“The stars do impel, they do not compel!” is said. This means the influences of the planets are real; they may direct and provoke us but they do not force us. The stars show us the possibilities while we may also say “I do not want this”.
I have always been astonished by a paragraph in Edgar Cayce’s – the psychic oracle – readings on astrology: “As has been indicated by some, ye are part and parcel of a universal consciousness or God – and thus all that is within the universal consciousness, or the universal awareness; as the stars, the planets, the sun, the moon. Do ye rule them or they rule thee? They were made for thy own use, as an individual – yea, that is the part, the thought thy Maker, thy Father-God thinks of thee.” [1]
The men have always tried to understand the influences of the skies and to take precautions. Undoubtedly, the stars and the planets influence us as everything in the universe is always in interactions with each other. However, the stars and the planets do not compel us to act in a certain way. They may just be the reasons of the incidents as the actors of the perfect system of Allah.
Bahaeddin Sultan Veled, one of the greatest scholars of the Islamic world and also Rumi’s father, states in his well-known book Maarif: “The Earth and the happiness on it becomes through the skies (the signs) and the stars. God perform those acts through them.”[2] So, the stars and the planets are just the means. They are just like some officers who have some duties. The planets do not have willpower and the right of choice. Sufi Shah Veliullah Dihlevi also states: “Each star perform its duty in line with its creation. The stars do not have any problems with us. They just do what they have to do. It is similar to the rain: the rain’s aim is not making you wet but you get wet if you do not get under a shelter in the rain.”[3]
Similarly, Sufi Azizuddin Nasafi says that the intelligence and wisdom belongs to human. The skies, the stars and the angels do not have them. They just serve. They have their own labor and just perform those. Their labor does not include wisdom and willpower. The skies, stars and angels are obliged with their own labor. They are honored by their labor whereas the men are honored by wisdom and willpower.[4] The right of choice is partially granted to men and it is really precious. The men decide how to act against each incident through their willpower and it is this willpower that affects the incidents in turn. Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping prophet, explains that beautifully: “Your influence everything, from the tiniest to the biggest; even the Sun that reflects your complexity, the earthquakes, the wars and even your daily routine.”[5]
Another great Sufi Ibn Arabi mentions similar things: “In Qoran, there is a verse as ‘And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth – all from Him. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.’(Qoran 45-13) The one who realizes this truth is the wise man who is known as the perfect man. The one who does not realize this truth is an ignorant one left at the level of animals.”[6]
Ibn Arabi’s and Rumi’s thoughts are summarized in the below paragraph:
“The manifestation of divine names and qualities makes a man a real man. The one who does not reflect this basic characteristic cannot be considered as “the perfect man” according to Ibn Arabi and Rumi. The one who activates and reflects the refinement and competence of those divine names and qualities that he inherits as a potential is considers as the perfect man while the others are only considered as a living man.”[7]
“Perfect man” is the one who is superior; the man who reflects a higher level of awareness and who is aware of his duties and responsibilities given by Allah, being Allah’s caliph on Earth. The man at this level affects the events around him and the other people not only through his actions and attitudes but also through his intentions and thoughts. “Allah created the Perfect Man with all that existed in the great and the detailed universe and the ones which did not exist and made him the soul the whole existence. Being the reflection of Allah, Allah gave all realms to the service of the Perfect Man. As everything in the universe praised Allah, everything also praises the Perfect Man.”[8] As mentioned before, the Perfect Man here is the one with a higher level of awareness. He is the one who realised the meaning and the results of the interaction between the universe and all existence.
Then, we may ask a question: could we guess about the awareness level of a person by looking at his birth chart? Stephen Arroyo says we cannot: “The birth chart reveals the structural model of life. The content and the awareness of this structure are not seen in the chart. The level of consciousness cannot be determined through astrological data alone.”[9]
The critical point here is that: Should we try to control and direct the things that the planets and the stars represent in our charts? Or, should we submit to Divine Plan / Divine Will without trying to manage or correct anything? Those two options, which seem to be in contrast with each other, reach the same point: It is the Divine Will that gives us gift and mercy to reach the higher-self.
We are expected to show our maximum effort while it is the Divine Will (God’s will) to appreciate the result. First of all, we need to know the influences in our charts. Then, without falling into our lower desires, needs and ego which are represented as the shadows of the configurations in our chart, we may show effort to reveal the higher potentials of our charts with the aim of reaching our Higher Self.
Öner Döşer, AMA, MAPAI
April 2016, Istanbul
AstroArt School of Astrology (ASA)
[1] Stephen Arroyo, Astroloji, Karma & Dönüşüm (Astrology, Karma &Transformation), Translated by Gül Çehreli, İstanbul: İlhan Yayınevi, 1st edition, 2003, p. 391.
[2] Sultan Veled, Maarif, Translated by Meliha Ü. Anbarcıoğlu, Tercüman Gazetesi 1001 Eser, 1984, p. 146
[3] Shah Veliyyullah Dihlevi, Hüccetüllâhi’l-Bâliğa, Vol 1, Translated by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Erdoğan, İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 2012, 4th edition, ch. 5.
[4] Azizüddin Nesefi, Tasavvufta İnsan Meselesi, İnsan–ı Kâmil, Translated by Mehmet Kanar, İstanbul: Dergâh Yayınları, June 1990, 1st edition, p. 116.
[5] John Wilner, Ünlü Bir Medyomdan Astrolojik Açıklamalar (Astrological Revelations), Ruh ve Madde Yayınları, p. 157.
[6] Ibn Arabi, Füsusu’l–Hikem, Hikmetlerin Özü, Translated by Abdülhalim Şener, İstanbul: Sufi Kitap, September 2012, 6th edition, p. 206.
[7] Osman Nuri Küçük, Fusûsu’l–Hikem ve Mesnevi’de İnsan-ı Kâmil, İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları, 2011, p. 356.
[8] Ibn Arabi, Füsusu’l–Hikem, Hikmetlerin Özü, Translated by Abdülhalim Şener, İstanbul: Sufi Kitap, September 2012, 6th edition
[9] Stephen Arroyo, Astroloji, Karma & Dönüşüm (Astrology, Karma &Transformation), Translated by: Gül Çehreli, İstanbul: İlhan Yayınevi, 1st edition, 2003, p. 68–69.