All posts by Corey

Holidays in November for the Dead

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Its an interesting fact that during the 30 day period in which the Sun passes through the tropical sign of Scorpio (Oct 23rd-Nov 22nd), the United States, and many other nations celebrate five different holidays that deal with the main themes of Scorpio: death, and transformation.scorpion

These holidays are:

  • Halloween, originally known as Samhain
  • All Saints’ day
  • All Souls’ day
  • Remembrance day
  • Veterans day

Each of these holidays is centered around a major theme of the sign of Scorpio, and it really seems appropriate.  Why?  Because of all the different times of the year, this is the time when the Sun is passing through the sign of the scorpion, which only occurs once a year, like clockwork, during this 30 day interval.  And as said above, Scorpio is the sign of death and transformation, so there is no better month out of the year to assign holidays that honor and direct the public’s attention to the dead.  To fully appreciate this unique synchronicity, it is important to understand what the 8th sign of Scorpio deals with:

Scorpio has to do with the transformation of the soul, it is the part of the chart that deals with our longevity, vitality, and ability to fight for survival.  It can represent actual battles as well as the spiritual, inner battles that we all fight between our higher and lower natures.  It is the time of year right after Libra, when everything seemed peaceful and balanced, and the leaves were turning beautiful colors.  Now in Scorpio it is getting colder and darker each day more quickly than before, and the leaves are all gone or rapidly falling. Everything is turning brown, beginning to hibernate, or dying.  The theme is either turning within to transform and survive through winter, or die.  Scorpio is the stage that has to do with the lack of nourishment in life, and the symbolic scorpion is meant to turn its energy, or “water” within to derive nourishment, hence it is a Brahmin sign (oriented towards enlightenment) and can set the stage for great spiritual development.  This depends, however, on the nature of the planetary karmas that are involved.  Difficult Scorpio related karmas show that one is not going to be able to find inner nourishment easily, and will likely turn to unhealthy ways of filling that void.  This can lead to vices of all kinds. Here we see the origins of the negative associations of the sign coming in: Sex, abusive tendencies, addictions, breaking the law, drama, wild breaks and changes, and battles of all kinds.

If you are new to astrology, don’t expect to understand this most mysterious sign at first glance, it takes time and contemplation.  For now just consider that the Sun (The soul of all) passing through the sign of death, the departed, and the transformations related to that, would naturally suggest that this is the best month of the year to honor the dead.

Halloween/Samhain –  This was originally a Gaelic festival that marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, or the darker half of the Solar year.  It is widely believed to go back to Pagan times before the Christian era.  This was the time when the veils between the spiritual and material worlds were thought to be thinnest, and the fairies and spirits were able to most freely intermingle with the Earth realm at this time.  Offerings would be left out for these spirits to honor them, as well as to ensure some degree of safety through the coming winter.  According to some scholars, it was only after the Church condemned this whole festival that the fairies and spirits began to slowly take on a more sinister or wicked aspect.  Now the “offerings” have been boiled down to kids in scary costumes asking for candy… If we choose to see it in its original context, however, it correlates to Vedic Astrology, as Scorpio is one of the three water signs (the brahmin signs). These signs are the most naturally oriented towards spirituality, and are the most psychically sensitive, with Scorpio being the one that is always considered most vulnerable to negative energies, or other worldly factors such as spirits, etc.  {Note: To explain why this is would require a post in itself, but feel free to leave a comment if that is desired.}

All Saints’ Day – This is the day after Halloween, on November 1st.  It is set aside to commemorate all the Saints known or unknown in the world.  It is also refered to as All Hallows’ Day, or Hallowmas by Shakespeare.  It is believed by many that this holiday was instituted to have a sort of Christian counter-holiday to the Pagan Samhain festivals at this time, and this is logical.  Again we can easily see the connection to Scorpio, as Scorpio is a Brahmin Sign.  Brahmins are the priests or saints of the ancient Indian caste system.  This relates to the spiritual battles touched upon earlier.  A Saint is really just someone who has won the spiritual battle that we all must fight eventually, between our higher and lower nature.  In some respects, All Saints’ Day could be seen as a holiday that is honoring all the victorious Scorpios of the past, known or unknown.

All Souls’ Day/Day of the Dead – This is the day after All Saints’ Day, and is a day of prayer for the dead and especially one’s relatives.  This is like All Saints’ Day, but more universal in that it is about honoring all Souls everywhere.  Still a very similar Scorpio theme of death, and prayer, but with an added attention to family.  The family connection makes sense as Mars produces our Siblings and Mother which is the majority of the family.  Another interesting fact is that the 3 day period of October 31st- November 2nd is also a time in Mexico when a similar holiday is celebrated, The Day of the Dead.

Veterans Day– This is an official United States holiday on November 11th that honors people who have served in the US armed forces.  Mars is the Lord of scorpio, and is the planet of war, and soldiers, and battles, as mentioned previously.  Of course fallen heroes will naturally relate to the negative sign of Mars, and again we see a holiday that correlates as the Sun passes through Scorpio.  Here we see a similar theme except that we are honoring those who have fought actual physical battles for the noble cause of defending their nation and freedom.

Remembrance Day– This is held on the same day as Veterans Day, November 11th, but is more international as it is observed by all Commonwealth of Nations states and it honors all those members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty.  There is a slight difference in that sense, as Veteran’s Day does not distinguish between honoring those who have served and those who have died.  Still we see the same themes repeating that should be familiar by now.

Isnt it interesting that these five Holidays which focus on death and transformation happen to each fall in the one sign that is most appropriate?  One naturally wonders if it is all just coincidental, because if astrological thought is correct then we should naturally feel these ways at these times… Or if it was intentionally arranged by Astrologers of Royal Families?  Without evidence it would be hard to say.  There is, however, no disputing the connection of these five holidays to the Tropical sign of Scorpio.

A New Study Complements Ancient Astrology.

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A new scientific study has emerged about the relationship between the season one is born and one’s personality and temperament.  Researchers at the Semmelweis University in Budapest studied 366 university students and did find that the season they were born in had a correlation to certain psychological traits.

The Huffington post article explains that the study found:

  • People born in summer were more likely to experience frequent mood swings as adults.
  • People born in the winter were less likely to develop irritable personalities.
  • People born in the spring were more likely to have “excessively positive” temperaments.
  • And people born in autumn were less likely to be depressive.

The article shared above does mention astrology, but I guess no one writing it was familiar with astrology itself.  If so they would have easily seen the correlation between these findings and the natural signs of the zodiac that the sun crosses during each season.  This research validates astrology immensely, as it is not likely given to chance that each seasonal birth would have a difference in psychology AND also that this difference would be the same difference that both western and eastern astrology has addressed as significant.

It is because the Huffington Post article did not clearly see or did not decide to mention this that I feel the duty, as an astrologer, to clearly point out that these traits are obviously connected to the seasons and therefore to astrology and astronomy.

Lets start with spring and go through the seasons as the zodiac naturally does.

SPRING: This is almost just common sense that someone would be more positive if born in spring, as everything was also being born alongside you.  Nature is bursting forth at this time, the grass is starting to grow back, and it is natural from a psychological standpoint to see a more optimistic personality at this time.  In jyotish, at this time we have the sun rising in Aries, which is all about rising to action, going on adventures, following ones ideas and inspirations, and Aries are confidant and naturally will be optimistic in a general sense (Though not every aries will be the same, check Jupiter for the optimism as well).

Taurus comes up after that which is also a sign that naturally sees the glass as half full. This is because taurus is ruled by Venus, the water element, the comforter, the nurse.  Taurus sees the beauty and goodness in themselves and thus has a natural tendency to see beauty outwardly and thus has an advantage towards being positive in life. Taurus actually often times doesnt even notice when other people are sufferring, especially inwardly or emotionally.  It is the sign of ones inherent self worth, but they must remember that not everyone else has come from as happy and as nourishing of a background as they may have come from, and this is where the negative stereotypes of a taurus come in, such as being selfish and stubborn.  They must learn to give to others as selflessly as the cow gives her milk.

Gemini is the first dual sign we come to, and all the dual signs are a mix of positive and negative, so they likely wont fit into these stereotyped boxes as easily.  But as Gemini is the positive, action oriented sign of Mercury, these types can typically be a bit too clever, and get themselves in to trouble in these ways, when they really should be more careful and focus on doing just what they really care about, and not a million other things.  In a sense this can be similar to being “excessively positive”, in that the gemini thinks it is winning the game of life but often this is just an idea in their mind, and is not the reality.

Summer: Summer officially begins at the moment that the sign of Cancer begins.  Cancer is the sign of the emotions, and the moon, which relates to how we feel, and our feminine emotional nature. Cancer is related to the 6th chakra or the spiritual eye center (ajna), in the pituitary gland between the eyebrows.  Cancer is often portrayed as  a very moody and fickle sign, as the moon is always changing and adapting…this is just what the researchers found.

Leo is the next sign of summer, which is all about maintaining the kingdom.  Leo is not a fun sign like many people think, it is a sign of doing ones dharma and protecting the kingdom, and these people are always striving to maintain a consistency or a high ideal in life.  Ideals are great to have but are rarely achievable 24/7 on earth at least, and the Leo must face this and contend with this as best he can. Not every Leo will be able to handle it well.  Depending on the other planetary placements these people can be very hot headed, get angered easily, and can just blow up on people because they have the audacity, the sense of entitlement as they feel like the Sun, the king.  This probably counts as mood swings.

Virgo, like Gemini is a dual sign, and so is not as one sided, and these people arent as likely as Cancer to have mood swings. Virgo seems to embody more of the autumn qualities that were mentioned.  But Virgo is the sign of a young girl, and is said to rule temper tantrums, like how young girls and boys can be.  Virgo has a hard time accepting the realities of good and evil in life, and can be frustrated easily.

Autumn: Autumn begins the moment that Libra starts, the fall equinox.  Libra is the sign where the sun falls, but where Saturn gets exalted.  Saturn is the planet that fights off depression, and helps us deal with the harshness of life.  Thus there is an obvious natural correlation to this time of year, and how people fight depression.  Also this is opposite of springtime, where everything is turning within or dying, and so we can see how this logically would create a temperament that is opposite of the overly optimistic spring baby.  This is a baby that is likely going to be ready to turn within or to harden itself off from the outer situations more readily.  Libra is a sign that when strong enables detachment and even-mindedness, which helps fight depression.

Scorpio is a brahmin sign ruled by mars, and is all about the spiritual battle, and the inner fight to realize God.  This sign is well known to make one a master of their demons or a slave to them, but we can naturally see that these people will deal with darkness and depression from day one, and so this makes sense that they may be able to deal with it better than another group.

Sagittarius is another dual sign, and is therefore mixed.  It is ruled by jupiter and is  stereotypically considered to be too optimistic. This does not fit as well with the research, but as I mentioned, none of the dual signs should be expected to fit into these broad generalizations, as that would contradict astrology.  Also these signs are right before the changeover of a season, and so they naturally will have qualities of both and not be as one-sided.

 Winter: Winter begins at the moment the sun enters capricorn and begins moving north.  Capricorn gets generalized into the researchers category so easily.  It is the sign of enduring, and if this sign is strong it can make one stoic.  These types of people wont complain, and can endure much suffering, and just keep going.  They are practical, and tend to look out for the dangerous things before they occur and thus avoid them.  They are grounded and cautious.  They are ruled by Saturn, the servant of the zodiac, so they are “down to earth” in this sense and generally do not act like pretentious kings or queens (unless they have other sun and moon things going on) who will get upset when things dont go their way.  Capricorn is used to things not going its way since it was born in freezing winter time when everything is dead or hibernating, and limited food was available….It had to wait around for spring to show up.  Naturally these people are more grounded and dont expect things to come to them immediately in life, making them less likely to have an irritable or demanding personality.

Aquarius is the next sign of winter, and though it is a bit more airy and not as grounded, it is still ruled by Saturn and so Aquarians are usually more down to earth and agreeable people to interact with as well, when compared to the other signs.  Aquarius is the sign of groups and society, so innately they see the value of the individual in society and are more into seeing everyone equally or as a group.  This may have to do with why they would not have as much of an irritable personality as someone opposite, such as a Leo, who will naturally be more self-involved.  However, Aquarius and Capricorn can also give depression when not strong enough, and I imagine that this group was the group that suffered the most depression when analyzed by the researchers. 

Finally we come to Pisces, the last dual sign, and naturally not as clear cut as the others.  As the dual signs are mixed, we can see a mixture of characteristics in the pisces.  They are usually agreeable people to get along with, and are not usually irritable, so they fit some of the winter-born concepts…yet they also somewhat fit with the spring concept of being overly optimistic, as the ruling planet of pisces is the planet of optimism, Jupiter.  This contradictory factor actually makes the most sense for this sign, because pisces is the last sign and thus has some of the qualities of all the previous signs.  In western astrology they say that pisces can embrace contradictory ideas most seamlessly, and this matches with what I have seen before.

In conclusion, I notice that the four cardinal signs, which set the seasons, are the signs which most strongly exhibit these personality traits discovered in Hungary. This fits as the other signs occur at times that are more in the middle or end of a season and the beginning of a new one, and likely are more mixed.  The cardinal signs exhibit these qualities the most. The fixed signs carry the traits a bit less, and the dual signs carry them the least, and do not fit as easily into the seasonal stereotypes, and this matches jyotish perfectly as these are the most mixed signs in the zodiac.

 

Astrology and Etymology

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Astrology– “the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world”

Etymology – “the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history”

THE INFLUENCE OF ASTROLOGY ON THE COMMON ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

There are deep astrological roots behind the etymology of many of our commonly used English words.  It is a funny thing how a word can originate and also how it can evolve.  Take for example, how the word “cool” can mean something colder, or just something likable, which may even be hot in temperature.  Quite a few of our common English words have origins or connections to Astrology, and I think this would be even more noticeably the case if the study of the heavenly bodies had been more tolerated during the rise of Christianity.Zodiac_Medieval

The skilled and competent Astrologers were some of the more knowledgeable people of their day in medieval Europe and Renaissance times, as well as in other cultures and other times.  Its important to remember that in order to erect horoscopes before the time of computers, you had to have a great deal of mathematical skill and knowledge that simply would not be known, much less comprehended by the common man.  Do you remember all that sign, co-sign and tangent stuff that had to be done in geometry class in high school to calculate arcs? What was the point of that?  There really would be no point of learning that type of mathematical skill in the old days unless you were trying to make astronomical calculations dealing with calculating the arcs of planets, signs, and houses.  And at this time astronomy and astrology were much more the same science, done by the same people.  Add to this that to be skilled at the interpretation of a chart, you not only would have to be mathematically skilled, but would have to be also somewhat intuitive and quite subtle in your thinking.  Hence, an astrologer is one who is naturally using both the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and using them together, and therefore someone who is developing their consciousness very actively.  The study of astrology itself is of far greater value than an individual horoscope reading because of this reason.  This is why it makes sense that the astrological community would have such an influence on the development of the English language, as not everyone was able to write, back in the olden days, and often it was only the educated folk that had this privilege.  Many of these educated folk were astrological enthusiasts or were quite curious about the whole idea…There was no television or netflix back in those days.  The myths and stories of the gods and goddesses were beautifully intertwined with the studied observations of the heavens, and this was and still can be a far more gratifying form of storytelling in my opinion.

sun god zodiacMuch of the great European scientists of the past were also practicing Astrologers, such as the obvious Johannes Kepler, a key figure in the scientific revolution who developed the first astronomical telescope and proved Copernicus’s theory of the planets revolving around the Sun.  Kepler actually did do astrological readings for people professionally, and also had many interesting theories about the connection of weather to astrology.  But this is often not mentioned in history books.  Skeptics of astrology have even gone so far as to say that Kepler faked his astrology practice in an attempt to satisfy people when he needed to make money.  It seems strange that people who respect this man would rather themselves believe that he was a con artist than a believer in astrology!

Kepler paved the way for Isaac Newton’s theory of universal gravitation.  Newton was also an astrologer and an occultist, once being quoted in defense of astrology to Edmund Halley (another astronomer whom Halley’s comet is named after) saying “I have studied the matter.  You sir, have not. ”

Galileo, the man called the “father of modern science” and “father of modern physics”, was also an astrologer, and further improved the Telescope, and also discovered the moons of Jupiter, as well as many other achievements.

Then when we look at the roots of European literature itself, the many plays of Shakespeare are full of astrological references, the most notable would probably be the term “star-crossed lovers”, from Romeo and Juliet, indicating lovers whose karmic conditions were not in harmony to produce an ideal relationship.  Hence, their “Stars” were “crossed”.  Also the character Mercutio should sound familiar, as he was not a capulet or romulet, and so moved freely from house to house (like the most mixed and dual planet his name is taken from).  And lets not forget the famous warning that Caesar was given by the Astrologer to “beware the ides (middle) of March”.  There are dozens and dozens of other astrological references in the plays of Shakespeare, and also in the The Canterbury Tales  by Jeffrey Chaucer, both of which are actually a bit older than the renaissance time.  These writings are classics of European society, and because of this they are very telling of what the intellectual community was interested in at the time.  And language is such a funny thing, it adapts over time and changes so easily.  Perhaps that is why the planet which rules speech and language, Mercury, is the most changeable and mixed planet.  Mercury is also the name for a metal that is liquid at room temperature, and thus very changeable which is quite odd in the context of metals.

With all this in mind, I decided to put together a list of common English words that have origins that come from various cultures or other languages, but are astrological in nature, to help elucidate the point that astrology was so much a part of life to humans that it still can be seen in our speech.  We should not be so quick to discredit astrology in our dawning scientific age, but remember that this was one of the original sciences and its influence has likely survived for a good reason.

I am no expert on linguistics or etymology, so I am unable to provide the source of many of these connections.  Some of these I have read of, some I have thought of myself, and others I have been told by friends.  Feel free to add any other astrological word connections you have noticed in the comments section below.

  1. The Sun -soul- The latin word for the Sun is “Sol” which means “Sun”.  This is where we get the word “soul” because the Sun represents the soul in the birth chart.
  2. The Moon –Month-mind-man- the Moon revolves around the zodiac once each month, and is the reason we traditionally divide time up into months of roughly 30 days. This may come via the proto indo european root “menon”.  This is also likely where the term “menstruation” comes from.  The moons relationship to the menstruation cycle is well known. The moon is said to be the “Manas” (Sense mind) in Sanskrit.  This is supposedly the root of the word “mind”, as well as “man”.  Also the term lunar, used to indicate the moon’s influence, is the origin of the word lunatic, or looney.  This is due to the well known influence the full and new moon has on our emotions.  Anyone who has worked in an ER before can confirm that on full moons and new moons there are far more accidents, more domestic violence, more arrests, more burglaries, etc.  It is because the Moon represents the ego-mind, and when it is full it is opposite the Sun, the true self, so our ego is furthest away and at odds with our true self.  The earth is right in between this monthly sun and moon opposition, and in a sense, it is like we feel pulled strongly in opposite directions at this full moon time.  If the entire ocean can be pulled in a direction because of the moon, it is no surprise that we can feel pulled to act a certain way we otherwise would not, when we consider that our bodies are 75% water.
  3. Mars -martial-ire- From Mars we get the word martial, meaning war-like.  This is obviously related to the warrior planet.  “Ire” comes from “irasya” (“ill will”, Sanskrit) and is said to be related to “Aries”, the greek god of war.
  4. Mercury -merchant-mercantile-migration- These words likely stem from the latin Merx.  Mercury is a planet of travel, hence migration, and is of the vaishya caste, or the merchant class.  He rules over artisans and the development of skills.  Also, the word mercurial is obvious but worth mentioning, as it means something easily changed, or volatile, as mercury is the most changeable planet, as mentioned previously.
  5. Jupiter – jovian-joyful- The roman word for Jupiter is Jove, and is the root of the terms jovial, and joyful.  Jupiter is the most optimistic and positive of the seven grahas.
  6. Venus – veneration-venison-venom- The proto Indo European root word Ven meaning “to strive after” is likely the origin of these words.  Veneration means respect and awe for the greatness in someone, and a strong Venus helps us really appreciate the worth in an individual, so we can see the connection.  Venison means “the game of the hunt”, and Venus represents what we desire.  Venom is more difficult to understand the origin of, but perhaps it is because in some cultures venom is sought after for special rejuvenation properties.  Venus does rule the bodies ability to regenerate and recuperate, so that is a possible, but speculative connection. Also some say that the English word Star comes from the Babylonian word Ishtar, the name of the deity they associated with Venus.  This makes sense also because Venus is the brightest planet in the sky, and can look a lot like a star.  Venus rules sexual intercourse and the number related to Venus is the number six.  The latin word for six is sex, and so a sexagenarian is someone who is over sixty years old.  We obviously know the term sex more nowadays as the term for sexual intercourse which is the domain of Venus.
  7. Saturn-chronological-chronic-anachronism-chronicle- The Greek god related to Saturn was named Chronos, also known as the God of time.  Saturn takes the longest to revolve around the zodiac at 30 years compared to the sun which does this in 1 year.  Saturn therefore, rules over things that take a long time, and old things.  His afflictions are said to stick with people for a longer period of time, due to his slow movement.  Here we can see why Saturn rules over chronic illnesses.  Also the word sapphire is said to come from the sanskrit “Sanipriyah” – meaning “precious to Saturn”, because he has traditionally been considered to relate to this gem.

another interesting one:  consider- most likely from Latin con (“with”) and sider (“stars”), meaning “to consult the stars”.  Originally this term meant only “to examine”.  This implies how closely connected astrology was to important considerations of antiquity.

Jupiter And The Sweet Sixteen

astrological synchronicities, grahas, jupiter

In the United States, we have this curious tradition of recognizing a girl’s sixteenth birthday as especially important.  Where does this come from? It certainly has stuck around as a tradition for some time.  It is defined by Wikipedia as  “…a coming of age party celebrating a girl’s sixteenth birthday in North America, primarily in the United States and Canada.”

The traditions vary according to different families, but sometimes a tiara is given by the Mother to the Daughter to celebrate her becoming a woman.  It also implies that she is eligible for marriage.  What interests me about this is that it is only important for a girl, and for boys there is no special cultural significance given to turning 16 years old.

This seems to reflect an astrological truth.  It has to do with the different ages at which the planets are said to “mature” in ones life.  Each planet has a different maturation age, and when this age comes about, the person is able to use that planet to a more effective level, if such a promise is shown in the birth chart to begin with.  If not, then the person may start to experience more problems associated with the planet as it is not maturing properly.  The person is not as developed in the area of consciousness associated with said planet, and it shows.

The maturation ages are as follows:

  • Jupiter : 16   Jupiter
  • Sun : 21
  • Moon : 24
  • Venus : 25
  • Mars : 28
  • Mercury : 32
  • Saturn : 36
  • Rahu : 42
  • Ketu : 48

As can be seen above, Jupiter is the first planet to mature, and it matures at the age of 16.  Jupiter represents a great many things in a horoscope, including wisdom or philosophy, guiding principles and the ability to appreciate the wholeness of life.  His placement in a chart can also give great understanding of what makes you happy, and what your “dharma”, or purpose in life is.  If you are a Woman, or someone who likes Men, then Jupiter actually plays a slightly different role in the chart as compared to a Male, or someone who likes women mostly.  This has to do with Jupiter being the producer, or “karaka” of the husband in a Womans chart.  He is also the significator of children in the horoscope, for both males and females.  So for the average female, the planet Jupiter “produces” (in the astrological  sense) and is responsible for, her children, and her husband in life.  Those are very important parts of life for most people.  And when Jupiter matures at 16, all these things under Jupiter’s domain begin to mature and become prominent in a person’s life as well.  Also, Jupiter rules our creativity in general, and children are the most important creative process for most humans, and at this age a woman is physically mature enough to take on this creative process.  Also, the hormones and endocrine system is ruled by Jupiter, and this matures around the age of 16 as well.

This is what is so interesting about the tradition of the Sweet Sixteen, and how it is only significant for a lady.  Before the age of 16, the average girl’s physical body, hormones and consciousness are not cultivated enough to maturely know what is in her own heart, and what type of Husband (if any) she should choose.  The same goes for children.  She may not want to have kids, or not really think about it until after the age of 16.  After that point, if it is in her Dharma to have kids in this life, she may begin to have more of her own thoughts and feelings about the matter.  This is because she is now physically mature enough for this process, but not necessarily mature enough on all levels.

For a girl that has a strong Jupiter in her chart, this means that in past lives she lived dharmically enough to gain the “good karma” (good merit) to have a happy and fortunate married life with pleasing children.  In most cultures this is the general ideal thing to have for most women, (as well as with men, but with a happy wife as opposed to husband) although everyone is different.  This has long been one of the best uses of Jyotish, to determine if one should pursue marriage in this life or if they should save themselves a lot of time and energy and focus on something else they care about.  At the age of 16, Jupiter matures, which means that (for either sex) the individual’s consciousness of their “dharma” has matured, leaving them to pursue their own unique purpose in the world.  If this purpose involves marriage or having kids, then the time is ripe at 16 to pave the way for those events to occur when they are meant to.  Because marriage and children are such important factors in life, it makes sense that families at some point decided to have a big celebration to commemorate this.

Regardless of their sex, at 16 the person is going to begin to think more about their purpose, and more about what they want to do with their own life.  At 16 a person may think more about what is really right and wrong, versus what they have been told to think by others. They may think more about what they themselves believe to be true from their experience.  They may develop a belief system of their own naturally or start to follow a belief system.  This is because Jupiter rules ones belief systems, and wisdom, and ones understanding of the big picture in life.  And how this plays out depends on the way Jupiter is situated in the horoscope.

Also, I have heard, but cannot confirm, that some studies have shown that women actually bear children with the least amount of accidents or health issues at the age of 16. The likelihood of health complications during childbearing is thought to increase with age gradually.  I could not find a study to confirm this, but found a lot of information online about how accidents and birth complications are increased gradually with age. Here is one article.  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/autism-maternal-age/

For men, it is different, because Venus rules the wife or mate in a chart of someone who likes females, and as you can see above, Venus does not mature until the age of 25.  This means that for men, they may not be fully mature enough in their consciousness to choose the right marriage partner or commit to their chosen path in life until the age of 25.  Venus is the consciousness that helps us love ourselves and seek the best quality of life for ourselves, therefore representing our decision making capacity.  The strong Venusian weighs out the choices they are given in life wisely (like Venus’s sign Libra, the balancing scales, “weighing ones options”. Libras tend to get the best deals and be good traders and businessmen) and thus his life leads to greater satisfaction and well being because of the good choices they made to get there.  A person with a weaker Venus will typically not inherently appreciate themselves as much, and will make decisions that reflect that, and choose bad partners and bad relationships, therefore inviting difficulty and hardship into their lives as a result.

Boys typically do not mature sexually as fast as women, and who knows, perhaps that has to do with males not being truly ripe for marriage until the age of 25, as opposed to girls at 16, according to this line of thinking.  Also, it is usually considered more normal for a woman to marry an older man, than it is for a man to marry an older woman.  This makes sense when we see that a woman is mature enough (or close to it) for a spouse at the age of 16, compared with a man not being that mature until almost ten years later at 25!

It can be nice to reflect back and see how ones own beliefs or philosophies (as well as other jupiter-ruled things) may have developed during that very formative time.

 

 

Saturn And The Crow

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis post is about a very interesting talk that was given by Joshua Klein on Crows and their intelligence, on the TEDtalks website.  It has particularly fascinating information for Astrologers, as the crow has a symbolic association with the planet Saturn, and this video unintentionally demonstrates that affinity very well.

 

The nine planets in Jyotish are said to produce all the many things in the world and in nature by mixing and blending their influences.  Each planet is a “karaka”, or producer, of a particular concrete thing in someone’s life. For example, Saturn “produces” one’s servants.  So in ancient times, if a King wanted to know how his servants would be, and whether they would work honestly and dilligently, or whether they would be dishonest and lazy, the skilled astrologer would look to the condition of the planet Saturn.  The astrologer would look at other things too, but the producer of that correlating archetype in the physical world is very important.  For learning about the King’s soldiers or ministers, we would look to Mars and Venus, respectively.  There are many other factors the astrologer would look at, but this is perhaps the most important.  Another way to say it is that one has to look at the planetary archetype that matches the physical entity in one’s life and “as above, so below”.  So if there is a difficult Saturn “above” in the heavens at this king’s birth, then there will be difficult servants “below” in this person’s experience of an earthly incarnation. This is a foundational concept in the occult sciences in both the east and western cultures.  It can be a hard thing to comprehend, so if it is difficult to grasp, just imagine it for now.

If you study astrology, then you probably know that crows relate to the planet Saturn and should watch the video first and observe the similarities yourself.  If not, then you can read this list of congruencies and hopefully begin to appreciate this connection.

I will list some of the archetypal synchronizations I noticed below:

  •  To begin with, the speaker, Joshua Klein, has a simple, intelligent, and capable look to him. These are the qualities of a strongly placed saturn.  He wears a black t-shirt without a logo. Saturn is related to the color black, and is mythically said to have a black or dark complexion. He even tells a bit of a “dark” joke about the Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds.  These traditions of Saturn relating to the color black is still evident in the Jewish tradition, where on the holy day, the Sabbath, they traditionally where black.  The Sabbath is Saturday, which is the day of the planet Saturn.  The spelling makes it obvious, but all the days of the week are actually related to the planets.
  •  He says that he began his interest and research in crows when a friend at a cocktail party tells him that they are useless and should be killed. His very saturnian response to it is that they could probably be trained or used in some way that is more helpful for human life.  This is very evident of a strong Saturn, while Joshua’s  friend displays the typical pessimism of a poorly placed Saturn, Joshua says “no”, and decides to think differently about the matter.  Saturn’s astrological role as a planet is to help that person become who they need to be so that they may do what they need to do to help the world the most.  So right away Joshua is looking at what could be viewed as an annoying pest, and seeing how it could potentially be turned into an animal that actually makes life more bearable and enjoyable.
  • At about 3 minutes into the video, he shows an amazing clip of a crow bending a metal wire into a hook to get a worm out of a tube in a science experiment, which the crow had never seen done before, showing great ingenuity and inventiveness.  At 4 minutes in, he states that the brain of a crow is in proportion to the brain of the chimpanzee.  Saturn is found well placed in the charts of Inventors and people who are somehow improving the quality of life for everyone.
  • The clip of the crow at the five minute mark, with its clever trick of letting the car crack the nut for it, demonstrates patience, a key attribute of Saturn. Taking 30 years to go through the zodiac, it is the slowest of the main planets, symbolizing patience and endurance.  A squirrel would never be able to wait that long.  Also, it is said that the difficult karma that Saturn brings out in a chart can tend to afflict one the longest, because of its slow movement through each sign over 2.5 years.  Sounds familiar to the story about the crows hassling the scientists, and remembering them even months and years later!
  • He makes a strong point overall about how crows seem to actually benefit from cleaning up our human societies messes and roadkill, and that when trained can actually help us clean up debris from events or find lost change.  Saturn’s role in the medical aspect of astrology is quite similar, ruling the immune system.  Saturn is the planet that is responsible for removing waste from the body, keeping off disease, and is said to rule our longevity. Here we see evidence that crows are cleaning the city streets in an analogous way.

Overall I think this video is fascinating even without respect to Jyotish, but for those with interest in astrology and mythological symbolism, you can see there is much to be appreciated between the Crow and the planet Saturn.  And by appreciating the symbolic value of our environment and the life around us, we can feel more like we are a part of something greater than our little self.  In this way, mythological symbolism can have therapeutic properties for our minds.

If you notice any other interesting astrological correlations between the behavior of crows and the symbolism of the planet Saturn, please share below in the comments section.

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Photos: Mythological image of the graha Saturn, said to ride upon a crow or vulture.

The Solstices and Equinoxes Part 1

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhen we look across the globe at many different cultural traditions, there seems to be an emphasis on the importance of the astronomical periods known as the Solstice and Equinox times.  Many of the most ancient landmarks that have ever been discovered, such as Stonehenge, Newgrange, the temple at Karnak, Macchu Picchu, and Chichen Itza have all  been oriented to these four points, the winter and summer solstice, and the spring and fall equinox.

Why is that the case? Well, we may not know all the reasons why.  Historians point out that these times needed to be known in order to know when the seasons were coming, to know when to plant seeds, and to know when to harvest them.  So there is likely a practical reasoning behind it, but there also seems to be a profound spiritual logic behind the awareness of these four times.  In this post I will try to clarify the importance and meaning of the astrological and astronomical significance of the solstices and equinoxes, which have been called the “Celestial Cross”.

Clipboard01First lets clarify what these terms “Solstice” and “Equinox” actually mean.  The Solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year as the Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in its apparent year long course across the equator and back down. And the equinoxes are the two middle or “equal” points that the Sun hits as it goes up and down across the ecliptic as we see it from the Earth.  The Equinoxes are the exact days when the day and night are of equal length.

(Note: Astrology is an Earth based science, and as such, it is not important whether the Earth actually is moving around the Sun, or the Sun around the Earth.  The symbolic importance is what appears to be happening from the perspective of being on Earth.  So we say that the Sun moves north and south, even though it is commonly understood that the Earth is what is moving around the Sun.  From the perspective of the relativity of motion, it really cannot be proven that the Earth is moving around the Sun, as the entire Universe could equally be said to revolve around the Earth, as the famous physicist Ernst Mach has contended.)

THE VERNAL EQUINOX

The vernal equinox is usually around March 20th of each year and marks the beginning of “Spring” as we commonly call it.  This is astrologically the beginning of the sign of Aries, “the ram”, and the beginning of the Sun’s course through the Zodiac again.  As this is the point where there begins to be more daylight than night, and all of nature begins to awaken and “spring” up from dormancy, we can see why this is symbolized by a ram.  Rams are powerful and fearless creatures that climb mountains and smash into their enemies head first.  They push the boundaries of what can be possible.  We can see how this fits as a perfect symbol for the time of year when nature itself seems to awaken and burst forth into activity.  Aries individuals are very comfortable with this sort of activity and are courageous, adventurous, pioneering, and love initiating new projects.

THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX

The autumnal equinox is the exact opposite point of the solar path, and marks the first day of “Fall” or “Autumn”, and is astrologically the first day of the sign of Libra, “the scales”.  Libra is the sign of the balancing scales, and that should make sense to us as we now know that this is the middle point, or “balancing point” of the zodiac.  Naturally Libra is a sign that seeks balance, equality, and harmony, and we can see the logic behind that, in the Sun’s yearly course.  Also, Libra is the sign where the Sun is weakest, and the weakest sign for a planet is referred to as its “fall”.  Its as if the planet falls from its natural strength at that place.  Hence, we call this time of year, “The Fall”, as it is the time when the Sun “falls” astrologically, but also this means in actuality that the light on earth is diminishing more quickly each day as winter approaches.  So the fall equinox marks the equal point of the Sun’s descending path, after which there will be more darkness than light for 6 months.

THE WINTER SOLSTICE

This brings us to the Solstices.  After the autumn equinox, the next major change will be at the winter solstice, which occurs on December 20th or 21st.  This is the shortest day of the year, where the Sun is seen from Earth’s perspective as being the furthest away and dimmest that it will be.  If one is far North enough above the equator, then the sun can appear to disappear or not even rise on this day.  At the north pole, the sun does not rise at all.  For three days the sun’s path stays the same, and so in the northern regions of Earth, the Sun is apparently gone (or barely visible) for three days after the 21st. Then on the 25th of December, the Sun rises just a bit further North, and is just a bit more visible, and the day is just a bit longer.  This day marks the beginning of the Sun’s 6 month journey northward across the equator and the beginning of the longer days.  This winter solstice point is astrologically the first day of Capricorn, the goat-fish in western tradition, and the crocodile in the Indian tradition.  Both symbols represent the same energy of coming from darkness into more light.  The crocodile is often half submerged when seen, and lays low but can be quite powerful and fearsome when it moves up onto dry land.  This fits the nature of this time, when the Sun is most hidden, but is beginning to make its journey towards more light.  The goat or goat-fish in the western tradition, has the same symbolic meaning.  The fish-half can represent the submerged, hidden, or darker emotional aspect of ourselves or our karmas that can sometimes surface during the winter time.  The goat, being a natural mountain climber and survivor, symbolizes the inevitable rising up into life and light of the Sun on its 6 month journey that begins at this stage of Capricorn.  The goat will always make it to the top of the hill eventually, but may take its time. This is how capricorn natives behave, they are focused on long term goals, security, moving up in the world, and on metaphorically “getting through the winter”.

THE SUMMER SOLSTICE

After 6 months of the Sun moving north, it reaches its peak of northern movement on the summer solstice on June 21st.  This is the brightest day of the year, and the Sun is as far north as it will ever be.  For 3 days the Sun stays at about that same place, just like the opposite winter solstice. Then on June 25th, the Sun actually starts descending and moving south.  This is astrologically known as the sign of Cancer, the crab.  And as crabs are easily seen to side-step as they move, this is exactly how the Sun behaves here.  The sun was moving north, north, north, then it stops at cancer…. and then side steps for 3 days, and then retreats back south, like a crab running back to its hole in the sand.  Cancerian individuals are known to be a bit fickle, and often dont address issues head on like the ram, they tend to pause and side-step around the issue if possible.  They are able to yield to the moment, and enjoy receding from the world into their home or something they are comfortable with.  This makes sense as this is the point at which the Sun actually stalls and yields from moving any further north, and then changes direction, and begins to move south.  Cancer natives are very receptive and are similar in that they can stop and check in with their emotions and say, “is this the right course for me?  Perhaps I should change the course”.

Hopefully it is beginning to make sense that this course of the Sun, along with the Moon’s monthly course around the Earth, are the cycles that create our seasons and therefore our sense of time and rhythm as we live on Earth.  That is very important!  It makes sense that these cycles will also have a big influence on our psychological states, and this is obvious when we take even a basic look at the signs that are associated with the four major points of this solar cycle, as we did earlier.  These four major points that correlate to Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn are places where the Sun and the Earth are in an alignment, and so naturally we would assume that these signs would have importance.  And even those with a basic knowledge of astrology know that this is true, as these four signs are called the “cardinal” or “chara” (changeable) signs.  These cardinal signs are naturally the most active, and the most changeable.  This makes sense as these are the actual points where the sun “changes” its course.  The Sun represents the “Soul of All”, or Saarva Atman, as discussed in a previous post.  Logically it makes sense that if these signs are where the Soul of everything changes its course, the people born under that sign will also be more likely to change course throughout life, and be more comfortable with change.

We can also think about this and see that it is likely not some star constellation that looks like a ram that is making an aries person so impulsive, but the very framework of the Sun and Earth’s movement (these equinoxes and solstices) that is the factor.  This makes more sense when we contemplate it, as stars can burn out or appear in different areas over time, but the Sun and Earths relationship appears to be much more consistent over the long term, and hence a better framework for time.

We have been dealing with these cycles our whole lives, so we may not notice the effects from day to day, but these cycles can definitely be noticed and felt to varying degrees, depending on the consciousness of the person experiencing them.  This is a very important pattern and the ruins of ancient cultures across the globe are all aligned to this “celestial cross” as it has been called.  In the next post about the Solstices and Equinoxes I will elaborate more about the spiritual and yogic symbolism of this same cycle.

 

Some Thoughts About The Moon

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“The Moon reflects the Sun’s light and it does not emit its own light.”  -Rig Veda 1:84:15

“The Sun is the upholder of all light. The Moon and all other planets do not possess light of their own. All of them shine with the light of the Sun.”  -Atharva Veda 14:1:1

 

The Moon is the brightest object in the night sky. With its fascinating luminescence and mysterious waxing and waning behavior, it is no surprise that it has been the subject of great interest for practically every culture on the planet.  It has probably been an object of contemplation ever since humanity expressed such an ability, and for good reason,  as there are so many interesting qualities to appreciate about this luminary body.

To fully understand the Moon, we must first look to the Sun, the other great luminary, and the source of the moons reflected light.  In Jyotish (vedic astrology), each planet represents an aspect of our own self.  The Sun is the symbol of the real Self (note the capital S, referring to our eternal Self or Soul, not the impermanent and always changing personality self).  As the body that the rest of the planets revolve around, it signifies the real and eternal “Soul of All”.  The Sanskrit word used to describe the sun in this context is “Sarva Atma”. “Sarva” means “all”, “of all”, “everything” and “all things”.  “Atma” means “soul” or “self”.  So the Sun is the life of everything.  All is one with the Sun at the deepest level of existence.  The Sun relates to that pure consciousness that manifests everything in existence.  Mathematically, the Sun is like the number 1.

The Moon is the other main source of light and luminescence in our world.  As the above quotes from the ancient Rig Veda and Atharva Veda explain, the moon has no light of its own, and is merely reflecting the Suns light.  In the Indian tradition of astrology, the moon is the planet (astronomically it is considered a satellite, but for astrological purposes it is considered a planet, as it behaves like other planets from our perspective on Earth) that represents the ego-mind and the incarnated human being.  It is the reflection of the Sun, the Supreme Self.  Human beings can certainly be reflections of the Supreme Self, but not all the time, just like the moon, who can sometimes be full and reflect the Suns light perfectly, and other times be so dark it cant even be seen.  The sanskrit word given for the Moon is “Manas”, which means “mind”, but not in the western sense of the mind as the intellectual processor, but as the thing that is experiencing life. The mind is what experiences life through the five senses.  Interestingly, because the English language has roots in the Vedic Sanskrit language, this Sanskrit word “Manas” is the root origin of all three of the English words “man”, “mind” and “moon”.

When we think about the Sun, how hot and bright it is, how intense and draining it can feel to be exposed to it for long stretches of time, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by it.  Just as Man cannot easily perceive the Sun for more than a moment without having severe eye damage, he likewise has difficulty perceiving God in daily life. It really is logical to correlate the Sun with the Supreme Self, or God, as it is the sustaining source of all that is living in our world. Its course is so regular and unchanging, and we live our lives by it….yet we cannot understand it or even look at it normally.  Life cannot exist on Earth without the support of such a powerful solar body.

In the same way, when considering the Moon, its constant waxing and waning, changing signs, moving to and fro, and occasionally being eclipsed… It is much more symbolic of a human beings awareness. We wax and wane, have good days and bad, seem to go through cycles we have little control of and in an overall sense are very changeable by nature.  Hopefully this symbolism is making itself clear now.  Our ego-mind is just like the changeable moon.  The ego-mind can be thought of as merely a composite of personality characteristics, that we do or do not like, that are taken from a VAST amount of experiences we have had.  So it is always changing as well, as we have new experiences and out grow old experiences that we previously identified with.  For example, someone may not like spicy food, but then one day they have a delicious spicy soup in just the right quantity, and fall in love with it, and how it makes them feel. Then their ego mind will say, “Now I LIKE spicy food”.  Their ego has changed and adapted just like the ever changing moon.

And that brings us to another interesting thing about the moon, or ego-mind; its adaptability.  Each planet is said to relate to the other planets as being a friend, neutral, or enemy to them in the Vedic system of astrology.  And these relationships are based on the natural energies, or “rays” of each planet.  Like how certain colors just go well naturally, and others “clash”.  And when it comes to the moon, it is the only planet that has no enemies, only friends or neutrals.  All the other planets have at least one, two, or three enemies.  What does this tell us about the ego-mind?  Contemplating this reveals many things, but particularly significant is that the moon, or ego-mind, will latch on to and feel comfortable with anything it can in order to survive as the individual ego.  Even if that thing is not good for it and harmful.  This is why the separate egoic sense of self is such a source of pain and suffering.  It will not refuse identifying with even the worst elements of life in order to keep growing and experiencing.  The Moon with Jupiter for example, is showing that a persons mind is comfortable identifying with Jupiterian things such as knowledge, wisdom, a sense of purpose in life, and optimism.  The Moon with Saturn, on the other hand, shows a person identified with suffering, pain, lack, hard work, and the difficult sides of life.  Oftentimes they will actually be somewhat comfortable with the painful sides of life. They will be used to struggling, and enduring. When things are going great in life, they may actually think, “something isnt right”, but it is because they just are not as used to life going so easily.  The Jupiterian-moon person may be the opposite, and when life is going right, they will stop and think “life IS going right”.  This shows us that some things are naturally more beneficial for us to identify with than others, but if we decide to, we can latch on to even the harshest aspects of life, in order to keep growing and experiencing life as it is happening…

The moon, or mind, can therefore work out well for a person, or not so well for a person, depending on what they are identifying with, as revealed by asessing the moon in a horoscope.  But either way, whether ones mind is more comfortable with wealth or poverty does not change the fact that they are identifying with a temporary and changeable sense of themselves, which waxes and wanes.  It is still not the real Self.  So from the Yogic viewpoint,  identifying with this passing sense of self that one is comfortable with can bring happiness or sadness, but will still invite suffering to the “moon-identified”, or ego-minded person, until they are able to become “Sun-identified”, or “Soul-minded”.  We know already that the Sun is the “Self of all”, hence the emphasis on “Self-realization” from the yogis and enlightened ones.

 

Why is it called “Vedic Astrology”?

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The sanskrit word for astrology and astronomy is “Jyotish”. “Jyoti” means “light” and “ish” means “God” or “the supreme spirit”.  This ancient Indian word gets right to the core of the matter by saying that astrology/astronomy is the study and classification of God’s Light and its influence on life.  So this is a great term, but there is already too many confusing foreign terms for the average astrological client in the west, and so the more common name of “Vedic Astrology” will suffice for now.

Vedic Astrology is the main term currently being used for the system of astrological philosophy and methodology that originated in the vedic philosophical tradition of ancient India.  It is also sometimes called Hindu Astrology or Yogic Astrology, or Siddha Astrology.  The term “vedic” seems to fit the best, in my opinion, for several reasons:

1) The word “Veda” or “Vedic” roughly means “the accurately revealed knowledge” but it also means  “that knowledge which is eternal and true”. The culture of India and the Religion of Hinduism (also called Sanatan Dharma, a more accurate term), is based on the holy teachings of the “Vedas”,  ancient scriptures which contain the eternal truth of life.  So the aim of the religious Hindu is to “know the Veda” or “know the eternal truth of life”. So essentially the word Veda means “the truth”, or “the Knowledge”.

So to call astrology “Vedic Astrology”, means that one is practicing an astrology based on revealed Truth, or “Veda”.  Truth is truth, and is not confined to one particular culture or time period…. Not even the Vedic culture!  Some may not like me saying this, but Vedic Astrology can be practiced by anyone anywhere, regardless of whether they have any knowledge of Sanatan Dharma, or Hinduism, as it is commonly called.  The knowledge is within us all and can be accessed by anyone.

2) The word “vedic” can also mean “science” as science is a way to gain accurate knowledge that can be replicated and is relatively consistent. Jyotish, or Vedic Astrology, has the potential to be a “super science”, in that it can help one gain information on any other department of life.  Eventually it will get back to that place of prominence, but at its current state, Jyotish is just beginning to re-emerge out of the dark ages, when the knowledge was almost entirely lost.  It will take time and much more research before it can rightly be considered a science, but it is scientific in its nature.  As time goes on we will not have to rely as much upon intuition, and will more and more have a methodical and scientific framework to use along with intuition.

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Vedic Astrology is Being Reborn

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A diagram of the Yugas as outlined in the introduction of his book, The Holy Science. They are the same as the Greek ages of Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
A diagram of the Yugas as outlined in the introduction of Yukteswar’s book, The Holy Science. They are the same as the Greek ages of Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, and proceed in an ascending and descending pattern, so that both Kali Yugas are consecutive, and both Satya Yugas are as well.

 

“Astrology is too vast both mathematically and philosophically, to be rightly grasped except by men of profound understanding.  If ignoramuses misread the heavens, and see there a scrawl instead of a script, that is to be expected in this imperfect world.  One should not dismiss the wisdom with the ‘wise’. ” – Sri Yukteswar

 

Astrology is one of the oldest sciences known to man.  When we look at the ancient cultures all over the globe, we see that Astronomy and Astrology had a prominent role to play in regulating society and daily life.  And the more we learn about some of these ancient cultures, the more we realize how refined and scientifically developed many of them were.

The Rishis, or Seers, of ancient India described a grand cosmic cycle (24,000 years approx.) with 4 eons called “yugas”.  This is the same as the Greek concept of the Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold Ages.  The Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold Ages correspond to the Kali, Dwapara, Treta, and Satya Yugas.  The same situation is described in both Greek and Indian traditions, with humanity being very enlightened and happy in the Golden Age, and then slowly falling from that peak down to the materialism and ignorance of the Iron Age.  The cycle then goes back in an ascending order to the Bronze Age, then to the Silver Age, and finally another Golden Age occurs.  The Vedic Seers describe the Kali yuga as the darkest age when ignorance and suffering are in full swing.  During this approximately 1,200 year period the Earth is furthest from the galactic center and so the average human consciousness is somewhat dimmed.  This occurred around 500 AD and continued into 1700 AD, when the Dwapara yuga began to ascend for 2,400 years, bringing in more intellectual capabilities for mankind and technological developments to improve the quality of life on earth.  The closer we get to the center of the galaxy, the more intelligent the average human becomes, and therefore society advances as a whole. In the  Treta yuga, or the Silver Age, humanity is said to be advanced, civilized and life is more enjoyable.  It will start in 4100 AD and run for 3,600 years.  Then comes the Satya yuga, or the Golden Age, which will go for 4,800 years, and humanity will be at its peak of civilization.  Astrology itself is really more of a Treta and Satya yuga science.

By researching into the Iron Age we can see that things were pretty bad during medieval times, with the average person living only to their 30s and the massive losses caused by the plagues.  That was Kali yuga.  This is now Dwapara yuga, the electrical age, and life is getting better.  We are learning to use electricity and make our lives easier as a result.  Still not ideal though, and so Astrology is in the same state.  It is not until the higher ages of Silver and Gold, Treta and Satya Yugas, that Astrology is fully appreciated and understood by the entire population.  We can see evidence of this when we research cultures such as Egypt, that experienced what seemed to be a “Golden Age”, and we find astrological markers and symbolism throughout the period.

This is why it is an exciting time, because as our society is advancing, more people will begin to be open to Astrology and other ancient arts, and with more research and practice by these same people, Astrology itself will begin to flower back into the vast art and science that it truly is.  With the rise of computers it has become far easier for calculations to be made, making astrological calculations more open to the publics participation.  This has been an immense help that the Dwapara Yuga has brought about.

Because much of the methodical and scientific side of Astrology has been lost during the dark age of Kali Yuga, much of the astrology we are familiar with is diluted and not very accurate.  In some cases, the scriptures are unclear, or perhaps mistranslated, and many Astrologers have not bothered to verify the authenticity of techniques they use.  To blindly use techniques without verifying their accuracy is no different from going to a church and blindly believing what a preacher may tell you without thinking for yourself about the matter.  Its surprising to think astrologers have been that way, but these are the residues of the darkness of Kali Yuga.

As time goes on and we advance more into the Bronze Age of Dwapara Yuga, the whole planet will become gradually more intelligent and all the arts and sciences will grow, with Astrology being no exception.  Astrologers will not only use intuition, but will have a logical and methodical approach that can be replicated over and over, which is the way Astrology was meant to be practiced.  This logical framework will also improve our intuition, because it will give a solid and accurate foundation for our subconscious mind to work with and make the intuitive side of the mind more reliable.

As we progress more and more as a civilization, the world will become more globalized and unified; and the lost knowledge of ancient cultures will be pieced back together like a jigsaw puzzle.  Already the greatest sign of an ascending Bronze Age and a more unified world culture is the birth of the internet and other electronic devices.  It allows people of all walks of life to share knowledge and relate in ways that just would not have seemed possible a century ago.

That is what makes me so excited to be studying and practicing Astrology, to be typing away on this site, and to be sharing this wonderful thing that the world is rediscovering.