0:00
Welcome back to How to travel inner journey. My name is Alexandra and on my show today again is Gary O'Toole from Ireland is a Vedic astrologer who recently published his first book or is about in the process to publish it. Now help me with the name Jerry.
0:21
Second book. Book Actually, yes
0:24
it is. I should read my script better. Okay. Tell us about your books scary for him. Oh, well,
0:30
actually, yeah, the first book I probably should go grab it, but this is the new book timeline. Astrology. Yeah. This is about timing techniques from India.
0:43
And the first book was about what
0:45
first book I can go grab it. It was called cosmic bodies. Our Vedic Astrology. Guide to health and well being
0:55
Oh, how come that pass by me?
0:58
Not sure. Actually passed by me too. Even though it took me like eight years. You know, it took me about five years of writing it but it was like a few years more than it took me so long and I felt like you know, when you're making bread, and it's like you, you make bread and and then that's fine. But then you leave it and leave it and redo it, redo it. And it just feels a bit stale for me now. Yeah, the process. It's so much yeah, we're this one. I wanted to get out as quickly as possible and I wrote it in a year. Wow. And
1:32
questions about this book and what came through You two came into this world.
1:37
Where this is literally 20 years of astrology study in one place from most most of my astrology study and in terms of understanding the timelines, the site, I call them timelines, cycles that we all experience in life. So it's basically a book about how we all go through these cycles. Yeah. Phase Yes. Yes. Basically, yes.
1:59
Yeah. It's a it's a tantric concept, isn't it as well as much as a I mean, tantra comes or is also part of the Vedas, I think but it's, it's that idea that things are getting born and die all the time. So this is not new. What is the new angle for you? I mean, and maybe some people don't know this kind of life lifecycle. spans, but for somebody who is deeper into the matter, it feels like okay, yeah, but that's that's something very obvious, isn't it? It's like winter somewhere, you know, all these kinds of seasons stuff. What is it that you want to highlight in that book or highlighting in this book?
2:39
Yeah, because it's like, yeah, most people understand that everyone has seasons in their life. And you know that there's an astrology system for looking at that, like the first year of life is always the moon, everybody, so we have that kind of the same life stages throughout life. And so the Moon The first year is all about our attachments to our caregiver like the mother usually. And depending on the moon's position in our horoscope and our blueprint, how that goes has a big impact on our whole life. Right? Yes, yeah. But then the next stage is from the age of one to three and that's the Mars years so that's when we start looking for independence from our mother and caregiver. And it's like, we want to enforce our self. Yeah, stomping our feet, maybe and that's the terrible twos. So that's that Mars that Mars in the chart was show how we go about getting anything we want later, like, yeah, oh, wow. There's natural cycles. But then there are also other there's many many cycles Yes, a lot of cycle is,
3:41
is there like like the astrology signs and ZODIAC signs? Is that like the amount of cycles you have or Yeah,
3:48
that's also a cycle literally like you were born maybe with a sign rising, but that progresses sign. Then there's also where the planets are and how they get triggered in different planetary cycles. So there's the natural cycles, the stages of life as we get older, but then there's also our own cycles based on our chart.
4:11
So, I do have, you know, like, I'm very fond of what you write and I have no clue about astrology and still, sometimes I have to blow over the whole kind of planet is now you know, calculating Venus with that sounds that sounds so garbled to many of us. And I heard that as a reflection to our last podcast that there is, you know, like there is the parts where some of us feel like we can't follow and in regards to this book, where would you place it in the, you know, like, terms of layman, beginners and advanced
4:47
people so I was very ambitious with this one. I wanted to write one that anybody could pick up because of that reason. I hate what you just said. I mean, I hate the part of what you just said that where when I say something and someone can't follow it. I always hate that in every instance. Anyway, when someone's explaining something to me, and it just doesn't make sense. They're using a lot of terms. And so I wanted to write it in that there is a common thread that we've all experienced in life, and I wanted to write about that. So the first section of the book, you might just read that 1/3 and get everything you need from that and not go any further but then I realized it wasn't enough because astrologers are going to read this most likely was mostly astrologers and a student students. That's the next section. Then we'll go into more of the how you read that how you break that apart. Yeah, it's calculated and it also goes into the patterns in the sky and the stories we tell. Yeah, but those signs Yes. Right now just the 12 sun signs, but the 27 Lunar mansions? Yes, all of that. They all have symbolism, mythology, mythology, and Gods associated Yeah, it gets more complex as the book goes on, and then finishes with what most people are more familiar with anyway, and that's the transits. That's the last piece. Actually, it's not the first piece. Most people when they're reading horoscopes, the first read horoscopes, it's all about transits. In fact, that's the very last piece and a very small piece. It's only about that much of the book. Yeah. Okay. Maybe bit more. Rest of it. It's all about cycles. So the transits are just the top layer. Experience. Yes.
6:21
Wow. So the first thing that I need to ask you then is where is the sense? I mean, then come back to that question with you again and again, and I think it's still valid you know, where do you see the sense in knowing what you going through you know, with the astrology while it's like, almost to me we don't have free will, you know, we don't have free will and we are kind of guided by, by the planets and we are guided by our beliefs and how we kind of perceive or kind of in in veiled form as to how to move on or values. And, yeah, so what is the point in me knowing you know, that might be a different, difficult phase I had.
7:11
Yeah, it's a really good question. And it's usually the question that comes up when, when you get this sense of that your life is mapped out in some way? Yes. That's obviously the first question is very thinking about is like, Well, why do I want to know it's a double edged sword? Yes, in a way. So I'm going to say that, first of all, depends how you use the sword. Or the Rangers or it could be like, you know, be really good. But one of the things I would say about it is to know, it's like, let's go back. I know it's just a very cliche thing now but to go back to the seasons. It's kind of like if you did have your astrology is kind of like you're going through life not knowing what season follows. What? Yeah, it's a bit like that. It's a bit like you don't know that summer follows spring and you have a plan for it at all, or that winter follows autumn. Okay, I have no clue that that's happening at all, ever. And you go year on year and you still don't know if that's happening, and you're oblivious to it. And that's kind of what it's like. So actually, I look at it differently. I look at it as when you given your map. First of all, it's just a map. Not the terrain. It's not what's happening. It's just the map equitable it doesn't restrict me in any way. And it's the paradox of disciplines, right? Where you have a discipline that frees you actually, you have a discipline that frees you up to be yourself. Yeah, actually, what is given me more than the freedom to be myself more as I go through the cycles I don't struggle against what is happening. I can actually be myself more in that.
8:48
Oh, I love it. I love that. That sense of you know, self acceptance and kind of allowing yourself to come into presence as such, you know, like, this is where I am and this is not the phase where I should be looking for long success in a career or whatever. And sometimes that's hard for us to follow you know, because when we are, like say most of us who would consult with astrologers like you being we are stuck, and we're kind of looking for the reason why we're stuck maybe and what's ahead is almost like the crystal ball a little bit for some of us, you know, like, oh, is this in the stars for me right now or is it not, but at the end of the day, a lot of people probably come out and think like, I want success now. Or I wonder how often our wife desire, you know, and how can astrology help us in that way? How do you feel enveloped in that as somebody who almost like coaches, people who probably in the same way
9:52
yeah, that's you these questions are great to get these good places. So one of the things is it's really complex, and there's a lot of layers, right? So when you say somebody wants to get married or wants anything that's on the level of the mind, obviously, right? And so there's a cycle that reflects that, but then there are other cycles that are going on at the same time, that might show that there's something blocking them at the same time that you want it that there's something also blocking it, but then that cycle will pass. And so this time, it's easier to get into a relationship within somebody might not want to be in one. Yeah, they're all working together. Yeah. So you have to see all the layers together and also the place in the stage of life because there's no point talking about somebody getting married when they're 10 years of age, you know, like, you have to look at it in the context of where they are in their life, the cycles that are running at the same time, all the different layers and that the analogy that might teach her pearls. Her husband is my teacher here in Ireland. She used to use the analogy of the boat on the ocean. She has his picture in her house and I included in the book as well of Ganesh sitting on the boat with the holding this steering it right with the rudder. So the analogy is that the boat is you. Everything that you packed in Bronwyn, right? Yeah. The the waves are the cycles. This is the main piece. Yes, the tide is going to take you somewhere. Yeah, the transits are the winds and they are either helping you getting where you want to go. Or the machine gets where you want to go. Yeah, to look at it all together to see are you getting where you want to go easily or is it struggle? Yeah, it's your are going to go where you need to go because this cycles show what's coming up from the depths of the ocean. Actually, what's coming up from the depths of you. You're asking for it. On some level, you're making it all happen.
11:48
Yeah. So it kind of gives us time to reflect on what kind of beliefs we've taken on from maybe our environment, parents, whatever. I was thinking about how somebody said to me like you know, if you would have wanted to become an accountant, this would have been disastrous for you, you know, and so maybe we can see these wishes that we have as exactly that we feel like we want something and we can ask ourself where this one has come from. So to move deeper into our true desires, is that how I could
12:22
mean, again, that's so important because like, where do our desires come from the first time?
12:26
Yeah. Where do they come from? Where
12:28
do they come from? Well, I mean, this is a bit of a controversial one, right? It is. There's two ways of looking at astrology. It's not just looking at the patterns. It is that it's a pattern seeking. So astrologers are always looking for patterns like well, what is this pattern in the chart and the cycle No. Other way from a more energetic point of view, like the subtle energetics of it, is that the planets are not just planets. They're deities. And they are communicating with us not indirectly, by our mind, even an our energy body or any of that deeper still into our causal body. So, yeah, it's our soul that has the direct communication. Yeah. So where do our desires come from? They're actually coming from a deeper imprint that actually lasts for many lifetimes that we bring in and that influences the way we think. And then that will then influence is the energy to do something or not.
13:25
Are we talking about things like souls that are being reborn with certain information? If you want to believe in that, is that what you were talking about?
13:37
Yeah, want to be and you don't have to believe in it, because you actually could just think that that's an imprint in this life and that my past has led to this and this will lead to that.
13:46
And I came across a very good explanation of, you know, at least believing in the imprints not met. If we don't want to think about our soul doing this travel then we could just go the ancestral road for example, if we think of who we come from, and how many bodies were involved involved and how many believes were involved and at least if you don't you know as a listener don't believe into the rebirth concept of think a little bit about like how much we do inherit and as in belief systems as and caution as in how we have to move through society in a certain terrain. That is also probably where desires come from for me as well, you know, on that human DNA design level and beyond the soul.
14:33
Yeah, and that's what it is. That's what astrology is pointing to because it's also you don't just have your own astrology blueprint. You have your family, you have your nation. Right so depending on where you live on the planet, that's gonna make a big difference to how you live out your life, right? Yes,
14:49
absolutely. And I always love that about the newsletters, you know that you don't do this kind of where you know this magazine. Astrology as we know it. It's, you know, this thing is gonna be lucky for you and you've got to pick up the love on your light. It's that the weather of the nation and the weather or the economy and the weather of how the world is moving forward. So what's ahead of us I mean, you already mentioned it in a few newsletters
15:21
even though I do that because I have to for like a newsletter because I'm talking to everybody I actually it's not my favorite part was trilogy. This is my favorite part of astrology. This is one to one. Yeah, that's where astrology becomes more accurate. Because then actually until you actually look at the individual and the individual blueprint, you're not going to be accurate. Yes, the when we talk about like mundane events, world events, I mean, and I do have to write about it a lot and I have gotten good at it. I think I have gotten good at making predictions in the world but it's just not my favorite thing. Because it's not talking to the individual. I'm more interested in individuals. I'm not interested in the world, really. So but in the world, I mean, if you want to get into that, I mean, where do we begin? Like what what, what what area would you like to look at? I mean, I'm obviously conscious of here. I've been asked that in the past and was labeled a fear monger. And that's no longer the case because well, the gloves are off now. Yeah, yeah. wore this pandemic snow to that. So I don't think I'd be labeled that anymore. And if I don't say certain things, then you're like, Oh, why didn't you warn us? So it's kind of a catch 22 situation.
16:31
So we don't need to talk about it. We can go back to the you know, I was just thinking because we're in the Age of Aquarius, it's the dawn it's a new day, you know, that kind of sense of these things all have to happen in also for us, you know, that we might not like the situations we're in, learn how to change, how does change happen and it happens through something has to get lost or that you know, we are incited to rethink enabling in the world and yes, of course it's an individual no Welcome back to the travel journey of the world and thinking we are, what under they're kind of whatever boon or whatever they are not granting us but at the end of the day, it's that freedom that we talked about initially, you know, that we do have to find in ourselves in the self love and self acceptance that have to accept the tasks we are made here to come into this world and to keep course of that so the big question is but I think you know, we all know it, it just it How long will this last? You know this this, how long are we going through rough changes? Is there anything that you'd like to say in the years, three years, you know, like, what are we looking at?
17:51
Well, if I were to preface this, if I was to say to you in 2019, when I saw what was happening in 2020. And I was giving talks at the time, and I was like, very conscious of how will I say these things? If I said to you, oh, we're going to have a worldwide pandemic, there'll be a war in Ukraine, it's going to spread into Europe, etc, etc. And all the other disasters, you probably would have got quite anxious Yes. But here we are. Right. And so we live through things. And so if I say anything about the future, and that's a tendency of astrology where it's a double edged sword, I was saying, where it's good to know on the one hand, but then you can't not know. Yeah, and then you start living your life in the future was not helpful at all. Unless you use it for what it's meant for, which is just planning the weather. Yes. This is winter. This is spring, this is whatever you know. So that's kind of our if we look at it like that, there's a few things coming down the line that are not so easy. And that's not just myself, but there are other astrologers who have predicted this, that this war is going to escalate and it could lead to a World War. Now when I say World War, it's not going to be like World War One or World War Two. No, it's going to be fought very differently. But there's this divide, obviously happening in the world. In East and West if you want to just say generally need to win America and Eastern countries, Russia and China. India and so on. They're already forming you know, coalition's, or whatever. Yes, yeah, that's a big part of the story right now, actually, because Saturn is in a lunar mansion, whose story is all about forming alliances? Yeah. Okay, the theme of this year yeah. So NATO reforming maybe that alliances and like recruiting, and now but also on the other side in the East dem forming an alliance, and that's going to lead to this dynamic of this split and this more like beyond Ukraine situation, the knock on effect that has on the economy, obviously,
19:48
yes, obviously, it's already happening. I mean, we're in the middle of it. We're all hoping for it to end but that is because we are still not accepting the change to me as well. I mean, it's not like oh, we accept it and then it's gonna go away. That's not what I'm saying. Here. It was just that we have to, as you say, we cannot say it's not going to be winter. You know, we're not sure how difficult winter is going to be yes, I can admit to that. Or it might be an idea of how difficult it's going to be but you know, you have to prepare for it not run around in your summer. Clothes, so to speak. If we talk about weather towards that, you know,
20:26
right for the economy, for example, as well. Like you know, you if you plan for that because people do pay for it actually make use of that. Yeah, like you make a lot of money when there's like a recession.
20:35
Yeah. There's people that want to work either or if you're happy yeah, that, to me is all to be honest. And I know it's hard to stay positive on that one. As you said, if if you know what lies ahead or if you kind of believe in what you do and how you read it, but in some forms to me, it's the way for me to listen in and make sure that I'm not stuck on all concepts of how I need to live my life.
21:10
Yeah, yeah, that's that's really important because it's all it's never the same. I think it was Mark Twain that says History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. That's why when you sit, you know, that's why you can't say Oh, World War is going to be like World War Two in the past, right? Yeah. Yeah. I remember years ago, I was actually it was a yoga class. And I was I was introducing Vedic Astrology to the group. And I was just talking about things I can't remember what it was and but I had to char up I think it was for America. And then I just said glibly, I'd I just kind of as a passing comment. And then when the words came out of my mouth, I realized how ridiculous that was. But I was looking at the chart and I was reading the chart and I said, Oh, this looks like civil war. And everybody laughed. I left as well, because civil war, but here we are. You can say that it's not a civil war, but it's like a civil war type scenario. So it's not the same. It's not a repeat of the Civil War. But it's like it's the same thing. Yeah, yes. Okay. Think about that. When you think about a war it's like a similar thing, but not the same.
22:16
Exactly. And that's okay, can we talk about fear a little bit and you know, I'm and I, we came, I asked him, but he didn't quite answer, you know, where do you see your kind of task in this I said, you know, you're almost coaching if you have to read a chart for somebody it's it's a way of how you can translate it and how you will present it and what it where's the aspects of theory, you know, what can you leave behind the fear so to speak, or how can you get past the fear with people listening to how their life is unfolding, not even how the current situation is unfolding in the world?
22:56
Well, I can answer that by actually going back to another question that I didn't answer either. And that is that not that I didn't answer but the topic you brought up about the Age of Aquarius? Yeah. We can mix it in with that because what is Aquarius is actually it's not the kind of, you know, all roses and shiny and everything is wonderful, like hippie dippie, sort of, like it's not at all that it's a very dark side. Alright, so that brings up a lot of fear. And it's dark because it's ruled by Saturn, which actually represents fear in our debate, it would be bought. And it rules also it is also ruled by the north node of the moon, which is an eclipse which is called Rahu in India and it's also about that but it like a deranged about, like an unreal world. So what we're heading into is an age of unreality, in a way or hyper reality, where it's all online, where it's all this kind of what some people might say is the dystopian future but and obviously that can bring up a lot of fear. The antidote to that, and especially Rahu, which creates these kinds of imaginations and like future projections, even if they're positive, it can create fear. Right? But then you might say, well, one person's fears and other person's excitement. You know, it's how we label it, right? But the thing is, the antidote to that is to be in the present moment, always. Always to come back to the present moment, because it's actually not real. Yes, future isn't real.
24:27
Yes. Yeah. Even if you predict it, even if
24:31
it's not real, it's actually doesn't exist. All of these imaginations, all of these projections into the future is not real. And yet, that's what Rahu does. For us. It actively and individually.
24:46
kind of gets our mind spinning on what could play out and as overlooking what is really in front of us is how we can make it unlimited.
24:55
Exactly. That's the Age of Aquarius. And what is great for is innovation and future orientated kind of, than to oh, we can do it this way. And let's plan this and let's do it, shake it up. But what is not good for is just being present. And that's why it's really necessary. For us all as we entered this age, were taken out of our bodies in a way into like devices that we're going to probably be wearing more and more come into our bodies the moment into what's real. What's really real, hyper reality of this.
25:25
Yeah. But he said, Not presence. And I felt like Yeah, but we need to learn presence. This is what I'm actually teaching right now. You know, like, after I've done all the Yoga and Ayurveda, this is coming through funny enough right now you know that the art of loving presence as I kind of sculpt my name into and now that he's saying that makes sense to me. Sorry, dear listener. And it's so difficult, you know, I'm just saying this because I also want to acknowledge at the same time we're sitting here with Gary who says all these things we both also know even we know you know, and we give these kinds of wisdoms into the world we know it's a practice and a practice is never perfect. You cannot just step into that and then that's good. You know, like, you wait for the 10 years until you can marry somebody or until we get successes. It's not about that waiting state. It kind of brings you deeper into the mind. aspects of the future as you're told but to to come back to the present moment. is a practice that always needs to be practiced even for those who are you know, far ahead on the path maybe what we call Enlightened or awakened or whatsoever it just and you have to have your notes you know, where you want to refer to astrology is your piece of me referring I think so. What do you use yourself and Gary when you know as an astrologer of bringing you into present what's what's part of that for you a practice as a practice. It's
27:05
the thing is, if I call it a practice, over the years that if I call it a practice, and it's something I do, then I don't do it enough. Yeah, okay. You know what I'm saying, catch 22. It's like, Oh, if I'm only meditating when I'm on the stool, or if I'm only doing yoga when I'm on a yoga mat, and I'm not doing it.
27:28
Exactly. Well, we got to start somewhere. We got to do the
27:32
start somewhere, but because I started there, and I realized that I was also because that's again, the catch 22 I was doing that. And then when I wasn't doing that, I wasn't there. Yes. And I realized that my practice had to be there as much as possible, even in my in chaos, even when things were going wrong. And it wasn't in the yoga class or on the meditations too. Yeah, I had to make it part of and I had been practicing that, like I've been practicing more. So in the last few years, I've been practicing under breathing all the time. Slowing my breath and pausing the breath and really stretching that out. And that's really brought me into a daily moment by moment practice. Yes, in in so many profound ways, I can't even describe it. But it's definitely calmed me down. It's definitely brought me into the moment more. It's give gave me that sense of stillness. And it's increased my fitness levels and all of that and all of those other side Yes. Right. But it kind of being present has been the best antidote for rattle for me. Yes.
28:37
Yeah. Like talking cold plummeting are almost censored, you know, I'm saying.
28:42
Anyway, in my shower, I always have Well, I always start with a warm shower and I'm bad. Cold and I always put it for the last minute to cold yeah.
28:53
So beautiful. Thank you for bringing that up. Because you're right Right, right. Right right in my eyes, at least in our like. A presence can only be practice if your heart and your mind kind of want to do it. So if you're sitting there and ticking a box, and sometimes we do you know, I'm just gonna sing on my mantras, you know, like I do like the singing right now. And then there's this switching point for me where it becomes really presence in my life in our way I can feel the connection and then I think like yeah, I'm not singing because I need to sing my mantra. This is the least last practice I ever thought I got to do, but it's just because my brain and my heart rewire and they come into that deep desire that we talked or we're trying to catch. Initially, you know, the desire of my soul what it wants to express and how can it be liberated to this connection, this trust into something more and I think that's what we're talking about trying to come out of this to part of our conversation. Here is that you you if you are a very rational person, you know, Astrology can help you a little bit with with all the nodes and all the explanation, but there is an aspect that always needs to be added to, you know, to survive alchemy insanely I think and that is the practice of faith and the faith that is totally live, not faith into something that is not manifesting with the faith and that we are guided. That's why I brought up the freewill earlier, you know, so maybe you want to end something towards the end.
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