Gryphon Astrology Blog

Question:

My main difficulty at the moment is trying to find my spiritual path, plus balancing it with my “real” (maya) life. My mother is a very spiritual being. Therefore she pushes me to follow a certain path which I know is right, but find that my Ego and current state of mind prevent me from progressing as quickly as she would like. I realise she only does this out of love, but I do think that I need to do things in my own time, even if it means suffering a lot along the way. Can you please let me know if I should continue to be under my mother’s wing when it comes to spiritual things, at this point, or if I must start to break away from her now? I feel like I still have to go through her to get to God/ Higher Self etc. Will I get far spiritually in this life i.e. reach a higher level of realisation/ enlightenment and find true Peace and Equanimity in my life? and When? I am so confused right now.

I also am in love with someone. I have known him for almost 10 years, but only over the last two years have I opened my heart to him and realised that I do think I want to spend the rest of my life with him, if anyone. However, despite having told him how I feel, I cannot get a deifnitive answer, only an “I don’t know”. We never actually dated or were involved physically, just friends. He is involved in starting up his business and really focuses all of his time on that, so he’s also made it clear he does not want a relationship with anyone right now. Plus we live in different countries! The problem is, everyone tells me he’s not interested, and maybe I am in denial because my feelings are so strong.. but I want to know.. is he the one I am going to end up with this lifetime? Should I wait for him or is it hopeless? Does he have any feelings for me?

—M.

Nina Gryphon:

Dear M.,

Those are some major existential issues you are dealing with, for sure. I do not get many questions from people concerned about their spiritual progress, though I am certain the world would be a better place if everyone was half as dedicated to the care of their soul as you are. I will answer each of your questions separately below, and will treat the chart as a separate entity for each question.

Your Spiritual Path

As you can probably appreciate, no horoscope can tell you whether you will be saved/reach enlightenment or not - and it’s questionable whether we should try to find that out, even if we could! What would be the point in striving to better ourselves then? The chart can show, however, whether a certain path is right for you, and how your faith affects you, for better or worse.

In this horoscope, you are Venus, and your religion is Mercury, ruler of the 9th house of religion. Mercury is very strong essentially, as it is in its sign and exaltation in Virgo. This is a good start, showing that your chosen religion is a sound one, and holds many potential benefits. Venus is in Virgo as well, showing that your religion is foremost on your mind (as is clear from your question), and that you think very highly of it. The problem is that when Venus is in Virgo, it is in its fall - so one way to interpret this is that because you are immersed in this religion, this makes you feel bad about yourself, and consider yourself worse than you really are (fall is an exaggerated badness). Too, Mercury is in Venus’s fall, showing the religion somehow harms you. This might be because of the way that you approach your religion, not because there is anything wrong with this spiritual path. So the solution to your dilemma is to change the way that you view this religion and your duties in it.

When a planet is in its fall, this makes me think of someone who has willingly given up the reins of their life to someone or something else. You mentioned that this religion requires that you always turn the other cheek and accept what you are given. This is very noble, but in every religion there is a place, too, for holy anger in the face of evil or deliberate harm. Someone who fights injustice is certainly not turning their other cheek to evil, and yet they are doing God’s work. The first step is to know your own heart and nature, and to know whether the right path for you is that of knowledge, service (this includes fighting for the highest causes), or devotion - all religions have their way of accommodating each different type of nature. There is a place for everyone, but you must seek it out and claim it for your own. Without seeing your natal chart and doing some in-depth analysis, I do not know which is right for you.

You asked about your mother’s role in your spiritual pursuits. She is shown by Lord 10, and is the Moon in Taurus in the 8th house. The Moon is exalted in Taurus; she is indeed highly spiritually advanced, but exaltation also means exaggeration. Perhaps she likes to appear more saintly than she really is, and being her daughter, you can see this clearly. In Taurus, the Moon is in Venus’s sign. Since you are Venus, we can see that she really is trying to do her best to help you, out of genuine love for you. In the 8th house, however, the Moon cannot act very well, despite her strength. The 8th house is the turned 11th house of hopes and wishes. Despite her great spiritual gifts, she is not very strongly positioned to help you, because of her own unrealistic expectations of your progress. You will have to take responsibility for your own spiritual path and not expect too much support.

Your Relationship

In this chart, you are Venus and the Moon is your emotions. Venus is in detriment, showing you are not feeling too fabulous these days, and perhaps a bit despondent. Things seem worse to you than they really are. The Moon is quite strong in Taurus, but it is in Venus’s sign, so your emotions follow your mind’s lead. And you are not very happy right now with this relationship.

The man is shown by Mars, Lord 7, and the Sun, which is the level of his physical attraction. Mars is in Libra, where it is not very strong, but it is in Venus’s sign. Mentally, he does feel a strong bond to you. The Sun, however, shows a different story. It is in Virgo, in Venus’s fall - he is not physically attracted to you. Interestingly, the Moon, your emotions, are in the detriment of Mars. Do you think ill of him in some way, despite your friendship? My sense is that he is looking for a physical relationship, and perhaps because he is in a different country (or because of your religious beliefs, I don’t know which), this puts a damper on things. It is difficult to persuade any man under 100 to be in a relationship where the physical needs are not engaged, and this is probably no different.

Your significators, Moon and Venus for you, and Sun and Mars for him, are not making any aspects, showing the lack of an opportunity to start a relationship, even if the motivation was there.

While I wouldn’t forget him, because he is obviously a good friend, I would also consider his needs and wants in this situation. And, like in your spiritual query above, you should start taking the reins of your life into your own hands, rather than handing them over to others.

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