​Astrology is the language of symbols in the cosmos. As above, so below follows this cosmic dance among the planets and the zodiac on the grandest scale. And on an intimate scale the cosmos around us at our birth time take us on an epic journey through this lifetime. The natal chart is a map of our karma and the timing of this karma. It shows us our strengths and challenges for this lifetime. Our natal chart is not fatalism; it does not doom us. Quite the contrary as it show us how we can turn our challenges into our greatest strengths. We can use the natal chart to guide us with knowledge, acceptance and Divine wisdom in our day to day lives.

 

Astrology is one of the many ways in which we can study self which is a niyama; 2nd limb of yoga. By studying how we react to life according to our karma and proclivities, we can choose to use the strengths of our chart to make volitional choices, freeing ourselves from the karma and the constrictions of our ego self. In SR meetings we discuss ways in which the study of Astrology can guide us in our lives. And Santosha Recovery also has an Astrology Study Group that meets once a month on the third Thursday of the month by zoom. See meeting times and zoom link under the About drop down meeting.

 

The purpose of the study of Astrology is two-fold in the context of Santosha Recovery. The first purpose was just discussed; to learn about our strengths and challenges according to the energy of the planets in their position in the cosmos when you were born. The second purpose to study Astrology in the realm of SR is to begin to talk and understand the language of symbols. This teaching will discuss this two-fold purpose.

 

Personal Natal Chart: Below you will find the nine planets that travel the zodiac moving through the constellations or the signs of the zodiac cyclically. The planets in the sign that they were in, will color your personality in certain areas of your life. The study of the urges of these planets will guide you in the study of your own life's journey via the Natal Chart. Your natal chart is unique to you and is a map of the heavens when you took your first breath on the planet Earth. Understanding the planets and their characteristics can also guide you in living with the flow of life by understanding the energies of the planets as they are in the heavens currently, not when you were born but the energy in the heavens today. This will effect everyone. For instances; several times a year the planet Mercury travels so slow it appears to moving backwards. This is called Mercury in retrograde. During this time, it is possible that Mercury, the planet of communication, transportation and mentality could cause some havoc in our lives. By knowing when Mercury is retrograde, we can expect some delays and have a little patience with technology, transportation and our mental processes. Transits are how the planets in the sky today may affect your natal chart. So in the above example of Mercury in retrograde, the position of Mercury at any given time will effect each person slightly different. Transits also give timing to some of the events of your natal chart. The study of Astrology is systematic, meaning it follows a system that once you understand the methodology, it will be easy to understand and intuit. That is the plan for the Astrology Study Group; the more we talk about it, you will begin to see the system and methodology and it will guide you in your everyday life.  

 

The following is a list of the Planets and their symbol and their qualities:

 

Moon; ☽ the Soul of a person

Key words; emotionality, changeability

Places; home, kitchen, nurseries, beaches, fresh water lakes

People; mother, children ages 0-7, babies, general pulic

Things; change, water, emotions, beginnings, memories

Physically; breasts, stomach

Mentally; relates to emotions

 

Mercury; ☿ the Greek god Hermes was the god of translators and interpreters and served as messenger for all the other gods.

Key words; communication, transportation, mentality

Places; library, school, bookstore, office

People; children ages 7-14, messengers, teachers, secretaries, neighbors, brethren

Things; short travels, books, bicycles, education, magic

Physically; speech, hearing, nerves, dexterity

Mentally; relates to logic

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Venus: ♀︎ goddess of love, sex, beauty and fertility

Key words; love, beauty, harmony, compassion

Places; gardens, places of beauty, banks, bedrooms

People; young women, rules the ages 14-21, artists, musicians, bankers, lovers

Things; art, valuables, money, social pleasures

Physically; kidneys, hormonal activity, hoeostasis

Mentally; relates to love, compassion and kindred spirits

 

Sun; ☉ the Spirit of a person

Key words; vitality, power, self-expression

Places; positions of power, stages/limelight

People; men, boss, rules the ages 21-28, royalty, famous people

Things; fame, power, prestige, persons individuality and character

Physically; heart, vitality, self expression

Mentally; symbolizes will power, not willfulness

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Mars; ♂︎ the god of wars

Key words; heat, energy, courage, anger, things of this world not the spiritual world

Places; battlefield, hot places, factories, machine shops, surgical rooms

People; warriors, knights, athletes, young men, mechanics, surgeons, police, argumentative people, butchers, rules age 28-35

Things; cars, machines, burns, cuts, wounds, chemical, iron, heat, chemicals

Physically; muscles, body heat, defense system of the body, accident

Mentally; symbolizes pioneering spirit and the emotion of anger

 

Jupiter; ♃ known as the greater benefic as it is the bringer of good things, also knowledge.

Key words; optimism, expansive, preservation

Places; churches, open/expansive places, court rooms, foreign lands

People; philosophers, religious people, rules ages 35-42, doctors, lawyers, philanthropists

Things; higher education, foreign travel, aspiration, expansion

Physically; thighs, hips, liver, blood flow, reasoning

Mentally; optimism, compassion and generosity

 

Saturn; ♄ symbol of karma

Key words; constriction, limitation, self discipline, foundation

Places; confining or dark places, solitary places, caves, under things

People; old people, morticians, magicians, jailers, mathematicians

Things; delay, death, confinement, limitation, endings, loss, esoteric philosophy magician

Physically; bones, teeth, skin, hardening, aging, hearing

Mentally; coldness and indifference, set in ways

 

Uranus; ♅ Greek God of the sky, ruler of astrology

Key words; unexpected, revolutionary change, disruptive

Places; strange and unusual places

People; inventors, aviators, astrologers, antique dealers, metaphysical healers, revolutionaries, genius’

Things; electricity, disasters, riots, revolution, electronics

Physically; lower legs, ankles, body electrics, spasms/disruptions

Mentally; urge a rebellious freedom

 

Neptune; ♆ Poseiden, ruler of the water

Key words; nebulous, inspiration, mystical

Places; oceans/seas, bars, foggy/misty places, confusing places

People; mystics, musicians, liars, drug/alcohol addicts, mariners

Things; music, deception, inspiration, drugs/alcohol, saltwater, scandals, secrets,

Physically; feet, allergies/autoimmunity/addictions, permeability, cancer

Mentally; urge towards art, non-material, philosophy,

 

Pluto; ♇ King of the underworld

Key words; regeneration, renewal, death and dying

Places; underworld, graveyard, toilet, brothel, Las Vegas

People; mafia, intense/intimidating people, dictators, black magicians, the dead, kidnappers, masses of people

Things; decay, regeneration, treachery, violence

Physically; elimination and renewal, cycle of birth/death, defecation

Mentally; urge towards purging, transformation and perception

 

By understanding the energy behind the planets, we can get an idea on how we tend to life’s circumstances. For example; many people who are addicted to mind altering drugs (Neptune) are very nebulous and may hang out in bars a lot while tending to their conspiracy theories. These seekers tend towards dreaminess and music. But if you take a look more closely, Neptune is also apt to be highly mystical and philosophical. So if Neptune is placed with emphasis in your chart you can move from this dreamy nebulous state with yoga, with art, with spiritual studies.

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The Universe talks in symbols. It does not know language as we know language. So not only does the language of Astrology use symbols, but the Universe speaks to us through symbols. It does not talk in the English language. There are universal symbols; The heart symbol represents love, compassion and health, the dove symbol represents peace, love, and calm. And the owl symbol represents knowledge and wisdom. There are cultural symbols such as in Japan it is respectful to bow when you meet someone. The bagpipes are a symbol of Scottish Culture. The crucifixion is a symbol of Christianity and Jesus’ dying for the sins of his people. The lotus flower is a symbol in yoga representing the beautiful flower that arises up even through the muck. The red maple leaf is a symbol of Canada. The American Gothic is a symbol of the culture of the United States. Then there are individual symbols such as a colors or numbers that mean something in particular to you. The color red in a dream to me means there will be some hostility in my life in the next couple days. Partners in life, families or close friends have certain symbols that mean something to them while no one else would understand. All these symbols bring about a shared feeling or communication between each other and between the levels of our consciousness. For example: Some people use Eagle as a symbol of Spiritual renewal. So when they see Eagle present in their lives they pay more attention to life looking for spirit to move them. Some people have colors that symbolize different feeling states in their lives. The example above of the color red in my dreams is a symbol seen in the dream state of consciousness and manifests in the awake state of consciousness. All these various symbols allow us to communicate universally, across cultures, and individually through our various sates of consciousness. Here is an example of symbols used to communicate through our different states of consciousness: Once while I was meditating a big garbage truck came screeching into my minds eye. It came to a halt and sent its arms out to pick up and empty a big brown plastic garbage can. Then it set the garbage can down and off it hurriedly went. The literal translation might have taken me out of my meditation to go set my garbage can at the end of the driveway, but wait a minute it wasn’t garbage day! So what could it be? Well, at the time I was mind looping on an issue that disturbed me greatly, I recognized what the symbol of that garbage truck was immediately; it was telling me to let go and take out the trash!! It was my first experience of my subconscious mind communicating with my conscious mind through a symbol. I resolved my conflict and let it go. It was so cool. But our lives have become fragmented, and our conscious mind is separate from our unconscious and subconscious minds. We have lost communication with ourselves and others. Yoga is the joining of our states of consciousness. Yoga is letting the unconscious and subconscious symbols and memories come to light so we can see what drives us. The conscious mind is a small part of our psyche. Most people have no idea what drives them. They have lost all contact with their unconscious or subconscious mind. With this lesson I hope to reconnect you to the language of symbols so that you can communicate with yourself through your conscious, unconscious, and subconscious mind. Which will eventually give you access to the super conscious mind or Universal Consciousness.

 

Symbols are carriers of energy. Form has power! It is called Shakti! During the first year of covid, there was a very powerful energy- the heart. Many people, especially with children had their windows filled with hearts. The energy was compassion for those who were ill or losing someone close to them because of covid. When you saw the hearts on peoples windows, you paused for a moment and had compassion. Very powerful!! Ganesha is a symbol of the obstacle remover or the path clearer. When one needs the power of great strength to move through the negativity of life, invoke Ganesha just by bringing Ganesha into your minds eye. Jesus is the symbol of undying compassion. You can call upon Jesus to invoke compassion and unselfish love. The Goddess Saraswati is a Hindu Goddess who represents education, creativity and music. We can use universal symbols such as these to invoke positive energy into your life. But very few people remember that the these energies are available to them. Instead we are bombarded with symbols of guns, sex, violence, and drinking. These symbols have been glorified as what it means to be cool and popular among our peer groups. It is easy to see how powerful these symbols have become in the wake of all the addictions, violence and shootings. No wonder we are where we are as a society.

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How can we start to communicate through using symbols? Start paying attention to the symbols around you. Universal and cultural symbols are thrown at you if you watch TV. Pay attention to the news, commercials, and what you are watching. And then once you start to see symbols that do not add positive or loving energy into your being, stop letting them enter your consciousness or your subconsciousness. You do know that commercials are designed to land symbols into your subconscious mind to sway you. Do you know this? Don’t let that happen. If you continuously watch violence on TV your subconscious mind has no idea it is on TV and not real. It just sees that you are invoking the energy of violence. Do you know this? Bottom line is that we have a choice!! We have a choice of what we feed our psyche. Choose what symbols you want to bring into your being. If we surround ourselves with positive symbols we will bring joyous and expansive energies into our lives. Look around your living space. Everything is a symbol. What symbols are you seeing everyday. If they are not serving you, how can you get rid of them or if they have to stay, how can you change your relationship with them?

 

You can use symbols to transform your state of consciousness. If you wake up kind of crabby because of negative dream symbols or maybe because you went to bed kind of crabby, you can change that state of consciousness by bringing in a symbol of peace or beauty, depending on what energy you want for the day. (It is important to let go of any negativity or stress before you go into the dream state.) That is Kriya Yoga. If you have a negative attitude, change it. You are not repressing the negative symbol, you are replacing it, and then the negative symbol no longer exists. If you are feeling anger about something, sit with it and turn it into a feeling stare (remember the full presence awareness practice) and then let it go. And then bring in a symbol for shanti! So what if a symbol keeps showing up in your life. If it is a positive symbol enjoy the energy. If it is a negative symbol, neutralize it by bringing in positive symbols. Lets say Martian symbols keep cropping up in your consciousness. Bring in Venetian symbols to neutralize the martian symbols. For example, a martian symbol may be guns. Unless you are a hunter, guns are probably a symbol of violence. It is actually pretty easy to bring in guns as a symbol that is popping up for everyone right now with the gun violence going on in the world. It fuels a lot of anger in the world right now (martian energy). Violence begets violence. That is not a good thing. To neutralize this energy, symbols of beauty and creativity could neutralize the energy of the martian symbols. Om Shanti. Free me and free others. Would it work in the universal realm? How can it work in your psychological realm? There is a time delay called the Saturn delay of the symbol and the event. What that means is from the time you see the symbol until the time it manifests there is a time delay. So that means we can use that delay to neutralize the symbol. Use the delay to neutralize karma!

 

Every time you put a positive symbol in your conscious mind, you change the course of your reality!!

You can surround yourselves with positive symbols for the deeper beauty within. It is that simple. Here are some things you can do to bring about awareness of symbols in your life and then use positive symbols to neutralize:

• Notice what frame of mind or energy certain clothes or colors of clothes that you wear bring. Be intentional about what color of clothing you wear. But more important just start becoming aware.

• See everything in your house as a symbol of who your are and what you stand for. Fill your home with positive symbols. As you look around, are these symbols the energy you want in your life and to bring into your psyche everyday?

• Pay attention to your dreams. Keep a dream journal. Write down symbols in your dreams on one side of your notebook and then pay attention and write down things that happened during the next few days. This will enlighten you as to the meaning of symbols in your dreams. Also pay attention to the feelings that these dream symbols produce. I had a dream with a bunch of black lines and the next day while I was driving down the road, I had to swerve to miss a black snake that was crossing the road.

• If you are seeing a certain animal everyday or very often, reflect on its symbolism. And if you are into animal symbolism, there are plenty of books on The Spirit of Animals. And also what is your reaction and feeling state towards certain animals. Reflect!

• Study Numerology. Numbers are very very symbolic and have meaning when they show up in our lives. Study but again also reflect and study what numbers mean in your life.

• Start to see symbols, and then neutralize those symbols before they manifest in the physical world.

• Expand your awareness of universal symbols and cultural symbols. This expands your knowledge and allows you to see life as symbols.

• Start seeing the happenings of the world as symbols instead of events. See life as symbols. We are in a martian time, what can we do internally and externally to move up Jacobs ladder into the Venus chakra?

• See everyone you meet in this lifetime as someone to help speed up your spiritual evolution. This is important. People that come into your life are here to help speed up your evolution no matter if they are friend or foe!

 

An omen is seeing a symbol at a specific timing. So say a thunderstorm comes tearing through the town the minute you say “I do” at your wedding ceremony, there is meaning to that. Verses an eagle flying over you as you exchange vows at an outdoor wedding. When you begin something new, notice any symbols that come into your life. And if they are negative symbols you need to reflect on how to neutralize those symbols with positive symbols and volitional thinking.

 

Synchronicity is the environment in which you live in, communicating to you through symbols to accentuate thought and reflection. This greater intelligence of the universe can know what you are thinking or planning and communicates with you to assure you or warn you. Have you ever had that happen to you? When I am thinking profound thoughts, I fairly regularly see an Eagle fly over. When I am thinking negatively towards others, I regularly hit my head on an overhead cupboard, stub my toe or some other quick reminder that it is better to be in the present moment than to be thinking negatively towards another. Pay attention to the universe communicating with you. The I-Ching, tarot cards, crystals, numbers, and all divination tools are ways in which the universe communicates with us. But symbols have many meanings so these various symbols and tools have to be studied and reflected upon. A moon symbol will have a different meaning for you than for your friend and it may also have a different meaning today rather than 10 years from now.

 

The ultimate symbol is your Ishta Devata. Your Ishta Devata is your symbol of the most divine energy.

How to choose your Ishta symbol: meditate on these three questions:

1. What one idea are you willing to die for?

2. Of all abstract nouns-compassion, kindness, love, courage, ect. , which means the most to you?

3. What is truly your greatest value, ultimate value that you live for?

Now choose a person or a symbol that best meets theses values. You can choose a non person such as a tree or flower but it must be anthropomorphic with a face and a voice so that you can communicate with it. You can use your Ishta to neutralize symbols. Your Ishta can become very intimate with you and can be called upon for guidance, for clarity or just to give you strength in times of weakness or instability. Your Ishta will always have those values that are most important to you and you can call upon your Ishta when you want to embody these qualities into your own psyche.

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Studying the language of symbols can be quite fun and engaging. Learning the symbols of other cultures is an excellent way to bring understanding and compassion into the world. Did you know that in some cultures it is disrespectful for a younger person to meet the gaze of an elder? So then the time comes and you think someone is being disrespectful by not meeting your gaze you may want to think twice about the judgement! And learning to communicate with the Universe is a must if you want to evolve spiritually. Spirituality is believing and living according to being part of something bigger than ourselves. Belonging to something grander than ourselves. How do we know what our Universe needs if we cannot listen and understand what is being said. 

Keep it simple; make it fun! Enjoy your exploration of symbols!!