CHAPTER NINE:

THE FIELD OF WEALTH OR PRIMAL DESIRES

EDWARD TARABILDA: The field of wealth, or primal desires, is a very subtle topic. Primal desires are those which we assume are natural for anyone to aspire to. Who doesn't want security and love? The problem is that instead of finding enduring bliss within, we seek it in outer conditions. Then our desires become a source of bondage.

In the "Bhagavad Gita" when Lord Krishna warns Arjuna on the battlefield to beware of what we call "sattwic attachments" -- in Arjuna's case the attachment to family and preceptors -- he is referring to this kind of desire.

The planet governing this field determines what our primal desires are likely to be:

Planet Primal Desire (Tendency for Sattwic Attachment)

Sun position, prestige, reputation, and authority

Moon love, nourishment, and compassion

Mars power and control

Mercury knowledge and deep communication

Jupiter religion, guru, education, family and social celebration

Venus ideal love and friendship

Saturn solitude, silence and security

Nodes rebelliousness and independence

As long as the desires stemming from our desire nature are moderate, they usually do not interfere with our spiritual life. However, when we are seduced into thinking that we must have certain things to be happy, our desires becomes an impediment by distracting us from our deeper essence -- our spiritual nature.

It is easy to spot rajasic or tamasic attachments, but the sattwic ones are subtler and more elusive, and therefore harder to release.

Our desire nature always promises more than it delivers. It is our fantasy or imagination which keeps trying to convince us that if we can just get one thing or avoid another, then we will be happy. It is always pushing us into the future or the past.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: What a valuable thing to be aware of! I know many priests who would give their right arm to get a clear perspective on such issues.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is incredibly valuable! Whenever we are deeply troubled, it often involves this primal desire nature, whether we realize it or not. When we do realize it, then we can tell ourselves, "I want this, but I don't have to have it. It is not an absolute necessity". The moment it becomes a requirement we are no longer in freedom.

Without benefit of personal consultations in the Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living, many people try to figure out their own spiritual path, and often mistake the path that would be indicated by the planet governing their desire nature, rather than their true spiritual path. For example, if Venus governs the desire nature, then one may assume that Venusian techniques or finding an ideal mate will ensure spiritual growth, even though one's inner spiritual nature may speak otherwise.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Let's see if I have this straight. If a person is a Surya Yogin, and has a desire nature ruled by the Moon, then that person may be fooled into believing that the path of the heart is his most natural path to God. However, in reality, the more impersonal path of the Sun will be far more effective for deepening his spiritual awareness . Do I have it right?

EDWARD TARABILDA: That is a perfect example. Now, if the Sun is strong the confusion may never arise. However, if the Sun is weak and the Moon strong, then challenges from the desire nature may arise repeatedly and may interfere with the inward spiritual life. If both planets are of equal strength, then challenges by the desire nature will appear, but they will be less distracting. Each case is somewhat unique, but these are the general guidelines.

Let us look at an example from the lives of famous people. Many of you have heard of the great chess player, Bobby Fischer?

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Of course. He is a famous and controversial man.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is obvious that Bobby Fischer is a bit eccentric and values his privacy. So what makes him come out of retirement to play Boris Spassky once more? Both men are obviously beyond their prime in terms of chess prowess, and Fischer has little to gain by beating Spassky, but he is driven to do so anyway. Why?

Because his primal desire nature is related to the Sun and he loves the fame and recognition. Later he may realize through his higher nature that it was not worth the nuisance of fans, press, etc. Thus, there are painful tradeoffs when he agrees to reenter the public limelight.

Let us take one more example. Burt Reynolds is a well-known Hollywood actor who seems, like many Hollywood stars, to have well-publicized trouble with his marriage partners. The tabloid coverage is very painful for Burt, because he, too, has a desire nature governed by the Sun. He hates negative publicity. But his inner spiritual nature has a pugnacious quality which gets him in trouble with those close to him, especially those of equal status. In this sense his inner spiritual nature is at odds with his desire nature, and causes him frustration in an otherwise happy life.

PSYCHOLOGIST: What happens when the desire nature is weak?

EDWARD TARABILDA: The person is either not driven to accomplish anything in the world, or he is driven, but with no clear direction or goal. This can be painful because it undercuts career, dharma, and possibly other fields of living as well. When he tries to focus on what he really wants out of life nothing is clear. This can be very disturbing until it is understood.

PSYCHOLOGIST: What do people like this do?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Sometimes it drives them back into their spiritual nature, and this can be a very good outcome. People who are driven to achieve some primal desire often do it at the expense of their spiritual growth. So some souls, between lives, set it up so that they don't have a strong desire nature to block their spiritual growth. I'm not suggesting that this is always a successful strategy, but it is one chosen by some souls.

Sometimes they end up marrying someone with strong primal desires. Then they try to live vicariously through the other person in this field of living. This is not a bad strategy as long as one does not blame the mate for disappointments.

Our primal desires also influence how well we hold onto money because they affect the clarity of our planning and the consistency of our motivation.

FINANCIAL MANAGER: Are you suggesting that earning money and our ability to preserve it are two different considerations?

EDWARD TARABILDA: I am indeed. Our career is often the primary determinant of our ability to earn money, but the field of wealth determines how well we keep it.

Willie Nelson, the famous country and western singer, is a good example of a man with great potential to earn income, but poor potential to keep it. He has had lots of trouble with the I.R.S., and even though he has earned plenty of money, he is not a wealthy man, nor is he likely to be. Fortunately, he is beloved by many and I am certain his friends have rallied around him.

Sometimes a powerful desire nature will push one into positions of responsibility which place too great a strain on other aspects of the personality. Jim Jones, the cult leader who led his followers to mass suicide, had a powerful Sun governing his desire nature. This made him hungry to be a leader of community and to find ways to come into the limelight, but other weaknesses in the personality buckled under the strain of that leadership and the public scrutiny which followed.

PSYCHOLOGIST: So the desire nature can cause trouble even when it is strong?

EDWARD TARABILDA: If it is poorly placed by house position, then the significators of that house suffer. In the case of Jim Jones his progeny tend to suffer -- "progeny" in this case meaning his spiritual children.

If the planet governing the primal desires is weak, then trouble is sure to follow the fulfillment of one's desire nature. In the case of Erin Rommel, Hitler's great tank general, we have a weak planet related to wealth, but in a good house placement. This brings quick success in fulfilling his desire to be a commander, but eventual "royal contempt". Hitler, as you may remember, forced Rommel to commit suicide when he suspected Rommel's participation in a conspiracy to assassinate him.

PSYCHOLOGIST: How does this field of living relate to financial wealth?

EDWARD TARABILDA: You mean the planetary significators for each type of wealth?

PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Each planet governs a particular type of wealth, and you can learn this from any astrological textbook. Mars, for example, brings wealth through land. Mercury brings wealth through bartering and trading, etc.

There is a strong relationship between wealth and primal desire. For example, people whose primal desires are governed by Saturn do not want much in life other than security. They might be inclined to work only as hard as needed to secure a very simple and even hermetic lifestyle. Generally, a modest home in the country with a little money in the bank leaves them content. But someone with Jupiter or Venus governing this field of living desires more opulence than the Saturn person, and will work harder for it.

PSYCHOLOGIST: So someone with the Nodes of the Moon governing this field of living might be too rebellious to do all it normally takes to become wealthy in our society. They might be tempted to take illegal shortcuts?

EDWARD TARABILDA: A good example. Someone with the Sun governing this field of living might crave status and affluence and feel driven to earn lots of money.

People with the Moon governing their primal desires like lots of money and will work hard to acquire it. They find that money nourishes them; it makes them feel emotionally secure.

I have a close relative who primal desires are governed by a new Moon which is conjunct the Sun. When the Moon is new, one's drives are subjective and impulsive. One has no clear perspective on what one wants out of life, but one highly values the whole process of subjective exploration. This person is a poet.

PSYCHOLOGIST: Is he successful as a poet?

EDWARD TARABILDA: The field of mental health is weak in his case. This adversely affects his ability to be successful and influential.

PSYCHOLOGIST: Can he overcome it?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Gemstone therapy or certain Vedic propitiations are useful for helping overcome or ameliorate such weaknesses. Gems relate to the planets as follows:

Planet Gem Setting

Sun ruby or red garnet gold

Moon pearl or mother of pearl silver

Mars red coral gold

Mercury emerald mixed metal

Jupiter yellow sapphire or golden topaz gold

Venus diamond, white sapphire or topaz copper or white gold

Saturn blue sapphire your choice

North Node hessonite garnet mixed metal

South Node chrysoberyl cat's eye mixed metal

The best way to propitiate a planet is to pray to it, or to put your attention on it in your own natural way, not to buy an expensive "yagya" (Vedic ritual) from a Vedic pundit. But if you don't feel capable of doing this, then pay someone to do the ritual for you.

Any questions?

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: How do the gems work?

EDWARD TARABILDA: I'm not sure anyone really knows, but they may be like permanent acupuncture needles. They harmonize the subtle bodies, or sheaths.

If you could see these bodies, you would see holes until the gemstone is worn. Then the holes tend to diminish or even disappear.

Life is based on infinite correlation and it should not surprise us that gems are a microscopic reflection of the energy frequencies of the macrocosmic planet.

I have wonderful stories about these gems and their therapeutic effects. But this whole science has gotten a bad name because the people prescribing gems no longer have the true science of the stars on which to base their prescriptions. When customers complain that a gem didn't work, I usually find it was the wrong gem.

Shall we call it a day?

PSYCHOLOGIST: You have yet to talk of primal desire in the world horoscope.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Thank you for reminding me. It's a tricky subject.

PSYCHOLOGIST: What planet governs it?

EDWARD TARABILDA: A very weak Jupiter.

PSYCHOLOGIST: Does this mean that people turn to criminal activity out of the frustration of not knowing what they want, or having unrealistic desires they cannot fulfill?

EDWARD TARABILDA: It means exactly that. It also means that people are attracted to religion, family, spouse, children -- all the traditional Jupiterean values -- only to be disappointed by them once achieved, or frustrated because they can't achieve them. The frustration builds until they turn to their rebellious inner spiritual nature for relief. But they don't know how to use these rebel qualities in a spiritual way, so their rebelliousness also fails to bring satisfaction.

More important, the weak Jupiter also means that we have a consumption-oriented culture which only dissipates wealth without preserving it. Our children and grandchildren will inherit a terrible legacy! We even have the same attitude towards the wealth of the earth -- exploit it now and forget the future.

PSYCHOLOGIST: Sounds terrible!

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is terrible, and when we consider all the weak or so-so fields in the world horoscope -- mental and physical health, creative play, spirituality, and primal desires -- we see why there is so much chaos and frustration all over the world.

I feel that we need to create rituals which can offset these weaknesses, but that is work for the society as a whole. One person can't do it all. He can only point the way.

Shall we stop for today? (All agree.)