starworlds: September 2008

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Autumnal Equinox, Mercury Retrograde

Autumnal Equinox 9/22/08
The Autumnal Equinox occurs on Monday, September 22nd. It marks the brief astronomical moment when light and dark are in balance. After the autumnal equinox the power of the sun begins to wane. Nights begin to grow longer than days until the Winter Solstice in December. Ancient people like the Mayans, Egyptians and Druids used architectural markers to observe these seasonal shifts and set their calendars. The autumnal equinox signaled the fall harvest, which, if you think about it, is the harvest of sunlight that was collected and stored by the plants all summer long to be used during the fall and winter when the sunlight is weak. It is a symbolic time to assess what you have collected and what needs to be released. Like a tree releases its leaves that become compost for the next year, we too must let go of what no longer serves us and return to our core, our roots.

Mercury Retrograde 9/24/08 - 10/15/08
This week Mercury makes its last retrograde pattern of the year in its own sign, or moolatrikona, as well as its sign of exaltation. It stations at 12:17 am at 28 degrees of Virgo. The first planet from the sun rules thinking and perception, as well as communication, commerce, education and transportation. Astrologers often describe its three-week retrograde period as a challenging time for these activities. The effects of this retrograde period may be amplified because an exalted planet is going retrograde. In Vedic astrology a retrograde planet is interpreted at being more powerful, especially on the days that it stations. Even a debilitated planet may becomes so much stronger that the negative effects are reversed in what's called a neecha banga raja yoga. However, an exalted planet, like this one, is believed to lose power to the point of debilitation. Mercury will be at its exaltation point of 15 degrees on Friday, October 10, 2008. This is a date to hold your highest intentions and not allow fear or propaganda distract your heart from the truth.

This reversal is not good news for the recent global economic disaster. As Mercury rules commerce, it may indicate that consumer confidence declines or that trade becomes debilitated. In addition Mercury rules communication and the media, so the truth may be hard to discern at this time as well. Any deal that is signed under its influence is bound to be reversed once Mercury goes direct. Moreover this retrograde occurs in the 8th house of the US Scorpionic America chart. The 8th house represents taxes, debt, death, conspiracies and hidden matters. Yikes! More grim debt details may be revealed, or even worse kept from the public. Even now conspiracy websites are full of speculation on a war with Iran, delayed elections, and financial collapse. The occupation of Iraq was started on another equinox, March 20, 2003 during which time Mercury was also debilitated thus allowing disinformation to be presented by the media. Ironically Mercury also rules tricksters and thieves. So perhaps during this debilitating Mercury retrograde, it is the liars who will be revealed.

Although I'm not a political astrologer, I couldn't help but look at the charts of the two presidential candidates. This Mercury retrograde falls on the 24 degree Virgo ascendant of John McCain's natal chart. His chart ruler thus debilitated will not serve him at all during the first two presidential debates on 9/26/08 and 10/7/08; but it may give him a boost on 10/15/08 as it stations and regains its exaltation strength. However, I am more concerned about his health during this period -- especially lung (ie skin cancer as the lungs rules the skin in Chinese medicine) and nervous system related illnesses. This retrograde may not be so difficult for Barack Obama as Mercury retrogrades in his 9th house which rules philosophy, law, spirituality, father, higher education and good fortune. Mercury also rules his 6th house of enemies, so opponents may become debilitated (again not good news for John McCain). My biggest concern is what happens if John McCain becomes too sick to complete his campaign? Who then heads the GOP ticket? Mercury goes stationary direct on October 15, 2008 at 13 degrees Virgo. It was last at this point during the Republican National Convention when Sarah Palin was revealed as the Vice Presidential nominee. I wonder how Mercury's return to this point in time and space will bring new information forward that was not knowable at that time -- like the woman is not qualified to be next in line for the presidency of the United States.

And one last note, as Mercury rules the lungs and nervous system it is important not to get too run down as the possibility of an early flu season is high -- especially with all the national and global stresses going on in the business/political arenas right now. There have been predictions of a virulent flu or pandemic, so it might be wise stock up on immune boosting supplements like elderberry extract, zinc, echinacea, yin qiao and gan mao ling. You can boost both the immune and nervous system by regular meditation practice. This practice is perhaps the best remedy for Mercury retrograde, a time when our mental energies are directed internally.

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.