius ascendant – None of the planets fulfil this condition
  10. Capricorn ascendant – Venus as the lord of the 5th house (sign here is Taurus) and the lord of the 10th house (sign here is Libra)
  11. Aquarius ascendant – Venus as the lord of the 4th house (sign here is Taurus ) and also is the lord of the 9th house (sign here is Libra)
  12. Pisces ascendant – None of the planets fulfil this condition

It may seem a bit strange that the so-called malefic planets, Mars and Saturn are Yogkaraks but Jupiter considered to be the biggest benefic is not a Yogkarak for any ascendant.

Yogkarak planets, functional benefics

Yogkarak for Venus ruled ascendants is Saturn and vice versa. Makes sense in a way, as Venus and Saturn are best buddies. Venus and Saturn may sound a bit funny, something like a happy handsome outgoing man being best friends with an aged sour, workholic discipline freak older man. But look into their natures closely. They match. Both love discipline, Venus too does not like if you break the rules, his rules are moral, of fairness and balance. He is the toughest teacher, teaches us the value of relationships. Both are deeply connected with death. Saturn rules the endurance of your frame and Venus will decide when you have filled your treasuries and thus its time to leave.

So what does this Yogkarak do? In a chart, if the owners of the Kendra and Kona houses are together in a single house they get the capacity to give extraordinary results. The Yogkarak in the specific ascendant’s chart has double the power, as he owns both types of houses, a Kendra and Kona. Thus wherever he may be placed he will always give excellent results. If the Yogkarak planet of a chart is placed well, exalted, with other benefics or in his own sign or has his power enhanced in any way (e.g. in the further divisional charts), it is even better. They can change the entire outlook of the chart.

Saturn is Yogkarak for Libra and Taurus, works well everywhere. If he is placed in a Kendra or Kona, he will give exceptional results for the entire personality. Even in the dushamsthan 6th, 8th and 12th, he will bring out the best possible he can.

  • For Taurus ascendant, if Yogkarak Saturn in the 12th house, sign Aries, he can cause a few problems as he will be debilitated.
  • For Libra ascendant, he will be debilitated in 7th house (sign Aries) which can delay marriage but Saturn’s direct aspect over the ascendant itself can give very good results.

Mars is the Yogkarak for Cancer and Leo ascendant, ruled by the luminaries the Moon and the Sun. Thus the dreaded Manglik tag need not be quite applied to charts having these ascendant signs. Such a Mars can give quite good results overall because of his position as a Yogkarak.

  • For Cancer ascendant, Mars the yogkarak gives very good results in all houses, wherever he may be. If he is in the ascendant Cancer itself, he will be debilitated but still can give good results for the personality. However will cause problems in marriage because of his direct aspect on the 7th house. Such a person will always be aggressive with his loved one.
  • For Leo ascendant, Yogkarak Mars gives good results in all the houses he is placed in, except the 12th house (sign Cancer) where he is debilitated.
  • For both these ascendants, Mars in the 8th can cause some issues, but if such a person follows some deep meditation, Dhyan, pranayam etc where he actively works on his breathing, it will be of use.

Venus is the Yogkarak for Capricorn and Aquarius ascendants. He will perform quite well in all houses, even in his sign of debilitation Virgo.

  • For Capricorn ascendant, Venus debilitated will be in the 9th house. So will be very supportive in life, securing its very foundations.
  • For the Aquarius ascendant, Venus will be debilitated in the 8th house occupied by Virgo. So will support by providing good natured, wealthy in-laws family and also will grant inheritance and legacies and bequeaths.

So if you ever get a chart with the ascendant signs, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Capricorn or Aquarius look out for the Yogkarak planets and what they are offering. Their gifts can be so powerful that they can change the entire outlook of the horoscope.

 

Yogkarak planets, functional benefics

Exalted and Debilitated, Sun, Moon & Mars

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Exalted/ucch and deblitated/neech planets are terms thrown about casually by most astrologers without understanding what they really mean. And in the simplest possible words, when the energy of the planet perfectly matches the energy of the environment/sign it is ‘exalted’. And conversely, when the energy of the planet perfectly mis-matches the energy of the rashi environment it is ‘debilitated’. Simple!

Astrology is the matching of energies to get a meaningful analysis. If you can understand the energy dynamics of the 12 houses/signs and the 9 planetary forces, astrological readings will become effortless and intuitive. Start by learning the basic keywords.

Exalted and Debilitated, Sun, Moon & Mars

Now lets check out the Sun, he is exalted in Aries and debilitated in Libra.

  • Sun is the Radiant Royal! He feels that he is entitled to his right to rule. He does not trade, he does favours on his subjects. He is the entitled elite, the others are his subjects. his word is law and he does not even really need to listen to the other. He does not share his throne with anyone else, he is self-referential and individualistic. The divine intelligence and the center of the universe!
  • Mars is a great friend of the Sun and his Aries is The First! The Sun’s independence and confidence get an added boost. He becomes the Royal Warrior here with all the energies and vitality of the physical body at his command, is handsome! He is the best in his field, noble, active, ambitious, courageous, liberal, optimistic, charming, favoured among the opposite sex and adored as such. The entitlement of the Sun and the energy of Mars make this a very comfortable posting. He is the center of vitality, his personal integrity beyond doubt and can perform vigorously in self-employed business, military, politics or as a movie-star, is a bit selfish too. The Sun is able to perfectly express the energies of his surrounding environment which in turn supports him fully too, thus is exalted.
  • Venus is Libra the Perfect Partner! Venus and Sun are enemies. Libra is all about beauty, negotiations, balance, fairness, agreements, trade. To survive and thrive in Libra the Sun is required to have at least a basic sense of bargaining, making alliances, matching and pairing and being beautiful. A resident planet who really doesn’t believe in any of these traits, and in fact behaves exactly oppositely is bound to be rather unhappy here. The Sun gets very selfish here, he cannot and does not acknowledge his supporting friends/family/staff who contribute to his success. He is interested in making alliances and bargains but these fizz out because of his Ego. This is thus inharmonious for marriage as there is little tolerance of imperfection and mutual interests.. Libra is about sharing, partnerships and fairness that is regulated by the legal system of that age. It does not believe in entitlement. But the Sun believes that he himself is the divine intelligence and above the law, thus is highly uncomfortable here.

The Moon, is exalted in Taurus and debilitated in Scorpio.

  • Moon is the mind, the astral self, the sub-conscious, the emotions and the combined experiences of several lives. It is the original sea of creation. He is the prefect reflection, the agent of emotions, comfort and security. He controls the experiences that we receive from our mother, residence, lands and immoveable properties, homeland, customs and traditions of our people. He also controls rhythms from the soothing lullabys to the great cycles of time and space. Every event in this life is seen through the lens of the Moon/Mind!
  • Venus as Taurus is basically the stored assets and resources of the lineage. This statement describes the basic nature of the Moon perfectly. Collecting and banking resources, saving them and retrieving them whenever required is the basic function of this sign. Reservoir of history, database of stories, a warehouse, an inventory and the behaviour associated with these is Taurus. The treasuries are almost always secret which makes the Moon very happy. We really dont know what the Moon is because he reflects everything thus hiding his real self. Now from an astral point of view, the Moon is the stored resources and treasuries of all the lives that we have led. The life events tagged with emotions become experiences which are stored as the mind. And the Moon is the Mind! Thus Moon is perfectly happy when he resides in Taurus because his basic nature is validated here.
  • Mars as Scorpio is the explorer of the unknown depths. Here, Scorpio wants to penetrate into the sea of creation that the Moon is. Mars here drills into the realm of the Moon with single-minded vitality and force. He uses the occult and the sub-conscious as his weapon, and is vindictive and vengeful. This makes the mysterious Moon very uncomfortable. The sign represents the fires in the energy channels and sudden forceful movements, like accidents, traumas, surgeries, death etc. Dramatic transformations and creation of new identities. These ruthless energies are not a suitable environment for the comfort-seeking, emotionally vulnerable moon.
  • Scorpio is also said to be partly ruled by Ketu/South node. This further irritates the Moon because Ketu is the agent of un-belonging, apathy, severance, abandonment, indifference and disinterest. This is completely against the Moon’s basic nature of emotional security, comfort, belonging, nurture, care and maternal behaviour.

Exalted and Debilitated, Sun, Moon & Mars

Now we come to Mars, exalted in Capricorn and deblitated in Cancer

  • Mars is the agent of Life and Death. Mars is the fiery energies that effect transformation birth-death-rebirth. He is the physical structure of the body and also the vital energy that flows through it, domination and strength. He is the invader, pioneer, the warrior and the competitive spirit. He is full of vigour, vitality and excitement.We need his energies to remain alive, when properly channelized these are called self confidence. He is the fiery energy in action. The masculine Man.
  • Saturn of Capricorn is the best possible environment for Mars. Here Saturn allocates only that much vitality to Mars which he can realistically use. And this energy is to be used for the welfare of the people and the society. Saturn is the strict teacher who ensures that you systematically re-balance your karma. Using the focussed energies of Mars for this is their best possible use. And as Mars does even more good work for the society, the society also appreciates him in return, giving him position and power, thus he feels validated. He is competitive but regulated. He is an Executive and can be very good in corporate and in government equally. He uses his structured, legal, active force with understanding of long terms goals. Mars here knows precisely how to apply the available energy in the most productive tasks and he remains focussed on working on and expanding his social reputation and control.
  • Moon of Cancer drowns the Mars in a sea of dreams. Here his energy is controlled by the fickle impulses of sensation. Here Mars faces the challenge of expressing delicate Cancer emotions in a direct vital Mars forceful style. His direct nature becomes emotionally volatile, and the Cancer’s love of the homeland suffocates his instinct to invade. Expression of sexuality is always affected as Mars though attracted to the corresponding partner, cannot express himself physically, can be a problem in marriage. Wherever Mars is he will compete and win. Cancer wants him to nurture but he wants to conquer! So Mars manipulates emotionally and psychologically. He tries to dominate others emotionally. He wants to have a bond with the mother and other topics of Cancer but they are often dysfunctional.Spikes of rage and violence can occur where the sudden burst of outward fiery energy moves in the liquid watery diffused emotional environment of Cancer. Not a very happy placement for the always-First planet!

This was on the exalted and debilitated sun, moon and mars. I have written on Saturn, Rahu and Ketu in my post here. You do not need to learn by rote anything. Just understand their basic natures. This will help you build a very strong foundation to your study of astrology/Jyotish. And for your personal journey, the more you understand about your life’s foundation and building blocks through your chart the more free you will feel. You will be able live a more balanced and happier life instead of crying over, ‘why did this happen to me?’.

 

 

Mars the Agent of Life and Death

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Mars is a fascinating force in your horoscope. He rules over your body-birth as the natural lord of the 1st house, and also ensures your body-death as the natural lord of the 8th house. He represents vital energies/prana and he is responsible for the ‘life’ that courses through you. Mars, the ruler of Aries and Scorpio will always exert his influence on the 1st and 8th house of the chart in addition to the actual sign posted there and the influence of the other planets on them. Birth, death and re-birth, all these processes are expressions of these Martian energies. He interprets the energies lying dormant in the subconsciousness to create conscious action which is expressed either physically in Aries or psychologically in Scorpio.

(Will just quickly clarify this term ‘Natural ruler’. The first sign is Aries and its lord is Mars, thus in any horoscope, placement of Mars and Aries sign in the birth chart will have a subtle influence on the matters of the 1st house/ascendant. This subtle influence exists irrespective of whatever the actual ascendant sign is.)

Mars the Agent of Life and Death

Mars owns Aries the natural First house –

This is his House of Identity! He decides, Who are you? When did you arrive? What time, location and circumstance?. Here Mars is the energy of the moment of actual birth, the family of birth and the situation of birth. He has become the pioneering, vigorous, physically athletic, impressive, unafraid, competitive, First. The 1st controls the visible body, the musculature, the blood and the network of vessels. Thus he is good at all the activities related to animal survival and passion; from hunting, to eating, to sex and competing. Here he uses his physical body as an athlete, a fashion model, a stuntman and in his free time too engages in active sports like hiking, surfing, gym, etc. In the 1st, Mars is the reserve of courage, energy, a fuel tank of masculine, sexual productive energy always in motion. And yes, he can be cruel too.

Here as the 1st, the self-destructive tendencies of Mars are gradually released into the environment which ensures gradual learning in the conscious, thinking states. Mars as the 1st is always moving in the physical visible realm. His energies are distinctive in appearance and he is noticed for his sexual vibes and physical beauty. And being the 1st, he also rules the head, the brain and the thought processes thus is intelligent, incisive, precise and promotes himself and his clan. And his this ‘selfishness’ is approved and admired in the society.

The 1st’s resources and reserves are forged in the subconscious as the karma of his past lives. This karma is primarily related to expression of anger and also conversely to the fear of anger released inappropriately. His resources are also like the subconscious, largely unknown to himself, but always available when needed. This Mars has an extended brotherhood which links to him from the community and he welcomes similar minded individuals into his clan. This extended family also gains profits and luck from the energies of the 1st Mars. His source of emotional security and comforts is either his profession or his father. The family group is the place he where is at the center stage and his powers of creation too find an outlet here. And he in turn provides security to his mother, homeland, properties, relatives and residences. He is the ideal male partner to his female partner and the perfect example of a masculine father to his sons. This Mars has learnt how to be a man from the group of benevolent paternal figures in his family.

The 1st loses his identity under the influence of that mysterious psychological energies of the 8th house. Here Mars’ energies behave somewhat like a Ouroborous, consuming himself so that he can rebirthed again, new and refreshed. And he also has the capacity and capability to transform the energies of his losses, debts and enemies into challenges where he wins, transforms and evolves himself with every interaction.

Mars the Agent of Life and Death

Mars also owns Scorpio the natural Eighth house –

The House of Transformations belongs to Mars! Here Mars Forces Change. The identity first determined by the 1st house is now transmutated in the 8th. The identity of birth thus undergoes repeated changes in the lifetime and the last change leads to termination of the body-identity. Death is a major transformative process which transforms a resident of the Martyalok, to a pretatma/spirit denizen of the Pitrulok. In this context the 8th also become the house of all roads and pathways including the invisible psychic routes. Mars here is the energy of death and carries with him the seeds of the identity of the next life. In the 8th, Mars also controls the transformation of the parent’s DNA into a child of the next generation, by controlling the power of the reproductive system. He is at his highest psychological dominance here, penetrating, intensely controlling in his pursuit of Hidden Knowledge through every which route possible. The 8th is now the Randhra, the House of every sort of Openings and movements through them. These movements are often fast and terrifying.

The source of Mars’ energies are the self-destructive tendencies which are gradually released into the depths of the being so as to afford an internal learning experience. He is the shaman, the investigator, the healer and the killer here. He moves continuously in the realm of secrets, the inner mind, the interiors of everything, including the body. Mars learns his lessons here in the shadowy realm of the psyche.

The 8th is where Mars the Eternal Warrior competes to find the Essence of the Self. He takes on identities and then transforms himself again and again. The next birth occurs as per the mental/emotional/spiritual state of the person at the moment of death. Thus he gives himself a chance of Self Realization. His war zone is the inner lands of the psyche and his prize is gaining the Self Identity. And because he is Mars, his ways are the swift actions of discovery, release, breakthrough, surgery, catastrophe, openings, invasions, scare, shock, intimidation, torture, rebirth etc. The 8th house ruled changes can be invisible, psychic and of varying intensities. Psychic healing, major surgeries, accidents, intensive therapies, tantrik magic are some of these 8th house events which practically bring about a re-birth in terms of the body-identity, emotional-identity, spiritual-identity and soul-identity. Here Mars controls the hidden energy body and the system of Chakras-energy vertices, the network /Nadis and the Prana/vital energy flowing through them.

As the natural lord of the 8th, Mars here is the Identifier of Secrets. His resources and treasuries are the guidance and philosophies that he gets from ancestral spirits and shadow guides. Such a Mars finds his brotherhood in the regulated environment of his profession, but his comfort zone emotionally is the network of like-minded individuals he cultivates, the stranger the better. His creative aspect again lies in the unknown realm of visions, dreams, sub-conscious and the invisible. He also ensures the secretive nature of his creative forces. The 8th also represents the material resources of the partners, but such a Mars values no physical treasures. As the 8th, he has maximum power when his exists in the shadows of the society, his methods and means secret. If he, by chance, gets too visible in the society he gains enemies and arguments. The society is not very comfortable with such a Mars and is inclined to be a bit scared of him.

If and when you develop control over your mind, emotions and thought patterns through intense spiritual activity where you train the movement of the vital energies/pran flowing in the energy channels of your physical body, you can gain control over your body-death and rebirth. In such a case you can choose your next physical-body and life situation. This then will be a Reincarnation rather than just a rebirth.

This is the real nature of Mars and the two Houses, 1st and 8th that he owns.

I have always believed that learning by rote does not contribute to real learning. For real understanding we need to get into the mind, the motivations and the energy of the subject. Thus this post.

 

Mars the Agent of Life and Death