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Dusthana Houses and The Value of Adversity
As mystics have said for thousands of years, we need to bless our enemies and the adversities that life sends us, as they are our greatest teachers. We are often awakened, chastened, and made both humble and compassionate by the difficult episodes we undergo.
"It is easy to fall asleep floating in a swimming pool lulled by perfect weather, but one tends to wake up after running into a brick wall."
We also can clear the incomplete events of the past by recognizing that our reactions to the trials of the moment are the re-activations of past unfinished traumas that need to be felt through, forgiven, and released.
Note: These include karmic patterns that need to recur in this life to be addressed.
Astrologically, the houses that have gotten a "bad name" are the keys to transforming our lives and our consciousness. The events represented by these houses shock us into awareness. They represent, in Gurjieffian terms, the shock points in our lives. These are opportunities not only to "wake up", but to jump more permanently to new levels of consciousness.
Vedic astrology recognizes the Dusthana houses -- 6, 8, and 12 -- not only as representing suffering, but as helping us -- through our journey in their realms -- to cultivate spiritual detachment, achieve release from the Earth plane, and reach enlightenment.
In other words: "What is bad for life on Earth is good for the return to Heaven."
Sixth House | Eighth House | Twelfth House |
enemies | strife with in-laws | secret enemies |
acute illness | chronic illness | hospitalization |
minor debts | major debts/bankruptcy | expenses |
worries | crises | insanity |
misdemeanors | felonies | imprisonment |
injury | killing | major losses |
minor accidents | major accidents | death |
scandals | disgrace | exile |
grief and misery | dejection | fear |
miserliness | depending on other's money | extravagance |
disrupted routines | unsurmountable obstacles | breakdowns |
OCD | uncontrollable passions | addictions |
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