Astrology, Karma & Reincarnation

Let us introduce you to Karma, that mysterious Sanskrit word. Karma is what others do to you because you have already done it to them. In astrology, it gets combined with reincarnation, the idea that you may have lived before. So, according to the theory, the net outcome of your previous lives determines the kind of natal chart you have (eg., determines your birth moment). About this point, our authors stray off into talk of retrograde planets, lunar nodes and Saturn, and while we basically agree with the Saturn part (we think outer planet retrogrades are generational, not individual), we wish to point out that everything in a chart is either the product of previous lives, or an accident of the birth moment and we're not so sure about the accident part. So we think there may be lots more to astrology and karma than has yet been brought to light, in western astrology at any rate. As for nodes, see the sections, Nodes and Vedic Astrology
See also Retrograde Planets
and Little Wonders

	PAST LIFE ASTROLOGY: Use your birth chart to understand your karma - Judy Hall, $14.95 Contents: Introduction: Past lives & destiny 1. What is karma? 2. Coming into incarnation: The elements 3. Past life reflections: The Moon 4. Where am I going?: The Sun 5. Past life variations: The planets 6. Karmic expectations 7. Past life repositories: The houses 8. The life path: The Moon's nodes 9. Bringing it all together 10. Past lives & childhood 11. Past lives & relationships 12. The karma of dis-ease Appendices: 1. Finding your Moon sign; 2. Astrological time Index; Further reading Comment: Published in 2006, Judy's hit big-time. This is a low-budget coffee-table book, with lavish color illustrations (many of them colored woodcuts, as shown on the cover) on nearly every page. I regret to say this is not Hall's best work. Somehow I suspect too much was sacrificed for the sake of mass-market appeal. The most that any of these books can give you is sort of what your first job gave you: A taste of what you might eventually discover about yourself, decades later, in your 50's. Seekers after past lives, like newly-minted college grads seeking their first jobs, must do a great deal of additional work to get a useful, or an accurate, picture of their previous existences. Even then, there are good reasons not to take this up at all. (You really want to re-ignite old grudges?) In this book the ascendant is absent, but the Sun & Moon, the planets, houses, aspects, Chiron & the nodes are there. Godsfield Press, 160 pages.

	PATTERNS OF THE PAST, The Birthchart, Karma & Reincarnation - Judy Hall, $26.00 Contents: Acknowledgments; Foreword by Melanie Reinhart; Introduction; 1. The presence of the past; 2. Patterns past, present, future; 3. Credits & deficits; 4. Mansions of the soul; 5. Soul intention; 6. The wound of the soul; 7. Karmic dis-ease; Conclusion: Moving beyond karma. Notes, glossary, Chart sources, Bibliography, Copyright permissions, A list of astrological schools & organizations, Index Comment: Formerly entitled, The Karmic Journey, the new edition revised & updated. The result of 25 years of study, chart reading & past life regression are combined in this book. The author explores many kinds of karma & in many cases tells us where they can be found in the birthchart. She also explains how the mysterious act of grace can neutralize some karmic debts, shows us generational karmic patterns & how they can be overcome. She explores Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Chiron, the Nodes & prenatal eclipses as karmic indicators. Parts of this book I like very much, parts of it are mysterious to me. Wessex Astrologer, 349 pages.

	KARMIC CONNECTIONS: The birthchart, karma & relationships - Judy Hall, $22.00 Contents: 1. Karma & relationships. 2. Kindred Spirits. 3. Individual Expectations. 4. The relationship houses. 5. The karma of interaspects. 6. Nodal connections. 7. Early relationships. 8. Adult relationships. 9. What do I see in you? 10. Soulmates. Chart sources, Bibliography, Astrological organizations, Index. Comment: This book was spun off from the first edition of Patterns of the Past (above). Revisions & updates on that book eventually produced both it & this one. Lacking metaphysical training, the author, as she ages, tends to see more & more detail and, somehow, less & less overall structure. So, in Judy's books, we find 14 types of karma, some 19 reasons why two people would be drawn together from life to life, etc. Hall is very good when she works directly from 25 years of first-hand clinical experience: chart reading, clairvoyance & regression. When she falls back on abstract ideas (the meaning of Plutonian aspects in a chart, for example), she's not so good. From the back cover: Karma shows itself in relationships. The people you meet, the expectations you have, the circumstances in which you relate, the kind of marriage or other association that you find yourself in, all reflect previous liaisons. You are the sum total of all that has happened to you & much of your experiences will come through relationships. If you have enjoyed good & positive relationships in the past, you will find relationships generally beneficial & life enhancing, but bad experiences will be traumatizing. It is these difficult relationships that create the most ingrained karma & which need healing. The threads of a relationship can often be traced back through several lives - most significant 'others', have been with you many times. This book will help you to identify the history of these relationships through the birthchart & where necessary, release the past in order to move on. Wessex Astrologer, 350 pages.

	PAST LIVES, FUTURE CHOICES, The Astrology of Reincarnation - Maritha Pottenger, $16.95 Contents: 1. Background on reincarnation: Reincarnation research; Trends suggested by studies of spontaneous recall; Physical evidence; Other methods for looking back; Astrology & reincarnation; So, how does it work?; What, exactly, carries forward?; Why don't more people remember?; Where did the souls come from?; Was I famous before?; The question of karma (and punishment); Why bother looking back? 2. Past life scenarios: Sun; 3. Past life scenarios: Moon; 4. Past life scenarios: Mercury; 5. Past life scenarios: Venus; 6. Past life scenarios: Mars; 7. Past life scenarios: Jupiter; 8. Past life scenarios: Uranus; 9. Past life scenarios: Neptune; 10. Past life scenarios: Pluto; 11. Past life scenarios: Saturn: 12 Letters: 1. To thine own self be true; 2. Gratifying & satisfying; 3. Witty & wise; 4. Interdependence; 5. Loving your inner child; 6. Service, not servant; 7. Fair is fair; 8. Psychological power; 9. Faith, hope & charity; 10. Reasonable responsibilities; 11. Future shock; 12. Universal understanding; 12. Past life scenarios: Saturn (in the 12 houses); 13. Emotional residues from past lives; 14. Karmic debts; 15. Karmic gifts; 16. Conclusion. Appendix: Mercury postions, Venus positions, Mars positions (all: 1930-2000, inclusive). Comment: After 10 pages of introductory material, the author gives past life "readings" for each of the planets in each of the 12 signs of the zodiac (Neptune is limited to Gemini through Aquarius, Pluto runs from Gemini through Sagittarius). Look up the planetary positions in your chart & read all about your very own past lives. For each planet/sign combination, there are six possibilities. Regrettably, this concept is rubbish & cannot be recommended. Examples: Sun in Aries: Your parents were carried away by the plague when you were only 7. (pg. 13) Moon in Taurus: You were born to European nobility & an arranged marriage. (pg. 35) Mercury in Gemini: Born into poverty, you had a burning curiosity, but little education. (pg. 57) Venus in Cancer: You worked as a cook for an aristocratic Scottish family. (pg. 78) Mars in Leo: You were a coach at an exclusive boy's school. (pg. 99) Jupiter in Virgo: Your father was an extremely cruel man. (pg. 120) Saturn in Libra, from Letter 7, Fair is Fair: You spent a few lifetimes as a female sold into marriage for material or political reasons. (pg. 184) Uranus in Scorpio: While still quite young, you made the acquaintance of a local crone. (pg. 141) Neptune in Sagittarius: You were a rather unusual nun during the Middle Ages. (pg. 158) Pluto in Virgo: You were an early medical student who studied illegally obtained cadavers to polish your understanding of anatomy & bodily functions. (pg. 168) (I wanted to give you Pluto in Capricorn, but Pluto stops with Sagittarius.) This book is evidence just how sad things got at ACS in the years after Neil Michelsen's death, that such a book as this was even conceived, much less printed & distributed. First published in 1997, it is presently in its third printing, 2002. ACS, 300 pages.

	ASTROLOGY & PAST LIVES - Mary Devlin, $19.95 Contents: Acknowledgments; 1. Reincarnation & astrological research; 2. Basic precepts of karmic astrology; 3. The Sun; 4. The Moon; 6. The inner planets; 7. Jupiter; 8. Saturn; 9. Uranus; 10. Neptune; 11. Pluto; 12. The ascendant & midheaven. Conclusion; Bibliography. Comment: The essence of this book can be found on pg. 8: [I]f the entity's course of evolution is to be most effective, he or she must bow to the laws of the Universe, and these include the laws of astrology. Therefore, we can almost always find some validity in the following precepts: 1. The Sun, Ascendant & dominant planets indicate the primary purpose of a given incarnation. 2. Uranus, Neptune & Pluto represent different aspects of karma. [She goes on to give the typical natal keywords for these three planets.] 3. The twelfth house may symbolize the immediately preceding incarnation. In general, however, it shows the unfinished business of the past. 4. Saturn represents inclinations & characteristics which the soul-entity brings to the present from the past. 5. The Moon, her phases & nodes, indicate the course the soul is taking in its prsent mission & show the progress it is making in filling out the outlines of Saturn's destiny formula. This is based on the author's collection of over 400 present life & past life charts. Regret that I thought this book limited in its scope. Whitford, 287 pages.

	COSMIC KARMA: Understanding your contract with the universe - Marguerite Manning, $15.95 Contents: Dedication Heart & soulfelt thanks Introduction 1. The birth chart: Your contract with the universe 2. The glyphs: your karmic keys 3. The sun sign: Your karmic degree Sun in Aries Sun in Taurus Sun in Gemini Sun in Cancer Sun in Leo Sun in Virgo Sun in Libra Sun in Scorpio Sun in Sagittarius Sun in Capricorn Sun in Aquarius Sun in Pisces 4. The sun house: Your karmic calling Sun in the 1st house Sun in the 2nd house Sun in the 3rd house Sun in the 4th house Sun in the 5th house Sun in the 6th house Sun in the 7th house Sun in the 8th house Sun in the 9th house Sun in the 10th house Sun in the 11th house Sun in the 12th house 5. Saturn: Your karmic lesson Saturn in the 1st house Saturn in the 2nd house Saturn in the 3rd house Saturn in the 4th house Saturn in the 5th house Saturn in the 6th house Saturn in the 7th house Saturn in the 8th house Saturn in the 9th house Saturn in the 10th house Saturn in the 11th house Saturn in the 12th house 6. Neptune: Your karmic debt Neptune in the 1st house Neptune in the 2nd house Neptune in the 3rd house Neptune in the 4th house Neptune in the 5th house Neptune in the 6th house Neptune in the 7th house Neptune in the 8th house Neptune in the 9th house Neptune in the 10th house Neptune in the 11th house Neptune in the 12th house 7. Pluto: Your karmic arsenal Pluto in the 1st house Pluto in the 2nd house Pluto in the 3rd house Pluto in the 4th house Pluto in the 5th house Pluto in the 6th house Pluto in the 7th house Pluto in the 8th house Pluto in the 9th house Pluto in the 10th house Pluto in the 11th house Pluto in the 12th house 8. The 12th house: Your karmic closet Aries in the 12th house: Mars rules Taurus in the 12th house: Venus rules Gemini in the 12th house: Mercury rules Cancer in the 12th house: Moon rules Leo in the 12th house: Sun rules Virgo in the 12th house: Mercury rules Libra in the 12th house: Venus rules Scorpio in the 12th house: Mars rules Sagittarius in the 12th house: Jupiter rules Capricorn in the 12th house: Saturn rules Aquarius in the 12th house: Uranus rules Pisces in the 12th house: Neptune rules Prologue Comsic glossary The 12 houses of the birth chart (and what you keep in them) Comment: Chapters on the Sun's natal placement, by sign & house, are pro-forma. The author has written to correct my earlier misunderstanding. She, like me, does not think we go sequentially from one sun sign to the next, in either order. It seems things are a bit more complex than that. Her chapter on Saturn is a notch above the one on the sun. The chapter on Neptune, a planet which normally eludes authors, is a notch above that, which is to say, getting good. The chapter on Pluto, a planet which authors normally misunderstand completely, is quite good. As with Neptune, the individual delineations are brief & tightly focused. The 12th house chapter is the best I've ever seen. Which is to say I read both the signs that appear in my 12th & was shocked. I've been in the astro book biz, one way or another, more than 20 years. I've seen lots of books. Shock doesn't happen often anymore. For a taste, here is Bill Clinton's 12th house Virgo: Virgo in the 12th house: Mercury rules Your soul's previous existence was one of physical duty & practical service to others. Dedicated to the highest degree of excellence in this past incarnation, your inability to achieve some type of physical perfection forced you to bury your keen intellect here in the house of "whose inadequacy is it, anyway." Hence, you are now constantly compelled to defend your sharp analytical abilities and your logical solutions, as they never seem to get the credit they deserve. Clearly this is your baggage, but when your critical thinking has been so severely suppressed, the mental baggage is bound to be abundant. Surprisingly observant, your organization and research skills are profound and instinctive. Deep devotion to the painstaking details that are so frequently neglected by others is your hidden strength. Work, health & fitness are your addictions, but only because being useful is your weakness. While excessive worry & chronic faultfinding were the cause of your past undoing, they appear to be back for a repeat performance. The past has left you with an overwhelming sense of duty to repair the inevitable flaws of reality. Unfortunately, this unconscious fixation with perfection can actually cause you to avoid the ideal efficiency you seek by drawing you to flawed data, disorganized people, and impossible situations. You can stop wondering why we're so incompetent & you're so neurotic. Past influences & experiences include teaching, writing, critical analysis, accounting, medicine, engineering & craftsmanship. Cosmic advice: Stop worrying. You're still alive & the sky isn't falling. (pg. 123) Which, as a single factor one-size-fits-1/12th-of-the-planet, I thought darn impressive. Llewellyn, 189 pages.

	EDGAR CAYCE'S ASTROLOGY FOR THE SOUL - Margaret Gammon & W.H. Church, $12.95 Contents: Preface; Part 1: Foreword; 1. The language of the readings; 2. Akasha: the soul's record of evolutionary progress; 3. The great plan of soul evolution; 4. The planets; 5. Cusps & the zodiac; 6. Planets, transits & cycles; Summary. Appendices: 1. Birth charts & examples of life readings; 2. Zodiac: planetary signs & symbols. Glossary. Part 2: The music of the spheres; Sunspots: times of turmoil; Age of glory; Notes. Comment: From the back cover: Planetary & astrological influences have a great effect on our soul growth. This book looks at those influences as they played a role in the lives of individuals who had life readings by Edgar Cayce. From the view of reincarnation, these influences are the result of planetary relationships developed during or between previous lives. Here is a thoughful & fascinating look at the Cayce readings' view of astrological influences. This book holds clues as to how the planets are shaping each of our present lives & what we can learn from the information that came through Edgar Cayce. ARE Press, 199 pages.

	KARMIC ASTROLOGY: Past lives, present loves - Ruth Aharoni, $14.95 Contents: Introduction: A word on returning to the past 1. Karma, incarnations & the birth chart 2. Karmic encounters 3. The pairs of signs 4. The planets & karmic relationships 5. A wheel for two 6. I'll follow you through fire & water 7. Two by two 8. The karmic houses 9. There's a dragon in the house 10. Relationships with the dragon 11. Karmic couples & cosmic couples 12. Spiritual attraction Appendix A. The dragon's location Appendix B. The major aspects Bibliography Comment: The Introduction, and the introductory chapters, promise a book that lays out the past life karma of relationships, but when the author gets down to writing delineations, boy - girl, girl - boy, the best she can muster is straight-forward synastry. Such as: SATURN - PLUTO: This is a contact between two strong planets, under whose influence each individual forces the other to learn his or her own karmic lesson. The Pluto individual forces the Saturn individual to come out of his or her shell & undergo a change. The Pluto individual learns through relationship to be more practical & productive, and to not waste energy, but instead divert it towards an organized implementation of goals. When this conjunction is disharmonious, suspicion, competition, and power struggles whose roots lie in past incarnations may mark the relationship; it is therefore their task to cancel such debts in this life. (pg. 102) Which, aside from window dressing ("learn a karmic lesson", blow-ups are ancient history, etc.) is nothing new. If we jump to the obvious conclusion, that all significnat relationships - with few if any exceptions - are based on past life ties, then we conclude that all books on synastry are really books on karmic relationships anyway. I would have put this book in the Relationship section, but with a title like Karmic Astrology, it obviously wanted to be here. As a book on relationships, how is it? Only fair. The addition of the word, karma too often becomes a weapon in the hands of the unhappy. Both those who seek nirvana in a relationship, as well as those looking for excuses to rationalize - or get out of - bad ones, do better by focusing on the here & now. Knowledge of past lives is more often a noose than a life saver. In a book such factors become distractions. The analysis in the back, between the present day Ada, her previous incarnation as Helen, and her present-life husband, Aharon (why is this the same name as the author's?) is good. It's a pity the book was not based on deductions from such studies. Did the author write down to her presumed audience, rather than what she actually knew? Books don't come around all that often. Authors should strive to get the most from such opportunities, not the least. Llewellyn, 182 pages.

	DISCOVERING YOUR SOUL MISSION: How to use karmic astrology to create the life you want - Linda Brady & Evan St. Lifer, $13.00 Contents: Prologue: Becoming spiritual adults; Introduction: You have a soul mission Part 1: Soul Creation: Taking control of your life: 1. Creating our own lives; 2. Soul mates & soul contracts Part 2: Journying to Your Soul Mission: 3. From who you are to who you want to be; 4. Learning about your soul pattern & soul potential; 5. Mercury: Your orientation to the world; 6. Symbolism & the unconscious Part 3: Karmic Truth: The key to fulfilling your soul mission: 7. Saturn: Your journey to personal truth; 8. Mars: Handling anger wisely; 9. Pluto: Overcoming guilt & fostering forgiveness; 10. Neptune: Illusion versus aspiration Epilogue; Glossary of terms; Suggested reading; Index; About the authors Comment: An interesting book. There are some useful exercises. The chapters on Mercury, Saturn, Mars, Neptune & Pluto include ephemerides of their sign placements, 1900-2000. The nodes get only a passing mention, the moon (which has got to be the no. 1 karmic influence of all) is entirely absent, as are houses & the ascendant. All books of this sort are superficial (it cannot be helped) and all imply the path is easier & faster than it actually is. A specific detail as I browse the book: The list of past life occupations given as traits of Saturn through the signs (pgs. 164-169). I've spent 30 years, and have had some lucky breaks. I've got a sketch of my past lives going back 1000 years, some in greater detail than others. (Sad but true: Few past lives are memorable.) They bear no relationship to the traits listed for Saturn by sign, which in my case is Libra. If I turn Saturn's domicile (the 5th house) into its sign on the Aries chart (eg, Leo), things get a bit better, but the book still manages to miss many details, as well as the overall thrust. (Their description describes how I met my end about 4 lifetimes ago.) I give this as a caveat that one must work intensively & for a long time to get even few details, which cannot always be relied on. Three Rivers Press/Random House, 266 pages.

	EYE OF THE CENTAUR, A visionary guide into past lives - Barbara Hand Clow, $12.95 Contents: Acknowledgements; Introduction by Gregory Paxson; Foreword by Biran Swimme; Preface 1. The court jester, the Victorian lady & the Roman; 2. The priest of Osiris & the Druid; 3. The Delphic Oracle & the magic cave; 4. The rape of Lydia & the Labyrinth; 5. The Renaissance astronomer, the medieval merchant, and the Roman; 6. The vision in the temple & the scarab; 7. The dark night of the soul into magic; 8. The Argo passes through the Symplegades; 9. Enochian, Druidic & Thracian divination; 10. Existence as form; 11. The virtues of the soul; 12. The vision of the Christ. Suggested further reading; About the author. Comment: This is a selected record of the author's past life regressions, some 18 in all. She was encouraged to do this from persistent past life memories she had, starting when she was a child. Bear & Company, 245 pages.

See also Retrograde Planets
and Little Wonders

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