What Astrology Can Tell You About Your Health: Pt. 5

In the final segment of this series I would like to share some of my personal experiences and how I have seen medical astrology be a benefit to those who are seeking a fuller picture of their health.

In the beginning when I first started practicing medical astrology I was just as skeptical as some of you might be now and thought this could not be true.  Over time I found it to be accurate, not just once but over and over again.  Some years after I had been doing consultations I incorporated a scientific technology from Russia called GDV.  It is based on kirlian photography and has been used in Russian hospitals for the last eleven years.  It seems the Russians have accepted that we are not just made from matter but energy too.  What this special camera allowed me to do was to take a very accurate picture of the energetic field of the body.  What I consistently found was that what I saw showing up in the chart often presented itself as issues in their energy field of the person’s body.

I remember the first time I did this I was shocked and did not believe it.  It was a woman whose chart I will never forget.  She had three planets in the fifth house all in the sign of Taurus.  Okay… so what does that mean?  I know you are saying you have no idea what I just said… too much astrology.  Well let me explain it in very simple terms.  The fifth house often has to do with issues of the heart or back and Taurus is a sign that is often associated with the throat or thyroid.  What showed up when I took her picture with the special high tech camera was that that there were issues going on in her heart and throat areas.  It was from this time on that I stopped questioning what I saw in people’s charts.

Most people coming to see me for a consultation have already received a specific diagnosis.  What is a diagnosis anyway?  It is a grouping of symptoms, which Western Medicine has then classified as a disease.  This though is not the source of the problem but just the grouping of the symptoms.  The real underlying problem to this so-called disease, or what I like to call imbalance, has not really been addressed.  This then does not empower the person to take responsibility for what ails them.  How giving someone a diagnosis and then prescribing medications has always baffled me. How does this really help the person?  Yes they often help to reduce a person’s symptoms but only by suppressing them. Great! They feel better now but for how long before the true source of the problem expresses itself again.  To me this is one of the clear benefits of medical astrology, to be able to see what factors are contributing to the imbalances at hand.  Then if you are fortunate to have someone who has a broad understanding of medicine and health then you might also be able to receive real practical ideas about how to address the issue.  This empowers the person and fills them with hope and hopefully inspires them.

Here is an example of something I have commonly seen over time.  A person comes in.  Their complaint is fatigue.  They have tried to change their diet and this has helped some but the chart then reveals something deeper.  They have an aspect with the Sun and Saturn.  What does this mean?  The Sun has to do with our vitality and Saturn often has to do with some constriction.  So they are tired because their vital energy is not moving.  What to do?  With all of these kinds of people I have always found if they exercise then they have more energy and feel better.  The act of exercising causes them to move their vital energy.

Sometimes people come to see me because they either do not want to go to a traditional doctor or have not had good results with that or because even their doctors do not know what the problems are.  This is when I get excited.  A mystery… can we figure it out?  I feel like a detective who is trying to discover who committed the crime!  This is so much of what I enjoy – discovering what the underlying nature is that is contributing to the issue.  Sometimes this is easy and other times it is not.

Here is an occasion that I thought was easy.  A woman who was having trouble getting pregnant came to me.  Normal medical tests revealed nothing special as to why she could not get pregnant.  She had also tried in-vitro once and still had not been able to conceive.  In looking at her chart I could see there were some blockages to preventing her birth having to do with the planet Neptune.  One of the things that Neptune rules is medications and toxins.  Seeing this I advised her to detoxify her body, which I know would take some time – at least a year.  I also saw that there were some indicators that she could give birth in about a years time as well.  Almost a year to the day I received an email from her saying that she had followed my instructions and she just wanted me to know that she was now pregnant and very happy!

I like happy endings and this was one of them but they are not all like this.  Some have many complications and challenges that often have to be faced before the issue can be resolved.  Here though, as you can see, the benefit of knowing what was happening in her map helped us see what was invisible to the allopathic world.  This is the beauty of astrology and why I love it so.

Please feel free if you have any additional comments or questions to let us know.

I hope you have enjoyed this series and I wish you all good health.

What Astrology Can Tell You About Your Health-Part 4

Now that we have looked at how medicine and astrology are related, the various relationships between the Sun signs and your health, and how medicine now is diametrically opposed to medical astrology, let’s look more closely at the planets and how they affect our health.

When you were born the planets were at a specific point in time and space, which the astrologer maps out in your astrological chart.  The aspects, or relationships, between those planets play a significant role in your health.  When two planets interact a particular energy is created that affects the body.  Over a lifetime this can result in constitutional weaknesses as well as specific vitamin or mineral deficiencies.  The nature of these energies or stressors can set up disease processes.  A skilled practitioner can see in the chart the inherited weaknesses and can help uncover the deeper cause of what started the problem in the first place.  If you know where the inherited weakness in your body is it makes sense that you could then do something to address this area.

But how do we know that the planets affect us?  This is a valid question and believe it or not there is some research showing that both the Sun and Moon actually affect our physiology.  The Moon for example is a water sign and affects the fluids in our body.  This is significant because 85% of our body is made of water.  In the same way that the Moon affects ocean tides, so too does it affect the fluids in our body.  Many surgeons are actually aware of this and prefer not to operate on the Full Moon because they find that people tend to bleed more during this time.

Have you ever noticed your sleep is disturbed at a Full Moon or during an Eclipse?  I know over time I have become more aware of the Moon cycles and my sleep.  In the December 1977 issue of the New Scientist journal there was an article about a blind man with sleep problems.  It turns out his sleep cycle was based on the cycles of the Moon which is longer than our normal 24 hour sunlight pattern.  Even with medications his body still wanted to follow the cycle of the Moon.  Also, studies in Russia showed how Sun spots affected red blood cells.  So if the Sun and Moon affect our physiology it seems logical that the other planets in our solar system also have some kind of effect, even if it has not been scientifically proven.  Although not well accepted by the masses, ‘Space Weather’ in fact has an effect on our biological systems.

From another point of view it has been shown that man-made electromagnetic (EM) fields affect our bodies.  Created by such everyday items as cell phones, microwaves and even simple clock radios, these EMs have been shown to not only affect our sleep but many other aspects of our physiology as well.  It is also known that all the planets also emit various EM vibrations.  Wouldn’t it then be logical to assume that if the man-made EM fields affect us so too would the natural EM fields from the planets?

As a clinician who has worked with hundreds of clients, I have seen certain patterns show up time and time again as being accurate indicators of health issues.  Let me give you now some practical examples.  Now I know many of you will not know where the planets are in your chart or what they are in aspect to.  This of course is where having a consultation can illuminate the picture and bring awareness.

Over time I have observed that wherever Saturn is in the chart is a potential for a weakness with the health.  Whenever I see individuals who have Saturn in Leo, for example, I inquire about their heart or back.  Many times they report that it has been a life long issue.  Another example is with Saturn in Virgo.  There the issue is with digestion, which is not news to them but they often don’t know how to correct it.  Why is this?  It is because Saturn makes whatever we are dealing with very real and definite.  It is not like having to go on a mission to figure out what is wrong.

One interesting combination of planets is Venus-Neptune or Venus-Uranus.  Any pattern with Venus can present potential problems with either the thyroid and or blood sugar.  Now in some ways this is the tricky part.  I don’t always know which archetype is presenting for the person but I usually have a pretty good idea.  This is why I always ask questions in addition to reading the various physical metrics I take under consideration.  Rather than using astrology to predict what a particular physical weakness may be, I use it in conjunction with the feedback I receive from the person to determine how the astrological archetypes are manifesting.

At a lecture I gave, I shared with a woman how the Venus-Neptune pattern in her chart could indicate issues with blood sugar.  She proceeded to tell me she had been a diabetic all her life.  On the other hand I have seen the same aspect present as weakness (Neptune) of the thyroid (Venus), which has the potential of manifesting as a hypothyroid.

At another talk I described that Venus-Uranus can sometimes present as an erratic or abnormal functioning thyroid.  After the lecture a woman came and showed me this pattern in her chart and said she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease, which is defined as an autoimmune disorder (abnormal functioning) of the thyroid.

I remember one client I saw who overall was healthy and had no major complaints but was just curious about what she needed to watch out for as she continued living her life.  In her chart I saw that there were four planets in the sign of Sagittarius.  In medical astrology this sign often has to do with digestion and the liver.  Knowing this I knew that if she excessively indulged with drinking alcohol or drugs that there would be a strong probability that it would affect her liver.  And sure enough, in a recent communication she shared with me how if she drank too much it really affected her.  Not only that, earlier in her life she was in a car accident and broke her hip.  Sagittarius also rules hips and thighs.

Now when I sit down with someone and see these astrological patterns I already know what questions I will ask if they have not already told me why they came.  In the last and final part of this series I will be sharing some of the observations I have made over time after seeing hundreds of clients and what I see as the benefits of combining medical astrology along with any form of medicine you may be using to give a fuller and deeper picture to the nature of health issues that may potentially be arising for you.

And please, if you have any questions based on what you read or are curious about something feel free to let us know.

Good health to you!

What Astrology Can Tell You About Your Health – Part 3

Welcome back to Part 3 on What Medical Astrology Can Tell You About Your Health.  In Part 1 we looked at the history of Medical Astrology and how astrology and medicine have a long history.  In Part 2 we looked at the Sun signs and their relationship to parts of the body.  And now in Part 3 we will delve into why Medical Astrology is a valid model to consider in comparison to the current Allopathic Medicine model from a philosophical and application perspective.

In reality the two systems have very little in common and are actually completely different.  The allopathic model functions from what I would call a closed model.  If you read the first article then you will remember that one of the main differences in the two systems is that western medicine looks at illness from a reductionist model.  This is the belief that complex diseases can only be understood by breaking them down part by part.  I have always wondered how can the parts be greater than the whole?  It just does not make sense.

Second, and just as important, is that conventional medicine functions from the point of view of materialism, the belief that matter is the primary cause of all physiological functioning, diseases, cognitions and thought processes.  This belief also holds true for most biomedical research being done as well.  What does this mean?  It means that when one is trying to ascertain the health or disease of a living system that they will never get the full answer.  Why?  Because this model has failed to accept or look at the energetic components of that system.  Hospitals routinely use ECG’s (electrocardiograms) to diagnose cardiovascular disease and neurologists, as well as people like myself who do neuro-feedback, will use EEG’s (electroencephalograms) to assess brain function.  Yet, allopathic medicine still will not acknowledge that all living organisms have electromagnetic properties.  It would seem self-evident that this should play a role in assessing any biological considerations.  As Dr. Sarah Knox, a biomedical scientist put it, “Medicine is only examining one side of Einstein’s equation”.  E=MC² means that energy can also be converted to matter.  Without looking at the energetic components to the entire expression of human health how can one fully expect to understand the causes of breakdown?

There is some hope though.  Fortunately there are some parts of the world that are starting to take this into consideration, but this is far from becoming mainstream.  This will likely not happen until conventional medicine can accept that energy is just as important to assess as matter in living systems.  In some Russian hospitals for example, one can find a special camera (GDV) that will actually take a picture of the energy field of the body.  This allows the doctors to assess the physical as well as the psychological health of a person through an energetic viewpoint.  I actually have one of these cameras, use it in my practice here in Los Angeles, and it is incredibly helpful.

Medical astrology does not even look for specific diseases per se but looks more from a point of holism.  It attempts to see how all the parts are related, patterns that could be present and where the imbalances express themselves.  In looking at a chart one essentially looks at the flow of energy from one planet to another and how they then are all related.  Interestingly enough, the more ancient disciplines such as Chinese, Tibetan and Indian medicine continue to this day to incorporate a similar view.  The openness of the holistic perspective allows for more possibilities, helps a person to see the underlying causes and supports them to take responsibility for the imbalances they are dealing with.

Another area western medicine is a bit behind the times is in relationship to microorganisms.  The outdated view still believed to be true is that disease is caused by something external such as a bacteria or virus.  Based on the limitations of this view the only way to address such issues seems to be either by destroying the pathogen through medications or by removing the now diseased organ or gland, both of which undermine the body’s own vitality and compromise the immune system.  It does not account for what is going on in the internal environment and the natural ways a person could change this.  This model is bit barbaric and is very disempowering to the individual.  If one believes that something from outside of themselves is attacking them then what can they do?  It leads the common person to believe they are helpless in preventing an illness or a disease.  When an astrologer looks at a chart he must consider the whole chart, the environment upon which the energy functions, and all of the elements that would affect that environment.

Once a person has been labeled with a particular disease the person is not told of any way to resolve the issue except to continue taking medication.  I am not saying that people should not take medication.  Sometimes it is necessary but without teaching people what the underlying causes are how can people improve?  Just having the diagnosis alone can make a person feel helpless which only complicates the original problem from a psychological perspective and then creates dependency.  This model unfortunately does not encourage or support people in taking any responsibility for ones own health.  How can this model ultimately free people from the problems that ail them if there is no education?  The allopathic model in and of itself seems to create a dependency on the system.  This of course is great for someone else’s pocket book and not the individual’s well-being.

Before we close lets take a look at where the etymology of the word ‘doctor’ comes from. It is derived from the Latin word for doctoris, which means teacher.  This noun came from the old French verb ‘docre’ which means “to teach”.  The true doctor is a teacher and this is what the medical astrologer attempts to do, to teach and educate.  With greater awareness, education and understanding of how the body is working, people are naturally empowered and given hope in how to take responsibility and deal with the imbalances in their own body.

In Part 4 of this series we will look at the more specific and practical benefits that Medical Astrology can provide for you when combined with training in the field of medicine. Until then I wish you well and good health!  I invite you to share any insights, questions or considerations that this article may have brought to the surface for you.

What Astrology Can Tell You About Your Health – Part 2

In the previous article we started looking at the history of medical astrology and its relationship between astrology and medicine. We saw that the two fields had been related for hundreds of years until the introduction of the scientific model called mechanical physics.  This worldview of looking at things in a part-and-pieces kind of way still dominates the views of science and medicine today. However with the emerging paradigm of quantum physics and a holistic look at life there is hope that we will be able to integrate a new way of thinking when addressing issues of health and the human body.  If you did not get to read Part I click here.

So now what can astrology tell us about one’s health? It can reveal much more than meets the eye.  In the same way that astrology can reveal personality or psychological traits archetypally, so too can astrology be used to give us insight into the archetypal relationships with the body. Let’s take a look at each Sun sign to see the corresponding relationships to the physical body.  I invite you to read all of the signs since many of your friends have different signs than you.  Some of you may even be able to figure out your friends sign just by knowing this information. You may apply your Sun sign as well as your Ascendant for the following signs:

Aries: One thing many Aries know is that they like to be first but why is it they always lead with their head? The part of the body that Aires rules is the head, eyes, sinuses and the brain.  Did you ever wonder why some Aries have so much darn energy? This has to do with having strong adrenal glands, which is something else that Aries rules.

Taurus: Have you ever wondered why many Taurus’s sing so beautifully? The throat as well as everything related to the neck area is ruled by Taurus such as the thyroid. Venus, the ruler of Taurus has to do with sweets, and it is not uncommon for some Taurus’ to over indulge in sweets and have blood sugar related issues because of this. Now come on… tell me a Taurus who does not love sweet things?

Gemini: The areas favored by Gemini are the arms, hands and fingers. Gemini also has a relationship with the lungs and breathing.  How many of you Geminis out there have ever had injuries to your hands or arms?

Cancer: Cancer rules the stomach, ovaries and pituitary gland.  Sometimes, when out of balance, some Cancers will experience water retention or problems with the fluids in the body.   How many of you Cancers out there ever got a stomachache as a kid?  Some will even put on extra weight because they swallow too many emotions.  I am sure though this has never happened to any of you.

Leo: The great lion has to do with the heart and the back.  My best friend is a Leo and for sometime he used to have angina, which is when the heart goes into spasms. At other times in his life he has been incapacitated by back pain.  Another good example of this is former president Bill Clinton, a Leo, who has now had two open-heart surgeries.

Virgo:  For Virgos, issues often present around digestion as it relates to the glands that have to do with digestion such as the pancreas, liver or intestines. Do you know any Virgos who do not have some issues with digestion in their lives?

Libra: Our beautiful Libras often manifest issues around the kidneys or bladder or have issues with how the body filters and excretes fluids. Also, metabolic issues and difficulty balancing the metabolism can show up in Libras.

Scorpio: And for our magnetic Scorpios we find issues concerning the sex organs and the intestines. This gives a whole new meaning about learning to let go of that which they cannot control.  When they do not let go, everything in them starts to back up and the real health problems begin.  Often letting go can be one of their life lessons.

Sagittarius: For our expansive Sags we often find issues regarding the main areas of the body like the liver and the pelvic region including the thighs.  One Sag friend who was in an auto accident hurt only one thing – her pelvis. These people also seem to have a tendency to issues with the sciatic nerve as well.

Capricorn: For our hardy mountain goats we find the bones, gallbladder, knees, joints and skin issues can become problem areas.  I am a goat myself and when I was a young boy I had mysterious problems with my knees for many years. How many of you Capricorns can relate to this?

Aquarius: For the eccentric Aquarians we find issues around circulation, cataracts and the nervous system.  How many of you Aquarians out there find that you easily become anxious? Do you want to know how to reduce this? It’s simple. When this air sign does not get enough oxygen it naturally starts to feel uncomfortable.

Pisces: Last but not least we find that our very sensitive fish sign relates to the immune system, the lymphatic system and the small intestines, which interestingly enough has a lot to do with the immune system from a physiological perspective.

What has been presented is just a small piece of the picture.  In actuality each sign, planet and house has a relationship to the body, which can be expressed in a myriad of ways.  For those of you who are more familiar with astrology and with your own chart, you may find correlations to some of things mentioned if your Moon or Ascendant is in any of the signs mentioned above.  If you have a lot of planets in one place in your chart, often referred to as a stellium, you may also resonate with some of the things mentioned because this then becomes a focal point in the body where the energy is most concentrated.

Actually what your birth chart provides is your energetic blue print for life.  For the Medical Astrologer reading the blue print requires that one think like an electrician to understand how all the circuits connect.  Understanding this helps indicates how the energy follows through each part of the body and the subsequent health of the individual.  How a planet expresses itself in your chart is unique to each person.  It is colored with various experiences and how we respond to those events.  To fully understand this requires looking at all the relationships between the plants, signs and houses they are in.
In Part 3 of this series we will start exploring the many benefits of this model when used in conjunction with someone trained in the medical profession.  Also, there will be several examples to help you understand the usefulness of knowing this information and applying it in your own health.

I would love to hear from you on what insights you might have gained and the connections you have been able to make with your own health.

Good health to you!

The Relationship Between Health and Astrology

Many of the readers of this newsletter have begun to see how astrology can be a helpful tool in looking at various cycles we go through in life and how these connect to deep archetypal patterns that humanity as a whole shares. We see this reflected in the world around us such as the events in the Middle East, Japan, and China as well as in our own personal lives such as a change in a job or relationship. What you may not know is that astrology can also provide insights into your health.

When most people think of astrology they do not think of it in relationship to their health. However, until the 17th century there was no separation between astrology and health. You could not have one without the other. Hippocrates once said, “A physician without a knowledge of astrology can not rightly call himself a physician”. For centuries, many of humanities greatest thinkers such as Galen, Aristotle, Culpeper and Paracelsus all explored the relationships between medicine and astrology. A Greek philosopher and astronomer named Ptolemy (2 AD) wrote the Tetrabiblos (which means four books) on astrology. He was maybe one of the first to express the astrological influence between health and disease. In one of these books he showed the close relationship between the human body and one’s astrological chart. He also started to define how various planets, signs and houses related with the glands, organs and body parts of the human body. How can this be so?

There is an ancient saying, “As above, so below”. This implies that everything happening in the heavens has a definite relationship here on our Earth. Since astrology itself is an archetypal representation of everything in the universe then it too must have some relationship to the human body as well as to the dynamics we experience on Earth. This is exactly what Ptolemy and many other astrologers discovered.

What was known then is still true today for those who combine medical knowledge and astrology but this begs the question: what caused the separation between medicine and astrology? As humanity evolved science and medicine became more linked with one another. Astrology, which once was a respected profession, became increasingly marginalized as scientists were not able to show a connection to human disease using scientific method. In fact, they refused to attempt such research. Astrology, along with other ancient wisdom, was apriori regarded as quackery and mere superstition. Thus given this situation it would only seem logical to separate them. But what caused humanity to change their thinking and embrace this scientific view of health and disease? It is this view that has created a chasm between astrology and medicine. One of the principle factors was the work of Sir Isaac Newton.

In the 17th century Sir Isaac Newton introduced what is now called mechanical physics. According to Newton’s worldview, the universe could only be defined by material reality and its operation understood through reductionism – the process of taking matter apart and studying it piece by piece. Medicine followed suit and proceeded to view health and disease as a machine. The body and diseases were studied as isolated parts rather than from the whole. If it was not something we could see, feel or touch it became excluded from the field of medicine. In a way it took the humanness out of medicine and treated the body as a mere ‘cold machine’ without any feelings or thoughts. Psychological processes became completely separate from physical ones. I feel this has been one of the great downfalls of what we now call Western Medicine. Medical astrology could not survive when such an ideology dominated the philosophical systems of Europe and the West, even though it had been in use for over more than 1,500 years by some of the greatest minds of that time.

Unfortunately, for the most part Newton’s worldview is still held to be true today in conventional medicine but it appears that a new paradigm may be emerging. Newton’s discovery, although valuable, was not taking into account what we now know as quantum physics, which has opened up the possibility of new kinds of thinking. In this worldview, the universe is seen from the point of holism – an integration of both the physical and ‘immaterial’ aspects of reality. With this understanding, health can now be seen from a holistic perspective which will take into account, not only the physical issues being presented but also any vector of life that could affect a person… such as their relationship, the environment they living in, unresolved stresses, the food they eat, traumatic events, psychological issues, mental issues and even spiritual matters. In this paradigm, all of these areas would now become a very important aspect to address when looking at the overall health of a person. Any one of these factors could then provide a potential clue as to what causes dis-ease or ill health.

Interestingly, we are returning to some of the knowledge of the ancient medical astrologers trained in both the field of medicine and astrology who took note of these matters.  They were attuned to the reality that any factor could be causing problems with one’s health, whether it was something they could or could not see. Fortunately more and more doctors are seeing a need for a more holistic perspective and slowly the view on Newton’s reductionist method is being questioned for its validness as a medical model. Maybe in the future there will be more doctors who also incorporate astrology with their health care practice.

In the next article we will explore some of the physical astrological relationships to the Sun signs. Then in part three of this series we will look more closely into what astrology can tell you about your health and the benefits this model of looking at health and wellness can provide for you.

Feel free to let us know any thoughts you have about his article and any questions it may have brought up for you.

Good health to you!