Without referring to astrology, Buddha told us how to achieve that all important final stage, mokSa, by following the eightfold path:
right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Rather wonderfully, there is a direct alignment between the three stages of dharma, artha, and kaama, which are known to set the path to liberation, and Buddha’s eight fold path to liberation.
Dharma, artha, and kaama are like any set of three. They can be arranged into 8 subsets:
dharma
artha
kaama
dharma and artha
dharma and kaama
artha and kaama
dharma, artha, and kaama
the empty set
Here is a list of the direct alignments between the 8 arrangements and the eightfold path:
right view :: dharma
right speech :: artha
right aspiration :: kaama
right concentration: dharma and artha
right effort :: dharma and kaama
right livelihood :: artha and kaama
right action :: dharma, artha, and kaama
right mindfulness :: the empty set
Why this makes sense:
1. View is to understand things clearly, to see one’s purpose here on Earth, and to see the integration of one’s life into the whole. That is also one’s dharma.
2. Speech is clearly artha, because of the artha quality of the second house, the house of speech.
3. Aspiration is by its very definition kaama.
4. Concentration is in Buddhism best understood as dharma and artha without kaama. That is to say, it is best done with purpose and meaning without desire. This is best seen in the fifth house (dharma) and sixth house (artha).
5. Effort is similarly best understood as dharma and kaama without artha. That is to say, effort in Buddhism is purpose and desire without gains or meaning. Effort is definitely the third house (kaama) and ninth house (dharma).
6. Livelihood is clearly artha and kaama, means and desire. This is best seen in the tenth (artha) and eleventh (kaama) houses.
7. Action done rightly is the unification of dharma, artha, and kaama. Also action is in the konas, i.e., the first (dharma), seventh (kaama), and tenth (artha) houses.
8. Finally, and perhaps most importantly to any set is the empty set, shunyo, zero, upon which one may set one’s mind rightly.
Here is a view of the May 2012 Super Moon phenomenon – the full moon happens to occur at the same time as it is at its closest approach to the earth, and with a meteor shower and on Cinco De Mayo.
You can see the date and time change at the bottom of the video.
Enjoy.
This view is of the earth, top-down, looking onto the Arctic.
The software used is Solarsystemscope.
Astrologically, I think it will be a beautiful Moon, but due to its conjunction geocentrically with Saturn, it may not be a joy bringer.
Now, next month will bring us a solar eclipse and the full moon will be with Rahu, the head of the dragon. Both will be debilitated and rising in the US.
That, I am not looking forward to.
Sorry to be a downer. Go ahead and enjoy the Moon with its conjunction with Saturn this weekend. Contemplate the vastness of Shiva, the depth of ancient lessons, the truth of eternity.
I will be at PYAMandala Center on April 13, 2012 at 6.30 pm in north central Denver, CO to give a talk on
Darshan: The Charts of Jesus, Krishna, and Buddha.
This two and a half hour talk will help you realize in fullness the presence of the Great Beings in your own mind, body, and life. It is meant especially for novices of astrology.
Here are what some people are saying who were there this past weekend for a practice preview.
E. C. : My head and the rest of my aura lit up when I heard it.
R. F.: It’s mindblowing.
L. O.: It is a very rich and full presentation. I think people will be pleased.
J. R.: Your presentation is excellent!! Honestly, I expected to be bored, but I was really into it!!
In the spirit of the twelve days of Christmas and in honor of the devoted bhakti of Christ-followers, here is a short post of what the 3 mages of the Orient may have seen in the stars of Bethlehem that ushered in the Piscean age of Christ.
For the chart of Christ, I used April 17, -6 AD approximately 4 in the morning in Bethlehem for his birth time.
For more on the source of this estimation, see here.
the beautiful morning star of Venus is exalted in Pisces and rising on the East horizon
if this isn’t what the magi were there to witness, it would still be a fantastic show, for after the rising of a perfect Venus, next came in quick succession Saturn, then a beautiful waning Moon, then Jupiter, then an exalted Sun, followed by Mars and Mercury
the birth happened on Saturday before dawn; i.e., on Vedic Friday, ruled by Venus, on Shabbath
on the previous Monday, the Sun was fully eclipsed: is this when the king gave his decree to kill male newborns??
Uranus of Revolution (not shown) was ahead of that amazing Venus rising in the East
The nakshatra of Ascendant and Venus rising is Revati, a deep star associated with the final stage of spiritual evolution
yogi planet is Jupiter ruling the first and tenth, depicting someone whose presence was beautiful and peaceful and strong and of a leader in those qualities
yogi planet is in Hamsa yoga ruling Ascendant rashi with exalted Sun in the second supports an amazing speaker, a King of Kings and a King of Peace at that
that strong Venus enlivens the eighth with its themes of scandal and death, especially one by a hidden political ruler because of Pluto at 0 degrees in Libra (not shown)
Ketu, signifying spiritual liberation, in the eighth house of death in the fixed star placement of Vishaka, a nakshatra associated with symbology of a cross
a breath-taking ashtakavarga of 42 in the twelfth house – signifying great acheivement in spiritual liberation to say the least
there is a LOT more here, of his being an amazing healer for example, or about his relationship to religion, but I just wanted to put this out there sooner versus later
please keep in mind that this is meant to be a brief description of the astrology of the man of Jesus, of his corporeal human existence, not of the avatar, of the saint, or of his transcendence – that’s a whole other topic
DhAtus are Ayurvedic tissue types: plasma, red blood cells, muscle, fat, bone, nerve, sexual tissue. Their nutrition flows in that order.
There is an ancient corollary, perhaps 5000 years old or more, of planets that go along with each of these tissue types:
Plasma : Moon
Red Blood Cells : Sun*
Muscle : Mars
Fat : Jupiter
Bone : Saturn
Nerve : Mercury
Sexual Tissue : Venus
Well, on a walk, I wondered if this linear sequence of dhAtu nutrition where the metabolic results of one leads to the next is related to the sequence of respective planet formation in our solar system.
Some time with Wikipedia gave me the answer of the moment: definitely maybe.
This is exciting. That is to say, there is much to support and not anything definite to deny my claim that the sequence of dhAtu nutrition may be the same as planetary formation. That is a pretty high scientific standard to hold to, especially considering that the encyclopedic accounts are incomplete within themselves and somewhat conflicting when compared to each other.
In short,
a. The Moon looks like it may have been formed before the Sun, as the plasma comes before red blood cells in dhatu nutrition. How is this possible? The Moon may have been part of the accretion disk that the Earth was part of before the Sun was turned on. Is this a certainty? No, but it is possible, still a maybe in contentious scientific circles. If I may, I’d like to also extrapolate that plasma may be plasma, i.e., the plasma of the blood may correspond to the truly vast plasma states of space, perhaps the original Prakrti, states which hve been shown to generate cellular structures. [Ibid.]
c. The one anomaly is Mars, appropriate for the “crooked one”.
d. *Some old astrologers think Mars may be the assignation, the marker, for the red blood cells. Mars after all stabs you in war and makes you bleed. Who is in charge of the war though? The king, Sun. Plus, why give Mars two correspondences and the Sun none? Also consider that rakta, the red blood cells, carries prAna much as the Sun distributes prAna to the solar system. Moreover, people who have rakta dusthi, or problems with their red blood cells, such as suffererers of Hepatitis C, will have an affected Sun in their astrological charts to describe their affected rakta and liver problems.
To think, with each breath you take, with each replenishment of every cell in your being, you may be recreating the formation of our solar system.
Next, in a series on the astronomical and astrological realities of the cosmic human, the blastomere in human embryology may be seen as the incoming gestating bubble from the Multiverse, and the three pancake layers of human development perhaps can be considered as revisting the formation of our flatUniverse.
The ill-starred death of very talented musicians at the age of 27 has yesterday sadly captured another: Amy Winehouse.
In this short essay I present the natal astrology charts of her, as well as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin, and the transit overlay of the planets at the approximate time of the artists’ deaths.
And here is some patterning in the order of most likely to be influential.
astrological influence
Amy
Kurt
Jimi
Janis
at death, SA by transit in 12th house to natal SA
x
x
x
x
at death, RA/KE by transit opposite natal RA/KE
x
x
x
x
ascendant at time of death is likely to be in the natal 7th or 8th house
x
x
x
x
KE with MA at time of death
x
x
x
x
JU aspect or conjunct transiting MO at death
x
x
x
x
Let’s take these one by one.
at death, SA by transit in 12th house to natal SA
the 12th is inimical to the first; as these young people approach their Saturn return the ball of weight of Saturn is pulling them to themes of finality; Kurt and Janis were in Saturn mahadasha at time of death. Since Amy’s birth time is unknown we just don’t know her mahadasha at death, and Jimi’s was in his avayogi planet of Mercury, where Mercury natally is in the 12th
at death, RA/KE by transit opposite natal RA/KE
as the above gravitational weight was pulling them to oblivion, another longstanding effect of concomitant psychological duress was being felt by all, for the nodal seesaw of Rahu and Ketu were switched for all, promoting addiction
ascendant at time of death is likely to be in the natal 7th or 8th house
a time of great delicacy, the daily trespass of the Ascendant into the natal maraka seventh or maraka-squared eighth house
KE with MA at time of death
this is where the addiction becomes overdose, with the anger of Mars applied
JU aspect or conjunct transiting MO at time of death
the following may be controversial, but because of this element, along with the remarkable fact that all four have Jupiter within half a sign of Moon natally, I have to think that all four died with some measure of comfort
While watching a lecture on Quantum Field Theory, I saw that perhaps it yields clues as well to our attraction to triads and the number nine, and yet another reason why three cubed times two squared = 108 is a holy number. Along the way I saw some predictive power to my ideas.
With ten minutes of research I saw realization of some of the predictions and thereby through junior high school math, a suggestion of strong support for the necessity and value of astrology.
Consider the following scales:
atom = 10 to the -9 meters in diameter
an electron/quark = 10 to the -18 meters in diameter
the Grand Unified Field = 10 to the -27 meters in diameter
I saw a very simple progression of scales: atom as the billiard ball, the qualities of that point in space (1 dimension) gets squared to give us the power of the electron scale, and cubed to give us the scale of the Grand Unified Field.
What if we build a simple 3-D space for the mathematics of these phenomena?
We may or may not be living in that math space so let’s explore it.
10 to the -9 meters is atomic, of the scale of the perceived, called chhandas or the meter of sound in meditation. The meter of sound in Sanskrit and Yogic theory can create objects. Atoms make up what we hear, feel, see, taste, and smell.
10 to the -18 meters is the square, of the scale of the perceiving, called devaTa in meditation. I like that devaTa is also Sanskrit for an artist, someone who approaches the Deva of God, through the senses. Electrons and their quarky ilk give us something by which we may hear, feel, see, taste, and smell.
With the 10 to the -27 meters, the square becomes a cube. This is the realm of the RSi, the perceiver. It is the ultimate state of discrimination, by physicists’ account.
Of a cube there are of course 8 vertices and 12 edges.
If edges are types of quantum particles and vertices are types of quantum fields, then this model describes the 12 types of fermions and 8 bosons to be found by any particle accelerator as well as their interchangability, the 3 colors, and supersymmetry. (See the moving picture towards the bottom of this post.)
This mathland has other predictive properties.
It suggests to me that the scale of earth is 1/10^-9 = 10 to the ninth meters, the inverse of the atom.
A galaxy would be 1/10^-18 meters = 10 to the 18 meters, the inverse of electrons and quarks.
A universe should be 1 divided by 10 to the negative 27 = 10 to the 27 meters, the inverse scale of the Grand Unified Field.
Let’s look at the actual sizes (with the help of Wikipedia) of the actual diameters.
The Earth = approximately 1.2 times 10 to the 7 meters, so that’s a fail.
I was concerned about this until I remembered a sUtra from Patanjali, something about how if the SUN is known, then you know the Universe. (Replace “known” with “samyamaat” if you know Sanskrit.)
A Sun seems more like the inverse of an atom anyway.
Sure enough the scale of the Sun is 10 to the 9th meters.
The scale of the galaxy is 10 to the 18th meters.
The scale of the universe is 10 to the 27th meters!
Why is a meter used, besides that it gives us the nice numbers of units of 9? Well, it is also a scale of the human body. Actually if a conscious human starts at about age 4 and goes to adulthood, the size of the body is on the lower range of 10 to the 0 meters; i.e. 1.2 to 2 x 10^0 meters. That zero is very important. (Remember that 10 to the zero power is one.) It is the inflection point in going from macro to micro.
Even more interesting the units of scale of the Sun and Galaxy and Universe are presently around 1.2 x their respective orders of magnitude. Perhaps they only have expansive properties up to 2 and then, well, that is the end of the cycle.
There is another predictive quality of this paradigm, that of the construction of time, from space.
Place the micro cube (10 to the -9, 10 to the -18, 10 to the -27) inside the macro cube of 10 to the 9, 18, and 27.
What you get is the 3-D representation of a hypercube, the standard representation of 4D space-time.
Its movement in time:
The macro cube might be what is first inside; it doesn’t really matter to get you the hypercube mathematically, as you can see.
Upon hearing from a friend that the above looks like a snake eating its tail, a wealth of imagery came to mind, especially the story of the ouroboros:
After an exaltation of the simplest Platonic form (a cube), Plato speaks to us again:
“Plato described a self-eating, circular being as the first living thing in the universe—an immortal, mythologically constructed beast.
The living being had no need of eyes when there was nothing remaining outside him to be seen; nor of ears when there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he was created thus, his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself. For the Creator conceived that a being which was self-sufficient would be far more excellent than one which lacked anything; and, as he had no need to take anything or defend himself against any one, the Creator did not think it necessary to bestow upon him hands: nor had he any need of feet, nor of the whole apparatus of walking; but the movement suited to his spherical form was assigned to him, being of all the seven that which is most appropriate to mind and intelligence; and he was made to move in the same manner and on the same spot, within his own limits revolving in a circle. All the other six motions were taken away from him, and he was made not to partake of their deviations. And as this circular movement required no feet, the universe was created without legs and without feet.[8] ”
“In Gnosticism, this serpent symbolized eternity and the soul of the world.”
“The Ouroboros often represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end (the mythical phoenix has a similar symbolism). It can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting before any beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished. The ouroboros has been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations, where it symbolizes the circular nature of the alchemist’s opus. It is also often associated with Gnosticism, and Hermeticism.”
What is neat too about this approach though is that the “boiling of the quantum field” is on the outside and suggests as the string theorists do that there is bubbling of membranes between universes.
Thus time is accounted for as a function of macro AND micro space.
Just as important, the axiom of “As above, so below” is proven.
Sun <=> Atom
Galaxy <=> Electron
Universe <=> Quantum Field
Therefore, so is proven the necessity and legitimacy of astrology.
This beautiful poem/koan, written by my friend Eliot in 1982, may be worthy of remembering next week , on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at approximately 7:43 am MST (+/- 1.5 hours).
An eclipse will be occurring then right on the Eastern horizon, at a point that aligns with the galactic center. A retrograde Mercury and a strong Mars will be there too, all in a nakshatra lorded by Ketu which is in the most stormy part of the zodiac and occluding our sense of perception, the Moon.
Meanwhile, the benefics, Jupiter and Venus, will be well-situated in the 4th and 11th houses.
Thus, even though the last eclipse that occurred on this axis happened on 9/11, and something bad may happen, I think the USA and our allies will be safe.
Anytime Rahu and Ketu, the nodes of the Moon, are so influential and especially when enacting an eclipse, I think it is worth remembering that, whatever happens, perceptively it feels like we are on a gigantic roller coaster, or, if you will, a humongous seesaw.
The secret to any seesaw of any size is to remember that there is a point in the middle, a fulcrum, which does not move at all.
That is the still point.
Find that still point (which astronomically is literally the Earth, next week) and that emotional roller coaster of the nodes will not affect you.
…Six o’clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.
It has been a cold turn to things as the Sun is debilitated and the Moon is just appearing, also debilitated. Combine that with a weak Jupiter by sandhi, and retrograding that weakness to us.
Give it a few days. Things will get better.
Thank God for the lighting of the lamps. Today’s Dhanvantari puja made me feel extraordinarily better. Thank you Dr. Vaidya.
It smiles, indifferent, at those who weep and moan,
Who beat their chests for swallows.
Children, children, be calm:
I who was your teacher
May be your teacher
Still.
(with Burton Raffel)
Some moments are now.
Welcome to Fall. The Sun sets quieter now than even in January.
If the year were in a day, now would be the somewhat poignant time of the Sun setting in the West. In January rather, the Sun knows what to do: its dharma, to snap open, born again.
Now, late October, is when the Sun astrologically enters Libra, its debilitation sign. To preserve the flickering light, India has Diwali, the festival of candles. It is also time to celebrate re-invigorating the soil, as every gardener knows.
Every year I am surprised by Fall. Each season’s uniqueness takes time to win me over, and when I have finally embraced it, it is gone, and none as much as Summer’s fall.
One of the most exciting qualities of Autumn is as a harbinger of education. New school supplies and clothes, the cleanness of a waiting classroom, red brick and colorful leaves are all saying “Learn again.”
On the eighth, ninth, and tenth days of Navaratri, happening this week, a special puja for Saraswati is performed in India and elsewhere to initiate the little ones into official learning for the first time and to cleanse the buddhi, the thoughtful mind, as well as the books, of the older ones.
Thank you Teacher. Thank you Saraswati. Thank you Autumn.
As Boulder’s wildfire wraps to a close, consider the following Robert Penn Warren poem.
Fear and Trembling
The sun now angles downward, and southward.
The summer, that is, approaches its final fulfillment.
The forest is silent, no wind-stir, bird-note, or word.
It is time to meditate on what the season has meant.
But what is the meaningful language for such meditation?
What is a word but wind through the tube of the throat?
Who defines the relation between the word sun and the sun?
What word has glittered on whitecap? Or lured blossom out?
Walk deeper, foot soundless, into the forest.
Stop, breath bated. Look southward, and up, where high leaves
Against sun, in vernal translucence, yet glow with the freshest
Young tint of the lost spring. Here now nothing grieves.
Can one, in fact, meditate in the heart, rapt and wordless?
Or find his own voice in the towering gust now from northward?
When boughs toss–is it in joy or pain and madness?
The gold leaf–is it whirled in anguish or ecstasy skyward?
Can the heart’s meditation wake us from life’s long sleep,
And instruct us how foolish and fond was our labor spent–
Us who now know that only at death of ambition does the deep
Energy crack crust, spurt forth, and leap
From grottoes, dark–and from the caverned enchainment?
The terrible fire/wind event is so raw that I can’t even speak of it now, but perhaps this poem will allow something in, something out; some movement whereby we may paradoxically dream.
For you who are interested in astrology charts, consider this one, of the time and place when and where the fire probably started: 9/6/2010, 10:01:45 am, Boulder, CO, USA, according to news reports.
Some components of it are
Mars is rising low and troublesome on the Eastern horizon, yet incredibly strong by Shad Bala (187)
Mars in its own nakshatra
Venus is in Mars nakshatra too as well as being swa, strengthening the whole situation
the avayogi is Mars
Mars is rising in Aries, Leo or Libra in every one of the vargas but one, the D-60 (see below)
the ground beneath (4th house) in the rashi is lorded by Saturn who is lost in the 12th house; its own Shad Bala stronger than Mars by around midnight, peaking by about 7 pm on 9/7/2010
the same lord of the 4th is hemmed by fiery malefics as well as the lord of the 12th, a temporary malefic (thanks Mary!) Here is more from Mary:
In the Rashi chart for that date and time, Saturn rules the 4th house of homes/property and sits in the 12th house of LOSS, hemmed in by malefics, i.e. fiery Mars in the 1st house and the Sun on the other side (a mild malefic) with Mercury, Lord of the 12th. Of course both Mars and the Sun are enemies to Saturn.
I’m glad most people got their horses out. I have not heard reports of any pets deaths, but we cannot help but wonder about the wildlife, too. It is probable that benefic Jupiter’s aspect (strong, in its on sign now) on Saturn, may have saved the animals and many of the homes that were saved, actually.
The Ascendant of this chart is Libra, an Air sign. Libra, and the planets sitting in this first house, Mars with Venus, Lord of the chart, were also getting an aspect from malefic Ketu, positioned in the Air Sign Gemini, in the Ardra nakshatra. The symbol of Ardra is the tear drop and this lunar constellation is often associated with pain. Ketu from this position was capable of inflicting more damage on the situation, and even something tricky. Perhaps the cause of the fire is reflected by this astrological influence as well, as the local rumors are that some RV vehicle hit a propane tank up in the Gold Hill area.
The Ascendant was 0 degrees, 24 minutes of Libra; Mars was 0 degrees, 30 minutes into Libra. Both were in the Nakshatra of Chita, whose Lord is MARS, and this lunar constellation is in the Rakshasa (demon) group. Nakshtras are divided into either rakshasa, human or deva groupings. The negative qualities of Ketu were stronger due to sitting in this Rakshasa constellation.
There were 8 of us in a hiking group that day and we saw the huge plume of smoke billowing high in the sky at approximately 10:30 a.m. I posted the 2 photos I took of that on Facebook that day. The winds were incredibly ferocious that morning and in fact put an end to our hiking plans. So the condition of “the air” (i.e. fierce winds) served to burst the calamity into many locations, carrying embers all over.
The air was polluted by this sudden, unexpected event (Ketu influence) and the wind whipped the fire to run in many directions, I understand. That Mars (representing fire and accidents) was just barely into this air sign Libra, right on the degree of the Ascendant speaks volumes to me as well. To me, it is like this sign was “overwhelmed” by a disturbed Mars, made even more tricky by Ketu’s aspect! Ketu represents hindrance and degradation.
people coming together, helping each other, is incredibly strong, with Jupiter retrograde in its own sign in the 6th house near the Yogi Point; a strong Tajik D-11 and the 11th house is relatively healthy in the D-1 and D-9
perhaps most surprising of all given the poem’s last lines, is the D-60 wherein Mars and Sun are in the lagna in Scorpio; combining those with the placements of Venus and Mercury certainly suggests liberation from “grottoes dark, caverned enchainment”
My heart goes out to those who suffer. Let me know if I can do/feel/be anything.
If you met an astrologer this summer, whether casually or as a client, surely conversation veered precipitously close to the topic of the “grand cross”.
Around the earth, Jupiter, Saturn and Sun rendezvoused in a precarious triangle over the daytime sky.
Both supporting and opposing this balance were the very sites of human psychological imbalance, Rahu and Ketu, unincarnated points of eclipse.
This year’s version of the Sun’s usual quaternary summer sojourn has seen movement of the soular from the Ketu eclipse point in Gemini by June 15, 2010 to Saturn’s realm in Virgo around October 1st.
Manifestations range from personal crises far above an average, to multiple gross oil spills, to spills of human value in Wikileaks, to political hyperapathy and hyperactivism both. Each of these engage the symbolism of the Sun approaching the kingdom of hidden hard Saturn via opposing the kingdom of massive soft Jupiter.
To understand more, to go beyond chatter, we must remember that astronomy is a part of astrology and not the other way around.
NASA has given us strong clues to the omenology (nimitta) of a Jupiter-Saturn opposition, particularly through the work of noted amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley.
Was it caused by Saturn? Given the astronomical facts of the date, place, and time of observation; Saturn was directly opposite the face of Jupiter that got the hit. Official speculation is that the cause was a meteorite or a comet, both of which are symbolized by Saturn.
Moreover, the Hubble telescope captured an image of the hit! The image is of a blue streak splitting into three and puncturing the atmosphere of Jupiter, looking every bit like Shiva’s trident. The NASA link to the image has mysteriously disappeared (I swear!), perhaps because the text contained quotes from astronomers who said that they could not explain the phenomenon.
Scientists also speculate in general that it is only because of Jupiter that Earth can sustain active habitat, as Jupiter collects the effects of those iron meteorites and dusty comets that we may be saved from them. <Ibid>
See the post immediately below for a poetic expression of the positive that may come from this hoary opposition, transit, and soular development.
As a particularly strained summer solstice season comes to a close, I wish to share with you the inspiring thoughts and feelings of this excerpt of a poem by Jame Agee, whose reading seems particularly appropriate since:
wandering far alone is Saturn personified pulled by the south star shadow Ketu in Ardra, the nakshatra for weeping, aspected directly by the planet for enlightened wonder and surety, Jupiter, as is happening in the sky right now
Jupiter is the symbolizer of kindness, this year watching for us from Pisces, the 4th house ground, of the United States
star-made shadows seem like the shadow nodes, Rahu and Ketu, which are no longer at high 90 degree tension to said Jupiter and Saturn; i.e. the star-made shadows are so slowly from here on becoming more round
this late year, the lunar chart of 12/31/2010, in the early morning, is a beautiful one for feelings of love and mediation whose graces and fortune are that of helping others in health; all is healed?
the chart of the very last minute of the year has Ketu lying down in the north
now we are indeed in high summer
the new moon has just passed, in Cancer, and as the Moon grows from this placement, it is a time, of hearts made whole
Sure on this shining night
Of star-made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wandering far alone
Of shadows on the stars. –James Agee
I updated the template for this site without backing up, and some recent important posts were lost.
One for the summer eclipse season of 2010 and one about Tiger Woods are some examples. I will try to find archived versions and repost.
The essence of the Tiger Woods one was that he wouldn’t win again, that his divorce would be delayed to later this year, and that he would come through in ~4 years time as a golf TV commentator and family man.
A British study found that London traders with relatively long ring fingers earn eleven times as much money as men with short ring fingers… (Harper’s Weekly, Mar 09, p.84)
Ah, palmistry. True Vedic palmistry tells us as much about the person as the chart. What is in the hand is in the chart, what is in the chart is in the hand.
When the person is not sure of their birth time, palmistry is often THE way to go straight to what is really happening in the person’s life, and the above quote only supports this ancient knowledge.
The ring finger is synchronized with the Sun in a person’s chart. Of COURSE, a long ring finger would signify more money, which is to say more power to self-actualization, than a short one!
I know some people who, in first getting a reading, want to tell the astrologer as little as possible. The idea here is that they do not want to give any clues away, lest the reader surmise though clues what the readee’s situation is.
Fair enough. Some charlatans do just that, but I want to give the other side.
To me, doing a reading is like looking at a huge intricate panoramic scene (the other person) only through a kaleidoscope. Broad strokes of color will suggest whether someone’s “scene” is of the beach or of the mountains or a city life, etc. It takes a little skill and some training to get that first step, but it can be done pretty easily.
Typically though, people want to jump to a question more like “What is that goat doing on the third mountain over?”
That takes a LOT more skill with the kaleidoscope.
I say, go ahead and tell the astrologer as much as you feel comfortable. The seer will probably get to the goat sooner or later, but why wait?
Help the astrologer out. It’s not a matter of skill, but rather a matter of using that skill where it is most useful for you both. And you’ll save a lot of time.
I’ve pretty often given specific unusual predictions (e.g. you will be forming a healing clinic in your mother’s home), only to find that the person is doing exactly that.
I love to see that! It’s not really for ego’s sake. (Although I try not to have ego in predictions, there’s a little there.)
I just love to see people doing what they are meant to do, their destiny, their duty, their Dharma.
It’s like what my teacher’s teacher said about Westerners: “Why would you want to avoid your Dharma when doing your Dharma is hard enough as it is?”
What about when someone is built to do something that is not helpful to themselves or others?
I’ve seen enough charts that I can say that I have hardly ever seen this. But what about it? I suppose that’s Dharma too, but let me share with you another observation: any given arrangement in the chart can be actuated one of three ways: Sattvicly, Rajasicly, or Tamasicly. So any arrangement in our personality can be pursued for the better, or only for ourselves, or for the worst.
And isn’t that the meaning of religion: to veer us to the better choice when our natures alone can not decide?
If we were lazy, we could be thieves, for example, but that would be awful and there are repercussions. If we are better than that, intention-wise, we can transform those energies for the best we can be in this lifetime. There are repercussions to that too, for the better.
Use your energy, whatever it may be, for the better. Most people I know do do things in the better ways. Some do them in the best.
All of that, any of that, is doing our Dharma. It’s typically hard to face our configuration and make it work in the best way. Work is Artha, the next step after Dharma and the result of Dharma. Artha is then the foundation for Kama, desire, which then yields to Moksha, or liberation!
We get three progressive cycles of this set of four in our lives, giving us the twelve houses.
This is a HUGE topic, but perhaps I can start off, as I typically do, with an analogy.
Astrology is like cat sitting.
Someone is giving the keys to their house to you whenever they give you their birth information. Everything that is important to them is going to be accessible by another human being.
I don’t blame politicians for being wiley with their birth info. No electioneering compares with the power of the astrologer. Reagan knew it.
Considering the house analogy, an astrologer can go into the basement, into the bedroom, into the bathroom chest while the client isn’t looking.
Everything can be known just from the chart.
But there is a job to do, and you must do it and don’t veer from it.
So that is why the ethics of the astrologer is PARAMOUNT.
The astrologer must be ethical, upright, and utterly dependable in these things. This in fact is the first criterion of an astrologer.
I am that.
Do not do astrology if you can not stand up in these virtues and do not consult an astrologer if they can not.
Something to consider…[which "means 'something to add the stars' as con-sidere in latin means con sidereal" - Das]
I had another guy’s guy ask me tonight how do I do this astrology? He says it’s very helpful, but how on earth does it work?
I realized on my walk tonight that there’s a very guy’s guy kind of way to explain what I do:
you are the car
the Moon is your windshield, windows
the Sun is your engine
Venus is your gas pedal
Saturn is your brakes
Mars is your steering column
Mercury is your blinkers, the electrical system
Rahu and Ketu (the nodes of the Moon) are your lights, outside and inside
Jupiter is your wheels
The houses, dashas, and transits would give the qualities of the interior and exterior and notably the terrain.
That is how I do it. We are at the least a beautiful orchestrated system. There is an order to the system, and it gives clues to how to navigate this world.
No two cars are alike, and jyotish can provide the user’s manual along with the road map and weather report.
Never forget, your spirit is the driver.
Sure, this is silly in a way. Astrology is so much more than this. If I could also describe astrology as a simile to basketball to basketball loving people, then I would, but the feedback to this article seems to suggest that to Americans, who love cars, the above is useful. I’ll use almost any respectful analogy if it connects with someone and helps them understand even a little bit something about themselves.
In most books we learn that the fifth house is from the navel to the lungs, namely the stomach and heart. The sixth house, we are told, is from the navel to just above the reproductive organs. That is to say, it consists of the organs required for all important digestion.
However, in my recent papers on the astrology of Diabetes and Cystic Fibrosis, where the pancreas is involved in both, I use different houses to describe the pancreas.
In Diabetes, which is well known to originate in the pancreatic Islets of Langerhans, I looked to the fifth house for insight. In studying the clogged pancreatic ducts of Cystic Fibrosis, I primarily focused on the natural and actual sixth houses.
Why the split?
I think it has everything to do with the pancreas being the only place that is both an endocrine and an exocrine gland.
The Islets of Langerhans are composed of endocrine cells.
Since the pancreas is still above the navel and still tucked under the stomach, and since the islets’ hormone is used firstly within the pancreas itself, I think the pancreatic endocrine functions count as fifth house in the astrology chart.
Compare that with the terrible complications of Cystic Fibrosis on the pancreas, where the acinar cells of the pancreatic ducts, and hence its exocrine function, are affected.
