Personality and Personal Development A Comparison with Vedic Astrology Using Systems Approach and Carl Jungs Personality

y Stereotypes
by Varsha Pandey 21 Dec 2012

Executive Summary

Personality and Personal Development (hereafter referred to only as Personality) plays a key role in society which requires constant touch with the external environment, be it family, friends, neighbours, office, peers, subordinates, staff, the boss or the billing accountant in the shopping mall. Phrases such as charming, enthusiastic, action oriented, focused, sensitive, humorous among numerous others have sponsored an avalanche of research in psychology to understand the root cause of an individuals mental make-up and improve upon any defects. Some of the causes have been narrowed down to good parental upbringing, good school, nurturing office atmosphere and a devoted spouse. Conversely, the same factors were blamed as sufficient cause for personality disorders such as a difficult childhood, an aggressive and dominant parent, an unhappy marriage, a tragedy in the family or other unforseen occurrences. This paper examines the astrological factors involved in personality development using Systems Approach (SA) developed by Prof VK Choudhry, Jyotish-Vachaspati, Vastu-Shastra-Samrat, SthapatyaRatna, MBA and also to narrowly examine five sample Case Studies (CS) where everything looks excellent on the outside but deep rooted feelings of rejection, over-reaction, hostility and alienation lie immediately below the surface.

Personality and Personal Development Using Systems Approach 1. Introduction. While browsing at the airport book-stall looking for something to read, a catchy title drew my attention i.e Get The Life You Want by Richard Bandler, the creator of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). The book listed five tools to get rid of fears and phobias, anxieties, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, painful memories and a host of predicaments which exist in the mind. I was intrigued, as during the course of my studies in Astrology, people frequently approached me for help regarding similar problems which I had grouped under the heading Personality Issues. These individuals genuinely believed the cause of their difficulties were shaped either by the internal (home, family friends) or external (work, friends) environment. I would do a preliminary examination of the Natal Chart 1 and the root-cause of their personality related issues would be identified. The nature of the Planets, the Mool-Trikona (MT) Houses involved and the nature of their Signs were key factors used to decode their personality. Most cases were successful where a breakthrough would occur after the individual grasped the essence of the advice. In a few cases, there would be anger, hurt or antagonism as the person refused to acknowledge the truth, especially in CS-03 where the mother of a rebellious teenager expressed complete disbelief in the analysis and expected any other reason except that her son was by nature a difficult child. A quick recap of the Planets, Houses and Signs is offered in subsequent paras to aid our memory. 2. Planets and Their Relation to Personality. Planets have a direct bearing on the type of personality, given their qualities as Mool-Trikona (MT) Lord or Significators. Table-I and II list their relevance to personality issues which are briefly listed below:Table-I :Planets and Their Relation to Personality2 Planet Sun Moon Mars Mercury (Mer) Jupiter (Jup) Ven (Ven) Saturn (Sat) Rahu Ketu When Strong Administration and leadership Understanding, hospitality and imagination Control through physical and rational power Discrimination, confidence and analysis Benevolence, kindness, morality, sincerity, discipline, generosity Etiquette, understanding, teamspirit and benevolence Dutifulness, honesty, humility, discipline Diplomacy Mystic sciences, spirituality When Weak Pride, egoism and tendency to brag/ talk too much, show-off Hyper-sensitive and almost always over-reacts Lack courage, inconsistency, impatience and haste Lack confidence, indecisive and nervous Overconfidence, immorality, greed, materialism Lack of charm, not refined, lack of taste / manners Selfish, insecure, miserly, cheat, immoral, harsh tongued, hard-hearted and indolent Manipulative and qualities of weak Sat above. Misery

Prof VK Choudhry, Impact of Ascending Signs (Sagar Pub, First Pub 1992) p 23 How to Analyse a Horoscope in Three Minutes 2 Prof VK Choudhry, LEARN ASTROLOGY - LESSON 53, "How to Judge PERSONALITY & STATUS" http://www.yournetastrologer.com/learn_astrology53.htm

3.

Houses and Their Relation to Personality3

Personality is analysed from the Ascendant (Asc) or the First House (H1), the Third House (H3), the Second House (H2) and the Fifth House (H5). The Asc is the MT Lord of H1, In case there is no MT sign in the Asc, the role of the Asc is taken over by the Lord of H3, if an MT sign, and if it does not contain an MT sign, then lord of H24. Table-II :Significators of I, III, II and V Houses House H1 H3 H2 H5 4. Planet Sun Mars Mars Mer Mer Sun Significator for Vitality Energy Courage Communication Speech Digestion

Qualities of the Signs and Their Relation to Personality5

Though the chart reading is the first hint of the nature of the psyche, additional supporting factors are provided by properties of the signs. While a tentative hypothesis needs to be examined with further research, the assumptions wrt personality are calculated by analysing planetary data in the 12 Zodiac signs:Table-III : Properties of Signs Signs (S1-S12) Movable (M), Fixed (F), Dual (D) M F D M F D M F D M F D Fire (F) Earth (E) Air (A) Water (W) F E A W F E A W F E A W Positive (+) Negative (-) Feet

Aries (S1) Taurus (S2) Gemini (S3) Cancer (S4) Leo (S5) Virgo (S6) Libra (S7) Scorpio (S8) Sagitta-(S9) Capric-(S10) Aquarius-(S11) Pisces (S12) 5.1 5.11

+ + + + + + -

Quadruped Quadruped Bi-ped Multi-ped Quadruped Bi-ped Bi-ped Multi-ped st 1 Half Biped, 2nd Half Quadruped st 1 Half Quadruped, 2nd Half - Footless Bi-ped Footless

Moveable, Fixed and Dual Signs Moveable More planets in Moveable signs indicate lots of activity.

5.12 Fixed More planets in Fixed signs indicate determination and attention to detail. 5.13 Dual More planets in Dual signs indicate adaptability and compatibility.

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Prof VK Choudhry, Self Learning Course in Astrology (Sagar Pub, First Pub 1992) Prof VK Choudhry, Self Learning Course in Astrology (Sagar Pub, First Pub 1992), p3 5 Ibid, p 25

5.2 Fire, Earth, Air and Water Signs (F,E,A,W). Before I go further, I would like to insert some important insights by the famous psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). He was a pupil of Sigmund Freud, considered as the founder of psychology, though he broke away from his teachings and established a school of thought of his own. Carl Jung had a healthy respect for oracles, dreams, astrology as well as the mystic and spiritual side to personality. He recorded his personal psychic experiences in his publication Memories, Dreams and Reflections. Some interesting teachings of his are related to the personality of the human psyche of which four basic personality types have been defined. He said that one of the four personality types would have a dominant role while the remaining three would have a supporting function. Table-IV: Carl Jungs Personality Functions Signs Properties Astrological Attributes6 Carl Jungs Personality Functions Intuition Sensation Manifestations

S1, S5, S9 S2, S6, S10

Fire Earth

S3, S7, S11

Air

S4, S8, S12

Water

Energetic, agile Pleasure seeker, engulfed in materialistic pursuits Thinker, creative and spiritualist Ease-lover, fully involved in worldly attachments

Energy, Mental Activity Solid, realistic, material / monetary pursuits

Thinking

Ideas, realistic emotion

Feeling

Unstable emotion, creativity

5.3 Planetary Placement. Placement of more planets in Fire signs indicates forcefulness, impulsiveness and ambition as a dominating characteristic, in Earth signs a practical, linear style of thinking for instance, in CS-02, a software engineer is happy with the dull, procedural approach which has made him an international authority in the software testing field. More planets in Air signs indicates communicability and daydreaming characteristics and Water signs show psychic / emotional ability.

5.4 Positive/ Negative Signs. The number of references in the field of Psychology wrt to personality being either Positive (Alpha-Male) or Negative (Female) are too numerous to ignore though these also give rise to ridiculous stereotyping as well. From the Vedic perspective, the Ardh-Narishwar defines the perfect balance between Shiva and Shakti and many other esoteric concepts. Across the borders, the Chinese call it a balance between Yin and Yang, Abdu'l-Bah when speaking on the Equality of Women and Men said, Woman and Man are the two wings of the bird of Humanity, and unless equally strong, the bird will not fly 7 while Western psychologists define it as Personality X and Personality Y. In this paper, I endeavour to present the hypothesis that a true balance occurs when there are an equal number of planets occupying Positive and Negative signs, else the personality is tilted to either side.

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Prof VK Choudhry, Op cit p 34 Abdu'l-Bah, http://info.bahai.org/article-1-3-4-6.html

5.5 Type of Feet8. Depending upon the astrological description of each sign, placement of more number of planets in Bi-ped signs make a person Humanistic (S3, S7 and S11), more in Quadruped signs indicate Animal or Crude characteristics (S1, S2, S5, half of S9 and S10), Multi-ped (S4, S8) indicates Emotional and placement in Footless (half of S10 and S12) is for psychic qualities.

5.6 Physical, Spiritual and Astral Body. With respect to Vedic Philosophy, the individual exists in three kinds of planes. The first is the Physical plane represented by the Asc, the second is the Spiritual plane represented by the Sun and the third is the Astral plane represented by the Moon, also known as the Soul. The Body, Spirit and Soul occurs in Christian scripture as well as notes of Jung who also saw personality divided in three parts which he termed as the Conscious, the Personal Conscious and the Collective Unconscious. The nature of the signs occupied by the three planets offers another clue to personality. For eg in CS-05, an aggressive, rude, Satdominated exterior covers the fact that the Asc, Sun and Moon are placed in Water signs and upon further examination, the cause of the individuals personality problems are due to an emotional loving nature which is struggling to break free.

6. Personality and Career. Prior to going over the five sample CS, the importance of Personality wrt ones career needs to be amplified. This is especially true of the service sector viz Hospitality, Medical, Entertainment and Call-Centre industry to name a few, where day to-day interaction with a client puts nerves on edge and the wrong response can get the employee fired at best or the organisation sued at worst. In the UK, Oncologists (Cancer Specialists) undergo a two-week course on how to deliver news of terminal illness. Marketing professionals are paid more than Sales executives on the basis of their convincing personalities which can get their company a more lucrative order. Lawyers face the battle daily in the Court-Room where a weak, lacklustre defence may result in miscarriage of justice. Military personnel use sheer force of will to convince a soldier to put his life at risk for the honour of the Flag and finally, we as Astrologers, use similar methods to convince those who come to us for help that better times are around the corner. 7. Five Personality CS.

7.1 CS-01 Human Rights Journalist (Birth Details 14 Aug 1972, 2345 Hrs, Bombay, 18N56, 72E51) The subject is a Human Rights journalist and writer highly acclaimed in her field. She is wealthy, famous and has gained international recognition for her successful efforts to champion the cause of Human Rights. She lives away from her husband due to career related commitments and does not have children. Her main concern was an inability to communicate and lack of emotional expression. SA Personality Analysis Asc MT Lord Mars is combust, weak dispositor (L5 Sun) due to old age, occupying H4. Dispositor L4 Moon is deb in Navamsa. Carl Jungs Personality Stereotype - 7 planets in moveable signs indicate lots of activity i.e an international career, but only 2 planets in Dual signs shows poor adaptation quality. A good balance with 5 planets in (+) and 5 in (-) signs shows levelheadedness, F(3)E(2)A(2)W(3) are balanced. A hint is observed in 5 planets in Quadriped signs, which reveals a stubborn, animal and insensitive nature. Asc in Fire,

Prof VK Choudhry, Op cit, p34-35

Sun in Water and Moon in Air indicates a dreamer, idealist and a person looking for perfection in all the wrong places. 7.2 CS-02 Software Engineer (Birth Details 21 May 1974, 0910 Hrs, Kanpur, 26N27, 80E14) The subject is a highly qualified software engineer. He was based in the UK but has returned due to termination of employment. He gets depressed easily, suffers from anxiety and low self-confidence. SA Personality Analysis Asc Sun-Like planet is the Sun placed in the House of Moksha i.e H12. Energy, drive and determination are provided by strong Mars on MEP (8%). Me is in H12 in Ra-Ke axis, L2 Mo is combust, MT 2H is afflicted by Ra from H6. Carl Jungs Personality Stereotype - 5 planets in fixed signs confirm Mars on Asc MEP determined backbreaking strenuous work in his field. Positive and Negative energies balanced (5 in each) shows he has potential to rise above his predicament. 4 Bi-ped (human) and 4 quadriped (animal) indicate even distribution which means stability. 4 planets in Air and 3 in Earth are indicative of balanced temperament. Body (Asc) and Spirit (Sun) in Earth sign and Soul (Moon) in Fire show his feet are placed firm on the ground, in reality, despite having his head in the clouds. 7.3 CS-03 Engineering Student (Birth Details 17 Feb 1994, 1717Hrs, Panchkula, 30N44, 76E48) The mother of this only son who is an 18-yr old Engineering student repeatedly insists that her son is innocent even as he has been thrown out of every hostel he was admitted in since going to school. The boy is obstinate, argumentative, inflexible but intelligent. SA Personality Analysis - The grace of weak Mars on MEP (61%) has saved him somewhat and granted a seat in an Engineering college. Asc Mo is under degree affliction of L6 Jup. Combust L3 Me is in H8, L2 Sun is exactly afflicted by MMP also in H8. Carl Jungs Personality Stereotype I normally refuse to analyse charts afflicted by L6 but due to constant pestering I did some further research. Planetary analysis only confirmed the SA analysis but surprisingly 5 of 10 planets in Biped signs caught my attention. Some humane tendencies may come out of the association of Asc Moon with L6. Otherwise, the presence of 6 planets in Fixed signs show obstinacy and pigheadedness, uneven F(1)E(2)A(5)W(2) with 5 planets in Air confirm that the boy is a day-dreamer. Asc and Sun in Fire signs and Soul (Mo) in Air sign indicate an easily combustible temperament which is confirmed by exact L6 affliction to Asc. 7.4 CS-04 Engineer in an MNC (Birth Details 31 Oct 1972, 0300 Hrs, Bombay, 18N56, 72E51) This 40-yr old Mechanical Engineer is the DGM of a Manufacturing MNC and is excellent at dispute resolution (L7 Sat on H10 MEP11%). He knows he is intelligent (strong well-placed Me) but suffers from low self-esteem. He has remained unmarried due to his parents refusal to approve an inter-caste love marriage. SA Personality Analysis Asc L1 Sun deb in house of deb L3 Ve. Ra-Ke afflict odd numbered houses at 8%. Except for these, the chart holds tremendous potential for improvement. Carl Jungs Personality Stereotype 5 planets in dual and 4 in Fixed show good adaptation qualities. 5 in bi-ped and 6 in Quadriped indicate a stubborn streak. Confirmed by F(2)E(3)A(4)W(1) 4 planets in Air signs and 3 in Earth. Asc and Spirit

occupy Air and Soul is in Fire emotional reasons outweigh reason where marriage is concerned and 6 in (+) and 4 in (-) show ability to hold his own against family pressure to get married. 7.5 CS-05 Financial Consultant (Birth Details 11 Dec 1975, 0915 Hrs, Bangalore, 12N58, 77E35) A highly qualified Finance professional settled in the US, Despite being attractive and charming, wants to rub-off sharp edges of her abrasive personality. I detected a hint of depression / melancholia as she said she had never experienced a fathers love as her parents were divorced. SA Personality Analysis This is a peculiar chart. Strong well-placed Asc (L2 Sat) has given her wealth and status. Venus as L10 in H10, strong, well-placed indicate excellence in career. Does deb L12 Ju affliction to MMP Sun 41% show problems with Male / father figures / authority??? The presumption was confirmed with MMP affliction to weak Mars badly placed in H6 and aspecting H1 at 49%. The obstruction of L8 to Mars has been transferred to the Asc. Carl Jungs Personality Stereotype 5 planets in Bi-ped and 4 in Quadriped show a good combination of humane and aggressive go-getter personality. Financial Consulting the world over, like the military, is a male dominated field and for an Indian to hold her own in the US is a remarkable achievement. 5 planet in Moveable signs show lots of activity. 4 in Dual show flexibility. 5 planets in (+) and 5 in (-) signs show balance of energy. The biggest surprise was the placement of the Asc, Sun (Spirit) and Soul (Moon) in water signs. It confirmed the after-effects of weak combust afflicted Mer in H12.

8. Breakthrough. I like using the popular and catchy slogan made popular by the marketing team of British Airways to define what happens when we understand ourselves. Personal development is long-lasting with the curative powers of SA9 and a breakthrough occurs when we realise how others see us. A wilful and diligent (I prefer the term ruthless) application of remedial and proprietory measures results in emotional healing provided we give it enough space to occur. The eventual result is a unique and meaningful life with improved interaction ability, temper control and more expressive love and care. The result will always be plain to see a bumper sticker slogan says The shortest distance between two people is NOT a straight line but a curve i.e a smile. Once the personality heals, the results are for all to see. In a Readers Digest snippet a woman who undergoes a personal-development and awareness course says I never realised how many people smile at me on my way to work and her counsellor replies Thats because they are smiling back.

9. Conclusion. To conclude, the subject of personality analysis is like peeling an onion where various facets of our mental make-up reveal themselves with every passing step. The result is justified if the person leaves with peace with oneself and compatibility with the external environment. The scope of research in the fascinating field of personality analysis is infinite, however, with the tools described above it is reassuring to know that a chart can be examined threadbare and troubled areas pinpointed with accuracy. After all, like all medicals professional believe, identification of the cause is 80% of the cure.
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LEARN ASTROLOGY - LESSON 14"Remedial Measures in Astrology"http://www.yournetastrologer.com/learn_astrology14.htm

References 1. Prof VK Choudhry, Impact of Ascending Signs (Sagar Pub, First Pub 1992).

2. Prof VK Choudhry, Self Learning Course in Astrology (Sagar Pub, First Pub 1992) 3. 4. http://YourNetAstrologer.com www.yahoogroups.com/group/SATVA

Suggested Further Reading on SA by Prof VK Choudhry and K Rajesh Chaudhary

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10.

Self Learning Course in Astrology, Revised Edition, 2004, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-040-5. Systems Approach for Interpreting Horoscopes, Fourth Revised Edition, 2006, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-017-0. How to Identify Significant Events (Through Transits), Revised Edition, 2003, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-030-8. How to Study Divisional Charts, Fourth Revised Edition, 2003, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-033-2. Impact of Ascending Signs, Revised Edition, 2003, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-043-X. How to Analyse Married Life, Revised Edition, 2002, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-022-7. Predictive Techniques and the Application of Astrological Remedial MeasuresRevised Edition, 2006, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 817082-065-0. Manage Your Health Through Preventive Astral Remedies, Revised Edition, 2003, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-020-0. Select Right Professional Through Astrology, Revised Edition, 2007, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-076-6. Application of Prasna Astrology (Based on the Systems Approach), Reprint, 2002, Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India. ISBN 81-7082-021-9.

Software Junior Jyotish free download from http://jyotishtools.com/home.php Scope for Further Research 1. 2. 3. Neuro-Linguistic Programming and SA Handwriting Analysis and SA Exercise and Meditation and SA

Note About the Author

Varsha Pandey, BCom (Bombay Univ), MS (Ecology and Environment-IIEE) is an Environmentalist and practices Astrology in her spare time. She has worked in Rain Water Harvesting projects as well as contributed to Environment Impact Assessment programmes at the UNEP and UNDP. She can be reached at varsha_pande@yahoo.com