EYE ON ASTROLOGY: SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND ASTROLOGY
Our tendency toward a spiritual practice can be seen from our chart and as always there are blacks and whites but usually a 1000 shades of gray. Vedic astrology has many subdivisional chart and the D-20 chart (Worship) focuses on spiritual practice and blocks. One of my teachers, Robert Koch describes how to see what spiritual practice and Indian philosophy you have an orientatation toward. His tradition comes from Eastern India and Sanjay Rath where Jaimini astrology kept the purity of this ancient knowledge.
Firstly in basic Vedic astrology, , spiritual practice are seen from the 5th house.  If the owner of the 5th house or planets in the 5th house have the following connections, you may have an orientation toward a specific diety.
Sun: Shiva.
Moon; Krishna with Shivite devotees going for Parvati;Â Saraswati is a third possibility
Mars: Skanda or Kartikeya, as well as Narasimhadeva, the half-man, half-lion avatar of Vishnu and. Hanuman
Mercury: Vishnu
Jupiter: Shiva; or Indra
Venus: Laxmi
Saturn: Vishnu
Rahu: Durga
Ketu: Ganesha.
As always, these Indian mythological figures have a high level of symbolism. Shiva who is blue and symbolic of the transcendental realm of the infinite has a deep connection to meditation that connects one with the infinite. Hanuman represents the higher energies of service to the Divine as embodied through his loyalty to Lord Rama.  Each diety would require a whole article and I have published a long article on Lakshmi which is coming out in a new journal this month published by Saptarishis.
Then from the main chart, we can go to the the D-20 Chart/Worship and look for the 7th house from the Atma Karaka in that chart. Earlier in the week,  we discussed this as the planet with the highest number of degrees in that chart. Rahu is included and should be counted backwards from the beginning of the sign in order to find its position in the hierarchy of chara karakas. (See: https://www.appliedvedicastrology.com/planet-soul-atmakaraka/ )
If Mars or Saturn: Then Karma Yoga or service work where one renounces the fruits of work.
Gyana Yoga: Union with the Divine through Vedanta Philosphy: Jupiter and Sun.
Astanga-Yoga:Union with the Divine through Yoga Practice: Saturn.
Bhakti Yoga: Devotional Service in Love: Venus and the Moon and even Mercury.
Tantric Yoga and Tamasic Paths: Mystics and black magic: Rahu/Ketu
Moreover, in the D-20 chart, the planets in the 9th from the Lord of the D-20 lead to the tendency toward the Six Systems of Vedic philosophies:
The Sun is the source of all 6 Systems and does not rule any of them.
Karma-Mimansa: Connected to Mercury
Sankya: Connected to the Moon
Nyaya: Connected to Mars
Vedanta: Connected to Jupiter
Vaisesika: Connected to Venus.
Yoga: Connected to Saturn.
The D-20 chart then yields a blending of the two. As Robert points out, ” So for example, if the 7th from the AK is Venus then the native is drawn to Bhakti and if the if the 9th from the Lord of the D-20 is the Moon, then the philosophical path of Sankhya stimulates the mind to think of the difference between the soul and material existence and that one’s eternal positions is one of Divine service.”
Then one could blend in the Ishtadevata, or the impulse of divinity associated with directing you toward liberation and that is seen from a special rotation of the Navamsha chart and will require another article.
So you can see that your spiritual orientation can be diagnosed from your chart and it is theoretically possible that doing meditations or chants connected to specific impulses in your chart may hasten the development of your soul on its journey. Usually people are intuitively guided to what is right for them and are drawn to specific practices and most of the time, I find that people are doing what is in their chart. All forms of spiritual practice are wonderful and all of us tend to find the right teachers and practices and ultimately you need a Sat Guru to guide you through all the traps and obstacles on the path to liberation. I have been blessed to have one. .   Many years ago I was guided to practice Shiva Rudram and have done so for years and then in my advanced studies in Jaimini Astrology, I found out that this was the orientation in my chart.
The possible permutations are many. All gratitude to my Jyotish teacher Robert Koch and his teacher Sanjay Rath for this knowledge and to Robert’s amazing book, The Spiritual Dimensions of Vedic Astrology. I am working with Robert to get him to teach a course around this amazing material and will let you know when it comes into fruition.
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