When I first started writing this, Venus had just entered Pisces, the rasi of its Exaltation after a long confusing 3 week Mercury retrograde, also in Pisces. The personality or archetype associated with Venusian energy is Shukracharya. This was a difficult retrograde for me and it feels as if Shukra comes in to assist me in processing the lessons learned during this time. In the stories, Shukracharya sacrificed and did great penance to Shiva and learned the secret of Sanjivani, the power to rejuvenate and bring one back from the dead, which he used to help the Asuras in the war against the Devas. If Shukracharya is a great Guru and benefic, why would he lead the Asuras (the dark ones)? And what is Sanjivani?

I have come to believe that sanjivani is the power and healing that comes through love and “other” as there is nothing more nourishing and rejuvenating than the way we blossom when we feel loved. Now science is beginning to validate this and evidence can be found in Sue Johnson’s work with couples and Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). Love, bonding and connection are what has been found to heal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Oxytocin is the antidote to the stress response and since oxytocin is the main player in bonding and Venus rules relationships, wouldn’t it make sense that Sanjivani would be connected with relationship and the innate feeling of being alive when we bond with others for healing? Paramahansa Yogananda said all healing occurs when the life force is stimulated, and what stimulates the life force more than love? I have observed in myself what happens when I feel loved; I look more youthful and I have a glow of health. I feel as if I can handle anything. But when I do not feel loved or supported and trapped in sadness or shame, I look older and tired. I understand that we are “supposed to” be able to get this love for ourselves through loving God. However, if everyone is divine and god is in everyone and everything, isn’t that essentially what we are doing?

I am primarily a therapist and my work deals with both the “internal within” and the “in between” people and I believe they are both equally valuable for spiritual growth. I am an astrologer second, and in astrology there are Gurus for both; Brihaspati/Jupiter and Shukracharya/Venus. Shukra is the Guru of the Asura and his realm is the powers of the world and the space “in between”; relationship. You can’t bring yourself back from the dead, someone else is needed as we see in the story were Shukra teaches the secret of Sanjivani to Brihaspati’s son who then uses it to bring back Shukra himself. Love and the innate human need to bond is extremely powerful and has the ability to rejuvenate and heal the life force. The growing body of research indicates that humans biggest defense against illness and suffering is RELATIONSHIP, which when “good” and nurturing, boosts both emotional and biological resilience and stimulates the life force, increasing healing and vitality. This happens powerfully in the space between. Brihaspati/Jupiter rules the “internal within”/the higher wisdom that most spiritual people want to jump to and so he is often elevated to a “higher” level and this path is appealing to those who struggle in relationships and in living in the world because this can be reached on your own. Venus/Shukra is the happiness in relationship and I refuse to value the personal individual spiritual work as “better” or more helpful than the work done between individuals in relationship. This bond between people is created not by transcending the relationship and yourself, it is created by being able to be present with another person and listen to how you impact them and then share how they impact you and work through it. Learning to work together in harmony and tending to the relationship as a gardner would her garden. Shukra shows us how to succeed in the world and how to rejuvante ourselves through our relationships. Sue Johnson’s work has begun to demonstrate this with science as she explains in this lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ejp4OAk7Oo&t=4s. She talks about how humans actually feel less pain and can face great suffering when holding their loved one’s hand, and that this resilience translates to better overall health. So a person in a loving relationship is less likely to suffer illness and if they do then they are more likely to recover.

“Everything is a reflection of you” is something that is thrown around a lot within the spiritual community. And yes, this is true as far as understanding ourselves and our own psyches and reactions to others. It has been very helpful in my personal internal work when contemplating, healing and reflecting on my own inner chaos. But there is still the realm of “other” who is also as divine in their own right as you are, so to dismiss every aspect of god in every living thing around you to “everything is just a reflection of you” seems overly simplistic. If we are all reflections of the divine, doesn’t the divine want to learn about itself? It does this through another.

You may do all kinds of personal work on your own and learn to manage your projections and know what they mean, but you still exist in a body and have to interact with others and it’s certainly not doing you or your loved ones any good to just dismiss them when they are angry with your behavior and say “its all a projection of something inside you”. I would certainly become frustrated with this response. When someone betrays their partner and their world is turned upside down, yes they may eventually grow spiritually from the experience, but it is something that happened in the space “between people” and jumping to “everything is reflection of you” bypasses the work needed to heal the space between and dismisses the emotional death that takes place within the self and the external source of healing it will require. “Everything is a reflection of you” is simply not helpful in this situation. A safe, supportive environment with human bonding is where healing can take place.

The following article states that without a supportive external environment, all the internal resources you can muster won’t make much difference. The social work perspective is based on this and has shown evidence of it. An example is found in the article https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-put-down-the-self-help-books-resilience-is-not-a-diy-endeavour/?fbclid=IwAR0_7VBWcdqrC0E-TojutjlDiPbMwHiLMXcSGkkdYm5qE49RPKEn_mvWd6I

On a personal note, about 10 years ago I moved away from all my relationships, as I found them too difficult to handle. I have been on a healing journey since then. I have done a lot of personal internal work and decided to move back and face them. I now have skills and spiritual practices which assist me and yes “everything is a projection of you” was very helpful to me for a while. But that token advice doesn’t help me navigate or understand how to get what I need in the space between. This space between is a mix of my projections and the other person’s and the relatioship that we create together which is also it’s own living “thing”. I believe relationship should also be viewed as a valuable vehicle towards spirituality when at the very least it compliments the internal work that is so prized within the spiritual community. It is love that allows us to calm fear and the stress response, which is the main generator of disease (see Gabor Mate’s work on stress and disease). Devotion is a path to God. I am currently in the midst of my Rahu maturation (Rahu in Libra, ruled by Venus) which is guiding me in this direction and this is where my personal and professional work will focus.

I heard Sahdguru talk about “detachment” and how this is a “wrong idea” that seeped into Vedic thought and that spiritually, we are not supposed to be detached, we are supposed to be completely involved in life but not be attached to the outcome of our efforts. He said Krishna was not detached, he was completely engaged and that complete involvement in life is spiritual if you truly give yourself to each situation and person you encounter. I believe the Jewish philospher/mystic Martin Buber wrote about this kind of presence in his book I and Thou. This is the route that resonates most deeply with me. Being completely present for the person in front of me and learning to navigate the space between us. I can’t say I am evolved enough to not be attached to any outcomes yet, but everything is a process. I enjoy working through problems on this level and it takes a very different skill set than just seeing everything as a projection of yourself. You have to listen to others and also be able to respond to them in a way that deepens connection and what you build together has a life of its own. The relationship is the “third thing”. First there is you, then there is other (where you see your reflection), but then the third is created – the relationship in the space between. This is where unconditional positive regard was born, the basis for Carl Rogers entire body of work on healing.

“He could find his soul in desire itself, but not in the objects of desire. If he possessed his desire,and his desire did not possess him, he would lay a hand on his soul, since his desire is the image and expression of his soul.” – Carl Jung. This is not detachment. This quote makes me think of rejuvantion and the stimuation of the life force/soul through what we love. As I finally finish writing this, Venus now sits in Taurus, and I feel even more strongly that Sanjivani is connected with love and bonding as lately I feel very loved and am able to observe the affects first hand. I see how it ripples out to those around me and the clients I serve. It is through this stimulation of the life force that healing and rejuvenation take place. Shame and Fear strangle the life force and there is no better or more powerful tool for healing than love and bonding and this is where we find the power to bring ourselves back from the dead.

I have been wanting to write about my experience with this Avashta for some time but have not been satisfied with my discouraging conclusions. Being the eternal optimist, and wanting to believe everyone can improve and change their lives, I have decided to call this “part 1”, while I continue to experiment and explore interventions. Lajjita or Ashamed Avastha occurs when Rahu or Ketu are conjunct a planet in the 5^th house or in any house when also joined by a cruel planet (Sun/Mars/Saturn). For example Venus/Rahu/Mars will generate feelings of shame around Venusian ruled manifestations. What I have seen in my experience, is that shamed planets create the most problems and are the most difficult to work with from a therapeutic perspective. The people I have known or worked with that have shamed planets in their charts seem resistant to treatment and do not appear to get better through therapeutic intervention. This is not to say it isn’t possible and I will continue to try, but I have noticed them to be the most resistant and troublesome combinations to overcome.

Mercury shamed by the Sun seems to be more common because they are usually close together in their journey through the sky. Since Mercury’s role is to create a life that works, people with this placement are bound to have difficulty making their lives work for them and to feel shame about it. The people I have seen with ashamed Mercury’s tend to suffer from significant depression. They often feel shame about their skills, either by not developing them or developing them and then not using them. The ones I have worked with have been in therapy for years with little visible change in regards to their depression and situation.

Venus shamed by Sun shows shame because the person has not been able to make their relationship work and are incompatible with their spouse. The person I knew with this was not sexually satisfied with their spouse and sought out fantasies online which would eventually bring them shame. Venus shamed by Mars shows passion that leads to shameful events. With Mars/Rahu shaming it indicates this excess passion is so great that it may dictate the individuals life and lead to shameful events. The person I worked with that had this combination could understand everything logically, but in the moment would create huge aggressive blow-out problems with their spouse again and again and despite treatment, failed to make changes and would not give up this relationship – even when it meant losing their children. Their presenting problem was anger and substance abuse.

The most difficult combination of planets I have seen in a chart included Saturn/Moon/Mars/Jupiter/Rahu all in Virgo. With the “great benefic” shamed, I saw the most challenging set of issues I have ever come across. Jupiter’s role is to manifest the inner virtue in our lives as our husband, children, wealth, purpose and goodness. We can begin to imagine how one’s life might be if Jupiter is ashamed along with Mars, Moon and Saturn.

When the shaming is done by Rahu, “The foundation is dullness, a lack of response to stimuli – the individual then requires extreme stimuli in order to fully experience anything and the need for extremes so often gives cause for shame as negative things can only come from extremes.” -Ernst Wilhelm.

It is this need for “extremes” that manifested the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder in this person. Many people have this diagnosis but very few actually exhibit the purest symptoms. This was a case where I found the diagnosis an accurate description of her outer behavior. Jupiter also allows you to benefit from counsel. This person was in counseling for years and actually behaved worse over time. This client though intelligent and likable, was just not able to access the help being offered. What I saw was a life long pattern of avoidable, self-created tragedies.

As Ernst states, “When Saturn along with Rahu shames Jupiter the individual carries a self-destructive quality within them that is from feeling ashamed about who they are as they are somehow unable to see themselves as good. As a result of this, many extroverted behaviors are brought about in an attempt to somehow prove themselves that they are good or right. Even a flaunting of behaviors may occur during which the individual will do things that no one can call good as they make the point of, ‘See what I can do, and it does not matter, it does not change who I am, I am still right!’”

Violent abuse, years of humiliation, substance abuse, criminal activity, homelessness, removal of children, and endless self-destructive behaviors that make no sense to the outside observer. It left me baffled as to how to even approach the problems as they continued. Years and years of therapy, medications, plenty of insight – yet they continue to make one poor decision after another.

As a therapist, I like to believe everyone can be helped. But so far I have not found the appropriate interventions for working with the ashamed Avashtas, though I will continue to try. I have inquired to various other astrologers to see what they have seen and everyone seemed to be limited on effective interventions. So hopefully Part: 2 will be titled Successful Interventions for Lajjiita Avashtas. Please feel free to email me any suggestions or experiences you have had with these tough combinations.

My hypothesis for treating these placements will be rooted in a Psychodynamic approach but I want to research and design interventions specifically for processing shame. I would then add a Dialectical-behavior therapy approach towards managing impulses. If the person could somehow tolerate the impulse to act out the situations that generate the shame, then we could focus on healing the shame that is present without creating new shame.

“Time has for its nature, to bring what is to pass. An event begins only when the commencement of its alloted time arrives, and ends when its time has run its course. The science of knowing the nature of an event from the moment of its beginning is Muhurta.” – Ernst Wilhelm from Classical Muhurta

Moving and making the long drive from one corner of the United States to the other is no easy task, even with the best Muhurta. When I did it the first time around, I was young and driven by the intensity of my pain and emotional confusion so…of course it seemed like an exciting thing to do. It also felt like I was caught in the grip of something that I now understand as “seizing”. “A planet is called a Graha since it seizes man (as well as other things) and puts him on his astrologically fated destiny,” Ernst Wilhelm, Graha Sutras. This can also be thought of as an archetypal energy arising from the unconscious or when you feel swept up in a stream of events that are out of your control. Of course there is always some amount of free will, but very little when you are unconscious and a slave to your desires, which I was at the time.

Arriving in Florida, I felt so far from everything that meant anything to me. I kept my focus on completing my education, but I went through some challenging times and poor decisions before eventually finding myself again. I was wounded and had not yet found the means to heal myself. I recognized I was not happy and decided to start doing things differently. I experienced the “fall” that comes with a Sagittarius lagna (according to Jaimini). I found inspiration in the famous Rumi quote, “You’ve seen my descent, now watch my rising”. I found a safe place to get comfortable and settle down to do the real work of healing. I practiced therapy which allowed me to learn a lot about myself through working with others and through teaching the skills that I practiced. I discovered yoga which helped me heal through the body and Vedic Astrology which helped me heal my relationship with the past and my spirituality. I immersed myself in self-discovery and devotion to helping others. I desired true authenticity and the ability to heal by example. Living this way was truly satisfying. I made a safe place for myself after years of struggling and I finally felt good.

But eventually I grew restless. I began to feel as if the path I was walking was evaporating under my feet, leaving me treading water in a deep pool. While this provided me the necessary environment to dive “deep”, I soon realized there was no forward movement and I wasn’t ready to let my roots become permanent yet. I had learned to manage my strong emotions, become “the witness” and not be overcome by my desires. I had healthy relationships with almost everyone and everything in my life. In the wisdom traditions, desire is often viewed as something to be mastered or overcome. I needed this lesson because I was full of rajas and a slave to my feelings which meant I was blown all over the place by outside circumstances. I learned to control the inside and let the outside take care of itself. I sought to detach from my desires and I became so stable, consistent, and reliable that I eventually found myself somewhat stagnant and understimulated. I had been viewing desire as a negative thing to be avoided due to how it had lead me astray in the past. Then I read about Evolutionary Astrology, which believes desire is the driving force and catalyst that motivates the soul to become. This resonated with me. Through my fostering of security, safety and responsibility, I had disconnected from desire. I didn’t know what I desired anymore. But I knew that, as much as I loved my home and my life,  it was not the end destination for me. My passion and desire (Venus in Scorpio) had always been such a huge part of who I am. Those aspects needed integration or I risked moving into shadow territory and Rahu maturation was just around the corner.

I looked around at my beautiful and comfortable life and I was sad knowing that I had to leave it. It was confusing and difficult to hold so many conflicting emotions simultaeously. My time in Florida was coming to a close and in my soul I “knew” I couldn’t stay. It was too comfortable and secure. I didn’t see how I would be challenged in the ways I required to continue growing. I had been in Florida for 9 years, 9 being the number of completion. It was time. I left under Mercury/Ketu dasha which seemed fitting. I needed to reconnect with my desire and it seemed the best place to start would be returning to my roots. Reconnecting with my family and returning to the Pacific Northwest, which I felt was the “home” I had been longing for since leaving it many years ago. Perhaps again, I was under the influence of forces beyond my control. Perhaps my time in Florida had simply ended and it was time to go home. This time I would face the task with conscious effort and the skills I now possessed to work in harmony with my destiny.

I had been studying Vedic Astrology for a few years and I decided if I was going to make the cross country journey again from Orlando back to Seattle, I would need the divine assistance of a good Muhurta. A Muhurta can be easily purchased from a skilled astrologer but this was a chance to test my own skills and intuition. I chose some dates that resonated with me and began to narrow it down using the skills I was learning. I experienced a lot of setbacks and obstacles and had an insanely difficult year leading up to this and I wanted a smooth path. Making the trip the second time around, it sounded harder and a little scarier because I lacked the recklessness of my youth so I wanted a good Muhurta to ease the way.

I eventually decided on 8/18/18. I read recently that this date was the top date for weddings this year, partly because the number is a palendrome. It ended up being a great date for me, evidenced by the ease and success of my trip. It couldn’t have gone smoother or worked out more perfectly. I was unsure at first about Mercury being retrograde since it isn’t good for traveling, but it went direct later that day and I experienced no issues. There were actually numerous retrograde planets in this Muhurta including Mars and Saturn, but given the nature of my activity (going “back” to a place from the past) I found it appropriate on a symbolic level. On my journey I made good time, my car didn’t have any problems, my family visits were all argument and drama-free, I missed all the fires before and after my passage through California, and avoided any extreme weather. Given how difficult my year had been up to this trip, this was definitely a message to me that I had made the “right” choice and was in synch with the forces beyond myself. The Muhurta I chose for entering the city and beginning my new life was under Ashwini. All the Grahas were in friendly positions and the chart really resonated with me. I believe it holds good things for my future. I recommend finding a good Muhurta for undertaking any significant activity, and I hope that my new surroundings will be both challenging and supportive of my future growth and practice of both therapy and astrology.

This is the first time I have felt like writing in months. I haven’t been sure which direction I wanted to take any more. There is so much information on Astrology out there already. I don’t want to be just another voice saying the same things as everyone else. I also don’t want this to be a purely intellectual exercise. I could talk theories all day, along with most therapists. But my strength lies in my ability to bring theory into practice. To take abstract concepts and apply them in therapy and to see them in real life situations. I want to do the same with Astrology. Sometimes this means first seeing them in myself.

Tonight’s full Moon falls in Swati Nakshatra, Scorpio using Tropical Rasis. I have read online articles with predictions about the “intensity” and possible conflicts with this full Moon, but for me, I’m feeling wonderful. I have Venus and Sun in Scorpio in my natal chart and the Moon should be transiting my Venus as I am writing this. I feel moved to discuss my Sun/Venus conjunction, which I believe I have been struggling with lately. Using Parashara’s Lajjitaadi Avashtas, the Sun agitates and thirsts Venus when conjunct, which originally caused me to look outward for fulfillment in many ways. As a girl I always wanted to find “true love” and that search was prized above all else as it seemed the only thing worth having. Scorpio Venus made me a little obsessive at times, unable to let go and this obviously lead to disappointment until I could learn to access the boon of my Exalted Jupiter and tap into the wealth of happiness within that is available to me whenever I need it. But my Su is weak and lately, I have been thinking a lot more about Venus thirsting the Sun instead, as this has started to become noticeable to me in ways I didn’t anticipate, and I believe it is an obstacle to my future success.

Ernst Wilhelm states that, “The Sun is our creative inspiration, inspiration by its very definition comes from within, not from external sources. The creativity of the Sun when starved by Venus […] is created by another or by nature rather than from self-creation. The fire of inspiration is thus lacking. This fire is the most powerful fire available, the fire that can burn through the setbacks in life – through disappointments, the health problems, the disasters etc. The one thing that can truly be counted upon to always light the way is the fire of inspiration, the fire of the Sun. Venus starving the Sun lacks that unquenchable fire. As long as the individual’s creativity is linked to some external creative force the person can feel alive, but when that link is broken, there is nothing left for the person. […] When life does lead to a fulfilling path, there will be great enthusiasm and strength, but how long does any path that is not self- created last?”   

Now, of course this description is of the Avashta by itself, isolated from any other possible positive influences it may have from other planets. I have spent some time, observing how this presents within my own life. At first it was confusing, as I consider myself a creative person and very driven to manifest what I want. Whatever I desire, I simply go after it and accomplish it. But have I ever really created something long term or substantial? And what happens when there are no more strong desires for “success” like I am experiecing at this point in my life?

I want to work for myself and help people in the ways I believe in, but when I actually tried to create a business, I found myself lacking the drive and momentum to actually build it up and keep it going. I just wanted to continue my studies and talk with people – I didn’t want to market or network or think too much about business things. However, if I had someone to do these things with, I would be much more inclined to do them. I began to think about it and what I really desire is to be a business partner or a part of team as I do need others energy to motivate me. I see it in my yoga practice as well, at home I can do the poses, but I am not inspired to push myself and I require the creativity of the teacher to motivate me and draw out my effort. I desire to connect more with nature and go hiking and camping. But I have no motivation to do these things by myself- to create those experiences out of nothing. It’s funny, because I consider myself an introvert, but when it comes to creating all these experiences I want, I am starting to realize I really do need the inspirational fire of others to bounce off of and to get my own fire burning. My weak Sun’s fire simply doesn’t blaze as bright and strong as I wish it would.

So perhaps that’s why I have felt uninspired to write. I am feeling content and I know I have SO much inside me to share with the world, and lots of projects to create…but I need others to inspire me to action, and I need the power of relationship and an energetic exchange to inspire my creativity to flow. For a long time now, I have tried to get in touch with my creative fire and attempted to stoke it. But I have not been successful. I have “delight” coming from Mars, which shows I am capable of making things happen once I feel inspired to do something. I have a wealth of knowledge and interesting experiences from which to work, and my thirst for learning is forever driving me to gather new information. But I do believe I will require others to create what I want to see in this world.

One of the things I have found helpful for this conjunction is guided meditations that visualize integration, particularly some of the “Twin Flame” ones that I have found online that integrate and abosrb “other” parts of the self that have been cut off. When integrating the shadow, it is not always the bad or ugly parts that we are repressing or cutting ourselves off from. Often there are useful traits like “creativity” or perhaps the fire of the Sun. So shadow work in general would likely help this kind of conjunction but is especially helpful when working with Rahu/Ketu. This Sun/Venus conjunction has an intimate connection with my Ketu/Rahu axis. My Ketu is in Aries and by same ruler (Mars) conjunction, Ketu is “swallowing” my Sun. Venus is in Swati Nakshatra (Rahu), and Rahu is in Libra which is ruled by Venus.  And given that Ketu in Aries wants to do everything alone by herself and needs to learn the balance of trading with others, it would seem this conjunction creates the deficit that must be remedied by the position of Rahu. After all of the personal work and healing I set out to do over the past 9 years (Ketu number of completion), working creatively and partnering up with others is likely to be the primary task for the years ahead.

Enantiodromia is one of my favorite concepts to contemplate, and it is a central theme woven into Jungian personality theory. The basic definition is that a superabundance of any force inevitably produces its opposite. It is a governing principle of natural cycles and of psychological development. It is reported as having Greek origins and is made up of two Greek words, enantios = opposite and dramein = to run. However, since it is a defining and observable principle of nature itself, it is found in most old wisdom cultures throughout the world.

R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz tells us how to understand the dynamics of opposites as seen in Egyptian glyphs, which are expressed within one symbol. For example, two god heads would be shown looking in opposing directions, but were both attached to one shared body (the third “thing”). Lubicz states, “Being, as existence, manifests only through relationship, that is, the interchange between the two component complements of Being.” The symbol communicates that opposites are not actually separate from each other; that this relationship between them is the basis for dualistic reality. This concept is also described in Eastern philosophies like Taoism.

Rahu and Ketu are the calculated opposing points of intersection between the Earth’s course around the Sun, with the Moon’s course around the Earth. These two calculated points show the path of the Individual’s consciousness in this lifetime and can provide information about past lives and inherited/acquired psychological patterns. There are many different factors that go into understanding how they will be expressed in an individual’s chart, but for now, we are just acknowledging that they are the two opposing forces in a person’s life that will create the tension out of which the third “thing” will emerge.

“Ketu creates compulsions that destroy or free the native from things. Rahu creates compulsions that that pull one into things they have little knowledge or skill in, and where they are therefore bound to suffer difficulty. Ketu creates discontent due to the old and the familiar. Rahu creates discontent due to the impossibility of anything being as good as the wish; dreams are always better than reality until of course, the world is seen as a dream. Rahu creates radical changes that force one to rely on or accept something unfamiliar. Ketu creates radical change to liberate one from attachments, or those things that are completed and therefore have no more purpose in the native’s development,” (Ernst Wilhelm, Character Effects of the Grahas). [This process forces transformation, the third “thing.”] “The three forces of Rahu and Ketu – compulsions, discontent, and radical change plague every man. If the individual handles these three with a spiritual consciousness of growth and expansion, then transformation occurs. If the individual is unable to do this then these serve to destroy the happiness of his life.”

The opposing nodes of Rahu/Ketu (which the mythology tells us are one Asura who was cut into two) when out of balance become poisonous, and when we bring them into balance we get the third thing which is health. The failure to tolerate the tension or balance the poison successfully, is commonly the time when therapeutic interventions are either sought out or forced upon the individual through conflicts with authority, loved ones, illness, and the outside environment. Jung observed that an emergence of unconscious shadow material (Rahu) always occurs when an unbalanced tendency dominates the “conscious” life (Ketu). This is the basis of how the Rahu/Ketu relationship functions within our psyches and lives, and can be expressed through our bodies as illness. The more a compulsion or attitude is repressed or repeated, the more unbalanced Ketu’s poison becomes. This unconsciously invites the shadow opposite Rahu’s poison to emerge, in an attempt to force a balance. This can be frightening for many people because the shadow contains our worst fears and thoughts that we do not want to acknowledge about ourselves. Rahu brings them into our life externally so that we must change internally (Ketu). This is explained in a famous quote of Jung’s, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Building awareness of the shadow content and processing it voluntarily won’t necessarily save you from all negative outcomes, but you won’t be as surprised when you encounter it and will have built up more skills and healthy habits to handle it (hopefully).

When facing a problem, Jung states there are usually two opposing paths to solving it but neither solution will be correct. We must learn to tolerate the tension between the two that will eventually result in a third. The energy of Rahu is meant to draw out the imbalance of Ketu and through the tension of holding these energies, the third solution/state emerges. I find the following letter of advice to one of his patients very helpful when struggling with this kind of inner conflict because it is a reminder for me to switch “modes” of processing and release the internal pressure of feeling I have to choose or “do” something about it. I can then engage with the passive mode of awareness, presence, tolerance, and observation. He writes:

“…There can be no resolution, only patient endurance of the opposites which ultimately spring from your own nature. You yourself are a conflict that rages in itself, and against itself, in order to melt its incompatible substances, the male and the female, in the fire of suffering, and thus create that fixed and unalterable form which is the goal of life. Everyone goes through this mill, consciously or unconsciously, voluntarily or forcibly. We are crucified between the opposites and delivered up to the torture until the “reconciling third” takes shape. Do not doubt the rightness of the two sides within you, and let whatever may happen, happen. A life without inner contradiction is either only half a life or else a life in the Beyond, which is destined only for angels. But god loves human being more than angels. With Kindest regards, CG Jung”

What practical things can be done to help us tolerate the tension long enough to bring forth the “third”? Each axis or set of signs that Rahu/Ketu fall in are going to present differently and specifics will require more in-depth exploration. In general, the ideal intervention is to find a therapist or skilled counseling astrologer to work with you on learning to engage, explore, and integrate the unconscious material of Rahu/Ketu. The conscious and unconscious are the two heads on the symbol of your one body and the conscious ego must develop a working relationship with this other passive principle which is the inverse activity (Schwaller de Lubiz) counterpart to active consciousness. The relationship of the consciousness to the unconscious produces the emerging third of “Being”. The relationship between the two poisons of Rahu/Ketu is health and/or transformation. These 1/2/3 relationships can start to be seen everywhere in nature and the answer is always balance.

In a previous post I shared how the unconscious can be thought of as a direct link with nature; the “drop of ocean that contains the entire ocean”.  Rahu/Ketu are two parts of this invisible side made up of feelings, impulses, actions, desires, shame, trauma etc. This is the part of you that must be approached with curiosity and courage. Cooperation between the parts is the only path to a successful working relationship within yourself and working on this internally will automatically generate the corresponding external changes. This is what classic psychodynamic therapy is all about, integrating the shadow and making the unconscious, conscious so it can no longer pull you into the same situations over and over again; to give you freedom to choose something different. Rahu/Ketu’s poison must be balanced within the unconscious and then the unconscious must be balanced with the conscious mind.

A more simplified popular version of opposites can be found in Jung’s theory of psychological types, which was developed into the famous Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory. The inventory has been criticized as being overly simplistic, reductionistic, and European/American culture specific, but I have found it to be useful at times, even with its limiting results. It can be helpful to discover your “type” within couples and families so others can learn to better negotiate their needs and boundaries. It is a tool among many others and not meant to be descriptive of your entire experience. Jung’s notable therapeutic tools for interacting and communicating with the unconscious includes a variety of projective exercises, with most modern expressive therapies (art, dance, music, play etc) being derived from his work. More details on using these can be found in my previous post “Healing the Unconscious”.

Archetypes, also made popular by Jung, inherently contain opposing energies within them and can help people recognize their unconscious behavior patterns. For example, the Rescuer archetype can begin with a beautiful intention of compassion and resourcefulness, until it becomes enabling and keeps the other person stuck in order for the rescuer to feel “needed” and safe (Ketu). Reading about different archetypes and their positive and shadow expressions (Rahu) can assist the mind in learning to think in terms of the two “heads” of the one archetypal body. Reading the language of archetypes is a fun way to uncover the structural patterns and themes in the personality and then identify the shadow behaviors needing integration.

A more simple, and easily accessible way to learn to tolerate the tension of opposites is through the practice of Yoga Nidra, which is a specific type of guided meditation. In Richard Miller PhD’s book, Yoga Nidra: A Meditative practice for deep healing, he emphasizes the importance of evoking opposites to explore the feeling and emotional body. When relaxed, invite into your awareness the opposing feelings one at a time. Fluctuate back and forth between them until you learn to feel them both simultaneously and the third emerges. Miller states, “Whatever you are willing to be with, you go beyond” and “When we stop trying to change and learn to be aware, magic happens. Awareness is like fire. Fire purifies, awareness purifies.” He states that nonaccepting is a form of self-loathing. This leads to denial and a powerful shadow influence. Integrating this influence and learning to tolerate the discomfort of sitting with these painful thoughts and emotions allows us to go beyond them. Hypnotherapy can work in a similar way.

A more concrete/cognitive/skills based approach that works effectively through evoking opposites is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), in which one learns to “work the dialectic of opposites”. This model was developed by Marsha Linehan who spent much of her time practicing Buddhism and learning to use mindfulness to help her tolerate the discomfort of her intense emotions. DBT offers structured exercises and workbooks to help you “work your way out” of the conflict by coming to understand that Emotion + Reason = Wise Mind, the emerging third that happens by accepting and balancing the “opposing two”. Mindfulness practices of simply observing feelings as they arise mixed with cognitive exercises for changing inner dialogue and interpersonal effectiveness are combined. She also stresses grounding and self-soothing through the senses and the importance of directing the mind to the here and now when experiencing hyperarousal. In the behavioral realm she asks us to simply act the opposite of what our urge is telling us to do. If we want to lash out, then we instead perform an action of kindness or compassion. The action is likely to activate the opposing desired emotion, and eventually can create lasting behavioral change.

There is no formula or remedy that will completely protect you from experiencing the lessons of Rahu/Ketu, but you can learn to balance the opposing forces, hold the tension, develop healthy habits that balance the poison, and allow the space for the third solution/transformation/health/consciousness to emerge. If we can learn to view and work with the energies of Rahu/Ketu like this, we may be able to harmonize more with our body and psychology and reduce unnecessary pain and trauma to ourselves and others along the way.

The Lajjitaadi Avashtas are a technique described by the ancient sage Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra to indicate the different emotional states that become activated at various times throughout your life according to what Mahadasha or time cycle you are currently running. Avashta is Sanskrit for the “state of” and the Lajjitaadi Avashtas reflect to us how we feel by the positions of the planets in the chart based on what their relationships are. Each planet represents an aspect of the human experience and some are friends and some enemies to each other. Enemies can be thought of as two parts of yourself that have conflicting agendas that end up creating internal conflict. The avashtas can be thought of as a very complex personality theory. In this article, I will discuss only one avashta because it is one of the most common and complex in how it presents differently depending on other factors and the rest of the chart. Everything must always be considered in regards to the whole but for the sake of trying to understand, we must break it down and simplify it.

Kshodhita means “starved”, and when we are starved for something, we tend to act in desperate ways to fulfill ourselves. The Sun represents our soul and its role is to co-create our lives out of inspiration. Saturn’s job is to survive and keep our physical body alive. Our ego is part of that physical form, so when the Sun starves Saturn there becomes too much of a focus on preserving the ego (which is an illusion). As Ernst Wilhelm describes, “The Sun starving Saturn reveals that the individual identifies with that which they are not and that which they do not have. Identifying with that which one is not, is to be identified with one’s weaknesses, to be identified with that which is not perfect in the individual. The normal human condition is to possess weaknesses, this is one half of what makes us different from others – what makes us individuals. There is nothing wrong with having weaknesses, however, the person who identifies with these weaknesses, seeing these weaknesses as who they are, can only suffer, and only cause others to suffer as well. Suffering will come in the form of jealousy, haughty behavior, arrogance or timidity. All of these will have the same effect of there being a lack of creative freedom without which the individual cannot create an inspired destiny. The results of this are slavery to more creative individual’s or slavery to one’s own petty conflicts.” – (The Heart of Parahshara Astrology).

So what does it mean to be identified with your weaknesses? It can look like very different behaviors but the root goal is still the same = ego validation. Sometimes it may present as a person who cannot accept that they made a mistake and so must project blame onto others. They would rather continue to make the same mistake than admit they were wrong and change course. It may also manifest in the opposite way as an unreasonable focus on what’s “wrong”, making the weaknesses and faults a central part of their personality. In psychology, we would likely discover that this trait developed from authoritarian parents. Astrology allows us a different view- that we were born to experience this. In the extreme cases, disorders occur, and many people become caught up in the correctional systems of society because of the resistance to accept blame or responsibility. They refuse to accept help in changing their behavior, even when help is made available.

Others with this avashta may know that they have made a mistake but cannot bear to discuss or admit it and so they avoid and engage in unhealthy behaviors to validate their ego like chronic infidelity or addiction. A person identified with their weaknesses may be vulnerable to any person who shows them attention and can lead to unhealthy expressions of sexuality. Sexual pathology can be seen sometimes with this aspect because the person is overly identified with the physical body (Saturn) and can come to crave the power they perceive in the sexual union. They cannot create their inspired full life’s potential because they are too busy trying to validate their ego through their sexual conquests. Another way that this can manifest is through projection. A person could be identified with their weaknesses so that it motivates them to be attracted to people who they see as having the traits they believe themselves to be lacking. In this scenario it could become healthy if the projected trait is eventually reclaimed and integrated, but not when the person continues to only see the trait in the “other” as this creates feelings of lack that lead to suffering.

The differences in expression and behavior depend on whether Sun/Saturn are conjunct, in the same sign, or aspecting each other, and the strength and dignity of the planets. Also a factor is the quality of Mars which is the will. When faced with a truth the ego doesn’t want to accept, the fight or flight response is activated and the state of Mars indicates whether the person will fight to prove their truth or simply withdraw and avoid the conflict and get their validation elsewhere. Some may fluctuate between the two styles. These could all be viewed as different problems, but through the lens of the avashtas, we see they all have the same root of Saturn starvation.

So, what can be done? First, as with all problems, the issue must be identified and agreed upon. The beginning step would be to begin taking the recommended Bach Flower Remedy in order to remove any energetic blocks to healthy self-esteem. This would be used in conjunction with counseling and the person would have to be willing to work on themselves. In the cases where there is aggression and denial of responsibility, therapy would focus on building that initial rapport. There will be no further progress without this base relationship to work from. For the very extreme cases, as seen in traditional narcissistic personality disorder, the ego is very fragile and the narcissistic shell is vital to the ego’s survival and will be protected at all costs. Usually the work includes long-term psychodynamic therapy which can create the safe environment to do the difficult work. It takes a lot of building trust and mutual respect and finding ways to encourage the ability to admit small mistakes. Therapy essentially “re-parents” the inner child in a way that is validating and emotionally safe (usually not what they received in childhood). Therapy would also focus on gaining insight and empathy. A healthy spiritual practice of some kind is usually encouraged.

For the strong Mars, interpersonal skills in the form of assertiveness training would be helpful to reduce aggression and to communicate clearly while tolerating the impulse to “fight”. In the cases where the person has a weak Mars, assertiveness training would be helpful to learn to speak their truth, tolerate the impulse for “flight”, and engage in connection with the person they are avoiding so they can come to experience vulnerability as less terrifying. The therapist should assist the person in examining the coping mechanism of projection and how it plays out in their experience and prevents them from seeing aspects and qualities in themselves. This can also be called “shadow work” as the shadow is what we repress and do not allow ourselves to “see”. The chart should then be consulted again, and the positive avashtas should be identified and through guidance and practice, the person can learn to use those positive avashtas and not focus on their weaknesses. Learning forgiveness and self-compassion are also central pieces to healing. It is not an easy process and many will never take the journey, but they will also likely continue to be unfulfilled in their lives….

In the last post, I talked about developing a healthy relationship with the unconscious. This week I will discuss the importance of integrating that work into a better relationship with the “Universe” (Cosmos, Purusha, God, source etc. Whatever term you are comfortable with for working with your higher entity). It doesn’t really matter what form your belief takes, you still need to have a good relationship with it to live your best life. Working from a psychodynamic model (which is my preferred orientation), this relationship can begin to be explored by the usual method: exploring the relationship you had with your initial caregiver growing up. This primary attachment not only serves as the template for your future relationships, it also serves as the basis for how you conceptualize “god”, how you believe it influences your life, and the feelings generated from your attachment style (anxious/avoidant/secure). For example, believing the Universe is all loving or believing it is punitive and “out to get you” will influence the way you act and feel accordingly. The next way of exploring this relationship, is to discover new ways of seeing and experiencing it and looking for the unhealthy ways in which you might be acting in relationship to it.

In Richard Tarnas’s, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a new world view, he offers a lengthy but useful discussion of the modern conflict between our spiritual/psychological subjectivity (internal) and the nonspiritual materialism and reductionism of modern science (external). “Because of science’s sovereignty over the external aspect of the modern worldview, [our] noble spiritual journeys are pursued in a universe whose essential nature is recognized-whether consciously or subconsciously-to be supremely indifferent to those very quests. These many spiritual paths can and do provide profound meaning, solace and support, but they have not resolved the fundamental schism of the modern world view. They cannot heal the deep division latent in every modern psyche. The very nature of the objective universe turns away any spiritual faith and ideals into courageous acts of subjectivity, constantly vulnerable to intellectual negation.” This prevents us from experiencing being part of a “whole” and leads to feelings of isolation. He goes on to suggest that we challenge the pervasive projected assumption that the exclusive source of all meaning and purpose in the universe is centered in the interior of the human mind. He describes the development of our knowledge of humans moving from external to internal exploration and suggests that it would follow logically, that what we see of the external Universe is not “it”, but that there is also an interior to the whole of what we are seeing. He asks us, “Might this not be the final, most global anthropocentric delusion of all? To presume that the universe utterly lacks what we human beings, the offspring and expression of that universe, conspicuously possess? To assume that the part somehow radically differs from and transcends the whole?”

As we learn in Ken Wilber’s, The Theory of Everything, the parts make up the whole and the whole transcends and includes ALL parts. So, if we have an interior consciousness that creates meaning and purpose, then of course the “whole” would also have it, as it must be included as well as transcended. His integral theory states, “’Holon’ means that every entity and concept is both an entity on its own, and a hierarchical part of a larger whole. For example, a cell in an organism is both a whole as a cell, and at the same time a part of another whole, the organism. […] Each holon can be seen from within (subjective, interior perspective) and from the outside (objective, exterior perspective), and from an individual or a collective perspective.” This would certainly lead to a logical next step that the universe does indeed have an interior dimension of consciousness of some sort that is interacting with us as we are interacting with it.

Carl Jung believed that we were embedded in a dance with the universe due to his time studying astrology and alchemy and wrote about it in his famous paper “Synchronicity” in which he describes and explains, “As the etymology shows, this term has something to do with time or, to be more accurate, with a kind of simultaneity. Instead of simultaneity we could also use the concept of a meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than the probability of chance is involved.” He describes events within the psyche corresponding with external events in the world. This is the realm of the unconscious described in my previous article as the feminine/negative/simultaneous/experiential perception. Modern quantum physics also agrees that what we are experiencing right now as matter is inseparable from our own mind.

The word coincidence is misunderstood in our culture, and somehow became associated with random chance and unrelated “accidents” due to the modern world view of an uninvolved exterior-only universe. But coincidence literally means, “correspondence in nature or in time of occurrence”. Two or more similar things happening together (coinciding). A psychic state in a person with a coinciding, simultaneous, objective, external event. The alchemists sought to transform the material within their own personal psyches and unconscious matter, so that they could then transform and influence the universe in return. Perhaps by effecting this possible “interior consciousness” of the Universe? In Paul Levy’s article, The Sacred Art of Alchemy he states that “the unconscious is revealing itself through its very projections onto the world, which is to say that the unconscious is synchronistically revealing itself through our experience of life itself. The unconscious is its own self-revelation. All we need to do is to recognize what is being revealed.” If people encountering each other evoke unconscious emotional responses from each other’s unconscious, then why not the encounter between the universal consciousness and our own. Who is to say that when I sit and watch the rain, that it is not feeling and responding to my presence in return.

This concept is a large part of why indigenous cultures lived more harmoniously with their environment. Nature has much to teach modern man in the ways of being. Many indigenous and native cultures used oral storytelling (in contrast to the written word which favors linear logic processing see The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain) and saw this interior consciousness of the universe behind every exterior and honored and respected it. They saw the omens in the environment and new how to relate them to what was happening within. This is how astrology and other divination arts work. Even though most of us may only experience one thing at a time with our dominant, reductionist, linear way of perceiving, the world is happening all at once and so whatever we are experiencing inside of our psyche can be seen reflected in the rest of our environment. We must learn to be sensitive to it. Our unconscious will be drawn to what matches our internal unconscious state, thus we choose the card “by chance” that is most meaningful to us right then. The planet’s positions at the time of your birth show the forces at play in the consciousness of the universe and those are reflected in the creation of your psyche at that specific moment in time. The transits then reflect what the motions and dynamics of the universe are at any given moment and how they react and respond to your dynamics.

Using astrology and omens won’t make your life perfect, it won’t make you blissfully happy, and it won’t get you everything you want (that’s the other type of processing: the ego). But it will teach you to interact with the possibilities available to you in the moment and allow you to understand more deeply the ebbs and flows of the suffering and joys you experience. It can let you know what developmental cycle you are currently in or what lesson you could be learning. It can help reduce the feeling that you are just adrift in a meaningless dead subjective world. It can open you up to amazing amounts of growth and a deeper appreciation of life and harmony.

One of the primary goals of the way I practice psychotherapy, is the integration of the unconscious and the development of a healthy relationship to this aspect of our consciousness. There is much debate and theory about what the unconscious is. Freud might say it was where our primal instincts, repressed memories, and defense mechanisms come from, and the storehouse of every memory and experience we have ever had. Every smell, sound, feeling, taste, kiss, and disappointment we have ever experienced. It is the domain from which dreams and intuition originate. Yogis might call it the “little Purusha”, or small speck of “source consciousness” within each of us. Rumi’s line, “You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop” could be describing this aspect of our consciousness. In Theodore Roszak’s book, The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology, he puts forth that the unconscious is the umbilical chord that connects us to nature. Jung believed in a portion of the unconscious called the collective unconscious that included the templates for all human behaviors that he called “Archetypes”. These are universal energy patterns of being in the world that are found to be consistent across all cultures and races. Meditation and Hypnotherapy work directly with the unconscious and it is widely accepted that this is where healing takes place.

In my work and experience, I have come to understand that humans have two modes of functioning. Some may call it right brain/left brain. It could also be called the intellect/doing or “top-down” cognitive process, and the feeling/being or bottom-up emerging/creative/experiencing process. I like the masculine/feminine dynamics. The masculine is linear, sequential, rational, and includes the perspective that manipulates the environment and situations to try and fit what we want them to be. The feminine is holistic, simultaneous, experiential, and allowing what is there to emerge. They could be described in terms of  “positive and negatively” charged energies or yin/yang. We must remember these terms are not meant to speak to biological gender and are speaking more in terms of energetic forces and natural processes in the psyche, which is always androgynous at the soul level. One is not better than the other, both are needed to live a balanced, healthy and satisfying life. Unfortunately, our society tends to devalue one and elevate the other, causing infinite harm and confusion.

In Leonard Shlain’s book, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The conflict between word and image, he makes a good case for how the creation of the written word lead to the devaluing and enslavement of the other way of experiencing the world. The written word has advanced society and been invaluable to our progress, but we are now starting to go back and re-evaluate what we have lost in exchange for over-valuing this way of knowing and seeing the world. The “feminine” way of experiencing the world is integral to many indigenous cultures that were viewed as “primitive” by the ones with the written word, and “civilization” has sought to dominate and “educate” them.  This means that many true healing modalities used today may originate from indigenous cultures, so we always want to remember to remain respectful of them when benefitting from the wisdom they offer. Access to this part of our consciousness is a human right that has been stolen from all of us, but we must also acknowledge the suffering that they have endured historically and honor them. It is important that we do not cause harm in our search for this lost part of ourselves by exploiting ancient traditions or causing further abuses and that we remain mindful of our impact on others.

So what does all this have to do with therapy? Through working with different modalities, we can learn to listen to, heal, and value this other side of our consciousness. It is us, but it is also not us in that it is not part of the “ego self” and has a direct line to nature and our primary instincts. It cannot be rationed with or forced to do our bidding or submit to our will. It must be met with respect and curiosity. We must learn to have a relationship to it and live harmoniously with it. It is likely to have already caused you some grief within your life in some form whether through illness, repeated mistakes and self-sabotage, unwanted emotions/behaviors, depression, anxiety, etc…Some of the various modalities that work with the unconscious include art therapy, dance, music, hypnotherapy, drumming, archetypes, meditation, breathwork, symbolism, binaural beats, spiritual practices like yoga and meditation, mantra, reiki, yoga nidra, connecting with nature, transpersonal psychology, shadow work, and Jyotish (Vedic Astrology). The birth chart in Vedic Astrology is a snapshot of the soul’s path through this lifetime, therefore it provides insight into what this part of our consciousness may be trying to experience or become in this lifetime. Whatever way you choose to engage with this mysterious and unknown part of yourself, it will be a lifelong relationship that will bring harmony and peace to you.

Avashta Therapies is the seed of a dream I wish to bloom within the world. A dream that blends two of my great loves, psychotherapy and Astrology. With this writing, I hope to spark others interest, by sharing my love and excitement surrounding the synthesis of these two great modalities. I hope to communicate what they can offer for your own life, by telling a bit about how they have changed mine. When I discovered Vedic Astrology, I was already practicing as a licensed therapist. I wanted to help others, I desired meaningful work, and I seemed to have a natural tendency towards calming anger and fostering trust. But I felt that something was missing. My orientation is primarily psychodynamic and I could see the personality theories at play throughout my client’s behaviors and psyches. But it often took a very long time to map out the dynamics and there were few directions on how to actually use the theories to help facilitate growth and healing. Healing is something that seems to be lacking in the West in general, but noticeably in the field of mental health. While the pharmaceutical companies would have us “fix” things with medication, much of the focus of modern therapy is on skills training, adjustment to society, and symptom management. I didn’t want to just help people adjust to a sick society. Skills are helpful but not if you don’t feel good enough to use them, and symptom management will allow you to function, but what about really thriving? I wanted to see transformation and healing and I simply wasn’t finding it in what I was being taught.

Through my study of psychology, I learned to manage my life pretty effectively, but found myself on a path of true healing when I began my relationship with yoga. It taught me through experience how the body interacted with and affected the mind and emotions and how negative emotions and traumas become stored in the body, harming us over time. Eventually, my romance with yoga lead me to Jyotish, (the study of light) or Vedic Astrology. The deeper I went into my studies, the more I recognized the overlapping components of much of the psychology I had learned, but being expressed in more profound spiritual ways. Jyotish allowed me to go farther and see my deep unconscious patterns more clearly. Through it, I continue to experience deep healing because the spirit’s destiny is included, which is often absent from our modern-day materialist and behaviorist perspectives. Through the birth chart, one can learn what is actually possible for your life and provides the opportunity to synch your actions and will with the current energies at play, allowing you to harmonize with the world, rather than fight it or feel victimized by it. In psychodynamic theory, your emotional patterns can be traced back to your childhood, but with Jyotish, those are the karmic emotional patterns you were born to experience, and your parents simply provided the settings that would trigger them. Regardless of how you want to look at it, they are your emotional patterns and when brought into consciousness and out of the “shadow”, you are one step closer to liberating yourself from emotional enslavement.

My favorite technique is using the Lajjitaadi Avashtas, which communicate the internal relationships of the different aspects of consciousness (the Grahas or planets) as described by the ancient sage, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra and interpreted and expanded upon by Ernst Wilhelm. While the avashtas usually won’t predict an event, they will communicate exactly how you will be feeling during any given time period. The Lajjjitadi Avashtas are the outline of the internal emotional landscape of a person’s life, thus allowing us to see exactly what kind of internal dynamics and emotional patterns a person struggles with, all within a few minutes. They illuminate the psychodynamics of a person without having to drudge through hours of therapy to get there. This not only makes my work more efficient, but essentially less expensive and time consuming for the client as well. In my work, predictions are not offered because predictions do not usually facilitate healing and are generally not therapeutically helpful. If you learn how to manage your internal dynamics and emotions, you will be able to handle whatever comes your way. The planets are all various aspects of consciousness and the state that each one is in determines our strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge, combined with counseling interventions, can become very powerful and is not limited to symptom management, but can be used for long-term healing and self-actualization. The birth chart lays out your destined path, the energies you are working with, and indicates the purpose of your life; dharma. Exploring these can lead you on the journey to self-actualization and the evolution of consciousness.