Yoga On & Off the Mat

Divine Connections: Astrology and Yoga

By Brooke Hewes, 11-02-07

	BELOW: Astrological Chart painted by Deb Clow.

Yoga and astrology are both ancient traditions practiced popularly across the globe. Yoga — sometimes called a philosophy, sometimes a science — offers several paths toward Enlightenment (samahdi), the Universal Consciousness. Astrology — sometimes called an art, sometimes a science — is concerned with how celestial bodies (stars, planets, constellations) affect human beings. Yoga is Bhakti , Hatha, Jnana, and among others Purna.  Astrology is Vedic, Chinese, Western or Evolutionary. And in their different forms, yoga and astrology each offer insight into the nature of suffering as well as ways to see (and live) beyond it.

Most interesting, however, is how these traditions — as Missoula astrologer Deb Clow so succinctly puts it — “are doing work shoulder to shoulder.”

Beyond Astronomy
Astrology is not to be confused with astronomy. Relatively speaking, astronomy is a tangible science. It is the study of the celestial objects and phenomena beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Astrology takes this information and integrates human life. Astrology, says Deb, deals with the “mystery within science” that astronomy steers clear of.

“An astrologer understands that everything is made of energy,” she says. “Planets are made of energy and emit energy. We can calculate some of that energy, but not all of it. We can’t scientifically calculate the intensity or feeling or energy moving between people … We can’t scientifically measure how the essence of your body interacts with the street when you walk on it, with bread when you eat it, with other beings.”

It is this less tangible energy — “the mystery” — that intrigues astrologers and presumably the masses who have consulted them since the beginning of western civilization. It is about the planets (big balls of energy) and how they affect humans (substantially smaller balls of energy).

Looking Inward With Your Natal Chart
Last fall Deb read my natal chart. For three hours, I listened and took notes frantically as this then-stranger told me about me. My dreams, my aspirations, my challenges, my struggles — they were all right there on paper. Of course I couldn’t see that—the science and precision of Astrology is no simple matter; but from Deb’s words, I immediately trusted that my life was a a reflection of the multi-colored, oddly-shaped symbols of my chart.

Astrology is a holistic discipline. It begins by looking at one’s natal chart, which is a celestial snapshot of a person when they are born. From this picture, an astrologer can see karma, actions from past lives, manifest in people’s current life. They can see hurdles as well as specific ways to navigating around them.

Deb calls one’s natal chart their “cosmic map.” It is the “spiritual seed” that shows us how we may evolve in this lifetime: “It leads us toward an understanding of both where our greatest strengths lie and of where we might stumble or become confused.”

On paper, these charts appear static; they are stationary drawings that consist of iconic suns and moons, Saturns and Jupiters, nodes and many connecting lines. Despite the fixed imagery, however, the information they contain is not absolute. Ultimately, a person controls how these intricate arrangements affect and support (or hinder) their spiritual growth. Deb practices Evolutionary Astrology because she believes in free will—in the human capacity to make choices.

“[The] choices we make minute by minute are driven by our ability to be brave or not, by whether we’ve chosen to be awake or to stay asleep at the wheel,” she says. “The astrological chart simply points us toward the nature or character of our journey and then asks that we bravely navigate toward experiences which will nourish our highest intent. With each breath we choose [or not] to work toward our highest potential as a vessel for divine energy. So many of us choose to remain numb to the energetic potential within us. It takes tremendous courage to manifest the divine potential we carry.”

Likewise, according to the Vedic Astrology site Shivayoga.com, astrology “studies a man’s inborn predilections and inherited dispositions, but goes further to say that a man is not captive to these … Rather, it indicates the ways and the methods of breaking this prison and securing his own liberation.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t read “breaking this prison and securing his own liberation” without thinking about yoga. Liberation is Enlightenment, the fruit of Yoga. As the Hindu god Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “when the restlessness of the mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of yoga, the yogi … within himself finds fulfillment.” Or, as New Zealand-based, nationally-renowned yoga teacher Donna Farhi writes in Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit, “yoga is a way of living that makes real happiness possible.” It is not wonder, then, that astrology and yoga have complemented one another in India since their inception some 3,500 years ago in the Vedas.

In fact, Vedic astrologers not only look for the sun, moon and other planets in the cosmos, but also in the human body. Each planet has a corresponding, corporeal entity. Symbolically and energetically, then, it is possible to manipulate the influences of the universe through the physical body. With yoga one can rise above the influences of astrology: “a yogi who has risen above the realm of space and time is above planetary influence; such a yogi is beyond diction by Astrology. No Astrologer can predict his future because he is in tune with the Infinite which is itself the master of the planets.” (Shivayoga.com)

Enlightenment through yoga, then, is a way of springing from suffering to joy despite planetary pulls otherwise.

Oh, the Possibilities …
Deb says that many astrologers are interested in predicting the future. From an evolutionary astrology standpoint, however, she says that you can’t really predict what is going to happen. Instead, it is about potential. It is about looking at the past and the present and navigating the possibilities.

“Each person has their own path and it’s my job to help them figure out what that is,” she says. “It’s not my job to tell that what to do [or what will happen]. I say here’s the potential in you. How do you want to explore that?”

And where there are possibilities, there is yoga. (I bet you saw that one coming.)

“This body, this matter, will die when we are done,” says Deb. “It is a tool for our soul. And yoga helps to clear the tool so that divine energy can shine through.”

Astrology finds the blocks. Yoga clears the blocks. And then, together, astrology and yoga help a practitioner realize why they are clearing the blocks in the first place.

“Astrology also addresses the point of clearing it out. You ask, ‘why this vessel this time?’ and then you look at the planets,” she says. “Astrology says that in each chart you see an energetic map of the soul,” says Deb. “And from there, you can answer questions like ‘why am I here?’”

After hours of continuous nodding to Deb’s words, I gathered up my tapes (she records the entire session), said goodbye and slipped out the door. On my way home I felt different. I felt elated. In fact, I was floating, flying high, while somehow still grounded. I felt as if the world and my place in it made sense. My emotions, my drive, my fears and hesitations were all authentically me; challenges and hardship were not meant to be shooed or wished away, but accepted, worked with, and in certain instances moved beyond. My world made sense. I made sense. Clear and conscious, it felt something like lying in savasana following a fluid asana practice. Yep, the reading’s resonance was something similar to like yoga. 

For more information about Deb Clow and her astrology and painting business in Missoula, visit Love Dog Design.

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