The Soul Purpose of Your Life

I recently came upon the following quote by George Burns: "I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate." Does this statement strike a chord in you or does it sound like so much bovine manure? After all, how can you fail if you're doing something you love? Conversely, how can you succeed at something you hate?

However, the answer depends on how one defines success and failure. These days, the majority of people equate "success in life" with financial and material success. And that's how you may find financially successful individuals who are miserable at their jobs. They don't like what they're doing, but they're good at it and it pays the bills, so that's what they have to keep on doing. Many people stop themselves from doing what they love simply for the reason that what they love doing may not earn them the money needed to be successful in the way society defines it.

In the book Total Kabbalah by Maggy Whitehouse there is a chapter on how to discover one's soul purpose. According to Ms. Whitehouse, people who follow their soul purpose achieve a certain amount of satisfaction and fulfillment even if their lives become challenging because of it. Kabbalah in conjunction with astrology can provide important clues as to what type of calling would be consistent with one's soul purpose.

The Kabbalistic Tree of Life is composed of ten sefirot arranged in a particular pattern. Within this pattern, certain sefirot are connected to others by lines (refer to the image). The way these lines are connected, you can form a triangle among certain sefirot with a sefira at each corner of a particular triangle. This triangular grouping is called a "triad."

The particular triad we are interested in is called the Soul Triad. The interactions between the sefirot in this triad can give a clue as to what your soul purpose may be. The soul triad is composed of Gevurah-Tiferet-Chesed. Next comes the astrology part.

Each sefira has a planetary correspondence. In this case, Gevurah corresponds to Mars, Tiferet with the Sun and Chesed with Jupiter. Tiferet reflects your Sun sign. Your soul's strengths and weaknesses can be found in your Mars and Jupiter. As an example, I will quote directly from Total Kabbalah:

A sun in Virgo with Mars in Scorpio and Jupiter in Libra indicates someone focused on service, accuracy, and health (Virgo). This person can see right to the root of a problem through any illusion and is willing to act to destroy or save where appropriate (Scorpio); he or she has the ability to balance all points of view and find the most harmonious outcome (Libra). This soul triad would indicate a person whose soul's purpose was to discover and heal inner problems - whether as a psychiatrist, healer or surgeon.

Now comes the stickler. The sun sign is easy enough to find out since it's the sign corresponding to one's birth date. However, the Mars and Jupiter in sign needs a full astrological chart to determine, and skilled astrologers can be quite pricey or even hard to find.

Have no fear, because the site Cafe Astrology provides a free natal chart service. Just follow the simple steps and take note of the results. When the natal chart comes out, simply zero in on the Mars and Jupiter in signs to find out their characteristics. The site also has specific pages explaining each planet in sign. Of course, interpreting all three to come out with a conclusion about what career or life path best suits you is still a tricky thing.

Let's now relate this to pranic healing, since this may help shed more light on the interpretation of results. In pranic healing, the different sefirot also correspond to the chakras. Gevurah refers to the solar plexus chakra, Tiferet to the navel chakra and Chesed with the heart chakra. Psychologically, the solar plexus pertains to the lower drive, lower emotions and concern for what benefits the self. The heart chakra represents the higher emotions, the higher drives and concern for what benefits others. The navel chakra is a storehouse of energy and represents lower intuition, the gut feel.

Your Mars in sign, representing Gevurah or the solar plexus chakra, can give you a clue as to what drives you, how you express or go for the things you desire for yourself. Your Jupiter in sign, representing Chesed or the heart chakra, can give you an idea of how you express your desire to help others. Your sun sign, representing Tiferet or the navel chakra, can give you an idea of what motivates you or keeps you going. The interactions of these three can therefore help you gain insight on what would most likely give you fulfillment.

The above methods are not the last word on the subject of discovering one's soul purpose, of course. However, it gives one a chance to align with that purpose in an organized manner. Only you can say if the results resonate with your or not. The important thing is to make the effort, because the more we can attune with our soul and our purpose in life, the more at peace we will be with ourselves and with others. Regret is such a heavy burden to bear, so try not to let it get to that point.