In the way of water the poem of our soul encompasses within itself various notes, melodies and lyrics, different seasons, temperatures and landscapes, pathways walked and experiences, memories ingrained and songs sung, dreamed and prayed. All and everyone connects and finds their way back to each other and where they belong; it is all interconnected and interdependent, but we’ll never fully know it all with our human minds, the mystery of the universe and the divine plans will always remain somewhat mysterious, the humility of this deserves to be treasured.
There is a reason why people come together as family and from my many years of experience, past life connections are almost always present in the synastry charts I’ve seen between parent and child. Even as spirit babies we flow around our parent’s aura, our soul song synchronizes with theirs, and it is all the prayers of our parents and ancestors that bring us forward in a tunnel of love to be born. I suppose this is most humbling in astrology, because we see how all relates to all else and there is a higher purpose to it all.
To gain a deeper spiritual understanding of the links between children and parents, you can read my article on Spiritual Astrology Insights on the Higher Purpose of Parent-Child Relationships.
Today we’ll talk about these connections as seen through the lens of astrology, and precisely, one of the divisional charts D12 which shows our past lives, family relationships, and ancestral karma. Known as the Dwadasamsha, this chart also shows our higher spiritual potential and gives insights on mosha – because it is the divisional chart of our natal 12th house.
Our natal charts are essentially a spiritual study of all that which has been consumed by time. The stars, planets and constellations are only great indicators of this passage of time, and the divisional charts essentially zoom into specific houses, and divide it and dissect into smaller sections of time, to provide further insights.
For example, the D9, or Navamsa chart, is the divisional chart of our natal 9th house, so it is known as our dharma chart – we seek it for insight on our dharma or the manifestation of our dharma if we choose to step onto this higher path in our life. And as already mentioned, the D12, or Dwadasamsha, dissects the natal 12th for insight on past lives, ancestors, family relationships and higher spiritual potential for the purpose of moksha.
Before I take you on a deeper dive into its insights, we need to first emphasize the importance of knowing your exact time of birth for the divisional charts. Astrology is all about math, number and calculations – it shows cycles within cycles within cycles.
But in order to generate more accuracy you need your exact time of birth for the divisional charts because of their precise calculations. These charts can show different results – Ascendants and planetary placements and constellations – depending on what time of birth you use. The calculations are very sensitive to time – and sometimes even one minute off can show different results.
For those seeking to find their exact time of birth, it is usually best to have what’s know as birth time rectification. Rectification is essentially a bit like reverse engineering – the astrologer will take your given time of birth, and you’ll then need to tell them specific significant events from your life, usually big changes, and when they happened. The astrologer will then use software to look back and match transits with the events, and narrow down or solidify the time of birth. Rectification can be very costly though, and the other problem with it is that usually most people don’t remember exact dates of events.
So another way you can use the divisional charts such as the D9 and possibly the D12 is that you are fairly certain of your time of birth, within 2-5 minute frame, and then just take it with a grain of salt, see how it resonates, play around the minute of your birth, and just look at the overall theme.
As always, practice discernment, and don’t look at these charts are absolutes. Please understand that the higher purpose of astrology is merely to give you guidance and insights for a higher path, so approach it through that perspective, rather than through some fatalistic or deterministic way which will only keep you stuck, limited and in fear. The charts, as I already mentioned are a passage of time, of what has been consumed by time already, and has given you gravity here on earth – what’s ahead you may step onto a higher expression of it by dissolving some of the pre-conditioning and moving beyond the lines. Knowledge is power, self awareness is key always, and always, follow the truth of your true heart’s calling.
Back in the day astrologers had to calculate these divisional charts manually, but nowadays there are software and free online platforms that you can use, such as Astro.com and Astro Seek.
But – what you need to be mindful of are the choice of calculation techniques you are using there because these too will generate different charts sometimes. If you are choosing the Tropical calculation there is only one of that; but – if you are choosing the Sidereal calculations, there are many techniques such as Sidereal Lahiri, Raman, Takra, De Luce, Fagan-Bradley, True Chitra, True Mula, etc. Each time you change the calculation technique, things will change slightly, including dasha periods, charts and even transits. So just be mindful that divisional charts overall are highly time sensitive.
Now let’s dive into the mystical lands of the Dwadasamsha – I will guide you through what insights it may give you, how to analyze it and how to understand it properly.
And afterwards, at the end of the article, I will also guide you through ways on how to understand your family relationships more deeply in the case that you don’t know your exact time of birth, but are still seeking to settle these relationships in greater understanding, peace and compassion.
The D12 chart
Known as the Dwadasamsha, this is the chart of our past lives, ancestral karma, lineage and your relationship to your parents. This chart essentially tells us who we are today because of who we were before, and it gives reference and hints towards our higher spiritual potential. The D12 chart’s Ascendant will change every couple of minutes, and the planetary house placements change too, so this is why it is very time sensitive.
The Dwadasamsha shows the reason for our re-incarnation based upon the desires from our past that were left unfulfilled (because essentially we re-incarnate for those reasons); it tells us about our relationship to our parents, who they are and what they gave us in experience, blessing and protection, and any obstacles based on their own lineage or karma; it shows any ancestral karma; it shows us gifts and what we’ve carried over from our past lives as gifts in this life to continue, and it also shows us some of our deepest fears based on past lives, which is important to know because this often is essentially what moves us through life and affects our decision making. This chart is said to show up ancestors for up to seven generations back. This is because usually it takes seven generations for any heavier karma to clear up related to bad ju ju things.
Understanding our past is important, because the best predictor of the future is the past, and the past tends to repeat itself; this is not just seen through astrology, this is seen in humanity and its evolution through the thousands of years.
The most important things to look for in the D12 chart are: Rahu and Ketu, the Sun, the Ascendant, the 4th house and the 9th house.
The position of Rahu shows the areas of life where your ancestors want to develop through you – so this will indicate a lot of support in this area of your life from them. This is seen through equal houses and signs, no aspects are applied for this position unless there is a conjunction.
The Ketu position is supported by your ancestors also and this points to what they themselves developed, or some aspect of those skills or worked toward them, and they want you to perfect and refine them, perhaps through a different perspective through your Rahu perspective.
The 6th house will show how you can improve on your ancestors’ abilities and talents through your self efforts. If you want to get more technical, this is because Rahu in the D12 corresponds to the 6th house, because the numerology adds to it.
So when you are looking at “what your ancestors want to develop through you”, you’d look at both the Rahu placement and the 6th house and any planets there. For example, let’s say you have Mercury there, perhaps you will refine communication, open mindedness, considering different perspectives, expansion, skills and craftmanship, and perhaps become an author which would have been a dream for one of your grandparents that they never made come true in their own life. So – you made their dream come true, and through that, which is also aligned to your own soul’s path in your natal chart, you also created a new pathway forward for the lineage.
You can also look at the 12th house, which will show you the overall benefits your ancestors are giving you. The 3rd house will show you teh strength you are receiving from your family and it shows your own self confidence, will power and courage of soul. And the 7th house can be seen as the spouse or partner meant for you in some shape or form, who would help promote the lineage of your family.
After Rahu and Ketu, the most important is the analysis of the Sun in the D12 – because the Sun shows our soul.
The Sun is our soul essence, so it is really important to see its position in the D12 – as this will show you where you were and what you’ll be bringing into this life as well. So essentially knowing where your Sun is placed in your D12 will give you reference to where your soul is in this life, what it is focused on and desires most deeply to experience. And you will often see echoes of this in your natal chart and Navamsa as well.
What makes this chart important and meaningful is that it shows people their relationship to their parents and how we are all interconnected; it serves a higher spiritual peace almost, to inspire people to come into some deeper understanding and compassion. Because outside of our roles of parents and children, we are all just human beings, souls dressed in clothes and skin, trying to make things work from the best of our knowledge and current awareness.
The higher spiritual truth is that we all do the best we can each day with the tools and emotions and awareness we have. We all make mistakes, no one is perfect, no one is a saint, no one is some enlightened guru – because if we are in human skin we have blind spots and we all desire to learn and deepen in love and self awareness. Forgiveness trumps karma always, and this is how we unhold our hands from the wheels of karma – we deepen in compassion and we come into forgiveness.
As I’ve shared with you before, our natal 4th house is most important because it is the key to happiness and how able we can be to feel happy – because this is the house of our roots, family and lineage, emotional nurturing and ability to feel at home within. It is a house of the past, it is a house of our heart and faith, and how we feel most deeply, what gives us stability within, and this is needed – the roots are needed, because this is what gives us stability. So coming into deeper understanding of your family and roots can be deeply healing and transformative.
The D12 chart show the higher spiritual potential of your life; and aside from the Sun, Rahu and Ketu, the other most important points are the Ascendant, the 4th house (mother) and the 9th house (father).
The Ascendant shows your relationship to your parents in this life, the overall theme of it, and your overall past life direction, along with your Sun placement. As all is interconnected, we flow into the present from the past, and this is why our early childhood experiences has hints on our past life experiences.
The 4th house relates to your mother, the nurturing and relationship to her, and the comforts you may get from her. From the 4th house we go nine places to reach the 12th house, which is our higher spiritual potential – and the 4th house is the house of the mother, which then serves as the blessing towards your path i.e. how she blessed you towards reaching your potential in this life, and of course it also shows her connection to your in past lives.
The 9th house is about your relationship to your father and what you may receive from him as blessing, whether intellectual, material etc. From the 9th house we then go four places to reach the 12th house, and as the 9th house in the D12 relates to our father, this shows how our father protects us on our path towards our spiritual potential.
What these show is actually very important and meaningful because we may often think that we didn’t receive good things or weren’t supported, but all has its purpose.
I’ll give you an example. There was a man who wanted to seek into this chart, and throughout his life all he wanted was to be an engineer. He had a lot of fights with his father and always felt like his father was not understanding him nor supporting him – and yet what he couldn’t see was that his father was supporting him all along because he helped him finance his education and through the obstacles faced the man actually also learned perseverance and humility, which later on in his life helped him develop these qualities and be better at his work.
But even after the astrologer told him how his father had been supportive on his path, and certainly very financially supportive, the man was still circling in his wheel of blame and resentments, and just didn’t have the awareness to see and come into compassion for his father. The man couldn’t understand nor see how his father had struggled a lot in his life in order to provide him with the finances, so that the man can study what he desires. All the man was stuck on was how his father wasn’t always at home to pay attention to him and that his father was stressed – which yes of course he was because he went through endless struggles and sweat to provide financially for him.
And this is how usually things happen – we rarely are able to understand and keep ourselves stuck in some judgments, assumptions and conditioned beliefs, and a lot of expectations of how someone should be. We rarely are able to see through the eyes of someone and settle into the truth that they too had their own life and struggles, and despite whether we knew of this or not, they went though sweat and tears to give us what we need. We don’t know what others go through, and how much they give and feel towards us, so we need to humble ourselves that we just don’t know it all – and that there are so many things we just don’t know and see.
And when we walk so blindly, stuck in expectations and shoulds, we have a harder time being open to truth when it comes to us. This is why people not always understand the D12 chart, because they are not open to its wisdom, and they approach it through judgments.
Unfortunately as astrologers, we see this often – we show people the weaving of life and the higher purpose of things and perhaps even open the door to what was unseen before, to how much the significant relationships in life have actually been beneficial, but people just keep themselves stuck.
Parent-child relationships are sacred because family is sacred. There are bigger weavings and secret threads aligning us, and the humility of this deserves to be treasured. Respect them, forgive them, take care of them, because this is important for your spiritual growth and lineage healing also.
The gifts and legacy we receive from them are much greater than material and what we think we should – but you need to know that what you need, based upon past life deeds also, you will receive even if not in the way you thought you should. Greater higher truths and answers can only be seen through the wisdom that time gives us.
Synastry and Past Life Links:
You can look to the D12 for synastry hints also. For example, you can check the synastry between your parents’ planets and your D12 chart, and usually will see links, such as perhaps your D12 Moon is conjunct your parent’s Sun, etc. These show the past life links and even soulmate links, as well as hints on your relationship to them and themes that may be coming up.
You can also look for romantic past life links with other people significant to your life, like a spouse, lover or romantic partner, to see for any past life links. For example, your D12 Venus conjunct his planets, well, you’ve been together before most probably in a romantic relationship. And if connected to the Ketu and Rahu, the ancestors may have brought you together to fulfill something together, could even be a child that they’d want you to have to continue their lineage, legacy, and be an answered prayer for them, perhaps they may have prayed for that child also.
When it comes to the analysis the only aspect for these links is the conjunction – no other aspects are looked at. And the most important planets for these synastry links with Rahu, Ketu, Sun, Moon, Atmakaraka, Darakaraka, Ascendant, and the Ascendant Ruler.
The most important houses for these links would be the D12 Ascendant, 4th, 7th, 9th and 12th house, and especially the 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th – i.e. the moksha houses – can show deeply emotional and spiritual links between two people, and potential for great spiritual growth.
Diving deeper:
If you don’t have your exact time of birth, don’t worry about this at all. Perhaps you are already too introspective and maybe this is a gentle reminder from your higher self to just accept things, not dig in too much, and pour compassion and acceptance into your present moment and what you can do in your relationships right now, and to just let go of the need to have the exact answers and reasons for things through astrology.
To understand the relationship to your parents, lineage and how they have supported you or any gifts and legacy they’ve gifted to you, take some time for honest self reflection. Call into your mind the past – where are you right now and how have you gotten here through their influence.
What have you learned from them – such as kindness, virtues, perseverance, endurance, trust, humbleness. How did you come upon the wisdoms of these lessons? What is there to be grateful for? What do you hold as resentment, anger or disappointment or sadness – listen to those emotions, what are they actually pointing you towards. Be honest with yourself where you may have been a little too hard on them because of your expectations; what have they given you that you may have perhaps not paid enough attention to.
What qualities within your own natal chart have they reflected to you, and how can you actually heal these within you. What is your overall life path – and how have they shown up for you on it. Perhaps you are here to show people the interconnection of things and serve as expansion, so perhaps you travelled a lot in childhood or your parents have very open minds and beliefs; or perhaps they don’t and this is what pushed you beyond your own lines to seek.
Close your eyes and think of what may have been happening behind closed doors, away from your perception – the kind of struggles and sacrifices they may have made to give you something in your life of value. There is always something to learn new and be grateful for, and as I mentioned previously – the higher spiritual truth is that each person does the best they can with what they know, the emotional and material tools they have, and the awareness they have in their current moment.
Unhold your hands from the circling karmic wheels, and try your best to open your palms and heart through the waters of forgiveness and compassion. Only these waters are able to dissolve the boundaries between us, so that we reach our hands across the lines that separate us. Love is the only way forward, and grace trumps all.
Moving forward:
Native American leader Chief Seattle once said,
We don’t inherit this earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
I love this saying, because while we see that yes, we do inherit a lot, and we do carry the karmas forward also, it isn’t about always looking back to our past. This is a gentle reminder to respect where we come from, but to keep our eyes forward.
We can sometimes get a little lost in the past, circling around and around and around, and there is no need for that, because other hands will come those paths we’ll shape and already are shaping through the way we live our own lives. This quote reminds us that instead of being too concerned with oneself or always looking backward, we should also respect those who are yet to come and live for their benefit.
Someday, our children, grand children and great grand children will be looking at their own charts seeing the influence we may have had on them too, so may we leave in their paths, hands and hearts more blessings, more love, more freedom. The way we change the future is now, the way we change the past is now, because the future meets the past in the present.
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Cover art by Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin.