Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall - Arudhas

[Guest guest]

Dear Anna and Vivek,

Anna, you and I are good friends - so relax, take a deep breath, put away

the defensiveness, and lets see if we can learn something from this

discussion. And no, I am not interested in rhetoric only.

OK, so back to my question: If the Sun is the karaka of the lagna,

then what is the karaka of the Arudha lagna? Obviously, the lagna

and the Arudha lagna are not the same things, otherwise it would be

ludicrous to make a distinction between the two.

SUN: It is the Satya, light, or pure truth. Being pure, it is

the Atma itself. So the purpose of incarnation, or the actual point

of incarnation, comes through the lagna, which in essence is the degree

of some sign where the Sun is placed at the moment of Sunrise.

MOON: It is the reflected light of the Sun, and thus the image

portrayed by the soul, having incarnated into a material

body. All manifestations of matter are temporary, and thus in

consideration of what is true or not, identities, bodies, cultures,

belief systems etc., are different manifestations of Maya, or

illusion. These things are reiterated many places in the Vedic

Upanishads, and are a central fixture in any spiritual

understanding. Whereas Maya, or temporal form, is illusion,

the Soul, or Atma from which life force originates, is Satya, or

truth.

*Note that the Sun's zodiacal position at sunrise, or lagna, is a true

astronomical phenomenon, whereas the chart taking the Moon as lagna

does not reflect an astronomical fact. It does, however, reflect

how the mind works or perceives life experience for the soul having taken

birth in material form. For those purposes, it is very

useful.

ARUDHA: The word Arudha means "mount", or "the

risen". Thus to what extent material illusion can expand, or

the magnitude to which it may be experienced, is indicated by the Arudha

of the lagna. Similarly, the matters represented by different

astrological houses, will reach a certain level of manifestation in the

world of illusion, or Maya, and thus there are Arudhas associated

with each house also.

Thus, the karaka for the natal lagna is the Sun (truth), and the

karaka for the Arudha lagna (perception of truth) is the Moon.

Now, there are many examples of how this plays out in actual chart

instances. For example, in the chart of former Vice president Al

Gore, the lagna is Cancer with Mars and Saturn; the Arudha lagna is

Taurus, where there is Venus. So the side of the persona with which

the world most identifies the man, is Venusian, i.e. pleasant,

well-dressed, aristocratic, refined, etc. The true character, or

persona, however, is more associated with Saturn and Mars, and thus

ambitious, calculating, skeptical or discerning, and intent on fulfilling

his purpose. You have two layers of reality upon which both

sides of the persona operate: that which is true, although not always

easily identifiable; and that which is perceived, and which is most often

or easily identifiable.

Anna, you are correct on many of your theoretical explanations, and I

don't mean to sound like I am editing them. As you say, the AL can

be used as a reference point from which to see all things, although there

is a difference between the lagna as reference point, and the Arudha

lagna as a reference point. In my classes some years ago, I used to

teach that if you can't readily identify the karmas of the individual

from the lagna, then look at the yogas/combinations from the Arudha

lagna. You are able to more easily identify what is what in the

chart, as the Arudha brings the manifestations of Maya into higher

form. We most often identify people or situations according to what

we perceive; the perceptions most often differ from the reality,

however.

Another example: In ex-President Bill Clinton's chart, (I use

Cancer lagna for his chart), the Arudha lagna is Libra, where he has

Jupiter. So, he is perceived as someone who is educated, refined,

dignified, and effective working in government and legal circles.

He is also identified as someone who is compassionate or genuinely

concerned for the welfare of others. Now, Rahu also makes his

aspect (rasi aspects) to Jupiter, as well as to the natural lagna, and

Venus/Mars. So, although he is most often identified in the above

ways, for a period of time, he was identified as a deceptive liar, a

womanizer, and this perception was exploited by his adversaries, who

wished to defeat him on the basis of his Arudha. What they failed

to understand, was that the Raja-yoga linking Jupiter to the Moon,

would not allow the man to be brought down. In other words, the

effect of Rahu on the Arudha (perceptions), was not nearly as strong as

the Raja-yoga that sustained his position in spite of his

adversaries. Because Rahu also aspects the lagna, the perceptions

(i.e. Rahu aspects to the Arudha) about him are true, to a certain

extent.

Anyway, lets just say, that there are different levels upon which we can

see a person. In Jyotish we can see those levels (i.e. Satya,

lagna, Sun for the reality; and Asat, illusion or perceptions, i.e.

Arudha lagna and Moon) without bias or discrimination. Who is the

person really? That identity or portrait which is painted by

perceptions and illusion, or the true identity. Other matters

regarding longevity, or as Vivek says, seeing the event of spiritual

advancement when Ketu transits in trine to the Arudha lagna, are for

another discussion.

EVENT-TIMING: As a final note, and you will find this useful:

Whenever a dasa period, whether Vimsottari dasa, or Rasi dasa such as

Narayana dasa, joins or aspects the Arudha lagna, some significant and

possibly life-changing event is likely to occur to the native.

In my book on Spirituality in Jyotish and Drig dasa, I gave many

examples of how key events in a person's spiritual life occurred when the

Arudha lagna became activated by the operative Drig dasa.

Similarly, priests became popes, or consecrated into sainthood (Catholic

lineage) when dasas associated with the Arudha of the 10th came into

effect. OK, more later........

Thanks for listening,

Robert

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert A. Koch, Vedic Astrologer

Faculty Member, SJC and ACVA

visit

<http://www.robertkoch.com>

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http://www.jyotishdiscovery.com

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Ph: 541.318.0248