Sun will transit the sidereal sign of Sagittarius from late in the evening of December 15th of this year to January 13th 2022. When Sun is in Sagittarius we are blessed by the Aṁśumān aditya. The word aṁśumāt means radiant from aṁśu which means a ray, a thread or a minute particle. Sambha Purana gives the meaning of aṁśu as pervading and love, as he pervades the entire universe with love. Sagittarius is the natural ninth house of dharma and virtue, therefore he is the protector of universe, respects divinity and the sages. He is known for fairness, justice and equality.
When the Sun is in Sagittarius, the lunar month is called Margashirsha as the Full Moon will be in the asterism of Mrigashira, literally meaning the head of a deer. This is considered the holiest month of the year. In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna in Chapter 10 says of all the months I am “Margashisha”. This lunar month is when the Devas (divine beings) wake up from their long sleep and is also marked by the winter solstice (re-birth of Sun) on the 21st December. This is the time to set aside material pursuits and dive into the study of scriptures, sing hymns, visit temples and to give to charity. Marriages are not performed in this solar month.
In the South of India, I have seen queues thronging the temples early in the morning as people go to the temple every day during the month before going to work. It is very auspicious to worship Lord Shiva in this month. Shiva is the pratayadi devata of Surya (Sun). When the Sun is troubling you or it is afflicted in your horoscope, daily prayer to Lord Shiva is recommended.
The festival of Thiruvathirai is celebrated on the full moon night which also happens to the longest night of the year. This year it is on Monday, December 20th when the Moon is in Ardra. It is also called Arudhra Darisanam as legend goes that Lord Shiva appeared on this day near Chidambaram as Nataraja, the divine cosmic dancer who releases all the souls through his dance. My favourite verse from Sivananda Lahiri ( translated by TMP Mahadevan) /reveals the subtle meaning of Cosmic Dance and why it is liberating is revealed.
एष्यत्येष जनिं मनोऽस्य कठिनं तस्मिन्नटानीति म-
द्रक्षायै गिरिसीम्नि कोमलपदन्यासः पुराभ्यासितः ।
नोचेद्दिव्यगृहान्तरेषु सुमनस्तल्पेषु वेद्यादिषु
प्रायः सत्सु शिलातलेषु नटनं शम्भो किमर्थं तव ॥ ८०॥
This one is going to born. His mind is hard. I have to dance on it. Thinking thus in order to protect me, thou did practice placing thy tender steps in former time on the mountain ridges on Shambu. Otherwise, while there are the insides of divine houses, flowery bedsteads covered verandas, etc. in abundance, why did thou dance in rocky regions.
This verse poignantly explains that our mind is made of hard stuff and in order lighten it Lord Shiva performs the cosmic dance on our hearts – Chidambaram, literally meaning in Sanskrit the space of consciousness, the mind. However he first practices by going bare feet on the mountains ridges. This allegory likens the sharp, thorny, hard paths of the mountains ridges to our minds (conscious and subconscious). We carry deep negative emotions (tamasic) of grief, sadness, anger and jealousy accumulated by indulging, fighting and protecting in order to seek security from the world. These emotions will be limiting and dragging us down. We seek divine intervention only when we troubled. It is heartening to note that Lord Shiva is indeed looking out for those whose hearts are heavy – again hinted in the verse as he chooses to dance on the hard mountains instead flowery beds.
We bid goodbye to the eclipse season for now to deal with the kala sarpa yoga till end of April 2022 when Mercury will move into Taurus signalling the normalcy of business. After Mars entered Scorpio on the 5th, borders have been tightened in the UK one way or another. The kala sarpa yoga is the hemming of planets between the nodes of the Moon- Rahu and Ketu. We can find ourselves stuck and unable to move on, having to constantly deal with what life has to offer. We should be mindful that “stuckness” is helped by changing the gear and not by accelerating up and down – meaning to make a true change we cannot do more of the same, we have to do something different. The effect of kala sarpa will be mitigated for those with ascendants in the signs of Aquarius and Leo with Jupiter’s presence in the 1/7 axis. The signs of Gemini and Libra also get some relief with Jupiter’s benevolent aspect.
Mars in Scorpio is not entirely comfortable as it shares the space with Ketu throughout the month making the sign intense. The two planets have a splitting energy after their conjunction on 14th in Anuradha Nakshatra making the dates between 14-16th most difficult to manage. The Sun is in transit in rasi sandhi those two days adding to the instability. Anuradha is all about faith and definitely there is going to be test of faith. Mars and Ketu combination is called Pischasha yoga, a demonic combination, making it area for untoward events as Mars the planet of security and logic will be affected by Ketu which stands for anarchy and represents internal strife. Scorpio also has the aspect of Saturn from Capricorn. Saturn in Capricorn should be elated in the company of Venus, however it is under the disturbing influence of Mars and Ketu from Scorpio.
Venus, the significator of relationships and rejuvenation turns retrograde from the 19th December re-enters Sagittarius to join Sun on the 30th December. It is combust from the 3rd to 13th January. And remains retrograde till 29th of January and in Sagittarius until 27th February. A time to be introspect as sudden events can make us look into unfinished matters of past or present. A time that to worship to purify to sharpen intentions.
ॐ घृणि: अंशुमनादित्य
om ghṛṇi aṁśumanāditya