(This article dwells on the connection between various astronomical discoveries related with planets and other cosmic bodies, with their Psychological impact on human beings, as described in Astrology. It is an effort to deepen the logical and scientific foundation of Astrological knowledge.)

There have been immense debates about the inter relationship of Astrology and Astronomy for a long time. There are astronomers who brush aside Astrology as a superstition and can not understand how the far off objects in the sky can impact the human being. On the other side there are astrologers whose knowledge have been reduced to the horoscope placements of planets and these vast cosmic objects have just got reduced to figures on a paper. They seem to have lost their understanding that these are real objects in the skies which impact us because of their very nature. As a consequence their astrological knowledge is still backdated and remains restricted to the classical texts and they are not able to benefit from the recent astronomical discoveries. The connection between astronomy and astrology is very crucial to understand for every astrologer, as this provides with highly scientific basis for Astrology. Every new revelation of astronomical facts by way of scientific methods can add to the reservoir of astrological knowledge, if one is aware of this connection.

This article will explore the various astronomical facts related with various cosmic entities such as planets, Nakshatras and Zodiac signs and their various dimensions as experienced by human beings on the planet earth. The purpose of this article is to make you familiar with the fact that the astronomical qualities of any cosmic body have a direct bearing on the thought patterns experienced by the humans on earth. The magnetic field of such entities also interacts with the magnetic field of earth and hence impacts the events taking place on the planet earth.

Now let us now consider the character of some of the planets. These examples are just to demonstrate the connection between astronomy and astrology and hence are not supposed to be exhaustive details.

- Sun personality is associated with ideas and intelligence, which leads to immense energy for creation. Why? Because constant nuclear fusion of Hydrogen into Helium is going on at the core of the Sun, which releases immense energy. Life on earth depends on this energy. That is why Sun depicts the personality and the energy, with which we live our lives. Why Sun oriented person is a poor listener? Because the sound travels poorly through sun, as the mass density is quite low. Why Sun based person is so much stressed? Because there is a constant burst of gaseous pressure created by the explosions.

- Moon based people always appear to be controlled by the past memories, both good and bad. He never forgives for your bad deeds as well as never forgets the good you do to him. Why? Because Moon is full of craters, which are created by the striking asteroids and they get filled very slowly because of the inert atmosphere and absence of water. Why a Moon person always likes to depend on someone or follow someone? Because Moon has no light of it’s own and it has to depend on Sun for that.

- Why Mercury based person never takes a firm stand and he can be swayed so easily? Because all it’s magnetic field has been burnt because of it’s proximity with Sun. Why he like to follow and appears to have no followers? Because it has no satellite Moons. Why he never appears to be in tension? Because there is no atmospheric pressure on Mercury.

- Mars have always been associated with the courage and bravery. Why? Because the surface of Mars contains 13% Iron. Hence clearly the impact of Mars is to ignite the Iron like qualities in us. Why he forgets quickly, both the good and bad done to him? Because the craters gets filled quickly because of it’s deserts like surface. Why he give vent to the anger boiling inside him so frequently? Because there are mega volcanoes on Mars, which keep erupting regularly.

- Why Venus person look glamorous and attract the powerful? Because Venus is the brightest of all the planets, as the clouds around it’s surface traps the solar energy. Why Venus person is always in tension and hence keep scheming? Because Venus has a very dense atmosphere, which is full of poisonous gases. Hence she may appear very bright from outside, but the inner reality is starkingly different. (Isn’t this the story of those involved with the glamorous professions, which are controlled by Venus?)

- Why Jupiter based person appears to be expanding his horizons without much struggle? Because raging storms are always on, which move in beautiful colourful patterns effortlessly. Why he often attracts the people around him? Because it has huge number of satellites (27 have been discovered till now) moving around it, as well as a huge magnetic field which is supposed to be double than that of Sun.

- Why Saturn based person appears dull and restricted? Because it has a dull atmosphere of frozen gases and restrictive rings surrounding it. Why he is not transparent? Because planet Saturn has difficult to see through cloud patterns. Why Saturn people are very good to give concrete shape to ideas? Because Saturn consists of gases (Ideas) , which have gotten solidified (concretization) because of cold (hard working )atmosphere.

- Why Uranus oriented people display eccentric and radical behavior, which is not in tune with general society? Because magnetic field of Uranus is slanted at an angle of 60 degrees from its axis, while for all other planets it is parallel.

- Why Neptune based people are so dreamy and have feel oneness with the whole humanity? Why they have a special interest in anything related with ocean? Because Neptune have got the deepest and largest oceans known on any planet.

-Why Pluto oriented people are so mysterious and secretive? Because Pluto is very small in mass (the manifest), but it has a huge magnetic field ( unmanifest)

Similarly, if you study the astronomical characteristics of zodiac signs and Nakshatras, you will discover stark similarity between their astronomical characteristics and their astrological descriptions. For Example, Mula Nakshatra includes the black hole, which is the center of our galaxy. From this black hole even light can not escape and it is understood that whatever goes into it, gets transformed and reaches the root of life. Similar is the character of the “Mula person”. He always looks at the roots of life and have a tendency to suck and destroy the material world in his search for the eternal. Let us look at the astronomical character of the zodiac sign of Leo, which mostly consists of Nebulas, which are the stars in formation. Similarly, Leo person possess immense energy and intelligence towards any new creation.

Hence understanding the co-relation between Astronomy and Astrology deepens our astrological knowledge by studying new discoveries. At the same time it also provides the much needed scientific basis to the subject of Astrology. It will also serve a great purpose as the human race is able to feel it’s unity with universe and start to move in harmony with the cosmic plans.

(This article explores, if we are just the puppets in the hands of destiny or we have the free will to make the right choices and hence create our own destiny. Destiny v/s Free Will is a classic debate, which have been going on for many centuries now. Destiny and Free Will appear in total conflict to each other and hence one who stand for either, tend to harbor the opposition or even contempt for the other approach. This article is an effort to synthesize both and explains that destiny and free will are the two sides of the same coin. It provides an understanding of destiny and free will in such a way, which can help you to accomplish your core potential.)

Let me begin by looking deep into the concepts of destiny and free will and understand what they really mean. Many of us may out rightly reject the concept of destiny as we find it derogatory that our lives are not in our own control and someone called God sitting somewhere may be playing with our lives just for the sake of his own fun. Logical minds find it difficult to accept that we may just be puppets in the hands of destiny and it can make us dance to it’s own tune, even if we don’t wish to. However, many times we face such kind of crisis, which appears to pop up on it’s own without any faults of ours. In the aftermath of such periods, one is forced to accept the role of destiny, when a few of such incidents have taken place.

On the other hand, some of us swear and live in a way that it is destiny which is paramount in the way our lives shape up. Hence we refuse to take any proactive action as we believe that whatever is supposed to happen, will happen. So why make futile efforts. We may tend to backtrack on our action and drop the efforts if astrologers have predicted a difficult times for us and wait for good times to take the things forward. However, such kind of life can not be joyous and fulfilled. In our efforts to avoid the crisis, we shape our attitude in such a way which becomes the cause of agonies, fears, aimlessness, resignations and life becomes a bundle of dissatisfactions. Many times we may wish that we would have lived a better life if we did not believe in destiny, as astrology appears like a curse we have to live with.

If we observe our lives carefully; we may realize that both the views are correct. However the question remains, what is the relationship between the destiny and free will? Or at what point the free will is operating and when does the destiny takes over? What is that within us, which is the slave to the destiny and what is that which has the power to be the master? Let us try to understand this by way of an example.

Think of a seed of grape. What will this produce? Obviously - The Grapes. Now you may think that mangoes fetch better prices in market than grapes, and may want to get mangoes out of this. Can this produce mangoes even if you try really hard? Obviously - NO. isn’t it? So the destiny of this seed is to produce grapes and it can not be changes. Now another point to consider is- will every seed of grape produce grapes? Or will every similar seed of grape will produce same quality and quantity of fruits? Obviously - NO. Some of the seeds will just die without producing anything. Some of them will get infected by pests. Some will produce very little. But a few of them will reach their full potential and will produce the large amounts of the best possible quality grapes. The quality and quantity of grapes will depends upon the right nurturing, deeper understanding and appropriate action. This is free will and depends on our own efforts and intelligence.

Now let us look at our lives with reference to the above mentioned example. The biggest cause of the crisis in life is that we do not even know our seed. Our choices are not based on our own potential but they are dictated by benefits one can derive through the outer environment. Hence we may be carrying the seed of grape, but we try to nurture it as if it is the seed of mango, because the mango fetches higher price than the grapes. Such a fight with destiny only results in misdirected choices and wrong actions. Hence the first step towards living a great life is to identify our potential and to live life in tune with that. Astrology can be a wonderful tool towards this.

Next comes a strategy and deep commitment to provide the right circumstances. In the analogy of seed, you need to sow the seed in the right land. Grapes can not be sowed in desert, as it needs a lot of water. You need to provide the right nutrition and keep the diseases away by using the right pesticides. You need to provide the fencing to the sapling to save it from the roaming animals. You also need to understand the climate through the year, so that you can do the right thing at the right time. And when the fruit grows, you need to be aware to let them ripen to the right extent before plucking them. Then you also need to go to the right place, where you can get the best price for your produce. All this requires a deep understanding and the right action at the right time. This is where we exercise the free will.

Hence it is clear that there is no conflict between our destiny and free will. Destiny is our ultimate potential and free will defines the action we can take towards fulfilling our destiny. Astrology can be a great support to live your life by way of helping you to identify your own potential. It can also tell you about the nature of relationships with various people around you, and helps you grow through your social network. It can also warn you about the forthcoming challenges and arm you with that deep intelligence, which can transform them into opportunities. However, if one wants to master their destiny, Astrology should never be used as an excuse to avoid difficulties, as this will turn you into a puppet to your destiny. On the contrary, if you develop a deeper understanding of your potential and cultivate intelligence to make the right choice, your efforts will yield immense results. This is how Astrology can be a tool to master your own destiny.

(This article explores the deep roots of various astrological methods being used currently. Our present life is the sum total of the karmas or the unfinished business from past lives, soul’s longing to evolve through challenges of present life and the possibilities of a blissful divine expression in future. This article describes the reasoning behind the various astrological methods related with the past, present and future and how they should be interrelated to understand the human life in totality.)

As we discussed the process of carrying forward of the past lives by our soul through Mind Body, while the evolution process is carried through our Astral Body, previous article “Astrology: Indicator of Soul’s Journey”, this article will discuss the connection of the life we live with all the previous lives and process of evolution experienced by the soul through various challenges.

You may have this question in your mind, that if we choose out own birth time and hence the horoscope, then we should always be choosing a comfortable life to live which is full of luxuries and comforts and not a life which is difficult and full of crisis. However, we need to understand that we oscillate between easy and difficult life times. As we all know that we evolve only through difficulties. If you go deep in the process of cultivation of your special talents and capabilities, you will realize that all that happened when you were going through extremely difficult and confusing times. In fact, your so called good time was the result of your evolution through your so called bad times. Now the question is, why we always get in touch with our special capabilities only during our tough times. The answer lies in the fact that in our good times, we are purely motivated by our ego or the mind body, which is the collection of our past memories and it can not push us forward, as it is limited by the past knowledge and hence can not keep in touch with our evolution. When we are motivated by our ego, we are just being driven by all the knowledge we have accumulated in past. Let us understand the meaning of crisis in this context. Any turn of event, when we are not able to handle any situation with all our past knowledge, can be termed as crisis. While in the clutches of an immense crisis we feel so helpless, and in such moments we realize the futility of our ego or the mind body, as the present situation is unprecedented and hence can not be solved by our past knowledge. In such a state the ego collapses and we get in touch with our astral body, the pathway to our final destination. Hence in such moments the talents surfaces with the divine blessing, which becomes our tool to move forward in life towards accomplishing various feats.

Hence, when the soul longs to evolve, the astral body takes control and takes a challenging birth. This is why, most of the successful people all over the world have difficult horoscopes. (Please refer to the article “Why Successful people often have difficult horoscopes). But sometimes there is too much past karma to be dealt with, which can suppress the soul and it may not want to move forward on its path, until the past baggage is cleared. This is the case with most of the souls, as soul just want to take a back seat and let the mind body takeover to handle it’s own consequences, and this results in easy lives devoid of much challenges.

In our lives, the events are created by way of both the level of existence: The Astral Body and The Mind Body. The events created by Mind Body are purely the consequences of the past karmas, both good and bad. Nakshatras can be understood as the store house of past karma, which keep resurfacing over the period of time. In my understanding Nakshatra based astrology mostly deals with the past karmas, hence it is very important for the masses. The events which are described by way of all the methods related with Nakshatras such as Vimshottary and other Dasha systems and Krishnamurthy Padhdhati etc. are the consequences of our past karma. These methods do not describe the circumstances or the events created by the longing of the soul or the Astral body, for which one needs to use the methods based on Ascendants, such as Parashara system of twelve houses, Ashtakvarga, various methods based on progression as well as the transits.

So until now, we have seen the events created by accumulated memories and the circumstances created by the soul to fulfill it’s longings. Now, the question arises, if the longing of the soul to evolve has been fulfilled and it has taken the leap it desired, then what is the kind of life one will live. In other words, once one is free from the slavery of the past and have learnt to live moment to moment, than what is the kind of life one will be blessed with. Such a life is blissful and is lived in complete harmony with the cosmic forces. In such life, Soul lives mostly through the Ananda Shareer and derive immense bliss out of it. This life can also be understood as the play of divine through the individual soul. In astrology, such a life can be outlined by way of Navamamsha Horoscope. However, you must note that this horoscope is valid only for those who have learnt to live in bliss and gratitude and they act only in tune with the divine play and not by their ambitions, desires and reactions.

Now, you may have noted that there are different methods to deal with the different existance of the soul by way of various level of bodies. Most of the people live by way of mind body, hence the Nakshatra based methods work very well for them. However, one needs to combine the Ascendant based methods. Even though such combinations do exist, but they may be quite insufficient and may not tell the whole truth. Hence new methods are required to understand the life. It is very rare for people to live in bliss; hence Navamamsha may not attain highly important status in terms of predictions. However, people do receive their destiny by way of this horoscope in their moments of bliss. Such moments can turn out to be the defining moments of their lives and hence Navmansha horoscope attains significance. However, for the people of very high awareness, this horoscope may be the main influence in the shaping up of their lives. However, even such people have the longing of the soul as well as unfinished karmas, hence all the three kind of methods must be combined to understand the true picture.

(This article is an endeavor to understand the functioning of astrology at a deep karmik level. It explores the journey of soul from the death at the previous life to the birth of next one at a specific time, which is derived by the soul’s desire to take birth in the context of that specific planetary magnetic field. It explains the formation of our current personality through the Astral Body and the mechanism of the various events over the total span of life.)

Astrology is a science to understand the motives of the soul in the present incarnation. It also depicts the journey it will pass through in the process of evolution and learning. Hence every soul chooses its moment of birth based of what it intends to go through in present life. In it’s previous birth, when the soul left the body, its unfulfilled aspirations remained accumulated in the form of Manas Shareer (The body of Mana or mind), which is the third body from below in the hierarchy of our seven bodies after the Sthool Shareer (The Physical Body) and Pran Shareer (The body of breathing). The body of mind is like the accumulation of past experiences, memories, aspirations, frustrations, guilt and everything else we go through while living our lives. However, this body has no awareness of the overall journey the soul goes through over innumerable lives during its journey through the vast patch of time. It is the fourth body, the Sakshi Shareer (The Astral Body / The Auric Body or the Body of Witnessing), which is aware of it’s overall journey and the ultimate goal of the soul. Hence, the choices of the time of birth are made by the Astral Body, which is in tune with the further journey soul urges to commence.

At the time of death, soul leaves with the body of mind and the Astral body. It intends to take birth, when it will have the right circumstances to move closer to its ultimate objective of becoming one with Param Atma (The God), and hence the Astral body can gain further strength. It takes birth when the Aura of the body matches with the environmental aura, which is the resultant of the inter relations of the magnetic fields of various planets, constellations and other such cosmic bodies. This aura enters with the first breath inhaled by the child after birth and creates a permanent impression similar to the first rays of light falling upon the exposed photo plate and creating a permanent impression in the form of the picture. Hence the Astral body enters the physical body and it begins on a new journey afresh along with the stored memories of the mind body from all the previous lives and karmas. Hence through the astral body, our physical body connects with the magnetic fields of the various planets and other cosmic bodies. This planetary aura interacts with the mind body or the previous experiences and memories to create our thought patterns and the feelings. This is how our personality is formed, which is defined with the help of the Science of Astrology. Hence it can be said that all the planets, Nakshatras and Zodiacs resides in our own bodies. At the same time, the lord of Jyotish as well as the lord of all the planets, the Shiva, also lives in our body through the higher fifth, sixth and seventh bodies, the bodies of Ananda (Bliss), Chit (Consciousness) and Sat (Truth).

Let us now understand, how Astrology predicts the events by way of planetary movements. The moving planets are constantly creating the impulses based on the interaction of their magnetic fields. This creates the overall aura and is responsible for the mass trends witnessed from time to time. Major events, which impact the large masses, and shape the destiny of various nations and the planet earth, are predicted through such readings. However for individual predictions, one needs to study the impact of this changing planetary aura on the individual personality. The permanent astral pattern within us, which was imbibed at the moment of our first breath, makes us catch only certain planetary impulses and ignore others. This is similar to radio catching only certain sound waves emitted from a particular radio station at a given frequency, while ignoring every other kind of sound. Since all of us have a different astral pattern, the changing planetary positions impact us differently. Such planetary movements create impulses, which create thoughts and feeling by way of interactions with our individual astral pattern. Such thoughts results in action, which creates events after interacting with the actions of others.

(The normal belief is that successful people have very good horoscopes, devoid of difficult combinations and full of beneficial features. My experience of studying celebrity horoscopes however suggests the contrary, as I have found that Successful people often have difficult horoscopes. This article is written in the language, which everyone, including those with no knowledge of astrology, can also understand.)

I am sharing an astrological finding with everyone, which has truly amazed me. When I began to study astrology, I too thought like everyone else, that those who are successful, must be having very auspicious and extra ordinary horoscopes. But to my amazement, I found that the horoscope of successful people, appeared even more difficult than those of normal people. This set me thinking deeper on this phenomenon, until one fine day, I realized that actually, all those who are successful have faced a lot of struggle in their lives, so obviously their horoscopes got to be difficult. In fact, if the circumstances around them would not have been difficult, they could never have accomplished what they did in their lives.

I will be demonstrating this fact in the later part of this article by the examples of PV Narsimharao: The former Prime Minister of India; Amitabh Bachchan: The Movie Super Star and most admired actor in India; Frida Kahlo; One of the most admired Painters of last century and National Icon of Mexico. You may not find much in common among these famous people except for the fact that all of them have extremely difficult horoscopes. If looked from traditional perspective, an interpretation of their horoscopes rules out any possibility of accomplishments and success and forecasts extremely difficult and doomed lives.

So what is the point of astrology in that case? Is it just a fake psychological game? Or is there something missing in our approach to astrology? Those with easy horoscopes should be more successful then those with difficult horoscopes. But that is not the case. Why? Let us explore.

The key point to understand is that Astrology gives an insight into the various events that the cosmos is going to present to us. However, Astrology does not control our responses to the events. So, at a very difficult time, we may face a very big challenge, but if we respond to this intelligently with high awareness, same event may turn out to be the foundation of something beautiful in our life.

I would like to compare this phenomenon with the game of cricket. In this analogy, bowling is akin to the Astrological dictation of the cosmos. Consider yourself as the batsman facing the bowler, where Astrology describes whether you are facing an easy bowler or a difficult one. So when your times are good, it is akin to you facing an easy bowler, whom you can hit for boundaries easily. Tough times are akin to the difficult bowlers, who could demand you to put in greater effort to save your wicket. Astrology defines the ferocity of bowling, and not the number of runs you are going to score. This depends on how you play these bowlers. While it is easy to make runs if you are facing an easy pace, you may still get bowled out if your batting skills are bad, or if you are not focused. On the contrary, if you are a superb batsman and are focused, you can even hit best of the bowlers for boundaries.

Those with easy horoscopes (or the GOOD horoscope as per traditional astrology) will face easy bowlers. Those with difficult horoscopes (or the so called BAD horoscopes as per traditional Astrology) would face challenging bowlers. Now, stop for a moment and consider, what kind of bowling a great batsman have faced? Easy or difficult?

All those who have succeeded in their lives, have faced difficult circumstances and struggles. While a person with low intelligence and poor awareness might have crumbled in those circumstances, some people grow out of it and become successful by accepting these challenges and transforming them into opportunities.

I have very often seen so called GOOD horoscopes. It is very rare for these people to accomplish something big. The only feature of their life is that their life is easy, devoid of any challenges and obstacles. Whenever they need anything, they get it without any struggle. This however, keeps them in their familiar and restricted zone, and they are unable to explore and discover different dimensions of life. On the contrary, those with difficult horoscopes face difficult circumstances and struggles constantly. If they respond to these with despair and pessimism, there are sure to doom. But if they respond to these challenges with awareness and joy, it becomes an opportunity to cultivate intelligence and understand life.

Before we look at some famous people horoscopes, let’s start by a brief background of Astrology. The major source of difficulties in anyone’s life mostly relates with 3 Houses – the 6th House (Health Troubles and Enemies), the 8th House (Upsets and Death) and the 12th House (Losses). But I have realized that for those, who live their life with deep intelligence and intense awareness, these houses start to assume very different meanings. Hence for such people I would prefer to redefine these houses as follows: 6th House (Harmony and Joy of Service), 8th House (Unfolding of Mysteries and Radical Approaches), 12th House (Detachment and Divine Blessings /Talents). With this in mind, let’s look at the horoscopes of some famous people.

PV Narsimharao

Birth Details: 28.6.1921, 11:30 AM, Karim Nagar, AP

PV Narsimha Rao’s Horoscope
The placement of Jupiter and Saturn in 12th House and Placement of Venus and Ketu in 8th House, makes his Horoscope an extremely difficult one. As per traditional Astrology, such kind of person would have bad luck and constant opposition. His own discretion would fail and he will not be able to recover from the major accidents through out his life. Such a person would hence be destined to lead a miserable life.

Now if you look at his life, all this seems to be true. He faced court cases, jail sentences, Defamation and lot more. Many of the people would not have been able to withstand all that and they would collapse under these circumstances. But he was a person of extreme intelligence and high awareness, so life turned out to him differently. He was recalled out of his retirement to become the Prime Minister (As 12th House stands for Detachment and Divine Blessings, hence when he got detached he received Divine Blessings. This would not have happened had he kept trying for the post). Also the success of his tenure can be credited to the Liberalization era for Indian Economy, which happened because of his radical approach in choosing a completely non political person, Mr. Man Mohan Singh for the coveted post of Finance Minister (As 8th House stands for Radical Appraoch, he would not have succeeded had he chosen a traditional approach).

Amitabh Bachchan
Birth Details: 11.10.1942 4:00PM, Allahabad, UP

Horoscope of Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachhan’s horoscope is again an extremely difficult one with the placement of 5 planets Sun, Mercury, Mars, Venus and Neptune in 8th House and Jupiter in 6th House. As per traditional Astrology, such person would constantly remain baffled by upsets, fights and accidents throughout his life. His plans for the future would collapse and he would be left with total misery. Accomplishments apart, even a normal life would be akin to fighting for survival.

And hasn’t this been so true, but only as far as the events happening to him is concerned. If he responded to the events in his life in a reactive and unintelligent manner, he would have lived a horrible life. He struggled a lot to get into films, but he failed. Even his first film was a total failure. Then he discovered himself as Angry Young Man in the era of lover boys, which brought him success (as 8th House stands for Unfolding mysteries and Radical Approaches). He lived the character of angry young man for a few decades and he became the most celebrated icon of Bollywood. This is an example of high awareness handling of 8th house energy, which transformed the miseries into creative expression. Even after his success, he kept facing series of upsets in the form of accidents, sickness and business collapse. The failure of ABCL was a massive blow, which required him to adopt a completely different approach in life by being the host of Kaun Banega Carorpati. But he fulfilled even this wish of life without bothering about the controversies and became a big success. Can you see, how his planning has crumbled again and again, as mysteries kept unfolding and he had to flow with life and adopt radical approaches. That is why he is so hugely accomplished even after such a horrendous horoscope.

Frida Kahlo
Birth Details: 6.7.1907, 8:30AM, Coyoacan, Mexico

Horoscope of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo’s Horoscope is one of the most difficult I have ever seen, with 5 planets, Jupiter, Sun, Neptune, Venus and Pluto placed in the 12th House and Mars and Uranus in 6th House. As per traditional Astrology, the life of such person would be totally filled with gloom and doom, as she will keep loosing everything she has. Accomplishments are completely ruled out, as each and every day of her life will turn out to be full of pain and sorrow.

And she lived such a difficult life, enough to send shivers through your spine. At the age of six, she was infected with polio, which left her with one leg shorter and thinner than the other. In her early teens, she was preparing for a career in medicine, until she suffered a serious auto accident in Mexico City. An electric trolley car crashed into the wooden bus in which she was riding. Freda was pierced by the trolley’s metal handrail which entered her lower body on the left side and exited through her vagina. Her spinal column and pelvis were each broken in three places; her collarbone and two ribs broken as well. Her right leg, the one deformed by polio, was shattered, fractured in 11 places and her right foot dislocated and crushed. A lifelong series of operations followed, and her first prolonged hospitalization led to her learning to paint. After the accident, her life was spent in pain, with at least 32 surgeries.

Anyone living such a life will be completely shattered, and will live in total misery as dictated by the prominence of 12th House. But look at her life. Her faith in life and her urge to live, led her to express her pain and agony through her paintings, touching the heart of masses. That’s what made her into the national icon of Mexico. If she did not go through all this tough life, could she still be such a great personality? Probably not. For someone so intelligent and aware, 12th House assumed higher meanings of Detachment and Divine Talents. Her intensity and appetite for life was voracious. Filled with a radiant and explosive fury, her paintings showed a symbolic realism and spoke to contemporary and feminist issues: the pain of love and feminine identity. Her faith in life amidst of all the trials and turbulences caused her work to be highly successful even after her death. By 1994 there were some 87 publication about her, and her 1942 “Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot” sold at Sotheby’s for $3.2 million, the highest price ever paid for a Latin-American work of art. In Mexico, Kahlo is known as “la heroina del dolor,” (the heroine of pain). Recent Hollywood movies “FRIDA” starring Salma Hayek have immortalized her.

The moral we can thus draw, is that your horoscope does not suggest how successful you will be in your life. It just gives the account of your hidden potentials and the challenges life is going to throw at you.

Hence, astrology should be used to understand our lives and not for getting constrained by the circumstances. Please read the article on Inspirational astrology for more clarity on this approach.