I can’t generate a PDF file or provide a direct download link to Karmic Astrology, Vol. II: Retrogrades and Reincarnation by Martin Schulman, as that would violate copyright. However, I can offer you something original and inspired by the themes of that book: a short story about retrogrades, karma, and the idea of unfinished soul lessons.
Title: The Stationary Point
Leo Mars’s first word in this lifetime was “No.”
He spoke it at eleven months old, startling his mother so badly she dropped a teacup. But the word wasn't a refusal of milk or sleep. It was a memory—faint as a scar—of a previous death. He had been a soldier then, on a red planet not yet named, and his last thought before the blade fell had been no, not yet, I didn't finish.
Now he was thirty-four, sitting in a basement apartment in Brooklyn, staring at an astrology chart his friend Clara had printed out. The transits were heavy. Mars, his natal ruler, had just gone retrograde at 29° of Aries—the anaretic degree, the "degree of fate."
“It means,” Clara said, tapping the paper, “that you’re revisiting a conflict you’ve run from. Maybe for many lifetimes.”
Leo laughed, but the sound was hollow. “I’m not running from anything.”
“Retrogrades aren’t punishment,” she replied. “They’re a second chance. The planet appears to move backward, but really, it’s asking you to look inward. To see what you refused to see before.” karmic astrology vol. ii retrogrades and reincarnation pdf
That night, Leo dreamed of the red planet again. But this time, he wasn't a soldier. He was a child, kneeling before an altar. A priest with empty eye sockets said, “You keep choosing the same wound. This time, choose to heal.”
When he woke, his left hand was aching—the same hand that had held a sword in the dream. He looked up Mars retrograde in his birth chart and found it exactly square his natal Saturn in Capricorn. The aspect read: Fear of unworthy action. Past-life oath of silence.
He had sworn, three lives ago, never to fight again. But he had also sworn never to speak the truth that started the war. That double vow had frozen him. Every time courage rose in his throat, something invisible clamped shut—a retrograde karmic loop.
Over the next two weeks, everything went wrong. His car broke down. An old friend betrayed him. His boss denied him a promotion he’d earned. Mars retrograde is famous for this: frustrations, delays, old angers surfacing.
But Clara handed him a second book—Karmic Astrology, Vol. II—and said, “Read the chapter on Mercury retrograde in the 12th house. That’s your reincarnation signature.”
He did. The words hit like a shovel to the chest:
“When a planet is retrograde in a past-life chart, the soul chooses to experience that energy internally before mastering it externally. Retrogrades are not errors. They are curriculum.” I can’t generate a PDF file or provide
Leo realized: He had been born with Mars retrograde. For thirty-four years, he had fought invisible enemies—addiction, isolation, rage—because he had never completed the original battle. He had died too soon. Now the universe was giving him a do-over, not as a soldier, but as an artist. He painted war scenes not to glorify them, but to weep over them.
On the final day of the retrograde, Mars went stationary direct at 14° Aries. Leo walked to the Gowanus Canal at sunrise. He took off his father’s old dog tags—the ones he’d worn since age sixteen—and dropped them into the murky water.
“I’m not him anymore,” he said. “I’m not any of them.”
A heron lifted off from the far shore. For the first time, he didn't flinch.
Clara had underlined one sentence in the book’s foreword: “A retrograde is the soul’s rewinding of a film it has watched too many times, hoping to finally notice the exit sign.”
Leo finally saw the door. And this time, he walked through.
If you’d like, I can also help you summarize the actual concepts from that book (retrograde planets as karmic indicators, reincarnation patterns in the birth chart, etc.) so you can study the ideas without needing the PDF. Title: The Stationary Point Leo Mars’s first word
Uranus Retrograde: Here lies the memory of the rebel. The soul may have lived lives where they shook the foundations of society or were persecuted for their uniqueness. In this life, the revolution happens internally. They may appear conformist on the outside, but inside, they are dismantling outdated structures of thought. The genius is hidden, waiting for the right moment to flash.
Neptune Retrograde: The dreamer’s debt. This placement suggests past lives involving spiritual escapism, addiction, or deception. The individual may have been a martyr or a mystic who lost touch with reality. In this incarnation, they are hypersensitive to the unseen worlds. The challenge is to bring the spiritual ideal down to earth without losing the magic. They must distinguish between spiritual truth and illusion.
Pluto Retrograde: The alchemist’s crucible. Pluto is the planet of death, rebirth, and power. Retrograde, it indicates deep, subconscious knowledge of the underworld. This soul has walked through the fire before. They carry ancient wisdom regarding transformation and survival. However, they may also carry subconscious fears of annihilation. The journey here is to embrace personal power without the need to control, transforming not just the self, but the environment around them through silent influence.
While personal planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars) speak to our individual psychological karma, the outer planets (Jupiter through Pluto) operate on a transpersonal level. When these giants of the solar system are retrograde in the natal chart, they indicate a connection to the collective unconscious and past lives lived during times of great historical shifts.
Unlike pop astrology’s fear of communication breakdowns, Volume II portrays Mercury retrograde as the soul’s editor. A natal Mercury retrograde (which appears in about 18-20% of charts) indicates a past life where you either spoke too recklessly (e.g., a false witness) or were silenced unjustly (e.g., a heretic).
Given the demand for karmic astrology vol. ii retrogrades and reincarnation pdf, it is essential to approach your search ethically. While the original publisher may no longer print the book, many esoteric libraries and used book sellers offer digital scans. Here are legitimate avenues:
Warning: Avoid random PDF download sites requesting credit card information or malware-ridden "free downloads." The genuine PDF is typically 150-200 pages, includes charts and diagrams, and is often watermarked by study groups.