Pratītyasamutpāda commonly translated as the law of dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of Buddhism. It states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist". The basic principle is that all things (dharmas, phenomena, principles) arise in dependence upon other things.
Does astrology support Pratītyasamutpāda or dependent origination. Indeed it does! How? Regular practioners of astrology would have noted that a natal planetary combination triggered by transits or progressions (together referred to as directions) regularly throw up instances where we are confronted by a person or event that is well described by the combination. In fact Vedic astrologers are able to describe the general outline of a relative (e.g. father, mother, partner, children etc) just from looking at a person's chart. Reflect on this for a while. As beginners in astrology, most of us feel that the natal star positions should be descriptive of us. How does it describe a person who enters my life so well? The answer to this is fairly simple. The planetary combination in my chart is a frozen slice of the starry heavens at the time I am born. Therefore, it does not only describe me but all processes taking place simultaneously at that time. Since I have a form, I am an embodiment (i.e a part) of a similarly limited consciousness of the Whole (the universe). As such in the process of my education or enlightenment, the universe is compelled to make me conscious of those parts I have rejected or not identified with. To that end it sends me people who live out what I have not assimilated hoping that I will eventually gain a non-dualistic understanding of phenomena that I encounter everyday.
As we advance in our study of astrology we begin to understand that nothing in the chart describes any person or event but only relationships to other things or beings, to conscious or unconscious forces of the universe. Concepts such as "identity" and "non-identity," therefore, begin to lose their meaning.
The Buddha was the embodiment and symbol of one who had awakened to this ultimate reality of his own being, through creative meditation, resulting in tremendous peace following a vision of the non dualistic phenomena that encompasses both the individual and the universe.
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