Discover More About Mike Holliday Here
Explore Mike’s Astrological Readings Here
Discover His Transformative Classes & Workshops 

Ouroboros

Circular earring, Protective Amulet, The Coiled Snake 

The symbol of the Ouroborus brings several other symbolic motifs to mind. The snake eating its own tail is sometimes represented by a dragon doing the same. We can also think of it as a coiled snake, like the one at the base of the spine, or protecting its eggs, or getting ready to strike. Mythologically we find a coiled snake being used to churn the ocean of milk from whence all duality arose. 

The snake itself is a powerful symbol of transmigration, periodic shading of the skin and a dropping of the mask. The cycles of time and the circadian rhythms: day, weekly, monthly, yearly cycles of nature; life, death and rebirth; the churning of the wheels of of Karma. The snake is also a power symbol of fertility, especially with the phallic snake tail going into the yawning yoni-like mouth of the snake. The circle is a natural symbol of divine protection: order on the inside and chaos on the outside. 

The Natha sadhus, who brand themselves with the large circular earring greet each other with the word “Aadesh,” meaning order, meaning, welcome to the inner circle. The Natha baba’s typically live somewhat chaotic heterodox lifestyles. The order offered by the brotherhood through interconnected ashrams, pilgrimage routes and the many householders who are devoted to the Natha order provides a kind of ground that Natha’s (or any one else) can fall back on in times of need. They are like backstop for those who are hitting bottom and being devoured by life. The possibility for redemption is a the heart of most, tantric and mystic philosophies. It doesn’t matter what you have done in this life, regardless of how deep your self loathing, self regrets, guilt. pain or suffering might be; you have always turn things around.

And although we cannot go back in time to fix things, time is moving in circles so that some energy will come back into our lives again and again allowing us the opportunity to redeem some of what was lost, make amends and learn the next lesson. It’s like we keep coming back to the same place in life and are given the opportunity to make a different choice. To break the cycle is a little like the snake coming unwound. To complete the hero quest the Hero must also return home with his prize, but he also returns a new man. 

It’s customary to do a circumnabulation (or Parikrama) of temples, statues, sacred tree, or any kind of sacred space. Many rituals also begin by kind of going around and marking out the directions to mark out the sacred space. 

Protective Talisman & An Umbrella

Jyeshta natives seem to have divine protection. Most astrologers relate this with purely mystical types of protection like spacial amulets or luck charms. But Jyeshta native are typically prepared. They have the first aid kit, the letterman multi-tool and the umbrella always ready in case of emergency. We can’t keep it from raining but we can bring an umbrella.

From the mystical prospect they might believe that just having the first aid kit is protective because the one time the leave it at home it the one time they really need it. They understand that everything has energy and that just being prepared provide a kind of protection; possibly deterrent. It’s when we not prepared that the universe will show us what we are lacking. Besides everything has a kind of mystical energy and at least part of the energy is atmospheric which is a particular specialty of Jyeshta.

But it’s more than just the atmosphere, Jyeshta understand the importance of sentimental energy, like the kind one might get from family heirloom. And on a deeper level Jyeshta natives a profound understanding of the placebo effect: the power of belief and the suspension of disbelief; otherwise known as magic. Jyeshta natives tend to have some special sensitivity for how things feel, how they test, and how the smell. The snake like powers are all strong. But since snakes don’t have ears they don’t hear or listen very well. 

Churning the Ocean of Milk

Churning the ocean of milk is heavily referenced by Jyeshta. This churning, and vigorous agitation is the path of a Jyeshta native. Moon is a bit sensitive here because the mind and emotions are always churning, but any planet will churn when placed in Jyeshta. The ultimate goal being a substance of the most refined purity. The gods could not do this one their own, they had to integrate the Asuras into the project. 

A churn is commonly known as a machine for making milk into butter, but any kind of agitator can be considered a churn. The washing machine does a the same in order to get cloths clean. The cleaning process that happening in jyeshta can be vigorous and intense. Some times when people are sick to their stomach they might say their stomach in churning moments before vomiting. This too is just the body trying to clean itself. If it’s really bad then the toxins might come from both ends; and there is much allusion in Jyeshta to back side and the shit that comes out after all the good stuff is absorbed by the body. 

This mind also chins when we are disturbed, and a jyeshta will have to release what bothering them before they can feel better and relax. It’s like something starts bubbling up from deep inside, their blood might boil to a certain degree. Again the trick is to just allow the process to complete itself before acting. The inner churning is separating the crap from the truth. If we act too soon we are likely to be full of shit and end up humiliated again. Just wait, the truth always reveals itself eventually. Just look at all the crap that came out of the ocean before the elixir emerged. The first thing that came up was the poison that threatened to destroy everything. And then slowly slowly more refined substances started to emerge. 

These people like to stir the pot, stir things up and agitate the situation in the quest to bring up something unexpected but most refined. Business school also has something they call the “churn rate.” This refers to how many customers are lost over a given time. Customer turnover rather than customer retention. Jyeshta natives tend to have a fairly high turnover rate in anything they get involved in. And finally we can talk about churning things out, which refers to very quick, mechanical, and generally carelessly producing large quantities of something in the way China churns out a bunch of junk trinkets for the world, or the way a 2nd rate novelist churns out one book after another. 

Alaxmi – Not-Lakshmi 

Laxmi’s elder sister, Lakshmi’s shadow, the dark goddess with the power to quickly transform things. She is the embodiment of duality for anything good to arrive there first arises something bad. It’s like we see the shadow of a thing before we see the thing itself. She is called cow-repelling, antelope-footed, bull-toothed.

She has dry shrivelled body, sunken cheeks, thick lips, beady eyes and rides a donkey and is sometimes accompanied by a crow. It said that when she enters a household she bring jealousy and malic with her: brothers fall out with each other, families and the male lineages (kula) face ruin and destruction. She brings poverty and grief. She only comes up by this name in the later Puranik literature, but he watches all the features of Nritti of the Rig Veda. She is sometimes called Jyeshta, or Kalahapriya, or Daridara. 

Alakshmi was the second wife of the demon Kali, the lord of Kali Yuga who was born from Anger and Violence. His first wife was his sister, Durukti, Harsh Speech. From Kali & Durukti was born Fearfulness and Death; and from them were born Excessive Pain & Hell.  

Some say Alakshmi is the Owl seated beside Lakshmi. She is a secret goddess; invisible to all except those who has Saraswati (learning and knowledge) by their side. But Lakshmi does not like Saraswati. It’s said she will always kick her out to make room for her sister. Alakshmi who invariably makes trouble, and causes the family wealth to move to a different house. 

Alakshmi is the first; the senior-most; the dark antithesis of Laxmi; goddess of the dark side. This is the dark shadow mother that seeks to thwart the progress of the hero by instilling them with doubt, shame or fear. She is a little like the Medusa figure who we do not want to look at. She is our own shadow side that longs for integration and expression in the world. She is the one who reminds us that there is more to this life than the material world. On one hand she can be that hole inside of ourselves that we are trying to fill. One the other hand, all those negative feelings of doubt, shame, guilt and fear are not trying to drag us down, they are trying to purify our desires, purify our path in life. 

Doubt asks us: “Do you really want this?” Shame asks us: “is it worthy?” Guilt asks us: “What could I have done differently?” Fear protects us, but like anything that protect us, it can be too protective and keep us from growing. When our life is directed towards truth, beauty, knowledge, freedom, God, the Self; things like wealth, comfort and luxury tend to take a back seat. Jyeshtas are looking for this deeper meaning, for the power behind the throne; the one who is manipulating things behind the scenes; the true source of power. 

As long as we do not follow the hero’s quest when called, this dark queen will keep us in a dead end job and an unfulfilled life. At some point in life many people come to a point where they have everything except one thing is missing. It’s different for everyone, but that feeling that something is missing is Alakshmi and regardless of how much wealth, comfort and luxury one might have, they will eventually move on to go looking for it, possibly giving up everything in the search for deeper meaning. 

Alakshmi is the eldest of the nakshatra wives; the eldest sister. Of course the role of the eldest sister is to be a role model for the younger sibling while taking care of them. The eldest sister is like a second mother to the younger siblings. Elder siblings or step-relatives often play the role of whatever planet is in Jyeshta. And then whenever a a jyeshta person comes into your life they are often mimicking the relationship with that relative somehow. 

Red Silk Cotton Tree — Indian Cotton Wood

Bombax ceiba – Kapok Tree – Kateshwar or Shalmali. 

Red Silk Cotton Tree hot, dry river valleys, lower elevations, humid lowlands. It’s often found near stream banks. It’s a fast growing tree that can grow to about 25 meters high and spread it’s foliage in an umbrella shape as much as 15 meters wide. Leaves are bright green, leathery & rounded. Flowers are cup shaped with five red petals that bloom in spring near the time of the Holi festival. Fruits are brown oval capsule. The truck and stems have spikes to deter animals, but it’s also a very attractive plant for most animals. Bee, insects and spiders are especially attracts to the flowers so many species of bird also come to eat the insects as well as the fruit. 

Silk Cotton in Mythology

Mythologically the Silk Cotton tree is one of the best places to find spirits and supernatural beings who live in the tree. This often makes creates difficulties for worldly people who are trying to get superstitious people to clear a piece of land for them. This has actually created big problems in some parts of the world. They were construction a new highway in Guyana when they came across a huge silk-cotton tree where the highway was supposed to go. The locals caused a big fuss in refusing to cut down the tree. It’s said that the engineers who were pushing for the trees removal all died of mysterious causes and eventually they decided to leave the tree and build the highway around it. Some parts of the world call it “the God Tree” or “the Devil Tree.” It takes them about 60 – 70 years to fully mature: they grow big and live for a long time. Some myths say they can move around on their own and will occasionally gather together. Rituals are often performed beneath their canopy and the wood is sometimes used to make caskets. In Trinidad in was believed that the Great Snake God lived in a forest of silk-cottons. The British government has ordered the clearing of large forests of these tree to discourage local indigenous spiritual practices. And it was said that you could bury treasure beneath these trees, and kill the slave who dug the hole so that the ghost of the slave would inadvertently protect the treasure.  
China Southern Airline uses the flower of this tree as it’s symbol

Ayurvedic Uses of Silk Cotton

Different parts of the plant can treat a wide variety of conditions. The flowers are astringent and used in the treatment of cholera, tubercular fistula, coughs, urinary complaints, nocturnal pollution, abdominal pain due to dysentery, and impotency. The cotton is used for insulation, refrigeration, soundproof covers, or as padded surgical dressing. It can also be used as a aphrodisiac. Leaves are hypotensive and hypoglycaemic They can also be used for blood purification. The dried fruits are used for calculus affections, chronic inflammation, ulceration of the bladder and kidneys. The roots are cool, sweet, stimulant, tonic, and demulcent and are used used for excess bleeding in mensuration. Roots and seeds are used for more serious skin conditions. Mixed with cow dung and applied to the muscles over night to treat inflammation. The gum is astringent, demulcent and tonic and used for dysentery, hemoptyisis in pulmonary tuberculosis, influenza, menorrhagia. The bark is good for cholera, pleurisy, insect stings, or as a diuretic. It’s also used to bandage fractures, or given for toothache. Fresh rubbed bark can be used for pimples, acne, boils, and wounds, as well as being rubbed on the nipples to improve breast milk. Fresh stem bark can be mixed for gonorreha, impotency, sterility, nocturnal emissions, or leucorrhoea. Decoction of the shoots has reputedly been used to treat ulcers of the palate, syphlis, leprosy, spider or snake bites. Combined with the other things it can be used to treat enlarged spleen, edema, or even corns on the feet. Seedlings in combination with other herbs have a reputed anti-pyretic activity, carbuncle, or hematuria. Knots and stems can be used for bleeding gums. The seeds can be poisonous when injected. 

Culinary Uses

The flowers and leaves are edible when cooked and are an excellent in curries. Ripe seeds and young roots can be roasted and added to curries. The flowers can bear dried and used in bread or as part of “five flower tea.” Edible fatty oil can be obtained from the seeds which are 22-25% oil. Tap-root in peeled and eaten raw or roasted. Young bark is used as a kind of famine food in emergencies and it also helps settle the stomach. 

The seed oil can be used in soaps. Trees can be planted for quick growth when restoring natural woodlands, also makes a nice shade tree in the garden. The cotton can be used to stuff expensive pillows and cushions as its considered “vermin proof.” It’s also waterproof and buoyant. It also provides good insulation to keep things cool, it makes good packing material to protect fragile items. Fibre from the inner bark can be wound into rope. The gum is mixed with ash and and castor oil to make a kind of cement for caulking iron saucepans. It can be hollow out and used for canoes and is often used to make matches, pencils, and toys, boxes kitchen utensils or other construction materials like plywood. Some tribals use it to make musical instruments. 

Male Deer

Some say the Hare
Pairs with the female deer of Anuradha.

Deer rely heavily on the use of smell which becomes especially important in mating season as they leave their sent either by pawing the ground and urinating or by ruling their head, neck, antlers on trees or eventually their mate. Several different lands play their role in this. The scent gives deer information about the sex and reproductive state of the other deer.

Most species of deer are polygamous, though there is one species of Water Deer in China that sometimes pair-bond and defend their territory together. Otherwise, the dominant male   beats up on the other males and herds his females together and mates with them one after the other as they become fertile and receptive. It’s actually only a small portion of the male deer population that is able to successfully mate; most remain brahmacharya.

The dominant male with the harem will occasionally get challenged by other males, nobody gets seriously hurt in the contest, but the winner does get the harem. The Red Deer is especially famous for the great contest at rutting season when all the males come together in “the arena” and compete for the best plots of land, which is typically in the middle of the territory to give them access to all the females. The less dominant males will typically stay out of the fight and thus end up out at the edges and border land of the herds territory. The female will typically go to the dominant male when she is ready. 

In some species, such as the Elk, males will mate with a succession of females; mating with one when she is receptive and then moving on to the next one when she is not. There can be fierce fights for each female. 

See Anuradha for female deer and information about pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering style. 

Jyeshta Careers

Jyeshta natives often do the jobs nobody else wants to do. In many ways, their service is sacrificing themselves for everyone else’s comfort. When it’s tough job, but someone has to do it, it’s usually a Jyeshta; they take all the worst kinds of job in whatever field they are in. When you need someone to “take care of business,” call in a Jyeshta. They are good at being the boss or the executive making difficult decisions.

When you’re on there right side of a jyeshta they will do anything for you, but if you get on their bad side, watch out cause they will put the same passion, the same heart of a scorpion into destroying their enemies as they will protecting their brethren. They like to take positions that allow them to do this. 
They are often bosses, managers, or self employed; since they typically know best, they don’t do well in subordinate jobs. They have a powerful faculty for critical thinking and do well in critical situations.

The setting for Jyeshta is always churning, purifying, testing, agitated and nobody really knows what will come out of it; or what will rise up from the bottom. Jyeshta’s can be called in to shake things up; or churn things up. They can be very productive but their energy fluctuates. After a heroic output of energy they need to rest and recharge so their work is usually not steady. They might change jobs often, work in jobs that allow then to express both sides of their personality: the powerful force of will that overcomes anything; and an equally powerful laziness that isn’t moving for anything. 

Fields that involve investigation, detection, diagnostics, strategy or tactics are suitable for jyeshta natives. They can be good in politics, policing, counselling, health care, building and engineering, seasonal work, piece-work, contract work. They usually take very good care of those who are in the inner circle and nepotism can be a problem. They don’t take advice or criticism very well so they can be quite decisive, spitting the world between us and them. 

The Mercurial side of Jyeshta makes them good writers, story-tellers, editors, researchers, messengers, signallers investigative journalists. They often work in the shadows which can lead them to occultism, astrology, tantra, shamanism and other mystical fields. We find a great deal of prophetic messaging for Jyeshta natives. They can be easily seduced by black magic, supernatural phenomena or even aliens. And I hate to point out that Jyeshta is all about probing, so be careful. Jyeshta natives rarely follow the status quo.

They tend to understand that there is more to anything than meets the eye and often time the true nature of their work is invisible to others. It could be that their work is literally deep underground, or maybe people just don’t understand how they come by their knowledge. It’s often the case that Jyeshta natives do not have normal prerequisite for the position they hold; but they are either the best at it or nobody else will take the job, so what can be done. They tend to have a very unique set of talents that allows them to succeed in many fields.   

Health

Neck & right side of trunk

Space between the thighs, genital organs, ovaries, 
Muscular problems, Neck pain, ear aches, 
Stomach problems, Breast Cancer. 

Right side: right lung, liver, kidney, gallbladder, appendix, the area of the small intestine where the digestive juices of the pancreas and liver are mixed together. 
Biliousness, stomach problems, fevers, headaches, addictions, mental prob

Stars of Jyeshta

Antares (A Scorpii): “the rival of Mars.” A bright red star near the heart of the scorpion. The 15th brightest star. It’s a massive star whose size is said to vary by about 20% through a kind of pulsation. On May 31 of each year, this star is directly across from the sun, rising as the sun sets.

Other Names for this star have been: “Lord of the Seed”, “Creator of Prosperity”, “The King”, “The Hero”, “second star of the heart.” The Maori considered it to be the chief of all the stars and the father of Relegus.

The Sun crosses Anteres somewhere around December 1, but 2000 years ago this was much closer to December 20th which marked the beginning of the Winter Solstice and Christmas. So Jesus was likely born when the Sun was in Jyeshta. Many islanders in the south saw Antares and Scorpio as a fish hook that pulled up the land from the depth of the sea. Antares was known as one of the regents and guardian of the intergalactic directions along with Aldebaran in Taurus – Bharani; Relegus in Leo – Magha & Formalhaut in Pisces