Michael Sternbach

Rare enough... The Korean martial art Hwa Rang Do. Traditional training in this art includes all kinds of skills: Strikes, kicks, throws, locks, a variety of weapons techniques but also knowledge of healing arts. Something like a Korean equivalent of Shaolin or Ninjutsu. Of course, all the high kicks and jumps in this choreographed show have not much to do with realistic self-defence - but the performers' artistic skills are awesome. Enjoy!

Regarding the good/bad thing... Once upon a time in the Wild West, there lived a ranger whose horses all ran away one day. His family and employees were totally out of their mind, complaining about how unfortunate they all were. The rangers only comment was: "Maybe." (He was not a man of many words.) They went looking for the horses and soon found them together with a group of wild horses they had joined. It was not difficult to gather them all, and all of a sudden, the range had twice as many horses! Everybody was excited and praising the good luck they had. The ranger's only comment was: "Maybe." Alas, while breaking in the wild horses, the ranger's son (let's call him Joe) fell from a horseback and fractured a leg. Once again, everybody was lamenting... Not only did they pity the young man, what was worse, they had to take over his share of work on the range! The ranger heard how "unlucky" they all were. His reply was - guess what? "Maybe." (Obviously, he was a daoist.) Soon after, two cavalry officers came to the range: They said that war had started and all the young men up to a certain age were to be recruited, including Joe. But seeing his broken leg, all they could do was to throw up their hands and ride off. Soon, everybody was talking about how fortunate Joe actually was to have broken his leg. The ranger only said: "Maybe."

Agreed. But a sound ego is often necessary in order not to be swayed by detrimental outer and inner influences.

How about this one... http://yamaorce.deviantart.com/art/JP-Fortune-Teller-378983618 I get a feeling that, once again, they just didn't understand what you were saying. Got ya - but do you know somebody actually suggesting this kind of scheme? They are indeed, in my observation. As far as the explanation is concerned - frankly, I like my own better. Well, the same question could be raised for the signs, of course. Is somebody born right before the Sun entering a new sign already manifesting that new sign's traits? Or are they straddling both signs, to a certain extent? It's getting debated even more in regard of the houses... Does a planet standing a few degrees before a cusp already belong to that house? Many astrologers assume this to be true. But is five minutes before midnight quite the same as five minutes after? Just asking questions, not saying anything for certain here... Oh yes, we do have an audience! Unless it's you who keeps calling up this thread and makes the views count skyrocket...

Not always! Watch from 2:30 on and see for yourself...

I also distilled such natural/intuitive principles out of a number of different martial arts styles that I studied (and in some cases, just carefully watched for reasons of analysis). Yes, Raul is quite adept at applying a number of them. Only, I have a problem with the "hit 'em ten times in less than a second" approach. As there is always a trade-off between speed and power. Also, going to the ground applying an arm-lock is a "no, no" in a realistic scenario, imo. For two reasons: Where do you go from there? Even though it may be nice to have the adversary momentarily secured this way, what is not so nice is his buddies stomping your head into the pavement meanwhile. When I was into Aikido (while practising Shotokan at the same time), I once asked a senior about kicks. He answered, they wouldn't need to know how to kick in Aikido as they only train defences against kicks (on the advanced levels). I asked him how they could tell that the defences worked, if the attacks didn't? I can't recall his answer (safe to say, it was not really worth remembering). In fairness, it was not so much Gichin Funakoshi who turned Shotokan into a sport but his son Gigo, together with other seniors. The old man was actually quite shocked about some of the changes. Certainly, Funakoshi Gichin's Karate-do Kyohan is pretty much old style Okinawan Karate - which made most of it quite unintelligible to me as long as I only knew JKA style - most of their highly decorated masters obviously have no idea about the real kata bunkai. Parallel developments can be seen in other styles/martial arts as well, such as in the transition from Okinawan Goju-ryu to its Japanese variant, from Old Yang style Taiji to modern Yang style etc. However, people like George Dillman, Evan Pantazi, George Alexander, Erle Montaigue and others help to bring back what has been thrown out previously. I consider this an evolutionary step in martial arts, and it's very intriguing to see.

I thought it to be "funny" because it's hard to associate somebody with your obvious earnestness and knowledge with a fortune teller on a funfair (well, some kind of market, anyway) - if for no other reason than probably getting asked all kinds of questions that make you go "oh, my nothing!" (but you need to keep it inside). Perhaps one of the reasons why you are glad that you don't do this no more? No, but thanks for the idea! A series from 1 to 9 is more intuitive to me, a new cycle starting with 10 (= 1). Or in other words, Malkuth connecting with Kether. It's "usual position" in what system? You're welcome. I wrote this off the top of my head. If you have any that make more sense, make sure you let me know. No, no, don't do it!!! - Surely I and other readers of this thread would like to hear your insights. :D

Not everything presented as Dim Mak or Kyusho-jitsu is BS. The following is a compilation from one of Evan Pantazi's DVDs. Here he interprets the classical martial arts text Bubishi.

That's funny - did you have to wear a turban? When I was working with patients in a psychiatric practice during six years back in the 90s, besides using Bach Flower Remedies and astrology, I was occasionally doing card readings as well. (No, I was not wearing a turban.) I was using the cards rather for psychological analysis than for prognostic purposes. Even though they would often hint at future potentials or probabilities in the course of this. But some of the things they seemed to prognosticate did not come to pass. "Always moving the future is." Yoda I find Book T constantly mentioned in connection with the Thoth Tarot. Worth taking a really close look at... Nicely said. A handbook which includes numerology, astrology, the kabbalah, alchemy, magic, various mythologies... Did I leave something out? Probably. Do you mean, why the areas ruled by the Court Cards are shifted relative to the signs? Graph from Raven's excellent website http://www.corax.com/tarot/ My thoughts on this: As you certainly know, among the Suit Cards, the Aces are not assigned to the decans - however, the cards numbered 2 to 10 are. Although the Suit changes with the sign, the count simply continues. However, the 10s take the place of the Aces here because esoterically we consider 10 = 1 + 0 = 1. So to have a series of consecutive numbers you must reckon: 10 (aka 1) - 2 - 3, straddling two signs, but all three together ruled by the same Court Card; 4 - 5 - 6 by the next CC; 7 - 8 - 9 by the third CC; then the order repeats itself starting with the next 10 which coincides with the last decan of a sign again. So the reason is numerical. Hope this is intelligible. Interesting that in the decan system, the Chaldean order starts with Leo. Do you agree that the zodiac underlying the Suit and Court Cards is Tropical? Raven presupposes this, anyway.

I fell in love with the Thoth Tarot in 1988 and this was pretty much my initiation into the Occidental esoteric traditions which it refers to in so many ways. I didn't really look at it much for a long time any more, however, as there were so many other things coming my way. Until very recently - not least inspired by our conversation here regarding the GD. Do you study these cards, too?

Interesting... On Skyscript, I wrote some time ago: This was in reference to the Sun being positioned at 15° Leo in the domicile scheme shown above, of course. The replies I got from two other astrologers were: And: To which I answered: However, it looks like even the GD was using the Tropical zodiac at least additionally. For example, in the Crowley-Thoth Tarot deck, the Court Cards (other than the Princesses) are linked to the area from 10° of one sign to 10° of the next. I first thought this might have something to do with a Sidereal zodiac and ayanamsa, in some way, but it seems like it simply refers to the Tropical system, really.

ViscountValmont, As we have privately agreed, I'm pleased to present your natal chart here. Yes, there are obvious similarities with Cayce's chart - even though among the more personal planets, not only Venus but also Mars is in a different sign. On the other hand, there are parallels revealed only by a somewhat closer look such as a prevalence of trines, squares and conjunctions. All the planets except the Moon are under the horizon which means that the internal life is strongly emphasized. Mercury in Pisces in close conjunction with the Sun supports the subjective outlook. They're in the fifth house which stands (among other things) for creativity; this combination speaks for vivid imagination and dreams expressed in art. Cinematography would be a good match, but of course there are many possibilities for this configuration to be manifested. The squares to Uranus in Sagittarius will provide inspiration but could contribute to a lack of focus, occasionally. However, Saturn's trines balance this, providing structure and stability. Saturn is retrograde in Scorpio, so he is ever on guard to keep subconscious forces from overwhelming the conscious personality. Jupiter and Neptune, the two rulers of Pisces, being in Capricorn underlines the Saturnian stronghold. (We see parallels in Cayce's chart where Saturn is linked to the Sun by conjunction, and Jupiter is in Capricorn, too. Moreover, Jupiter is connected with Neptune in another Earth sign by trine.) Their placement in the 3rd house stands for the pursuit of vast esoteric/spiritual knowledge. The Ascending Node in Gemini and the 8th house (things occult) reflect this on yet another level. Pluto and Mars in their domicile Scorpio in the 1st house speak for an assertive personality. Saturn in conjunction with Mars gives endurance and self-discipline and helps to keep Mars from overacting. Some kind of martial arts training, likely of the internal variety, would seem to be a good idea. Most of the personal planets in the Western hemisphere along with Libra rising make for an orientation towards others - perhaps not to the extent we see in Cayce, but notably enough. Especially the Taurus Moon in the 7th house supports this, seeking stability and reliability in close relationships. This may be at odds with the Moon's dispositor Venus in Aquarius - albeit the quintile (not shown) between the two should offset this to some degree. Nonetheless, there could well be some noted conflict between the desire for harmonious togetherness as opposed to the urge for freedom and individualism. The squares between Venus and Mars/Saturn are suggesting this, too. Pluto in close opposition to the Moon can lead to emotional upheavals in this context, likely biographically founded in the relationship to the mother. A certain need for balance here. In a nutshell, I see you as a strongly individualistic and but structured personality with pronounced esoteric and aesthetic inclinations. As I know virtually nothing about you, I'm looking forward to your feedback. Michael

Nungali, Even though the Golden Dawn was seeing Leo as the beginning of the zodiac, I don't think they set Regulus at 0° of it. According to a remark I read somewhere, they thought he is at 5° Leo. I have met a Sidereal astrologer in virtual space who sets him at about 6° Leo. I guess that 0° Leo would lead to an ayanamsa that doesn't look quite right, overall.

i have a canadian friend who only uses lower case letters. but i think he's just feeling too driven when he's writing to bother with hitting the shift key. (he's an aries sun sign.)

I recommend Ubuntu to those of you who don't need and/or don't like Windows. Or have both systems installed.

The earliest source for this system that I could find is Teucer of Babylon who presumably lived in the 1st Century AD. https://beyondtheheaven.wordpress.com/tag/decans/

Much of what we consider magical or mystical could potentially be understood as science. But that's only the outlook of the rationalistic left hemisphere of the brain (Yang). If you make an absolute out of it, well, that's the left hemisphere claiming all the credit for itself. This is basically the stand taken by many modern scientists; they dream of finding a TOE (Theory Of Everything) soon. Despite the fact that they can't explain what about 90% of the universe is made of. But surely, it's only a matter of building an even bigger particle accelerator, or an even stronger space telescope... Contrary to this, I believe that the more we understand, the more new questions will be raised, and the more will the mystery deepen. Will there ever be an end to it? Maybe not. Maybe even the most evolved entities don't have all the answers. Except that consciousness which abides in Infinity... The more we learn, the more we will stand in awe in front of the mysteries of creation. And that's the perspective of the mystical right hemisphere of the brain (Yin). In other words: As mysticism becomes more scientific, science becomes more mystical.

Songtsan, The best advice I have to offer you is to take a Bach Flower Remedies combination containing: Cerato - Enhances the contact with your intuition (the teacher within) Wild Oat - Helps to seek out the way that suits you best (out of several options) Rock Water - Allows you to relax and let the things you need for your further development simply happen Vervain - Helps to use your raciness in constructive ways That's my two cents.

I don't believe in this kind of perfection. It's just another egotistical pitfall. It seems there are again two different schools of thinking here, in most basic terms. One seeking a "higher" state away from the physical. The other upholding that we must go into this world and transmute it. Let the physical and the spiritual merge into one. This is in fact the stand taken by Alchemy and by Taoism, in my understanding.

Neither do I. I know one astrologer who is using one of the Sidereal zodiacs and says that it's in fact identical with the Tropical zodiac; she thinks that the Tropicalists got it all wrong, what they see as characteristic of Aries would really belong to (Sidereal) Pisces etc. Neptune, the Piscean planet, was as a deity causing violent storms in mythology, that's why he is a good match for Tropical Aries (normally the domicile of ferocious Mars), and so on. I told her (on another forum) that, imo, she is twisting what's real like a pretzel - she did feel quite insulted. It lead to a hot debate, and my Cayce example above is actually a revised version of one of my replies to her. I have met another astrologer in virtual space who opts for the reverse: Using Sidereal signs but assigning them the Tropical dignities, so Sidereal Pisces is ruled by Mars which normally belongs to Aries etc. "Can't you see, this is a land of confusion..." Not really worth going into this kind of balancing act further. Ah, caught in the act! But it's actually what I honestly feel from you. Not meant to deny that "internally" you may be a quicksilver Gemini Sun sign, though. Aha, that's what you mean... Yes, Draco constellation is at the pole of the ecliptic which of course is the orbit of the Earth around the Sun if looked at heliocentrically. It's also what the Earth axis revolves around due to precession (besides the stars' proper motion), so that the pole stars rotate over long time periods. Right now Alpha Ursae Minoris is the closest bright star to the North Pole and will be there precisely around the year 2100 which I see as an important marker for the commencement of the New Age. However, Gamma Cephei will take its place by the year 3000, Iota Cephei around 5200, and Deneb in 10'000 AD. But the North pole of the ecliptic (a.k.a. zodiac) permanently coincides with the Cat's Eye Nebula in Draco which carries the number NGC 6543 - note the four consecutive numbers! Astronomically, it has other remarkable traits as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Eye_Nebula Interesting, isn't it? Blavatsky said that once Leo was considered the first sign rather than Aries which is actually in accordance with the Greek star catalogues I mentioned above. This makes sense to me insofar these three planets are considered the most personal ones in astrology (besides the Luminaries which are not really planets, of course). Good boy. (Edit: Assuming that you're a male.) Great spiritual masters advice us to only assimilate what holds true according to our own intuition and experience.

Moreover, in the interest of integration and individuation, it's helpful to find activities that offer common ground for various partial selves. For example, martial arts appeal to the part of me that enjoys physical activities as well as to the part that likes to meditate; to the healer as well as to the warrior within me.

Hi Josama, Interesting query... I would say, key is that you develop an awareness of your various sub-personalities. Many spiritually oriented people are inclined to look down at some of them and try to neglect them, but this way, what they achieve at best (or worst) is to push them deeper into the subconscious realm. They will come back, however; they may try to get your attention in your dreams, or surface in hardly controllable behaviour, physical symptoms, or via other people in your life. That's because they're all part of yourself, and they have good reasons for being. I feel that you are already on the right track, in light of your post. By developing greater awareness of your partial personalities, you may learn to give them the room they need; you will go into them as required but won't be swayed by them as easily - that is, you will be better able to stay in touch with your SELF. In a way like an actor, identifying with what they are expressing while keeping an awareness that it is a role they're playing. They are not submerged by it and can snap out of it when it's appropriate to do so. Various methods can be helpful here. Expression of partial personalities through writing works for many people. Studying astrology is also a wonderful way of developing an increased awareness of them as it is showing you the full mandala which is in fact your greater SELF.

I like the artistic approach you are taking toward horoscope charts. And I'm quite familiar myself with the problem of not getting everything out of a chart that I am interested in by using only one computer programme. I'm not worried about that - but I agree, we could do this forever and a day (to be exact). And yes, astrological interpretation surely always involves some subjectivity. Otherwise we could let computers do ALL the work for us. But you can't take the human factor out the equation, albeit that's what some astrologers are trying to do, it seems, You can't take it out of quantum physics either, btw. That's right. One thing that changes is the planetary dispositors in a given chart. That's why in one of the sample charts above, Venus is prevalent, in the other Mars. (I know two astrologers who try to circumvent this type of problem by using elements from both Tropical and Sidereal in one and the same delineation, but that's mixing apples with pears, imo.) Well, I have thought about it and personally, I'd see you rather as a Cancer Sun sign. For this kind of things, ALWAYS. Not quite sure what you're talking about, but I'll read your further posts with interest. Are you talking about setting Regulus at 0° Leo? Is this what the Golden Dawn was doing?

I have told you that I prefer the Tropical zodiac over the Sidereal zodiac. However, I'm not a representative of esoteric dogmatism, and I am aware that usually more than one perspective has validity to it. There is always a give and take occurring between the beheld and the beholder, and much hinges on what the latter's level of perception is attuned to. That being said, I will proceed to give you an empirical example why the Tropical zodiac makes more sense to me than the Sidereal zodiac. Come along with me to take a look at the chart of a mystic many of you are no doubt familiar with - in both Tropical and Sidereal format: The Sleeping Prophet Edgar Cayce. We start with Edgar's chart in Tropical format. We see that Taurus is quite prominent; it is at the MC and has the Moon in it, besides Neptune and Pluto. Due to this emphasis, this sign's ruler or dispositor will be expected to be of great influence in the native's life. The planet which rules Taurus is Venus; she is in quite a significant position herself. She is in an angular house and in her exaltation in Pisces. Furthermore, she is in a stellium together with Mercury, Saturn and the Ascending Node. The Sun is in Pisces, too. This emphasis on Pisces seems strongly in line with Cayce being not only a psychic but also so strongly a proponent of a Christian kind of spirituality. This is evident from his biography as well as from so many readings he gave, regarding their content as well as their “Biblical” language. Esoterically, Christianity is seen as belonging to Pisces, Jesus Christ is widely regarded as the avatar of the Pisces age. Talking now specifically about Venus in Pisces, where this planet is "exalted", therefore expected to manifest herself in particularly notable and sophisticated ways. Indeed, Cayce was continuously emphasizing Love - as understood in a Christian framework. His psychic activity was evolving around this. He was endeavouring to guide and heal people by his channelled advice, in accordance with Universal Love. Venus and Neptune in mutual reception (for non-astrologers reading this: they are in each other's sign) highlights the aforesaid very nicely. A few quotes may illustrate how Cayce was inspired by his Venus in Pisces in his philosophy of life: Okay, now to Sidereal Cayce. For zodiacal adjustment to precession, I choose Lahiri which is the most widely used ayanamsa by contemporary Vedic astrologers since it was declared as the official one by the Indian government for purposes of calendar calculation. There are a number of others preferred by various astrologers, but the differences are not that big and presumably don't make any difference for our purposes here. Now, the MC and the Moon (along with Neptune) are all in Aries. This would suit an athlete, a soldier, an entrepreneur - a kind of personality with an outwardly or physically bound activity. Their ruler is Mars. His placement in Sagittarius would reinforce the planet's fiery nature. Sorry, it's hard for me to say much more. Having read a quite a few books about Cayce, this very dynamic Mars placement doesn't seem to be in line with the “Sleeping Prophet's” biographical data. Of all the former Pisces placements, only the Sun still falls into this sign; he is in a succedent house, and not particularly well connected by aspects, either. Feel free to share your thoughts and observations on this.

Thanks Nungali, I will look into the Golden Dawn's ideas. The "royal star" Regulus is actually one of the ancients' "four pillars" - the other three being Aldebaran, Antares and Fomalhaut. Once Aldebaran (at the time when he marked the vernal equinox) was considered foremost. But ancient Greek star catalogues start with Leo. Leo as the first sign makes sense also insofar it is "ruled" by the Sun which in turn corresponds with the number 1, numerologically. Rather than losing many more words on this, let me present the traditional "domicile scheme." Source: http://houseofdaedalus.blogspot.ch/2012/06/astrological-body-part-one-planets-and_25.html That being said, it's important to bear in mind (as always when we are dealing with things metaphysical) there are various equally valid perspectives, depending on the context. Actually, I believe that the three fire signs Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius can each be seen as origins of the zodiac (which is circular anyway). I could say more about this and may indeed do so in a subsequent post. I agree, Spica could be considered as a marker in a Sidereal zodiac, too. I find it interesting to look at all these possibilities, but personally I use only the Tropical zodiac, due to the considerations given in my previous post, as well as based on my practical experience; again, I may further elaborate on this still. That being said, my thought is that, much like the planets are "rulers" of zodiacal signs, the signs could at once be "ruled" by those fixed stars which belong to their corresponding constellations. Much like the planets, the stars move in and out of the signs, albeit, of course, at a much slower rate. Yes - as we saw, individual stars can actually be used regardless of the particular kind of zodiac being employed. Nice story... I wonder, did they let the kids hear it while the tribe was sitting around the fireplace? Be that as it may - yes, it's replete with Scorpio themes! Truly amazing. It's once again demonstrating that there is so much more to astrology than arbitrary projection of psychological contents on the sky, as some rationalistic psychologists would have us believe.