Secrets of The Elements
Excerpt from Barry’s Book Finding your blind spots.
These five signs have flaws connected to the elements:
- Aries: has problems with water
- Taurus: has problems with fire
- Cancer: has problems with earth
- Leo: has problems with air
- Scorpio: has problems with space
Fatal flaws of the elements:
Aries: has problems with jala, the water element, hence they may have difficulty with emotion, love, food, and connecting to the public. Venus and the Moon become difficult planets, creating relationship problems unless the Moon and/or Venus are well placed in the chart or if the 4th, 8th, and 12th houses offer some compensation.
The antidote is connecting more to Mother Divine energy through mantras or worship. If Mars or the first house is afflicted, the Aries rising people have to be careful with impatience, selfishness, “I want it now” arrogance, recklessness, and leaving tasks undone.
Taurus: has problems with Agni, the fire element, hence they have a problem with ‘get up and go’. The fire planets, Sun, Mars, and Ketu, all have respective issues but are essential for accomplishing anything. Taurus is known for being the most earthy and grounded of the signs. They can get stuck with the tendency to hold onto money or material things in their life. Taurus needs help with the fire signs and fire planets and it helps if those are well placed. Lots of fiery and vigorous aerobic exercise is important to get this sign moving, as there can be a tendency toward heaviness, depression, and melancholy. One can sense why Jupiter here might cause problems with weight gain or even diabetes despite being an auspicious planet in an auspicious sign. Taurus has to be careful with sweets if Jupiter is afflicted. Jupiter or Venus afflicted in the chart can create stubbornness, inflexibility, greed, laziness, self-indulgence, ultra-conservative positions, intolerance, and over-accumulation.
Cancer: This rising sign has problems with the earth element and hence with material success, structure and manifesting in the material world. Hence, a strong balance of well-placed planets in Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo can be helpful to offset this latent flaw. A well-placed Venus or Saturn can offset this imbalance particularly if they are well aspected or are in Taurus or Capricorn. Cancers have to actively focus on saving money and getting motivated for worldly success. Often, they would rather just meditate and bathe in the wonders of the spiritual world. If the Moon or the first house is afflicted, Cancers need help to offset this latent flaw. If the Moon or the first house is afflicted, Cancers will have problems with being too dependent or clingy, hoarding, hypersensitivity, moodiness, winsomeness, abandonment, and picking dysfunctional friends and partners. Forcing themselves to get grounded in the material world is essential. Doing earthy activities like building, carpentry, and gardening is helpful. Increasing the fire element through active and fiery aerobic exercise is important to get the solar plexus enlivened and get the fire moving.
Leo: Leos have problems with the air element or vayu and hence Saturn and Rahu need to be strong or strengthened in their charts. Archetypically, the king needs good servants to be successful therefore, needs a good relationship with Saturn and yet Leos have the most difficulty with Saturn. Health and longevity can be an issue if Saturn and Rahu are not well placed in the natal birth chart. If the Sun or the first house is afflicted, Leos may have to deal with vanity, arrogance, boasting, condescension, dominance, having problems with subordinates, being power hunger, letting career take over their lives, which create imbalances. Increasing the water element and cooling off the heat with swimming can be helpful. It may be wise to not overdo intense aerobic energy to make sure the air element does not get out of balance. Of course, it all depends on the individual chart. Exercise is good but one should not get dehydrated or depleted.
Scorpio: Scorpios has a problem with space or akasha and have difficulty holding everything together as they have a strong ability to intuitively go into the ether realm and deeply connect and expand their consciousness. Their strong quest for Moksha needs the Divine connection to remind them that all is well and God and the Divine are taking care of them. Jupiter is the remedy for this affliction, as they need the Guru and knowledge. This helps to gather and ground consciousness and bring things together and take them out of meditative isolation. Community becomes important to prevent isolation and being alone.
Pisces and Sagittarius: These signs need to be strongly prominent in the chart and Jupiter connected to Mars or Ketu to rebalance this affliction. If Mars, Ketu, or Scorpio is afflicted, there will be problems with being too critical, possessive, vengeful, hypersensitive, controlling, grim, being victimized in relationships, overworking and excessive worry. Very grounding and earthy activities like gardening are essential for them and even something like light weight training can aid them in combating the lightness that can overtake them. Grounding yoga is helpful.
Charts are very individual and I do not ever want to stereotype people by sign. But sometimes it is a way of putting one’s finger right away on a person’s core problem. I hope the reader finds this knowledge as enlightening as I did.
Special thanks to Andrew Foss and Sanjay Rath for their insights on this material.
