How To Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Also by Kevin B.
Burk
Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart The Complete Node Book The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and Improve Every Relationship in Your Life The Relationship Workbook: How to Understand and Improve Every Relationship in Your Life Astrology Math Made Easy The Relationship Workbook: How to Design and Create Your Ideal Romantic Relationship The Relationship Workbook: The Secrets of Successful Team Building Astrological Relationship Handbook: How to Use Astrology to Understand Every Relationship in Your Life Astrological Relationship Workbook: How to Use Astrology to Understand Every Relationship in Your Life Anger Mastery: Get Angry, Get Happy
2012 Kevin B. Burk, All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language, in any form, by any means, without written permission of the author. First Printing, December 2012 (V1.0) Portions of this book have appeared in slightly different formats in Anger Mastery: Get Angry, Get Happy. Printed in the United States of America. Published by Serendipity Press La Mesa, California Book design and cover design by Kevin B. Burk.
Contents
The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness .......................... 1 Practical Astrology ...................................................... 6 The Context of Consciousness ...................................... 13 Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets .................. 26 The Three Things Astrologers Need to Learn from Successful Bank Robbers .............................................. 51 Planets, Signs & Houses: The Grammar of the Language of Astrology .............................................. 55 Essential Dignities and the Board of Directors......... 60 Why You Cant Interpret the Moon in Libra ............. 64 How to Use Astrology to Create Bulletproof Happiness ............................................... 71 Spiritual Practices ...................................................... 79 Whats Next?.............................................................. 99 Online Natal Astrology Class......................................... 101 Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey..............116
1 The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness

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young woman is walking down the street one night and sees an elderly man on his hands and knees under a street lamp. She asks him whats wrong, and he tells her that hes looking for his lost car keys. She offers to help him find them (wouldnt you?), but after a few minutes of fruitless searching, the young woman is ready to give up. They dont seem to be here, she says. Where did you last have them? The old man points down the street and answers, Back there, near my car. If you lost them back there, why are you looking for them here? she asks. The old man replies, Because the light is better. Yes, its an old joke, and youve probably heard it before. But what you probably didnt know is that this old joke illustrates the Secret of Happiness. The reason that you spend your life looking for happiness and never finding it is that youre looking for happiness in the wrong place.
How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology
Like most people, youve been looking for happiness where the light is better, in the outside world. But you wont find happiness in the outside world because theres no room for it: the outside world is filled with too much kryptonite.
Bulletproof Happiness
Think about a time in your life when you felt happy. Im not talking about Christmas-bonus-check-happy, either. Im talking about winning-the-lottery- or falling-in-love-happy. Didnt you feel like you could do anything? You could leap tall buildings in a single bound and stop a speeding train without breaking a sweat. You felt invulnerable and invincible. You felt like bullets would just bounce off your chest like raindrops. When youre really happy, you feel like youre Superman. And just like Superman, you fly out into the world, expecting that everything will continue to be wonderful and perfect. But suddenly, something goes horribly wrong. All of your strength disappears, and you plummet to the ground like a brick, crashing into the street. You look up and see someone pointing a gun at you. Ordinarily, you would laugh this off. Youre Superman. Youre invulnerable. Bullets cant hurt you. But then you notice the glowing green rock, and you know youre in serious trouble. Superman is only super as long as he stays away from kryptonite. All it takes to turn the Man of Steel into a helpless victim is a tiny green rock. And as long as theres kryptonite in the world (and theres a lot of it), Superman isnt bulletproof. And neither is your happiness.
The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness
The Kryptonite Conundrum

Youre not happy because youre looking for your happiness in the outside world, and the outside world is filled with kryptonite. No matter how happy you are right now, you know that happiness could disappear at any moment. You could get a phone call from your boss, or a text message from your mother, or a registered letter from the IRS. You could miss your train, or spill your coffee, or lock yourself out of your apartment. Or, you could just turn on the television and watch the news. As long as there is kryptonite in the world, you will never be completely happy. Your happiness will always be fleeting, and vulnerable and conditional. Most people look at this problem and see two options. The first option is to try to get rid of all of the kryptonite. Not even Superman could do this. Theres just too much kryptonite out there. And yet many people devote their lives to this, trying to change the entire world so they can finally be happy. The second option seems more reasonable. You cant get rid of all of the kryptonite in the world, but you might be able to avoid it. You can build your own Fortress of Solitude and protect yourself from any possible exposure to kryptonite. This is also a waste of time. The more protection you create, the less happy you feel. There is, however, a third option, although few people know about it. You can become immune to kryptonite. Its possible to reach the point where the kryptonite in the world no longer has any affect on you or your happiness. No matter what happens in your life, you are always completely happy. You can experience happiness that is completely bulletproof.
But first, you have to start looking for your happiness in the right place.
Where Does Happiness Live?

Happiness isnt something you can find in the outside world; happiness is a state of mind. The source of your happiness is within you. This is a radical concept, and you might want to take a few minutes to consider it before you read on. It may be difficult for you to accept, and you might not have a personal reference for it (yet). Nevertheless, its true. In fact, its True with a capital T. In order to find true happiness, you have to look inside yourself and thats scary. The light is terrible, its hard to see, and you have no idea what might be lurking in the shadows. But most of all, its scary because its new and unfamiliar, and you dont know how to go about it. Thats why youre reading this book. This book is specifically designed to give you the tools and guidance that you need to begin to look inside yourself so you can connect with the source of your happiness. But theres an even bigger challenge thats keeping you from being completely happy: you dont know what true happiness is.
Why You Dont Know What True Happiness Is Yet

Has anything you thought would make you happy actually made you completely happy? Sure, when you get the things that you want, youre often happy for a little while, but nothing you think will make you happy actually does.
The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness
Not only have you been looking in for happiness in the wrong place, but also you dont actually know what youre looking for. You dont know what true happiness is because youve never been truly happy. True happiness has nothing to do with external conditions. True happiness is completely bulletproof. And no matter how happy you think youve been, true happiness feels even better. For now, youll have to take my word for it. Its not possible to convey this experience in words. The only way for you to know bulletproof happiness is to experience it. But once you experience it, youll understand what Im talking about and youll never again settle for anything less.
Happiness: How Do You Get There From Here?

This book is designed to show you one way that you can create bulletproof happiness for yourself. Ultimately all roads (on the inner path) lead to happiness. Some roads, come with better directions. This path to happiness uses astrology to help you to navigate from where you are now to happy. This particular approach to astrology is unique, and different from anything youve encountered before. This is practical astrology. By the time you finish reading this book, you will know how to use practical astrology to create bulletproof happiness.
24 Practical Astrology
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hat you care about is happiness. In fact, thats all you care about. No matter what it is that you want, the reason you want it is that you believe that when you get what you want, youll be happy. Youre interested in astrology because you believe that understanding astrology will make you happy. Unfortunately, youre wrong. Understanding astrology will not make you happy. At least not on its own. Astrology is a tool. It can help you to get from wherever you are now to happy, but only if you use it. In order for you to be able to use astrology, it has to be practical. Most astrology is impressive, and fascinating, and filled with interesting details and mystical insights, but when you get right down to it, theres nothing you can actually do with that information. Its not practical. You cant actually use it, and a tool that you cant use is pointless. Practical astrology is astrology that you can use. You can use it to gain clarity and insights into the direction of your life. You can use it to find elegant solutions to any challenge youre facing. But most importantly, you can use practical astrology to create bulletproof happiness.
Practical Astrology
Practical astrology follows three simple steps: 1. Create a context. 2. Get specific. 3. Take action. Well take a brief look at each step in this chapter, and explore them in greater detail in the rest of the book.
Create a Context
One of the keys to creating bulletproof happiness is to understand the relationship between context and content. Context is the big picture; its what gives meaning to the content. If you dont have a clear understanding of the context, the content makes no sense. For example, say that you were running while holding an inflated piece of leather, or throwing an inflated piece of leather to another person while trying to cross a white line and score points. Without the context of football, this content would be silly and pointless.1 The actions you take and the goals and objectives you have in your life are all content. Everything that you have ever wanted or pursued is content. What gives your life meaning is the context. The true context of your life is happiness. This is a very big goal, however, and its not possible to get there in a single step. You have to narrow your focus, creating a series of smaller contexts and intermediate goals that will guide you to your ultimate objective of happiness. You get into trouble when you lose sight of the bigger context. You become so focused on the intermediate goals like finding the perfect romantic partner, accumulating large sums of money,
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Many might argue that the content is silly and pointless even with the context of football.
or becoming famous and well respected in your field that you forget why youre pursuing those goals in the first place. The only reason you care about these things is that you believe that theyll make you happy. However, they wont. As long as your happiness is based on external conditions, it wont be bulletproof. Your perfect romantic partner could leave, you could lose your money, and fame only lasts for about 15 minutes. In order to create a true path to happiness, youll have to let go of all of your goals and beliefs (for the moment) and go back to the drawing board. We begin with the ultimate context of happiness. In Chapter 3, youll learn that your level of happiness is determined exclusively by your level of consciousness: the higher your level of consciousness, the happier you are. So within the ultimate context of happiness, we find the smaller context of consciousness. Well be using astrology from within the context of consciousness (and happiness), which eliminates everything in astrology that isnt practical or doesnt help you to become happy. And well narrow the context of astrology even more by focusing exclusively on the context of the birth chart (or natal chart). In later chapters, youll learn how to apply classical techniques within this context in a way that is empowering, and that allows you to choose how you experience and express your chart. Thats how you create bulletproof happiness.
Get Specific
Creating a context sets the stage, but its only a blueprint. It gives you a clear overview of your objective, and some idea of what it will look like when its completed.
Practical Astrology
But what do you do next? Where do you begin? When you look at the big picture, it can be overwhelming. Theres just too much to take in. Thats why you need to narrow your focus even more. You have to break the project down into smaller and smaller chunks. You have to get specific. And you do that by asking a question. Bear in mind, the quality of the answers you get depends on the quality of the questions you ask. If you want specific, practical answers, you have to ask specific, practical questions. If the question is too big, the answer wont have any practical value. Case in point: as Douglas Adams revealed, the ultimate answer to the question of Life, the Universe and Everything is 42. Instead of thinking big, you need to think small. Dont look for answers that have universal applications. You dont need an answer that will be true for thousands of years. You need an answer that is true right now, and that addresses your current situation. When youre at the bottom of a flight of stairs, you dont worry about how to jump to the top; you just figure out how to take the next step. When you only focus on whats right in front of you, eventually, youll reach your goal.
Take Action
If youre looking to astrology, that means you have a problem. It doesnt matter what the circumstances of the problem seem to be. From the bigger context, all problems are the same problem: youre not happy. You turn to astrology because astrology is a tool that can help you to fix your problem and become happy.
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When you understand how to use astrology, you can identify the precise nature of your problem, and get a clear, specific picture of it. But knowing what your problem is doesnt fix the problem. Nothing changes at the level of the chart. You have to take the precise, specific information that youve mined using astrology and do something with it. If you want to change your life and become happy, you have to take action. But more than that, you have to take the right action. And its not what you think it is. Albert Einstein said, You cannot solve a problem from the level of consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew. Taking action from within your current reality wont change anything. What youll learn is how to use specific Spiritual Practices to change the vibration of your consciousness, which in turn, changes your reality. Astrology can help you to identify exactly which Spiritual Practice is the most appropriate for you at any given time. In Part 3, youll learn six simple, yet immensely powerful Spiritual Practices that can help you to move into Right Relationship with each of the Astrological Archetypes. These are the only actions you need to take in order to expand your consciousness, and create completely bulletproof happiness.
Part 1
Create a Context
34 The Context of Consciousness

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hat you really care about is happiness. Happiness is the context of your life, and your ultimate objective. But what is happiness, really? To understand the Truth about happiness, youll have to explore some very Big Concepts. Happiness is the result of your level of consciousness. But more than that, your level of consciousness determines what you experience as real. Take your time reading this chapter. If youre new to this, dont try to grasp everything at once. Each time you read this chapter or learn about these concepts, theyll become more familiar to you, and youll understand them on a deeper level. But dont skip this chapter, either! The Big Concepts in this chapter are what help set up the context so you can create bulletproof happiness.
The Kingdoms of Consciousness

When it comes to Big Concepts, consciousness is one of the biggest. But the context of consciousness is what allows you to understand and experience bulletproof happiness. A simple definition of consciousness is the vibrational frequency of your thoughts. Your thoughts determine how you perceive and experience the world. When you change how you think about an experience, it changes the experience.
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Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith (whom you might know from The Secret) popularized a model of consciousness developed by his mentor, the late Dr. Homer Johnson. This model divides human consciousness into four kingdoms. Each Kingdom of Consciousness represents a unique experience of reality (Figure 1). First Kingdom is Victim Consciousness, and its where you, and most of the rest of the world, spend most of your time. When youre in First Kingdom, things are done to you. Second Kingdom is where you begin to take back your power and manifest things using reason, logic and the linear mind. In Second Kingdom, things are done by you. Third Kingdom represents higher spiritual states. They are nonlinear, and beyond both the world of form and the Law of Cause and Effect. In Third Kingdom, things are done through you. Fourth Kingdom contains the realms of consciousness known as enlightenment. Beckwith says in Fourth Kingdom, things are done as you.1 At any given moment, your experience of the world and more importantly, how happy you are with it depends on which Kingdom of Consciousness youre in. Think about a time when you were depressed, and remember how the world looked to you then. Now, think about a time when you were in love, and remember how the world looked. The world didnt just look different based on how you were feeling; the world actually was different. To understand why this is true, we need to explore the nature of reality itself.
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I disagree with this, because when you reach the levels of consciousness of Fourth Kingdom, there is no longer a you for things to be done as.
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Figure 1: Kingdoms of Consciousness
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The Nature of Reality

To begin with, Id like you to consider that there are two different kinds of reality: the Big R Reality and the little r reality.2 The Big R Reality is infinite. It contains everything in the world. Your little r reality is finite. It contains everything in your world. Your little r reality is a very small part of the Big R Reality (Figure 2). Think of it this way: the Big R Reality contains everything. Everything includes experiences like poverty, war and oppression. I accept that these things exist in the world; however, they dont exist in my world. I dont have any personal experience of them. Theyre not a part of my little r reality, and theyre probably not a part of your little r reality, either. Are you with me so far? Because your little r reality contains only the things that you personally experience, what you experience as real is determined by where you put your attention. If you dont notice something, you dont experience it, so its not real to you. What you do notice fills your entire reality. Youre a lot like a radio. No matter how many different stations are broadcasting, a radio can tune to only one frequency at a time, and that frequency determines what kind of music it will play. If you pick a rock station, your little r reality will be filled with rock music. As long as you stay tuned to that frequency, youll never hear any classical music. How happy you are with this depends on whether or not you enjoy rock music. If you like rock music, youll be happy.
2
Some people have suggested that reality television should be included as a third type of reality. This is silly because reality television does not, in fact, depict anyones experience of reality. One of the Real Housewives claims to have a pet unicorn.
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Big R Reality: Everything in the World

reality
little r reality: everything in your world

Figure 2: The Nature of Reality
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If you dont like rock music, and would prefer to listen to classical music, you wont be happy. To become happy, you would have to change your frequency and tune to a classical music station. Ready for the next bit? Consider the chair (or sofa, or bed) youre sitting on now. Its completely real to you. Its solid, and its supporting your weight. You can see and feel it. You can hear it. You can smell it. You can even taste it, if youre into that sort of thing. But the truth is that theres almost nothing there but empty space. If you looked at that chair through an electron microscope, youd realize that its just a lot of molecules floating around, not touching each other. Theres no reason why you shouldnt fall through the chair. The reason you dont fall on the floor (or through the floor, because the floors just a lot of empty space, too) is that you tell yourself that the chair and the floor are solid. In fact, the reason that you believe that you can see, feel, hear, smell and/or taste the chair is that you tell yourself you can. There is a voice in your head that narrates and describes every single experience to you, and thats what makes the experience real. The fact is that you know something is real because you tell yourself it is. Everything you experience in your little r reality is a story. Its all made up of words. Still with me? Good. This next part may be a bit of a stretch. You may want to sit down.3 Just because something is real, doesnt mean its true. Your little r reality is subjective. No matter what you
3
That is, if you still believe that theres anything there for you to sit down on. Or with, for that matter.
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experience, it always feels equally as real. When you dream, it feels completely real. When you wake up, thats completely real, too. You cant compare two experiences and say that one was more real than the other. Truth, on the other hand, is objective. You can compare two experiences (both of which feel equally as real), and see that one is more true than the other. Each time you take a step back and see the bigger picture, you expand the context of your story. Remember, the Big R Reality includes everything. When you expand the context of your story, you make your little r reality bigger. The more your little r reality includes, the more closely it resembles the Big R Reality, and the more true it is.
The Science of Truth

Dr. David R. Hawkins was the foremost researcher in the field of human consciousness. All of Dr. Hawkins research is based on the science of applied kinesiology, also known as muscle testing. Its been extensively documented that the bodys acupuncture system has the ability to tell if something is beneficial or harmful to the body. When in the presence of something that supports the body, the acupuncture system gives a positive response, and the muscle being tested is strong. When in the presence of something that is harmful to the body, the acupuncture system gives a non-response, and the muscles go weak. The breakthrough that formed the basis of Dr. Hawkins research was the discovery that muscle testing can be used definitively to tell the difference between truth and falsehood in any context or situation. The acupuncture system of the body
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gives a strong response in the presence of truth, but does not respond in the presence of falsehood. All of Dr. Hawkins findings have been documented and repeated hundreds of thousands of times, in multiple situations and contexts. The results are consistent both when testing the arm strength of a nave subject and when measuring an involuntary reaction in the human eye (the pupil dilates for a fraction of a second in the presence of falsehood). Using applied kinesiology, Dr. Hawkins developed a Map of Human Consciousness. This map includes the full range of little r realities that can be experienced by humans. The calibrations on the scale of consciousness go from 1 (the lowest amount of energy needed for something to be alive) to 1,000 (the highest possible consciousness that can be experienced in human form; this is the level of consciousness of Christ, Krishna, and Buddha, and only a few individuals in the history of the world have attained it). The scale is logarithmic, which means that each time it moves up a point, its actually a factor of 10. In other words, its not 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, its 1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, etc. Even a one-point increase represents a massive increase in energy. Ive taken this map and combined it with the model of the Four Kingdoms of Consciousness, as you can see in Figure 3. Each point on the map represents its own little r reality, defined by the amount of available energy. Dr. Hawkins also determined the emotions and feelings that are the most dominant at the different levels of consciousness. Youll notice that the less energy available, the less attractive those little r realities are.
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Fourth Kingdom
700 Enlightenment
600 Peace
Third Kingdom
540 Joy (Unconditional Love)
500 Love
400 Reason
Second Kingdom
350 Acceptance
Truth
310 Willingness 250 Neutrality
Integrity Falsehood First Kingdom
200 Courage
175 Pride 150 Anger 125 Desire 100 Fear 75 Grief 50 Apathy 30 Guilt 20 Shame
Figure 3: Combined Map of Consciousness
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What Dr. Hawkins discovered is that the critical point on the scale is at calibration level 200. Anything that calibrates below 200 causes the acupuncture system to go weak. Anything that calibrates above 200 causes the acupuncture system to go strong. Notice that everything that calibrates below 200 falls within First Kingdom or Victim Consciousness. In Victim Consciousness, you encounter Pride, Anger, Desire, Fear, Grief, Apathy, Guilt and Shame, which coincidentally is also the name of the worst law firm ever.
Power vs. Force

Everything that calibrates below 200 represents force, while everything that calibrates above 200 represents increasing levels of power. Understanding the difference between power and force is one of the keys to creating bulletproof happiness. Force is inherently weak. Force does not have enough energy to sustain itself, so it consumes energy. Force is always looking outside of itself for survival. Force moves in a negative (downward) direction. It is destructive, and does not support life. Force always creates a counter-force; there is always something working against it. Power, on the other hand, is strong. Power has enough energy to sustain itself. Power is self-sufficient. Power, in fact, creates energy. Power moves in a positive (upward) direction. Power is creative, and nurtures and supports life. And there is no opposite to power. Power is free to grow and expand because there isnt anything working against it. Its so important to understand the difference between power and force, because any action taken from First Kingdom/
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Victim Consciousness/Lack Consciousness uses force, and will always be counter-productive.
What Consciousness Has to Do with Happiness

So what does all of this have to do with happiness? Everything. Your level of consciousness determines your level of happiness. Remember, the source of your happiness is within you, not in the outside world. The little r reality that you experience is a perfect match to your level of consciousness and your level of happiness. The only way to increase your level of happiness is to move upward on the map of consciousness. The more energy you have, the better you feel, and the happier you are. Dr. Hawkins calibrated the rate of happiness at each of the levels of consciousness. The level of Shame (20) has only a 1% rate of happiness; Guilt (30) has a 4% rate; Apathy (50) has a 5% rate; Grief (75) has a 9% rate; both Fear (100) and Desire (125) have a 10% rate; Anger (150) has a 12% rate; and Pride (175) has a 22% rate of happiness.4 As soon as you step out of Victim Consciousness and move into integrity in Second Kingdom at the level of Courage (200), the rate of happiness more than doubles to 55%. When you begin to feel truly Safe and reach the level of Neutrality (250), the rate of happiness is 60%, five times greater than it is at the level of Anger.5 The Map of Consciousness and the model of the Four Kingdoms of Consciousness are valuable tools. All you need
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And a 78% chance of a fall. David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment (Sedona, AZ: Veritas Publishing, 2006), 30.
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do is identify where you are on the map based on how youre feeling. You can then choose the next better-feeling thought and move up the scale one level at a time.
What Astrology Has to Do With Consciousness

All you really need to do to become completely happy is to choose the best-feeling thought currently available to you. This is simple, but not always easy. In order to be able to choose the best-feeling thought currently available to you, you need to be in the Present Moment. You spend less time in the Present Moment than you think. Accompanying you on this human experience is an ego. The ego is sometimes referred to as the monkey mind. The monkey mind is like a tree full of monkeys. Its always chattering away, jumping from branch to branch, and making so much noise that its difficult to stay anchored in the Present Moment so that you can choose the best-feeling thought currently available to you. It is possible, however, to quiet the monkey mind. Through years of dedicated training and consistent meditative practice, you can train the monkey mind and reduce the chatter, making it easier for you to be in the Present Moment and choose the best-feeling thought currently available to you. You can also quiet the monkey mind by giving it a banana. The monkey mind wants to know about things. The monkey mind wants to explore, and wants to question, because it believes that knowledge is the path to happiness. The monkey
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mind doesnt like things to be simple. The monkey mind likes a certain amount of complexity. The trick is to find that sweet spot, where theres just enough complexity to keep the monkey mind occupied, but not so much that it gets frustrated. Thats where astrology comes in. Astrology will occupy your monkey mind, and give you lots of new information to think about. This particular approach to astrology, however, will provide you with lots of very highvibration thoughts and concepts, almost all of which will feel much better (and represent greater levels of Truth) than the thoughts you would otherwise be thinking. But most importantly, this approach to astrology is contained within the context of consciousness (and happiness). You will learn how to use astrology to help you to move up the scale of consciousness, so you can experience bulletproof happiness.
44 Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

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strology is a very big context. It includes a number of different branches, each of which is concerned with answering different types of questions. All they have in common is that they all use the same set of symbols. Weve already narrowed the context of astrology by focusing exclusively on Natal Astrology and the birth chart, but even thats not specific enough. Well be working within the context of a specific approach to Natal Astrology that Ive developed, called Archetypal Astrology1. In the system of Archetypal Astrology, the seven personal planets are the Astrological Archetypes, and each one relates to a specific aspect of your little r reality. The context of Archetypal Astrology makes it much easier to identify the specific elements of your little r reality that are keeping you from experiencing bulletproof happiness. This approach comes from Third Kingdom, where things are true but not necessarily real. Mars isnt in the sky, or in your chart. Mars is one of the seven voices in your head. If you dont believe me, wait until the
1
Other astrologers who work with archetypes (and call their work archetypal astrology) incorporate non-astrological archetypes. Ive claimed the name Archetypal Astrology for my system because it uses the actual planets as the archetypal energies.
Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets
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next time someone cuts you off in traffic, and then say hello to Mars (hes the one making the creative hand gestures). And that judgmental, critical voice in your head? Thats not the voice of God; thats the voice of Saturn. Instead of trying to change the conditions in your little r reality, you will learn to move into Right Relationship with each of the planets through specific Spiritual Practices (which youll find in Chapter 10). This is how you change your vibration, raise your level of consciousness, and create bulletproof happiness. Theres another very big advantage to this system. Once youre familiar with the seven personal planets, you know 90% of everything you need in order to create your own detailed, specific, practical interpretations of any chart. In fact, once youve met the Astrological Archetypes, you have the ability to interpret any planet in any sign without resorting to keywords or cookbook interpretations. But before you can do any of this, you have to create the context and meet the planets.
The Planets in the Kingdoms of Consciousness

Remember how your experience of reality depends on which Kingdom of Consciousness youre in at the time? Well, your experience of each Astrological Archetype also depends on your current Kingdom of Consciousness. Without the context of consciousness, its impossible to predict how a person might experience a given planet in his or her chart. This is the reason that most astrology interpretations are so vague and generalized. When you combine astrology with
28 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology
the context of consciousness, however, the range of expression for each planet comes into focus. Moving into Right Relationship with each Astrological Archetype helps you to advance through the levels of consciousness. This changes how you experience that Astrological Archetype, and, of course, increases your level of happiness.
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THE SUN The Sun is the Archetype of the Hero, and the process of moving into Right Relationship with the Sun is the Heros Journey. The Heros Journey is a story in fact, its the Story. It includes both your little s stories and the Big S Story of your life. The Heros The Journey is a quest to find the HERO answer to the question, Who am I?The Sun represents your Big S Self, and the ultimate answer to this question. While the Sun is who you truly are, its not who you think you are. You think you are merely your ego/body and your little s self (Mars). As you begin to move into Right Relationship with the Sun, you become aware of your Big S Self, and eventually recognize the Truth of your own Unity with All That Is. On a practical level, you experience the Sun when you encounter your Personal Standards of Integrity. Your Personal Standards of Integrity are personal, which means that they dont matter to anyone else. These are the qualities and values that define and shape who you are as an individual. They represent subtle and specific distinctions that other people rarely notice or appreciate.
The Sun: The Hero
The Sun in First Kingdom

When you are in First Kingdom, the answer to the question Who am I? is, I am a victim. Technically, its not possible to experience the Sun from First Kingdom. The Sun is the essence of integrity, and integrity doesnt exist in Victim Consciousness. In First Kingdom, you cant recognize the Big S Self. You identify completely with your ego/body and your little s self. The idea that you yourself could be a hero is unthinkable in First Kingdom. In fact, when youre in Victim Consciousness, you look for a hero to come rescue you.
The Sun in Second Kingdom

Once you step out of Victim Consciousness and into Second Kingdom, you can begin to connect with the Sun. When you ask, Who am I? in Second Kingdom, the answer is, I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul. Second Kingdom is where the Heros Journey begins in earnest. You admire other people as heroes, and you strive to embody their best qualities. This is how you discover your Personal Standards of Integrity. As you advance through Second Kingdom, you look for recognition from other people for your accomplishments and for your integrity.
The Sun in Third Kingdom

The transformation when you move into Third Kingdom is subtle, yet profound. How you do things doesnt change: youre still motivated by your Personal Standards of Integrity. Whats different is why you do things. In Third Kingdom, you begin
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to appreciate that the Source of your Happiness is within you. You no longer care about what other people think of you. Your values begin to shift, and you may find that you are less and less interested in the material world. When you experience the Sun from Third Kingdom, you live in the Present Moment, and you effortlessly choose the best-feeling thought currently available to you. You begin to identify fully with your Big S Self. The answer to the question Who am I? is I am a multi-dimensional, eternal being having a human experience.
The Sun in Fourth Kingdom

The Sun is the only planet that can be said to exist in Fourth Kingdom, although the Sun that is experienced from Fourth Kingdom is the integrated Self. All of the individual Astrological Archetypes have merged, and all sense of little s self has vanished. Only the Big S Self exists. There is no longer a sense of separation from the Divine. Fourth Kingdom marks the beginning of the Enlightened and Transcendent states of consciousness. Its the ultimate goal of The Heros Journey, although it takes many lifetimes to reach.
SATURN Saturn is the Archetype of the Judge. Saturn represents the Law, at least within the context of the Story. Specifically, Saturn represents the Law of Cause and Effect, which governs the world of form, and is the highest Law in Second Kingdom. Saturn represents all The limits, boundaries and restrictions, JUDGE including your perceptions of time. Without Saturn, you would not be able to connect with the Sun and discover your Personal Standards of Integrity. After all, your Personal Standards of Integrity are limitations. Saturn is responsible for the feeling of discomfort you experience when you cross a boundary and step out of integrity. While the other Archetypes express by saying Yes, Saturn is the Archetype that says No. This can be unpleasant, especially when you experience Saturn from First Kingdom. But the truth is, Saturn is supporting you in your pursuit of happiness. Saturn closes doors because exploring whats behind those doors would be a waste of your time: those doors dont lead to your happiness. Every time Saturn says No, youre one step closer to connecting with your Big S Self and becoming completely happy. Saturn is your Inner Parent. Your experiences with your outer parents form the basis for how you experience Saturn. As you move into Right Relationship with Saturn, you learn how to reclaim your power from the authority figures in your life.
Saturn: The Judge
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Saturn in First Kingdom

The experience of Saturn from First Kingdom can be summed up as, I fought the law and the law won. You automatically give your power away to authority figures. You avoid accountability at all costs because you fear being punished for your mistakes. When you encounter Saturn in First Kingdom, the punishment is death for a first offence. In order to move out of First Kingdom, you have to be willing to be held accountable. You must literally throw yourself on the mercy of the court.
Saturn in Second Kingdom

When you experience Saturn from Second Kingdom, the highest law of the land is the Law of Cause and Effect. You begin to accept accountability for your actions and your intentions. Because youre experiencing Saturn from a place of integrity, the entire dynamic of the relationship transforms. You finally understand that if you dont cross the boundaries or break the laws, you dont get punished. Ironically, the more you respect the limits and boundaries of Saturn, the freer you feel.
Saturn in Third Kingdom

When you experience Saturn from Third Kingdom, the highest law of the land is the Law of Attraction. You recognize the truth of the Law of Cause and Effect, which is that absolutely everything that you experience in your little r reality is effect. The cause is your level of consciousness. Limits and boundaries arent arbitrary; theyre a part of the vibrational frequency of each level of consciousness. When you
raise your consciousness and tune to a different little r reality, you experience a different set of laws and boundaries. In Third Kingdom, nothing is set in stone with Saturn, and miracles are possible. When you experience Saturn from Third Kingdom, you truly appreciate that Saturn works for you.
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The Moon: The Reflection
THE MOON
The Moon is the Archetype of the Reflection. The Moon reflects the light of the Sun, and like all reflections, it distorts and filters the essence of the Source, depicting a facet, a shadow, some single element of the original for deeper The exploration and understanding. REFLECTION The Moon is in charge of your memories of who you truly are: the Big S Self that you are in the process of rediscovering. The Moon contains everything you experience as your unconscious and your subconscious. The Moon is your Emotional Guidance System. This is how you navigate the levels of consciousness, turning away from little r realities that feel unpleasant, and turning towards little r realities that feel good. Its critical to understand the source of feelings. Feelings dont arise because of conditions in your little r reality. Feelings spontaneously arise because you are tuned to a specific level of consciousness. The Law of Attraction then creates experiences that fill your little r reality that are a match to that specific vibration. Feelings arent the effect of things you experience in your life; theyre the cause of the things you experience. When you dont like what youre feeling, all you need to do to tune to a higher frequency of consciousness is choose the best-feeling thought currently available to you. Most of
the time, instead of choosing a better-feeling thought, you try to change the conditions in your little r reality. This keeps you tuned to that specific frequency, which only intensifies the painful and unpleasant feelings. In order to lessen the pain you experience, you create a story about the feeling. When you combine a feeling with a story, you get an emotion. Emotions are less intense than feelings, because when you experience an emotion, youre not fully present. Part of you feels the feeling, but part of you tells the story. The problem is that emotions keep you stuck in your little s story and your little r reality. And the more you identify with your little s story, the more time you spend in First Kingdom/ Victim Consciousness. When you move into Right Relationship with the Moon, you repair your Emotional Guidance System, and begin to feel your feelings. This allows you to navigate the levels of consciousness and become truly happy.
The Moon in First Kingdom

When you experience the Moon from First Kingdom, you feel unsafe. Your Emotional Guidance System is shut down completely. You are largely unaware of what youre feeling; what youre conscious of feeling is fear, anxiety and stress. In First Kingdom all feelings are emotions. When you experience an emotion, you automatically react, which reinforces the story and keeps you trapped in Victim Consciousness.
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The Moon in Second Kingdom

When you experience the Moon from Second Kingdom, you feel Safe. When your Safety Needs are met, you are able to step out of Victim Consciousness and into integrity. Anytime the balance in your Safety Need account drops below the minimum level, you dive back into Victim Consciousness. In Second Kingdom, your Emotional Guidance System begins to function. Gradually, you begin to experience more feelings than emotions. You discover that you have the ability to respond, rather than to react. This allows you to stay in integrity for longer periods of time.
The Moon in Third Kingdom

When you experience the Moon from Third Kingdom, you feel completely surrendered. Your Emotional Guidance System is fully functional. You rarely encounter emotions; instead, you experience feelings, which you immediately release. The only action you take is to turn away from unpleasant feelings, and turn towards good feelings.
MARS Mars is the Archetype of the Warrior. The Warrior sees the world in black and white. The Warrior chooses an objective and then follows the most direct path to reach that objective, overcoming any obstacles in the path with single-minded focus and utter The disregard for the consequences. WARRIOR Mars, the Warrior, is the part of you that wants things and that goes after the things that you want. What Mars lacks is perspective. Mars only wants to expend energy in a focused and directed manner. The Warrior doesnt care what hes fighting for; he only wants to experience the sheer joy of channeling energy. Mars cares about Power; however, part of Mars path is to discover the difference between force and the true Power that comes from higher levels of consciousness. While the Sun is the Big S Self, who you truly are, Mars is the little s self, who you think you are. Mars is in charge of your ego/body, the vehicle you operate while youre having your human experience. Mars is in responsible for protecting your physical body by meeting your Physiological Needs (air, food, water, shelter and sleep). In order to protect the body, the ego must be exquisitely sensitive to any vibration that is detrimental to life. This is why the ego lives in First Kingdom. Mars is unique among the Astrological Archetypes because Mars always maintains a presence in First Kingdom. Mars in First
Mars: The Warrior
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Kingdom is Private Mars, the enlisted fighting force on the front lines of your little r reality. As you advance in consciousness with respect to Mars, you add to the chain of command, gaining perspective. But its always Private Mars that carries out the orders.
Mars in First Kingdom

When you experience Mars from First Kingdom, the Power is without, and youre without power. The Warrior fights to control the outside world and the ego seeks survival. In First Kingdom, you experience Private Mars fighting in the little r reality without perspective or guidance. You act from force, rather than from power. Mars in First Kingdom is always focused in the future; however, the future is nothing more than a projection of the past. Essentially, Mars in First Kingdom is always fighting the past.
Mars in Second Kingdom

When you experience Mars from Second Kingdom, the Power is within you. The Warrior is fighting to control the little s self, and the ego seeks actualization. In the lower levels of Second Kingdom, you connect with Sergeant Mars. Sergeant Mars trains Private Mars to take the energy of anger and frustration and use it in positive ways. Sergeant Mars excels at crisis management. As you advance to the higher levels of Second Kingdom, you encounter Lieutenant Mars. Lieutenant Mars has even greater perspective than Sergeant Mars, and enables you to set longterm goals. Instead of managing crises, you gain the ability to avoid them in the first place.
Mars in Third Kingdom

When you experience Mars from Third Kingdom, you encounter the Truth that the Power is in the Present Moment. Mars in Third Kingdom is the Peaceful Warrior: there is nothing to fight. In Third Kingdom, the ego seeks transcendence. In Third Kingdom you meet Captain Mars, and in the higher levels of Third Kingdom you can even encounter the Top Brass. You understand that creation only requires that you align with the proper frequencies. The actions that Private Mars takes in the world of form dont change; however, the motivations and intentions behind those actions change dramatically. In Third Kingdom, you are no longer motivated by the things that you want, because you lack nothing.
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VENUS Venus is the Archetype of the Beloved. Wherever you experience love or appreciation, you find Venus. Venus is the archetype who determines your values. Appreciating and aligning with your values is an essential part of embodying your Big S Self. The Values are what give meaning, BELOVED purpose and direction to the Heros Journey. Venus is what motivates you to embark on the Heros Journey in the first place. You set out on your own, you face challenges, pass tests and claim your greatness because doing so will bring you into closer relationship with The Beloved. Love, after all, is the most powerful and important power in the Universe. When considering Venus, you have to understand the difference between what you value and what you desire. Desire is the provenance of Mars. Desires are wants, and originate in First Kingdom and the world of form. Values are eternal qualities of the Divine. Theyre abstract concepts that include Abundance, Balance, Beauty, Freedom, Harmony, Joy, Love, Order, Peace, Power, Unity and Wisdom. Theyre not things you can go out and get. Theyre always present in all things. You just have to notice them. Although the Core Values represent the highest and most direct experience of Venus and the Beloved, theyre not how you encounter Venus on a daily basis. The Core Values operate
Venus: The Beloved
from Third Kingdom, which is non-linear and beyond form. This means theyre true, but theyre not necessarily real. In your little r reality and the world of form, Venus is in charge of your Validation Need Account. When you receive a deposit in your Validation Need Account, you feel loved and appreciated. The love and appreciation is conditional, however. Its based on appearances and circumstances in your little r reality, and if those circumstances change, the love you experience could be taken away. Your happiness doesnt become bulletproof until you experience Venus from Third Kingdom.
Venus in First Kingdom

When you experience Venus from First Kingdom, Venus is in service to Mars (who is in charge of First Kingdom). What you value is what Mars wants, which is power, or more accurately, control over the conditions in your little r reality. You value things like money, sex, fame, and the envy of others because these things represent power to you. In First Kingdom, everything has a price, including love.
Venus in Second Kingdom

When you experience Venus from Second Kingdom, what you value is status. Relationships, and meeting your Validation Needs, become increasingly important. You care about what other people think of you. You value intangibles like respect, success and approval, but you still look for these in other people. The experience of Love in Second Kingdom is conditional, and generally limited to special relationships, such as romantic partners, close friends, and family.
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Venus in Third Kingdom

When you experience Venus from Third Kingdom, what you value is Love. The transformation in your life is both subtle and profound. You begin to be motivated by your Core Values, and this permanently alters how you engage in your life. As you advance through the levels of consciousness in Third Kingdom, Love becomes Unconditional, and happiness becomes completely bulletproof.
Mercury: The Storyteller
MERCURY
Mercury is the archetype of the Storyteller. Most people underestimate the power and importance of story. Your life and all of your experiences are nothing but a story. You are immersed, engrossed and transported by the The story. The story seems utterly real; STORYTELLER and yet, no matter how real the story appears, it is, underneath, merely a story. What you experience as real is nothing but a collection of well-chosen words declaimed by an expert Storyteller. Story is what drives you. Story is what you live for. But, as important as story is, you seldom give any thought to the Storyteller. In order for there to be a story, there must be one outside of the story who tells the tale and lies the lies and transports you with words and images to far away worlds. Mercury is the part of you that tells the story. Mercury is the part of you that narrates your life. Mercury is the part of you that convinces you that everything that you experience is absolutely real. And Mercury is the part of you that lies, and then convinces you that those lies are true. Mercury is not merely the archetype of the Storyteller: Mercury is also the archetype of the Trickster. Everything in your little r reality is a part of your story, and your story is made up of your thoughts. Everything in your story is real, but its not necessarily true. If you dont like the way that your story is unfolding, you have the power to change
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it. You need only remember that you are both the story and the Storyteller. When you question your story and move into Right Relationship with Mercury, you choose better-feeling thoughts. Raising the vibration of your thoughts expands your consciousness, which in turn shifts the context of your story. When you experience your story from an expanded context, it feels better.
Mercury in First Kingdom

When you experience Mercury from First Kingdom, the story you tell is a tragedy. You only experience the little s story, which keeps you playing small. You gather evidence to support the beliefs that Im right, and Its not my fault. This keeps you trapped in Victim Consciousness. Your thoughts and the story feel very stressful.
Mercury in Second Kingdom

When you experience Mercury from Second Kingdom, the story you tell is a grand adventure. Although you mostly experience the little s story, you begin to catch glimpses of your Big S Story, and that inspires you to grow. The biggest change in Second Kingdom is that you are willing to learn and willing to be wrong. In Second Kingdom, knowledge is power, and your thoughts, and the story you tell, feel empowering.
Mercury in Third Kingdom

When you experience Mercury from Third Kingdom, the story you tell is a comedy. You pursue your Big S Story and release the little s story. In Third Kingdom, you are able to recognize
and appreciate the game of the Heros Journey. You become the author of your own story. When you change the words, you change the world.
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Jupiter: The Dreamer
JUPITER
Jupiter is the archetype of the Dreamer. In traditional astrology, Jupiter is associated with growth and expansion, but all growth and expansion begins with dreams. Dreams are where you escape the illusion of your little s self The and enter the realm of infinite DREAMER possibility. Dont expect all of your dreams to be enjoyable, however. Sometimes you have to confront your fears in order to grow. Jupiter supports you by expanding the context so that you can move from the little s self to the Big S Self. Mercury provides the content of your story, but Jupiter provides the context. The context is what gives the story meaning. In order to move into Right Relationship with Jupiter, you must appreciate the difference between fantasy and imagination. Both fantasy and imagination involve dreaming about something you would like to experience. Imagination is creative and activates the Law of Attraction. Fantasy, however, is not creative. When you fantasize, you push your dream farther away from you. The difference between fantasy and imagination is faith, which is also the domain of Jupiter.
Jupiter in First Kingdom

When you experience Jupiter from First Kingdom, the dream is either a fantasy or a nightmare. You fantasize about escape
from the pain of Victim Consciousness, but you lack the faith to move out of it on your own. Jupiter makes everything bigger, and in First Kingdom, what you experience is big lack. There are endless possibilities of how things could go wrong, so you find it hard to even make an effort.
Jupiter in Second Kingdom

When you experience Jupiter from Second Kingdom, the dream is of the possibilities of your Big S Story. You have faith in the Big S Self (and your personal self ), and know that you can grow and expand as an individual. You access the power of imagination, as you develop faith and expand your consciousness.
Jupiter in Third Kingdom

When you experience Jupiter from Third Kingdom, you are completely surrendered to the creative process. You know that all you need do is plant the seed; you dont have to make it grow. In Third Kingdom, you have faith in (and of ) whatever name or concept you have of God. You truly know that you are infinite and infinitely powerful. You know that your thoughts and beliefs create reality.
Part 2
Get Specific
54 The Three Things Astrologers Need to Learn from Successful Bank Robbers
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ets say you wake up one morning and decide to rob a bank. You get dressed, brush your teeth, and drive around until you find a bank that looks like it has a lot of money in it. You walk in the front door and ask to see the money. Much to your surprise, the manager doesnt give you the combination to the vault and offer to bring you a latte. Instead, youre tossed out on the sidewalk by armed guards who lock the door behind you. Assuming that you actually wanted to rob a bank, you would never go about it that way. Even a novice bank robber knows you cant just waltz in the front door and expect the bank to hand over all of its money to you. Robbing a bank takes planning and strategy. Even the most inexperienced bank robber always knows three things in advance: 1. What youre looking for. 2. How to get it. 3. How to get out. Interpreting a chart is exactly like robbing a bank. You cant just wander in off the street and expect the chart to give up any useful or practical information.
Once youve established the context, you have to get specific; and the first step of getting specific is creating a plan. The details will vary from plan to plan, but when it comes to robbing banks and astrology every plan will cover these three points.
Know what youre looking for.

A successful bank robber always has a specific target in mind. Its not enough to go after some diamonds that are stored in a safety deposit box. A successful bank robber plans to steal the famous Vomissimant Diamond, which is kept in box 26943 in the upper quadrant of the south wall of the bank vault. Its the same thing with astrology. The quality of the answers that you get out of the chart depends on the quality of the questions you ask before going in. The only way to get practical, specific answers is to ask practical, specific questions. The best way to narrow the scope of a question and make it more specific is to limit the context of the question. Asking, What do I need in my relationships? is too vague. Its the equivalent of wandering around the Safety Deposit Vault hoping someone forgot to lock his box. On the other hand, asking, What do I need right now from my boss in order for me to feel valued and appreciated at work, targets a specific box. Until you have a specific, focused, targeted question, dont even look at the chart. When you create a context and get specific, it allows you to get precise, specific answers that have immediate, practical value. And the best part is, once you have your precise, specific, practical answer, you can expand the context and apply that answer to other, similar questions.
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For example, knowing what you need from your boss in order to make you feel valued and appreciated at work will help you to understand what you need from your romantic partner in order to feel loved and appreciated at home.
Know how to get it.

Once a bank robber knows his target and where to find it, he chooses the right tools for the job, and uses only those tools. It doesnt matter how many years he spent learning how to crack a safe, if the diamond isnt being held in a safe, he wont use any of his safe-cracking tools. He may know six different methods of opening a locked safety deposit box, but hell only use one. A bank robber cares about getting the best possible results in the shortest possible time. Astrologers find this particularly challenging, because there are so many different techniques, and so many different ways to look at the chart. This confusion is the result of a lack of context and a lack of a specific, focused objective. When you begin with a clear understanding of the context and progress to a specific, focused question, which technique to use becomes obvious. And when youre absolutely clear about which technique to use, you wont waste any energy secondguessing yourself or your interpretations.
Know how to get out.

A successful bank robber knows how (and when) to get out. The longer he spends in the bank, the less chance he has of getting out alive. Its not possible to get all of the valuables out of the bank at once. Dont be greedy. Take just what you can carry
and get out fast. You can always come back another time to get something else. Its the same thing with the chart. You can only escape with one practical piece of information at a time. If you get greedy and try to do too much at once, youll get bogged down and you wont make it out of the chart alive. When you consider your situation from the contexts of happiness, consciousness, and Archetypal Astrology, the reason youre not happy is that youre out of alignment with one of the Astrological Archetypes. When you look at the chart, the question youre asking is, Which planet is causing the problem? The answer to this question isnt always obvious, so you may have to use some specific interpretation techniques to find it. But once you identify the problem planet, youre done with the chart, and its time to get out. Remember that nothing changes at the level of the chart. Once youve gotten a practical, specific answer, you need to take it into your life and act on it. The only actions you will take will be Spiritual Practices to help you to move into Right Relationship with the specific planet thats causing the challenges in your life. Youll learn all of the Spiritual Practices in Chapter 10. First, you need to learn how to identify a problem planet.
64 Planets, Signs & Houses: The Grammar of the Language of Astrology

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ne of the reasons that its so difficult to learn astrology is that very few people approach astrology from the correct context. Learning astrology is exactly like learning a foreign language. Most astrologers try to master the language of astrology by memorizing phrases and keywords, and this is why theyre not fluent in the language. In order to truly speak astrology, you have to understand the rules of grammar and sentence structure. Once you understand how the different parts of speech in astrology fit together, youll find it easy to create your own sentences without having to rely on a phrase book.
The Planets
Everything in astrology comes down to the planets. Everything. In fact, once youve gotten to know the seven personal planets, you know 90% of everything you need to become fluent in the language of astrology.
Without the planets, you cant create a sentence in astrology. The planets are the nouns and the verbs of astrology. Planets tell you who and what. No matter what the question, no matter what the situation, an interpretation always begins with a planet. Since youve already met the planets, we can move on.
The Signs
In the language of astrology, the signs are the adjective and adverbs. They modify the nouns and verbs. Signs tell you how and why a planet expresses. However, the signs do not in any way alter the fundamental nature of a planet. Saturn is always Saturn. Saturn always cares about boundaries, structure, form, authority and responsibility. When Saturn is in Pisces, Saturn does not stop caring about boundaries, structure, form, authority and responsibility. Granted, Saturn in Pisces may not be very effective at maintaining (or even recognizing) boundaries; however, even in Pisces, Saturn still cares about boundaries. Pisces modifies how and why Saturn expresses. Saturn in Pisces cares about different boundaries than Saturn in Aries does. Saturn in Pisces has a different management style than Saturn in Leo. Adding the energy of the sign to the planet allows you to get more detailed, specific information about how that planet expresses. You can get a clear understanding of how a sign influences a planet by looking at the signs element and modality.
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The Four Elements

Each sign belongs to one of the four elements, Fire, Earth, Air or Water. The element of a sign tells you which plane that sign belongs to, and in turn, gives information about what motivates any planet in that sign. The element of Fire is all about taking action, expending energy, and expressing identity. Fire is life and spirit, and its a very active element. Fire signs make planets focused and intense in their expression. The element of Earth expresses on the material and physical plane. Planets in Earth signs care about practical, tangible results, and they prefer to operate in the world of form. The element of Air represents the mental, social and intellectual plane. Planets in Air signs are more comfortable with abstract concepts, ideas and theories than they are with practical implementation. The element of Water represents the emotional and spiritual plane. Planets in Water signs care the most about feelings, and usually care more about what lies beneath the surface than they do about how things appear.
The Three Modalities

Each sign also belongs to one of three modalities, Cardinal, Fixed, or Mutable. The modalities influence both how a planet expresses, and why the planet expresses. Cardinal signs initiate action. Planets in Cardinal signs are very motivated, and love to start something new; once the novelty wears off, however, they tend to lose interest. Planets in Cardinal signs act in order to express their individual identity.
Fixed signs are about sustaining and maintaining things. Planets in Fixed signs have tremendous stamina, and love a slow, steady routine. They are often stubborn, and very resistant to change. The reason for this is that planets in Fixed signs are fundamentally concerned with self-worth. Mutable signs are about completion. Planets in Mutable signs are very flexible and adaptable. They do have a tendency to take on too many things at once, however, and can become overwhelmed and scattered. Planets in Mutable signs act in order to grow, to heal, and to evolve.
The Houses
Houses are the last major part of speech in the language of astrology. Each house represents a different area of life, and when you include the houses in a sentence, they tell you where a planet expresses. The First House relates to who you are as an individual. The Second House is everything that belongs to you, including your talents and resources; its the default house of your money, finances and material worth. The Third House relates to your childhood, siblings, early education, and your immediate surroundings, as well as communication, writing, and your personal (private) spirituality. The Fourth House is your foundation: it contains your home, your family, your ancestors, and it represents your father; its also the house of real estate and property1.
1
In classical astrology, the Father is the 4th house and the Mother is the 10th house. Modern astrology reversed these in an attempt to get the planets, signs and houses to line up as a part of the Astrological Alphabet. There is no inherent connection between Cancer and the 4th house, and therefore no reason to assign the Mother to the 4th when she belongs in the 10th.
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The Fifth House is the house of children, creativity, gambling, love affairs, and sex; its where you express your individuality, have fun, and look for attention from others. The Sixth House is your daily job and your physical routine; it contains everything that you need to do on a regular basis to maintain a physical body; its also the house of illness. The Seventh House is the default house of other people in one-to-one relationships. Specifically, seventh house relationships are contractual relationships, including marriage, although as soon as two people live under the same roof, the relationship has moved from the fifth house to the seventh house. Its also the house of open enemies. The Eighth House is the house of other peoples stuff; it relates to shared resources, death, taxes, inheritance, and the occult.2 The Ninth House is where you encounter higher education, organized religion, philosophy, long-distance travel, publishing, and cross-cultural experiences. The Tenth House is the most public part of your chart; it relates to your career (life path), your role and contributions to society, and your mother. The Eleventh House is where you encounter your friends and your peers, and where you spend time participating (and creating) in groups. The Twelfth House is your shadow self: its visible to everyone except you. Its where you go to meditate and connect with your inner guidance. It also relates to prisons, institutions, and hidden enemies.
2
The idea that sex belongs in the 8th house is a Freudian construct and doesnt show up until the 1930s. The only sex that belongs in the 8th house requires a leather wardrobe and a safe word.
74 Essential Dignities and the Board of Directors

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ow that youre clear about the context and youre familiar with the basic grammar of the language of astrology, youre ready to learn how to get really specific with your interpretations by working with the Essential Dignities. The Essential Dignities are an ancient system of evaluating the relative strength of a planet at any given degree of a sign. They are the heart and soul of classical astrology, but modern astrology ignores them completely. There are five different Essential Dignities: Rulership, Exaltation, Triplicity, Term and Face. Rulership, Exaltation and Triplicity are sign-based and dont vary by degree. The planets that have dignity by Term and Face, however, depend on the specific degree of the sign. Generally, youll need to look up the Essential Dignities using either Ptolemys Table of Essential Dignities, or my E-Z Essential Dignity Card.1 In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in classical astrology, and more astrologers are aware of the value of the Essential Dignities, especially when working with predictive astrology. The challenge is that the traditional applications of the
1
Available for $9.95 plus shipping at http://www.EZDignity.com.
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Figure 4: E-Z Essential Dignity Card Essential Dignities focus on the relative strength or weakness of the planets. In the context of a horary or an event chart, this is useful and valuable information. In the context of a natal chart, however, its not. The system of Archetypal Astrology includes the Board of Directors model, a new approach to working with Essential Dignities in the context of a natal chart. This not only allows for incredibly specific interpretations, but also eliminates the need to memorize keywords or cookbook interpretations. Youll simply use your understanding of the planets to get detailed, specific and practical information about any planet in any sign. You will not find this technique anywhere else. Its something that Ive developed over a number of years, and its a fundamental part of Archetypal Astrology.
The Board of Directors

Think of each sign as a corporation. A corporation is involved in a particular type of business. The element and modality of the sign determine the type of business. For example, Libra is a Cardinal Air sign. Because its a Cardinal sign, Libra is concerned with the question of individual identity. Because its an Air sign, Libra operates on the mental, intellectual, abstract and social realm, and is largely concerned with making connections. A corporation has a CEO, who is the public face of the company. The Ruler of the sign is the CEO. The planet that rules a sign is literally the boss of that sign. Any planet in a sign has to check with the Ruler of the sign for guidance and direction about what they want and how they can express.
LIBRA
Balance, Harmony, and Justice since 500 B.C.
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But a corporation also has a Board of Directors. The planets that have Essential Dignity for the specific degree of a sign make up the members of the Board of Directors for that degree. The Board Members operate behind the scenes, and influence the policies that the CEO shares with the public. As powerful as the CEO is, the Board of Directors can sometimes out-vote the CEO. Each Board Member has a fixed number of votes, depending on which Essential Dignity they represent. The Ruler (CEO) gets 5 votes; the planet with Exaltation gets 4 votes; the planet with Triplicity gets 3 votes; the planet with Term gets 2 votes; and the planet with Face gets 1 vote. Its common for one planet to hold multiple seats on the board, which gives that planet additional votes. For example, Saturn is Exalted in Libra, giving Saturn a minimum of 4 votes on the Board of Directors. In a day cart, however, Saturn also has Triplicity, which gives Saturn an extra 3 votes for a total of 7 votes enough to overrule the CEO (Venus) with only 5 votes on the board. What this means is that a planet in Libra where Saturn has control of the Board of Directors will express differently than a planet in Libra where Venus is in charge. Do you see how valuable this information is? Without this information, its virtually impossible to create a detailed, specific and practical interpretation. This is why so many astrologers struggle with interpretations. Its also why its impossible to interpret the Moon in Libra.
84 Why You Cant Interpret the Moon in Libra

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ts not possible to interpret the Moon in Libra. This doesnt stop most astrologers from trying, of course. A typical cookbook interpretation of the Moon in Libra would include phrases like balanced emotions, and enjoys harmony and beauty, and probably some reference to the importance of feelings in relationships. What, precisely are you supposed to do with that information? Its vague, its too general, and it has no practical value. And the reason for that is that the question What does the Moon in Libra mean? is vague, general and impractical. Before you can interpret the Moon in Libra, you have to define a context, and then come up with a specific question. You need to define exactly why you need to interpret the Moon in Libra. In these examples, well approach the Moon from the context of Safety, and ask the question, What does the Moon in Libra need to feel Safe? Well consider three different Moons at similar degrees of Libra and answer this question using Essential Dignities and the Board of Directors.
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What Does Sylvester Stallone Need to Feel Safe?

Sylvester Stallone
Natal Chart Saturday, July 6, 1946 7:20:00 PM EDT New York, New York
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R E A D D O W N
Figure 4: Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallones Moon is at 2246 Libra in a day chart (Figure 4). The Board of Directors for his Moon in Libra consists of Saturn with 7 votes, Venus with 5 votes, Mercury with 2 Votes, and Jupiter with 1 vote. Saturn has the most influence, so what matters the most in terms of feeling Safe are good boundaries and a sense of accountability and responsibility. Even though Venus is the ruler of Libra, Venus only has 5 votes. Feeling loved and appreciated and connecting with his Core Values is an important part of what Sylvester Stallone needs to feel Safe, but its not as important as having clearly-defined boundaries, and making sure that everyone is following the rules. Mercurys two votes dont count for much, but they do mean that clear communication is important. Jupiter likes things to be big, but with only one vote, size doesnt matter when it comes to Safety.
What Does Nicholas Cage Need to Feel Safe?

Nicholas Cages Moon is at 2613 Libra in a night chart (Figure 5). The Board of Directors for his moon in Libra consists of Venus with 5 votes, Saturn with 4 votes, Mercury with 3 votes, Mars with 2 votes and Jupiter with 1 vote. Safety for Cage has more to do with feeling loved and appreciated than it does with respecting the rules, because Venus has more influence on the Board of Directors than Saturn does. And with 3 votes, Mercury has enough influence to make clear communication and having an intellectual understanding of every situation a critical part of feeling Safe. Another difference with Cage is that Mars is on his Board of Directors, and even

Nicholas Cage
Natal Chart Tuesday, January 7, 1964 5:30:00 AM PST Harbor City, California
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R E A D D O W N
Figure 5: Nicholas Cage
though Mars only has 2 votes, Mars will always push to take action.
What Does Sting Need to Feel Safe?

Finally, Stings Moon is at 1946 Libra in a night chart (Figure 6). His Board of Directors consists of Venus with 5 votes, Saturn with 5 votes and Mercury with 5 votes. In order for Sting to feel Safe, he has to meet the needs of all three board members. In other words, he has to feel loved and appreciated, there have to be well-defined boundaries and appropriate levels of responsibility, and he has to have an intellectual understanding of the situation and feel that the lines of communication are clear. If any one of these conditions isnt met, Sting wont feel Safe.
The Real Board of Directors

Already this approach provides a level of detail and specificity thats unheard of in cookbook interpretations. But this is only the beginning. You can get even more specific when you consider the real Board of Directors. You see, the members of the Board of Directors arent just the planets; theyre the specific planets in the chart. The Board of Directors for Sylvester Stallones Moon in Libra isnt just Saturn, Venus Mercury and Jupiter, its his Saturn in Cancer with 7 votes, his Venus in Leo with 5 votes, his Mercury in Leo with 2 votes, and his Jupiter in Libra with 1 vote. This allows you to get even more specific, detailed information from your interpretations. Because you know that its not just Saturn in charge, but Saturn in Cancer, you can explore exactly what kinds of boundaries and responsibilities

Sting
Natal Chart Tuesday, October 2, 1951 1:30:00 AM GMD Wallsend-on-Tyne, England
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R E A D D O W N
Figure 6: Sting
are required to help Stallone feel Safe. Cancer is a Water sign, so it operates on the emotional and spiritual plane, and because its also a Cardinal sign, its concerned with expressing identity. So, for Sylvester Stallone to feel Safe, he has to believe that hes expressing his feelings responsibly, and that everyone is respecting appropriate emotional boundaries. And, when necessary, its possible to get even more specific than that. You can add information from the houses to tell you where its most important that Stallone feel that hes behaving responsibly. His Saturn in Cancer is in the 7th house, so these boundaries are particularly important in his one-to-one relationships. And because his Saturn rules his 2nd house, its also very important that he feel that hes being responsible with his money and resources. Any conflict or disruption in his finances or in any interpersonal relationships would represent a significant Safety issue for him. Considering the real Board of Directors can also provide important insights into the underlying dynamic of the situation. For example, both Stallones Venus and Mercury are in Leo, which means that theyre likely to vote together, because they share the same motivations. This means that Saturn doesnt have quite as much influence as it appears. Yes, emotional boundaries and responsibility are still very important when it comes to how Stallone feels Safe, but this has to be balanced with the need to be recognized and appreciated for his unique individual gifts that comes from Venus and Mercury in Leo.
94 How to Use Astrology to Create Bulletproof Happiness

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earning astrology will not make you happy. Ive said this several times before, and it still bears repeating. Astrology is a tool that you can use to move from where you are now to happy. As with any tool, there are two things you need to know to get the most out of astrology: 1. You have to know how to use it. 2. You have to know when to use it. Most people focus entirely on the how, and ignore the when. But if you dont pay attention to the when, the how doesnt matter. But even more important than the how and the when is the what. The what is the whole point. The what is happiness. What you care about is happiness. And astrology will not make you happy. What astrology can do, however, is help you to map out the shortest path from where you are now to happy. Astrology can help you to identify the actions you need to take to become happy. But if you dont take action, nothing will change, and you wont become happy.
The Only Actions that Lead to Bulletproof Happiness

Remember that happiness isnt the result of circumstances in the outside world. Happiness is the result of your level of consciousness. The higher you raise your vibration, the happier you feel. The improvements in the conditions in your little r reality are the effect of your happiness, not the cause of it. Albert Einstein stated that you cannot solve a problem from the level of consciousness that created it. This means that no action you can take from within your current little r reality will improve the situation and make you happier. The only way to solve the problem is to raise your vibration, expand your consciousness, and tune to a different little r reality where the situation is no longer a problem for you. You raise your vibration and expand your consciousness through Spiritual Practice. The Spiritual Practices introduced in Part 3 will train all of your major spiritual muscles. They will help you to move out of First Kingdom/Victim Consciousness and into Integrity, and they will also enable you to connect with the truly powerful levels of consciousness in Third Kingdom. Astrology will not make you happy. You become happy by raising the vibration of your consciousness through Spiritual Practices. Sometimes its not obvious which Spiritual Practices will be the most effective to help you with your current challenges, and this is where astrology can help. You can use astrology to identify which planet is out of alignment. Once youve identified that planet, youre done with the astrology, and its time to take action. You apply the Spiritual Practices for that planet for at least 30 consecutive days, and then reassess your situation.
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Consider the Story Before You Consider the Chart

Stop and think before you turn to astrology for answers. Start from the biggest context: happiness. At the moment, youre not happy (if you were happy, you wouldnt need astrology). Ask yourself why it is youre not happy. Then consider the major themes of the story of why youre not happy, and see if they have any obvious connections to the Astrological Archetypes. Does the story involve boundary violations, issues with authority, judgments, integrity or accountability? If so, you may be out of alignment with Saturn. If youre experiencing stress, anxiety, fear or uncertainty when you tell the story especially if youre worrying about the future then youre not feeling Safe and you need to move into Right Relationship with The Moon. And if youre feeling angry, depressed, frustrated, or just apathetic when you tell the story, youre out of alignment with Mars. If any of these themes are a part of your story, you dont need to look at the chart or go into any more detail. You just need to begin the appropriate Spiritual Practices. On the other hand, if you dont see any obvious themes when you question your story, you can consider the chart.
Consider the Chart (But Know How to Get Out)

Sometimes your story isnt that simple, and thats when you can consider the chart. But do not lose sight of your objective! The only answer youre looking for is which planet is out of alignment. Nothing else matters. Once you identify that planet, you need to get out of the chart, so you can take action and move
into Right Relationship with that planet with the appropriate Spiritual Practices.
Find the House that Contains the Story

Consider which area of life best contains the story or situation youre unhappy about. Look at the planet that rules that house, and consider if youre in Right Relationship with that planet. If youre out of alignment with that planet, youve found the answer, and youre done with astrology. Spend the next 30 days doing the appropriate Spiritual Practices to move into Right Relationship with that planet. If you believe you are in Right Relationship with the ruling planet, you can go deeper into the chart and consider the Board of Directors for the planet that rules the current story.
Meditate the Board of Directors

First, identify the planets on the Board of Directors, making note of how many votes each board member has. Next, interview each board member, asking what they want with respect to the specific story in question. Keep the questions focused and specific. Let the planet within you answer, and dont censor or modify the answers that come to you. The point of this process is to discover which planet or planets have unreasonable expectations. Consider which planets will vote together, and which planets will tend to be in conflict with each other. Evaluate each planets expectations, and consider how reasonable those expectations are. See if you can shift the expectations into integrity. Look for common ground, and try to come up with a
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scenario that would satisfy all of the planets with influence on the Board of Directors. This can give you additional clarity about the story and the situation itself, and can help to shift and expand the context of the story. Finally, identify which planets on the Board of Directors are the most out of alignment, and follow the Spiritual Practices to move into Right Relationship with those planets for the next 30 days. The Online Natal Astrology Class explores this technique in great detail. You can learn more about it in Chapter 12, or by visiting http://TheRealAstrology.com/NAC/.
Part 3
Take Action
10 4 Spiritual Practices
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Whose Business Is It?
Right Relationship with Mercury and Saturn
Byron Katie is an author and speaker who created a powerful process called The Work. In her first book, Loving What Is, Play Whose Katie suggests that there Business Is It? are three types of business in the world: My Business, Your Business (Other Peoples Business), and Gods Business. She points out that anytime you find yourself in Other Peoples Business or Gods Business, you feel stressed. Why? Because you dont have any business in Other Peoples Business or Gods Business. When youre in Other Peoples Business, or Gods Business, you have no control and no influence. In fact, when youre in Other Peoples Business or Gods Business, you are powerless.1 Put another way, when youre in Other Peoples Business, or Gods Business, youre in Victim Consciousness, so any action you take will only make things worse.
1
Byron Katie, Loving What Is: Four Questions that Can Change Your Life (New York: Harmony Books, 2002), 3.
Just because youre involved in something doesnt make it your business. You spend far less time in My Business, than you might think. In fact, you probably spend most of your time in Other Peoples Business. This isnt necessarily a bad thing, as long as you can recognize when youre in Other Peoples Business, and know how to step back into My Business. My Business, consists exclusively of things that directly affect you, which are actually your responsibility, and that you have the power and ability to influence or change. If it doesnt directly affect you, isnt your responsibility, and/or you cant do anything about it, its not your business.
Does It Affect You, Personally?

This is the most important question, and its one that has to be applied with absolute precision. In order for something to be My Business, it has to affect you, personally, right now. Just because something could, possibly, at some point in the future affect you doesnt make it your business. If and when it begins to actually affect you, it might be your business, as long as its also your responsibility and you can do something about it. Until then, its none of your business. Even if something does affect you, personally right now, it doesnt have to be My Business. Consider applying the ignore it and see if it goes away test. If you ignore a situation and it eventually goes away without causing you any harm, its none of your business.
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Is It Really Your Responsibility?

Personally, I struggle with this one the most. My ego believes that it is my responsibility to make sure everyone I encounter follows the rules. If anyone breaks the rules, he or she must face the wrath of my ego. Ive come to terms with the fact that my ego is a cross between Superman and Serpico. Smoke in a nonsmoking area, park in a random, illegal manner, or just walk into the sauna at the gym while wearing shoes (ignoring the sign that clearly states that shoes are not allowed in the sauna), and my ego jumps to attention. Rules are being broken and justice must be done! Theres only one catch: its not my responsibility to dole out justice in these situations. I didnt make the rules. I dont even understand some of the rules. (Why cant you wear shoes in the sauna? Are they going to melt?) And when I see other people ignoring the rules, it truly pisses me off. What it doesnt do, however, is make it my responsibility. Im not an officer of the law. Im not even a mall cop. I dont work at the gym. What other people do, even when its rude, inconsiderate, and in direct violation of the rules, is not my business, because enforcing the rules is not my responsibility. You know what else isnt my responsibility? Other peoples lives. Its not my responsibility to stop my friends or family from making what I know will be stupid, unfortunate, painful choices. Its not my responsibility to take care of anyone but myself. And its not my responsibility to make anyone else happy. And just in case Im being too subtle here, its not your responsibility, either. There are, however, exceptions to this. For example, parents are responsible for their children, at least until those children are
old enough to be responsible for themselves. Much of the time, it will be moot, though. In order for your children to be your business, they need to be your responsibility and you have to be able to influence their behavior. Good luck with that.
Do I Have Any Power or Influence to Change It?

If you encounter a situation that affects you personally right now, and is actually your responsibility, the last thing you need to ask is if you have any power or influence over the situation. Are you able to change, adjust, modify or alter the circumstances in any way? If changing, adjusting, modifying or altering the circumstances requires that you get other people to change their behavior, then the answer is no. Theres nothing you can do to get anyone else to behave the way you would like them to behave.2 If you can accept that you have no power to change anyone elses behavior, youll save yourself a tremendous amount of suffering, and significantly cut down on the amount of time you spend in Victim Consciousness. Once you move out of Victim Consciousness, youll discover that there are other options. Instead of using force to try to control others, which creates a lose/lose scenario, you can use power to create a win/ win scenario, in which everyone is happy. But you can do that only from within My Business.
How to Play Whose Business Is It?

I filmed a pilot episode of the game show Whose Business Is It? that demonstrates how to play the game. Watch it online at http://TheRealAstrology.com/video.
2
If you dont believe me, ask my father.
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The List Exercise

Right Relationship with Saturn and Mars
The List is a Spiritual Practice that develops your accountability muscles. It helps you to stay out of Victim Consciousness and within the boundaries of My Business. You will need a small notebook or day planner for this exercise. At night, before you go to bed, turn to a new page in the notebook, put tomorrows date at the top of the page, and then number the next 10 lines from 1 to 10. You will be making a list of 10 things you intend to do the next day. Number 10 on the list is Make list for the following day. Numbers 1 through 9 are things you would do anyway. Nothing on the list should be any kind of a stretch except for number 10, the commitment to do The List for the next day. The other items might include things like make the bed, eat breakfast, walk the dog, or go to work. Remember, this is not a to do list. At the end of the day, sit down and review each item on your list. If you did what you said you were going to do, check the item off the list and say to yourself, I said I was going to do [item on the list] and I did it. If you did not fulfill your intention, take a moment and acknowledge this to yourself. Say to yourself, I said I was going to do [item on the list], and I didnt do it. Notice how you feel. Resist the urge to blame yourself, or to rationalize why
The List Exercise
you didnt do what you said you were going to do. What matters is that if you set an intention and dont meet it, you acknowledge that fact and hold yourself accountable. It doesnt matter if you do the things on your list or not. What matters is that you hold yourself accountable for either doing or not doing each item on your list. This means that there are absolutely no excuses. For example, say that one of the items on your list is brush my teeth. You wake up in the morning, and on your way to the bathroom, you are suddenly abducted by aliens and taken on a whirlwind tour of the solar system. Your hosts are absolutely charming sentient beings; however, theyre telepathic and they dont have mouths, so theres no toothpaste anywhere on the ship. When they drop you back home a week later, you sit down with your list and say, I said I was going to brush my teeth, and I didnt. Even though what matters is that you hold yourself accountable for your intentions and not that you actually complete every item on the list, the point is to keep the list simple enough that its easy for you to do the things you say you are going to do. Originality does not count. It is perfectly acceptable for you to have the exact same list every day for the entire 30 days. If you notice that you are not completing items on your list, choose different, easier items. As simple as this Spiritual Practice is, it can bring up a tremendous amount of old programming and negative, false beliefs to be healed. Be as gentle with yourself as you can while you develop these core accountability muscles. Notice how and when you are too hard on yourself. Notice how and when you
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find yourself wanting to make excuses and rationalizations. As you allow yourself to be present with these feelings and thoughts, they will begin to dissipate on their own. Again, it does not matter if you complete the items on your list; what matters is that you hold yourself accountable. Keeping the items simple and easy to accomplish provides positive reinforcement, which makes this exercise more pleasant and easier to practice. Not completing most of the items on your list can bring up stories of guilt, blame and failure. Its neither necessary nor supportive for you to bring up these stories at this point. What matters, however, is that you are willing to be present with whatever feelings come up for you around this Spiritual Practice, and then hold yourself accountable for either doing or not doing the things you said you would do. When you begin this process, you will be (metaphorically) working out with 2 pound weights. The challenge is to make sure that you are using correct form so that you target the correct group of muscles. Few people are used to exercising their accountability muscles, so even using only 2 pound weights can result in a great deal of resistance at first. Keep the list simple and do not add any additional weight for at least the first three weeks of this Spiritual Practice. After three weeks of successfully completing every item on your list and holding yourself accountable, you may add one item to the list that is a little more of a stretch. If at any time, you find that you are not accomplishing all of the items on your list, simplify the items on the list again. You may include the other components of your daily Spiritual Practice as items on the list, such as Listen to the Present Moment Awareness Safety Meditation, and Journal.
Troubleshooting The List

For such a simple Spiritual Practice, The List can bring up a remarkable amount of resistance. The List often exemplifies that simple is not the same thing as easy. Some of the most common difficulties with The List are addressed below.
Im forgetting to do The List Exercise.

This is perhaps the most common obstacle during the first 30 days of The List. The entire purpose of The List exercise is to develop your accountability muscles, and if you forget to do The List, its an indication that these muscles are in need of attention. It can be very difficult to hold yourself accountable, especially if youre not used to it. You may find it easier if you enlist the help of a partner to hold you accountable for doing The List exercise. If youre exploring this process on your own, you can ask a friend to hold you accountable for doing The List each day for 30 days. This can be as simple as a daily eMail check-in, confirming that youre on track.
This is too easyI cant be doing it right.

As powerful as this Spiritual Practice is, The List does not have to be a struggle. As long as you are going through the list each night and holding yourself accountable for each item by either saying I said I was going to do this, and I did it, or I said I was going to do this, and I didnt do it, you are doing the exercise perfectly. You can have the same list every day. Remember, its not about reaching goals or accomplishing the items on the list its about setting intentions and holding yourself accountable for the commitments you make to yourself.
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Im not getting everything done on my list.

Remember, this exercise is about accountability. It doesnt matter if you accomplish the items on your list or not. What matters is that you hold yourself accountable for either doing or not doing the things you said you would do. Because the items on the list dont matter, its a far more supportive experience when you make the list items easy and effortless, so that you can check all of them off at the end of the day. This gives you an extra boost of positive reinforcement. While saying I said I was going to do this and I didnt do it, fulfils the objective of developing your accountability muscles, it can also bring up other issues of judgment, guilt and shame, which can create resistance to continuing with the exercise.
1. Eat breakfast 2. Feed cat 3. Go to work 4. Pick up dry cleaning 5. Eat lunch 6. Make dinner 7. Brush teeth 8. Answer emails 9. Take out trash 10. List for August 15th
1. Eat breakfast 2. Feed cat 3. Quit smoking 4. Cure cancer 5. Universal health care 6. Peace in Middle East 7. Brush teeth 8. Go to gym and work out 9. Make my father proud 10. List for August 15th
A Good List
A Not-So-Good List
If youre not getting everything done on your list, simplify your list. Its very common to begin the exercise and find it too easy and then end up sabotaging your success because you add too much weight and make your list too difficult. Its not possible for the list to contain intentions that are too simple, because The List is not a list of goals, chores, or resolutions. Three items on your list every single day can be Eat breakfast, Eat lunch, and Eat dinner. The work of The List isnt doing the things on the list; its being willing to be present with whatever stories and judgments come up for you, while you hold yourself accountable for your intentions. If and only if you have successfully completed The List every day for three consecutive weeks, you can add one heavier item to the listsomething that you know you need to do, but may not look forward to doing. Your accountability muscles can help you to move through your resistance. If you go more than two consecutive days without accomplishing that intention, however, remove it from the list for the time being.
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Present Moment Awareness Safety Meditation
Right Relationship with The Moon & The Sun
Meeting your Safety Present Needs is quite Moment simple, because the Awareness truth is that youre Safety almost always Safe. Meditation Unless youre in a life-threatening situation (such as being stalked by a serial killer or being robbed at gunpoint), you are Safe. All you need to do to experience this is to become aware of it. When you step into Victim Consciousness, you step out of My Business, and either dwell on the past, or worry about the future. The past and the future are none of your business. My Business is the Present Moment. The way to meet your Safety Needs is to become aware of the Present Moment. You do this with the Present Moment Awareness Safety Meditation.
The Present Moment Awareness Safety Meditation

v Stop whatever you are doing, and take a few deep, cleansing breaths. v If possible, find somewhere to sit or lie down, and then let yourself feel supported by the chair, floor, bed, or sofa.
v As you become aware of your body and aware of your breathing, feel your mind begin to quiet. v Gently release your attachments to any thoughts, and simply observe any activity of your mind. v As you observe your thoughts, notice how they naturally, easily and effortlessly seem to circle around, gently spiraling inward until they settle in the Present Moment. v When you are fully present, consider the Truth that right here, right now, in this moment, you are completely Safe. If any thoughts come up, observe them without attachment. They will naturally settle back down into the Present Moment. v Consider the Truth that right here, right now, in this moment, every one of your needs is met. In this moment, you are enough, and you have enough. You are completely, easily and effortlessly supported. v Let your awareness rest on your breath. Let your mind quiet. And for a few moments, simply be. Simply experience what it feels like to be completely Safe and completely supported. You can download six MP3 versions of this guided meditation for free at http://www.TheRealAstrology.com/PMA/.
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Gratitude and Core Values

Right Relationship with Venus
These Spiritual Practices will help you to move into Right Relationship with Venus. For the best results, begin by listening to the Present Moment Awareness Safety Meditation. This will ensure that youre starting from a place where youre safe enough to let yourself feel anything, which in turn makes it easier for you to experience the good feelings.
Gratitude (I Love and Appreciate _______)

This exercise (obviously) targets your gratitude muscles. In this exercise, you will find a minimum of 100 things for which you Gratitude are grateful. You may find (I Love and it helpful to use a strand of prayer beads or a stack of Appreciate . . . ) pennies to help you keep count. As with The List exercise, originality doesnt matter. You may find that you include many of the same things each day. Say I love and appreciate ______ and then fill in the blank. Just let yourself ramble and speak whatever comes to mind. I love and appreciate chocolate. I love and appreciate my cats. I love and appreciate sunshine. The objective is to keep talking continuously. To get the full benefit of this Spiritual Practice, you must speak these affirmations out loud. Saying them to yourself or writing them down will not have the same impact. If you find it
too challenging to come up with 100 statements, work up to it over the course of a few days. You do not need to feel any emotional investment in these statements. You can literally look around the room, identifying each and every object in the room, and say, I love and appreciate this pillow. I love and appreciate this book. I love and appreciate this photo. As you practice this exercise, your heart will begin to open. Its not possible to get up from this exercise feeling worse than you did when you started it.
Core Value Affirmation Meditation

The Core Value Affirmation Meditation is a self-guided meditation experience. You begin by selecting one of the Core Values that you wish Core Value to experience (Abundance, Affirmation Balance, Beauty, Freedom, Meditation Harmony, Joy, Love, Order, Peace, Power, Unity or Wisdom). Sit comfortably, and allow your eyes to close, as you become aware of your breath. As you inhale, think I am As you exhale, think the name of the Core Value. For example, I amFree, I amPowerful, or I amLove. Begin by practicing this for a minimum of 5 minutes, and then gradually work up to 10 to 20 minutes (or longer). Be advisedthis is an extremely advanced and powerful Spiritual Practice. It will immediately bring up everything in your life that appears to embody the lack of the Core Value so it can be healed.
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Tithing
Right Relationship with Jupiter
Tithing is an expression Give 10% to of appreciation and people and places gratitude in the form where you of 10% of your income experience a each month, given to heart connection. the people and places that nourish and feed you spiritually. A tithe does not need to go to the same place each month, and it can be distributed among more than one recipient, so long as the total is 10%. When these two criteria are met the 10% amount and the heart connection to the recipient Tithing is a Spiritual Practice. Tithing is giving from Third Kingdom. Tithing is not charity. Charity is a very noble and worthwhile act. However, charity is giving from Second Kingdom. Charity is given to people and organizations that you perceive as lacking. You give charity when you feel that you have enough (sufficiency), so that you can help those who do not have enough (lack). Charity on its own will not transform your experiences of prosperity. When you give charity, you affirm your own sufficiency, but you are also affirm the illusion of lack. Tithing, on the other hand, is giving from Third Kingdom. Tithing does not come from a place of I have enough; Tithing comes from the Truth that I am infinite! When you tithe, you open the floodgates so that you can claim your infinite abundance and prosperity. Tithing is a Spiritual Practice and it requires a leap of faith. Because Tithing comes from Third Kingdom, it is not possible to
Tithe
understand it logically or rationally. Logic and reason are tools of the Second Kingdom (calibrating in the 400s). Tithing calibrates at 540 and above. The only way to understand the greater Truths of the Third Kingdom (and beyond) is personal experience. It is not possible to work up to a tithe by giving less than 10%. Its more difficult (and not just for the math impaired) to give 5% than it is to give 10%. Consider the consciousness around the belief that you need to work up to a tithe: its deeply rooted in First Kingdom and Victim/Lack Consciousness. If you only give 5%, you are affirming that you do not have enough, and this is the little r reality that the Law of Attraction will create for you. When you only give 5%, you are almost certain to feel financially strapped at the end of the month. When you tithe, however, you are affirming the Truth of your Abundance, and this is what you experience. When you give 10%, you will discover that you have more left over at the end of the month than you expected. This makes absolutely no logical or rational sense, but logic and reason are not powerful enough tools to understand Tithing. If Tithing is new to you, you will need to prepare for it. Spend at least a month practicing the Present Moment Awareness Safety Meditation and the Gratitude (I Love and Appreciate _________) exercises. These Spiritual Practices will develop the necessary spiritual muscles to prepare you to take the leap of faith and begin to tithe. When you do begin to tithe, commit to a minimum of three consecutive months. This is a long enough time for you to have a subjective, personal experience of how Tithing shows up for you. The worst that can happen is that you get a bigger
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tax refund at the end of the year. The best that can happen is that you open yourself to receiving an endless and infinite flow of prosperity in your life. When you sit down to write your tithe checks, dont worry if youre feeling less than grateful. Its common for feelings of fear and lack to come up to be healed when writing a tithe check. Just let the feelings come up and be present with them. As long as youre giving 10%, and its going to people and places that feed you spiritually, you are engaged in the Spiritual Practice of Tithing, and the consciousness of Tithing is significantly more powerful than the vibrations of your fears. If you surrender and allow these feelings to move through you, they will be instantly healed. Bear in mind, though, that you may have a substantial reserve of these lack-based thoughts, so it will probably take more than two or three tithe checks to clear all of them out of your consciousness. However, the longer you stay aligned with the consciousness of Tithing, the less these thoughts will be able to interfere with your ability to be happy.
Afterward
Whats Next?
11 4 Whats Next?
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o now you know all about how to create bulletproof happiness using practical astrology. Theres just one problem: knowing about happiness isnt the same thing as being happy. If you truly want to become happy, you have to do the work. Its not enough to know about the tools, you have to use them. What Ive done for you in this eBook is provide you with a map that will help you to get from wherever you are now to happy. Its up to you what you do with that map. But you dont have to do it alone. Ive created two options for you to choose your next step: you can go wide, or you can go deep. And if youre absolutely dedicated to becoming completely happy, you can do both.
Go Wide with the Online Natal Astrology Class

The Online Natal Astrology Class builds on all of the concepts covered in this eBook, and teaches you how to apply them to any natal chart and any situation in your life. If youve ever tried to learn astrology and failed, this is the class youve been waiting for. Read all about it in Chapter 12.
Go Deep with Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey

Do you feel that somethings missing in your life that you cant define? Its not that theres anything wrong with your life, but you wonder, Is that all there is? Your soul is calling for you to take the Heros Journey and become the hero of your own story. Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey is a unique process that uses practical spirituality to create bulletproof happiness. If youre ready to look deep within yourself to discover the source of your happiness, you might be ready for Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey. Read chapter 13 to find out.
12 4 Online Natal Astrology Class

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Have you tried to learn astrology in the pastand failed? Its not your fault!
Learn why traditional methods of learning astrology flat out dont work, and discover how you can become fluent in the language of astrology in as little as three months!
ow many times have you tried to learn astrology and failed? Its frustrating. You know that astrology can be a powerful tool for insight, transformation and personal growth, and yet no matter how many times you try, you can never quite get a handle on it. If youre like most people, youve got a library full of books on astrology, covering planets, signs, houses, aspects and more, but you still dont know how to interpret a birth chart. You may have attended astrology lectures, workshops and classes, and learned dozens of different techniques, and yet still find yourself at a loss when you have to come up with your own
interpretations. The keywords and phrases that you rely on are too broad and general. No matter how many years youve been studying astrology, you still cant unlock the secrets of the birth chart. But its not your fault. Until now, just about everyone has been approaching astrology in the wrong way. In order to become proficient at astrology, you have to understand that astrology is a language. Becoming fluent in astrology is no different than becoming fluent in a foreign language. Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language? Its not easy. And it doesnt help that most of the books are designed for tourists. You spend your time memorizing phrases like What time does the next train depart? and Could you direct me to the embassy? I have accidentally flushed my passport. What you dont learn is how to construct your own sentences and speak the language like a native. You cant learn a foreign language from books. And you cant learn astrology from books, either.
Why Cant You Learn Astrology from Books?

Chances are, youve got a bookcase filled with astrology books that youve purchased over the years. You may even have read one or two of them. But no matter how may books you buy, none of them are quite what youre looking for. This one is too complicated, but this one is too simple. This one is too general, but this one is too specific. After a while, you begin to feel like Goldilocks. There are, of course, a handful of astrology books that provide extremely valuable information. What they dont do, however, is help you to become fluent in the language of astrology.
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My first book, Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart is widely accepted to be the gold standard of astrology books. Its the most systematic, comprehensive book written (so far) on using classical astrology for birth chart interpretation. Its been used as a textbook at Kepler College, and its been translated into Russian and Bulgarian. Literally thousands of astrologers around the world rely on this book religiously. If you put in the time and effort and work your way through the book, in theory, you would be able to come up with your own synthesized interpretation of a birth chart. In practice, however, theres too much information, and too little practical application. For most people, its just too complicated, and too much effort. The biggest problem with trying to learn astrology (or any language) from books is that becoming fluent in a language requires that you speak the language. To do this, you need live instruction and interaction.
Many people realize this, set aside their books, and seek out an astrology class. Unfortunately, you cant learn astrology from most teachers, either.
Why Cant You Learn Astrology from Most Teachers?

I studied French for five years in school. By the time I graduated, I could read French (and understand most of what I read), but after five years of formal classroom study in a foreign language, I still couldnt have a conversation in French that didnt involve asking for directions to the library. The fact is that traditional methods of teaching language in the classroom flat out dont work. And neither do traditional methods of teaching astrology. Virtually every astrology class you will ever take focuses on vocabulary. You have to memorize tremendous amounts of information about planets, signs, houses and aspects. What you dont learn is how to put them together to form coherent sentences. Instead of learning the grammar and sentence structure and practicing creating your own sentences you memorize phrases and keywords. You think you understand how everything fits together, but when it comes time for you to do your own interpretations, you realize all you can do is ask for directions to the library. A lot of your frustration is a result of how complicated and confusing traditional methods of learning astrology are. But part of your frustration comes from a deeper place. Before you begin to study astrology, you have to know why you want to learn astrology in the first place.
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This seems like such an obvious question, but its not. And if you follow the question back to the source, youll discover something that may surprise you. You dont care about learning astrology. What you really care about is happiness. No matter what it is that you want, the reason why you want it is that you believe that when you get what you want, youll be happy. You want to learn astrology because you believe that understanding astrology will make you happy. Unfortunately, youre wrong. Understanding astrology, at least on its own, will not make you happy. Astrology is a tool. It can help you to get from wherever you are now to happy, but only if you use it. In order for you to be able to use astrology, it has to be practical. Most astrology is impressive, and fascinating, and filled with interesting details and mystical insights, but when you get right down to it, theres nothing you can actually do with that information. You cant actually use it and a tool that you cant use is worthless.
Why Do You Want to Learn Astrology in the First Place?
Bulletproof Happiness through Practical Astrology

Youve spent your entire life searching for happiness. You havent found it, because youve been looking in the wrong place. Youve been searching for happiness in the outside world, and the
happiness you find there is brief and fragile. When conditions change, your happiness disappears. True happiness is completely bulletproof. Its a state of mind that comes from within, and its impervious to changes in the outside world. On some level, you already know that the path to true happiness lies in the Spiritual realm, not the physical realm. In fact, thats what has drawn you to astrology all your life. Its also been the source of your frustration with astrology, because the astrology youve experienced so far does little to create happiness. What youre searching for is a systematic approach that will teach you how to become fluent in the language of astrology, and that doesnt require hours of tedious study and memorization. Youre longing for an approach to astrology that is grounded in tradition, and yet that is spiritual and empowering. You want to know how to look at real life situations and use astrology to come up with detailed, specific, and practical solutions. Youve been searching for this class:
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Forget just about everything you know about astrology. Youve never experienced astrology like this before.
It doesnt matter how much astrology youve studied in the past. I absolutely guarantee that youve never experienced an astrology class like this before. First and foremost, I understand that what you really care about is becoming happy, and everything I teach in the class is designed to help you to do that. Because happiness is the consequence of your level of consciousness, we spend a certain amount of time exploring the nature of consciousness. Youll learn how to work with the Map of Human Consciousness developed by Dr. David R. Hawkins, and the model of the Kingdoms of Consciousness popularized by Rev. Michael Beckwith. Whats unique about this class is that you will learn how to apply the context of consciousness to your astrology interpretations. How you experience a particular planet depends on which Kingdom of Consciousness youre in at the time. When you understand this, it resolves all of the conflicting interpretations youve encountered in the past, and allows you to create precise and accurate interpretations on your own. But most importantly, all that I teach is practical astrology. You will actually use everything you learn in this class to improve your life and become happy.
This system of astrology will make your chart come to life. Almost literally.
Youll be using a new system of astrology that Ive created, called Archetypal Astrology. In this system, the seven personal planets are the Astrological Archetypes and they all live inside you. Mars isnt in the sky, or in your chart. Mars is one of the seven voices in your head. (If you dont believe me, wait until the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, and then say hello to Mars hes the one honking the horn and making the rude hand gestures.) You can move into Right Relationship with each of the Astrological Archetypes with simple Spiritual Practices (thats part of the practical application). When youre in Right Relationship with your planets, all of your needs are met automatically, and your happiness becomes completely bulletproof. Dont worry. The context may be new, but the astrology isnt. In fact, youll be using classical astrology techniques that have been proven for thousands of years. Youll just learn how to apply those classical techniques in a way thats relevant to your life, today.
Heres What Youll Learn in the Online Natal Astrology Class

The Online Natal Astrology class has three 4-week units.
Unit 1: Meet the Planets (Week 1 4)

In Unit 1, you will meet each of the seven Astrological Archetypes. Youll meet the Sun (The Hero), your Big S Self. You encounter the Sun through your Personal Standards of Integrity. Youll meet Saturn (The Judge). Saturn is your judgments and your shadow. Saturn shows up as your Inner Parent.
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The Moon (The Reflection) is in charge of your Safety Needs, as well as your feelings and emotions. The Moon runs your Emotional Guidance System, and is a critical component of your happiness. Mars (The Warrior) is your little s self, and your ego/ body. Mars is how you take action, how you go after the things that you want, and how you experience the energy of anger. Venus (The Beloved), on the other hand, shows you what you truly love and appreciate. You encounter Venus when you align with your Core Values. Mercury (The Storyteller) is in charge of how you experience your little r reality. Everything that you experience as real is simply a story you tell yourself. When you change the words, you change the world. And finally, youll meet Jupiter (The Dreamer). Jupiter is how you grow and expand, and how you advance in consciousness (by expanding the context) to create bulletproof happiness. And heres even more of what youll learn in Unit 1: v Why the only way to create bulletproof happiness is to raise your level of consciousness, and how to use the Map of Consciousness to get from wherever you are now to happy. v How to use the Kingdoms of Consciousness to improve the accuracy of your interpretations dramatically and understand why two people with the same planets express them differently.
v The critical difference between reality and Truth, and why something can be absolutely real without being remotely true (and how things can be true without being real). v Six simple, yet immensely powerful Spiritual Practices that will move you into Right Relationship with the Astrological Archetypes, and help you to create bulletproof happiness. v How to heal old limiting patterns and beliefs by transforming emotions into feelings and releasing them once and for all. v Why maintaining a healthy balance in your Safety Need Account is the single most important step you can take to become completely happy and the only way to do this effectively (and easily). v Why most spiritual seekers have the wrong idea about the ego, and how to transform your relationship with the ego to experience balance and harmony in your life. v The relationship between wants, needs and values, and why most people waste their entire lives focusing on the wrong ones. v How the lack of this one key quality turns imagination (which is creative) into fantasy (which is destructive).
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v Whos the boss? Discover why everything in astrology is about the planets, and learn the correct relationship between planets and signs. (This one rule alone can eliminate over 80% of the confusion most astrology students experience when attempting to interpret charts.) v Understand the essential nature of a sign without memorizing hundreds of keywords simply by looking at the Element and Modality.
Unit 2: Essential Dignities and the Board of Directors (Week 5 8)

Unit 2 introduces you to the heart of Classical Astrology and the secret of detailed, specific, and practical interpretations the Essential Dignities and the Board of Directors. What is unique about this class is that you will learn how to work with the Essential Dignities in the context of the birth chart, in a way that is both current and empowering. I have personally developed this unique approach to working with classical astrology in the birth chart, and you will not find this information anywhere else. Each sign is like a corporation, and the planets that have dignity at a particular degree of that sign make up the Board of Directors. The combined influence of the planets on the Board of Directors determines what, specifically a planet in that sign wants and how it will express. Instead of relying on cookbook interpretations or memorized, generalized keywords to interpret planets in signs, you will be able to identify nuanced, specific details with ease.
More importantly, youll learn how to use these interpretations to help you to become happy. In Unit 2, youll also learn v How to work with the Board of Directors model to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the signs and how they influence how a planet expresses. v The real meaning of Rulership, and why modern astrologys approach has no practical value. v How the houses fit in to interpretations: what they mean, when to use them, and what part they play in the sentence structure and grammar of the language of astrology. v How to incorporate houses into your work with the Board of Directors to answer specific questions with astounding accuracy. v The real Board of Directors: why the Moon in Libra (for example) has almost an infinite range of possible expressions, and how to quickly identify how an individual is most likely to experience it. v How to understand and mediate a Board of Directors meeting to uncover the easiest and most effective solution to any life challenge.
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Unit 3: Synthesized Interpretation (Week 9 12)

Units 1 and 2 provide you with a solid foundation in the language of astrology. Unit 3 introduces additional techniques and elements, always keeping them in the correct context and relationship to the core skills. In Unit 3, you will meet the Outer Planets: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the planetoid, Chiron. The Outer Planets are not Astrological Archetypes; they dont live inside you theyre outside of you. Its not possible to move into Right Relationship with the outer planets; and how you experience them depends on which Kingdom of Consciousness youre in when you experience the inner planets. Youll learn how the Outer Planets integrate in the chart, and how they can affect your ability to move into Right Relationship with the seven Astrological Archetypes. Unit 3 also covers: v Everything you ever wanted to know about Aspects (but were afraid to ask): learn to interpret receptions, mutual receptions, angular aspects, major aspects, and minor aspects. v Other points in the chart: discover how (and when) to work with the Moons Nodes, the Part of Fortune, and the Vertex. v When is an Aspect Pattern not an Aspect Pattern (and how to interpret it if it is).
v Why taking two minutes to create a Dispositor Tree can pay off huge dividends by revealing hidden patterns in the chart. v Career Questions: how to explore the connections between job, money and life path to come up with accurate and practical career guidance. v Relationship Questions: discover the two things that are required for any relationship to be successful, and learn how to create a complete and detailed picture of anyones relationship patterns, needs and desires by exploring the natal chart. v How to use the Chart Interpretation Worksheet to implement everything youve learned and create your own detailed, synthesized, comprehensive and practical interpretations of any birth chart.
As an amateur in astrology I tried to find as many answers to my growing number of questions as possible. This is how I found Kevin B. Burks site TheRealAstrology.com, and later read some of his books. For me, his clear, practical approach to astrology answered many questions and kept my interest agile. Then came his online, live Natal Astrology classes. As I have already followed the first two units, I could briefly confess they surprised me. A nice surprise, though. The classes were not mainly about structured, astrological alphabet; they were a carefully created balance of astrology, life philosophy concepts and the use of all these. To me, attending the classes
Online Natal Astrology Class was one of those life experiences that one enters into with a modest curiosity and comes out of with an unexpectedly weighty gain. The astrology is still all there, but its no more the one who gives the answers, it gives you just enough to find them yourself. I highly recommend the classes to people, who feel ready to shift their life perspective. Dimitrina T., Sofia, Bulgaria
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Visit http://TheRealAstrology.com/NAC for the current class schedule and the most up-to-date information on the Online Natal Astrology Class.
How to Get Started
13 4 Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey

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Are You Living The Life of Your Authentic Self, or Do You Look at Your Life and Ask, Is That All There Is?
Are You the Hero of Your Own Story?
o you feel that theres something missing in your life that you cant define? Theres nothing specific that you want, and yet deep in your soul, you long for more. Your soul is calling for you to embody your power and become the hero of your own story. Its not that theres anything wrong with your life. Theres nothing to fix because nothing seems to be broken. On the whole, youre pretty successful. Youve managed to create a life that is pleasant, stable, and reasonably comfortable. But you look at your life and wonder, Is that all there is? You long for an answer, but first, you need to find the right question.
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The Answer Is Bulletproof Happiness. The Question Is How to Find It.

All your life, youve been searching for happiness. Unfortunately, youve spent most of your life looking for it in the wrong place. When you look for happiness outside of yourself, that happiness is brief and fragile. When conditions change, your happiness disappears. True happiness is completely bulletproof. Its a state of mind that comes from within, and its impervious to changes in the outside world. To become completely happy, you have to turn away from the material world and look to the realm of Spirit. And yet youve been walking a spiritual path for some time, and youre still not completely happy.
Knowing About Spiritual Truth Will Not Make You Happy.

Its probably safe to say that you know a lot about spirituality. You may have a library full of books on spirituality and personal growth. You may have taken classes and workshops, and studied various spiritual disciplines. You may have been an active participant in a number of spiritual communities and philosophies. Theres just one problem: Knowing about something is not the same thing as knowing it. When you know about something, its an abstract, intellectual understanding. When you know something, you embody it fully and experience it on every level. Its the difference between reading a detailed description of an apple and taking a bite of one.
You must bridge the gap between knowing about Spiritual Truth and knowing it.
Knowing about Spiritual Truth will not make you happy. To experience bulletproof happiness, you must know Spiritual Truth. It has to be something that you live and experience on a daily basis. The question is how to accomplish this. You have no interest in abandoning your life and becoming a monk or a hermit. Instead, you decide to find your own path. You begin to apply spiritual principles to your life, and immediately everything falls apart. Youre confronted by your fears and judgments, and youre awash in a sea of painful and uncomfortable feelings. And just when youre the most vulnerable, you see another option a way that you can avoid feeling the pain and jump ahead on your path. But its not an answer. Its an insidious trap known as a spiritual bypass. And if you ever hope to be happy, you must avoid it at all costs.
Spiritual Bypass Ahead: Next Exit, Denial

Knowing so much about spirituality is what makes you vulnerable to spiritual bypass. Because the principles are familiar to you, its easy to believe that you dont have to do the work and feel the feelings. You convince yourself that you have successfully transcended the limitations of ego and miraculously healed all of your old patterns. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you perform a spiritual bypass, you go into denial, and pretend that your pain doesnt exist and for a little while, you feel good. But it requires tremendous effort to maintain this illusion. Instinctively, you know that something
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isnt working (because youre not truly happy), so you go on a desperate search for answers, looking for evidence to prove that you dont have to feel your feelings. You learn even more about spirituality, which only feeds your spiritual ego and drives you even deeper into denial. To get out of this trap, youll need outside help but not the kind you might think. You dont need a guru or a teacher. What you need is a spiritual trainer.
Why You Need a Spiritual Trainer, Not a Spiritual Teacher

The temptation of the spiritual bypass is only one of many reasons why its so difficult to walk a spiritual path on your own. Its infinitely easier to stay on course when you have a guide to support you, and help you navigate the pitfalls. You already know everything you need to know about spirituality. The last thing you need is a teacher or a guru to give you more information and feed your spiritual ego. What you need is a spiritual trainer, someone who can help you to apply what you know about, so you can begin to know it. A spiritual trainer is a lot like an athletic coach. He creates a program of daily Spiritual Practice that develops your core spiritual muscles. What you get is targeted, specific spiritual guidance and coaching that helps you to overcome the unique challenges on your path. But having a spiritual trainer isnt enough. You also need a structured program to follow, which guides you through the process of clearing the obstacles that keep you separated from your ultimate happiness.
Introducing Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey

Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey is a unique process that uses practical spirituality to create bulletproof happiness. Over the course of The Heros Journey Process, you will travel within yourself to meet each of the seven Astrological Archetypes. These guided meditations allow you to gain a personal reference for how these energies show up for you. You will then begin to move into Right Relationship with each archetype through daily Spiritual Practice. You will explore and question your story from the perspective of each of the Astrological Archetypes, and in the process you will reveal the deeper Truth that is hidden within it. As you move from the little s story that keeps you small to the Big S Story that calls you to your greatness, you will experience ever-greater levels of happiness.
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A Systematic, Comprehensive, Structured Program for Total Spiritual Fitness That Guides You Every Step of the Way Along Your Path
During the entire six months of the process, you will have daily assignments, including Spiritual Practices that target your core spiritual muscles, and written homework that guides you to question your story and uncover the hidden Spiritual Truth that lies within it. The 90-page workbook provides instructional support and clearly defines your current objectives based on where you are in the process. Not only will you develop and strengthen all of your core spiritual muscles, but you will also learn how to apply spiritual principles to your life by exploring your story from multiple dimensions and contexts.
How many times have you resolved to make a change in your life and given up because you encountered too much resistance? Its much harder to quit when you have someone holding you accountable, and that alone can make all the difference. But I do much more than hold you accountable. I help you to gain a different perspective on your resistance and what it really represents. The mantra for The Heros Journey Process is, Nothing is about what its about. Shifting the context allows you to move through your resistance, emerging with greater confidence and strength.
Personal Attention, Motivation, Guidance, and Accountability that Help You Overcome Resistance so You Finish What You Start
Designed to Help You Avoid Spiritual Bypass and Discover Your Authentic Self
Because youve never encountered anything like Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey, it immediately rescues you from any past spiritual bypasses. The actual work is focused and experiential, which makes it more difficult for your spiritual ego to engage and pull you off track. That doesnt mean you wont be tempted to try the occasional spiritual bypass. But the minute you step off track, Ill be there to help you return and be present with the obstacle youre hoping to avoid. As you gently dissolve each limiting belief and little s story, your authentic Big S Self emerges.
During The Heros Journey Process You Will

v Discover how to apply spiritual principles to your daily life so you can move from knowing about spirituality to knowing it. v Learn how to question every aspect of your story and your little r reality to uncover the hidden Spiritual Truth. v Move out of Victim Consciousness once and for all, and reclaim your Power. v Identify your Personal Standards of Integrity and begin to embody your authentic Big S Self. v Soften your judgments and experience greater compassion for yourself and others.
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v Repair your Emotional Guidance System and learn to feel Safe for the first time in your life. v Master the energy of Anger, and use it to fuel your creative expression. v Connect with your Core Values and experience greater personal fulfillment and happiness. v Claim authorship of your life and move from the little s story that keeps you small to the Big S Story that calls you to your greatness. v Expand your consciousness and discover the abundant Joy and Freedom that comes from living in a new little r reality. v Build faith in your ability to follow the call of your soul and experience bulletproof happiness.
I truly was not the same person at the end of the process that I was at the beginning and it was a lovely surprise.
The biggest obstacle for me was the money its a big investment to begin this process. And I was also concerned about how much time Id have to invest. But this process changed my life. I truly was not the same person at the end of the process that I was at the beginning. And there was no way no way that I could have envisioned who the new me
124 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology was going to be. It just would have been impossible. And it was a lovely surprise. What I got out of The Heros Journey Process was a completely different outlook on life. I had a new appreciation for my potential and my possibilities. This process gave me a path to change. The first few sessions were not easy, because I had to confront parts of myself that I didnt know existed. These were parts of me that were difficult to come to terms with, and yet it was essential that I came to terms with them in order to truly change. I think my favorite part of the process was the talks with Kevin, and the way that he would explain things in depth. Ive read all sorts of self-help books. Ive been studying metaphysics many different tracks for many, many, years, but this process really worked for me. It was the personal attention and interaction with Kevin, and the support materials that he developed. I would definitely recommend this experience. My advice is, Just do it! Youll be happy, and youll be blessed. Sara from California
Fewer Than One in a Million Are Ready for the Challenge

Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey is not for everyone. In fact, its not for most people. Its not even for most people on a spiritual path. Very few people are willing to do what is required to become truly happy. There are three main reasons why so few people are ready for the challenge of The Heros Journey Process:
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1. You Will Be Profoundly Uncomfortable During the Entire Process

You already understand that your life doesnt work for you, but the moment you begin Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey, you will become acutely aware of how much it doesnt work. As you discover your Personal Standards of Integrity, you will have to accept all of the situations in your life where youre out of integrity. From the very beginning of The Heros Journey Process, you will be profoundly uncomfortable, and this discomfort will not let up until after youve completed the entire process. This is critical, because the only way that you can grow and change is to step outside of whats comfortable and familiar. What makes The Heros Journey Process so powerful and effective is that its designed to keep you in that sweet spot where youre uncomfortable enough to do whatever you have to in order to grow, but youre not so uncomfortable that you shut down and give up.
2. It Will Be the Single Most Difficult Thing Youve Ever Attempted in Your Life
Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey will challenge you in ways that you cant begin to imagine. Nothing youve experienced so far in your life can prepare you for this process. You will have to face your greatest fears, and encounter the parts of yourself that you would rather pretend dont exist. And not only will you have to be willing to feel the painful and uncomfortable feelings that youve spent your life avoiding, youll also have to be willing to stay present with those feelings for extended periods of time.
Remember that you will be guided and supported every step of the way on this journey, and as uncomfortable as you will be, youll never be given more than you can handle. But you will struggle with this process from beginning to end, because thats whats required in order to grow.
3. It Involves a Significant Investment of Time, Energy and Money

Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey is a big investment. First of all, you need to be prepared to spend about 45 to 60 minutes every day on the various assignments. But more than that, because you will be living out The Heros Journey Process in your life, your daily life will require more energy and attention than youre used to. And then theres the money. In light of what you get, the investment is quite reasonable (usually around $300 a month for six months), but its still a considerable expense for most people. The real question is: how much is happiness worth to you? But dont get too concerned about the money. When youre truly ready to begin this process, the finances wont be an issue for you.
I trusted my intuition that I was led to this but I was still afraid because I didnt know whats there. I didnt know where we were going to go.
In the past, Ive had experiences where Ive put money into programs and didnt get the benefits I was looking for, but that concern was insignificant compared to the fear the
Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey fear of going there. What happens if we go there and theres nothing there? Or what happens if we go there and theres something insurmountable? I trusted my intuition that I was led to this I was called to this but I was still afraid because I didnt know whats there. I didnt know where we were going to go. You know how once you complete an experience you kind of forget how hard it was? I havent forgotten how hard The Heros Journey Process was. And yet, the actual work of it was kind of a distraction for me. The homework and the reading, and the steps that we were taking, and the process, in a way, were a distraction to keep me there, in that place that I knew contained the truth that I needed, but where I was afraid to go. But the confidence that I had in Kevin and how he had organized everything gave me the feeling of safety that I needed. As much as at times I wish this werent true, I accept that there will always be those cycles of grasping, the cycles of wanting to bolt, the cycles of staying. But the practice of staying with it, thats part of being alive and being present. And the I hate to call them tools that Kevin gave me the gifts, the lessons that Kevin gave me during this journey equipped me to be okay with that. The difficult times are still very difficult for me. But Im not running away like I used to. I would recommend this process to anyone that is looking for what I was looking for anyone who has questions like Id had for so long, that I thought I would never, ever find any light to them. People would say, Theres nothing wrong with you, and Id go, Oh, thank you, thats great. It wasnt
127
128 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology that Kevin said, Heres whats wrong with you, he said, Heres why youre asking that question. So for anyone that is struggling with being able to see, with being able to open his or her eyes to the light that is there but cannot be seen, Kevins work is amazing. Im not sure everybody would be up to the task, though. I would be very up front about telling anyone considering this process that youre going to go deep really deep for a long time. And you will be forever thankful for it. Judite from California
No one wants to do The Heros Journey Process. You do it because you no longer have a choice. The prospect of living out the rest of your life as it is now, is too uncomfortable to consider any more. Anais Nins poem, Risk, describes it best:
And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
So, The Heros Journey is Uncomfortable, Difficult, Time-Consuming and Expensive. Why Would Anyone Want to Do It?
When that day comes for you, youre ready to embark on The Heros Journey Process.
What Does The Heros Journey Process Look Like?

Youll have a total of twelve 90-minute consultations with me, scheduled every other week. After each session, youll
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receive the next chapter in the workbook, which includes your homework for the next two weeks. You must complete the written homework and email it back to me no later than one week before your next scheduled session. In the meantime, youll have daily Spiritual Practices that you will follow. These always include a reading assignment from Transcending the Levels of Consciousness by Dr. David R. Hawkins, M.D., and usually include a period of contemplation or meditation, and about 10 to 15 minutes of writing in your journal. Youll also be doing The List exercise for the duration of The Heros Journey Process. In addition, you will learn (and practice) specific Spiritual Practices that relate to the particular Astrological Archetype youre working with at the time. The Heros Journey Process is divided into two parts. The first half of the Heros Journey is designed to help you to move out of Victim Consciousness, develop your accountability muscles, and learn how to feel truly Safe. At the end of the sixth session, well do an evaluation and see where you are in your journey. Before you embark on the second half of the journey, its critical that youve developed the ability to feel uncomfortable without being unsafe. If youre ready to continue with the second, more challenging part of the journey, we will. Otherwise, I may recommend taking a break for a period of time while you integrate what youve learned so far, and continue to develop your core spiritual muscles. The journey is what matters, not the destination. It doesnt matter how long it takes you to complete the process, or even if you complete the process at all. As long as you do the work, and are willing to stay present with it, you will experience profound
transformation, and become significantly happier than you are right now.
I got further in 6 months with this program than I did in 30 years of psychotherapy.
I have been a member of a faith community for over 35 years. Id read all kinds of religious, spiritual, and selfhelp books, tried many different things, and learned much. I was committed to figuring out how to make my life work, but I couldnt quite pull it together. After reading some of Kevins books I was convinced that the Heros Journey was the key Id been looking for. The only stumbling block for me at the beginning was the cost not because its too much, its worth every penny and then some but my level of consciousness at the beginning made it a bit of a challenge. Im so glad that I did it. The Heros Journey Process was the absolute best investment Ive ever made in myself. I got further in 6 months with this program than I did in 30 years of psychotherapy. The most important thing that I got out of the Heros Journey Process is a functioning Emotional Guidance System. I learned what it takes to be Safe and happy. Life makes sense to me for the first time, and I can do many things now that I was too fearful to even consider before. I can intellectualize things from here to eternity, but, it doesnt matter what you know; what matters is what you do and what you are. I learned daily practices to feel Safe, I learned how to stay present, and with a functioning Emotional Guidance System Im able to identify and choose what makes me happy.
Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey What I like the most about the Heros Journey Process is its absolute practicality. It pulls together all of the other stuff that youve ever learned about spirituality or about being happy and shows you how to apply it to your actual life right now. Kasandra from Illinois
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I Think Im Ready. Whats the Next Step?

There are two very important steps to take before you can begin The Heros Journey Process. First, you must purchase and watch the Introduction to Archetypal Astrology: The Heros Journey DVD. This DVD gives you a detailed introduction to The Heros Journey Process, explains the context of consciousness, introduces you to each of the Astrological Archetypes, and illustrates the fundamental Spiritual Practices that youll be following over the course of the program. Once youve watched the DVD, you then need to order a copy of Transcending the Levels of Consciousness by Dr. David R. Hawkins, and schedule a 90-minute consultation with me that will serve as a Spiritual Fitness Evaluation. Ill get to know you, and get a feel for where you are on your spiritual path, and at the end of the consultation, Ill make some recommendations as to how I can best support you in taking your next spiritual step. Generally, Ill make one of three recommendations. I may assign some homework in the form of Spiritual Practices, and schedule a follow-up consultation to see how you progress. I may recommend a less strenuous Spiritual Training Package where we would work together for six sessions over the
course of three months, developing your core spiritual muscles without the added intensity of The Heros Journey Process. And finally, I may give you the go-ahead to begin the first half of The Heros Journey Process. And remember, at the end of the first half, I do another evaluation to see if youre ready to continue with the second, more challenging half of the process. Visit http://TheRealAstrology.com/HERO to get started!
About the Author

evin B. Burk has been helping people around the world to improve their lives and relationships since 1996 through his astrological counseling and relationship coaching practice. His humor, wisdom and compassion are always present in his books (ten so far, including Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart and The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and Improve Every Relationship in Your Life), his classes and workshops, and his interactions with his clients and students. Kevins focus is always on the practical, exploring how we can actually use astrology and spiritual practice on a daily basis to transform our lives. In the astrology world, Kevin is best known for making Classical Astrology accessible to everyone, taking complex and abstract concepts and showing how they can be used to create concrete, specific, and practical interpretations. Kevins astrology website, The Real Astrology with Kevin B. Burk (www.TheRealAstrology.com), is one of the premiere astrology resources on the Internet, hosting well over 2,000,000 visitors since its launch in 1996. His first book, Astrology: Understanding the
Birth Chart (Llewellyn, 2001) was used as a textbook at Kepler University in its Undergraduate Astrology Degree program, has been translated into Russian, and is currently being translated into Bulgarian. Kevins articles have appeared in The Mountain Astrologer, the Australian publication Well Being Astrology, and in Llewellyns Moon Sign annuals. His Ask Kevin video clips have a loyal and growing following on YouTube and Facebook. In the nonastrology world, Kevin is best known for his revolutionary approach to understanding and improving all human relationships through The Relationship Handbook and The Relationship Workshops. In 2012, Kevin began offering astrology classes online, under the banner of Learn to Speak Astrology* (*despite years of lessons). As with everything Kevin offers, these classes teach how to use practical astrology to create bulletproof happiness. Kevin can be reached at Kevin@TheRealAstrology.com or by phone at 619-807-2473.
http://Facebook.com/RealAstrology
http://Facebook.com/SpeakAstrology
2012 Kevin B. Burk. All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without the explicit permission of the author.

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1 The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness

The Kryptonite Conundrum

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Where Does Happiness Live?

Why You Dont Know What True Happiness Is Yet

The Secret of Bulletproof Happiness

Happiness: How Do You Get There From Here?

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

34 The Context of Consciousness

The Kingdoms of Consciousness

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Figure 1: Kingdoms of Consciousness

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

The Nature of Reality

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Big R Reality: Everything in the World

little r reality: everything in your world

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

The Science of Truth

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

540 Joy (Unconditional Love)

310 Willingness 250 Neutrality

Integrity Falsehood First Kingdom

Figure 3: Combined Map of Consciousness

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Power vs. Force

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Victim Consciousness/Lack Consciousness uses force, and will always be counter-productive.

What Consciousness Has to Do with Happiness

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

What Astrology Has to Do With Consciousness

How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

44 Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

The Planets in the Kingdoms of Consciousness

28 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

The Sun: The Hero

30 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

The Sun in First Kingdom

The Sun in Second Kingdom

The Sun in Third Kingdom

Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

The Sun in Fourth Kingdom

32 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Saturn: The Judge

Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

Saturn in First Kingdom

Saturn in Second Kingdom

Saturn in Third Kingdom

34 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

The Moon: The Reflection

36 How to Create Bulletproof Happiness Using Practical Astrology

The Moon in First Kingdom