starworlds: Astro Weather September 2009

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Astro Weather September 2009

Full Moon September 4, 2009
September begins with a full moon in Aquarius opposite the ruler of Aquarius, Saturn in Leo. This Aquarian moon occurs in the twenty-fourth nakshatra, Shatabhisha which means "the hundred physicians" or "hundred healers". It may also be translated as "the hundred flowers" indicating the knowledge of herbs and other flower remedies. The number 100 refers to the collection of stars belonging to this asterism, each representing one physician/medicine/herb/flower.

The symbol for Shatabhisha is an empty circle, and the deity associated with this nakshatra is Varuna, the god of rain and cosmic waters. As he presided over the waters of heaven and of the ocean and was a guardian of immortality, Varuṇa was one of the most important deities of the ancient Indo-Aryans. In 2000 a potential dwarf planet located in the outer circle of our solar system, the Kuiper Belt, was named after Varuna.

The significance of the circle refers to cycles of all kinds: the cycle of life and death, the cycle of day and night, or a trip around the zodiac. An empty circle implies a boundary around space, perhaps like a cell wall? A circle is also used to set the boundaries for sacred space in which healing work may be done under its protection, like a medicine wheel. Thus a circle may also conceal and hide things, which may explain why Shatabhisha is also known as the "veiling star". The mystery of crop circles is that their meaning is often hidden in the geometric designs within the circle. Shatabhisha is ruled by Rahu and thus has a shadow side. Its secretive nature may veil or distort information for selfish purposes. It gains power by keeping its wisdom hidden.

During this full moon, it might be wise to draw your own magic circle and make space for meditation. Shatabhisha is connected with the crown chakra (baihui, Du 20 in acupuncture means 100 Convergences), which is a portal to higher levels of consciousness.

It is a perfect time to explore these realms in solitude. It is not a great time to go out if your immune system is weak and the membrane/circle of your cellular walls are not intact. According to ancient Vedic seers chronic illnesses contracted under the moon in Shatabhisha may require "a hundred physicians" to heal them.

Saturn changes sign from Leo to Virgo on September 9, 2009 For the past two and a half years Saturn has been traveling in the stellar fields of the sign of Leo. As anyone with a Leo moon, sun or ascendant will tell you, this is not a happy transit. Saturn's cold and constricting nature puts out the lively enthusiasm of sunny Leo leaving a lot of disappointment and disillusionment in its wake. Even Saturn's beautiful rings have temporarily disappeared from view.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090810/sc_space/saturnsringstodisappeartuesday

The good news is that Virgo is a friendly sign for the somber giant. Saturn does well in this earth sign that rules perfection, service, and practical design. Saturn in Virgo is focused and analytical, and may inspire those working in the health and banking fields to reassess and restructure current practices in favor of something practical, productive and perfect. However, as Saturn spends two and a half years in a sign, it may take a couple of years before any new policy is actually in place and in effect. Saturn is the chart ruler for the US Scorpionic chart, and where it transits usually indicates where national attention and energy will be focused. It will spend the next two years transiting the 8th house that rules sex, death, chronic illness, debt, and taxes -- as if we haven't already been focusing on these subjects. Saturn promises to heal these areas. With a little hard work and patience the nation will feel revitalized in two and a half years when Saturn finally makes it to its sign of exhaltation -- in Libra -- in 2012.

Future posts:
Mercury retrograde: 9/7/09 - 9/29/09
Venus, Happiness and Immunity
Fall Equinox occurs on September 22, 2009

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Awesome write up... :)
This month is a bit wacky for me, due to my being 39 on 09/09/09...
(I remember figuring that out when I was around 12 or so and thinking how weird it was...)
Just the little syncs going on with 9's are pretty crazy these days too...; August 28, 2009 at 6:12 AM
Anonymous said...: I should digg your post so other people are able to look at it, very helpful, I had a hard time finding the results searching on the web, thanks.

- Norman; September 20, 2010 at 3:07 AM
Anonymous said...: I always inspired by you, your thoughts and attitude, again, thanks for this nice post.

- Thomas; October 12, 2010 at 11:49 AM

Aum saraswateye vidmahe, bramputriye dhi-mahi, tanno sarawati prachodayat

Saraswati is the Goddess of leaming, knowledge, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the self." Saraswati is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.

What is the Difference between Vedic and Western Astrology: 23 Degrees, Nakshatras, and Sidereal

Twenty-three is my quick answer to the question: "what is the difference between Vedic Astrology and Western astrology?" I don't mean to be cryptic, but 23 degrees is literally the difference between the Tropical and Sidereal zodiacs. It is called the Ayanamsha -- in Sanskrit ayana meaning solstice and amsha meaning portion -- and it refers to the difference between Tropical and Sidereal zodiacs.

The zodiac is a ring of constellations often referred to as signs, such as Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio and Taurus. It is a cosmic clock around which our solar systems operates and how astrologers measure cycles of time. Most people do not realize that there are two distinct zodiacs. Vedic astrologers use the Sidereal zodiac and Western astrologers use the Tropical zodiac. The Sidereal zodiac is based on observations of planets lining up against the backdrop of the fixed stars. It is oriented to the center of the galaxy. On the other hand, the Tropical zodiac is based on the relationship between the sun and earth. It is oriented to the equinoxes. In Western astrology the spring equinox sets the beginning of the Tropical zodiac at 1 degree Aries, even though the sun is astronomically traveling in the light fields of Pisces. In other words, it does not correspond to observable position. Vedic astrology is called Jyotisha in Sanskrit, meaning the science of light, and Vedic astrology describes how the light emitted from the stars effects us. When Western astrology was in its early stages, the two zodiacs may have lined up; but over time the two moved apart approximately 50 seconds per year to the current 23 degrees of separation (even that number is debated, but the standard of India, the Lahiri ayanamsha is 23 degrees 10 seconds).

Vedic astrology is considered by scholars to pre-date Western astrology and is the only system that has accounted for the precession of the equinoxes. What is the precession of the equinoxes? The answer to that involves another occurrence of the number 23 (those familiar with the enigma of 23, like LOST and RAW fans, may find this amusing). Because Earth's axis is tilted 23° 27' in its orbit around the sun, its equatorial plane is tilted with respect to the ecliptic plane, the plane created by Earth's orbit. These two intersecting planes create an intersecting line called the vernal axis that occurs on the first day of spring, or Vernal equinox. As the Earth spins on its axis, its axis wobbles (precesses 50.3 seconds of arc per year or 1 degree every 71.6 years) very slowly over a period of about 24,000 to 26,000 years. As this occurs, the pole of the Earth inscribes an arc in the heavens called the precessional arc. The Earth's pole aligns with different stars throughout the precessional period. The current pole star is Polaris. Approximately 13,000 year ago it was Vega, one of my favorite stars. Earth's precessional cycle is also referred to as Earth's Great Year in the alchemical tradition, World Ages, or Yugas in the Vedas. David Frawley describes it a one year in the life of humanity.

In Vedic astrology there is a line of thought that suggests this 24,000-26,000 cycle (and even wobble of the earth itself) maybe be generated by a grand cycle of our sun with a companion dark star. Modern astronomy is studying this possibility as well. The ancient Vedic seers divided up the cycle into four world ages: the Satya(Truth or Golden), Treta (Third or Silver), Dwapara (Third or Bronze) and Kali (first or Iron) Ages. Each age describes a stage of awareness for mankind in which consciousness ascends, descends, and ascends in unending cycles perhaps due to the influence of this yet to be discovered companion star. Although New Age philosophers have described humanity as entering the Age of Aquarius, astronomically speaking that will not happen for approximately 300-400 years.

According to Vedic thought, the cycles of ascending and descending consciousness are connected not only to our rotation around a companion star, but also our cycle around the galactic center. According to David Frawley, "Vedic astrology orients the zodiac to the galactic center, or the central galactic sun, whose influence comes to us through fixed stars of the constellation Sagittarius." The galactic center is like our cosmic belly button -- it is sometimes called Vishnunabhi, or the navel of Vishnu-- the point from which our galaxy grew and expanded. Many ancient cultures studied and recorded their observations about this area of the night sky, including the Mayans whose calendar marks an astronomical event of our winter solstice aligning with the galactic center in 2012. It's like the earth's pole or antenna will be aligned and open to receive message from the source itself. [H]ohm is calling.

One of the most brilliant developments of the ancient Vedic seers was to further divide the zodiac into more identifiable parts. They did this by creating the Nakshatra system. In Sanskrit Nakshatra means lunar mansion. As the moon travels through the entire zodiac in 27-28 days, the ancient seers ascribed a Nakshatra for each day simplifying its location. Although too vast a subject to go into in this post, it is interesting to point out that the name for the Nakstratra that marks the galactic center is Mula, meaning root or source.

Another difference between Western and Vedic astrology is the modern use of non-observable planets and asteroids. As a Neo-Vedic astrologer I do consider some of the outer planets when I look at a chart, but I tend to be more interested in the fixed stars and Nakshatras. I marvel at how Western astrologers bring in new astronomical discoveries to their chart interpretations. Basically I see Western charts as a map of the same terrain as a Vedic chart, but indicating different types or levels of information. It's like comparing a topological map with a road map. I don't need to know the difference of elevation between Broadway and 3rd Avenue, but I might like to know the street number of Benaroya Hall. It all depends on what type of information one is seeking. Vedic astrologers come from a tradition and philosophy that focuses on the four aims of life: dharma (purpose), arthra (attainment), kama (desire),and the most important moksha (liberation). Western astrology is enriched by many diverse traditions and the information gleaned from it may be quite extensive and more suited for the modern mind. But for me, I've always been drawn to the stars in the night sky and have felt them speak to me in the language of light. And as Jyotisha is the science of light, it is the tool and filter I use to translate this information.

For a good video overview on precession click here.