Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, or Amma.

By Natesh

Awake.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity
First thing you see.
A vast radiant beach in a cool jeweled Moon
Couples naked race down by its quiet side
And we laugh like soft, mad children
Smug in the wooly cotton brains of infancy.

-- Jim Morrison


THE NATAL CHART for Baby New Year, born in Washington DC, shows a New Year of mass awakening as if from a long slumber. It is a time to roll up our spiritual sleeves and lay the groundwork for true liberation. The main themes are lessons, the energy that we get from them and what we choose to do with it.

Vedic astrology is a sidereal-based system, which means that it corresponds to the actual constellations, or fixed stars. Most western astrology is tropical astrology, which relates to the earth's orientation to the Sun. Neither system is necessarily the better. Each has something to offer the other. The seasonal changes mark the cardinal points of the zodiac within the tropical system. The position of the planets, or grahas as we call them, is different in the Vedic chart, because as the world ages progress, the fixed stars marking these seasonal points, change. For example, in the tropical chart the Sun enters the sign of Aries on March 21st. In the Vedic chart, the sun is actually in the constellation of Pisces on March 21st.

We can tell a lot about an entity from the 1st house within their Vedic chart. It can be looked at as a theme for the entire chart. In the natal chart, or rasi chart as we call it, the rising sign for the New Year is Virgo. The south node of the Moon, which we call Ketu, is in the 1st house as well. There can be a potential for self criticism and isolation. Wherever we see the south node of the Moon in the Vedic system, seclusion and isolation can be present, but, there can also be a potential for liberation.


New World Rising

There are 27 (some say 28) nakshatras, or lunar mansions, in the Vedic system that further divide the twelve signs, or constellations. The Moon passes through approximately one of these a day. Just as the signs have ruling planets and certain qualities, so do these lunar mansions. The south node of the Moon, or Ketu, and the ascendant are both in the nakshatra of Hasta, which is symbolized by an open hand giving blessings. Its ruling planet is the Moon. As this nakshatra resides within the constellation of Virgo, it receives an influence from Mercury. This gives us a Ketu, Moon, Mercury energy. There is great potential for deep purification of the collective mind.

With every moment that passes, we begin to have access to more and more information. Advances in technology are making it possible for information to travel more rapidly. When this happens it makes it more and more difficult for lies to exist as the truth of the matter can be uncovered more rapidly. On a spiritual level, this makes it more and more important for us to honor our word and to allow the vibration that is the purest essence of our core being to be expressed.

One of the significances of the 2nd house in Jyotish, or Vedic astrology, is "what comes out of the mouth". Jupiter occupies this 2nd house in the sign of Libra. This can result in a longing to express the deepest spiritual truth. To do so requires  the ability to see behind the veil of maya, and witness the level of our existence at which we are all connected. After all, there is truth, and there is the Truth.

As I was reading the news from various websites this morning, as I am apt to do in search of many different angles on world events, I came upon a story that said that the American Dialect Society has decided that the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness." This is described as "stating concepts that one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts."-cnn.com. If this was the theme for 2005, the theme for 2006 is the Truth beyond our concept of truth, beyond our concept of facts, and our journey towards its realization and manifestation.

However, a "journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Some attribute this quote to Lao Tzu, but I have heard it was the great Chinese philosopher, Confuseus.

And confuse us 2006 certainly may at first. To witness the deepest truth, we first must first come to understand reality. To understand reality and the essence behind it, we need to be able to see clearly what is going on, and strive towards being honest with ourselves and others when relaying the story involved. We've lied to ourselves, and with all fairness have been lied to for so long, that the taste of reality can be difficult to stomach.

The first thing "which comes out of the mouth" is, at times, the regurgitation of the lies that we've been spoon fed for so long. When this happens, we begin to see their ugliness and lose our taste for them.


Planetary Periods

We begin the year 2006 in a Sun-Jupiter dasa-bhukti period, which lasts until August 25th, about the time of the Saturn-Neptune opposition. At that time, the period shifts to a Sun-Saturn period. I'll touch on this aspect later. For now, let's deal with the time at hand.

Dasa and bhukti periods are sections of time ruled by certain planets. Dasas are the main period, with the bhukti being the sub period. There are further divisions as well, but these should be plenty for understanding the rest of what follows. During these periods, everything touched by these planets will be heightened.

During a Sun-Jupiter period, on the simplest level, the keywords are perception, expression and expansion. But we need to look deeper at the placements and aspects of these planets in order to understand them more clearly.

Vedic astrology, for the most part, utilizes an equal house system. There is one house per sign. Planets are conjunct each other when they occupy the same sign/house. The Sun is in the 4th house, conjunct Mercury in the sign of Sagittarius. Mercury is in the nakshatra of Mula, ruled by Ketu. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. This gives us a Mercury/Ketu/Jupiter energy. The Goddess associated with this lunar mansion in Nirriti, the Goddess of dissolution. The Sun is in the nakshatra of Purva Ashadha. The ruling planet, here, is Venus. This gives us a Sun/Venus/Jupiter energy. The symbol for this mansion is a winnowing basket, which is used to remove the husks from corn. This is a time in which we begin to come into contact with the aspects of our lives, be they people, governments, egos or chocolate that no longer serve our lives, nurture us or make us whole. Okay, so you can strike chocolate from that list, maybe. Things that only feed our ugliness keep us from seeing our true beauty and potential and need to go. By aspect the Sun influences the 10th house, which is in Gemini. As we have been seeing in the media, the greed and lies have been bubbling to the surface. The image of the United States has been growing uglier. Now is the time for us to demand the truth from our leaders.

As I stated earlier, Jupiter is in the 2nd house in the sign of Libra. It is in the nakshatra of Swati. The energy expressed is compassion and the beginnings of the planetary family. Even though we may face difficulties as a world society, this placement gives the ability to remain flexible and roll with the changes. It also denotes the ability to influence others through speech.


Sorry Dude, But My Karma Just Ran Over your Dogma

Even though Jupiter is a beneficial planet, within this chart it has some detrimental qualities due to its relation with the ruler of the 1st house. It rules the 4th and the 7th and places a negative quality on those houses. Materialism and the way in which  the present administration tries to influence and persuade others to sign onto their dogma, by bombing them, or persuading our allies to do so through lies and bribes, is becoming more apparent. From its position in the 2nd, Jupiter aspects the 6th, 8th and 10th houses. One way of explaining this is that the energy of Jupiter can be good for those houses, and planets placed in them, but that those houses and planets can be bad for the houses that Jupiter rules because it functions as a malefic planet in this chart. The 6th and 10th houses are empty of any planets, and Mars is in the 8th in Aries where it is very strong. To sum it all up, there can be a blossoming of the world community, but this may be associated with initial violence, health problems and the exposure of government figures. Societal emotions can be hard hit by this and scrutiny on relationships may become more important. We are already beginning to see some of this.


Solar Eclipse

The solar eclipse of March is exact, by degree, for Washington, DC at between 10:36 pm and 10:37 pm on March 24th. The Sun is conjunct the north node of the Moon in Pisces at this time and both are in the lunar mansion of Uttara Bhadrapada. One of the gifts of this nakshatra is the ability to pick up on the things that are beneath the surface.


This eclipse is transiting the 12th  house of the Bush administration. I would look for yet more information about what has been going on behind closed doors. An investigation may begin and I would also look again for the usual suspects to try to figure out a way to line their pockets from whatever results. But, that's just too easy to predict. Issues with abortion could become prominent at this time

Eclipse points are releases for large amounts of energy. One of the things that may come of this, on a spiritual level is the question of how we can turn a negative into a positive. This configuration gives birth to self-sufficiency. This is a good time, as is any, for people to begin to reclaim their government.


Saturn-Neptune opposition

This aspect becomes exact between 4:02 and 4:03 am in Washington.

Traditionally, most jyotishis (another term for Vedic astrologers that makes us sound cool and groovy), do not work with Neptune. But, let's see how we can understand this phenomenon through the Eastern system. As I stated earlier in the article, there is a transition of planetary sub period about this time. We move from a Sun-Jupiter period to a Sun-Saturn period on August 25th.

In order to understand this period more fully, we need, first to cover some more technical mumbo-jumbo. Within Vedic astrology, there are many different planetary relationships which are known as yogas. For those of you not familiar with the meaning of the word yoga, I hope you enjoyed a laugh at the thought of the Sun or Saturn doing downward facing dog or some other yoga pose. Saturn might injure himself. Yoga means union, or to yoke together. Vedic astrology contains a bazillion of these yogas and each of them has its own special quality which bears its fruit depending on the strength or weakness of the planets involved.

Within the chart for the New Year, the Moon and retrograde Saturn form what is known as a dainya parivatarna yoga. A parivatarna yoga is formed when one planet is in the sign and respective house of another, and the other planet is in the sign and respective house of the former. A dainya parivatarna yoga happens when one of these planets is the lord of the 6th, 8th or 12th house. Overall, this yoga, with the planets involved, can represent a healing crisis leading to deep reflection and eventually a greater sense of peace. There can initially be a lot of fear and instability. However, with a look at some of the other influences involved, this can be an impetus for deep self work on a mass level. Hardships are there to teach us a lesson, and one of the lessons that we can glean from this alignment is that we are all in this together

If we remember from our Vedic astrology 101 lessons, everything that a planet touches will be heightened during its planetary period. Saturn will be direct around August 31st, the day of the opposition and will be aspecting its own house, the 5th, which occupies the sign of Capricorn. It is conjunct Venus at this time and will aspect the natal Venus, which is retrograde and conjunct the Moon. The Moon is involved in the aforementioned yoga. The theme here is finding a creative channel for our passions. When Venus is retrograde, we can be dealing with the two headed monster Aversion/Perversion and there is a need to find a middle ground that allows the passion released to find a channel. The placement of Venus and Saturn in the sky at this time is in the nakshatra of Ashlesha. One of the significances of Ashlesha is the awakening of kundalini energy, or our creative potential, the ability to understand our inherent divinity.

A desire for a peaceful world and a stable environment may be strongly activated around this time. We are awakening to the damage that we have done to the planet and the atmosphere. The questions of how we can nurture each other and the planet are of extreme importance. Sadly enough, we have to clean house before the party can begin.

On an internal level, the enemies that each person faces are anger, greed, attachment, pride and envy. Our enemies in the material world, I believe are an external manifestation of these negative emotions. Forgive ourselves for our negative actions and these enemies can begin to vanish. Whirled peas begins at home.

Energy reaches its potential based on what we do with it. Turbulent emotions may be difficult, and there may be many of them. But, in the midst of crying remember to find a reason to laugh once in a while. Joy can be ecstatic, but in the midst of this ecstasy, remember to share what you have with others. In the words of the sage Neem Karoli Baba, if you want raise the kundalini, which is to realize your true potential, "feed people." Nourish each other! I'll cover the date that Pluto crosses the Galactic Core in a future article. But, for now, peace out!!!!

Natesh Reed is a practicing Vedic astrologer, Kundalini Yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner living in Kingston, NY. For more information on scheduling an appointment with him, visit his website at www.kundaliniyogacenter.org