Astrology, Nutrition, and Health ~ Chapter Seven ~ by Robert Carl Jansky

Astrology Nutrition & Health

by Robert Carl Jansky

Chapter

Chapter Seven

Enzymes: Body Catalysts

Topics in this Chapter:

What is an Enzyme?

Composition of Enzymes

Antagonistic Planetary Pairs

The Liver

Liver Disease and the Horoscope

   In this chapter we will find out what happens to the raw products of the digestive process after they are absorbed into the bloodstream through tiny blood vessels called capillaries in the walls of the small intestine. In order to clearly understand this process, we must first learn about the class of body compounds that are called enzymes.

What is an Enzyme?

   The body can be thought of as a massive chemical plant in which thousands of different reactions take place simultaneously every minute of our lives. These chemical reactions are interdependent; if one fails to proceed properly, many other reactions are affected, which can result in sickness or disease. Good health thus means that all the reactions must take place at the right time, in the right place and in the proper proportion.

   Every chemist knows that when certain proportions of particular chemicals are combined in the right circumstances, a predictable reaction will take place. A common example of this is the mixing of baking soda and lemon juice to produce carbon dioxide gas. This reaction occurs spontaneously when the reacting substances are mixed. However, most chemical reactions require some form of energy, usually heat. In other words, you have to heat up the substances to make them react. Most of the reactions that take place in the body require heat.

   One type of chemical reaction, called oxidation, releases energy in the form of heat and sometimes light. This occurs whenever a substance combines with oxygen. Your car engine heats up because when gasoline is combined with the oxygen in the air and oxidized in the cylinders of the engine, considerable heat is released. A sudden oxidation reaction is called an explosion. Rapid oxidation is called a fire, which produces both heat and light. When oxidation occurs slowly, as in the tarnishing of a penny, only heat is released.

   The body obtains all of its heat energy through oxidation. In each living plant or animal cell, oxygen from the air is combined with a simple sugar, usually glucose, to produce water, carbon dioxide and energy:

oxygen + sugar = carbon dioxide + water + energy

   The water and carbon dioxide are of little use to the body and must be removed before they build up. It is energy that the body requires to fuel all of the other chemical reactions that take place in each cell. This very basic vital process was mentioned in Chapter Two under the symbolic astrological rulership of Leo - Aquarius, whose physiological keyword, you will remember, is “energizing.”

   In order for any chemical reaction to take place, the substances must be brought into intimate contact with each other. As long as the lemon juice remains in the bottle and the baking soda in its box, they cannot react. So it is within the body. The necessary raw ingredients are brought to the cells by the bloodstream, and they pass through the cell wall by a process called osmosis, as well as by other forms of selective absorption. They float around in solution in the cytoplasm, the liquid interior of the cell, along with the raw materials for many different reactions. The problem then is to bring the right materials together so that the reaction can occur.

   This last step is carried out by the enzymes, which are electrically charged, proteinlike “collector molecules.” Each kind of enzyme attracts the proper raw materials for a particular reaction, bringing them together so that they can react. The enzymes themselves do not enter into the reaction and can thus be thought of as catalysts. They can be called the cell’s matchmakers; they arrange the marriage without entering into the relationship themselves. Since they are proteins, the enzymes eventually wear out and must be replaced.

   There is a specific enzyme for almost every chemical reaction that occurs in the body, and each enzyme has only one function - to see that its particular reaction takes place. If the enzyme wears out and is not replaced, that reaction does not take place, and its vital products are not available as raw materials for the next reaction. Like a row of dominoes, each reaction depends on the previous one, and if one does not take place, a whole series of vital chemical reactions comes to a halt. Enzymes are extremely sensitive to temperature changes. They are at their efficient best at 98.6 ° F., and when the body is chilled or in fever, their ability to combine the raw materials is lessened.

   Enzymes as a class are under the rulership of Pluto, as are all replicative processes, such as printing, xerography, cell reproduction and mass production techniques. Most chemical poisons, ruled by Neptune, are substances that actually combine with and destroy the enzymes. Observe the antagonistic Neptune-Pluto effect!

   Enzymes are formed from ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules in the cell. The RNA molecules, which are formed from the hereditary material (genes) in the cell nucleus, act as a template upon which the enzymes are formed. Pluto rules all of these processes. When a living organism is born with a defective gene or if a gene is missing, the RNA molecule is not complete, and thus some specific enzyme is not formed in the cell. The reaction that depends on this enzyme thus cannot occur, and the organism is defective. If the reaction is vital to the life of the organism, the organism will die without it.

   Modern medicine recognizes a number of such hereditary defects caused by the absence of particular enzymes. Babies born with phenylketonuria (PKU), for example, are unable to use the amino acid called phenylalanine, which then builds up in the body and eventually poisons it. (Newborn babies are now routinely given a PKU test, so that treatment can begin immediately if this defect is present.) Modern astrology recognizes such genetic defects as planetary afflictions to Pluto.

   Certain hereditary defects, or mutations, are not serious enough to cause death, but they do change the body chemistry. When such a change is passed on to the offspring, the evolution of the species is affected. For example, insects like the termite have enzymes that convert wood and other forms of cellulose into sugar. In the process of evolution, which often involves nonlethal mutations, the higher animals have lost this ability. Again, most animals other than man have an intestinal enzyme that allows manufacture of vitamin C when this vitamin is not part of the diet. As human beings evolved, this ability was lost, and thus it is vital to include vitamin C in the diet each day.

   When bacteria and viruses attack the body, they interfere with normal enzyme functions, again resulting in a disease condition. Since bacteria and viruses are also ruled by Pluto, the Pluto functions of the body are subtly altered by their presence. Viruses are particularly subtle and insidious, for they are constructed of material very similar to the hereditary material in the cell’s nucleus. Certain viruses can hook on to the nuclear template and cause the cell to manufacture a different type of RNA, thus producing new enzymes to satisfy the virus’s needs. When the cell divides, the daughter cells are different from the parent cell, and we have what is commonly known as cancer. Medicine treats cancer (Pluto ruled) with drugs, ruled by Neptune. Again, notice the Pluto-Neptune antagonism.

   Bacterial subversion of the normal cell chemistry is subtle, undercover, hidden and a form of sabotage - all of which are astrologically assigned to Pluto. It takes Neptune, Pluto’s antithesis, to recognize this deception. This is why the physiological function of Pisces, ruled by Neptune, is to recognize foreign substances that enter the body and destroy or neutralize them, using antigen-antibody responses and the white blood cells. The thymus gland (Neptune ruled) plays a particularly important role in protecting the body from bacteria and viruses in early childhood while the body is learning to defend itself against attack by Pluto-ruled substances.

   Earlier we discussed the two basic kinds of reactions that occur in the body - reactions in which complex chemical com-pounds are reduced to simpler ones and those in which simple compounds are combined to make more complex ones. If enzymes cause these reactions to occur, then the enzymes themselves must be ruled by the same planets that rule the reactions. The enzymes of analysis (catabolism), ruled by Saturn, break down the complex compounds into simpler ones, and the enzymes of synthesis (anabolism), ruled by Jupiter, reconstruct simple molecules into more complex ones. Pluto remains the general ruler of all enzymes; Jupiter and Saturn are the subrulers, according to the enzyme’s function.

   An example of a catabolic enzyme (ruled by Saturn) is rennin, found in the digestive juices of infants and children under two. Its function is to reduce the complex protein lactoglobulin, which is found in milk, into simpler substances. Another example is ptyalin, found in the saliva, whose function is to break down complex starch molecules into simpler sugar molecules. One of the anabolic enzymes (ruled by Jupiter) is the chlorophyll in plant cells, which combines water, carbon dioxide and the Sun’s energy to form plant starch.

   Unfortunately, chemists have not followed a uniform system for naming the various enzymes. However, any substance whose name ends in “ase” is an enzyme.

Composition of Enzymes

   Each enzyme has a unique chemical formula. Most of the molecule is composed of protein, a string of amino acid units in a particular sequence that is characteristic of that kind of enzyme. But there is more to the enzyme molecule. Perhaps you have wondered why vitamins and minerals are so essential. The reason is that every enzyme molecule contains one kind of vitamin and one kind of mineral. The mineral gives the enzyme its electrical charge, which attracts oppositely charged raw materials that are required for the reaction it catalyzes. The vitamin completes the structure of the particular enzyme. The composition of the enzyme molecule is:

enzyme = protein ± vitamin + mineral

   The reason we need vitamins and minerals every day in our diet is to replace the enzymes that are continually wearing out. Chapter Ten of this book discusses the cell salts, which are nothing more than the minerals, in highly purified form, that the body needs to replace its worn-out enzymes. Healing arts practitioners who prescribe cell salts believe that many diseases are caused by the body’s temporary inability to replace necessary enzymes. They feel that by supplying the raw materials in pure form, the body can more easily overcome the disease.

   To see how enzymes work, let’s take as an example the liver enzyme ethylase, which contains vitamin B-1, thiamine. Its function is to convert grain alcohol into carbon dioxide and water. If a person drinks too much alcohol, the ethylase cannot convert it all to carbon dioxide and water, so the person develops a hangover caused by the destruction of protein. All hangover remedies contain vitamin B-1 to help the liver replace the ethylase that is used up in the process of detoxifying the alcohol. Without this enzyme in the liver, alcohol would poison and destroy the body.

   As an enzyme, ethylase is ruled by Pluto, and it is co-ruled by Saturn because it reduces the complex alcohol molecule into simpler substances. Alcohol, ruled by Neptune, can eventually be converted by the body to fat, which is ruled by Jupiter. Pluto vs. Neptune; Saturn vs. Jupiter! What a beautiful astrological picture of a physiological process!

Antagonistic Planetary Pairs

   In the preceding chapters we have seen many examples of the astrological law of polarities as applied to the planets. These pairs are:

Sun vs. Moon
Venus vs. Mars
Jupiter vs. Saturn
Neptune vs. Pluto

   When there is a health problem related to one of the planets in the four pairs mentioned above, we use as an antidote a substance ruled by the opposite planet, for example, drugs (Neptune) to treat bacterial invasion (Pluto).

   What do we do with Mercury and Uranus? In my opinion, there is no substantial evidence to justify calling them antagonists. In fact they have much in common. Both have much to do with the mind, Mercury representing conscious thought and reason, Uranus representing intuition. And I do not feel that intuition is the antithesis of reason, for the only place where we are totally free is within our own mind, subject only to self-imposed limitations on the thinking process.

   Mercury and Uranus can be called free-floaters, symbolizing alternative remedies to health problems. Since both represent the mind, these planets show us, as many practitioners of the healing arts are beginning to believe, that a person’s mental attitude has a great deal to do with the prognosis of any disease condition. You do not have to apply the antagonistic planetary remedy if instead you apply Mercury, Uranus or both to help resolve the health problem.

The Liver

   There is little doubt that the liver is the most important organ in controlling the body chemistry. Literally hundreds of enzyme-controlled reactions either take place within the liver or start here. That is why hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) and cirrhosis (deterioration of the liver) are such dangerous diseases. The liver not only purifies and detoxifies the blood, it also guards the entry of chemicals into the bloodstream. Before entering the general circulation, all food substances that are absorbed into the bloodstream in the stomach and the small intestine must pass through the liver via the portal circulation.

   A major function of the liver, in addition to promoting growth, is to convert toxic substances that have been absorbed in the small intestine into harmless substances that can easily be eliminated in the urine. Many foods that we eat contain small quantities of potentially harmful substances. A good example is the benzoic acid in cranberries, which is toxic. However, an enzyme in the liver immediately converts the benzoic acid into hippuric acid, a harmless substance that is easily eliminated in the urine.

   The liver does not have an enzyme to convert every potential poison. Ingesting even a small quantity of wood alcohol (methyl alcohol) results in blindness and often death, because the liver has no enzyme to protect the body from this poison.

   The liver, which is undoubtedly ruled by Jupiter, is divided into several sections, called lobes. The upper lobes are generally assigned to Cancer, in which Jupiter is exalted. The lower lobes are assigned to Virgo, in which Jupiter is in its detriment. The reason for this dual sign rulership is that the liver is located in both the Cancer and Virgo areas of the body. Let’s see what information we can derive from these sign and planet rulerships.

   Jupiter rules growth processes and synthetic chemical reactions, and one function of the liver is to sustain and encourage growth. Jupiter also rules excesses, which is precisely what the liver seeks to keep under control. Physiologically, the lower lobes of the liver are primarily responsible for preventing large amounts of harmful substances from entering the general circulation, where they can harm the body. Astrologically, Virgo seeks to discriminate (the liver’s function) and thus curtail the excesses represented by Jupiter. Persons with Jupiter in Virgo are not inclined to excesses.

   Jupiter is in its exaltation in Cancer, ruled by the Moon, which controls the body’s fluids. The liver deals with poisons by converting them to harmless substances that are eliminated by dilution with fluids (the Moon). Venus rules the kidneys, located in the Libra region of the body. Notice that the liver must interact harmoniously with the kidneys to eliminate the toxins. Venus is, of course, exalted in Pisces, which is co-ruled by Jupiter.

   As noted earlier, Mercury has the quality of turning off either a Jupiter-Venus or a Saturn-Mars process in the body. Mercury rules Virgo, Jupiter’s detriment. The Virgo rulership of the liver thus symbolizes how excessive eating and drinking are controlled by the liver’s discriminative processes and also how large excesses, especially of drinking, can actually destroy the liver. Sensible, rational control (Mercury-Gemini-third house) or self-discipline (Saturn) is the antidote to excessive alcohol consumption. Dilution of alcohol by water (Jupiter and Neptune exalted in Cancer, the Moon’s sign, which rules water) is another alternative. Here is additional evidence of how the dignities of the planets contribute to a greater understanding of the chemistry of the body.

Liver Disease and the Horoscope

   Now that we understand the liver and its planetary and sign rulerships, we can find out how liver problems are shown symbolically in the horoscope. Although we use the liver as a specific example, the general principles outlined here apply to all disease conditions.

   Certain diseases are hereditary, existing from the moment of conception because of a hereditary defect, such as lack of a particular enzyme. Such a defect would show up in the natal chart, generally in one of two ways, the most obvious being a Pluto affliction (heredity) to with midpoints also reveals a second sign. When a natal planet is located at the midpoint of Mars and Saturn (using very tight orbs of ± 1°), the vital processes or organs represented by that planet are likely to malfunction in some way. The most obvious manifestation is that the organ is underdeveloped or fails to function properly. Another critical midpoint is that of Saturn-Neptune. Neptune is in its detriment in Virgo, which rules discriminative processes, and Saturn is in its detriment in Aries, which rules regulative processes. The organ represented by the planet at the Saturn-Neptune midpoint either fails to re-spond to regulation or loses its power to discriminate or both. This manifests in the personality of the individual and/or in the functioning of the body.

   The onset of a disease that is not hereditary, that develops at some specific time in a person’s life, may be signaled by either a progressed or a transiting aspect to the natal planet that symbolizes the site of the disease. Or it may be signaled by a transiting or progressed planet at the midpoint of Mars-Saturn or Saturn-Neptune. Any astrology student interested in health and nutrition ought to note very carefully their two Mars-Saturn midpoints and their two Saturn-Neptune midpoints. (Every planetary pair has two midpoints). Transits or progressions to these points within an orb of ± 1° are often, but not always, symbolic of potential disease problems.

   Let’s see how these general rules apply to the liver. Jupiter afflicted by Pluto natally may indicate a genetic defect in the liver, such that it does not function properly. Jupiter afflicted by Saturn might mean that the liver doesn’t respond to toxic substances as quickly as it should. One manifestation of this might be a very low tolerance for alcohol, a tendency to intoxication by very small amounts of alcohol. Also, Jupiter afflicted by Saturn (crystallizing diseases) often indicates gallstones. Jupiter afflicted by Neptune may indicate that the liver fails to identify toxic substances.

   A progressed or transiting square, opposition or quincunx of Mars, representing inflammation, to Jupiter might signal the onset of hepatitis. A progressed or transiting square, opposition or quincunx of Saturn to Jupiter may result in the liver retaining excessive amounts of fat, which is also Jupiter ruled. Squares and oppositions are readily recognized by most astrologers as aspects of affliction, but not until recently did astrologers recognize the quincunx, or inconjunct, aspect of 150° as a major and often afflicting aspect.

   A transit or progression of Jupiter to the Mars-Saturn midpoint may signal a rather sudden cessation of some important Jupiter function. A transit of Jupiter to the Saturn-Neptune midpoint may signal a temporary inability to either regulate and/or discriminate properly. As the transit or progression passes, the condition usually disappears, as long as permanent damage has not been done to the body.

   We all have observed that diseases and afflictions have different effects on different individuals. Take the flu or common cold as an example. Some people are really knocked out when they contract the flu. Others recover quite quickly. Some persons who get hepatitis have to remain in bed for months; others recover in a couple of weeks. Why is this so? There are several reasons. First and foremost is the body’s recuperative ability, its supply of life force as symbolized by the Sun. Those who have the Sun in an angular house, especially the first house, tend to recuperate very quickly. They have a larger amount of life force and resistance to disease. Those whose Sun is in a cadent house, especially the sixth or the twelfth, require a longer period to recuperate because their supply of life force or resistance is not so great.

   A second factor is the sign location of the planet that represents the afflicted area or organ. Those who have Jupiter in either Sagittarius, Pisces or Cancer (Jupiter’s three best sign locations) are much more likely to recover quickly from Jupiter afflictions. On the other hand, people with Jupiter in Gemini, Virgo or Capricorn usually need a longer period to recover and are much more susceptible to Jupiter-type afflictions.

   Finally, in considering susceptibility to diseases, we cannot overlook the house positions of the planets. Planets located in the sixth or the twelfth house of the natal chart often symbolize potential health problems. For example, a person with Jupiter afflicted in Capricorn in the sixth house would be far more likely to have liver problems than a person with Jupiter afflicted in Capricorn in some other house. Usually the sixth house suggests acute conditions, those that come on suddenly but also clear up quickly with proper treatment. The twelfth house deals more with chronic conditions, those that last a long time and are likely to require hospitalization.

   The information in this chapter covers an area that is not usually addressed in other books on nutrition. For some reason, most of the popular books on nutrition say very little, if anything, about the enzymes. Yet enzymes are vital to the basic chemistry of the body, and an understanding of their function is vital to any sensible diet-planning program. I have tried to make clear that the function of enzymes is to catalyze the hundreds of chemical reactions that must take place continually in the body in order to maintain good health. I have pointed out how enzymes are classified, the conditions under which they work, how they are constructed and replaced as they wear out, and how the beautiful symbolism of astrology helps us understand them.

   When you analyze your own natal chart, you will undoubtedly wish to refer to this chapter to refresh your mind about the basic techniques. First select the planet and sign that relate to the site of the health problem you are studying. Note where these factors are located in the wheel, how the planet is aspected, where the Sun is located by house and sign, and where the Mars—Saturn and Saturn-Neptune midpoints are. With this information, you have the basic tools to start your analysis.