The Link Between Astrology and Yoga

For hundreds of years the practices of yoga and astrology have been intrinsically intertwined.

Ancient yoga texts teach the relationship between the macrocosm and microcosm as experienced through the body, breath and meditation. Yoga teaches its practitioners to find balance and harmony by maintaining and perfecting certain physical and mental postures. Astrology offers a similar approach, exploring the interconnectedness of all life (the macro in the micro) through intuition and empirical science.

The ultimate aim of astrological enquiry is a more harmonious relationship with The Self and The Universe that enlivens it. In this way, astrology can be understood as a Yoga of the Mind.

The practice of Hatha Yoga seeks to balance the masculine and feminine polarities within the mind/body to achieve greater spiritual awareness. The word “Hatha” itself combines the Sanskrit terms for Sun/Moon, to describe a system of wellbeing aimed at unifying these apparently polar principles. Yoga explores the dual systems of energy that run through the physical body, and how these systems can be synergized for greater vitality and awareness.

The word “Ha” refers to the solar nadi (Pingala) in the subtle body and “Tha” the lunar channel (Ida). Psychological Astrology seeks to synthesize these same polarities to create an alchemical transformation within the psyche of the individual. Both Hatha Yoga and Psychological Astrology are concerned with the elevation of consciousness through the application of naturally occurring principles. Ultimately, they seek a greater awareness of our relationship to the source of Life or the Divine.

Yoga like meditation, works to stimulate and harmonise the chakras. Carl Jung described the chakras as “the gateways of consciousness”. By working systematically through the 7 major chakras, Hatha Yoga opens these gateways, and helps them to operate at their maximum potential.

By thinking about Psychological Astrology as a yoga of the mind, we can see how these two practices allow access to expanded levels of consciousness, and greater levels of personal development.