This is the concluding post of this three part series on Aries and Libra.

Are you just an individual or just a partner in an equitable relationship?

Aries and Libra indicate beginnings, Aries is the natural ascendant, the 1^st sign of the zodiac. You are created from the energies of Dissolution. It is the beginning of the first half of the zodiac where you use the energies available to you for developing your own self. Then you use your personal sense of self and self-ego to create karma in this half. In Virgo, you realise the magnitude of karma you have created for yourself and you start working on resolving it, here the focus is still on your own self. In Libra, the 7^th sign of the zodiac, the natural descendant, you start your journey back to the unmanifested Reality. In this second half of the zodiac you give of yourself. You consciously return the sense of self-ego and diffuse the energies that you had labelled as belonging to yourself. This process continues till you reach Pisces, the Dissolution, you dissolve your self into the Greater Self with full intention. Virgo and Pisces are the ‘endings’ as Aries and Libra are the beginnings.

Together, Aries and Libra represent Change of the highest intensity.The change that these two signs represent is not the traumatic and shocking one associated with the 8^th house /Scorpio. This change is the subtle inner one which determines your soul’s direction. You choose this change. You are aware of the situations which existed before, you chose this change and you are aware of that which will happen. Thus the element of sorrow associated with these two signs. When you change something consciously you are aware of leaving something and taking up something new for your own good. The process may be pleasant or perhaps not, but there is no option.

Aries and Libra are the preferred partners, in the 7/7 axis. These are mirror images, outwardly very different but internally completing each other. If you are a Libra you might observe your favoured partner to have an Aries dominant or a Mars dominant personality. e.g. He may have a Mars in the ascendant, or ascendant lord heavily influenced by Mars, or the birth Moon controlled by Mars etc. Or he may have Aries as the ascendant, or the birth Moon in Aries, or a bunch of significant planets in Aries. (And likewise for Aries.) Venus and Mars are very closely linked planets. Libra needs Aries to complete itself and Aries too requires the qualities offered by Libra to complete his personality.

If Aries is original thinking, Libra is the one who gives it structure to those thoughts. Aries is self-focussed but Libra manages to create agreements between two self-s. As the pioneer Aries forges ahead, Libra follows, making those legal and social ties which are mutually acceptable. Equitable fairness consolidating the blast of energy. Raw power cannot be sustained indefinitely but for the balance of Libra. Libra uses the raw material that Aries provides it and creates the ever evolving balance. Passion tempered by intellect is even more formidable. Aries provides the force and Libra the balance, one has no meaning without the other. Libra continually adjusts the force created by Aries which benefit not just the two of them but also the larger community. Libra needs Aries to give it a sense of self. Continually seeing oneself as a ‘partner’ rather than as an individual is not healthy. Unless you appreciate your ‘individuality’, you will put yourself and your needs last.

Aries and Libra are the same in several ways.

The same planet controls the 6/8 axis for both signs. So if the personality is strong the changes forced on this personality will be equally strong, creating an equally strong new personality. Your strength is tested at every instant. Every change forced on you is by your own self. You hammer on yourself, thus evolve. It is traumatic to even think of, but you do it, throughout your life. You are created from change, you create change and you change in very fundamental ways.

Their owners consume and refashion each other. Venus becomes the only Marak for Aries and Mars is the only Marak for Libra. Marak is the planet who decides the time when your body is saturated. You have amassed all the Value you could, and you leave the physical body. This is a very subtle relationship between Venus and Mars which needs to be appreciated. You are born with a fixed agenda regarding resolution of karma. Karma is created because of relationships, you consider someone ‘other’ and perform your actions with a sense of ‘self’. So resolving karma essentially means to resolve relationships.

For resolving karma two things are needed

• Letting go of the sense of self (domain of Aries)
• Letting go of the sense of ‘other’ (domain of Libra).

So the signs have to let go of their own defining nature! Thus their constant dissatisfaction in close relationships, they know that with each relationship they are getting closer to letting go of their essential natures. (Only when you let go of your narrow sense of self can you attain your Higher self/Moksh.) There is a deep underlying sorrow that each creates for the other. e.g. Libra never gets the perfect relationship he desires, he has to face a raw blast of energy instead. Aries gets a geometry-obsessed intellectual rather than someone passionately adventurous. But both know in their deepest hearts that what they get is actually right for them. But knowing doesn’t make it easier. Both know that they have to explore the spiritual realms to find peace. And they do it, but this happens late in life. Till then life passes by in a blur.Now for the energy and Moksh related significance of this axis. Remember you are studying Jyotish, the deepest knowledge/Ved-ang, which will Illuminate your own Self.

Aries is the structure of the body and the energy flowing through it. i.e it is also the structure of the Chakras, the naadis and the pran/vital energy flowing through it. The force of the pran (and later Kundalini) is extremely great. This force, if let loose without balance will destroy everything. Now a Libra may be whatever his chart signifies but inwardly he wants to balance. He wants things to be perfectly in alignment all the time. I know a Libra who keeps his office desk in perfect order. Books, files and photos of the kids all at perfect 90degrees, the laptop parallel to the desk-edge, the chair placed just so! He is so obsessed about this that I had to suggest Tratak, as a better use of his obsession.

You see Tratak is one exercise which is perfect for geometry-obsessed individuals. You stare at the perfection of the Shri-yantra and with time force your own internal geometry to match its perfection. This to me is the real spiritual goal of Libra. Rather than focussing on the material, the objects on the desk, better focus on your own internal geometry. Your chakras are out of balance because of karmic influences (basically Rahu-Ketu). Work with your Libra-ness  and bring these mis-aligned chakras to their perfect balance. The forces flowing through the chakras have to be perfectly balanced so that the chakra geometry gets aligned and remains aligned, (the balance is dynamic!). And then allow your Aries-nature to push the high volume of pran first so that the Kundalini can later shoot up in one smooth motion.

How you see yourself as? How do you explore your relationship with Yourself? How do you conquer the kingdom of your Dream? This is the secret of the Aries/Libra axis. The beginning of the end.