Money & the Horoscope

Money, the Big Charge

Vedic astrology is based on the idea that you carry certain desires over from the past and experience them again in this lifetime. The specific style and intensity of these desires varies widely from person-to-person, but the desire for money is one desire which most people share. What is interesting about the desire for money is the many different ways it expresses itself in people's lives. Some people believe that money is the most important factor in life, others think it is the root of all evil. Some people are very impressed by a person who makes lots of money. Others think of him as materialistic. In either case, it is obvious that for many people, money carries a strong charge. No pun intended.

Money is Energy

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. Vedic 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 realize 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 significator 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.

Jyotish and Investing

Vedic 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, I predicted in my annual lectures (from the early 90's onward) that the bull market would probably continue up to July of 1998. Based on this chart, I took my own personal investments out of the stock Market in April of '98. On first glance, it would seem to most people that this prediction was too early, because the major down-turn 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 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, Jyotish 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.

To find out more about upayas, visit articles on the following: gemstones, mantras, yagyas and donation.