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A great spiritual teacher once said, "It's not money that
is the root of all evil. It is attachment to money that is the
root of all evil." This distinction is an important one,
which points to the greed factor as the real problem, while
money itself is seen as simply a means to an end. In this respect,
we can say that money is only energy. It is produced from all
the energy we exert to earn it, and produces more energy when
we spend it. It is necessary in order to live in the material
world. It enhances the comfort level of life, frees us to pursue
our passions, and gives us time to reflect, relax and enjoy
life. Astrology includes it under the heading of artha, one
of the four appropriate aims of life. In other words, it's OK
to want to become prosperous.
Some people spend most of their lives working hard in order
to save for retirement. Frequently this pursuit does not end
well. Sometimes the person works their whole life at work that
they don't even like, only to retire at 65 in marginal health,
unable to enjoy the rest of their life. This seems like a waste
of life. Other people make tons of money and become very wealthy.
They seem to thrive on making more and more money. They become
locked into the money game out of greed and power-addiction
and spend all of their time and energy at work. One day they
realized that they have no real friends. Their relationships
are mostly centered around making money. Even their marriages
become more about comfort and affluence than about love and
affection. This also seems out of balance and empty.
On the other hand, there are people who deny their desire for
money. They feel it is somehow unspiritual or selfish to admit
that they want to be prosperous. The horoscope of this type
of person sometimes reflects a self-esteem issue that is connected
with money. Because the person is afraid he might fail in his
attempt to become prosperous, or because he thinks that in order
to become prosperous he will have to do all sorts of things
that he is afraid or unwilling to do, he adopts a personal moral
code, or even develops a whole philosophy or belief system which
makes him seem virtuous for not making money.
The point here is that there are all kinds of spins that people
put on money. Some are overcome by greed, some are truly selfless,
some masquerade to themselves and others as humble and selfless
while at heart they are really afraid to try. Very few things
in this world evoke such complex and basic emotions, which is
precisely why money has the potential to be one of the best
tools for reflection and self- awareness. In fact, the entire
pursuit of money can be a great spiritual journey. To be good
at money, you have to be detached. If you are overcome by greed
and have an intense sense of urgency about money, you will inevitably
go for the quick buck, disregard common sense and land yourself
in the poorhouse. It takes a strong mixture of good character
traits to make money ethically, doing work you love, being generous
with others along the way, and not letting the pursuit of money
consume you.
Financial Factors in the Horoscope
The horoscope shows how a person is oriented to money. It not
only shows his basic emotional patterns related to finance,
but also shows the ways in which he is likely to earn or lose
money. The planetary periods of the chart also give an indication
as to when money will come easily and when losses are likely.
Jupiter and Other Money Planets
Jupiter is considered the indicator of prosperity in the horoscope.
If it is strong, the person tends to be more prosperous. A weak
Jupiter, on the other hand, makes it harder to thrive financially.
Jupiter's placement in the horoscope also gives a clue to possible
sources of prosperity. The house, sign and Nakshatra of Jupiter's
placement are all important in determining where a person might
find wealth. Similarly, there are other money planets in the
chart. The placements of these planets are also very important
in determining the sources for money.
Astrology and Investing
Astrology can be used as a supportive tool for investing as
well. Knowing the sources of wealth from the horoscope can help
in the setting of an effective investment strategy. The chart
also reveals the person's potential for sudden losses, which
helps in determining risk tolerance. This becomes important
when you are deciding how aggressive to be with various investments.
The Charts of the Stock Market and the NASDAQ
Just as people have horoscopes, the Stock Market also has a
chart. Actually it is more correct to say the Stock Market has
several charts. The New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, the
S&P 500 and all of the other indexes have charts based on
their date, time and place of starting. The chart of the NYSE
seems to work well for predicting major shifts in the Market
as a whole. Knowing the general trends in the Stock Market can
be helpful for investment planning.
Example:
Based on the horoscope, the New York Stock Exchange is now passing
through a Saturn period. This period began in July of 1998 and
will continue for 19 years. Based on this chart, the bull market
would probably continue up to July of 1998. On first glance,
it would seem to most people that this prediction was too early,
because the major downturn of the Stock Market took place in
March of 2000. After July of 98 the overall stock market continued
to rise. A closer look at the numbers, however, reveals that
from 1998 onward the Dow went flat. In fact in July of 98 a
very important, yet unnoticed, event took place. Before July
of 98 the majority of the stocks in the market were going up,
driving the overall stock market up. In exactly July of 98,
this all changed when, for the first time, the majority of stocks
began to go down. A few very big companies, however, continued
to drive the market average up, giving the impression that the
bull market was still alive. The downturn that occurred in March
of 2000 was only a full blown symptom produced by a disease
which had started one and a half years earlier.
Do What You Love
Have you ever noticed that people who are successful and prosperous
also seem to be passionate about their work? One way of looking
at this is that these people are obviously excited about their
work because they are paid well. This is a common misunderstanding
about the money game held by some people. The thinking goes,
"If only someone would pay me $300,000 dollars a year to
do a job, I would definitely be passionate about it." Most
of us understand this way of thinking to be flawed. Truly successful
people more commonly say that they do their work because they
love doing it, not because they are highly paid. In fact, most
successful people say that their passion for their work was
the key to their financial success, not the other way around.
First they found work they truly loved and then the money came.
The Horoscope shows a person's unique psychological patterns,
including his career potentials. It can be a great tool for
helping a person find his or her vocation. It shows what you
are wired to do, the type of work you would be passionate about.
I once gave a reading to a doctor. When I got to the area of
career, I told him over and over again that his chart was the
chart of a teacher from every angle. At that point I asked him,
"What do you do for a living". He said, "I'm
a doctor". I was surprised. In fact, my intellect started
immediately casting doubts. First, I thought, "This guy
will never accept a suggestion that he become a teacher. He's
a doctor. Doctors are the most revered profession in society.
Teachers are on a much lower rung of the ladder". After
a few seconds of doubt, I finally got my confidence back and
remembered to just trust the chart. I said, "Then you are
not happy as a doctor." The client smiled and said, "Your
right! My father wanted me to become a doctor. I have always
wanted to be a teacher!
Although there is no guarantee that doing work you really love
will make you rich, it is clear that it makes you happier than
doing work to which you are not suited. When you do work you
hate, people notice the lack of enthusiasm. When you do work
you love, success is much easier to achieve.
Finally, Astrology uses variety of remedial techniques for improving
finances. These techniques are called Upayas and are based on
the concept that the root cause of all problems in life is karma.
By using techniques aimed at affecting the karmic impressions
stored in the causal body, the astrologer can sometimes help
a person achieve significantly better results with money.
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