starworlds: Astro Weather September 2007

Friday, August 31, 2007

Astro Weather September 2007

September begins in the middle of an eclipse period. The two week period between the eclipse is often filled with dynamic shifts and changes that have an effect on the following six months -- until the next eclipse period. The upcoming weeks may be intense, dizzying, and eye-opening for many of us as we shift up a notch on our spiraling and evolving paths.

Full Lunar Eclipse, August 28, 2007
September begins under the waning influence of a spectacular full lunar eclipse. In the wee hours of August 28th, the north node, Rahu, caste a shadow over the full moon in the constellation of Aquarius, the Water Bearer. According to Hindu mythology the Water Bearer is depicted as the physician of the gods, who pours the divine nectar of immortality from his sacred medicinal jar. The Nakshatra associated with this part of the night sky is Shatabishak, meaning the "hundred healers", or "hundred physicians." An alternate translation is "hundred flowers" which may refer to the crown chakra, through which this asterism conveys its message, as well as knowledge of herbal and flower remedies.

Each nakshatra has a shakti, or energy of intention, associated with it. Shatabishak bestows bheshaja shakti, or the power of healing. The opportunity for healing and receiving the cosmic soma was high that evening. Personally the eclipse occurred exactly on my ascendant offering me the opportunity to learn more about my dharma, as well as to experience a surge of energy through my crown chakra that kept me up all night. (I heard countless stories of restless sleep this week from my patients, as well as from my brother-in-law who has the same Shatabishak ascendant as me.)

Also known as the Veiling Star, Shatabishak is ruled by the eclipsing dragon's head, Rahu, which makes its transit over this full moon even more powerful, intoxicating, enlightening, and obscuring. As Prash Travidi describes: Secrecy is the one quality which separates Shatabishak from other Nakshatras. . . in fact [it] derives all most all its power from what is hidden. Whether it is the herbs in the ocean or secret formulas of nature's functioning, Shatabishak always tries to gain access to what is hidden and in doing so attains its power. Shatabishak is not always very ready to share the hidden secrets it has discovered and tries to hide them just like the ocean covers up many a treasure.

So what was unveiled for you during this eclipse? Politically there has been some significant changes as resignations from the current administration are being announced, while at the same time the details of which are surely being guarded. Will we ever know the real story?

Partial Solar Eclipse September 11, 2007
As eclipses cycles dance around the earth effecting our destiny like a cosmic double helix, they always occur in pairs at the height of flow (full moon/lunar eclipse) and ebb of flow (new moon/solar eclipse). The next phase of this cycle is a partial solar eclipse on September 11th at 6:44 am PDT. In this case, Ketu crosses a corner of the Sun casting a different type of shadow upon the earth. Whereas Rahu is expansive and extrovertive, Ketu is contracting and introverted. Ketu is a detaching force that can give spiritual liberation from the game of life. It is currently in the sign of Leo and nakshatra of Purva Phalguni. Purva Phalguni means "fruit of the tree" and its symbol is the hammock representing rest and recuperation. Another symbol is the Shiva Lingam indicating the power of creative procreation -- prajanana shakti. It is ruled by Venus and thus manifests in sensual pleasure and sociable behavior. As this new moon is being eclipsed by the contracting energy of Ketu, we might find ourselves in need of some rest and relaxation if we over do it during the previous weekend. In addition, somber Saturn is also involved in this eclipse which drains the fun out of the Leonine energy. As Leo rules kings and leaders, it will be interesting to see how our president handles all the resignations and political power shifts. The fact that the solar eclipse falls on the anniversary of 9/11 will only intensify the growing disillusionment with the "official" story.

Pluto Stationary Direct September 7, 2007
Pluto goes stationary direct on September 7, 2007 and will head towards its last contact with the Galactic Center on October 28, 2007. Please see previous post on Transits of Pluto and Jupiter to the Galactic Center for more information.

Venus Stationary Direct September 8, 2007
Venus will go stationary direct on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at the same degree of Cancer that she was at around June 23, 2007 in the nakshatra of Ashlesha. This nakshatra is in the constellation of the Hydra, the female water snake. Ashlesha means "the entwiner" and is called the "clinging star". As I mentioned in a previous post on Venus retrograde, this period we may feel blocked from receiving the things we love, perhaps due to clinging to our old ideas of what we want. During the retrograde period we may have had time to reassess our desires and dreams, and once Venus goes direct, we will have the energy to manifest an upgraded version of what we want. Venus returns to the point of retrograde on October 11th during which time this our new dreams may come to fruition.

Mars enters Gemini September 16, 2007 - April 27, 2008
Mars will enter Gemini on September 16, 2007 and will be opposite Pluto and the Galactic Center around September 20, 2007. It will also undergo a retrograde cycle, which begins on November 15, 2007. With Mars retrograde we reassess how we go after what we want. Following on the tail of the Venus retrograde cycle, it seems very karmic and appropriate. This an extraordinary long period for Mars to be transiting Mercury's mutable sign meaning that there will be a lot of changes in how we expend energy, especially mental energy as Mercury rules this sign. I will post more about this astrological period next month.

Autumnal Equinox September 23, 2007
The Autumnal Equinox occurs on Sunday, September 23, 2007 and is followed by the Harvest Full Moon September 26, 2007. The Harvest Moon is no ordinary full moon and it behaves in a special way. Throughout the year the Moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But near the autumnal equinox, the difference in the local time of moon rise is only 30 minutes. This comes in handy for farmers who are working long days to harvest their crops before autumn. The extra hours of light projected by the full Moon closest to the equinox is what gives the Harvest Moon its name. And as it is the first full moon following a lunar eclipse, watch to see what you harvest.

Namaste!

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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.