In astrology remedies are one of the key components of free will. We are all subject to astrological transits, and anyone who has studied astrology with any degree of earnestness knows that transits do have effects in our lives. The key to engaging with transits in a way that promotes outcomes which are fulfilling and delightful like Sunshine falling on a tree full of cherry blossoms. We may not be able to make every day beautiful and fulfilling to our experiences. One of the philosophical principles in astrology is there are difficult planets, difficult transits, and difficult aspects. These alternate with planets which bring joyful experiences, transits that are smooth and easy and aspects that help us navigate life in a way that brings us delight.
There are 5 broad categories of astrological remedies:
1. Substances
2. Sounds
3. Offerings
4. Timing
5. Awareness
This is mid level astrology in application, it even can be very advanced, but there are simple principles that one can apply immediately. Everyone tapping into the amazing world which astrology should understand it before paying for a reading from a professional or worrying themselves into a catatonic state of shivering with horrid bouts of doom and gloom under the covers during a malefic Saturn transit, or scaring the beejezus out of your friends when you break to them the news that Pluto will be crossing their Ascendant Descendant axis next year. If you are practicing the art of astrology then it becomes essential for you to know how to work with it in a productive way.
Astrology is incredibly fated. This is the scary part. Any given difficult occurrence that happens we can all look back and see exactly, clearly, without a doubt, the cast of characters that were grinding their axes in the sky when that aspect occurred. Yet, astrology is not fated. All traditional astrology and for certain modern astrology have a relationship to how with the right relationship you can coax your life along a more merry path by the study and application of the stars.
To be honest, although we can look at any point in the timeline of your life and come up with exactly the planets that were involved and the symbolic imprint they left upon that moment in time and the characters present, it is hard to predict the exact details (but much easier to predict the tonality.) I think of it in terms of you are fated to go down certain streams and experience certain environments, but the leaves on the trees on the banks of the river are always evolving. God is in the details, karma is the raft.
How do we avoid dire fates? Through astrological remedies.
I have listed five.
Substances:
Marsilio Ficino in his magnificent work Three Books on Life outlines how certain plants, styles of dress, foods, incenses, stones etc can be worn to enhance the virtues of planets. By enhancing the virtues of planets that are predisposed towards you. This is through the power of a strange word or idea called sympathy, which expresses that if things have a similar nature, they amplify their effect. Thus Champagne which is golden, bubbly, gaseous, and joyous has the nature of Jupiter and drinking it will enhance your experience of Jupiter, and its indications in your chart. This is a simple explanation, but shows how Substances may be used to remedy your astrology chart. Having a difficult Mars transit, amplify Jupiter, and the gut wrenching, iron bending auto wreck will be fortuitous in the end providing you with some good cash, or might not even happen at all as Jupiters luck diverts the other car for just that split second and it careens into the Median.
Sounds:
Ficino mentions that music is also a remedy or way to enhance the potency of planets in the chart. There are frequencies as well as musical notes that are associated with each planet. A few different modern schools of thought proliferate on these as well as some ancient Vedic schools of thought. Although I am not familiar with them, it would be stunning if there were not Persian and Greek schools of thought on this too. I am certain there are Chinese schools of astrology that associate musical notation with the planets. Most will be more familiar however with Sound as Mantra being a method of remediating difficult astrology placements. Like with Substances, the main goal here is strengthening what is positive in the chart. If you are having a bad Saturn transit, by no means ever consider making Saturn stronger, eh. Unless you are a bit of a Sadist. That is up to you.
Offerings:
This category could have you leaving out Mangoes and Oranges for Jupiter, or strawberries and cherries for Venus. You could be planting marigolds for the Sun. But where this comes into sharp focus is different from the previous two categories. How so? Well, here the astute practitioner of astrology will carry out actions that directly relate to difficult aspects in the chart. This is called planetary charity, and the idea is that if you give to the sympathies of the planet that may cause you problems, give energy to it, ahead of time, it will sooth that planet and shield you from the worst outcomes. For instance, one might be facing a difficult Mars aspect and go give money to a homeless Vet. The Veteran represents Mars, and you are giving to that Mars to satisfy and serve him before he creates problems. This is of course way over simplified, but you understand.
Timing:
Timing as a remedy is knowing when to do something, that is electing a time that is beneficial for the task at hand. This requires knowing your chart really well, and also understanding the transits that are occurring and how they will interact with your chart. For instance, you might decide to focus on buying a house when Saturn is entering your 4th house. You will then be using Saturns energy for making a solid foundation for you and your family. You could expect the process to be slow and arduous, because Saturn is involved after all, but you have used Saturn to your skillful advantage, and perhaps redirected Saturn’s energy to a productive function in your life.
Awareness:
This is the most common technique amongst modern astrologers, and it is surprising how controversial it is with traditional astrologers.
The planetary energies arise within our minds as concepts and those concepts impel us towards activities. We might become sexually deviant under certain influences per se, such as Uranus and Venus in transit to the ruler of the 5th house, which could cause us to dilly dally in ways that are not appropriate for our life circumstances. This could create a hosts of challenges. From a psychological perspective, if we are aware, or conscious of the archetypal impulses occurring at that time, we can be conscious enough not to indulge in an energy that will cause us or others sufferings, or we may talk through them in a mature way and experience them with as little suffering as possible.
Another form of Awareness here, which is more profound, is recognizing the arising thoughts and impulses as being mere mental arisings and letting them dissolve into the space they came from without acting upon them. This is the most profound method of remedying planet influences on our lives, but very subtle and requires meditation to even become aware of.
This was a very quick overview of a complex deep vast and profound topic, but it is enough for the new to have a guide towards learning more, and the old to distinguish with clarity the categories and reconcile doubts about the tradition. I hope you enjoyed reading it, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.
If you would like guidance on how to remedy your chart for your best outcomes, feel free to book a reading, and when you do so, mention this is what you want to focus on.