Retrograde Planets and Karmic Obstacles Posed by them

The Sun is the father of our universe and represents the Soul. Its aspect on the planets is very strong and it can be read as leanings or influences that bring out a particular side of the person’s personality as regards that planet.

The position of Sun in a particular sign simply means that one must find ways of self-Discovery and expression that reflect through the qualities of that sign. For example, If the Sun is posited in Taurus, the person has to learn to know about himself through hard work, understand his capabilities and qualities and put them into practical use for making a living. He also needs to learn to enjoy those qualities and the gains through those assets with his family.

When the outer planets are retrograde, they are on the opposite side of the chart from Sun. This means that they attract people who tend not to co-operate and take advantage of that concerned person. Lack of cooperation and being taken advantage of might be Karmic in nature and a better study of that retrograde planet might reveal the areas of life which are Karmic and which show the kind of people who would take advantage of the person having those retrograde planets.

EXAMPLE- Alois Alzheimer

It could be, for instance Alois Alzheimer who has a retrograde Jupiter in the 5^th House of Power, Authority and learnings. He is the man who discovered the degenerative brain disease which is called Alzheimer in his name.

While alive, his findings were not given the due that he deserved. He had to face a lot of problems from others in his profession and had to face a lot of resistance from the Government and Authority. He also lost his wife early in life.

Jupiter here is the Lord of the 7^th House of spouse and relationship and interaction with society in general. The 10^th House is profession and also represents boss and the working environment in general.

“In the early 1990s, critics began to question Alzheimer’s findings and form their own hypotheses based on Alzheimer’s notes and papers. Amaducci and colleagues hypothesized that Auguste Deter had metachromatic leukodystrophy, a rare condition in which accumulations of fats affect the cells that produce myelin.

Another hypothesis offered by Claire O’Brien was that Auguste Deter actually had a vascular dementing disease. Through extremely fortunate circumstances the original microscope preparations on which Alzheimer based his description of the disease were rediscovered in 1998 in Munich, and his findings could thus be reevaluated. The slides confirmed that Auguste Deter did in fact have what is now known as Alzheimer’s disease.”

So here we can see that the opposition in the life path came for his findings came from Profession in life and the Authorities, not to mention losing wife early on in life.

Example- Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg KBE OMRI (born December 18, 1946) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular directors and producers in film history. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios.

Steven Spielberg has a retrograde Saturn in his 2^nd House of family. This house also relates to Values and Ethics. It also relates of Primary education and wealth making.

As per Wikipedia, “As a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. “It isn’t something I enjoy admitting,” he once said, “but when I was seven, eight, nine years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox Jews. I was embarrassed by the outward perception of my parents’ Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times.” Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic prejudice and bullying: “In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible.” His first home movie was of a train wreck involving his toy Lionel trains, then age 12. Throughout his early teens, and after entering high school, Spielberg continued to make amateur 8 mm “adventure” films.”

“Producing Schindler’s List in 1993 also renewed his faith, Spielberg says, but “it really was the fact that my wife took a profound interest in Judaism.” He waited ten years after being given the story in 1982 to make the film, as he did not yet feel “mature” enough. He first wanted to have a family, “to figure out what my place was in the world… . When my first son, [Max] was born, it greatly affected me… . A spirit began to ignite in me, and I became a Jewish dad…”

Saturn here is the 8^th Lord of transformation and 9^th Lord of religion and father. Here, Saturn sitting in the 2^nd House faces problems as regards the feelings of the young Steven towards religion and parents. He faced a difficult time in this transformation towards religion. Second house being the house of education reflects where his problems generated and the solution too.