, Solar month, Sun
Sun In Libra
Happy Navratri. May the divine feminine energy bless us all. The Sun transits into the sign Libra on the 17th of October and will remain in the sign until November 16th. The Aditya is Pūṣaṇa who nourishes the world and is the ruler of fruitful journeys including the final journey. The sign Libra is associated with prosperity and of war, as the old saying goes, all is fair in love and war. The weekday Friday ruled by Venus was created for puṣṭi -nourishment, comforts and luxuries, yet Venus is also planet that is elitist and seeks revenge. The disturbances in thoughts that are deeply felt as emotions (water element) and embedded within us, when released in action cause the discernment to be lost. Sun is debilitated in Libra. The story of Indra (akin to the Sun), the King of Heavens lusting for Ahalya the beautiful young wife of Sage Gautama and seducing her is fine example of this. Indra pays for it as he is punished by a curse of Sage Gautama (who is also the sage accompanying Pūṣaṇa in the chariot this month).
The past weeks have posed several challenges and delays in my way; therefore, I will just focus on writing only about the transits this time. The Sun joins Mars and Ketu in Libra and meets Ketu on the 17th October late in the evening in Chitra Nakshtra. Mercury follows into Libra on the 18th while Jupiter and Rahu are in the opposing sign of Aries. The Aries/Libra sign is packed with planets and will remain so until after the lunar eclipse on the 28th October. Venus in Leo and a retrograde Saturn are standing apart across each other in the sky, casting a sign aspect on Aries and Libra. Please note that in a tug of war, Libra should win at least until November 2nd, after which Venus will move into Virgo (its point of debilitation). Mercury will also leave Libra for Scorpio on the 6th of November.
The deadly attack on Israel happened at a the time leading up to the Solar eclipse on the 14th October. I had written in my yearly eclipse article In February and reiterated in the BAVA conference in April that the timing around the October eclipse time was the more dangerous one of the two solar eclipses. This was particularly because of the close conjunction of Mars and Ketu (read ghost attacks) in the time leading to the solar eclipse whilst Rahu is also Gandanta moving into Pisces. The details of the transit were given in the previous monthly. The attack happened in the early hours on a Friday when Venus is a morning star, emulating a strategy that was used by the Mayan to succeed in wars. Venus is farthest from the sunrise and at greatest morning elongation this month. Isreal is equally likely to retaliate fiercely and swiftly as it has a Libra Ascendant and Venus controls the period of fortnight. Mars is in a difficult position as it has been combust from the 23rd of September and will remain so until middle of January as it moves through the signs of Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. Aries and Scorpio ascendants should be patient and use their time well to learn from those who are wiser. This is not a time to demand for visibility, but diligence until mid-Jan.
The partial lunar eclipse will begin on the 28th October at 20.35hrs and will finish at 23.26 hrs (UK time). The eclipse is in Ashwini Nakshtra in Aries. A lunar eclipse following a solar eclipse is considered fortuitous and this time can be used to pray for healing and new beginnings. In my tradition, praying to Lord Narsimha is recommended with the mantra of
ॐ क्ष्रौं नमोभगवते नृसिंहाये
om kṣrauṁ namobhagavate nṛsiṁhāye
He is the protector of all those practising spirituality as they are usually defenceless in the world of grasping materialists and demonical beings.
Rahu and Ketu finally move to their next destination on the 30th October – the Pisces and Virgo Axis. Pisces and Virgo ascendants and moon signs have to prepare for much churning in life as all the eclipses will happen in this axis during this period. The solar eclipses in the next two years 2024 and 2025 are in the nakshatras of Revati and Uttarbhadrapada in Pisces and Hasta and Uttaraphalguni in Virgo). Note that Rahu and Ketu will be in a mutual exchange of signs during the period. The impact of the exchange will be more felt w.r.t to work situations.
Rahu in a water sign good for disinflation and in Pisces where Jupiter is the lord, the strategy amongst opposing forces is to look for mediation. A time for relief and breakages of bondages particularly if you have your ascendants in the movable signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn have gone through much churning the past 2-3 years with Rahu, Ketu and Saturn (prior to its move into Aquarius earlier this year) in quadrants creating a sarpa yoga (bondage). It is to be noted that Aries Ascendants have a lot of opposition with many planets in Libra this month while still experiencing the aspect of Saturn. Mars will be combust until early next year. Nevertheless, they will enjoy the beneficence of auspicious Jupiter finally without the influence of Rahu for the next 6 months.
Saturn turns direct in Aquarius on 4th November – the stuckness experienced with its retrograding should start to release, time to change the gear and accelerate on our projects, although it is wiser to wait until the auspicious Jupiter turns direct at the end of December.
The solar month starts when Navaratri, the 9 days of divine goddess is already underway. Of these, the special one is Saraswati Puja on the 21st October when the Goddess of learning, wisdom, music, and dance is worshipped particularly in the South of India. Children are made to write their first letters on this day. We also celebrate the festival of lights Diwali on the 12th of November.
I am presenting this week on October 21st at the astrological conference organised by Paul Barker of the Leeds Theosophical Society. My topic is “Discovering the anatomy of the Mind – Examining the Moon in the horoscope to understand the mental make-up of an individual and the narrative one builds”. With this topic, I am trying to integrate my studies of the mind from Vedanta and behaviour psychology with those of the principles of Jyotish. The full programme & registration details can be found at: www.vedicconferences.com
Let us worship Pūṣaṇa Aditya for throwing some auspicious light on our path to remove our misconceptions, and to guide us in these turbulence times in the world.
ॐ घृणिः पूषणादित्यः
om ghṛṇiḥ pūṣaṇādit yaḥ