[ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 ] ness of our desires . In India this form of yoga is called Gyana , or the yoga of knowledge . Astrology is a form of this yoga .
Karma Yoga [ definition ] - The yoga of selfless action ; yoga through the selfless performance of duties .
When we translate our feelings of love of life and our understanding of values into personal behavior we enter the path of action . This is Karma yoga . Service to something larger than one ’ s self is another way of breaking down the limitations of the small self . When you join the life of public service you are deciding to put the interests of the whole unit that you serve , ahead of your own needs . This is a brave act for most people ... If you have had many lifetimes of doing this it is second nature . It is instinctive and automatic for someone to step forward to serve the larger unit when they are on this path for spiritual development . For the Karma yogi , behavior in our daily life is the spiritual practice aimed at bringing us closer to the goal of creation . Through putting the needs of a larger unit ahead of our own small self we get closer to reality ; personal concerns are sacrificed for the needs of the group .
In one sense , everyone has a temperament for Karma yoga in the spirit that everyone goes through sacrifices in order to grow in consciousness . We all sacrifice for others , for our various groups , and for some ideal or cause . But some people have a special temperament for Karma yoga and this is shown by the circumstances of Saturn in their chart . Elsewhere I have written in detail on the meaning of the signs , houses , and aspects of Saturn to describe how this temperament for service manifests . 1
Necessities are ruled by Saturn ; desires are ruled by Mars . We have certain needs that must be fulfilled in order to sustain life . We have desires , which give us energy , but also create complications which slow our progress down . The path of action , Karma yoga , not only requires us to deal with the principle of limitation ( Saturn ) but also we have to harness and finally raise the vibration of our own personal desires ( Mars ) in order to grow spiritually .
In order for our lives to progress we have certain requirements or necessities e . g . food , clothing , and shelter . These things are shown by Saturn . We also have things that we want . These things are shown by Mars . The interplay between these two conditions in our chart shows something of how we progress in our spiritual journey . Being able to correctly channel the energy of our desires in a constructive way requires discipline . This discipline or lack of it is shown by the level of functioning of Saturn .
We all have things that we must do , we have things that we must have , and we are faced in life every day with things that must be accomplished .
When we think of Saturn we think of discipline , limitation , structure . Saturn is hard , it is the law of gravity , it is karma . But , Saturn has a special role to play in Karma yoga , as Saturn rules sacrifice . Because Saturn presents us with limitations , we have the task of prioritizing when presented with many courses of action . Because of the limitations of time , money , and energy ; we go through the process of saying no to ourselves in order to work for the good of something or someone else . When a mother only has enough food to feed her children , she is able to go through the sacrifice of giving up her own dinner to feed them . We have all had this experience , even if it normally presents itself in less dramatic ways .
We need to put time and energy into our personal lives in order to survive , in order to be alive to make sacrifices . A mother who only feeds her children and never eats herself , starves to death ... and then her children starve as well , unless someone else takes them in and also makes sacrifices for them .
Astrologers must have a professional practice in order to generate sufficient resources to be able to give to an astrological organization . Yes , the astrologer can have an alternate source of income , a different job , a working spouse , large savings or inheritance ; most astrology organizations run on the backs of people who are in this category . But what about OPA , an organization for professional astrology ? It is important that we have astrologers working in the field who are capable , visionary , and generous enough to donate to the organization . This requires that we astrologers involved are successful enough , are self sustaining . From this we have been able to craft
[ CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 ] o P A ❥ The o rganization for Professional Astrology 5 T h e C A r e e r A s T r o l o g e r s P r i n g 2 0 1 2