Last time we looked at the houses of the horoscope to see how the energetic dynamics of your signs and planets, play out as the circumstances and experiences of your life (indicated by the houses). One word that covers the totality of both your inborn energy dynamics, AND the circumstances and experiences through which they play out, is karma. 

Whenever you're looking at anything other than your Soul Sign (Rising Sign) in your horoscope, you're basically dealing with karma in the sense that you're dealing with repeating energetic dynamics that have been established in past lifetimes. (Indeed even the energy of your Soul Sign will be part of your karma until you have a certain capacity for conscious awareness).

Yet the whole concept of karma is possibly one of the most misunderstood, by our modern Western society. It is essential that we have at least a basic understanding of what The Tibetan master (in Esoteric Astrology) would have meant by karma, and what we mean by karma in terms of Soul Astrology, if we are to fully comprehend our horoscope from a Soul-Centered perspective. Fortunately for us, in the West we now have access to the highest ancient teachings of Tibetan Buddhism that the Tibetan himself would have studied and which Alice Bailey, as his amanuensis, would have had limited access to at the time of writing Esoteric Astrology.

This affords us a precious opportunity to go even deeper in trying to understand the principles that the Tibetan was trying to convey through Esoteric Astrology. I believe it is impossible to understand Soul Astrology, in the deepest sense of which the Tibetan spoke in Esoteric Astrology, without deeply understanding reincarnation and karma.


What is Karma?

AS we mentioned above, karma is possibly one of the most misunderstood concepts here in the West. It is an Eastern term that we have adopted with little or no understanding of it's original meaning. When we say "oh it must be karma" we speak of karma as though it is a fate, destiny, punishment or even a curse that has been imposed on us by something outside of us, but it's not quite like that.

In Buddhist traditions it is said that karma is one of the most complicated of phenomena to understand and can only truly be understood by Buddhas (enlightened beings) themselves! So we can forgive ourselves if we don't fully get it, and by the same token neither can we assume that we fully know what it really is.

From my studies of esoteric astrology and different spiritual traditions, I have a little understanding of karma which I'll share here, just bear in mind this is also very likely to be incomplete (since I'm neither a Buddha nor an enlightened being)!

Karma is said to be both cause and effect. I have listened to different teachers and some say that karma is the action, some say it is the result, and some say it is both since you cannot separate the action from the result (see this video)! A bit like the well-known chicken and egg scenario: which came first? Without eggs there are no chickens, without chickens there are no eggs. In a sense that's karma, the chicken and the egg, continuing the endless cycle of death and rebirth. 

So karma refers both to our actions and the effects of our actions on ourselves, others, and the world around us. For example we, our children and our grandchildren, are reaping the karmic rewards from our unconscious and unbridled use of plastic, in the form of toxic plastics polluting our oceans.

Yet karma also relates to our behavior on a day to day basis. In addition to our genetic predisposition (whether we are plant, animal, mineral or human) we also have our behavioral conditioning, based on the family and the society that we were born into. So we experience karma on different levels.

We each have our own individual karma, which is our behavioral tendencies carried over from past lives. If you were a Beethoven or a Mozart in a past life, there will be energetic traces in your energy field, so you will know what to do immediately the first time you sit in front of a piano.

We also have shared 'family' karma in the sense that our individual energetic patterns are in some way intertwined with the family we are born into, and then there is the collective 'karma' of society at all levels: our school or work, village, town, city, nation and ultimately the collective consciousness of humanity. All of these influence our actions, and therefore the results we experience. So it all affects our 'karma'.

In Soul Astrology, our Soul Sign (Rising Sign) indicates the light of our Soul that is wanting to shine through. Everything else in the chart is indicating some kind of karma, whether it be at individual, social or collective level. Even our Soul Sign can become a source of more karmic conditioning if we are not yet spiritually awake, and fully aware of our actions, underlying motivations and the effects of our actions.


Seeds of Karma

Most of our behavior is learned behavior. Western sociologists and psychologists debate on just exactly how much of human behavior is learned from our environment (our family, friends, the society we live in) and how much is genetic (inherited from our parents). When we introduce the idea of reincarnation it swings the debate strongly in favor of everything being learned.

When it comes to explaining our behavioral traits many eastern traditions include the concept of ‘karma’. This is a difficult concept but it might be helpful for the purpose of understanding Soul Astrology to simply think of karma as everything you have ever learned in this and past lives. In the Tibetan buddhist tradition they use the analogy of 'seeds': as though everything you ever learned (positive and negative) is lying dormant as a 'seed' in your 'mindstream' (your energy field).

Basically these 'karmic seeds' are impressions formed in your energy field by both your own past actions and actions you are exposed to from those around you and, these days, also through exposure to media, including movies and video games. Under the right circumstances, the right 'conditions' (your environment and your mental and emotional state) these seeds can ripen as your own present action.

An example would be a young child who is not from a musical family and has never been taught how to play, but when he picks up a flute he just knows what to do and plays a tune. The 'seed' of a memory from a past life was already in his mindstream, and the circumstance of feeling the flute in his hand and putting it to his lips caused the seed to 'ripen' and he recalled how to play.

Or a young adult from a tee-total family who walks past a bar and finds the smell and taste of beer irresistible, only later to discover they are an alcoholic. According to the Tibetan tradition the 'seeds' for strong attraction (addictions) and/or strong aversion, are set out through associations that you made in past lives. This is your Karma.

Why does one person have a predisposition for high blood pressure, while another is predisposed to low blood pressure? These are all karmic seeds that are present in your energy field, which can ripen in specific circumstances. Western medicine might call it an inherited genetic trait, in other words these "seeds of potential in your energy field" are your karma and certain branches of astrology such as Vedic Astrology and Medical Astrology specialise in reading the predispositions and potentials of your energy field.



Individual and Collective Karma

As we said above, you will have your own individual karma, family karma and group karma based on the society that you were born into. Your group karma is behavior that is based on the culture and traditions of the society you were born into, that vary from country to country. The normal 'codes of behavior' if you like. Within that you will have 'familial' karma that is based on the 'codes of behavior' or habits of the family you were born into, and then within that you will have your own unique experience, and the 'seeds' you are carrying from past lives and will therefore have your own behavior based on your individual karma.


Karma in your Horoscope

Your individual karma is indicated in the energetic dynamics and conditions of your personal planets, by sign and house. These are the Sun , Moon (See "Who do you become under stress?", and "True Colors: Understanding Who You Are" ), Mercury, Venus and Mars. (Also see "The Instinctive Influence of The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars" and "Interpreting Karma In Your Natal Chart".)

Your Social and familial karma is indicated in the energetic dynamics and conditions of the social planets. These are Jupiter and Saturn.

Your role in the collective karma of the society you were born into, and the world we live in, is indicated by the energetic dynamics and conditions of the transpersonal planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The condition of the Lunar Nodal Axis by sign and house will also tell you much about your relationship to the society that you were born into, and what that society expects from you.

Understanding Your Actions

One of the fundamental principles of buddhist practice is to watch body, speech and mind. Checking your motivation in this way, is a basic practice in mindfulness.

Once you start to look at your underlying motivations, you begin to see how you flow your energy: what moves you into action? What kind of actions do you take? ... and why? What are your predispositions? tendencies? and habits? What shape or form do your habitual thoughts take? 

By observing your own body, speech and mind very closely, you will see the seeds of your own karma in your own energy field. o your actions arise from a compassionate heart? or are your actions simply the reactions of negative emotions?

You can then use the knowledge you have learned so far from Soul Astrology to relate your thoughts, actions and predispositions to your horoscope.

Do You Create Your Own Reality?

Your horoscope is a representation of YOUR energy field. It is showing you all YOUR habits and traits from this and past lives. You are the one who has created your karma, and you are the only one who can change it, so in this very broad sense then yes, you have created your reality. However, it is not as simple as some people would have you believe.

For most people, karmic conditioning is not a conscious choice but rather the result of unconscious habits and reacting, combined with exposure to impressions in your environment that take root in your mindstream. (see "Social Conditioning and Karma in Chapter 1 of Soul Astrology)

You didn't create your karma overnight and you cannot change it overnight. You cannot change what you can't see. First you have to become aware of your unconscious habits and reactions, which is why closely observing your body, speech and mind is an important beginning. Once you begin to see negative patterns, then you can take steps to change those patterns, which will change your karma in future.

Ultimately you are responsible and, while this might seem overwhelming, it also means you have the power to change. Such change often involves a lifetime of dedicated mindfulness, and changing behavior a little at a time.

Karma and Magnetic Fields

In Esoteric Astrology the Tibetan emphasizes the importance of the science of triangles. In astrology when we start looking at aspect patterns in our charts we see different kinds of triangles. Each configuration carries a different energetic signature. They are ‘karmic’ in the sense that these are energetic traces that we carry from this and past-life conditioning. They form part of your personality, your conditioning.

How can this conditioning carry over from one lifetime to another? Magnetic fields can be very powerful and can bind groups and individuals together. British scientist Rupert Sheldrake has written much on the subject of 'morphic memory' and 'morphogenetic fields'. It's the inherent memory in nature, embedded in our DNA, that during embryonic development tells one group of cells to develop into an eye, while another group of cells 'knows' how to become a brain, or a heart etc. Sheldrake extends this theory to include how 'birds of a feather flock together'. Ant colonies know how to group together, so do bees, geese, fish etc. And humans...

It's as though there is a kind of 'magnetic field' that holds us together as a group, and this group bond is possibly created in past lives. When we meet someone with whom we have shared a very close bond in a past life, there is still a magnetic trace. There is still a resonance, and we feel it. Sheldrake uses the concept of morphogenetic fields to explain how animals (and humans) know when one is missing from the group. He says these fields can 'stretch' over long distances but never break. If one group member is missing, the whole group feels it, until they return.

Morphogenetic fields are generated by mental and emotional energy and as such, they are a result of karmic conditioning. The science of morphogenetic fields helps us to understand what the Tibetan means by the 'science of triangles'. It can also be thought of as the science of karma! ( also see "The Science of Karma and Sacred Triangles" )


How You Flow Your Energy

The best way to understand your individual karma is to check your underlying motivation in every moment of every day, to reveal your underlying drives, intentions, habits, tendencies etc. In other words, why are you thinking, saying or doing whatever you are, right now? Your deepest observation will reveal how and why, you flow your energy in every situation.

As you continue your journey of self-observation, getting more familiar with how you flow your energy in different situations, and noticing how you react and respond to different people, and how that relates to the elements, you might begin to notice associations: "Whenever this happens I notice I always feel this, or say that, or do something else".

When your self-observation reaches that point, you are beginning to see your own conditioning. In other words you are beginning to see how your body and mind has been conditioned in this and past lifetimes to react or respond in specific ways to specific events.

At first you might not be thinking about Karma, but that is what you are observing: your own 'karmic mind'. In the Tibetan tradition karmic mind is described as your ordinary, everyday mind, as opposed to the 'clear awareness' of your mind's expansive true nature. Because of their fundamental connection to the true nature of reality, the elements also play a role in the formation of karma.

It is very important to observe your own energy field from the inside: in other words, meditation. It is only through cultivating the skill of deep observation that you will become aware of the most subtle energies. It is therefore highly recommended that you set aside time each day to meditate, whether sitting or active, to observe your energy field and to develop the habit of observing yourself. then as you become more experienced, continue your meditation throughout your day, until your whole life, waking and sleeping, becomes an observation of you.

The Importance of Knowing Your True Nature

Knowing that most of who you think you are is a result of past conditioning is an important step in the path of discovering who you really are: your true nature. There are many people these days who would have us believe that anger, hatred and violence for example, are just a part of human nature, yet every spiritual teacher who has reached enlightenment tells us this is not so. Every spiritual tradition tells us that we are loving kindness and compassion, at our core.

Optional Fieldwork for those wanting to go deeper:

• Download and read Your Essential Guide to Soul Astrology (if you haven't read it for a while, read it again to refresh your memory). 
  
• Get two notebooks. Use one for your study notes (what you are learning about astrology); and use the other as a reflective journal where you write your deeper insights, self-observations and realisations about YOU that arise from your study, observations of your zodiac signs, and meditation.
  
• Deeper Self-observation. Take out your own horoscope (natal chart) and in your reflective journal - make a list of some repeating actions and habits you have observed in yourself. Make a note of how they might relate to your personal planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. Meditate on what karmic conditioning you have observed in your own life.
• Further Reading: In your copy of Soul Astrology study and meditate on Chapter 1.  Book recommendations: "The Crystal and The Way of Light"   by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu; "Becoming Supernatural" by Dr Joe Dispenza