The Sun will enter the sign of Leo in the early hours on the 17th August and will be in the sign till 16th September. Sun in Leo carries the blessings of Indra Aditya and as Leo is the 5th house of the horoscope, he is a great teacher known for vanquishing his enemies. I can do no better in my eulogy of him than I did last year when I wrote about his real strength being surrender through the story of Indra and the Yaksha (nature spirit) from Keno Upanishad. The moral of that story was that the one who attains indra-stithi (state of stillness of mind) and indriya nigrah (control of sense organs) attains eternal wisdom. https://www.facebook.com/victory19/posts/10227118278808280
The title of Indra is a generic one and Indra became the lord of the heavens and of the mind by mastering his senses – of hearing, touch, sight, taste and the smell. The role of king is just not about the competency and capability but also about behaviour as the title can be lost as one loses control of sense organs like PM Boris Johnson of the UK. We are choosing a new Indra in the UK when Sun is still in his office (mulatrikona) at 18-19° in Leo on the September 5th, “May the one who is in control of his/her senses be bestowed upon us as the ruler”.
The story of Sage Uddālaka from Yoga Vashishta (translated by Swami Venkatesananda) explains the perils of indulging the 5 senses and the enhanced responsibility of a human. The sage was in search for liberation and was reflecting about the mind within himself – “do not perish like the deer which is trapped by the sound of music and bells, nor like the male elephant which is trapped with the help of the female elephant, nor like the fish whose sense of taste leads it to its death in the hook, nor like the moth which is attracted by the sight of a flame and perishes in it, nor like the bee whose sense of smell leads it to the flowers, trapped in which it is destroyed when the flower folds up for the night. O foolish mind, all these perish being subject to just one sense craving (the deer by the sense of hearing, the bee by the sense of smell, the moth by the sense of sight, the elephant by the sense of touch and the fish by the sense of taste) But O mind, you are a victim to all the five temptations, how can you have happiness?”
Verse 76 from Viveka Chudamani of Adi Shankacharya highlights the same concept through the same set of similes.
शब्दादिभिः पञ्चभिरेव पञ्च
पञ्चत्वमापुः स्वगुणेन बद्धाः ।
कुरङ्गमातङ्गपतङ्गमीन
भृङ्गा नरः पञ्चभिरञ्चितः किम् ॥ ७६ ॥
“The deer, the elephant, the moth, the fish and the black-bee – these five have died, being tied to one or other of the five senses, viz. sound etc., through their own attachment. What then is in store for man who is attached to all these five”.
Sometimes unrestrained by our desires we are led by our untrained minds to destruction or a spiritual fall even in success, like the moth that seeks the flame unaware of the danger. Daily practice of introspection, yoga and meditation helps in increasing the awareness our uninhibited desires and ambitions. We can then only submit our sense organs to the guidance and stewardship of the higher mind and the intellect. Contentment is true happiness. It is the constant hankering and indulging in our senses that leads to being stuck in the cycle of samsara. When the Moon is afflicted in the horoscope without the planetary aspect (graha dhristi) of Jupiter or other redeeming influences, then it may be better to engage in meaningful work than to reflect.
In terms of jyotish, let us be aware of our 6th house to see what is the hook that triggers us.(kama, krodha, lobha, mada, moha and matsarya – lust, anger, greed, pride, delusion and envy)- The Brahma graha (students of Jaimini programme will know this) will cast light on our weakness as well. Observe the role played by the planets in the 3rd, 7th and 11th houses (kama trikona – desire trine) in the rasi and navamsa and how they dominate our mind and senses and thus our lives. At a very subtle level, one can observe the motivations of the planets placed in the kama pada (3rd pada – desire is the motivation) of the nakshatras (they will be in air signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius in the navamsa). Similarly observe the rulers of the kama trikona that are in kendras in horoscopes as they may have a story to tell about your desires and instincts.
Sun joins Mercury in Leo for a few days only as Mercury leaves Leo and goes into exaltation on the 20th August in Virgo. Mercury, the planet of communication and business will be in Virgo for extended stay until 25th October (hence will escape being involved with the eclipse sign of Libra in October). It will be across Jupiter in Pisces conferring a Bhagavad Gita yoga (accomplishment yoga) for dual signs. This is very good news for business and commercial affairs however, Mercury, turns retrograde on 10th September just before it reaches its full exaltation point at 15° of the sign and will be in retrograde motion until the 2nd October, taking the total count of retrograde planets not including the nodes) to 3 in the sky. Saturn turns direct only on the October 23rd and Jupiter on November 24th. It might be worthwhile to breathe, slow down and bring mindfulness in daily life. Retrograde planets work extremely hard to give results, so give yourself plenty of space to rethink strategy to achieve appropriate results.
We enjoy Vallaki or Vina yoga in the sky on August 22nd and 23rd as 7 planets will be in 7 different signs, the Moon in Ardra Nakshatra and 3 planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury in own signs or exaltations. Vallaki yoga is a yoga of celebration and love of music, a time when great harmony can be created through sound. This time maybe fortuitous for chant or yagya for peace. Venus joins the Sun in Leo from the 31st August, however does not get into combustion until 15th of September just before Sun enters Virgo. Mars continues to be unflinching and stubborn in Taurus in trine to Saturn in Capricorn casting a heavy trinal influence on the earthy signs Of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. Mars will be in Taurus from 11th of August to October 15th and then again when it retrogrades back from Gemini later in the year. It will be in retrograde motion in Taurus from 14th November to 12th of January and then in forward motion until the 12th of March. Mars, a planet of action in the sign of Taurus is not very comfortable as it absorbs the fixed nature of the sign and is influenced by Venus the ruler making its agenda selfish. This energy can be utilised effectively to get something done if your conscience allows for it. Do note that the last 10 degrees of the sign is represented by the head of the bull when one can be most ferocious and stoop to conquer.
We celebrate the Janmashtami or the birthday of Sri Krishna on the 18th of August in the UK and 19th in India. Ganesh Chaturthi starts at 10.03am on 30th August and ends at 10.52am on 31st August. It is a powerful day to propitiate Lord Ganesha for removing the obstacles in life. Let us also be mindful of pitra paksha that starts on the 10th of September for a fortnight when it is good to remember our debt to our ancestors and honour them.
Lastly but not the least, The Leeds Lodge of the Theosophical Society (aka Paul Barker) will be running another online Vedic Astrology Conference over 3 days from 7-9 October. The theme is ‘Nakshatras: Destiny, Dissolution & Remedies’ and eminent international speakers such as Sarbani Rath, Visti Larsen, Komilla Sutton, Sat Siri will be taking part, for further details please follow the link www.vedicconferences.com
ॐ घृणिः इन्द्र आदित्य
om ghṛṇiḥ indra āditya