When I consult with clients, I always try to remind them first and foremost that they are “divine beings having a human experience.” Yes, the astrological birth chart reveals karmas, the results of our actions in this lifetime and past lifetimes, but our divine potential is much greater than mere karmas. I advise my clients according to the sage instruction of one of the greatest yoga masters of all time, Paramahansa Yogananda, who said that one should “refuse to be bound by karma; it is an old superstition of the ignorant to believe you cannot change your destiny.”

Another way of looking at the natal horoscope is that it is a blueprint of the light body or human energetic system. In fact, Vedic astrology is called Jyotisha, the Science of Light! Studying a variety of astrological charts for each individual, I can usually tune-in and see where the sublime energetic system is blocked and how it can be cleared, balanced and realigned for improved health and overall well-being. I do this energy clearing and balancing work for each client from a distance as I prepare the astrological reading in advance of our actual phone or Skype session, and I often additionally perform subtle energetic adjustments during my phone or Skype sessions with my clients.

Along with performing distance healing for my clients, I also focus on illuminating some of their karmas, i.e., learning experiences, or what I call the various aspects of one’s “growing edge.” These matters are revealed through my analysis and synthesis of the natal and dynamic (progressed and transit) charts. In each session, I also offer prognostications about the future and suggestions for karmic remedies (upayas) which can help to mitigate difficulties and enhance more grace and ease.

The most important karmic remedy I can suggest for anyone is to live a spiritual life. Paramahansa Yogananda said that astrology was designed to assist us on our soul’s journey by helping us become more conscious of the interrelationships between the objective universe and our inner nature. An astrological session can be of great aid in this process, as it can reveal something about the life path and pitfalls unique to each individual.

Yogananda taught that there is a subtle relationship between the celestial bodies and our own physical bodies and minds, which is correlated through the six main chakras or subtle centers in the spine. These six chakras become twelve by polarity, thus mirroring the twelve signs of the zodiac.

According to Yogananda, “Millions of volts of electrical current are lodged in these spinal centers. If your body and your mind are very strong, you will be impervious to the evil vibrations from the stars when they begin to shed their rays upon you. By communing with God, you will reinforce the power of the twelve spinal centers, which will then act in cooperation with the twelve signs of the zodiac. The deeper your communion with God, the more you will automatically harmonize the influences of all planetary forces and transcend the evil effects of the powerful, but distant, planets. In these ways, you can spiritualize astrology. Through all such actions, you are changing your body and mind and how they are affecting the twelve centers in your spine. As a result of these changes, the stars will begin to smile upon you.”

The wheel of samsara is ever turning as the stars and planets move along their orbits, constantly shifting into new patterns that echo change and upheaval in our lives and in the world. Yet, we are not meant to use astrology as an excuse for life’s vicissitudes. The stars and planets simply provide a symbolic picture of our karma, what we all have created and what we continue to create by thought and deed. Yogananda said, “Instead of accepting fatalistically the decrees of karma, follow the inner way to freedom. Meditate daily. Commune deeply with God…Ultimately, by ever deeper meditation, you will reach a point where you receive your influences from God alone.” We cannot alter the outer astrological influences but we can do the inner work to change how we are affected by these influences. That is the greatest remedy.