by Cheruki (Veno)

The horoscope is a reference point for a particular time and place. The main reference point in the horoscope is the Ascendant because it is the main identifying feature of an individual. This reference point is valid for both the Spiritual Man and the Ordinary Man because it is the vehicle through which the essence of the 'self' finds expression.

In most people, the reference point refers to the "I" element or "personal ego". The true definition of a Spiritual Man is that there is no one fixed reference point because there is no "I". The Spiritual Man can move from one reference point to another at will. The Spiritual Man can be in one place or all places at the same time. He can easily stand on Earth, Orion or any star or planet in the galaxy he chooses.He can visit the past or travel into the future. He can transgress the physical laws of time and space.

The Spiritual Man lives in an eternal present with no fixed abode. His reference point depends on the dictates of his will, a will perfectly aligned with the Cosmic will that is unlimited in attribute. The Spiritual Man has the freedom to locate to a new reference point temporarily or permanently. The permanent relocation is happening in the cases of advanced yogis who choose the moment of death, obliterating all traces of their reference point even on the physical plane as they dissolve their physical bodies into pure light. They are making the atomic shift to a completely new reference point. Ordinary Man has no such freedom. At the time of death his new reference point remains pretty much the same as the one he is leaving behind.

Until the Spiritual Man chooses to permanently shift his reference point, like the Ordinary Man, his reference point at the time of birth provides the vehicle of a particular size, shape, colour and quality which holds the genetic and environmental codes for his mental, emotional and physical experiences.

When we study an individual's natal chart we usually understand that we are analyzing the reference point of one who has not stepped outside the "single reference point matrix", who is still a slave to the laws of the personal "I" or ego; laws which are governed by the personal "I's" past actions and desires, which define the present "I's" actions and desires, and give rise to the presupposition of the future "I's" actions and desires.

We can regard the horoscope as a map of a place full of winding roads and sights to see, which the "I" - a particular vehicle of a particular make, colour and quality drives through. The benefit of learning how to read the map is that we can use this knowledge to make the journey safer and more comfortable, and by improving our steering control, we empower the Spiritual Man inside ourselves and develop our "will", which is an implicit agreement to execute the intent of the creator.

The horoscope is not a profile of the Spiritual Man as such, who stands outside of it, but a reference point which the Spiritual Man uses. The Ordinary Man has no such ability because his sense of self is too limiting and he has not developed his will.

The difference between the Spiritual Man and the Ordinary Man is that the Spiritual Man acts from Pure Intent and the Ordinary Man doesn't. This greatly affects the scope of influence and the level of refinement a Spiritual Man possesses compared to the Ordinary Man.

For example, if Sun and Ketu are in the nakshatras of Krittika in the 4th house of the charts of both an Ordinary Man and a Spiritual Man, the ability to control others in the personal environment using a commanding, terrifying and warlike countenance is equally pronounced. The difference is that one commands from the perspective of Karmic Justice and his personal environment spans the length and breadth of the galaxy, and the other one's commands are based on a personal definition of justice whose sphere of influence is limited to home, town, country whatever. One is acting out of an unselfish impersonal need to preserve the spiritually coherent matrix that is the Universe; while the other one acts out of limiting personal egoic considerations which often conflicts with Universal considerations, even if those considerations have a benign purpose. One does not need to be benign to be in harmony with universal will.

The key word is "Preservation". The Spiritual Man is "Preserving", which is why out of the universal threefold hierarchy, only Vishnu, the Preserver, incarnates on earth as an avatar, to set an example fo all men to follow.