At the time of this writing, the Sun is making its yearly pass through the tropical sign of Cancer (June 21-July 22). It seems an appropriate time to discuss the qualities of this sign, and its ruler, the Moon. In Astrology, each planet rules both a positive and a negative sign (or Rasi, in sanskrit) except for the Sun and the Moon. The Sun only rules the masculine sign of Leo, and the Moon likewise only rules the feminine sign of Cancer. This means that the Sun is the most masculine force in the solar system, and that the Moon is the most feminine force in the solar system. The Moon is the only aspect of consciousness that is 100% receptive and feminine. This is the key to understanding the nature of the Moon’s sign, Cancer.
At the point on June 21st that the Sun stops appearing to move north is when the sign of Tropical Cancer is said to have begun. At this point the Sun appears to not move north but not necessarily move south either…it appears to stall in its point on the ecliptic. Then it eventually starts to move back south for six months until December 21st on the winter solstice. This movement is similar to how a crab will move sideways in one direction for a point, and then stop for a moment, only to move back the other way. The nature of the Moon and its sign Cancer can behave in a very similar way. People with the ascendant, Moon, or Sun in Cancer are often said to be emotional, moody, fickle, and to change about as quickly as the Moon changes. One day the Moon is full, a few days later it appears almost empty. So Cancer can be a sign that on the positive can be quite adaptable, but on the negative side can lack consistency. We can see why this is because the rasi, or sign of Cancer is the exact point where the Sun, the most stable and consistent force we can see, begins to change motion and direction. This is very unlike the Sun. The Sun is the opposite of the Moon’s changeable nature. The Sun rises and sets like clockwork and is thus what creates the zodiac and the seasons on Earth as we know it. This point where the Sun changes direction and begins to move back south is very significant, and marks the beginning of summer for the northern hemisphere, where most humans live.
Cancer is therefore the most feminine, Yin, or receptive sign we could say. Cancer time is thus a good time to stop and enjoy life, and be receptive to all that nature is providing for us at this time. Its the sign of the Mother, and our family environment and emotional life. Its also the sign of our happiness and contentment overall. It is more easy and natural to feel provided for and nurtured by life at this time, especially if one has their own garden which is plentiful for most at this time (gardens are another thing that is ruled by cancer).
The Moon is also the ego-mind, and its placement shows what we are comfortable with in life. If one has the Moon with Mars, one will be more comfortable with aggression and confrontation. If one has the Moon with Venus they may be the opposite, and be only comfortable with polity and beauty. Assessing the Moon is how we can see what one will attract by the nature of their own thinking and emotional reactions.
People with a strong Moon, or Moon as the atmakaraka (planet with highest degrees in the chart), or well dignified benefics in Cancer (such as Jupiter) often have a great amount of grace in their life when it comes to this receptivity. They are the types of people that can really benefit from techniques of creative imagination, and activities that deal with trying to attract things into one’s life. The truth is that not everyone has the karmic good merit to just pick up a book like the Law of Attraction, apply its principles and actually see a great deal of change in their life…But many people do, and thats why they find that book. Many others dont though, and many more never pick up that type of book. This may be because their Moon is not as robust and so they dont have this ability or see this possibility of receptivity. In that case, they could benefit from developing skills like mental affirmations, and creative imagination. But each person’s karmic situation is different, and many are meant to make their wealth through hard earned work, or through various means. This is what Astrology is used for, to shine light on the karmic strengths and weaknesses one has… So if you are skilled at attracting things into your life, now is a great month to exercise that ability! If you are wanting to develop that skill, this month is a great month to work on that. Creative imagination, mental affirmations, meditation, prayer and pranayama, and fasting from negative thoughts are some great Cancer/Moon-related ways to attract more good things into one’s life. This is an overall great month for trying to develop that Lunar side in all of us.
“Vahni (Fire), Ambu (Water), Shikhija (Skanda), Vishnu, Vidauja (Indra), Sachi, and Ka (Brahma), O’ Twice Born, from the Sun and the other Grahas in their order are known the Devas.” – Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra Chapter 3:18
This quote is from a foundation text of Vedic Astrology, the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, on the allotment of different deities to the Grahas (The Sanskrit word for the planets). These are not the only associations that the Grahas have to different deities, however. It should be remembered that all the many deities of Hinduism are considered to act through the agency of the different Grahas for their purposes and responsibilities as custodians of the various forces of nature on Planet Earth. So while this list is not meant to be the only correlation of Deities to Grahas, it is a very insightful list to consider, shedding much valuable information on the nature of the different energies of the Planets. In this post, for brevity’s sake, we will just be focusing on Saturn’s correlation to Brahma as it is quite interesting to contemplate.
This relation of Saturn to Brahma is very confusing and hard to understand for most. If you study Jyotish you are probably already wondering where I am going with this, but lets first make sure we understand a little about Saturn. He is in many ways the toughest planet to understand… Saturn rules death, lack, loss, negative karma, disease, depression, sorrow, and those things we must do that we are not good at doing. When well placed in the birth chart, He is the planet that does the hardest jobs that no one else cares to do. He does it without concern for himself and just for the sake of others. When Saturn is weak one is not able to do the hard things they know they must do for success and therefore usually are not very successful in the world, as most successful people in the world didn’t get that way by avoiding or not wanting to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Saturn is the one who does that. Jaimini says that if Saturn is in the 10th from the swamsha (atmakaraka in navamsa) the person will live a life of “accomplished deeds”. Meaning this person gets things done in the world.
Mythological image of Brahma. Depicted with four heads, each continually reciting one of the four vedas. Even his mythological image seems much more busy at work like Saturn, when compared to Vishnu and Shiva who are both mythologically seen lounging on a coiled serpent, or sitting in blissful samadhi.
The word for the absolute God without attributes is Brahman in Hinduism. The names of the threefold aspect of God as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva respectively. This correlates to Christianity and its holy trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, actually. Brahma is the God of creation, he creates but does not get involved with creation and does not destroy or transform it, those are Vishnu and Shiva’s roles… Everybody knows that, so what is my point? Well Saturn is not the planet of creativity, so you would think Jupiter or Sun would be related to the creative aspect of God (Brahma). But they arent… Why is that?
I am not asserting to know exactly why that is, but here are some interesting ideas about why that may be the case:
Brahma is the force that releases just the right finite amount of God’s infinite potential of energy to create a galaxy and cause creation to occur. Too much or too little of God’s infinite potentiality would cause tremendous imbalances in the grand scheme of the creation… So Brahma is that force which releases just the right amount of energy, but not too much. In this way we can see that for creation to occur most perfectly from God’s standpoint, there needs to be a Saturnian element of restraint involved for the creation to be harmonious and properly balanced…If new worlds were constantly created before the old ones got destroyed then everything would be off and their would be less purpose to creation. In a smaller way this is why I think the yogic guidelines Patanjali gave in the Yoga Sutras called one of the Yamas “Brahmacharya”. In plain english, this is one of the 10 do’s and dont’s of Raja/Kriya Yoga and it is normally translated as “celibacy”. This is a bad job of translating though. Brahma means God’s creative energy, and Charya means “going, driving”. So it simply means “going the way that God goes”. And God doesn’t waste It’s creative energy in frivolous sexual pursuits. So Brahmacharya really means to use one’s creative energy wisely and like God would, so as not to waste the spiritual force generated from Yoga practice. Its true that sexual over-indulgence is the fastest way to waste that force for most people and so this is why it has slowly come to mean that, though it really means much more. Talking excessively, being on social media unnecessarily, and eating bad foods that take too much energy to digest are just as obvious and popular ways of wasting one’s spiritual force in this modern age as sexual indulgence is. And in the same way but on a smaller level, when Saturn is strong in a birth chart that individual will usually be much more focused on important works and not be as easily distracted or waste its energy on over-socializing, overeating, or overstimulation in general. And so from the perspective of God it may be more that creation is not real, it is an illusion, but it is Brahma/Saturn’s job to continue this illusion for the purpose of individuals to grow beyond whatever separates them from God and to eventually unite with God. So in this sense creation is very much an “Accomplished Deed” and thus related to Saturn. Also we must remember that we dont incarnate unless there is some Karmic debt (Saturn) that must be worked out. Even having too much good karma can cause a need to reincarnate and live an awesome life, which happens often for Saints and Yogis. Even this is still a karmic debt that must be spent before the positive and negative karmic-balancing scale can go back to zero and one can finally become liberated. Its like a bank account balance, it has to be zero to close out (get liberated), so a positive balance must be spent in an incarnation, and a negative balance must be worked off in an incarnation. So when we see that Creation is actually just this path we must navigate to get beyond our lack and separation, and to merge back with God, we can see how similar it is to Saturn’s astrological role.
Here is another way to see how creation is related to Saturn, and this is basically paraphrasing what Ernst Wilhelm has written in his book Graha Sutras, so all credit goes to him on this perspective: In order to have creation, the Absolute God must hide himself and be “veiled” in order to make creation seem real and separate from himself. The veil is called “maya” in sanskrit and is created by each person’s “Avidya”- the ignorance of their soul nature as pure Spirit. Saturn is responsible for each person’s ignorance and so this is how we can see his connection to creation from the perspective of having to create illusion/separation/lack from our real Self. Ernst even goes so far as to say that Saturn rules the flow of life force into the nerves, making us sense things as cold/hot, fast/slow, dark/bright, etc. and not as God essentially. So in this way Brahma requires and uses Saturn to create the world and the ignorance of our soul nature that so often accompanies our incarnation.
Another interesting factor is that Brahma is the most neglected of the trinity by far, as there are very few temples to Him and He is hardly mentioned compared to Vishnu and Shiva. Saturn is similarly always the most neglected planet as well! This is really because Saturn is misunderstood, and gets blamed for being the worst planet, but it is really because He has the most enemies from the standpoint of the lajjitaadi avasthas, and so therefore on average will be the weakest and most afflicted planet. So then when his dasa or transits occur, we experience those weaknesses and difficulties. But this is not because Saturn wants to wreck our life, it is because our Saturn is often not strong enough to deal with all the negative karma that we have and so during his periods there are difficulties.
At the time of this writing, it is May 4th, 2015, and the Sun is making its regular pass through the second sign of the zodiac, Taurus. With this in mind, I would like to share some general information about the zodiac with particular emphasis on the meaning and symbolism of this second sign and how it relates to human life on earth.
The time the Sun passes through the zodiacal sign of Taurus is between April 20th and May 20th, and it is this same time every year, as the course of the Sun is completely fixed and has not altered in any observable way in the past. The Sun’s apparent movement through the sky is what creates the seasons and the environments on life as we know them to be. Each sign’s duration is exactly 30 degrees, or days long, and the Sun moves through each of these regularly and consistently. In this way, the zodiac is created and begins on March 20th (same time as the moment spring begins, its the same thing) with Aries the ram, and then on April 20th moves to Taurus, followed by Gemini beginning on May 20th, and so on. In this way the course of the Sun throughout the year is permanently fixed and consistent, and this is why the Sun rules Kings, constancy, commitment, as well as being steadfast in one’s purpose (Dharma in sanskrit).
The first sign Aries is ruled by Mars, because it is the moment that the days begin to get longer, and there is more daylight on Earth than darkness. Thus it makes sense to have this sign ruled by the warrior of the zodiac, Mars, as he is the one who cuts away the darkness and brings in the light of inspiration and courage to welcome spring. Spring is not usually in full swing by this time however, but everything in nature is bursting forth from the ground and eager to receive more light. It is not until around the time of April 20th- May 20th that most of the landmass on Earth has warmed up sufficiently to have flowers blooming, and for the average human to be able to enjoy spending time in nature. This is essentially what the sign (or rasi, in sanskrit) of Taurus is all about, being able to enjoy life as well as being productive and providing something to life in return. Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet that is about enjoying life on earth, the planet that also gives us divine love, artistic inspiration and appreciation (but not skill, that is Mercury’s job), poetry, beauty, flowers, the ability to make decisions that lead to the highest fulfillment… These are all things that relate to and are ruled by Venus in all branches of Astrology. Now we can see why this time would be ruled by Venus, because its the first time in about half a year that most people on the Earth can even enjoy spending any time in nature without having to deal with the harshness of the elements, be it snow, wind or just extreme cold. At this time the elements are more harmonious in general for most of the people on Earth, and Venus rules harmony in Astrology.
Each sign of the zodiac also relates to a part of the body as well. Aries represents the forehead and top of the head, where the higher brain and crown chakra reside. Aries is the sign of ideas, inspirations, and intuition. In occult philosophy and yogic philosophy, the higher brain centers along with the crown chakra are where our higher intuitions come from, and the more developed this region is through meditation, the more effortlessly those inspirations come through. Along with this, the Sun which rules the Soul and the higher self (Atma in Sanskrit) is exalted in this sign. No wonder the “King” of the zodiac (Sun) is exalted, or most strong, in the sign that relates to the “crown” chakra.
Taurus rules the section of the body from the eyes down to the rest of the face. This fits with Venus as this is the part of our body that we enjoy life from, and Venus again is the planet that is about enjoying life. This is the part of the body that we eat from, speak from, and kiss from. Its a part of the body that matters to us whether it is beautiful or not. No one looks at the knees and makes a judgement about beauty, because Venus does not rule the knees. The knees are ruled by Saturn, and its not important for him to be beautiful in order to fulfill his cosmic role. The sign of Taurus also represents the food we eat, and our wealth capacity, both things that help us enjoy life. We may also note that for most parts of the world, this is the first time that there is any available food that is fresh and enjoyable to eat, which was probably much more appreciated back in the days when most people’s winter reserves were running quite low by April. Again we can see the grace of Venus being felt quite naturally in our consciousness at this time.
Hopefully one can now have a better feel for what this time of Taurus is all about. It is a time to be enjoying life on earth, as well as finding ways to provide for ourselves and loved ones in a healthy and holistic way.
The symbol for the eleventh sign of the zodiac is a man holding an empty pot of water. Some sources say it is a man holding a pot full of water, or pouring out water from a pot, which all serve to convey most of the meaning of aquarius. I prefer the symbolism that is given in the foundational text for most Vedic Astrologers, the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, by Sage Parashara. It gives the aquarius rasi as being simply “a man holding a pot” and does not say that there is water inside the pot. Parashara does still relate this sign to water though by saying that it “resides in deep water”. This is an important distinction that is missed by most modern astrologers it seems, and I only came to learn about this subtlety from studying Ernst Wilhelm’s Rasi Sutras audio course, so I must give credit to him for teaching it. This course can be purchased on his website found here, which I highly recommend for those who are practicing Jyotish professionally, as it has great insights into all the twelve Rasis. But for now lets just look at the rasi of aquarius in the context of the twelve Rasis.
Aquarius is an air sign, not a water sign. It is the only fixed air sign of the zodiac. It is the eleventh sign, with only one more sign to go before the end of the cycle at Pisces. Each of the four elements represents an aspect of ourselves. Fire signs represent our intuition, and our connection to our soul, and the fiery activity we feel we must do in life to fulfill our soul’s purpose; our Dharma. Earth signs represent the mixture of all elements, and our rational, practical, and even mechanical side. Air signs represent our own unique intellectual perspective as human beings, as well as our state of desire. This is because human desires are as impermanent and changing as the afternoon breeze. How often do we realize a long sought after desire, only to find a new one arising only moments later? Desires are what keep us bound to this Earth realm and are what keep us separate from realizing our true eternal nature as Infinite Consciousness, or Spirit. Water signs represent feeling and emotional sensitivity, and inner development such as wisdom and divine love.
Aquarius is the last sign before we get to the sign of enlightenment, Pisces. So, as Ernst Wilhelm elaborates upon more deeply in his Rasi Sutras course, Aquarius is the sign of the culmination of the pyschological battle. Aquarius is the stage of becoming psychologically healthy, so that we can then move into the final stage of merging with God. Paramhansa Yogananda said that what most people think of as the spiritual battle or path, is actually just the psychological battle that each person must fight between their higher and lower sense of self. He states that once this is resolved then the spritual battle is won very quickly. And this matches with the twelve rasis of Jyotish as after Aquarius there is only Pisces left and it represents “kaivalya”, the absolute oneness of being.
This is why I find the symbolism of the empty, or mostly empty pitcher of water to be the most appropriate symbol. As explained previously, the air signs all represent desire, which is what ultimately keeps us bound to the cycle of death and rebirth, and which the whole purpose of Jyotish is to free us from with Self Knowledge. Water symbolizes spirit, and the wholeness and psychological well being that comes from our innate connection to spirit. (hence why the water signs are the most spiritual signs, the Brahmin caste/mentality.)… So if the symbolic water pitcher was completely full, it would show a completely full being on the inside and out, and the zodiac should rightly end at this stage because one’s development is complete here…. But it does not end here, it ends at the next sign. Therefore the water pot should rightly be empty. An empty, or mostly empty water vessel symbolizes the lack of the spiritual wholeness that we all desire whether consciously or not. So this eleventh sign of Aquarius really shows the stage of REALIZING THE EMPTINESS IN THE WATER PITCHER, AND THE DESIRE TO HAVE IT FILLED.
The only permanent way to have our symbolic water pitcher filled is to become Self Realized and then know and experience that it was never empty to begin with. This can be done by merging our ego with something greater than ourselves, which is the job of Venus. And as you might expect, Venus just happens to be the most auspicious planet for Aquarius lagna, and causes “Raja Yoga” by ruling both an angle and a trine. Venus ruling a dharma (trine house) and Karma(angle house) indicates that it is innate and natural for Aquarius to move towards merging their consciousness with something greater than itself (Venus). This shows that a sense of love and acceptance is what is really the best way to deal with the emptiness in our lives. Whether the Aquarius is able to use Venus in this healthy way is depending upon all the karmas shown in the astrological chart, and can be known by the skilled astrologer.
This also makes sense when we think about the ruling planet of Aquarius, Saturn. Saturn is the planet that deals with our debts, our sense of lack, our sense of isolation, and the more depressing, empty side of life in general. The empty water pot is more appropriate as a symbol for Saturn in this way too, as it shows that there is a lack, or an emptiness that needs to be filled. Thats pretty much the whole purpose of the Aquarius individual, is to find a way to fill that emptiness.
How they deal with the emptiness
This knowledge should now help you understand all the qualities and characteristics of Aquarius natives. This is why western astrology looks at them as humanitarians, and even why old vedic texts from medieval times paint them in a much more negative light. These medieval Indian texts describe them as drunkards, or as sexual deviants. Western Astrology is great and I do not mean to bash it by saying this, but in general it doesn’t have a lot of authoritative texts or rules compared to Vedic Astrology, which is drowning in rules and texts. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. The western approach typically looks at the positive spin on a sign the most and downplays the negative sides, which makes sense as this type of method is being used in a culture which doesn’t want to be told stuff that it sees as “negative” or “fatalistic”. Western’s positive spin on Aquarius is that they are humanitarians and inventive, which is true, sometimes. This will be the case if the auspicious planets for Aquarius are strong, and the inauspicious ones are weak. But if it is the other way around, then the Aquarius is likely to be frustrated in feeling love or detaching from the state of emptiness and will likely engage in some type of less healthy activity to try to temporarily fill the emptiness…. This is where the medieval vedic books would happen to be more accurate. Without a strong Venus, its more likely that alcoholism, sexual perversions, vices, or other activities that society frowns upon will come in to play for the Aquarius native in order to fill that emptiness at any cost. To be fair to both traditions, they both acknowledge the positive side of Aquarius that can manifest as a mystic, or as a spiritual renunciate as well. To think that this same sign can create such seemingly extreme polarities of behavior can be hard to grasp…but they are all just extreme attempts to fill the emptiness that is being felt in one’s awareness. Knowing this we should not judge Aquarius natives for their actions but rather try to see them in the light of understanding that Jyotish provides.
“Within a few years a simple and inexpensive device, readily carried about, will enable one on land or sea, to hear the principle news, to hear a speech, a lecture, a song or play of a musical instrument, conveyed from any other region of the globe. ” Nikola Tesla, 1856-1943
Nikola Tesla is one of the most profoundly interesting, influential, and eccentric figures of the last two centuries. In the above quote he predicts the advent of smartphones. He did not just conceive the idea, he was the one to invent the technology. I was unable to find the year that he said this quote*, but we know he died in 1943. Take a moment to think about how significant that prediction is…. He invented pretty much everything that has made the modern world what it is today, including the alternating current, radio, X-ray technology, remote controls, electric motors, robotics, lasers *, wireless communication and even “limitless free energy”, according to this blog. We still dont have this last bit of technology, because Tesla was being funded by JP Morgan. When Morgan realized there was no money to be made off of giving free energy to everyone, he stopped funding Tesla along with making sure that he would never have enough money to succeed in his altruistic goal of providing free energy to all. This is also part of why he was not as popular as other inventors, because he did not care to make money himself, and in a sense he was a threat to the fortunes of those who did care about money.
A man of such profound karmic impact as Nikola Tesla should logically be expected to have a unique birth chart to match, and its true, though this writing will only scratch the surface…There is so much noteworthy information to share about this man that it will take more than one blog post… In this article, for the sake of brevity, I will focus on just a few unique characteristics this man had, and how they related to the karmas indicated in his natal chart. If you aren’t familiar with his contributions and eccentricities you may want to watch a documentary on him, or read up on him here, to get the full appreciation.
Nikola Tesla does not have an exact birth time, but it is said that he was born at the stroke of midnight on July 9/10 1856 in the Austrian Empire (modern day Croatia). He was born in the middle of a lightning storm as well, and as the story goes, midway through the birth, the midwife wrung her hands and declared the lightning to be a bad omen, saying the baby would be a child of darkness. Tesla’s mother responded saying “No. He will be a child of light”….The mothers instinct again proved correct, as it usually does, in that he did go on to be the foremost master of light and its manipulation and application. He invented fluorescent lighbulbs and also made the more practical technology for electricity, the alternating current, which we still use today.
Tesla’s Natal Chart – As it happened, right around midnight on the 9th/10th of July 1856 the sign of Aries was just about to end and the sign of Taurus was just about to rise. At exact midnight, Taurus was rising at 1 or 2 degrees. We know that the exact time of midnight may have been difficult to discern exactly back in an Austrian countryside in 1856, and so we cannot be 100% sure what his actual lagna (the sanskrit word for the rising sign) was, Taurus, or Aries…. But as said earlier, a man of such pronounced karmas should have a noticeable birth chart…. When I looked at the two charts, (one as Aries lagna, one as Taurus lagna) it was very clear that he must have been an Aries lagna.
To begin with, Aries is the sign of ideas, and the initial spark of existence. It is the sign of pioneers and heroic acts, as a Ram is born to climb anything in its path. Aries is the sign of “active fire”, which is electricity. (The other two fire signs are Leo, the fixed fire, and Sagittarius, the dual fire, which has both fixed and active qualities. Aries is perhaps the most appropriate sign for pioneering fire or electricity at this fundamental symbolic level) Aries is a sign ruled by Mars, the fire element, and fire is the same as electricity and light in the context of elements. Also, on the elemental level, fire has to do with intelligence, and cognition, and how well we think. We know he had a lot of karma involving thinking, conceiving, light, electricity, and pioneering the applications of electricity, all of which are Mars related activities. Also Rahu and Jupiter are in his first house as an Aries lagna, and Rahu makes one a pioneer in their field, as well as sometimes making one a bit of an outcast to society (sometimes because they are too ahead of their time). So that is two marks for a pioneer as an Aries lagna. These qualities strongly marked his path in life, along with a not so mature but still positive idealism (Jupiter with Rahu in okay dignity). Jupiter is also the lord of the fire sign of Sagittarius, another sign that can relate to electricity and lightning. Jupiters placement here in Aries with Rahu also shows that his path was that of pioneering knowledge and wisdom more than a more classically physical Aries type of path. Mars ruled people are not always soldiers or police officers. Mars can also give one a career in surgery, or science, engineering, electricity, as well as mining and work dealing with the minerals of the Earth, to name a few examples.
If he were a Taurus lagna, his ruling planet would be Venus, which does have to do with making life more enjoyable for everyone, but does not have any strong fundamental association with fire, electricity, inventing, pioneering or being a scientist. Also his Venus falls in the 3rd house (which does fit him in some ways) but is strongly starved by Saturn, Sun and Moon. This means Venus is afflicted in every possible way in the context of Lajjitaadi Avasthas. Such an afflicted benefic as the ruling planet in the 3rd would indicate very weak willpower and wanting to have things done for oneself too much and throughout life…. This is not the case, as he had an incredibly strong willpower. It also does not fit his sharp and exacting personality as much as the Aries lagna.
Tesla’s celibacy- Nikola Tesla never married and was celibate. As an Aries lagna, we can see that his ruling planet is Mars. Mars is a planet that is said to be “Brahmachari”, meaning one who is celibate and does not marry, so as to fully pursue their goals and focus that they have in this lifetime. (note: One could be brahmachari for many reasons, not just the traditional reason of expediting one’s spiritual progression. A person could choose a celibate lifestyle just because they prefer the freedom it affords them to continue doing other things they are drawn to.) This was the case with Nikola Tesla, as he was strongly sought after by women while he lived in the west, but never engaged in a single sexual relationship (according to him) and preferred to be celibate. That is not very common. We can see this shown in his chart by the placement of his ruling planet Mars. Mars falls in Libra in the seventh house, and is in a temporary friend dignity because of Venus being four houses away. Mars is with Ketu and the waxing Moon, a benefic and a friend to Mars. Ketu can show where we have a strong karmic foundation in past lives, and here it shows that there is already a lot of karmic development in respect to relationships. There is also attachment (shown by the Moon here also) as well as frustrations (Mars) being shown. So he is not going to find as much happiness in the area of relationships as a whole in this incarnation, due to having already exhausted those karmas in recent previous lives. Rahu represents the area of life we are destined to develop in this incarnation. In Tesla’s chart it is in the opposite sign, Aries, his first house, putting the spotlight on himself. Rahu in Aries in the first house also speaks to a life of self development, and Tesla was an incredibly disciplined person. Rahu is with Jupiter, showing that in this life he is wanting to develop faith in himself and all of his amazing ideas and noble endeavors, rather than focus on his enjoyment of life or relationships. But as is often times the case with those planets that are connected to Rahu, many of the Jupiterian goals he had were never realized, such as providing free energy to the entire world. He did do many great deeds for the world as a whole, though. Aries is also a sign that is fundamentally about being pure and virtuous, (Mars rules our Sattvam, our strength of character as well) which is why the most pure planet, the Sun, is exalted there. Another interesting thing about his apparent celibacy is that he directly attributed it to his amazing intellectual abilities, which is a viewpoint also held by most Yogis. As one example, he had the ability to visualize every invention in his mind down to the final stage. Due to this uncanny skill, each of his inventions was said by his assistants to have been made correctly the first time, never needing to be revised, and never even leaving a blueprint behind!
“I do not think you can name many great inventions that have been made by married men.” -Nikola Tesla
Another unique thing about his ruling planet Mars being with Ketu and The Moon in the seventh is that this means Mars is “delighted” (mudita, in sanskrit) by the Moon. The Moon is the ego mind, and when Mars is delighted by the Moon then one has a consciousness that can more easily act on the desires that are specific to it’s particular incarnation. This also just empowers Mars overall, which is his ruling planet. The moon helping his lagna lord is showing that he has a lot of consciousness to work with. We know this was the case with his extreme productivity, and his ability to only sleep 2 hours a night and an occasional nap. Mars is also a planet that when strong, gives one the drive to stay awake all night working, to go hungry all day, or to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Mars is described in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra as “Cruel with red eyes…” As Ernst Wilhelm has explained, we get red eyes when we have been up all night working and not sleeping, and this is the nature of mars, to keep pushing all through the night if he has to.
Life in the public eye- His lagna lord being in the seventh house and seventh sign is significant to his path in life for many reasons. To begin with, he was known to the public, and in the eye of the public. The seventh house is the house of the public as well as a house of foreign lands, and relationships. Having the ascendant lord in the seventh house in good dignity often causes one to live in foreign lands or to be involved in the public in some way. Libra represents the western direction, where his ascendant lord falls, representing him in action in life. He did have to travel west to America to leave his legacy for us all to enjoy. He was well liked by the public and had many worthwhile relationships with prominent figures such as Mark Twain, Swami Vivekananda, and Rudyard Kipling. Also it is interesting that his sexuality was known to the public, especially back in those days…..perhaps his ascendant lord being in the 7th house and 7th sign also had to do with his sexuality being known to the public. The 7th house also has to do with our dynasty that we leave for the world and public at large. In this way the 7th house has to do with the Saptamsha, the 7th divisional chart, which relates to children, the main dynasty that most people will leave for the world. Jupiter is the key karaka for the Saptamsha, as this planet also relates to children and the dynasty that we leave for the world. There is a strong double reinforcement in his chart on dealing with leaving some kind of legacy to the world. One being the lagna lord in the 7th as previously mentioned. The other being Rahu conjunct Jupiter on the ascendant, showing the focus of his life to be on some kind of dynasty, child, or creation to leave for the world. His dynasty was much greater than one child. (Perhaps he knew this and it was also a reason for his celibacy, as he was very clairvoyant.) His child is every single light bulb, every single smartphone, every single i-pad or ebook. His dynasty is this entire modern world we are living in.
to be continued in part 2….
*There is actually evidence he was not the first human to have laser technology, see the book Ancient Secrets of the Lost Ark by Laurence Gardner, which gives evidence that ancient Egyptians may have used rubies to create lasers from the Sun’s light, which possibly may explain how they were able to cut certain stone materials, but does not explain all of Egypt’s mysteries by any means.
The etymology of words can be very fascinating, especially in the astrological context. A surprising amount of our old astrological knowledge has been forgotten in this current age; yet our very own English language still preserves clues to it, when we know the astrological language that birthed these words. See my previous blog on astrological word origins for more on this. One example I find fascinating is how in English speaking countries there is a negative saying about when someone is getting too curious about things that are not any of their business to be knowing about. We say that person shouldnt be “meddling in the affairs of others”. The word “Meddling” means to be intruding into other people’sbusiness, or to handle something in a careless way. It may have a latin root meaning “to mix” according to the Free Dictionary.
So to meddle in the affairs of others is to be concerned with affairs of others that aren’t really important and that often lead to unneeded gossip and trouble. This term is never used when one is genuinely inquiring about how they can help someone in a serious way. This term is used when one is more likely just curious and potentially seeking self-aggrandizement by comparing themselves to another.
The reason this is so interesting to me is because if there ever was a “meddle” or “likely to mix” type of planet, it would be Mercury. He is the most mixed and intermediate planet in many ways, being malefic when with malefic planets and benefic when close to benefic planets. He rules, is exalted in, and is fallen in ONLY dual signs (which have both masculine and feminine qualities), showing how pronounced his mixed nature is. Mercury is exalted in the earth sign of Virgo, which he owns. The main symbolic quality to remember with the earth element is its mixed nature. Each other element is just one thing, like water or fire. Earth is dirt, rocks, gaseous space, some water, and it is that mixed state that is important to remember from a symbolism standpoint. Mercury rules the Earth element as well, this most mixed element. Mercury is not male or female, but “neuter” or a more apt modern word for it would be Androgynous. (It is very interesting that from the ancient astrology standpoint there was an even spread of 3 female planets, 3 male, and 3 androgynous.)
Mercury also happens to rule one’s curiosity, and whether one has a healthy sense of curiosity, or whether they use this faculty to simply “meddle in the affairs of others”. A person with a weak Mercury may find themselves with a somewhat unhealthy sense of curiosity and can therefore get themselves into trouble with gossip or backbiting.
Let me elaborate on this point further. Mercury is very much in the middle of things, and he likes the harmony that being in the middle, or being mixed, can provide. He doesn’t like to choose a side, so much so that in a negative state mercury people are often stereotyped as “two-faced”, when they are usually just trying to maintain a good harmony with everyone they associate with, but may fail to really express how they truly feel to the person (which can cause problems down the line).
When it comes to our sense of taste, each planet rules one of the tastes, or “rasa” in sanskrit. For example the moon rules the salty taste, and Jupiter rules the sweet taste. Mercury rules the “mixed” taste, or the savory taste as we often say, and what is referred to as “umami”. This is what MSG (monosodium glutamate) is designed to replicate. The taste can be created from the mixture of different chemicals and so is not easily created without being “mixed” with a bunch of other chemicals, or tastes, we could say. Some examples of the umami, mixed taste of mercury would be the flavor that sauteed onions and garlic add to a dish, or the savory quality that tomatoes cause when cooked in dishes with other vegetables. The quality that aged wines develop is said to be umami. ( See Ernst Wilhelm’s Graha Sutras book for the best treatment I have found on the tastes of the grahas.)
Another example of Mercury being very mixed is the genders of the grahas (graha is the sanskrit word for planet). Sun, Mars and Jupiter are male grahas. Venus, Rahu, and Moon are female grahas. Saturn, Ketu, and Mercury are said to be neuter grahas. Again we see Mercury not necessarily choosing a side but preferring the mixed place. Also, each planet is given an avatar that relates to that planet; such as the Sun is correlated to Prince Rama, the Moon to Krishna, etc. Mercury is connected to the Buddha. What did the Buddha eventually end up teaching after experiencing all paths? The “middle way”….
Now we can see how this old phrase happens to match so well with what we know about the most mixed or “meddlesome” planet, who also happens to rule over one’s sense of curiosity, be it healthy or unhealthy…. Another saying in English to express the same sentiment is that someone is being “too nosey”. The nose is the organ of the sense of smell. Can you guess which of the five senses mercury rules?
Sage Vyasa, compiler of the Vedas and son of Parashara, sitting with Ganesh
There are so many different types of people living in this world, with different temperaments and constitutions. It seems fitting that there would also be so many different types of spiritual paths, philosophies, or religions that are pursued. The horoscope of an individual can reveal many of the innate tendencies one may have towards spirituality.
In astrology, there are five elements, Ether (space), Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. When it comes to the mechanics of the zodiac signs however, there are only four elements, with Ether being left out. I feel this is because in the context of earthly existence, space is always there, containing and holding all other elements. It therefore may not be as relevant as the other four when it comes to environments and places we go to, which is what the zodiac signs symbolize. Ether is the most spiritual element, being closest to the source, and the zodiac is the unconscious manifestation of Vishnu, keyword being “unconscious”. The signs therefore are not the conscious aspects of God, this is given to the planets. That is why the planets are deified and described as conscious beings. The signs are given the opposite distinctions, as animal signs, symbolizing the unconscious aspect of Maha Vishnu (God). It logically follows that the most conscious element (ether or akash) would be left out in the field of the “unconscious limbs of Vishnu” (the zodiac).
With that understood, it is important to see that each of the four elements of the zodiac signs has a certain nature, and is best able to approach truth in a certain particular way, which is most fitting to its own element. The different spiritual paths all tend to overlap the more they are practiced, but initially one will make the most progress by focusing on the mastery of the one that is most natural to them.
The air and earth signs are both more connected to the senses, and with actual manifested things. Because of this, they are inclined towards spiritual paths that help one see and realize God in the world, and not as some ideal or principle in life. The air signs often do well with a bhakti yoga (devotion) or karma yoga (selfless service) approach. The Earth signs do well with karma yoga, because they naturally want to be of service. If Mercury is strong and other intelligence yogas are present, then a jnana, or knowledge based path may work out also. The fire and water signs have more to do with ideas (fire) and feelings (water), which are more invisible things. These therefore, have more of an affinity for finding God as God really is, as a transcending-worldly-life experience, and not so much as a thing in the world. The fire element does well with paths that emphasize self control, such as raja yoga or kriya yoga, and also jnana yoga potentially. The water element does well with a jnana yoga path also as well as a bhakti path. The water signs are said to be the most spiritually developed, being Satya yuga rasis, and often they will be utilizing all or more than one of these paths, from what I have noticed.
As an example, a Leo has a fiery nature, and because of this, they are meant to act. The fire signs are the warrior caste, or the kshatriyas (pronounced “shaw-tree-ya”), and are the people on earth who are naturally inclined to lead, to protect, and to preserve and uphold the universal order or “dharma”. They do well with a raja yoga path, or a path that emphasizes purifying actions, discipline, and self control. Some may (with the best of intentions) emphasize to a strong leo personality the need to surrender themselves to God, and to see everything as god and renounce worldly life and actions in favor of serving a guru; in other words to set them on an initial path of bhakti. This can sometimes work out but many times it will initially go against the nature of a Leo and cause unnecessary confusion or aversion to the spiritual path… This is because for the Leo/Solar person, it is not the right time and place for that practice, and they don’t feel natural doing this. After doing a decade of raja yoga the Leo person may then be able to practice bhakti w great results, but initially this doesn’t appeal to a fiery nature, and it is better to get them on the right path quickly, to prevent any unneeded suffering.
It is important to follow the path of ones natural inspirations and inclinations. When we do things out of inspiration (sattva) those are the things that we will do for the rest of our lives, and so that is the best way to approach a spiritual path as well. If you want to make actual progress and not just have new ideas and terms in your mind to talk about, you need to find the path that is best for you and really anchors you to your destiny. People who change spiritual paths or religions frequently usually do not make noticeable spiritual progress in that incarnation. Paramahansa Yogananda said that it is better to dig one deep well when in search of water, than to dig several shallow wells. It is the same way with self realization.
One thing that astrology has been used for since who knows how long, is helping one understand their path in life, their dharma. Not everyone’s path will be like the typical “spiritual path” we may think of, but we all are on a path and in the greater context it all leads to the same goal, as all rivers flow towards the sea. This is what Jyotish can be so helpful towards. It can show us the path that is laid out for us, and help us see if we are being true to it or not.
Here is a simple technique to see begin to see how this works, but it does not show the full picture, and as such it should not be used as a stand alone technique, but in the context of the whole chart. The first house represents the person, and the ninth house represents the outcome of walking there path, and therefore represents the gurus or teachers that help guide one along their path in life. The first and ninth houses will always be the same element, and this shows us that each element has to approach their path and be guided along their path via a sign of the same element, their own nature, and not by another element. So if you have an Aries lagna, they are a fire sign, and are naturally oriented towards action, discipline, and protecting or defending what is right. The 9th sign from Aries is always Sagittarius, another fire sign. This shows that for Aries, its purpose is to act with that fiery inspiration that comes innately to it. Its gurus (the 9th house), Sagittarius, being fire signs themselves, will naturally encourage a spiritual path based on right actions, (such as a Raja yoga or Kriya yoga path) because that is what worked for them. This will generally work well for Aries, and to go and encourage a bhakti yoga path, or a path of detachment, is often “going against the grain” of an Aries personality. What is the point of being a warrior and defending what is good in life if even their Guru is telling them to surrender? Well….there isn’t much point to it, because a ram is meant to ram things, and when the Aries uses these thoughts as fuel and inspiration, he burns out quickly. That is not the path of an Aries. Aries is a warrior and is meant to fight the spiritual battle, which is why it is a fire sign and its 9th sign (its gurus and philosophy) is a fire sign as well. It is true that everything is God and that there is no real good or bad, from one perspective (and there will be other areas of this persons life that require that understanding). But from the Aries perspective it is really better to have healthy concepts of what is right and what is wrong, and to act with a belief in the purpose of life, and in acting righteously. When Aries follows its fiery dharma that is innate to it, it finds more fulfillment from walking its path in life.
Now lets take the opposite sign Libra, an air sign. Air signs are based on intellect, which is using one’s own sense perceptions to gather intelligence. This is different from Aries, which is a fire sign and based off of intuition. Aries just “sees” how it is. It just knows instantly, without the use of senses, which is the definition of intuition. Libra is not like this, Libra, and all air signs, use intellect, or the senses, to understand life. So each Libra will see an idea differently because of their own individual perspective in life, what their own senses have come to. The 9th sign from Libra is Gemini, another air sign, showing that the outcome of the Libras path is based on one’s own personal sense based intellectual understanding. This is why Libra does great with a path of detachment, or a path of bhakti (devotional surrender to God), because both of these approaches focus on purifying the intellectual perceptions until one begins to perceive God as manifested in everything. So for Libra, it is great for it to see everything as God, to simply surrender to God, and to have a sense of even-mindedness and detachment around what happens in life, and how one understands life. Libra is the 7th sign, the midway point of the zodiac, and as such, is the sign of karmic balancing. This is symbolized by the scales. The Libra is meant to weigh their experiences with detachment and understand that what is happening is what is being handed to them by life, to best balance out their karma. They shouldn’t fight it (but Aries should, remember). So the Libra does not have to “do” anything as much as an Aries does. The Libra has already been “doing” in its previous lives (when it was an Aries for example) , and is now coming to the stage of “accepting” one might say. Thus Parashara states that the best planets for Libra are Mercury and Saturn. These are the planets that are the most helpful for us to have a sense of detachment, and accept life how it is, so that we may best serve life the way we are meant to. And now we can see why a path of devotional surrender to the will of God (bhakti) or a path of detachment (jnana) are great avenues for the Libra to walk its spiritual path. If the Libra was to only follow a Raja yoga path, and renounced the world to go live in a forest and meditate unceasingly, this would only serve to enlarge the Libra ego by giving it too much focus on itself, rather than focusing on purifying the heart through love and service to others, which is the natural path of the airy Libra.
Hopefully these examples will give some insight into the value of using Astrology to help one understand the path in life they are walking. Each sign has its own particular path that is most suited to it in the rasi chart, the first varga, or divisional chart. That’s just the beginning though. In Vedic Astrology, there are 15 other charts that are used, and so there are many other ascendant signs, for many other areas of life, all with different elements and different outcomes. So different mental approaches will be better for different areas of life and for different people. The example given above is simple, but in actuality it can get quite complex when we start using all the other vargas, as well as the Atmakaraka.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Much 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This 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.
Photos: Mythological image of the graha Saturn, said to ride upon a crow or vulture.
