Musical Genres and the Grahas

grahas, jupiter, ketu, mars, mercury, moon, music and astrology, Rahu, saturn, sun, Uncategorized, venus

cc7a56f2aa64933964c129805f16886a     The old Jyotish texts of India clearly explain how the five elements (Sky, Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth) create all that is in existence in this world through the agency of the grahas, or the 9 planets of astrology as we call them in English.  As an example, Venus represents the water element of nourishment, and so Venus represents good food, or the touch of a loved one, or a vehicle. All of these are things that help support us, nourish us, and make things more comfortable for us as we go down the path of our life. So the old books would relate the wife to Venus. This is a very simple example. The fun part is that many modern things now exist that were not around when our foundational texts were written, and so it is the task of the modern jyotishi to find out what planets and what elements will correlate to all the various people, places, and things in this world.

I imagine that if the shastras were written in a more modern time, they may have included different types of music and what planets they relate to. There are so many new and modern forms of music to have come about and most certainly would relate to the various planets and their admixtures.

First we must know that the Moon rules music overall. So the Moon rules all types of music. (The Moon makes one a musician as well, and the Sun makes one a singer and rules singing according to Jaimini.) But within that very very broad spectrum of all the types of music that exist, we can further divide them up by what planets would rule each branch of music, or each musical genre as they are called.  And there will often be a lot of overlap, but some genres will stick out more as containing much more of a concentration of one planetary energy. Those are the main ones I included here. The more mixed musical genres I have mainly left out, but we can always remember that Mercury rules the mixed things. Here is what I have found so far:

SUN: 

The Sun seems to rule any traditional nationalistic music that has no exportable appeal but is a part of national pride. The Sun also seems to rule spiritual, gospels, hymns, and bhajans. The Sun is the singer and Jaimini directly correlates this to singing the Vedas, and being “filled with inspiration.” So we can imagine that the Sun rules chanting the Vedas as well, and any sort of inspired spiritual singing such as Kirtan. Likely also Gregorian chants. I would also correlate the Sun to occapella music, as it is a very singular form of music, and it is only singing which we know to be the Sun. I also suspect Folk music to be under the umbrella of Surya as folk music is often sung by a singular person, and does not require a band like the Moon does. Also folk music is very nationally connected usually, and has a spiritual quality to it sometimes.

Moon:

Moon of course rules all music as said above, but particularly the Moon rules instrumental music. In particular, the Moon rules the masses, moving them as it moves the tides of the planet, and therefore the Moon would relate strongly to Pop music. Disco music is the Moon, a genre that is not very heavy or fearful, but dancy and uplifting and associated with the nightlife of the Moon. Perhaps that is why the shiny glittering white Lunar “disco ball” came to fit so naturally with disco. It was a trendy thing as well, just like the pop culture pull of the Moon’s energy.

Soundtracks of movies would of course be the Moon, as Moon relates strongly to movies and these are usually very instrumental to begin with.

Jazz music is also one I would relate to the Moon, as Jazz is very rhythm based and requires a very intimate connection between the bandmembers. The Moon rules musicians but not singers because musicians must be able to keep in rhythm with the rest of the band as the main skill. That is the Moons great quality and so to be a great Jazz musician really speaks to having a very strong Lunar side. Jazz is also instrumental most of the time. And it has a soft quality to it, but also a mysterious dark or void side of it. As we know when you listen to jazz you are supposed to listen to the “notes they arent playing” as Lisa Simpson would say. This is a lunar quality as well, since the Moon has two sides and one is a dark side we do not see, or hear in this sense.

Mars:

Mars would of course rule Rock n roll music, and most of its offspring. Some of them may have more Saturn mixed in, but we can definitely see Rock, Alternative Rock, Grunge, and Punk Rock being mainly martian. Metal could start to bridge into Saturn more as we shall see that Saturn rules very dark music. The funny thing about Mars ruling Rock music is that Rock music is admittedly mainly a genre that was “stolen” from the black blues musicians of the southern United States. They simply took it and sped up the tempo and added more drums to it and other things and it became what we now know. Take the early Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones albums as key examples of this transformation. I note this because Mars rules theives, and stealing, whether for a good or bad reason. So it is interesting that even Mick Jagger and many other pioneers of it have admitted that it was highly influenced or possibly somewhat stolen from blues musicians.

Mercury:

Mercury, being the one most fond of and skilled at wordplay, would of course rule over Hip Hop. Other highly lyrical or verbal based music that doesnt come under the Sun’s influence may also fall under Mercury. Mercury would of course rule comedic music too, and parody music like Weird Al Yankovich. Mercury also seems to rule over electronic music. It is interesting how the most deep thinking planet Jupiter is starved by Mercury, and Hip Hop as a genre seems to have a harder time getting out of a superficial place and having more meaningful content. Having a message other than how great the rapper is doesnt seem to be as important for a song to be successful in this genre, and there may be an archetypal reason for this. Of course there is a lot of very meaninful hip hop out there as well, to be sure. But in general we can see how Jupiter gets a bit starved in this genre more than others. But Venus, as the great friend of Mercury, seems to do well (wink).

Jupiter: 

Jupiter is the planet that rules the Ether element. Or the “Akash”, which is a sanskrit word that means “sky”. The Akash chakra, as many of you will know, is the throat chakra, related to Sound. Vibration and sound is very close to Jupiter. As such, Jupiter seems to rule any kind of musical sound, not a particular type of style, but more about the power and meaning behind the music. So Jupiter relates to deep and soulful music that stirs the depths of our beings. This is not limited to just one genre. He can relate to any philosophical music or any music with a real message and purpose behind it. He therefore represents devotional chants and mantra music and will share some overlap with the Sun in this regard. Mantra and Naada Yoga music, sitars and ragas are very Jupiterian.

Soul is a genre that has the qualities of Jupiter embedded in it. One thing is that Jupiter is not as likely to sing as the Sun is. So music similar to the Sun’s category, but with less lyrics and more room for contemplation would be under Guru’s domain.

He also seems to have a say on culturally rich music, similar to the Sun. Though not with a national appeal but a cultural appeal. Music that is simple and yet powerful and uplifting is Jupiterian. So in this regard Folk can connect to Jupiter, as it is a simple music that any common folk person can make, but often has no value without an equal amount of soul and truth behind the lyrics.  Classical music of Bach, Beethoven, and that sort are also a category that is predominantly Jupiterian. Reggae may also be Jupiterian, as it is so initimately connected with the Rastafarian religion.

Venus:

Venus is the main planet of entertainment, and so music that is made primarily for entertainment purposes is Venusian music. And music designed for dance and sexual appeal. So Venus therefore rules almost all of the modern popular music being made nowadays. Venus can rule dance, R & B, Calypso, Flamenco, Funk, Ska, and Latin music to name a few. And of course any beautiful music with wonderful harmony would be of the Venusian vibration. Music that makes you want to get up and dance is Venus.

Saturn:

Saturn is the planet of sorrow. Therefore the main category that is most Saturnian to me is the blues. Saturn also is closely connected to the color blue, interestingly enough.  Blues is just Saturn through and through, I dont think anyone will debate that. It also was born out of the struggling black culture of the United States in the last 100 years. Saturn is the one who makes great things come out of great sufferring.

Of course all dark music genres will mainly have the influence of Shani, so Metal and “Doom metal” (whatever that is) and all those sorts of things are likely falling under Saturns umbrella, though I actually havent listened to most of these genres myself. I am just gonna assume they are as dark as they sound.  Saturn would also relate to very old music as well, and especially if it doesnt fit into any of the previously mentioned categories.

Rahu/Ketu: 

Rahu and Ketu dont rule any particular genre but Rahu will make any genre more technologically centered, and more innovative. It will be less acoustic and natural sounding and more electronic and overly produced. More avant-garde. Most of the garbage pop music you hear nowadays would be a mixture of Moon and Rahu, an unpleasant combination. (That is actually a placement that gets people involved or interested in hypnotism amongst other things. And it is interesting how there has been enormous amounts of money invested in researching what type of ways to make pop music get stuck in peoples heads more easily, therefore making them want to buy that song or that album more. It seems to have an unpleasantly hypnotic quality to it. When you are in the grocery store you can hear 30 seconds of one of those songs and it can be in your head for hours after.)

Ketu would do the opposite and make one’s music more introverted, more myopic, more acoustic and “raw” and underproduced. Often times when a musician first puts out an album, before he is famous, this album is often underproduced and more raw sounding, and this is usually the person’s best album because it is their most Ketu album. It is there most heartfelt and sincere album. Then of course they get famous and Rahu muddies up their inner vision and they cannot seem to get back to that previous sound no matter how nice of a guitar they have now…That is one way we can see the Rahu and Ketu influence on music and musicians.

Conclusion: 

The Grahas put their mark on all things in this world, we only need to be perceptive enough to see it. Music and its many genres are no exception. This is all from my own insights and observations and I may adjust these over time. This is only what I have found to be true so far.

Astrological Origins of the Clock

astrological synchronicities, Clocks and Astrology, Clocks in Ancient Times, kala, ketu, time, Uncategorized

clock picLet us think about the old-fashioned clock for a moment. A clock is a device that tells time in a very simple manner, with one arrow that steadily moves around a circle and points to the hour of the day. Another longer arrow points out the minutes accrued within that hour of the day.  It is a thing that is beautiful in its simplicity and practicality while also having a symbolic value. The clock could really count to any number, but it happens to count to 12.  It is made a certain way. The way in which the clock is designed clearly implies that it was designed by Astrologers, as it works within their unique system of units and measurements. We have 12 hours set up in the day, and 60 minutes within each hour. Further, there are 60 seconds within each minute.  This is how it has come to be in modern times.

The clock just happens to have two main arrows or “hands”, just like how we have two main lights or markers in the sky, the Sun and Moon. The shorter and slower moving hand is the one that indicates the hour of the day. The longer hand indicates the minute of the hour, and together they tell the current time. The shorter hand is like a symbol for the Sun, and the longer hand is like the Moon. The Moon moves around the entire zodiac of twelve signs in the time it takes the Sun to move through one. This is just like how the longer hand moves through all the numbers in the time it takes the shorter hand to move through one, indicating an hour has passed. We also can see how it is 12 hours we are working with and the zodiac is comprised of 12 signs.

So to an Astrologer, a clock actually happens to look just like a mini zodiac with only the Sun and Moon being charted. And since Astrologers were the first people to be in charge of telling time, it is very obvious that this idea of keeping track of time must have come from Astrologers of ancient times.

Another point that really seems to solidify this is that the other main number on the clock is 60. And the fact that we use a base 60 system to keep time is very revealing. Why not 100? Who decided to have 60 minutes and not 100 in an hour? Who decided to make there be 2 sets of 12 hours in a day? I do not know but it is worthwhile to consider this. Vedic Astrology is very clear about using a base 60 system. All planetary aspects are calculated within a point system of 0 to 60 still to this day. In fact, most agree that the most important text on Vedic astrology we have now is the ancient Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. In this text, the sage Parashara is very clear to instruct that using this base 60 point system of measuring planetary aspects (Graha Sputa Drishti) is actually the ancient way of doing it. So he says that this is the ancient way of doing it. So it appears that astrologers have been using a base 60 for a very long time. Now when we know this, looking back at the clock, it is no surprise that it has a 60 point system embedded in it as well.  (Vedic culture also had six seasons instead of 4, and each season would essentially consist of 60 degrees of a circle. This was referred to in the Rig Veda as the six-spoked wheel of time.)

Also, did you notice how that text is called the “Hora Shastra”? That sounds like the word “hour” doesn’t it? Well, the word hour actually comes from “hora” as that is the Sanskrit word for “hour”. So there is a relationship there as well. It also can mean “half of a zodiac sign” because that is how much of a sign that progresses in the course of an hour.  Shastra means “science”. Brihat means “great” or “extended”. Therefore the name Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra means roughly “The great teaching from Parashara on Astrological Science”.

I suspect the clock originated from Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, or a mixture of all three.  From what I have learned of Mesopotamia and Babylon, they also had a base 60 system I believe.

And to be clear, Vedic timekeeping did not have hours and minutes, but it had Ghatis, Palas, and Vipalas. 1 day is 60 Ghatis. 1 Ghati is 24 minutes. 1 Pala is 24 seconds. 1 Vipala is 0.4 of a second. Also, there are even more intricate measurements for time that they had. They have 60 Liptas in Vipala, a 0.4 second long span of time. Then there are 60 Viliptas in a Lipta, and 60 Paras in 1 Villipta. And even beyond that, there are 60 Taraparas in 1 para. Just thinking about all of that math can make your head hurt!

The modern western world has lost more of its ancient timekeeping knowledge in comparison, but when we look at the clock with this understanding, we can still see a lot in common with our ancient ancestors and their culture.

 

Rahu and Ketu Transiting the 12 houses

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800px-KetuRahu and Ketu are one of the most important long-term transits to take note of. When we talk of transits, we must remember that they only give the fruits of what your chart already shows. For example, if there are very little wealth yogas in your chart, a lucky transit for wealth will simply not deliver the same amount of money as it would for a very rich person who has a lot of wealth yogas in their chart. This simply means that the rich person put more effort into this area of life in a past incarnation, and deserves the greater fruits of wealth as a result. The person with few wealth yogas overall and a chart that shows they need to work hard to accumulate wealth is simply not meant to have lots of money come from a transit, no matter how great it is. This factor is not often stated by astrologers or in horoscopes, and ignorance of it leads to a greater misunderstanding of astrology itself.

With that said, here are some of the results that Rahu and Ketu can give as they transit the 12 houses, but always keep your own birth chart in mind and factor that in with the outcome.

Rahu through the 1st house/Ketu through the 7th: 

This can be a time of confusion for a person about how to best move forward in life. Ketu transiting the 7th can indicate that one has been over-focused on enjoying life or on social aspects of life. The 7th being furthest from the 1st, there is a need to shift attention back to one’s self and to pay more attention to self-development. Sometimes this can mean also to focus more on one’s health if other parts of the chart show that. Ketu crossing the 7th can give breakups to long-lasting relationships, and abrupt changes with one’s relationships or ways of going about them.

Rahu through 2nd house/Ketu through the 8th house:

Rahu moving through the 2nd bhava shows the need to focus more on the earning capacity and there is often a need to bring in more money that somehow arises during this transit. Ketu through the 8th can give a sense of lack of support from relationships that were previously going fine, which often cause the native to shift back attention to supporting themselves more at this time.

Rahu passing over the 3rd/Ketu moving through the 9th:

When Ketu is crossing the 9th house one finds themselves less comfortable within the culture that they live or around the teachers and guides they are finding in life. Rahu in the 3rd is pointing to a need to update one’s own experience of life and one’s own understanding based on their own intellect and not that of another. It is a good time to explore curiosities and hobbies that one has been putting off. A good time to learn a new skill.

Rahu moving through the 4th/Ketu through the 10th:

This can cause one to be much more likely to move during this 18-month window that Rahu crosses the 4th. Or they may purchase a vehicle, or travel a bit more than usual. During this transit, the workplace can seem less fulfilling and one may find themselves spending more time at home for some reason.

Rahu crossing over the 5th house/Ketu crossing the 11th:

Rahu is pointing to the 5th house that deals with managing all of the affairs of our life. So often when Ketu is crossing the 11th one has been too tied up in social circles or organizations of some sort. The 11th house represents groups and society, organizations, and universities. This transit shows the need to pay less attention to one’s social situation and more on handling their own affairs and getting their own life in order so that they can do what they love more easily.

Rahu traversing the 6th house/Ketu transiting the 12th:

This can be a time when the native needs to pay more attention to paying their bills and keeping up with debts and financial matters. Situations call for a need to pay more attention to the material side of life and less to the spiritual or pleasurable side of life when Ketu crosses the 12th house. A need to focus more on one’s health, diet, and daily routine can arise.

Rahu going through the 7th/Ketu crossing 1st:

A time to be more social and focus more on relationships. May want to just stay at home but really needs to “put themselves out there” more during this time. It may not pay off initially but later on after Rahu leaves this place, some of the friends, relationships, or business partners they made will end up developing into good things down the road. This transit can also lead to children and getting pregnant, depending on the situation. That’s definitely one way that one can find themselves needing to pay more attention to a relationship.

Rahu passing through the 8th/Ketu transiting 2nd:

Often can lead to a lot of “drama” or stressful and surprising situations during this transit. One may find themselves having to depend more on a marriage partner at this time. Money problems can come up. Vulnerabilities come up that need to be addressed.

Rahu navigating the 9th/Ketu crossing 3rd:

Time to let go of developing one’s own skills so much and instead help others develop theirs. Can feel more critical of others at this time. Can cause difficulty with parents and younger siblings. One’s talents and skills don’t seem to mean anything if they do not fit in with a greater purpose and applicability to life as a whole. This transit makes one focus more on the bigger picture. What purpose can one put their skills towards?

Rahu crossing the 10th/Ketu crossing the 4th:

Now is the time for action, and this period can also make one leave their home and move away. Often this is because of a need for achievement or a job opportunity, some 10th house factor. Moving location and changing jobs are very common at this time. More attention needs to be given to the career at this time.

Rahu passing through the 11th house/Ketu crossing the 5th:

This is a time to pay more attention to the groups one is involved in, and one may need to switch up their social circles. The 11th house represents impersonal groups that can validate us, so one may desire to go and get a degree in something from a university at this time. Or one may be doing the same work but want to reach out and connect to a social group or organization. One may have been “in their own world” and needs to put themselves out there more at this time.

Rahu crossing 12th/ Ketu in the 6th:

This is a time to relax more, take more vacations, and not be as focused on the material side of life. It is good to spend time by the ocean during this transit, or take vacations that involve water. One may start spending more at this time, and that can be an issue to watch out for if the chart speaks to that as well.

Hopefully you find these notes helpful as a guide through the houses, and rememeber to use the chart as well to see what potentialities will be triggered by these transits.

I taught a course on the Nodes recently, you can find that in the “Astrology Courses” section of this site.

The Nodes are a tricky and subtle energy, but without them, life just wouldn’t be the same.

 

 

A New Course On Rahu and Ketu

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I recently taught a course on the Lunar Nodes in Astrology with Nadia Smirnova, and it is now edited and available for purchase. This is a 4 hour course, with a 1 hour introduction to the Rahu and Ketu from Nadia, for only $35. I think that is a great price, personally.  The real value of this course is all the examples we give. We read the charts of 12 students in the class, and as I read and interpret their node positions, you get real-time live feedback about them from the people who experienced it. This helps us all learn so much more quickly than working on a theoretical level of astrology. Seeing the principles applied over and over in a live setting really reinforces how they work for the student. Click this link below to see the details of the course:

https://www.astrologyisscience.com/courses/lunar-nodes-in-astrology

Nadia is a very skilled Western Astrologer with an impressive science background, having been a nuclear physicist for the USSR. She explains the Lunar Nodes with really wonderful scientific diagrams that actually show you what is going on visually when eclipses happen, and how that impacts us. This is very helpful for giving your intuition a sort of visual framework to refer to when dealing with these concepts.  This first hour is an introduction for those who know nothing about the Lunar Nodes.

After the first hour, I then step in and cover the Lunar Nodes more in detail, their mythology, what they represent, what they point to, and how they frequently play out as they are placed in different signs. We sort of follow a pattern of explaining a point, then applying it to charts. Then we explain another point and apply that to another chart, and so on.

We cover:

  • Rahu and Ketu’s movements, what is actually happening visually
  • Rahu and Ketu’s formation and mythology
  • Rahu and Ketu in all of the signs
  • Rahu and Ketu in all of the houses
  • Rahu and Ketu conjunct all of the planets.
  • Rahu and Ketu as significators of Ancestral Karma
  • What Rahu and Ketu represent overall
  • How to interpret the past life indications that Ketu is showing, with over 12 example charts.
  • How to interpret the present life karmas that Rahu is pointing towards, with over 12 example charts.

    rahu shristi pic

    Painting of the mythological description of Rahu, by Shristi Wilhelm. See more of her work here http://srishtiart.net/home

Lunar Eclipse: Train Crash of January 31st

4th house, aquarius, dainya yoga, eclipse, lunar eclipse, moon, prashna, Uncategorized, , , ,

In Vedic Astrology, eclipses are seen as inauspicious events. These are not times to do anything really important, that could be put off for another day. Many of the enlightened Yogis and Masters throughout India have spoken of the importance of prayer and meditation during these times as a way to make the best use of the heightened psychic energy that is present during the times of an eclipse. So while this writing is about an unfortunate event, do not forget that these times can give great breakthroughs in our development as people. As an astrologer, I have plenty of bad transits going over my chart to be aware of as it is, and I know my chart well already, eclipses can just add to that mental chatter. So I choose not to dwell on the negative and worry over that, instead focusing on my self-development during those times. Sometimes a bad thing must occur in order for our greater development as human beings. Eclipse periods usually are harder times, I cannot deny it. But the more effort I put into working out my Rahu and Ketu issues during an eclipse, the more magnified the results are. So in this way, we can look forward to the eclipse periods and not fear them.

With that said, we already have one major accident or tragedy that has occurred on this day of the total Lunar eclipse, January 31st, 2018.  My heart goes out to all that have been affected. One person has died and several have been injured, and it really is a tragedy to hear about this.

It seems that  while the sign of the Taurus was rising, a train that was taking GOP lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia somehow hit a garbage truck, killing at least one person and injuring others. The lawmakers themselves seem to be safe, but the garbage truck was hit.

It is astrologically significant that this occurred right at the time that the eclipsed Moon was in the 4th house of vehicles, and in the sign of Government, Leo. This Moon was getting the rasi aspect of Saturn and the full eclipse effect of Rahu. When Saturn and Rahu both aspect a place, there is likely to be some trouble there. In this case it was in the 4th house of vehicles.

Here is the chart of the moment of the crash

virginia train crash pic

The lord of the Moon was the Sun, which was quite afflicted also by being in the sign of his enemy, Saturn, and by being with his other enemy Venus, as well as Ketu. With the Sun being afflicted on 3 accounts, we could imagine something inauspicious related to Government could occur on this eclipse. We also saw a lot of unfortunate government related things going on with the last eclipse in August, (Riots in US, N. Korea threats,etc.)  but that would be discussed in another article.

Over in the 7th house, the house of the other party in the case of a crash like this, we happen to see the planet Jupiter, which is the 8th lord, the lord of tragedies and death in a chart. That 7th house is rashi aspected by Saturn which happens to be the planet that indisputably rules over garbage men or a garbage truck. Jupiter is ruling Mars and Mars is ruling Jupiter. So what we have here is a dainya yoga, an interchange between the lords of the 8th and 7th houses. This is an unfortunate interchange, and indicates some sort of theme of misery in ones life if found in the birth chart. Here it seems to point to the theme of a death, an 8th house event, while traveling (7th). Another way to put it would be that the 8th lord in the 7th speaks to a dangerous event while traveling, and the 7th lord in 8th speaks to an equally unfortunate event to be experienced with another party, or while traveling or conducting business, so putting those together is not good for travel. Jupiter ruling the 12th cusp of losses and hospitalization and being in the 7th, that does not look good either. Jupiter in the 7th house is a “maraka” or killer for a Taurus lagna as well, but I am not sure if that idea should really be carried over here in this context.

Venus rules vehicles so we have to examine Venus, which is delighted by Saturn. That is good and may help the chances of survival of everyone involved. But Venus is afflicted by Ketu, who is strong at the time of an eclipse. Venus also is agitated by the Sun, and “combust” by the Sun as well.  Even further, Venus is “ashamed” by the Sun, as well as Mercury. Quite a lot of bad things going on in this 10th house, and all connecting to the planet of vehicles and lawmakers, Venus.  Note also that Venus rules the 6th house of accidents if Taurus is rising, giving even more of a vehicular type of 6th house karma to be experienced.   The 3rd house and its Lord are significant for journeys within one’s nation as this is, and notice that it is the eclipsed Moon that is the lord of journeys at this time. The Sun and Venus both deal with politicians, but lawmakers and these sorts are definitely under the Venus category of politicians. It just so happens to be that Venus rules over both the type of people involved (lawmakers) in the accident, and the nature of the accident itself (being in a vehicle.)

Also noteworthy is that the eclipsed Moon was in Asleesha nakshtra, a nakshatra of serpents. The Moon and serpents both have in common a quality of creeping along the ground. For example, The Moon is said to rule the types of plants that creep along, in the context of plants… like vines and English Ivy and such. Trains are definitely the most serpent like form of movement that a person can travel by and I wonder if this had something to do with Aslesha nakshatra.

To conclude, this was not a lucky moment astrologically, and even in this day and age of technology we should not neglect the proper role of Muhurta. Muhurta is called “electional astrology” in the west and is the art of finding the most harmonious and auspicious time to undertake an endeavor such as traveling. This also serves as an example of the use of Prashna techniques to determine details of a situation in the moment.

Also, here is another news clip about the crash, and towards the 5 minute mark they also start to talk about another news story related to the eclipse: Forest Fires. Several Astrologers predicted that the last August eclipse and this eclipse, both occurring in the fire sign of Leo, were likely to cause forest fire problems. Juliana Swanson is one astrologer who definitely mentioned this in writing, and I do think I mentioned this on my facebook page at some point. Forest fires have been a very serious problem over the last six months, and as they mention in this video, over the last several days they had many break out in their region of Texas.

Here is a wikipedia entry on the event:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Crozet,_Virginia_train_crash

Saturn in Sagittarius- Update “Fall from a Height” (Part 3)

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Saturn seems to have been very busy in the sign of Sagittarius. When I first wrote about this back in 2016, I never would have guessed we would have seen so many patriarchial male role model figures take so many falls from heights during this 2.5 year period. By the time I put the 2nd one out it was seeming very clear and so I wanted to share. Now there have been many more stories in the media that correlate to this whole transit, so here is a part 3.

I want to begin by saying that these are just my observations, and I do not wish to offend anyone who has followed or learned from a guru, role model, or church leader that I mention. I am not a spiritual authority and I cannot say ultimately about some of these topics since I was not there myself.  But after writing part 2, I was told of a number of other incidents that seemed to “fit the bill” of this transit of Saturn in Sagittarius and “a fall from a height”. (I thank all of you readers who shared feedback of other events.)  So while I do not seek to condemn anyone myself, I do wish to write about this in order to reiterate the very important point that when Saturn and other cruel planets are transiting and rasi aspecting Sagittarius, there can be accidents or falls from heights.  If gentle planets are there or aspecting, this can prevent it. And also with Sagittarius being a sign of teachers, it does seem logical that if a teacher or guru figure was not being genuine, that he would be more likely to face the negative consequences of his karma and take a fall at this time, as opposed to other times. (But in truth, each individuals chart will show the details, and a teacher could take a fall at another time because of other factors, of course. )

Joel Olsteen falling from a height – In short, as the Hurricane Harvey ripped through and laid waste to much of Houston, Texas, a leader of a megachurch in Houston refused to open the church’s doors for the safety of the people. People were outraged because he even claimed the church was flooded and yet people were taking pictures of the massive facility looking completely accessible and safe, posting them to twitter and shaming him into opening the church eventually.  This man was a huge Sagittarian/role model/church leader figure for the area, and he was rightfully called out and taken down by the common folk on twitter, pointing out his hypocrisy and blatant lies. (we must remember that Saturn rules the common folk.)   olsteenhubris

(it is also worth noting as the “Lajjitavastha” aka the “shame” condition, was occurring in the sky. This )Note that the Sun was rasi aspecting with Saturn in Sag, so one more factor pushing for a fall.

This daily mail article below literally says it all in the title, although it is a ridiculously long title for an article : “How social media shamed Houston televangelist Joel Osteen into opening his dry megachurch to Hurricane Harvey evacuees after he claimed it was inaccessible and flooded”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4837472/How-Pastor-Joel-Osteen-shamed-Hurricane-Harvey.html#ixzz50yz15eSs

 

https://www.capitalgrio.com/sites/news/1143026-joel-osteen-fails-to-address-hurricane-harvey-scandal.html

Lars Anderson Rocks the Archery World

larsHere is a more fun and positive example of Saturn’s transit. Sagittarius is the sign of the Archer. As we know, Saturn is the planet of great changes in life, as he moves the slowest and signifies the greatest increments of change in the flow of time. He has more lasting effects than the rest.  In South India, they have a saying: “when Shani (Saturn) decides to give, no other planet can take away”.  This man taught himself Archery, by sheer practice and time, and even going back into ancient texts and trying to be as true to them as possible, even if the techniques were not considered to be acceptable in the mainstream archery world. The things he learned and was able to do were not “in vogue” and so he sparked a lot of controversy and negative reactions from people.  This is often the case with Shani, he has to do many of the deeds that others would deem unpleasant, and he is often wrongly looked down upon by others. He is the servant amongst the grahas,  after all.  This video came out within days of Shani first entering into tropical Sagittarius, in January of 2015. The youtube video below was uploaded on January 23rd, 2015.  Saturn had just entered Sagittarius on December 23rd, 2014. So this is really a remarkable synchronicity. At the time of this writing, it has 44 Million views! As you will see in the video, his whole approach is “unorthodox” as is the nature of Saturn. But Saturn is the most practical and keeps things from being overly complex.  Notice how simple his style is, taken from the ancient archery masters he studied.  Even his dress is what I have previously described in my article Astrology and clothing, to be the “uniform of Saturn”; AKA blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Saturn rules simplicity, looking to the past, blue jeans, and the color black.

But Shani also tends to reveal to us our own failures and weaknesses.  Perhaps it is this that made the archery world so outraged at this video. There were a few videos made to rebuke this mans claims and undeniable skill. So much that he actually had to make a follow up video where he does even more crazy archery stunts and clarifies his approach.

His skill is obvious. But still it may take time before the archery world shifts and adapts to this newer (but actually older) way of doing things, just as Shani is a necessary force, but is often unwelcome at first. Most people that are in the archery world are not into this guy at all, or try to act unimpressed by him for various reasons. He is very controversial. But no one can deny his authority in this area. But again, this sort of petty human behavior is common when we face someone who is way ahead of our time, as it is much easier to reject one person than to consider that they may be correct and that we have been the one who was not correct for such a long time.

 

Rockstar Baba with Millions of followers gets sentenced to jail

I will just leave this article here and you can read it if you want to, but it is an unpleasant topic. So dont even read this article if you are sensitive or easily bothered by unpleasanat news stories. This person was first being investigated back in 2002, and it seems during this transit his karma is finally catching up to him.

BBC Article on Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Here is a video of him, he has a large following. One article said there were riots at the court when he got sentenced.

 

 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar facing controversy over comments sri sri ravi

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a very well known guru around the world, and got a lot of attention for some comments he made. (Again, this is not a judgemental thing here, just watching cause and effect of the planets and people. As above, so below.)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-says-malala-doesnt-deserve-nobel-prize-20160502-story.html

Malala is a powerful Saturnian individual in the world right now, and I do feel she deserves the Nobel Prize. She stood up to terrorists and was shot in the head and still somehow survived, talk about a strong Saturn. She works hard for women's education rights and education all over the world. Also, she first made her debut to most western audiences on one of the nights of Navratri, the 9 nights of the Goddess.

Malala is a powerful Saturnian individual in the world right now, and I do feel she deserves the Nobel Prize. She stood up to terrorists and was shot in the head and still somehow survived, talk about a strong Saturn. She works hard for women’s education rights and education all over the world. Also, she first made her debut to most western audiences on one of the nights of Navratri, the 9 nights of the Goddess.

In this article posted above, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar reportedly said that, when asked if he would accept a Nobel Prize if it was offered to him: “I was in the past offered the Nobel Peace Prize, but I had rejected it as I only believe in working and not in being honored for my work. We should always honor only to those who deserve it, and I am totally against honoring Malala Yousafzai with the prize and it is of no use,” he was quoted as saying in the Deccan Chronicle, a reputed Indian newspaper.

The article points it out very clearly further below: “He went on to say that Yousafzai had done nothing to merit the Nobel and that awards generally were not his concern, especially the Nobel. A quick perusal of the Art of Living Foundation’s website shows that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who is commonly conferred with the double honorific in front of his given name, has been the recipient of countless awards. They include this year’s Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor, and Mongolia’s Order of the Pole Star, that country’s highest recognition. He has earned 15 honorary doctorates, and the list of bestowed titles requires some scrolling to get through.”

I have to say that the writer of the article does make a strong point here, and it seems unnecessary to criticize Malala for her incredible good karmas she has set forth in her life.

So it seems Shani, the lord of Karma, was also displeased by this, as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar faced more bad publicity from this event than most of the publicity of his good efforts he has made, which seem to have been many. And maybe if he had a different name Shani would let it slide, but how can one criticize giving people honorary titles when they themselves have two honorary and excessively repeating titles in their own name? Saturn is not a fan of hypocrisy, or spiritual jingoism. Not in the least.

 

To be continued… 

 

Saturn in Sagittarius – Update “Fall From a Height” (Part 2)

astrological synchronicities, eclipse, Sagittarius, saturn, shani, solar eclipse, Uncategorized
The symbol of Sagittarius is an arrow, and it is the sign of an Archer shooting towards a distant target, thus symbolizing our goals and long term purpose.

The symbol of Sagittarius is an arrow, and it is the sign of an Archer shooting towards a distant target, thus symbolizing our goals and long term purpose.

Now that Saturn has completed most of his course through the tropical rasi of Sagittarius, I felt it would be appropriate to go back and relfect on the statements I made one year hence about this placement. Read the Part 1 of this article to get caught up on what I was saying and predicting for this transit in July of 2016.

My main point was that with Sagittarius actually being the a major sign of accidents when cruel planets are in it, we need to watch out for this transit of Saturn through it.  Sagittarius is the sign of our ideals, goals, our culture, philosophy, and how we aim for our goals. It is an archer aiming at a target, afterall. But not all goals and aims that man has had have been healthy or good for the world. When this rasi is afflicted in a birthchart, and no other gentle planets help it, the person can have very unrealistic goals and very unhealthy or unwise ways of approaching them.  It is only when Sagittarius rasi is strong and well manifested that one can naturally set healthy and ideal goals and actually go about achieving them relatively easily.  Now we can see why Jaimini would warn us about Sagittarius rasi, saying “while proceeding, a fall from a height”.  The ninth sign has to do with how we proceed down the path of our life as it unfolds, hence it rule the philosophy we approach life with, as one example of this.

I know that this may seem very unusual and most Astrology teachings do not share this idea about Sagittarius. It is normally a sign that is associated more with jovial, lucky, positive things. But test it out for yourself if you do not believe me. Saturn crossing Sagittarius has been a great example of how easily a “fall from a height” can occur when we do not have healthy and realistic ideals and approach our goals wisely.

Continuing from Part 1:

#6: Doreen Virtue Converts To Christianity, Sparks Debate – A well known New Age teacher named Doreen Virtue who has written over 50 different new age books, made oracle cards, angel cards, tarot cards, etc. She is very well known, I have seen her cards before. She released a video on the day of the solar eclipse (No doubt that this influence was important here too, not just Saturn) publicly denouncing fortune telling and card reading and all of the sort. Read the above article for more information, but many people are lifelong followers of her, and feel very betrayed. She is a Sagittarius/Guru type figure, as it is the sign of teachers, gurus, and guides.  This is definitely a fall from a height for many of her followers who do not share her shift in opinion, and now feel abandoned, being told even to burn some of the books that she herself wrote.

#7: Bill Cosby’s fall from a height – read the timeline that clearly shows how it was not until just one or two months of Saturn’s ingress into Sagittarius (September of 2014) that the avalanche of accusations against Bill Cosby resurfaced (Nov 2014) after years of silence. Bill Cosby is an Aries rising, ruled by Mars, and it is worth mentioning that the only enemy of Mars is the planet of the Media, and comedians (Mercury). Note how the article speaks of the “joke heard round the world”, and how it was a comedian that in many ways is responsible for bringing it all back to light. Further note that his lawyer has stated that he is legally blind now and “living in his own perpetual hell”.  According to an old book in India about Karma and diseases that result from karma, the disease of blindness can be caused by having looked at other peoples wives too much in past lives.  In Many ways Cosby fits this Sagittarius situation well as it is also a sign of the parents, as the parents are major guides in our life and this is the sign of guides.  As a role model for America, it seems Saturn could no longer allow for him to hold that position anymore and brought about this fall.

#8 More lawsuits and accusations against a guru – This one is creepy and very similar to the Bikram Yoga lawsuit that was covered in part 1.  A swami has had several lawsuits filed against him for sexual misconduct. This article states that he has even been caught on video, but has been able to manage to delay the court hearings for some time.  According to this article, he even makes disciples sign non-disclosure agreements about the “tantric” practices that are done.  It seems like a pretty strong case has been made.  Very creepy.

#9 Pretty much the entire situation with the United States Election of 2016.  I mean talk about a fall from a height. I dont really need an article to share, because everyone knows about this. It started with Bernie having the primaries rigged against him and having his nomination stolen away from him. Most people couldn’t really picture him winning though, myself included.  No one actually liked Hillary Clinton at all really, but millions rallied to her just because? The whole situation was a mess, yet everyone was so confident that Hillary would win that news sites were giving Trump only 1% (remember, afflicted Sagittarius rasi can translate to over optimism, over confidence, confidence that is unfounded. This is the perfect setup for a fall).

No one expected Trump to win, and so him winning was a major fall from a height for most Americans.

 

What is the lesson to be learned here?  (Not a lucky time for gurus and teachers?)

Probably more than one, but my take away is to always pay attention to the Sagittarius rasi and when cruel planets afflict it, and no gentle planets support it, watch out for an accident or fall from a height. If you have these placements in your chart, be more careful about your goals and ideals and make sure you do not have unhealthy, or fanatical beliefs about a thing. We can get ourselves and others into trouble when we are too sure that we are right. Most of the time it seems fanaticism only occurs when our faith begins to flicker anyway.  If you feel you need to prove your beliefs or philosophy to someone, you still are probably not living it enough. Be realistic at least for the remaining transit. Have some detachment if you still have not met your long term goals.

May Ganesha smile upon us as we go towards the goal!

An Example of Finding a Lost Wallet with Astrology

horary astrology, ketu, mars, prashna, venus

Here is a link to a youtube video I recently made. I was at the post office and realized I had lost my wallet right when I was going to pay. I went all the way back home and it still wasnt in my room where I normally keep it. I looked everywhere and could not find it. It was getting stressful and I was starting to worry so I casted a chart to find the wallet.

This is the Horary/Prashna chart that I cast to see where my wallet is, and if I even will be able to find it.

One more thing I forgot to mention in the video : Mars and Ketu being with Venus, Ketu hides things very well, and this wallet just happened to be blending in with the dark metal frame of the bottom of the drivers side seat, a big part of why I didnt see it when I originally checked my car. Mars rules metals, and so the significator being connected to Mars and Ketu indicates that it was wedged in between dark colored metal and well hidden. And that was the case. I didnt realize this until after the fact, but thought that was a neat additional note.

Lady Luck Aka Lady Luckshmi

Uncategorized

The readers of this site are already perhaps familiar with the astrological origins of many phrases and words in modern culture, if not, see this previous post on Astrology and etymology.

This is an addendum to that, with respect to the fascinating “Lady Luck” icon of western culture, and how it is essentially another incarnation of Lady Laxmi of Vedic culture, the deity of Venus.  If you enjoy this vid, give it a like and subscribe :)

What Grahas Get One Involved in Astrology?

8th house, Atmakaraka, deities, grahas, jupiter, Uncategorized, venus,
Shukra (Venus). Guru of the Asuras.

Shukra (Venus). Guru of the Asuras.

I am often asked what planets get one involved in being an Astrologer themselves.  It is an understandable question since most people studying astrology would naturally want to see if it that is indicated in their own horoscopes.  When I was reading, for the longest time there was a gap in my understanding when it came to this question.  Most of the books available state that Mercury is important for being an astrologer and that you have to have a good Mercury to do astrology and to convey what is shown in the chart to the individual.  But there must be more to it than that, since a good Mercury can also make one many other things, like a lawyer, a bookkeeper, or an artisan for example. What else is involved?

First, I want to define an Astrologer not as one who necessarily makes a living off of it, or is super amazing at it, or famous, or whatever, but as one who has devoted a great portion/majority of their life and time to the study and practice of Astrology.  A person could be a nurse by trade and in the sense of what pays the bills, but in another sense, they are an Astrologer if they are constantly contemplating astrology all day at the hospital while working, and get home and study and practice it at night.  This should be clear first.

And that is the thing with Astrology, it is a very thoughtful craft.  So while I do agree that Mercury is very helpful and important for a person to be able to convey the chart to an individual, there is more involved than that. Mercury represents skills and our aptitude overall. In this manner, a great Mercury can really make one great at most things. So naturally that can carry over to studying Jyotish, and Mercury loves to study.  But there must be some desire to study the heavens, to contemplate, to find symbolic meaning in life, to be philosophical and so forth. Mercury alone is not really the planet that is going to always do that. Mercury is a vaishya, the Merchant mentality (There are 4 castes or mentalities in human nature according to Vedic philosophy, each one offering unique skills and abilities). To really be a counselor, an advisor, a guide that has the best interest of the individual at heart, one must have other factors going on to indicate that. Mercury alone is a businessman and sometimes even a trickster, it just depends. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be tricked when I go to get advice.

So the main planets you really need to see involved in a person’s makeup are the philosophical and contemplative planets, the Brahmin mentality.  Those planets are Venus and Jupiter. They are the Brahmins of the zodiac, which means most devoted to knowledge and spirituality, to learning, educating, etc.  These planets suggest a desire for refinement in life as well. Ketu is also involved in making one an Astrologer.  So when it comes down to it, having these three planets involved heavily in your chart, and connecting to the self-factors such as Atmakaraka, lagnesh, swamsha, and pada, you often find these people to be involved in Astrology at some point in their life. (Look for these planets in the svamsa or 10th from it, see my previous posts for more info on the svamsa).

Brihaspati (Jupiter) Guru to the Devas.

Brihaspati (Jupiter) Guru to the Devas.

Then you often find Mercury connecting to these planets in some way, via conjunction or rasi aspect, or ruling them, especially if they are going to make a business out of it. Mercury rules business as well as curiousity, so they may just talk about it a lot if the business isnt indicated by other factors in the chart.  This you will really find happening a lot! Jupiter, Venus, or Ketu in the lagna, or 10th, or with the Lagna lord is very, very common.

Now you have the ingredients as far as planets go.  But to be more precise, we need to see the 8th house connected to Ketu to make one an Astrologer, at least if they are going to spend a large portion of life involved in it.  One example I can think of is the Lord of Ketu being in the 8th, another is Ketu simply being in the 8th, another is with the 8th Lord and Ketu rasi aspecting each other, and still one more example I can think of has the 8th lord conjunct ketu.

If all these factors come together you will often see an Astrologer or someone who is involved somehow in dealing with the Soul’s journey and its many lives. There is more to determining any career than this but now you have the basic ingredients to find if one is going to be an Astrologer from the birth chart.

Oh and one more thing, a predictive Astrologer is often shown more by Venus. A psychological astrologer or more of a spiritual advisor type of astrologer can be shown by Jupiter. Venus is the Guru to the Asuras, the worldly forces of materialization and the senses. Naturally, Venusians take after this quality and tend to give great guidance to people for worldly matters.  Jupiter is the Guru to the Devas, the heavenly forces of consciousness, ideas, and inner life. Therefore, Jupiterian Astrologers will perhaps not be as inclined to predict but will give great spiritual counsel about where you are and the type of person you are, your dharma.  The best Astrologers tend to have both planets involved so they can do both of course.  But this is worth noting as there are so many types of astrologers and there are many uses for this craft.  So go to a venusian astrologer if you need help with getting a new car. Go to a jupiterian astrologer to learn a great mantra to meditate upon. Or hopefully, with the grace of God, you will find one who can do both ;)