Each planet has their agendas. How to differentiate if the resistance is bad and is something that needs to be overcome, or if the resistance is good and is actually there to divert one’s path?
Hi Manisha,
My understanding is that certain planets, namely the cruel ones, are faced with more "resistance" to begin with. Whether it be because they require a greater expenditure of energy, require us to sacrifice something, or to face and heal our greatest fears.
Like you said, each planet has their own agenda. Two things that help me when contemplating this question is thinking about the relationships between the planets and their sign of exaltation.
Here's an example to illustrate what I mean:
Let's take Mars. Mars is cruel and Mars is inevitably one of the tools which we use when encountering certain types of resistance, such as emergencies, arguments, when things need to be fixed, etc.
Mars is part of the grouping of planets (Sun, Moon, Jupiter) that are primarly focused on the self. The Sun (our inspiration), the Moon (our mind), and Jupiter (our ability to create) are its friends. Whereas Venus (the planet of relationship) and Saturn (the planet of the lack in ourselves we seek to fill in others) are neutral to Mars. Mercury (the planet of communicating with others and seeking the best option) is its enemy. The fact that the social planets don't help Mars, already shows us that its agenda is supposed to be focused on the self.
Then, Mars is at home in Aries and Scorpio, but exalted in the sign of Capricorn, where it barely acts and only reacts when really needed.
So from these two components we can deduce that Mars (willpower, our ability to fight, deal with emergencies, strategize) is best used when focused on our own affairs and only when we really have to.
You can apply this to judge whether a type of Mars resistance is diverting a person's path:
Is this action supporting their path, i. e. keeping them alive/helping them establish their kingdom (Sun)/helping them evolve and get their needs met (Moon)/cocreate with God (Ju)?
Or is it focused on someone else: i. e. fixing their friends/partner, getting involved in battles that aren't necessary to further their path, running themselves ragged because they are trying to prove something to someone else rather than because it's their innate nature?
Personally, I have cruel planets on all angles in my birth chart. Luckily, most of them are well dignified. But I still like to think about these things when I take my "Sun" out of my toolbox so to speak.
Like you alluded to, each (cruel) planet is going to encounter resistance. Is it worth engaging in that resistance or not? For me, using the relationships between the planets (essentially the Lajitaadi Avasthas) and the dignities, helps me make that decision. And obviously, no matter how well dignified the planets in our chart, there is no perfect chart and we all do get it "wrong" sometimes. But to me, that's just part of the journey.
It’s about my own affairs, and that is what I was wondering about - whether it is taking me on my path, or taking me away from it. I need to contemplate more to see through.
That's the hard part, isn't it? Putting theory to practical use ???? Every little bit of insight from others help. Thank you for your reply.
For sure! I had a situation a year and a half ago where I had to make a decision, but I didn't get a strong "yes" or "no" internally. I spent time talking it over with the people close to me and still didn't get any closer to a definitive internal answer.
This was regarding a job. Eventually, I ended up saying yes and trying it (I have Rahu/Mercury in the 10th, so a lot of my career life has been about trial and error). A few weeks into the job, I finally got the strong "no" I had been waiting for. Every fibre of my being showed me the job didn't work for me at all. I ended up getting a gastritis (despite usually having a really robust stomach). So, 3 months into the job, I quit, and went back to what I had been doing originally. I suddenly had the comparison of what "truly wrong" felt like, which was in stark contrast to anything I had ever felt prior. This showed me that despite the ups and downs I've experienced, I have in essence always been following my inner voice.
The reason I am writing this is that sometimes taking that Mercury step and just trying it (like Ernst said) is what gets you closer to an answer. Especially when all the other information gathering and communication just gets you stuck (like I said, my Mercury/Rahu :D).
I also learned that I am a reflector in Human Design a year ago and those supposedly take longer to arrive at decisions anyway. Maybe you are one as well?
