by Somya Devi | Apr 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
Mercury proceeded out of sidereal Pisces and into Aries today. We will likely see a shift in our communication, going from watery, murky, or dreamy to more sharp, precise and perhaps argumentative. In Pisces, Mercury was in its sign of debilitation, where it is not the strongest in its ability to express clearly. This is because Mercury is a planet that seeks to be impartial and organized (it is exalted in Virgo), and Pisces, a water sign ruled by Jupiter, is dreamy, romantic, and imaginative. Aries, on the other hand, is motivated, active, and competitive.
Mercury in Pisces may have hampered our ability to be precise and detail-oriented over the last couple of weeks, with the expansiveness of Pisces’ ruler, Jupiter, compelling us to add our philosophical idealism to communication and our comprehension of things. Furthermore, Mercury was joined with Ketu (a shadow planet) during his jaunt through Pisces, which could have brought subconscious turmoil to the surface through our speech. He was tightly conjunct Ketu during the lunar eclipse, which offered both the opportunity be more analytical about buried emotions or escapist tendencies, but also the potential to be more critical in our speech with others, if we were not introspective about the depths of the rising feelings.
Now, with Mercury entering Aries, we may see less water and more fire suffusing our communication and intellectual processes. Mercury, or Budha, is the planet of the intellect, seeking to gather and organize information. Aries’ ruler Mars is a planet that brings forth our strength and instinct. It often brings strong opinions and a desire to be right, so watch for hot-headedness when it comes to communicating over the next couple of weeks, and try to curb your impulse to argue. We may be able to think quickly, but may also notice ourselves talking too fast. Try to slow it down by consciously applying moments of reflection and checking in with your heart before you speak, especially in any heated discussions. Mercury is moving quickly through the zodiac now and will be transiting out of Aries and into Taurus on the 26th.
by Somya Devi | Apr 8, 2015 | Astrology, Planets Changing Signs
Jupiter has been retrograde since December 8, 2014, appearing to move backwards from our perspective on earth. It has also been closest to the earth and brightest from our point of view during this time. The closest alignment was in early February when earth was directly between the Sun and Jupiter. This week it will appear to come to a stop, in sidereal Cancer, between the stars Castor and Pollux of Gemini and Regulus of Leo. It is still very bright, and visible overhead around sunset in California, setting in the west around 4am. It will appear stationary in Cancer for the next couple of weeks, as it slowly begins creeping forward again in direct motion.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, and its energy brings expansion and growth wherever it lies. It is known in Sanskrit as “Guru,” the remover of darkness, or ignorance. Jupiter’s influence in our natal chart illustrates our philosophy, trajectory, and relationship to our life’s purpose. Its retrograde motion over the past few months brought a great opportunity to reexamine these things and introspect about them. You may be feeling a fresh sense of purpose and clearer direction as Jupiter begins moving forward again now.
Jupiter rules the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces, so the individual themes of the houses that fall here in your sidereal (Vedic) birth chart would have been the ones that you were really focusing on reevaluating during this time. For example, for Virgo rising people, Sagittarius and Pisces are the 4th and 7th houses, so you would likely have been introspecting deeply about your goals in home-life–perhaps real estate or vehicle-related–(4th house), and in relationships (7th house). Jupiter rules two houses and their motifs for each rising sign.
Additionally, Jupiter is the karaka or signifier of children and teachers for everyone. During this time of its retrograde course, we were likely feeling reflective about these people in our lives. It’s possible we felt some discontent or confusion in these relationships, as Jupiter was appearing to move backwards. The grace that is associated with Jupiter, however, made possible a positive introspection period that helped us to sort out what wisdom is serving us towards our higher purpose, and what ideas were not. Jupiter is naturally exalted in early Cancer, meaning that its expansive nature is able to serve us greatly in this feminine water sign, which relates to our emotions and deepest heart-space. Jupiter’s placement here brings the opportunity for inward-reflection and illumination of the divine spark within. The period of retrograde motion added more opportunity for self-examination and emotional awareness. With forward motion beginning again today, we can bring forward the wisdom we have gained during this time of pensiveness, with a renewed and purified understanding of our goals, and the teachings and philosophies that support us in sharing our highest creative potential. Enjoy the beauty and brightness of this planet in the sky, as equally radiant Venus gets closer and closer to it over the next couple of months.
Brihaspati (Guru Graha): 
by Somya Devi | Apr 6, 2015 | Astrology, Planets Changing Signs
Our hearts’ sense of comfort and happiness may feel some relief starting today, as Venus moves from sidereal Aries into Taurus. Venus rules our relationships, sense of art and beauty, and how we go about seeking happiness and pleasure. In Taurus, Venus can relax into the earthy comfort of this feminine earth-sign it rules. Since March 12th, Venus was in Aries, the masculine, “get-up-and-go,” fire-sign ruled by impulsive and aggressive Mars. That put some “me-first” drive behind the planet of compromise, love & happiness, which may have put some strain on our relationships and ability to work things out with others. Venus was also paired with Mars during most of that time, adding more obstruction to its goals of happy mediums, loving service and devotion. Before its stint in Aries, this graha was transiting Pisces alongside Mars in a planetary war, as well as hampered by its conjunction with critical Ketu. All that fire and pressure did not do much to help our inner sense of peace and love, nor did the intensity and illusion brought on by the eclipses that occurred simultaneously over the last few weeks.
We’re now moving out of the eclipse cycle, and Venus will be in Taurus for the next month, orienting us towards contentment and connecting to devotion through the earth-element. Planets are generally strong in their own signs and better able to express their goals. Taurus is a place related to comfortable and beautiful physical surroundings. The feminine expression of Venus, as well as a fixed-earth sign, planets here are able to relax, ground, and enjoy the simple and sweet fruits of the earth. The Moon is exalted here in Taurus, relaxing and expanding our hearts in the quality of contentment. Venus is opposite Saturn here, getting a direct aspect, so we may even feel a bit of pressure to really ground into Taurean satisfaction. The extreme of planets here is the potential to be stubborn about our desires for comfort and luxury, or sensual desires in general. There will still be more willingness to compromise than we found with Venus in Aries, however, but watch for sensual indulgence or attachment to certain ideas about security.
Earth-element relates to the sense of smell, so augmenting your happiness through fragrant flowers and essential oils will be especially potent now. Simple pleasures can be found in food, crystals, scents, and connecting to the warm soft ground. Adding some new art or beautiful objects to your home or altar will also be gratifying. Fostering this sense of comfort and beauty around us can be a step in our spiritual process, if we make it an offering to the divine, and a practice of reflecting what we are also doing inwardly to beautify our hearts. This is Venus’s higher capacity. Make a beautiful painting of your mind and adorn your inner vision with love, compassion and devotion, things that will bring joy and comfort to you and those around you.
Jupiter will turn direct later this week, giving us a renewed sense of inspiration and connection to our teachers and belief systems.
by Somya Devi | Apr 2, 2015 | Astrology, Holy Days, Uncategorized
Transformative energies are running high as we are still in an eclipse cycle, with a Total Lunar Eclipse occurring in sidereal Virgo this Saturday, at 5am PDT. It is also the Full Moon, which is the only time when a total lunar eclipse is possible. This eclipse will be visible from most of Asia and Australia, at moonrise, and from most of North and South America, at moonset. The eclipse will begin around 3:15am PDT, will the total eclipse occurring for just five minutes, from 4:58-5:03 am, finishing just before moonset at 6:59, a few minutes after sunrise. The tail end of the earth’s shadow covering the moon will be visible in the twilight hours of dawn on the West Coast of North America.
Though the shadow is physically caused by the earth centering between the Sun and the Moon, it is also when the Moon is closely aligning with the shadow graha called Rahu, or the North Node, an astronomical point on the lunar orbit. When Rahu and Ketu (the South Node) are directly perpendicular with the earth’s orbit around the sun, during new and full moons, solar and lunar eclipses occur. This alignment with the nodes can feel like an unsettling force, as it brings to the surface a lot of energies that are often lurking in the shadows of our subconscious.
On the new moon in Pisces, two weeks ago, we experienced the Solar Eclipse, as the sun and the Moon aligned with Ketu, as well as with Mars. This brought staunch beliefs and opinions to the surface, which may have come out in an explosive manner. It began the Pisces cycle where we really started examining our tendencies towards fantasy and escapism, or felt ourselves getting lost in the vast emotional ocean, as Pisces is a water sign ruled by Jupiter. In its higher capacity, Pisces helps us to surrender and let go into the spiritual unknown, following creativity and intuition. This eclipse likely made visible certain areas of life that we were avoiding dealing with, especially areas where we tend to be critical and overly certain of ourselves (Ketu). It also brought the opportunity to let go and surrender. Mars’ conjunction here brought the possibility for confrontation around these issues during this process. Inward reflection has been necessary during this time, to clean out the dusty corners of our own psyches and murky emotional pools.
Now, with the full moon of this cycle occurring in Virgo, we examine the opposing energy to Pisces, which is the need to be practical and down-to-earth in our routines and fulfillment of desires. Virgo, on the other side of the zodiac, is an earth sign ruled by Mercury. Virgo energy likes to be discriminating, practical and organized. With the full Moon here, we feel in our emotional bodies this drive to do practical work, create or maintain solid daily routines, and to be responsible and efficient in our actions. With Rahu’s alignment bringing earth’s shadow over the Moon, however, we may feel disconnected from our emotional bodies during this time, and frustrated in our efforts to be grounded. The stress and eagerness associated with Rahu may disturb the coolness of the mind (the Moon), and our efforts towards practicality may take on a hot-headedness. Furthermore, Mercury, the ruler of this Virgo eclipse, is now joined Ketu in its sign of debilitation, Pisces. This further frustrates Mercury’s ability to be truly discriminating and impartial, as it is overwhelmed by the emotionality of Pisces and the gut cynicism of Ketu.
This eclipse occurs in the lunar nakshatra Hasta, “the hand,” ruled by the Moon. Hasta is a star whose energy brings efficiency with writing, drawing, and all dextral and industrious pursuits. With Rahu here we feel an overwhelming urge to master these things, and to implement some effective handiwork, both literally and figuratively. With the Moon being eclipsed, however, this desire becomes unconscious, and may be a accompanied by fear and illusion (Rahu), and not as rational as Virgo energy tends to be. We need to examine closely what kind of maneuvering and strategizing we are practicing with our hands, as our minds may be motivated in part by Rahu’s obsessive exaggeration, and we may be trying too hard to control the structures and routines we wish to implement.
Pisces and Virgo fall on certain houses in each individual’s chart. Whatever houses these are for you, the themes they represent will be ones that you are examining in particular during this time, and where you may be experiencing tension, disruption, and/or revelation. We will have another set of eclipses in these signs during September of this year, so there is a great opportunity to refine ourselves and our energies around these house themes between now and then, and to examine them closely again when the eclipses return.
As always, a powerful remedy for the disruptive aspects of the eclipse is spiritual practice, which will also help us to harness the positive potential of refinement and transformation that it brings. Meditation and mantra will help us to fall into the positive Piscean virtue of surrender to divine flow, as well as to cool the mind that feels disturbed and obscured in its conjunction with volatile Rahu (which began today). During this time, watch for where you feel a compelling but frustrated desire to organize everything around you. Take time to reflect and do personal grounding practices instead, like some gardening, walking or sitting on the earth, or re-organizing your energy with crystals. Earth element also relates to the sense of smell, in Ayurveda, so burning some sage or incense regularly will also help you to ground and to clear the hazy energies.
As many Hindu holidays are aligned with the lunar calendar, this full moon brings the celebration of Hanuman Jayanti, the birth of Lord Hanuman. Hanuman is Lord Rama’s greatest devotee, and symbolizes the qualities of strength and devotion. He is the son of the wind which represents prana, the breath of life and vehicle of yogis. We can learn from Hanuman, especially on this Pisces cycle eclipse in Virgo, the power of surrendering to the Lord and using our skills and hands for service to higher purpose. It is through this that we find our greatest strength. Hanuman’s monkey form represents the restless or “monkey mind” in humans, but his devotion shows us that through one-pointedness and repetition of the Lord’s name, we have the ability to tame the mind and achieve our divine potential. Hanuman was said to have been born at sunrise, the same time we will experience this eclipse in the Americas, so it will be especially potent to call in his energy by reciting the Hanuman Chalisa throughout this eclipse.
This full moon also coincides with the Jewish holiday Passover, which is also aligned with the lunar calendar. This celebrates the time when God freed the Israelites from slavery under the Pharaoh of Egypt. We can also see this as a symbol for the liberation within that is attained by virtuous rather than unprincipled actions. Friday is also Good Friday in the Christian calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus, two days before Easter Sunday, celebrating his resurrection. (These holidays are also calculated according to the lunar cycle, being observed on or after the first full moon of spring, after the equinox.) We see here symbology of the rebirth we can attain when we allow the ego to die and Self-knowledge is born. This is a potent message around the eclipse, where we must call in faith, release doubts and ignorance, and discern higher truth in order to to overcome the negativities stirred in the mind by conjunction with the nodes.
Do your best during this eclipse to calm the mind through connecting to the earth in simple, practical ways. Examine where you desire more detailed structure in your life in contrast to where you have avoided it to go with the flow, and contemplate what balance might look like. Look at your fears that are being revealed around both sides of that spectrum, and orient your mind towards God or your higher Self. Wait until after the eclipse has passed to complete communication and implement any major changes, to harness some discerning distance from the pressure and illusion unveiled by the nodes. Next week Venus moves into Taurus, and Jupiter turns direct. This may bring more ease in our relationships and a new burst of clarity around our philosophies.
by Somya Devi | Mar 23, 2015 | Astrology, Holy Days, Planets Changing Signs
Today Mars moved into sidereal Aries, the Cardinal Fire sign it rules. Aries expresses the masculine, or extroverted, nature of Mars, so it is likely we will feel a lot of impetus to send our energies outward and start new projects in the world in the coming weeks. Mars gives us warrior strength, will, and energy, but also strong opinions and a stubborn ego at times. You may find yourself encountering potential anger or arguments over principles that feel very black-and-white to you. Try to slow down and consider the affects before acting or arguing, even though you may be feeling very impulsive. We are still in an eclipse period, so with all the subconscious and emotional matter that is getting stirred up to the surface, make sure to align your energetic pursuits with what is really serving. This alignment does bring a strength that will support the new endeavors we aspire to accomplish this year, but planets in Aries do not change direction easily, so be aware that whatever propulsion you set yourself into may be the one you follow for a while. It’s a good time to get exercising again, or to call in discipline to your yogic pursuits.
Mars is now aspecting retrograde Jupiter and Saturn from his new position. This could give a boost of energy to how you are processing our studies and philosophies (retrograde Jupiter), so also watch out for getting argumentative over these, fighting with teachers, or the complete destruction of principles you have held close in the past but have reconsidered lately. If this is truly for your highest good, the energy could be a great service, as we are in the final two weeks of Jupiter’s retrograde course, and may be finalizing the expulsion of bad ideas in our philosophical reanalysis. Try to take things as slowly as possible, however, before destroying something in a moment of passion.
Mars is now both aspecting and ruling Saturn, who is retrograde in Scorpio. Saturn’s position here is giving us a sense of responsibility and commitment to facing deep fears and hidden parts of ourselves. Mars’ position in Aries will activate this process even more, bringing energy and willingness to that sense of commitment. It could be a good time to start practices that empower this process, like trauma release exercises and ones to deconstruct limiting beliefs. Saturn is in the nakshatra Anuradha, which supports exploring our sensitivities and also seeking cooperation in friendships.
This is important especially because Mars is joining Venus here in Aries, which could present a dichotomy of conflict within us. Venus is the planet of compromise, and agreeability, while Mars works to support our personal survival and instincts with an animalistic tendency. Venus in Aries has trouble compromising, therefore, and we may have been noticing this since his movement here from Pisces on the 12th. It can bring up passionate feelings about whether our compromises are fair or not. With Mars joining this already high-strung Venus, take extra care with your relationships. Use Mars’ rulership of and aspect on Saturn in Scorpio to turn that fervor inward. Mars and Venus are with the Moon in Aries until tonight, so we may feel this dichotomy especially intensely in our emotional bodies today. Mars’ new position will have more specific effects on the houses it is influencing in your individual chart, and the themes they represent in your life.
Today is also the fourth day of Navaratri, so we turn our celebration and worship to the goddess Laxmi, the embodiment of spiritual and material prosperity. Worshiping her qualities such as happiness, grace, wisdom, devotion, and purity, can help bring these about. This will support the higher potential of Mars, which is the strength and courage to be disciplined with ourselves and our inner and outer energies, rather than reckless like a wild animal. Laxmi’s four hands represents the four objects of human pursuit in life (the Purusharthas)–dharma, artha, kama, and moksha (living a truthful life, material prosperity, happiness, and spiritual liberation). Use Mars’ energy to strengthen your yogic objectives as you give homage to the goddess, pursuing a harmonious existence.
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