Tag Archives: tantra

6. Ardra Nakshatra

Rudra wearing a tiger skin while holing a deer and a trishul

Ardra Nakshatra

(6° 40’ – 20° 00’ Gemini.)
Betelguese (Alpha Orionis).

Ruled by Rahu.
Star of Sorrow. Power to make Gains Through Effort.  

Meaning: :Green, Fresh, “the Moist One,”

Main deity: Rudra, The Howler, the ruddy one, the Lord of Beasts

Main symbols: a Diamond, a Teardrop & a Human Head.

Associations: Ardent, Arduous,
Secondary Deities: Typhon


For Vedic Astrology Readings, follow this link. 

Trimurti: Shiva/Dissolution

Gotra/Clan: Sage Pulahu

Gana/Race: Manushya/Human

Varna/Caste: Butcher

Motivation/Goal: Kama

Nature: Tiksha – Sharp/Dreadful

Activity: Balanced

Place: 

Body parts: Top and Back of Head & Eyes

Guna: Tamasic

Element: Water

Tridosha: Vata


Sex/Gender: Female

Upward Facing

Direction: West (or south east)


Colour: Green

Animal: Female Dog

Tree – incense: Long Pepper or Krishna Kamal Flower (karimaram)

Moon in Ardra

Jupiter in Ardra

Classical References

Rulership: Murderers, animal catchers, liars, adulterers, thieves, rogues,creators of discord, cruel persons, charmers, sorcerers, those well versed in the art of raising goblins.

Hora Sara: The native with moon in Ardra will have a wavering mind, be a crafty speaker, and will steal other’s money. They will be “self-respected,”? will have few sons, be long lived, and will have royal money.

Jataka Parijata: Moon be in Ardra will cause them to be destitute, without wealth, fickle, and addicted to base actions. They will have a lot of physical strength. 

Sage Narada: One born in Arudra will be interested in rituals related to Tantra. They will be adventurous, skilful in trading, fierce and ungrateful.

Brihat Samhita: The asterism Ardra makes one perfidious, haughty, irascible, ungrateful, cruel and sinful.

Varahamihira: They will be ungrateful, wicked, violent and proudy.

Brihat Samhita: When Saturn transits Ardra, trouble befalls the people of the Parata and Ramatha countries, “oil mongers”, washermen and dyers as well as thieves.

Auspicious activities:

This is not a good day for suspicious activity. However, if you have any sharp dreadful activities on your to-do list, this is their day. All those things you’ve put off because they are distasteful or beneath you, perhaps even dehumanizing: today is the day to face all of that. Any kind of cutting or destructive actions will be in harmony with this transit. Killing animals or taking care of insect infestations. Any activity that gets us in touch with our animal instincts. If you’re into yoga you could highlight the animal named postures, roar like lions. It’s a good day to let chaos reign supreme. Practice left-hand tantra, become more aware of your body and your senses; let go of your mind. Do intense practice, dance like a wild-man, do mantra until you fall into a trance, practice visualization meditation. All forms of pranayama can be practiced here as well. Find ways to focus the destructive tendencies of this nakshatra on things that need to go, like bad habits, unhealthy friendships or jobs, clearing land, tearing things down… The Moon’s transit to Ardra is a good time to get into a bad situation. As you can see below, the 4th pada can be especially auspicious in an inauspicious way. 

Special Considerations

  • Pushkara Navamsha 16º40′ to 20º Gemini (Pisces Navamsha).

Qualities of Ardra

Destructive energy: This nakshatra is focused on tearing things down, endings, and losses of all kinds. Clearing away obstacles to progress.

Human: Ardra is all too human, capable of compassion but easily succumbs to the human condition and finds it difficult to rise up and consistently do what they know to be right. They are not completely selfish and will easily defend the weak. They often know what is right, they just don’t always follow it.

Butcher: Harsh activities like, killing, cutting, working with flesh and blood, or with taboo functions of the human body.

Kama: They are motivated to fulfil their hopes & desires; to enjoy life and love, making friends and social connections, and to indulge in the pleasures of life. Planets that have some natural social talent will do well here while the others will show their awkwardness for easy enjoyment.

Tikshna / Daruna – Sharp / Hard: Maiming killing, hypnotising, distracting. dreadful, ferocious, bitter. Skilled at acts of aggression, torture, cruelty, murder, punishment, mesmerising, tearing things apart, getting stabbed in the back, performing illegal activities, acts of war. Really hard training can be started or practiced when the Moon is here: training dogs or breaking horses, doing really intense tantric sadhanas or more intense and difficult hatha yoga practices meant to break our will or or perhaps kill something inside of ourselves. All kinds of incantation can be auspicious on these days: tantra, black magic, hypnotism, casting out demons (literal and metaphorical ones). more intense and difficult Hatha yoga practices. But also surgeries, or treatments like chemotherapy, initiating a difficult divorce or walking away from your kids, all these things that make up a really tough cookie. Ardra, Ashlesha, Jyeshta, Moola are all hard people with potentially sharp tongues. They often find themselves in tight places where they have to make really difficult choices, often life or death.  Mars and Saturn combining energy in one of these nakshatra can be very dangerous in transit as well as in someones personality.

Functions in a Balanced Way Here we find the balanced approach.

Tamasic: Activities take part on the gross physical plane: dark, depressed, dull, inert activities that obscure reality and keep us in the dark. Some kind of gross suffering is usually felt here and there’s a lazy sort of laissez-faire sort of laziness of lethargy. The energy here typically pulls a person down as it represents neither change or purity. There is typically some suffering and darkness of mind experienced here. Tamasic has no nutrients and the prana is not moving; it’s stale or dead. Rajas – Tamas – Sattvic

Water: heavy, cold, movable, fluid, moist, liquid, soft & hard, clear. Earth & Water are cooperative. Water does not cooperate with Air and impedes Fire does not cooperate with Earth and impedes Water

Vata: Air + Ether = Cold, dry, light, moving, subtle, clear, hard, pervasive, rough. Flighty, spiritual, thin. Disturbed by bitter (Mars), astringent (Saturn), pungent (Sun). . Pacified by sweet (Jupiter) & sour (Venus). Air does not cooperate with Water and impedes Earth .

Female: Like a teenage girl: Green, fresh, moist. Works well with feminine planets and females, but males with this placement will have a more difficult time.

Urdhva Mukha – Facing Upward: All these things that cause us to look upwards: mountains, church spires, temples, trees, birds, high places, and tall buildings. The intention might also be in building upwards or climbing the corporate ladder, or just looking to the future with hope and optimism. This can also be a good day for climbing ladders, flying in airplanes, launching rockets or missiles or investing, and all other things that will move you up the social ladder. Sun, Moon & Jupiter generally do well in the upward facing nakshatras: Rohini, Ardra, Pushya, U.Phalguni, U.Ashadha, Sravana, Dhanista, Satabishakha, U.Bhadra.

West: Things in the westerly direction can be auspicious for this nakshatra. It also trains for strength when placed in the western quadrant of the kundali.

Female Dog (pairs with Mula) 

The old phrase, “like a bitch in heat,” comes to mind: Ardra can be ardently passionate. And this goes for all Ardra natives. Of course this can be somewhat seasonal as well. 

She goes into heat 1 – 3 times per year beginning when she is about 6 months old (though this varies considerably by breed). In the proestrus stage, estrogen floods her body, her vulva swells and she releases a bloody vaginal discharge. She becomes increasingly restless, she plays “bow and show” submissive behavior toward males. As ovulation approaches, urination will increase along with licking the vulva; males will become even more attracted to her. She will stand to be sniffed by them but will crouch and growl if they try to mount her. As she moves to the estrus stage, courtship and mate selection will begin. It’s believed that she will be involved in some kind of selective process, but if there are no other males around she will take any that are offered to her. She typically selects a male from her pack or one she has known. However, during her first heat she will not let other pups from her litter sniff, lick or mount her unless he persists for more than 30 minutes. She won’t let unfamiliar males mount her. Typically a dominant female will mate with a dominant male, and the submissive ones will mate amongst themselves. 

Pre-mating behavior include seeking out males, barking & howling, restlessness and wandering off. By the time estrus begins she will have as many as eight males following her. Less time will be spent eating as she will be busy sniffing the male urine. If the males don’t seem interested she will eventually begin to rub up against them and eventually lift her tail and present her vulva to him, which typically gets their attention. While the male mounts, she will stand quietly with her tail to the side. Once the sperm is deposited she will try to get away from “the tie” by pulling or throwing the male off balance, twisting and turning and even rolling over (possibly due to clitoral stimulation). Excessive salivation is also common. If “the tie” doesn’t work she can get very sexually aggressive with the male. She may want to mate once or twice a day for 2 – 5 days. Since she can have multiple litters each year she is often either pregnant or caring for pups.

Gods & Symbols of Ardra

Rudra on parade in Varanasi for Shiva Rathri 2009.

Rudra: 

A fierce form of Shiva who is sometimes said to be the son of Bhumi (earth) & Svarga (heaven). He wears a garland of skulls, his body is covered in the ash from the cremation fires, and he wanders everywhere. He is often described as a powerful archer, a hunter, the lord of beast & storms. His name translates as the Howler. 

The vayus are his vehicle as he is like prana itself riding upon the forces of prana vayu (outward moving force), apana vayu (downward moving force), vyana vayu (spirals outward), samana vayu (spirals inward), udana vayu (upward rising force). And perhaps also naga, kurma, devdatta, krikalam dhananjaya. 

11 Rudras are often considered to relate with the five organs of action, the 5 organs of perception and the mind which controls the others. They can also refer to the 10 prana vayus plus the vital force of prana itself. The names of the 11 Rudra’s are: Nirriti, Shambu, Aparajita, Mrigravyadha, Kapardi, Dahana, Khara, Ahirabrodhya, Kapali, Pingala, Senani. 

It was Rudra who shot Prajapati in the thigh with an arrow to keep him from catching his daughter who he was lusting after. It was Rudra who chopped off Brahma’s head for lying and Ganesha’s head for opposing him at the gates of his own home, 

“I bow to you Rudra, who is terrible, eminent, and extremely strong; who is the highest Lord. The one who is ever unborn and whole and has the brightness of a million suns. The one who holds a trident in his hand; the weapon that uproots the bondage of the three gunas: sattva, rajas, tamas. I bow to you, the husband of Bhavani devi, who can be attained by devotion.” (from the Rudrashtakam) 

1 WHAT shall we sing to Rudra, strong, most bounteous, excellently wise, That shall be dearest to his heart?

2 That Aditi may grant the grace of Rudra to our folk, our kine, Our cattle and our progeny;

3 That Mitra and that Varuṇa, that Rudra may remember us, Yea, all the Gods with one accord.

4 To Rudra Lord of sacrifice, of hymns and balmy medicines, We pray for joy and health and strength.

5 He shines in splendour like the Sun, refulgent as bright gold is he, The good, the best among the Gods.

6 May he grant health into our steeds, wellbeing to our rams and ewes, To men, to women, and to kine.

7 O Soma, set thou upon us the glory of a hundred men, The great renown of mighty chiefs.

8 Let not malignities, nor those who trouble Soma, hinder us. Indu, give us a share of strength.

9 Soma! head, central point, love these; Soma! know these as serving thee, Children of thee Immortal, at the highest place of holy law.

HYMN CXIV. Rudra.

1. To the strong Rudra bring we these our songs of praise, to him the Lord of Heroes with the braided hair,
That it be well with all our cattle and our men, that in this village all be healthy and well-fed.
2 Be gracious unto us, O Rudra, bring us joy: thee, Lord of Heroes, thee with reverence will we serve.
Whatever health and strength our father Manu won by sacrifice may we, under thy guidance, gain.
3 By worship of the Gods may we, O Bounteous One, O Rudra, gain thy grace, Ruler of valiant men.
Come to our families, bringing them bliss: may we, whose heroes are uninjured, bring thee sacred gifts,
4 Hither we call for aid the wise, the wanderer, impetuous Rudra, perfecter of sacrifice.
May he repel from us the anger of the Gods: verily we desire his favourable grace.
5 Him with the braided hair we call with reverence down, the wild-boar of the sky, the red, the dazzling shape.
May he, his hand filled full of sovran medicines, grant us protection, shelter, and a home secure.
6 To him the Maruts’ Father is this hymn addressed, to strengthen Rudra’s might, a song more sweet than sweet.
Grant us, Immortal One, the food which mortals eat: be gracious unto me, my seed, my progeny.
7 O Rudra, harm not either great or small of us, harm not the growing boy, harm not the full-grown man.
Slay not a sire among us, slay no mother here, and to our own dear bodies, Rudra, do not harm.
8 Harm us not, Rudra, in our seed and progeny, harm us not in the living, nor in cows or steeds,
Slay not our heroes in the fury of thy wrath. Bringing oblations evermore we call to thee.
9 Even as a herdsman I have brought thee hymns of praise: O Father of the Maruts, give us happiness,
Blessed is thy most favouring benevolence, so, verily, do we desire thy saving help.
10 Far be thy dart that killeth men or cattle: thy bliss be with us, O thou Lord of Heroes.
Be gracious unto us, O God, and bless us, and then vouchsafe us doubly-strong protection.
11 We, seeking help, have spoken and adored him: may Rudra, girt by Maruts, hear our calling.
This prayer of ours may Varuṇa grant, and Mitra, and Aditi and Sindhu, Earth and Heaven.

Teardrop / Raindrop:

After Sati immolated herself and Shiva was raging around India with her body and crying, the tears that fell from his eyes for the Rudraksha trees. Tears cleans our anger, our sorrow and the plain in our hearts. Storms clean away what is dead and of no use while nourishing fresh growth.

Human head: 

The human head or a human skull has always been a symbol of our mortality. It’s also associated with the mind and the ego and silencing these two can be like copping-off our own head.The aghori baba of modern times are descendants of the Kapalikas (the “skull carriers”). Bhairava, the fierce form of shiva who chopped the heads off Brahman and Ganesha. Two separate stories have him separating Brahma from one of his heads. Once was for a conspiracy and lie shared with the Kataki flower about the limitations of lord Shiva, and the other time was to punish him for his sexual obsession with his own daughter. He famously took Ganesha’s head at their first meeting when Shiva returned from Kailasa to find the strange boy at the door of his own house guardian Shakti ma. Indra struck Trishras with his thunderbolt and had a wood cutter chop off his three heads. Samhara Kali holds a head in her left hand and wears a mala of human heads. Chinnamasta chops off her own head to feed her attendants. 

Diamond: 

Diamonds are very hard, sharp, cutting, & brilliant. Astrologically they are ruled over by Venus and they are said to help maintain relationship harmony, overcome weakness and control anger. Diamonds should only be purchased on Fridays when Venus is transiting Taurus, Libra or Pisces; never when Venus is in Virgo.

Early diamonds can only be cut with another diamond so it was very late before they were able to cut them into the beautiful specimens we see today. Despite their relative ugliness when uncut, they were determined to have magical properties. They are formed from an intense amount of heat and pressure and time. They used to believe that diamonds were formed from lightning striking stone. 

The demon Balasur defeated Indra and the gods, but due to a boon the gods were able to kill him tied to a stake as the sacrificial animal for their yajya. His arms became all the gems of the world and as the gods of so many realms fought over them, stole them and fled, the gems were scattered all over India. Indra was able to escape with the diamonds. Diamonds were set into the eyes of gods who were sculpted from stone.

Wearing a diamond brings relief from snakes, fire, poison, tigers and all kinds of enemies. A lovely refraction of light from a diamond blesses the wearer with wealth, food grain, and good children. Diamonds can even help a king conquer the world. But diamonds should not be worn by women as it will bring unhappiness and prevent them from having a son. 

The five favours are said to have come out of a diamond. Insanity could be prevented by folding a diamond loosely in the right hand. Holding it too tightly could cause seizures. Beneficial for stomach problems, depression, infections, memory loss, skin disease, & nightmares when placed in the appropriate location of the body. 


For Vedic Astrology Readings, follow this link. 

To learn more about Vedic Astrology & the Nakshatras, follow this link. 


Health

Top and back of the head

At the top and back of the brain are located the somatosensory cortex, the parietal lobe, and the occipital lobe. These areas of the brain have a lot to do with how we perceive the world and our place in it. 

    1. A) The Somatosensory Cortex processes all the bodily tactile sensations including touch, pressure, vibration, temperature, itches, tickles and pains. Three major functions are: 1) proprioception: awareness of position and movement of the body, 2) exteroception: awareness of things other than the body, and 3) interoception: sense of the internal state of the body. The Saiva yogi’s can see how this connects with the high state of awareness sought by these individuals. 
    2. B) The Parietal lobe gives you a sense of ‘me’. It figures out the messages you receive from the five senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. This part of the brain tells you what is part of the body and what is part of the outside world; not the body). It really conjures up the duality of gemini. The two main functions are to integrate sensory information to form our perception, and, by placing ourselves in the centre of a spatial coordinate system, to understand our place in the world. 

Damage to the parietal lobe may result in: “Gerstmann’s Syndrome,” right – left confusion, aphasia (difficulty writing), acalculia (difficulty with mathematics), anosognosia (deficient self awareness, they may not even be aware of a significant disability). More severe damage can cause Balint’s Syndrome where one is unable to control the gaze or integrate components of a visual scene. Damage on the left side affects verbal memory and the ability to recall strings of numbers. Damage on the right side can significantly alter a person’s personality. 

A couple simple tests for parietal lobe function are the Kimura Box test (apraxia) and the Two-point Discrimination test (somatosensory test: tests one ability to distinguish two separate points of touch on the skin. Should be able to distinguish 5mm apart)

  1. C) The Occipital Lobe interprets the information from our eyes and allows us to make sense out of it. Has some role in memory and basic conceptualization of the world around us. Facial recognition, familiarity of places and objects. When there is damage to the occipital lobe one may experience full or partial blindness, or some specific part of vision may be impaired (colour blindness, spatial relations ect). Anton’s Disease, they lose their vision without being aware of it and may not even accept proof if offered. Riddoch syndrome: they can only see moving objects. Stationary objects’ form and colour are not part of their perceptive field. Epilepsy relating to the occipital lobe usually involves occipital seizures, photosensitivity seizures. Flashes of light or a multiplicity of colour may trigger the seizure. 

Some less dramatic effects of occipital lobe damage are difficulty recognising everyday objects; trouble understanding basic colours, shapes, sizes; difficulty recognising familiar faces; difficulty balancing, moving or standing; changes in depth perception; difficulty detection moving objects; difficulty reading or writing due to trouble recognising the words. 

Dyslexia is partly related to both the parietal lobe is involved in word analysis and decoding, while the occipital lobe is related more to the ability to automatically access whole words and read skillfully and fluently. 

Tears: Three Types

    1. Basal tears: protein rich antibacterial tears that moisten and maintain the eye every time we blink. 
    2. Reflex tears: triggered by irritants (such as wind smoke or onions) to flush out the eye.
    3. Emotional tears: Accompanied by a release of endorphins and oxytocin which acts as a self soothing mechanism. The endorphins numb the body and the oxytocin gives us a feeling of calm, peace and security. Activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping us to relax. Not only this, it also serves as a “cry for help” to rally others to our aid. It also seems likely that crying helps to remove toxins and stress hormones from the body that also aids in stress reduction. 

This kind of crying happens when we feel some kind of emotional overload and we are unable to cope: joy, sadness, surprise, hope, whatever it is is just too much for us to process. So we break down and ask the world for connection; to come and save us; have pity on us; to hug us and tell us everything is gonna be ok. It triggers short term human bonding and social connection. Like a rallying cry calling all the troops to band together. (Ardra represents the rallying cry while Mula is the troops bound together.) Tears often neutralize aggression.

After a big storm everything stays heavy and soggy for a while, it takes some time for the renewal to begin and flowers to bloom again. The endorphins numb the emotion and awareness becomes heightened and typically the oxytocin would kick in to help us feel the calm security of acceptance and connection. But for Ardra, acceptance doesn’t last, it’s like letting a friend sleep on the couch after they had a fight with the wife. You become a part of the family and they welcome you with open arms…. But after the third day or the third time in a month then it’s time to move on. 

Those who never cry (or never cry out for help) are more isolated, withdrawn while feeling less connected to the world around them. They also typically experience more negative aggressive feelings, like rage, anger and disgust, then people who cry. Saturn is known to give particularly difficult results in Arda. 

Other physical or mental distinctions related to Ardra

In more common language, we often find Ardra people get attacked by the wind in some way, something can come along and fry their nervous system at any time, they are prone to other windy diseases like coughs, colds, asthma, TB, allergies (aberrations to the immune system), skin sensitivities, addictions, compulsions, and phobias. They are prone to addiction, fighting, violence, domestic abuse and other conditions that are common for poor or marginalized people. They are known for their blood shot: hangover, lack of sleep, pink eye, ganja, trauma lines. 

Several hormones related to desire, addiction, anger, and release are represented in Ardra. Dopamine is a key hormone in addictive behaviour. Endorphins are often released when we are in pain, fear, or intense moments. Their job is to numb the pain and it feels great. Oxytocin is ultimately what we crave, the feeling of connection, safety, security, comfort and acceptance. Adrenaline and norepinephrine relate with the fight or flight reactions but also act to increase the release experienced by sexual pleasure as it peaks just before ejaculation. Many people associate it with the pineal gland. There is also a cranial nerve that runs from the nasal region to the septal nucleus of the brain which is involved with the release of testosterone and Estrogen. It is involved with desire, sexual appetite. 

Ardra are typically addicted to the rush of endorphins typically followed by a crash. Sex, intense exercise, extreme sports, risk taking, and the various addictions all have their associated risks and threaten different parts of the body. 

Stars of Ardra: 

The bow and arms of Orion

Betelgeuse: The abode of Lord Shiva (Orion is the form he took to avenge Brahma’s daughter. 

Known as a red giant. Brightest star in the constellation Orion (10th brightest in the whole sky) and the largest of all the known stars; relatively cool as well. Means “shoulder of the giant.” It’s in the middle part of the constellation Orion. Having been ejected from Orion it’s moving at a speed of 30 km/sec. This creates a “bow shock” over 4 lightyears wide. It rotates fairly slowly.

Sirius: The “Dog Star”

Brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, which the Greeks considered to be the dog or the hunter Orion. It marks the dog days of summer between July 3 and August 11 when the sun rises with Sirius. He brings oppressive heat, drought, dryness to the land and to men. 

Tree of Ardra

Long-pepper: Piper Longum – Pipli

A flowering vine that is somewhat hotter than black pepper. Native of India. Grows all across the hotter parts of Northern India.

According to Ayurveda, its properties are pungent, very hot, sweet, light & piercing. It’s antibacterial, diuretic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, analgesic, carminative, expectorant, and thermogenic. It balances kapha and vata. It’s good for the respiratory system: chronic bronchitis, respiratory infections, asthma, cough and kapha complaints. It invigorates digestion and is used for stomach ache, constipation, diarrhea, cholera, chronic dysentery or worms, chronic malaria, and herpes. It slows blood clotting so not to be used in high amounts with bleeding disorders or two weeks before surgery. It has aphrodisiac and rejuvenating properties.

Some of the Ayurvedic formulas that use long pepper are: Kaas Har Churna, Digestion Support, Chandraprabha Vati, Kaishore Guggul, Mahashankh Vati

Agarwood / Eagle-wood: 

A fragrant, dark resinous wood prized for the aroma it gives off due to a mold that sometimes infects the heartwood of Aquilaria trees. The resin that builds up inside the tree dramatically increases in mass and density. Aquilaria trees are endangered; first grade agarwood is one of the most expensive raw materials in the world at $100 – $100 000/kg. Most aquilaria trees grow in North East India, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

The oil that is extracted is commonly known as Oud (or aguru) and is highly valued for its aphrodisiac properties as well as for its spiritual cultural value. It’s especially popular in Turkey and the Arab world these days. Oud oil can be distilled from agarwood using steam. 70kg of wood yields about 20ml of oil. 150 chemical compounds are found in it. 

The fragrance is “oriental-woody,” “very soft fruity floral,” the smoke has a hint of “sweet balsamic,” “shades of vanilla and musk,” and amber. Others describe it as the fat of the wood; a deep dark animalistic even manure-like odour, an “exhilarating and spiritually elevating” fragrance. Myths say that Oud is like a rebellious bachelor who begins flowering after he’s married. It’s said to be astringent & bitter. Writing material is still made of its bark in some places

The Vedas tell us that the eight sought after fragrances are: agarwood, turmeric, red and white sandalwood, saffron, camphor, cow spleen, musk (from the deers musk gland). 

Key Themes

Ardra people are hard, cutting, stormy, expansive, moist, wet, fresh, green living. They like to live in the jungle, the forest, surrounded by wilderness and wild animals; this could be the urban jungle. They won’t be comfortable with suburban life unless it gives them plenty of opportunity to walk on the wild side. They have very sharp animalistic instincts; all their senses are sharp; almost primitive. They will likely have strong tribal or group affiliations with Rahu characters: outcastes, criminals, shadowy, foreign and unusual people.

They like to be in nature, they often have pets or work with animals. Hunters, foragers, trappers, trainers, rodeo cowboys are often found with placements in Ardra. But any kind of job that offers field work: biologists, field engineers, weather experts, trekking guides, survivalists, storm chasers…. In the city it could make police officers (doing undercover or investigative work), social workers, medical response, or other humanistic work in areas where things can quickly get out of hand. They are often connected to the drug scene somehow. They like it when their animalistic instincts get triggered and seem to put themselves into some extreme and intense situations and they may be prone to addiction.. They might be adrenaline junkies, thrill seekers, provocateurs, who love to feel the rush of adrenaline and other intense hormones. 

Music and dance (especially trance or tribal) are usually important to Ardra people. They love instinctive physical body based behaviours; swaying, surging, gyrating, pulsating movement. They mesmerize others with seductive gestures and animal magnetism. They can draw people into walking the wild side. Their lifestyle typically keeps them very physically fit even if sometimes malnourished and they do not participate directly in any kind of exercise regime (though they often will). Their careers are often physically intensive and demand sharp instincts: manual labourers, dancers, acrobats, dare devils, always living on the edge. 

Ardra natives are often involved in things that are socially taboo. They tend to have a strong hunger for sex, drugs and rock’n’roll and will not hesitate to break the bounds of decency. They can be very provocative, wild, (self) destructive people: drug dealers, bartenders, cheats, thieves, or any kind of illicit sales or service. Poverty, rough living, and some kind of exploitation are common with this placement.

Tribalistic beliefs involving animal spirits like shamanism, tantra, Wicca, witchcraft or blood sacrifice can be practiced or taught here. Sex, drugs and alcohol can be used in a ritualistic way as well. They may practice some kind of touch healing, may administer drugs (or poisons) for healing purposes, such as homeopaths or allopaths, and they will often espouse some kind of tribal philosophy. They are sometimes found as teachers, instructors, counsellors or writers. As is common for all the Gemini placements, they often enjoy mental gymnastics, word games, card games, and strategy games. Ardra may also have an affinity for electricity, technology, science fiction and on-line gaming.

They are often not easy people to be around and they are known to be irritable, ungrateful troublemakers. They might be easily excited and easily carried away. They will take on any appearance to get what they want. They tend to lack sincerity; except intensity, their intensity is sincere. 

They need some kind of release. It’s imperative that they don’t try to restrain the beast. They need some outlet to lose themselves, to lose their mind. This nakshatra puts me in mind of the lady followers of Bacchus who would lose themselves in ecstasy, drink and dance. Not only that, but the whole thing was cloaked so that no man, no husband would know what they were up to. and since the ladies themselves were so inebriated, they could not themselves clearly remember what happened. Rahu’s ownership throws his dark smoky oily cloak over this person.

There is a sense not only of storms, but drafts, rough drafts, winds, that kind of unexpected windiness that seizes an epileptic. The chill you get walking through a cemetery at night or living on the cremation grounds. Ardra is the shiver that runs down your spine. He represents the loop-hole. He may allow his people to cheat death, but he will leave his mark mentally or physically. In a similar manner, they are likely to be “free-will” advocates who will in the end be forced to submit to a higher power (this also relates with them being represented by the female dog who might go out looking for it, but ultimately she has to submit). There can be a strong current or repentance, but this is likely to flow in circles rather than affecting any kind of meaningful change. They seek personal empowerment, but in some way God reminds them who is ultimately in control. 

Ardra can be deeply spiritual in a tribalistic way. Tantra is represented throughout, but aghori tantra, left hand path, sex tantra, black magic, dark devil worship, heterodox practices involving drugs, alcohol, sex, and other forbidden substances, ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, trance drumming or chanting, vision questing all come under the purview of Ardra. Many Ardra natives are left-handed or ambidextrous. 


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Planetary Rulers of Ardra

Shiva baba living jungly near the Narmada River, India.

Rahu: Overreaching, inconsistent, fascination, excitable, taboo, shadowy, smoky, oily, polluted, rotten, illusions. Opportunistic, privilege seeker, imposters, those who intensify passion and desire, agents-provocateur, charlatans, masters of smoke and oil, overly ambitious, head without a body, insatiable desires, fears, phobias, serpents, grandparents, unusual, boundary breaking, Technology, outside the box, Deformity. Friend of Jupiter, Venus, Saturn.Enemy of Sun, Moon, Mars. 

Mercury/Gemini: Twins, neighbourly, chatty, communicative, informative, messaging, changeable, multi-tasking, adaptable, curious, youthful, quick, arms, weapons, hands, shoulders, upper chest, the way we reach out to the world, hobbies, efforts, mentality, younger siblings, groups, teams, associations, meetings, commerce, reports, scheduling, planning, short travels, the commute, the neighbourhood, advertising, announcements, hand crafts, instruction, training, trade guilds, collaborators in conversation, hearing, self narrative, courage, valour, appetite, media productions, technical training, tool use

Gemini + Rahu:  Ambitious gestures, overreach, unusual messages, taboo communications, smoky, commercial business, irregular signals, ambitious self narrative, false courage, cloudy, oily places on the edge of town, outsiders, gypsy caravans, tribal affiliations, gives ambitious communication, smoke signals, double meanings. Almost always adversarial to elite power structures. 

The Rahu Mercury combination makes them good  improv storytellers; they may relate to the truth underlying myths better than they do to the history of facts. They are masters of the mixed message, the innuendo, the double entendre. It suggests crossed wires somewhere bringing confusion: dyslexia, epilepsy, nervous disorder, learning disorder, vision problems, colour blindness, left-handedness.

Pada’s of Ardra

Pada 1 (Gemini + Rahu + Sagittarius): Puts me in mind of another roadside attraction. Broad, open-minded people, travellers, global vision, teachers, intellectuals. They cloak their wisdom in humour. They will often take a stand on principle or for the underdog. 

Sun: George Orwell (1), Clarence Thomas (1), Johnny Gottselig (1), Kris Kristofferson (1), Meryl Streep (1), Carol Hemingway (1), Jean-Paul Sartre (1), Korean War (1). Moon: George Orwell (1), Boy George (1), Turkey (1), Frank Costello (1), Bhimrao Ambedkar (1). Mars: Wayne Gretzky (1), Derek Chauvin (1), Cicero (1), Warren Buffet (1), India (1). Mercury: Princess Diana (1), Harrison Ford (1), Conor McGregor (1), Johnny Gottselig (1) (Hockey player/coach). Venus: Hiroshima (1), Brett Hull (1), Martin Sheen (1), Steven Crowder (1), Barack Obama (1), King Carl Gustaf XVI (1), Dave Toschi (1), Mick Foley (1). Jupiter: Mario Lemieux (1), Patrick Roy (1), J Edgar Hoover (1), Emmanuel Macron (1). Saturn: Dave Chappelle (1), Rose McGowan (1). Rahu: Edward Smyth-Osbourn (1), Diane Keaton (1), Sandra Bullock (1), Marcel Proust (1), 9/11 (1), Brett Hull (1), Pope Benedict XVI (1), Courtney Love (1). Ketu: Bruce Willis (1), Jen Child Tofino (1), Robert Redford (1), Buddy Holly (1)

Pada 2 (Gemini + Rahu + Capricorn): unpolished, proud, perfect speakers, slow, sad, bereft of gods and teachers. They are subtle, enjoyers, hate people and handsome.

They will take the law into their own hands some way. They will go rogue. They almost always have a side job. Their main career might just be a front for the side job: the bartender who sells drugs, the labourer who uses the bosses tools for side jobs. As social workers or nurses they might cut corners to clear the red tape so they can help their clients. They can also be vigilantes, They are typically good at cutting corners and finding the legal loopholes allowing them to work as lawyers or social workers who support taking the law into one’s own hands. They can be good at arranging music or choreographing dance. Life can be an uphill battle as luck does not often seem to be on their side. 

Sun: WW I (2), Hermann Oberth (2). Moon: Pence (2), William of Cambridge (2), Almas (2), Kenny Rogers (2), Kurt Cobain (2). Mars: heavy drug or alcohol use. Aggressive use of arms and aggressive gestures that the purpose of which might not be clear. Provocateurs who seem to be acting against their own people. Sid Vicious (2), Sex Pistols (1), Brett Hull (2), Osama Bin Laden (2). Mercury: Natalie Portman (2). Venus: USA (2), Israel (2), Clarence Thomas (2), Edward Smyth-Osbourn (2) (NATO Commander), Natalie Partman (2), Dustin Hoffman (2), Elizabeth Hurley (2). Jupiter: Almas (2), Neil Armstrong (3), Jiddu Krishnamurti (2). Saturn: Eric Clapton (2), Tony Esposito (2), Mia Farrow (2). Rahu: Jawaharlal Nehru (2), Anne Hathaway (2), Nigel Farage (2), Tony Esposito (2). Ketu: Kris Kristofferson (2), Dave Chappelle (2), Cecil Edward Bingham (2) (WW I Commander), Rose McGowan (2), Arthus Schlesinger Jr (2), Steve Jobs (2), Denis Hopper (2), Anthony Kennedy (2)

Pada 3 (Gemini + Rahu + Aquarius): A vulgar nature but are well connected and often quite intelligent. They do well in technical fields, science, and research; working with electricity or similar systems. Regardless of how successful they might be they are still associated with the marginalized and labouring classes and will likely see many rises and falls in life as they can be unpredictable and often get in over their head. They tend to attract partners who are broad minded, creative and intelligent. The cheerful optimism they bring to Ardra’s life can be like a shining beacon of hope. Separations, break-ups and losses can be devastating. 

Sun: Princess Diana (3), Pamala Anderson (3), Joel Cran (3), Liv Tyler (3), Night of the Long Knives (3). Moon: Canada (3), Tom Waits (3), John D Rockefeller (3), Michael Jordan (3), Jian Ghomeshi (3), Stephen Wolfram (3) (mathematician), Sai Baba (3). Mars: William Burroughs (3), Shakespeare (3), John Calvin (3), Ingrid Bergman (3), Malcom X (3). Mercury: Steven Crowder (3), Trump (3), Angela Merkel (3), Paul Gauguin (3). Venus: Clint Eastwood (3), Napoleon Bonaparte (3), Josef Haller (3), Karl Wolff (3). Jupiter: Harrison Ford (3), USA (3), Jackie Robertson (3), Ramakrishna (3). Saturn: Michel Arth (3) (black magic child killer), Nikola Tesla (3), D.H. Lawrence (3), Lauren Haris (3) (Group of Seven Artist), Rajiv Gandhi (3), Bill Ayers (3) (Radical Communist). Rahu: Sai Baba (3), Hiroshima (3), Martin Heidegger (3). Ketu: Antonin Scalia (3), Adam Gorey (3), Al Capone (3), Stephanie Pierce (3), Valerie Solanas (3) (militant lesbian who killed Andy Warhol), Henry Ford II (3), Alice Bailey (3)

Pada 4 (Gemini + Rahu + Pisces): Pushkara Navamsha. Broad minded visionaries, intelligent, spiritual, seeking an independent path. Their talents go unrecognised by their own people so they find so foreign connections to help lift them up; otherwise they will spend their time alone and isolated. They retain a strong connection with the underdog and will go out of their way to support them against the odds.They have often been that underdog themselves. They are dreamers: their education is frequently disrupted, personal relationships bring much suffering. They could get involved with spirituality or healing work to help those less fortunate. Oftentimes they turn their attention to animals, street dogs, and the like.

Sun: Herman Hesse (4), Allysa Koch (4), Julian Assange (4), King Henry VIII (4), Canada (4). Moon: Willie Nelson (4), Dave Chappelle (4), Issac Newton (4). Mars: Mikhail Bakunin (4), Jean-Claude Van Damme (4), Jiddu Krishnamurti (4), Arther Schopenhauer (4), Robin Williams (4). Mercury: Boy George (4), Liv Tyler (4), Woody Harrelson (4). Venus: Jean-Paul Palomeros (4), Oonagh Shanley – Toffolo (4) (Princess Diana’s healer). Jupiter: Wyatt Earp (4), Marcel Proust (4), 9/11 (4), Rupert Murdoch (4), Angela Merkel (4), Ram Das (4), George Soros (4), William Shatner (4), Maidan Revolution Ukraine (4), Hannah Arendt (4) Robert Yeats (4) (Geologist working on earthquakes). Saturn: Robert Hand (4) (Astrologer), David Gilbert (4) (Radical Communist), Jacque Fresco (4) (Venus Project), Drew Barrymore (4) ,George Soros (4). Rahu: William of Cambridge (4), Michelle Obama (4), Brad Pitt (4), Calamity Jane (4), Thich That Hanh (4), Julius Caesar (4), Jeff Bezos (4), Otto Von Bismark (4), Michel Arth (4) (black magic child killer). Ketu: John F Kennedy (4) Shakespeare (4), Phil Donahue (4), Stephane Abrail (4)


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Planets in Ardra

Ascendant in Ardra

Bepin Behari General Indications: “There may be variations in physical structure, from the slim and short structure to fat and lengthy structure. You will undertake any work entrusted to you in a responsible manner. In the public meetings you will create an atmosphere of humour and keep everybody attracted to you. You will have intuitive perception. You may be a good psychologist Your dealings with friends and relatives will be very cordial. You may be thankless to the persons who have given you help. You may not have a constant type of behaviour. You have the capacity to acquire and keep knowledge of almost all subjects. However, in spite of these good qualities you cannot attain much fame or reward out of such knowledge. It is advisable that you must meditate regularly. If you do so, you can overcome the above inherent affliction. Since you may be overly sincere in work and to other persons, even the slightest problem which may be confronted could land you into mental agony. However, even during the time of extreme hardships both financial and mental, you can keep your head cool, and behave in a most respectable and attractive manner. Because of this quality, you will be very much involved in others hearts. You will not stick to one line of work you may enjoy working many different jobs at a time. Even when you come to know that the line of action or thought which you have taken is the correct approach, you will not hesitate to respect others if their opinions differ. In the case of research work on any particular line, you will be successful. In the business field you will attain much success. It has been noticed that most of the selfless social workers are born with the Moon under this star. You have the capacity to successfully undertake any number of jobs at a time. Complete perfection in all the fields can also be obtained. In the case of travel for a specific job, you will oversee other connected work which can be carried out simultaneously. Normally, you will earn your livelihood away from your home and family. In other words you may be settled in foreign places. The period between 32 years and 42 years of age will be the golden period for you. You may be employed in transport, shipping, communication departments or industries. You may also earn as a book-seller or finance broker. Your marriage may be delayed. In case marriage takes place early, you feel compelled to live separately from the family, either due to difference of opinion between the couple or due to other circumstances beyond your control. You may have to face several inherent problems of life. But you will not reflect your problems outwardly. When the marriage takes place at a late stage, your married life will be good. Your spouse will exercise full control over you. You may have some diseases which may be serious. You may be prone to asthma, dry cough, ear trouble.”

General Indications Shil-Ponde: “Handsome and dark, but with a weak, sensuous face. Has a good memory and moderate education. Is critical and somewhat deceitful.”

Shil-Ponde Male with Ardra Ascendant: “Corresponds with a healthy, robust body and nature. the attitude and outlook of this individual is entirely physical. Mental effort is foreign to him. He depends entirely on his muscles and his body to meet the demands of existence. Such being the case, labourers, professional athletes and other persons whose occupations are wholly physical may be found to have Ardra rising. Since such people are invariably exploited by those whose mental abilities are greater than theirs, it is extremely unlikely that they will be wealthy or even well-to-do. In fact, poverty is predominant among them.”

Shil-Ponde Female with Ardra Ascendant: “A critical fault-finding disposition is apparently conferred …Her disagreeable disposition, coupled with a sarcastic manner and speech, makes it difficult for other people to tolerate her. Although she is extremely clever in her conversation and many people will be impressed by her speech, while still disliking her. She is extravagant to the point of wastefulness, but on herself rather than on others, although at times she will be grudgingly generous to those with whom she comes in contact. She has weak lungs and should be careful of colds and coughs, as there is a tendency towards tuberculosis.”

B.V. Raman Gemini Rising: “They have a wavering mind. Fond of writing and reading they are ingenious and quick witted, vivacious and inconsistent, nervous and restless. They are tall, straight in stature and active in motion. Face well developed with a depression near the chin, a thin face, sanguine complexion, unusual height if malefics are there. The eyes are clear and the nose snub. They are weak but active. They are very active and tend to become expert in mechanical sciences. They may suffer from sudden nervous break-downs. They must be cautious when moving with the opposite sex. Their mind is often conscious of their own depravity. They are very clever and possess inherent conversational and literary ability. They are liable to fraud and deception. If ever planets are In Gemini, trickery and deceit will characterise their nature. They are best in occupations where there is much activity.”

Commentary: Regardless of their level of beauty these natives will have the ability to fascinate others. There is usually something both unusual and magnetic about them. Like the bad boy in high school that all the girls are attracted to even though he’s not very attractive. They are capable of being sexy, or pretty or ordinary; they can take on whatever role they think will get them what they want. But it’s usually going to be about what they want; they can’t stand to be controlled by others. The follow the law of the jungle whether it’s downtown, in the corporate office, or in nature away from civilisation and domesticity. Relationships typically suffer since what’s the point if you don’t really want to settle down. There might be excessive focus on the details. With every little detail in focus it can be beneficial for them to have a broader minded partner; someone who can help them see a little bit more of the world as well as the bigger picture generally.

Pada

Ascendant in Ardra Pada 1, Sagittarius Navamsha: Behari say these folks will be irritable.

Ascendant in Ardra Pada 2, Capricorn Navamsha: Behari say they might suffer lung [problems: bronchitis or asthma.

Ascendant in Ardra Pada 3, Aquarius Navamsha:

Ascendant in Ardra Pada 4, Pisces Navamsha: “Extravagant. You may experience disrupted education. You will acquire wealth through fair means. However, you may not enjoy a happy family life due mainly to the frequent disputes arising out of difference of opinion. You may find that your spouse resents your lack of attainment of a higher position in life.” — Behari

Celebrities with Ardra Ascendant

Hillary Clinton (1), Chyna (1), Madonna (1), Sidney Watson (1), Sonny Liston (4), Kurt Russell (1), Toby Keith (1),

King Francis I of France (2), Pope Paul VI (2), Dalai Lama XIV (2), Hugo Chavez (2),, Thomas Starzi (2), Gottfried Herder (2), David Phillips (Climatologist (2)), Andy Hug (2), Ben Underwood (blind, early death (2)), Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (2), Hannah Arendt (3?), Kate Moss (2), Whitney Houston (2), Guatemala Volcano 2018 (2), 

Ludwig Miles van Rohe (architect, interior designer (3)), Emil Lenz (physicist (3)), Sir Christopher Wren (Architect, mathematics, physics (3)), Ben Affleck (3), Alex Grey (3), Albert Speer (3), Waldemar Rosler (illustrator, painter, lithographer (3)), Rob Ford (3), Lee Harvey Oswald (3), Amy Purdy (2), Turkey (3),

Sex Pistols (4), Albert Einstein (4), Joseph Mengele (Dr Death: SS physician, experiments (4)), Michael Jordan (4), Steven SpielbergAA (4), Claud Monet (4), Jack Anderson (founder of modern investigative journalism (4)),

[Many charts have not been confirmed so ascendant and even Moon nakshatras may not be correct. There may be inconsistencies regarding the house placement of the planets as well. Use your own judgement. A healthy dose of scepticism should be applied to astrological data generally.]

Sun in Ardra 

They draw everyone’s attention to their wild nature. They’re proud of it and express themselves in a unique or unusual way. Their father may have been isolated, or at least partly faded into the background of life. These folks have this peculiar way of shining a light on everything that’s wrong with society; and these days we would probably call them conspiracy theorists because they do not tend to follow the mainstream.

The Sun is a bit uncomfortable In Gemini, a dual sigh, how do you find the truth in all those stories. And they might identify with the stories a bit too much and the thick dark cloud of Rahu will diminish and diffuse their light. But it’s also in these kinds of places that they will shine, when they can discover their authentic personal expression, which does not typically consider the accepted social codes in the area. In some ways they could be good at just being themselves due to their unusual antics. From another perspective they might suffer constant anxiety over not knowing what to do; and then often doing the wrong thing because of over thinking (especially if Mercury is involved). This is why they like it when things get a little wild and crazy and accountability declines. There’s no time to think and in some ways, as long as you make it out alive, it doesn’t matter how you do it; there is no wrong answer.

They like to walk on the wild side once in a while. The light they shine is a bit cloudy, they are usually full of energy, so we cannot say gloomy unless it has some Saturn influence as well. It’s like they are a bit ADHA as their attention shifts from one place to another and they just can’t quite focus. In some circumstances it may give them somewhat shifty eyes. Sun in Ardra can, however, be a diamond in the rough, they might have a fascination insight into certain things and like the Stromboli Volcano, incredible fascinating light.

Bepin Behari Sun in Gemini: “will send its message in intelligent language so that the Moon chart is activated and he begins to see the wisdom and reasonableness of what the soul of the individual want him to follow.”

Pada

Sun in Ardra Pada 1, Sagittarius Navamsha: This is the most fiery part of Ardra. Like all Ardras they express themselves in an intense way, but here we see the beads of sweat, bulging veins, red eyes, and tense muscles. Like a wold on the prowl. They are usually well traveled, humanistic, lone wolf kinda philosophers.

Sun in Ardra Pada 2, Capricorn Navamsha: There is definitely something behind all that smoke and fog. It’s interesting to find two geniuses of rocketry with the Sun here. But if they don’t attain this level they might work as mechanics, with auto-part, or the oil and gas industry or some other dirty way of making power.

Sun in Ardra Pada 3, Aquarius Navamsha: We find some very strong willed ladies with this placement. They mostly seem to get their power from the public, from their fans and from powerful friends. They are the wild ones that cannot be controlled or domesticated. These are probably the kinds of ladies who would have been hunted down for being witches and killed in the spirit of a wolf who has been eating the flocks. There is likely to be a lot of controversy surrounding them.

Sun in Ardra Pada 4, Pisces Navamsha: They will like to go away and be alone. They might have a special affinity for the ocean, boats and water. They can be a little bit dreamy. Their attention span is likely to be low as their mind wanders between this world and the next.

Celebrities with Sun in Ardra

Clarence Thomas (Supreme Court Judge (1)), Jean Charest (1), Friedrich Serturner (pharmacist, discovered morphine (1)), Jean-Paul Sartre (1), George Orwell (1), Kris Kristofferson (1), George Michael (1), Johnny Gottselig (1), Meryl Streep (1), Sydney Watson (1), Carol Hemingway (1), Lana Wachowski (transgender, sci-fi, gaming (1)), Oxford (1), Korean War (1), 

Elon Musk (2), Hermann Oberth (founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics (2)), Nicole van Kulmiz (2), Richard Rogers (2), Antoni Gaudi (architect, designer (2)), 

Mike Tyson (rape, boxing, sports entertainment (3)), Thomas Sowell (3), Hariprasad Chaurasia (3), Dan Ackroyd (3), Pierre Paul Broca (anthropology, brain anatomy (3)), Princess Diana (3), Pamala Anderson (3), Helen Keller (3), Liv Tyler (3), Treaty of Lancaster 1744 (3), Night of the Long Knives (3), 

Julian Assange (4), Haralabos Voulgaris (Gambler (4)), Jean Jacques Rousseau (4), Hermann Hesse (4), William Henry Bragg (4), Canada (4), Stromboli Volcano 2019 (4), ////29apr22///

Moon in Ardra 

(Moon in Ardra. Last updated 4 April 2023.)

The classics tell us that Ardra rules over murderers, animal catchers, liars, adulterers, thieves, rogues, creators of discord, cruel persons, charmers, sorcerers, those well versed in the art of raising goblins. The native will be a crafty speaker and have a wavering mind; he will be fickle and destitute, gaining wealth through theft and conducting many base activities. He will be without wealth and have few sons, but will be be long lived, and get money from the king or government. They will have a lot of physical strength, will be adventurous, skilful in trading, fierce, disloyal, ungrateful, perfidious, haughty, irascible, cruel and sinful. He will be interested in rituals related to Tantra. When Saturn transits Ardra trouble befalls the people of the Parata and Ramatha countries, “oil mongers”, washermen and dyers as well as thieves all suffer.

They have a stormy life full of destruction and sorrow. They feel outcaste and forgotten by their people, like nobody understands them. They can be very sensitive to changes in the atmosphere, the weather, their surrounding. Females can be particularly sensitive to irregular hormonal changes: hormone storms. They might feel like they have to wine and complain, break things and make a bunch of noise in order to get comfortable, secure and protected. This is not a particularly comfortable nakshatra for the Moon. Their mother may have ignored all their subtler signals when they were a baby so they learned to scream and cry to get mommas attention. They can easily turn to crime, theft and other criminal or immoral ways to make a statement. They will meet with a lot of devastation in life.

Bepin Behari Moon in Gemini: “activates the psyche towards finding a base for its own foundation. In ideas and opinions of others with agree with it’s own experiences, or in association with those thought currents which make the individual a little parochial, the individual psyche will feel restful and harmonised.”

Chamatkar Chintamani Moon in Gemini: “The native is tall, handsome, full of contradictions but business like, intellectual and artistic abilities, scientific pursuits, literary taste, humane, reserved, broad outlook. Aspect from the Sun give wit, wealth, generosity, reputation, prosperity. Aspect from Mars makes him strong, affluent and learned. Aspect from Mercury brings success in business and industry, optimistic and capable. Jupiter’s aspect denotes a teacher of shastras, handsome and reputed. With aspect from Venus the native enjoys the pleasure of a comely partner, jewellery, precious stones and conveyance, Aspect from Saturn makes him unpopular and without friends or his own family.”

Pada

Moon in Ardra Pada 1, Sagittarius Navamsha: Puts me in mind of another roadside attraction. Broad, open-minded people, travellers, global vision, teachers, intellectuals. They cloak their wisdom in humour. They will often take a stand on principle or for the underdog.

Moon in Ardra Pada 2, Capricorn Navamsha: They will take the law into their own hands some way. They will go rogue or become vigilantes. They almost always have a side job and what seems to be their main career might be just a front for the side job: the bartender who sells drugs or the labourer who uses the bosses tools for side jobs. As social workers or nurses they might cut corners to clear the red tape so they can help their clients. They are typically good at cutting corners and finding the legal loopholes allowing them to work as lawyers or social workers who support taking the law into one’s own hands. They can be good at arranging music or choreographing dance. Life can be an uphill battle as luck does not often seem to be on their side.

Moon in Ardra Pada 3, Aquarius Navamsha: A vulgar nature but are well connected and often quite intelligent. They do well in technical fields, science, and research; working with electricity or similar systems. Regardless of how successful they might be they are still associated with the marginalised and labouring classes and will likely see many rises and falls in life as they can be unpredictable and often get in over their head. They tend to attract partners who are broad minded, creative and intelligent. The cheerful optimism they bring to Ardra’s life can be like a shining beacon of hope. Separations, break-ups and losses can be devastating.

Moon in Ardra Pada 4, Pisces Navamsha: Broad minded visionaries, intelligent, spiritual, seeking an independent path. Their talents go unrecognised by their own people so they find so foreign connections to help lift them up; otherwise they will spend their time alone and isolated. They retain a strong connection with the underdog and will go out of their way to support them against the odds. They have often been that underdog themselves. They are dreamers: their education is frequently disrupted, personal relationships bring much suffering. They could get involved with spirituality or healing work to help those less fortunate. Oftentimes they turn their attention to animals, street dogs, and the like.

Celebrities with Moon in Ardra

Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysics, pop. Science (1)), George Orwell (novelist 1984 (1)), George Nguyen Van Loc (police inspector, writer, actor (1)), Boy George O’Dowd (1), Jian Ghomeshi (drummer, radio host, podcast (1)), Virgin Mary (1), Jesseca Simpson (1), Olivia-Newton John (1), Dominic Monaghan (1), Turkey (1), 

William of Cambridge (2), Pence (2), Bhimrao Ambedkar (jurist, economist, social reformer (2)), Stephen Wolfram  (mathematician (2)), Kenny Rogers (2), Kurt Cobain (2), Henry David Thoreau (2), John A. Alonzo (director of photography (2)), Amy Purdy (2), Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (2),

Canada (3), Franklin D. Roosevelt (3), John D. Rockefeller (Founder of Standard Oil (3)), Proclus (3), Isaac Newton (3), Cecil John Rhodes (3), John Stuart Mill (3), Sai Baba (3), Tom Waits (3), John Candy (3), Richard E. Byrd (3), 

Willie Nelson (4), Dave Chappelle (4), Joseph Conrad (4), Francisco de Goya (4), Edoardo Mangiarotti (Fencing (4)), Bernard Prevost (police chief (4)), Elvis Stoijko (4), Aubrey Drake Graham (child actor & hip hop (4)),  Loni Anderson (4), Nat Albright (),Farrah Fawcett (), Sidney Gottlieb (), Aubrey Drake Graham (), Leonard Nimoy (),  Province of Quebec (),  Ted Williams (), Princess Beatrice of York (),Edwardo Mangiarotti (),  ///

Mars in Ardra 

They will move like a beast, they will use covert and unusual means to attack. They may disguise themselves to cross-borders. They can be very aggressive and will stand up and fight for what they believe in. They usually know how to use a gun, but perhaps they have chosen fire juggling instead; and more broadly speaking they find an unusual use of fire and steel. This is not a great position for Mars though because Ardra is too humid; Mars and Sun both just add heat to the humidity. They might use their body to make smoke signals. Some of the hockey players on the list would use fake moves to outwit the defence. Their action might be at odds with their intent. Or perhaps what they are doing is not actually what it looks like. Heavy drug or alcohol use. Aggressive use of arms and aggressive gestures the purpose of which might not be clear. Provocateurs who seem to be acting against their own people.

Celebrities with Mars in Ardra

Cicero (1), Pope Benedict XVI (1), Margareth del velle Bellorin Casique (1), Warren Buffett (1), Wayne Gretzky (1), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1), Travis Barker (1), Derek Chauvin (police & military (1)),  Jose Feliciano (blind guitare vocals (1)), Tara Reade (1), Reece Witherspoon (1), Mary Ann Polly Seguin (1), India (1), Sex Pistols (1), 

Karl von Habsburg (2), Pope Pius VII (2), Osama Bin Laden (2), Sid Vicious (2), Noam Chomsky (2), Brett Hull (hockey (2)), John McAfee (anti-virus computer programer (2)), William Godwin (Utilitarianism, anarchism, journalist (2)), Wim Hof (Ice Man (2)), Katie Bouman Computer engineer (2)), Penelope Cruz (2), Titanic Sinking (2), 

Shivaji (3), T.K.V. Desikachar (Yoga Guru (3)), Shakespeare (Theatre, playwright (3)), William Burroughs (3), V.S. Naipaul (writer (3)), Martin Flack (3), Malcolm X (3), H.G. Wells (3), Paula Yates (3), Ingrid Bergman (3), Deni Montana Harrelson (3), 

Meghan Markle Duchess of Sussex (4), Melinda Gates (4), Jiddu Krishnamurti (4), Arthur Schopenhauer (4), Mikhail Bakunin (4), Alfred Elton van Vogt (4), Jean Claude Van Damme (4), Robin Williams (4), Oscar Romeo (4), Manhattan (4), Jean-Claude Van Damme (4), Teenage Runaway (3),  USA (),///29apr22/// Dave Franco (1), Victoria Justice (3),  /

Mercury in Ardra

Communication about chaotic events, rogues, plots. Unscripted speeches, media communications. Reality TV.  There will be some kind of life narrative of things getting out of hand. Good position for surveillance and security, therapeutics dealing with post traumatic stress disorders or the ardent paparazzi. They will have really wild stories and take time to analyse and study unusual and violent events. They are usually good with their hands and may be able to perform some “sleight of hand” tricks, card tricks, and other various circus or parlour games.]

Celebrities with Mercury in Ardra

Clarence Thomas (Supreme Court Judge (1)), Wilber Cohen (social science architect of the welfare state (1)), Antoni Gaudi (architect, designer (1)), Henry David Thoreau (1), Harrison Ford (1), Toby Keith (1), Phineas P. Gage (1), Connor McGregor (1), Johnny Gottselig (Hockey player/coach (1)), Aung San Suu Kyi (1), Princess Diana (1), Emma Goldman (anarchist (1)), Melissa Ethridge (1), 

Peter the Great of Russia (2), Donald Sutherland (2), Tom Hanks (2), Eric Douglas (2), Natalie Portman (2), Treaty of Lancaster 1744, (2),

Donald Trump (3), Jean Charest (3), Gustav Klimt (fine artist (3)), Rembrandt (fine artist (3)), Paul Gauguin (fine artist (3)), Cat Stevens (3), Michael J. Fox (actor (3)), Bear Grills (3), Steven Crowder (Change my Mind (3)), Machine Gun Kelly (mob killer (3)), Frank Abbandando (mob killer (3)), Angela Merkel (3), Lupe Valez (3), Isabella Rosselini (3), 

Saint John of the Cross (4), Count Zeppelin (4), Felix von Luckner (4), Vin Diesel (4), John Goodman (4), Woody Harrelson (4?), Jian Ghomeshi (drummer, radio host, podcast (4)), Boy George O’Dowd (4), Alice Bailey (4), Liv Tyler (4), Lana Wachowski (transgender, sci-fi, gaming (4)),,/29apr22///


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Jupiter in Ardra

“Compassion refers to the arising in the heart of the desire to relieve the suffering of all beings.” — Ram Das

Jupiter in Ardra has a very independent, free spirit and will fight for the weak, marginalised, animals and nature. Wilderness and wildlife will almost always bring joy and hope. May be a kind of activist making a lot of noise about something they believe in. Will experience many storms and intense moments in life as they are asked to surrender to the forces that are beyond our control. Lots of moisture or emotional expression, fear, anger, sorrow, tears, renewal and reunions; Rudra emotions; lots of stormy weather, scattered. They can be a little disorganised, scattered and over-extended as they try to do too much for everyone This and their spontaneity might get in the way of actually completing projects. Their focus on all the little details can cause them to miss the bigger picture (though many other factors can easily alter this). The can be good at making money through commercial enterprise forging good relationships with almost everyone. They tend to put forward a lot of effort to get what they want and they believe in the power of the individual initiative.

“The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can’t be organised or regulated. It isn’t true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to your own truth.”  — Ram Das

Many have very good knowledge of modern technology, coded signals, hand held devices, online skills dealing with a lot of information, messaging and social media. Jupiter in Mercury can generally bring finger dexterity, and wise touch. Ardra might give electrical surges. Lots of collaboration and group work, friends and acquaintances. Jupiter in Ardra can be good for a busy executive with lots of different meetings, appointments, reports, documentation. They tend to know a little bit about everything, often without knowing a lot about any one thing. Good for news anchor or social media personality, printing, publishing, writing, scripting, book-making, media generally, photography, handcrafts and many hobbies. Always up to something new, and meeting new people. They are very chatty and talkative. Broad scope of humanistic messages, but Jupiter doesn’t always go very deep since Gemini is very surface level, but they may have good knowledge of the Jungle. A lot of short trips, commuting between one place and another. They are curious and they usually come to know their neighbourhood quite well, they like to go off trail.

“Being in love, rather than giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability. Being in love means seeing the beloved all around me.” (Seems to allude to Brahma who kept growing heads so he could see his beloved in every direction.). — Ram Das

This is typically a favourable placement for children and spouse; especially for a good husband in a woman’s chart; though it’s likely that she will see more than one marriage. Husband figure is likely to be disheveled, intense, unusual and possibly uncivilised somehow; especially when Jupiter is in the 3rd pada which gets debilitated in the Navamsha. Open relationships are usually better for these natives as they are almost too friendly, flirty and touchy with almost everyone, which of course, can challenge most any relationship. Their signals can be broad, permissive and easily misunderstood; they’re usually really touchy-feely-huggy types. This kind of wandering nature can have a negative effect on personal relationships as their partner may not feel they are anything special since one gives off such nice vibe to everyone. Too much of a social butterfly and too much spontaneity for long-term responsibilities which can effect their career life as well. They will always want to go off and experience something new Their independence is very important to them.

“The miracle that saves the world, the realm of human affairs, from its normal, “natural” ruin is ultimately the fact of natality, in which the faculty of action is ontologically rooted. It is, in other words, the birth of new men and the new beginning, the action they are capable of by virtue of being born.” — Hannah Arendt

Guru and father figures: may have a tribal background or come from a marginalised community. They typically follow some kind of Shaivism, natural law, or even law of the jungle. Natives with this placement will likely change their beliefs several times in their life, their principles may be inconsistently applied and their life philosophy somewhat incoherent. They try to be politically correct (progressive?). And can be culturally relativistic and polymorphic as a result. This is very much Brahma checking out his own daughter, relationships with professors or older men. Older men may go for much younger women. Children may run wild or have some Ardra type debilitation; the same goes for a woman’s husband. If Rahu is involved in any way, these Jupiter figures may just be way too wild.

Jupiter in Ardra

Pada

Jupiter in Ardra Pada 2, Capricorn Navamsha: Debilitation pada. Their hopes can be especially misplaced here. The suffer from bad advice. Husband may be especially disheveled and unusual, but good working relationship is possible. There may be difficulties bearing children, but this placement is ultimately favourable to give at least one child.

Jupiter in Ardra Pada 4, Pisces Navamsha: Might get a good guru, high social prestige later in life. Publication of books or textbooks

“Suffering is part of our training program to become wise.” “The next message you need is always right where you are.” “Everything in life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it!” — Ram Das

“Shooting at a man who is returning the compliment means going into action with the greatest speed of which a man’s muscles are capable, but mentally unflustered by an urge to hurry or the need for complicated nervous and muscular actions which trick shooting involves.” — Wyatt Earp

“You called down the thunder, well now you’ve got it.” — Wyatt Earp, “Tombstone”

“The more a man knows, the more he forgives.” ”I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good lord will forgive me: that’s his.” “You philosophers are lucky men. You write on paper and paper is patient. Unfortunate Empress that I am, I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.” — Catherine the Great

“That even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination might well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over the time span that was given to them.” — Hannah Arendt

Celebrities with Jupiter in Ardra

John Edgar Hoover (Founded FBI (1)), Nelson Mandela (Lawyer; 1st post-apartheid president (1)), Emmanuel Macron (1), King Henry VIII of England (1), Thomas Sowell (1), Robert H. Goddard (1), Mario Lemieux? (1), Patrick Roy (1), Lisa Edelstein (1),

William the Conqueror (2), Stonewall Jackson (2), Catherine the Great (2), Jiddu Krishnamurti (2), Neil Armstrong (2), Phillip Drinker (iron lung inventor (2)), Gert-Heinrich Wollheim (2), Emma Watson (2), Electress Maria Anna of Bavaria (2), 

Captain James Cook (3), Leopold Brezhnev (Soviet Leader, metallurgy (3)), Harrison Ford (3), Jackie Robinson (3), Swami Lakshman Joo (3), Ramakrishna Paramahansa (3), Edoardo Mangiarotti (Fencing (3)), Diane Hegarty (3), USA (3), 

Mikhail Gorbachev (4), Jacques Parizeau (economist, Quebec separatist (4)), Rupert Murdoch (4), AOC (4), Hannah Arendt (4), Ram Das (4), William Shatner (4), Leonard Nimoy (4), Sean Connery (4), Marcel Proust (4), Jerry Garcia (4), Mike Tyson (rape, boxing, sports entertainment (4)), Wyatt Earp (4), Leon Festinger (psychology, cognitive dissonance (4)), Angela Merkel (4), 9/11 (4), Maidan Revolution Ukraine (4), ///2may22///

Venus in Ardra

They all love the image of the lone wolf. They have a love for the unusual. They are often a one man show, or perhaps they merely project such an image: tough and wild. They usually value the wilderness and wild animals and seek some kind of compromise with it. They might love hunting, tracking, the thrill of the case and they might like to role play with their partners. Or maybe it’s just them who like to play the “wild-man” role. Men will often have a wife on the wild-side, and both sexes may seek dangerous methods to gain pleasure. They might get off on adrenaline to such a degree as to seem suicidal. They will choose to dissent or stand alone based on their values rather than compromise.

May follow a law of the jungle kind of diplomacy. Agreements are likely to veil their real purpose thought they are likely to be sincere about peace. This might be their side of the story anyways: peacemaker, but it will never be the whole story.

Many athletes fighters, wrestlers, boxers and military people have this Venus. They love being in the jungle, the urban jungle or the forested one. The thrill of danger, or not knowing, the smokiness of Rahu. Of course this can involves drugs and the thick oily haze of a good hit. This may just be ganja but with additional affliction this Venus could develop a tase for “Brown Sugar,” heroin.

Celebrities with Venus in Ardra

Oxford (1), Hiroshima (1), Barack Obama (1), Herbert Reeves (astrophysics (1)), Pierre Paul Broca (anthropology, brain anatomy (1)), Bennett Cerf (1), O.J. Simpson (football, abusive, criminal (1)), Mick Foley (1), Dave Toschi (1), Lance Alworth (1), Brett Hull (1), Steven Crowder (Change my Mind (1)), Aldous Huxley (1), Fred Vargas (1), Martin Sheen (1), Barbara Bush (1), Alice Monroe (1), Loni Anderson (1), Helen Keller (1), 

Clarence Thomas (Supreme Court Judge (2)), Edward Smyth-Osbourn (NATO Commander (2)), Sugar Ray Leonard (2), Francois-Henri Pinault (2), Bobby Hatfield (2), Bob Saget (2), Dustin Hoffman (2), Daniel Negreanu (poker (2)), Natalie Portman (2), Elizabeth Hurley (2), USA (2), Israel Independence (2), 

Yi Sun-Sin (3), Napoleon Bonaparte (3), Jozef Haller (3), Karl Wolff (3), Hulk Hogan (3), Clint Eastwood (3), Robert Hook (3), Kerri Barton (3), Ben Affleck (3), Terry Fox (3), Melinda Gates (3), 

Jean Paul Palomeros (4), Steve Forbes (4), Leonardo del Vecchio (4), V.S. Naipaul (4), Jerry Garcia (4), Dan Ackroyd (4), Steve Martin (4), Komilla Sutton (4), Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo (Princess Diana’s healer (4)),Homer Simpson (1), Francois-Hanri Pinault (2),

Saturn in Ardra

Not good for the eldest brother. Some kind of obsessive compulsive behaviour is common. This can be a pretty brutal placement. This Saturn can give a feeling of responsibility for animals or animalistic behaviour and wilderness. It suggests dementia in old age, possibly a mad scientist figure. They may be afraid of boogie men waiting to jump out from every shadow. They will likely belong to some kind of extremist group, somewhat dangerous fringe group, forbidden sex organisation, religious cult, black magic, militia, or gang, They will work closely with the wildlife wether human or animal. The wild animal inside of themselves may be repressed or held back (though Mars, Rahu or Ketu influence can release it with explosive, toxic, or deadly results. You could say that they take it upon themselves to be Rudra in defence of the innocent, of course such a role also involves the 12 years of penance that Rudra Aghore Bhairava had to complete.

When Ketu influences Saturn in Ardra, he brings in a sense of randomness and an apathy for the jungle. They can be good at mantra or repetition that brings trance. They typically practice and train the same movements over and over again. They can be good at meditation and spend much time alone. They are more akin to a survivalist than a yogi but they might be very good at using the body. They will typically use hard work and effort to get what they want, but what they want might not be possible so they have to keep up the pressure and resort to cruelty or deceit. This is very much the lone wolf whose responsibility and commitments might never be known; a ghost.

On the other hand, it’s a combination that, in an otherwise “civilised chart,” can cause a person to suddenly get lost in the wilderness, take a wrong turn downtown and end up in the wrong neighbourhood, or perhaps they have a whole period of life where they had taken a wrong turn. Likewise, wildlife might just show up at the door, criminals might come out of nowhere. There may be fear of the dark.

Celebrities with Saturn in Ardra

Orson Wells (1), Joseph Lister (1), Ludwig Miles van Rohe (architect, interior designer (1)), Jack Parsons (Rocket Engineer (1)), Dave Chappelle (comedian (1)), Leila Arcieri (model, actress, natural sweetener (1)), Rose McGowan (1), Penelope Cruz (1), 

Tony Esposito (2), Rod Stewart (music entertainer (2)), Eric Clapton (musician (2)), Bob Marley (musician, rastafarian (2)), Bear Grills (2), Tom Selleck (actor (2)), George Floyd (street crime, drugs, killed by cop (2)), Mia Farrow (2), Pamela Aden (2), Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (2), 

Swami Paramananda Saraswati (3), Rajiv Gandhi (3), Nikola Tesla (3), Heinrich Hertz (3), Michael Arth (black magic child killer (3)), Niels Bohr (3), Bill Ayers (Radical Communist (3)), Lawren Haris (Group of Seven Artist (3)), D.H. Lawrence (writer (3)), Barry White (music entertainer (3)), Pricilla Presley (3), Christine Chubbuck (news reporter (3)), Molly Ivins (journalism (3)), 

Aung San Suu Kyi (4), Carvello Creighton (4), Pattabhi Jois (Yoga Guru (4)), Jacque Fresco (Venus Project (4)), David Gilbert (Radical Communist (4)), David Phillips (Climatologist (3)), Satoshi Nakamoto (4), Evan MacKay (4), Louis Sullivan (4), Robert Hand (4), Glenn Ford (4), Tommy Blake (4), Daniel Negreanu (poker (4)), Drew Barrymore (4), Amber Frey (killer (4)), Jean Eugene Atget (3), ///

Saturn Ardra 1st house (Saturn rules 8th & 9th):

They are associated with some kind of social revolution. They represent the underrepresented and seek change for the masses. They espouse innovative revolutionary theories. These people are often tall, dark and mysterious. They may not maintain their health or appearance. DH Lawrence became known as the “Savage Pilgrim” in the later part of life. They tend to make a lot of enemies and experience persecution. They are themselves the underdog; the whipping boy. They are hard workers capable of enduring hardship. They are usually working class or farm labourers. Jacques Fresco also has this placement. Although both of these fellows had to face great hardship in life, Mercury’s strong placement in both cases kept them from the obscurity one would expect from such difficult circumstances. Fresco’s exchange between Mercury and Saturn has given him the wisdom of numbers in order to come up with an economic theory to help those less fortunate. 

Saturn in Ardra 3rd house (Saturn rules 10th & 11th):

We can usually see third house placements fairly clearly in a person since it relates to their personal narrative. They are usually a wild child, shameless mentality and will sink to any depth to get what they want. They might engineer a killer storm or some kind or commotion that quickly gets out of hand. There can be an autistic effect with this placement, somewhat antisocial or stunted in their ability to deal with the public. Their communication often comes across as harsh, cruel and out of place. Working and hobbies involving technology, communications, media, electricity, messaging, signalling. Nerve damage in the upper spine affecting the arms cannot be ruled out here either. They could be a butcher, someone working with dangerous implements. This position has a negative effect on the elder brother who may get caught up in some kind of storm and killed and the native with this placement may live feeling some guilt for the event. One’s own achievements are likely to be attributed to another (though one might also kick up a storm over this. Might be known for their cold stormy mentality, especially when they don’t get what they want. 

Saturn in Ardra 6th house (Saturn rules 1st & 2nd):

Close connections with pets and animals. In service to those who have no mind either from drugs or mental illness. With ketu they can get into some really dirty service to the least fortunate without being attached to it. They are no virtue signaller in this topic, they get in there and do the work without attachment to the outcome. 

Saturn in Ardra 8th (Saturn rules 3rd & 4th)

This is more difficult for us to see because of the secretive nature of the 8th house it’s unlikely to be talked about or acknowledged; however we can usually intuit it. This placement can bring a a lot of guilt about sex as they seek to restrain their urge for guilty pleasures. Sex might also accompany some kind of chaos. They have a lot of fear of the unknown. They often have some belief in black magic and can easily be fooled by sorcerers and witches. They will face many hard storms. One of the parents, caretakers or elders is likely to be brutal and there is a good opportunity for a gangland or junky lifestyle. If this 8th house, Saturn gets an aspect from Mars or Rahu, they could become criminally dangerous. Ketu randomised everything so god only knows what these folks get into, it could be intense, or they might merely be accident prone or randomly self destructive. On the other hand, they might be completely incapable of understanding their own responsibility and inherently incapable of fulfilling their commitments. 

Saturn in Ardra 10th house (Saturn rules 5th & 6th):

Leader of thieves or criminals. May work in the wilderness hunting, fishing, training, providing unusual, taboo or criminal services. They typically spend a lot of their time alone in isolation for their work and way of life. They can be especially libertarian and Rahu influence can easily lead to criminality as they take the law into their own hands. 

Rahu in Ardra

Rahu is exalted in Ardra. They can be masters of disguise and deception. They can be great actors, even in normal life. Their messages and signals seems to be sincere but they often are not; tears can most especially be used to their advantage. They might themselves be the one most deceived. They can do very well on social media and messaging apps; hand held technology can be especially attractive to these people.  They might proscribe to a kind of disaster capitalism; they seek advantage in the storm; whenever there is a pause in the normal order of things or laws are suspended. They will be attracted to the strange, the odd, the underdog, the most unusual and exotic. They are capable of making intense effort to get things done and they often keep very busy. They can be especially selfish without thinking beyond the needs of their own kind, the group, the team or the tribal affiliations. But it’s also likely that some of these associates will let them down. They may put these Ardra outcasts on a pedestal only to have their illusions shattered. If Ketu is in Mula, they might be oblivious to the chaos that might be caused around them or the broader effects of their actions.


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Celebrities with Rahu in Ardra

Pope Benedict XVI (1), Edward Smyth-Osbourn (1), Marcel Proust (1), Neil Young (1), Orville Wright (1), Brett Hull (1), Goldie Hawn (1), Sandra Bullock (1), Courtney Love (1), Diane Keaton (1), Melinda Gates (1),

Jawaharlal Nehru (2), Nigel Farage (2), Coenraad Jacob Temminck (zoologist, museum director (2)), John McAfee (anti-virus computer programer (2)), Johann Sebastian Bach (2), Don McLean (guitar, singer (2)), Tony Esposito (2), Russell Crow (2), Sidney Poitier (2), Jose Feliciano (blind guitar vocals (2)), Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (2), Alison Brie (2), Anne Hathaway (2), 

Martin Heidegger (3), Christiaan Huygens (mathematics, physics, engineer (3)), Steve Martin (3), Antoni Gaudi (architect, designer (3)), William Wakefield Baum (Cardinal, ‘The ministry of reconciliation” (3)), George Fredrich Handel (3), Juliette Binoche (3), Aung San Suu Kyi (3), Pricilla Presley (3), Loni Anderson (3), Indonesia Volcano 1815 (most powerful in 10 000 years (3)), Hiroshima (3), 

Otto Von Bismarck (4), Julius Caesar (4), William of Cambridge (4), Saint Francis Assisi?? (4), Thich Nhat Hanh (4), Abraham Maslow (4), Jeff Bezos (Amazon (4)), Ibram X Kendi (4), Michael Arth (black magic child killer (4)), Brad Pitt (4), Gordon Downie (4), Nicolas Cage (4), James Boswell (4), Michelle Obama (lawyer, author, 1st lady (4)), Calamity Jane (4), Ann Coulter (4), Pamela Aden (4), Mariska Hargitay (Law And Order Special Victims Detective (4)), 9/11 (1), Sai Baba (3),

Ketu in Ardra

Impropriety knows no limits. They take it for granted that life is a wild jungle and they will certainly have some ghosts in the closet. In some ways Ardra is like the junk drawer; the only thing that holds Ardra folk together is that they don’t belong anywhere else. Since Rahu and Ketu always work together there is a good chance that Rahu will be stealing the show with the chaotic consequences while the Ardra instigator along with all the details are buried in the myst. It’s hard to know who these people really are because of all the inconsistencies in their story. And a wild tale it is certain to be. You could say that they can grow numb to the lying, cheating and backbiting that goes on all around them.

The thing is, Ketu doesn’t like being in Rahu’s nakshatra. It’s not even that he doesn’t like it, he just doesn’t care about it and, well, when you’re in the Jungle of Ardra, you better pay attention, you should care. Especially in first house they can become quite dishevelled. Isambard Kingdom Brunel tried to make trains that moved by air. It sounds quite interesting using negative pressure. Several of these natives died from bullet wounds and several other with lung problems like pneumonia. It could be that this Ketu can effect the lungs, the pleura.

When we consider the environment of Ardra we get a lot of noise and a lot of smoke, but these guys are numb to it. Many of them were very successful military commanders. One can only imagine the wild chaotic atmosphere of the smoke and explosive sound of shells being fired or whizzing by their heads. They will likely see people close them dying young, Air travel doesn’t seem to be advisable. Rudra is said to ride the winds

One of the saving graces of this Ketu is that they seem to be born into a wealthy family. They can be a bit like the lone wolf mixing an mingling with so many different people, but none of them rally get close. Even closeness might not be the problem, but there will be no glue. They can have little twitches so they seem to be giving some kind of signal, but it might just be a twitch.

Ketu in Ardra Pada 1, Sagittarius Navamsha: We might take note that Indira Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, Oscar Romeo, with this Ketu met an early demise from an assassins bullet. Buddy Holly also died in a mysterious plane crash.

Celebrities with Ketu in Ardra

Indira Gandhi (1), John F. Kennedy (1), John Stuart Mill (1), Isambard Kingdom Brunel (steam, transportation & steel. Died age 56 (1)), Robert Wadlow (8 ft 11 in; 439 lbs. (1)), Bill Ash (wrestling & boot making (1)), Ernest Hemingway survived 2 plane crashes, died for suicide (1)), Bruce Willis (1), Robert Redford (1), Buddy Holly (1), Sexual Abuse #3 (1),

Nicolas Sarkozy (2), Cecil Edward Bingham (WW I Commander(2)), Arthur Schlesinger Jr (2), Anthony Kennedy (2), Steve Jobs (2), Shakespeare (2), Denis Hopper (2), Kris Kristofferson (2), Denzel Washington (2), Kevin Costner (2), Dave Chappelle (2), Rose McGowan (2), Yves Saint Laurent (2), 

King Louis XIV of France (3), Jesus (3), Antonin Scalia (3), Henry Ford II (3), Al Capone (3), Erich Kastner (3), Mac Miller (Rapper, fentanyl death (3), Sachin Tendulkar (3), Thomas Wolsey (Died age 57. Adviser to King Henry VIII (3)), Ben Underwood (blind, early death (3)), Molly Sims (3), Helen Keller (deaf & blind since childhood (3)), Alice Bailey (3), Sexual Abuse #6 (3), Valerie Solanas (militant lesbian who killed Andy Warhol(3)), 

Stephane Abrial (NATO Commander (4)), Yi Sun-Sin (Naval Commander (4)), Pierre Paul Broca (physician (4)), Carl H. Brans (Mathematical physicist (4)), Phil Donahue (4), Larry Page (computer scientist. Co-founder of Google (4)), Dan Ackroyd (4), Oscar Romeo (Assassinated (4)), Burt Reynolds (4), Dean Martin (4), 



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Out of Bounds

Boundary issues are everywhere. How we define our boundaries is one thing; how we defend them is quite another. In this modern age we are seeking to break the boundaries that keep us from living in space. In this world, we find all kind of political turmoil over national boundaries, border disputes, and of course Trump’s Wall. The movement of people displaced by violence has the whole world questioning their cultural boundaries.

Those of us on a spiritual path (a healing path) also have to face this question of boundaries as we work with our students and teachers; and most importantly, with ourselves. Every social interaction faces this question of boundaries.

We typically think of strong boundaries as way to keep people from getting in, but they keep us from getting out. The boundary we put up defines the relationship we have with the other.

As Yogis we are often coached to look in the space between two things. We often call this space “the relationship,” but we could just as easily call it the boundary. I have my boundaries and you have your boundaries; the type and quality of relationship we have depends on how open or closed our boundaries are, as well as on how we approach or cross each other boundaries and the behaviour we exhibit once someone lets us in.

When we speak of boundaries in the healing community we typically use words and phrases like “surrender,” “let go,” “let yourself be vulnerable,” “be open to what the universe has to give;” in other words: “drop all your boundaries!”

From the other side we are told that we are boundless, we should forget everything we think we know and just follow our heart. There is often the assumption that acting like an idiot is acceptable if we are following our hearts (or “living in the moment” as we say). Since it was the divine voice of God commanded, go forth and act like an idiot, we expect to be absolved of personal responsibility.

Modern Tantra is especially vocal about dropping boundaries and the beauty of living spontaneously. It’s also known to be very dangerous since the mix of openness and spontaneity on one persons part is an opportunity for the other to conquer new territory unimpeded and later say that is way given to me them.

This is how the CIA and George Soros “make democracy” and spheres of influence and ultimately destroy countries, cultures and peoples lives. Even when they are preaching peace, love and belonging they are really only looking out for themselves.

It’s not so different from the toxic addictions that seem to alleviate our suffering but really only cast us more deeply into it.

We hear similar stories of toxic healers, Yogis and others who use their position and their skill to drop peoples boundaries so that they can manipulate them for their own benefit.

Manipulation is an ugly word, but it’s not the problem. We stay alive thru this manipulation. Just think of the baby screaming to make momma change the diaper or give some food. That’s emotional manipulation at its finest. The problem is when one acts for their own benefit without consideration or concern for how it will truly affect the other.

Manipulation is just an ugly way of talking about the diplomacy and negotiation that is on going between people and our numerous light bodies; each with their own boundaries and border controls. These boundaries maybe undergoing subtle changes moment to moment; person to person. Mostly we don’t notice this going on, it all happens fairly naturally and most people respect each other’s boundaries. But of course it’s not a perfect world.

Most of us are still fighting battles with this world, blaming others, pointing always at the other as a source of our misery when it’s our personal patterns, habits, mental narratives, and expectations that are the root causes of our suffering. All of these little things build up and define our boundaries.

Boundaries in themselves are not bad. Healthy boundaries actually empower us; it’s the unhealthy, unconscious, unrealistic boundaries that cause problems in our lives that leads us to seek healing.

Almost every human what’s more from life somehow. We want to expand our boundaries to include more land (more material prosperity), as well as our emotional boundaries to feel more vividly this life, and spiritual boundaries to feel more connected to the universe.

The key to such expansion is awareness. First we have to be aware of who we are. This will take us towards our innermost core. It’s a journey that takes us thru the fields of numerous personal identities. As we stare out the train window we see so many selves passing by: I am this, I am that, this I am, I am until we get to that “I” without a second.

After we have merged with the ultimate (or gone as deep as we can) we come back to a personal identity which has been reborn from a spiritual seed. Every breath cycle is an opportunity to realize such merger with the absolute followed by the rebirth of the individual.

Both sides of this coin represent truth, beauty and an expression of the divine. This is why Tantra says that liberation (moksha) is not a separate matter from enjoyment. Our enjoyment should be liberating in itself and liberation itself should be enjoyable. This does not mean decadent. It means that we want all parts of our universal self to enjoy equally. It means that nothing is isolated.

This is where boundaries get tricky. If the truth is that I am one with the universe; completely unbound then any harm at all that I cause to any part of nature will cause direct harm to myself. This is a spiritual truth suggest a greater degree of personal responsibility rather than the sort of careless way we treat objects and that are easily replaceable.

Such a grand sense of spiritual wonder actually suggest that we respect the boundaries between ourselves and the other to an even greater degree, as a way of respecting ourselves.

When we objectify our external experience, we typically see ourselves in this same way. We typically find some version of the conflicted mental narrative that sets man against nature. This boundary is an illusion and sows the seeds of war, pollution and toxicity. This war has been unleashed against the women of society as much as against Mother Nature herself.

Part 2

Truth and reality represent a similar energy applies to different experiences. You could say that both are representative of the absolute. Truth is The expression of transcendental experience and reality is an expression of immanent experience.

To experience transcendence we must realize ourselves as without boundaries. To experience reality we must realize the individual experience that necessarily occurs within the boundaries of time and space; the individual soul, the human body and the body of nature.

We need to know ourselves both ways: we are timeless, but we have also chosen to experience time by thru various limitations.

Being aware of different ways that we perceive time will help us to understand our limitations and who we are in this life and what is our path.

The linear experience of time allows us to logically understand our life: where we came from and where we are going. This allows us to make sense of our experience, and set expectations. When our expectations are too high we find much disappointment; when they are too low, we sabotage our own growth. We should work hard to find the balance in this so that what happens in the future in pretty much what we expect. This sort of time we experience in short duration. Today I have one story about who I am and tomorrow that story has changed, even just a little bit. The experience of time on this level is not absolute truth, but it should be more or less in accord with reality. This works thru our short term. This is one way of knowing the self.

We also experience time thru timeless emotional impressions. This is just the opposite of the mundane stories we are constantly changing and revising and telling ourselves in order to understand reality. These emotional impression have a very strong influence on our linear understanding of ourselves but the impression is often from a different time, maybe a different life-time. Mostly we recognize this thru our subtle gestures we make with our body (the way we hold ourselves) as well as thru the emotional boundaries and defensive (or offensive) strategies that shapes the story of who we are (linear time).

This is where much most deep transformative healing arts work. We seek to tap into that timeless side of ourselves to find the impressions affecting our present life that are holding us back or are simply inappropriate in some way. Typically it’s merely an inappropriate response to some particular subject. Physically we feel it as allergy; emotionally we feel it as trauma. In either case, the reaction is disproportionate with action; the trigger.

This kind of healing is very delicate since to access this memory with awareness and direct intention we need to drop all our guards despite the feeling of impending threat. We need to do this in a safe environment where there is no actual threat. One needs to follow a deep sense of trust and have that trust reinforced.

Just talking or thinking about a traumatic memory will take us into the past, and despite being no actual stimulus being present the nervous system along with the endocrine system will react to trigger some kind of inappropriate stress response (which brings all of our resources to defend against an enemy from another time).

Talking about these traumas and sharing stories, understanding it all as a part of our story is necessary, but as things fade into the past, we also have to be open to changing the story of who we are. It’s not that we lie, but for simple understanding a single traumatic event is lumped into a broader time frame in life thru which we faced learned from the trauma.

When fire burns us it does no good to try to put our every fire. We learn to place certain boundaries between fire and ourselves so that we can still enjoy the warmth and light of fire without getting burnt.

Many people actually find their life paths thru their traumas by turning them into wisdom. This is transformation; turning poison into nectar.

We also experience time thru change. This is where we measure time and our boundaries are measured by resources: life force, energy levels, moods, physical form, the seasons and all these thing we can see changing from day to day; year to year. We might even measure this time by how for we’ve walked or how much we’ve completed. If we are following our life path, we are typically comfortable here as we focus and meditate thru our work. If we love what we won’t actually think of the time here; we will only see time when we look back at the change or are considering some future actions.

A very important concept of time actually combines our awareness of change with a kind of timelessness that we cannot imagine. When we recognize that we are connected to a whole lineage of universal archetypes going back to some unimaginable beginning of time and stretching into some unimaginable future. Here, we find ourselves repeating the the same archetypical patters expressing themselves in a new time and place. Though this sense of time is eternal here, we are capable of making a plan to change the future. This is where we understand ourselves in our connection with the whole. This is our dharma, our truth, our path in life; that path we have be on since the beginning of time; our universal purpose and how we employ that in society.

This is where we need meditation, silence, deep relaxation and contemplation because nobody can tell us who we are or what is our purpose; we can only feel it and know it for ourselves.

This bring me to the final concept it time. Present time; just being here and now. For this we have to be capable of dropping all other concepts of time. We have to have great trust in God in nature. No thought of the past or the future perfectly at peace until some spontaneous activity is provoked. To reach this state we have to know who we are, what our purpose is and have the necessary skills and health to complete our destiny.

We are beings bound by time. By understanding our place in time and how each concept of time binds is in a different way forming different relationships with each other we can then begin a focused course in self realization that will allow us to empower us with healthy boundaries rather than victimizing us they our subconscious patterns.

Prana: The Most Essential Quality

What is Prana-Vayu?

We should distinguish between “prana” and the “prana-vayus.” “Prana” is life force; the “prana-vayus” describes the way that prana moves in the body. Prana is life force or vital essence; the vayus are the winds. Yogi’s seek to draw panic life force into the body  and retain it; using it only for achieving the goal of union with god. The Ayurvedic perspectives seeks to keep the channels open and the energy moving. Of course there is a lot of overlap between these two projects; but the difference is notable. Prana is movement so Ayurveda considers the way things move. Most of our physical life force is maintained through intake of food, water, and air. In other ways we get power for praise or accomplishment, overcoming challenges, winning competitions, and sacrifice when properly carried out. We can gather a kind of false prana thru insincere praise, unearned advancement, pretentious sacrifice and any number of ways including using drugs or alcohol and other addictive and temporary “uppers.” These kinds of pranic increases are short and can be fatal in the end.

Prana represents the two elements space & air. It can be incredibly fickle. Yoga teachers talk about inhaling or increasing prana, but few warn about the dangers of unnecessarily leaking our prana out all over the place as we promote our “spiritual practice” and pretentiously signal our virtues. The Buddhist Diamond Sutra warns about seeking merit through mercurous deeds; merit or life force is only increased when the good deed in spontaneous.

The prana vayus are said to move between the heavens and the earth. The vayus are the vehicle of lord Rudra and his Maruts. This is why we visualise the movement of breath from heart centre to the 12 finger space above the head.

Ayurveda offers us five prana vayus which we can also use as visualisation tools for meditation. We can become very sensitive and aware of the body by practicing visualisation along with our pranayama.

5  Prana Vayus: 

    1. Prana: Represented by the Sun. Rules over respiration and sensory perception. It’s produced in the chest or heart. It typically moves inward and upward. Prana is emission, like when we exhale, our vital force goes out through our breath. When we use our senses energy is used to illuminate the world much like the Sun illuminates the world. If we look at a pretty girl we give energy to her and lose a bit of our own. If we listen to gossip we waste our energy. Whenever we project our thoughts or words or actions into the world we lose energy. When we turn all our awareness inward we illuminate the heavens and are gifted with true energy.

Pranayama is one of the best ways of building our life force. Pranayama can be understood in different ways. Some say that it’s prana + ayama and others say it’s prana + yama. On one hand pranayama brings life, power and vitality to the body and the senses; on the other hand, we can practice pranayama in order to still the senses and slow all the vital functions to preserve energy and ultimately ride the breath to heaven leaving the duality of earthly existence behind, (Incidentally, it seems there must also be some connection with pranayama and Bharani nakshatra since it is ruled by Yama.) Prana brings warmth and movement to whatever is inert, lifeless and dead. Yama drains the live force and makes things inert, motionless and dead. The senses do not reach out for satisfaction, they become motionless as we life without desire or attachment. We become dead as individuals or distinct beings, and we come alive to universal flow and consciousness.

When we exhale prana, that life force which was given to us by god, reaches out to the world through our senses to colour and flavour the objects with whatever flavour we might crave; whatever we have inside of ourselves at the moment reaches out to the world to create a counterpart. When we inhale and bring back all of that sensory material we generally forget that we have just created it, so we react. We forget that we always get back what we give. As long as we have forgotten this fundamental rule we will suffer from our karma; once we learn it, life becomes a spontaneous play whatever might be your circumstances.

“The vital breath is essentially a state of consciousness which manifests as the movement of two breaths; prana and apana (exhale and inhale).”

This is a major theme of Tantra: that one thing appears to be two separate things; or, as is the case in waking life, as a multiplicity of distinct objects. As we look at things more and more closely and understand them for their subtleties rather than accepting them at face value, they begin to merge together as though they were never separate. As it says in the Stanzas on Vibration:

“Whatever else may exist apart from you, if subjected to sound reflection, simply disappears like the fables palace of celestial musicians and you alone, changeless remain….” Stanza 10 goes on to say that , “then the soul realises that his true nature (dharma) is universal agency and perceiving subjectivity, and so he knows and does whatever he desires.”  ~Stanzas on Vibration~

In yoga we often talk about the body, mind and soul. We can think of this as three worlds or three layers of our being. The prana lives in the intermediate region of the mind, in our highest intelligence, but prana moves between heaven and earth; the soul and the body; the subject and the object. It’s through the prana vayus that we are connected with everything. Vayu is Air and Ether, which allows it to pervade and move between all 36 tattva. Tantra associates the prana vayu with the right pingala nadi.

The prana vayus are known as the vehicle of Rudra, an ancient name for lord Shiva that means “the Howler.” Rudra is known as the “Lord of Beasts.” He is often associated with the 11 Maruts which signifies his rulership of the mind and the 10 indriyas (5 sensory and 5 motor functions). Rudra and the Maruts are said to ride upon the vayu.

Prana is the expression of our life force which penetrates the world and forever leaves our mark upon it (which will come back to us again through the 5 fold cycle of the vayus). Prana also represents what we give to the world. It’s said that people who belong to traditional cultures will begin a deep breath with an exhalation whereas modern people are much more likely to inhale straight away when told to take a deep breath. It’s the difference between giving to the world first before expecting rewards, and asking for the world to give to you before you’ll give anything to the world. The second modern perspective is, of course, an unhealthy aberration.

  1. Apaana: Represented by the Moon. In Ayurveda it’s the downward movement that aids in urination and elimination. Tantra associates apaana with the left Ida nadi channel of the kundalini. 
  2. Samaana: They call it the equinox; “the equalising breath.” Ayurveda describes the movements as spinning inward towards a centre point. This is the energy of digestion, assimilation and meditation. It purifies things to their essence. Most of this activity takes place in the navel region and it’s related to the element of fire. It’s said that in the waking and dream state, prana-apana is active, however in states of deep-sleep samaana balances the inhalation and exhalation. 
  3. Udaana: The Ascending breath. This is the central channel; the sushumna. This is the upwards rising force. Most of its action takes place in the head (though others include all the extremities of the body. According to Ayurveda, it also moves outwards to produce speech and any kind of coordinated activity, including that of the five senses. 
  4. Vyaana: Expands in all directions radiating outward from the navel Often considered the nadis energy system similar to the meridians of Chinese Medicine that provide nutrients and energy to the whole body. This is a windy airy quality to it and some say that it doesn’t live in any particular place in the body, but rather pervades every part. This is the most etheric of the Vayus. 

To this list should be mentioned the other five vayu’s for the sense of mystery evoked by them since they seemed to have been forgotten by history other than a few esoteric mentions. 1.Naga: releases energy that is stuck by causing us to burp, vomit, hiccup… 2. Kurma: related with winking and blinking. 3. Krikala: induces sneezing to clear the blockages in the respiratory system. 4. Devdatta: yawning. 5. Dhananjaya: regulates the opening and closing of the heart valves and controls the fragmentation of a body after death.

Prana Vayu: the most essential function

Once upon a time all of the organs and functions of the body got into a debate about who was most essential. Many were praising the way the skeletal system gave shape and standing to the body, or how the blood carries nutrients to maintain the body, others marvelled the how the heart pumped blood and how the lung found it’s own way to pump air, then prana-vayu came along and everyone silent, for they knew that without the warmth of prana and the movement of the vayus that all life would stop. The hearth would not beat, the blood would pool and go stagnant, and the breath stops; the body becomes cold and inert.

Shiva: the most essential

Once upon a time, the Gods entered into a timeless argument over who was most powerful and essential for the functioning of life and this universe. Shiva happened to be moving about rather than sitting peacefully upon the peak of Mount Kailash. Something always seemed to be happening whenever Shiva was moving about. Then Shiva came across this childish argument and sought to quell it by simply pointing out that none were as powerful as him and they should all just go home and forget this pettiness. Of course some of the big gods who were standing around took offence to this, namely Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver. To their protests, Shiva merely revealed his true form as a mystical shaft (lingam) of light (jyoti) and said, “see if you can find where I end.”

The two who remained standing laughed at the challenge and quickly set off in opposite directions to find Shiva’s loose ends and bring the argument to a close. Truth is that because of Shiva’s filthy appearance, they would all be happy to bring his pride down a notch or two. But after eons searching through the vastness of Shiva’s light they finally decided to meet back in Kashi where it all began. When they got here, Vishnu immediately fell to his feet to offer his most respectful pranam to Shiva. But Brahma, who, despite his capacity for creation, has no eye for consequences, lied and said that he had found an end. It was just over the horizon not so far and it had only taken so long to return because he had decided to rest there for a while and fell asleep. Brahma had meanwhile made a deal with the Ketaki flower to tell a lie about finding the end of Shiva.

Almost nothing enrages Shiva more than arrogance, false pride, egoism and lies; so from this instigation (or was it a deliberate provocation) all of Shiva’s most fearsome aspects rose to the surface and with an upsurge of impulse he took the form of Bhairava and chopped off one of Brahma’s five heads. The greatest crimes in India are those that go against pure knowledge and wisdom; they call this killing a Brahmin. Even the Gods are subject to karma so this fierce Bhairava form of Shiva became Aghore and took up the skull and walked to four corners of India as a form of tapashia and renunciation of his life. This is the version of Shiva most emulated by modern naga babas and Aghores: naked, fearsome to behold, covered in the ashes of the funeral pyre from the cremation grounds where they often make their home. Every part of his external image brings fear and revulsion. But if we take the time to get to know a true aghore we will get to know and overcome our own fears. For that’s the social role of the Aghore, to show us that this is the worst it can get; this is our greatest fear; but actually, it’s not so bad.

After 12 years of wandering like this, Bhairava returned to Kashi, and not far from the train station washed himself in a small pond. All of his impurities (malas) dropped away, along with the skull which had been his companion for the past 12 years. He once again brought balance to the three gunas within himself, overcoming their excess and deficiencies, freeing himself from the wheel of time and the cycle of cause and effect. In short, even the most fearsome evil was able to overcome the inner turmoil of self and social recrimination and realise himself as that same light of the universe that is in all things without distinction of good or bad or any of the other opposites.

 

The Ground of Yoga: Why is yoga different from everything else we do?

The Foundation of Yoga

What is the ground of Yoga? What is it that makes yoga unique and special setting it apart from all the other activities we perform on the course of the day or throughout our lives?

According to Patanjali, Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.

yoga cittavrtti nirodaha

Thru tradition we are advises to ground ourselves in our practice in a similar way.

Om shree ganesha namaha

Any kind of spiritual exercise begins with supplication to Ganesha, famous as the remover of obstacles, and our mind being the biggest obstacle to spiritual realization. The little rat (rodent) he uses as a vehicle is always chewing like the mind. You’ll also see his image or some symbol relating to him at the entrance ways of temples and some homes.

 

A fairly famous way of opening into a spiritual practice like yoga and meditation goes like this:

Om shree ganesha namaha

Om aparvitro pavitrova sharva vashtang

gato o piva yashmaret pundari

kaksham asavantra suchii

Om madhai namaha

Om keshai namaha

Om Rishikeshai namaha

Om pundari kakshan punatu x 3

Om apsarpantu te bhuta, ye bhuta bhuvi sanshitas

ye bhuta vignakartarste nashyantu

Shiva jnana

Om namaha shivaya

After supplicating Ganesha, it goes on to purify the body internally and externally thru supplication to Vishnu the great preserver and operator of the three gunas within the main trinity of gods at the level of Ishwara. After the purification rights (pundari kakshan punatu), we insist that ghosts, latent desires (apsar) and mental impressions of the past be banished from disturbing us from our practice. This will happen by reaching the level of Shiva knowledge (Shivajnana); universal consciousness. So from this we want to practice from a ground of Shiva consciousness.

As we continue our contemplation of the earth tattva, we have to remember that Shiva descended as far as earth and then stopped. He could have descended further, he can do as he likes, thus they say, he likes earth the best. Shiva descends to the most impure gross dense point of earth before making the ascension back thru the tattva.

In this regards, I think of all these people who ask about past lives and such things. If we consider the tattva of tantra, the individual soul exists below the maya tattva, so even our soul is subject to time and the rest, which allows for linear progression and thus past lives. Time, of course takes on a different dimension relative to the birth and death of that soul so when we think about past lives we need to consider that that soul too will make a complete cycle from purity to impurity to purity once again. Such a realization might be the Sankya ideal of kaivalaya for the duality is still there, but Tantra advises to press on beyond the knots, otherwise known as the universal womb, that separate us from from the supreme consciousness, which is the realization of the non-difference between the universal and the individual: moksha; liberation in this life. Patanjali’s yoga cittavrttinirodha is both the the definition of yoga and the means to stopping the fluctuations. We stop (nirodha) the fluctuations (vrtti) of the mind (chitta) by bringing them together in union (yoga). You could say that the project of yoga is to harmonize the mental fluctuations; the cittavrtti.

Going back to the original question of this article, what makes yoga unique. Yoga shares many similarities to creative projects like dance and the arts which also seek a kind of harmony between the artist and the mythical spirits which moves his hand to draw of feet to dance. But there is a subtle. Of course, one could make arguments for dancers at the highest levels reaching a kind of samadhi; but this says little stress, tension and competition that mark the a climb. The truth is that dance very typically has numerous undesirable side effects related to vata and pitta excess and diminished kapha. This is the exact opposite of what yoga is trying to do: cool, calm, lubricate and nourish the body and ultimately the universe. Harmony is something we seek on all levels, but only when we act for something far greater than ourselves or our limited sphere of perception to we strive for yogic perfection: balanced body, balanced mind, balanced spirit.

Sankya will take you to a firm notion of duality, while Vedanta will soften that sense of duality with the Brahman, but will maintain some sense of maya, while Buddhism is said to take you to the void, Tantra is said to carry us beyond the void to the very source of the arising, sustenance, falling away of every mental impression, experience, and the whole universe. I suppose you could say that dance will allow one to harmonize with some few others, Sankya will aid in harmonizing with most others, but only Tantra seeks harmony with the entire universe.

Freedom

I found predictive astrology while I was searching for freedom. As I came to better understand the limits to my freedom it just made sense that astrology would work. I was fortunate to have Sanjay close to give a demonstration and then, of course, to guide and teach me this fascinating science. There is nothing mystical about astrology except this view by even the most rational western scientists that it is indeed mystical. Science is observation and hypothesis for the purpose of prediction; astrology is no different. This is also how I came to astrology: I made a hypothesis that it should work, I tested this with Sanjay’s astrological knowledge, and now I am also capable of using astrological calculations myself for prediction – anyone who took the time to learn Astrology could too.

But astrology only shows how we are limited; it does not shoe us how be free. In regards to the tattva (the elements of existence), astrology represents the lower thirty one from kala to earth. This represents all of manifest existence within the realm of duality. In modern terms, this would include everything that is ruled by the natural laws of physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics and the rest. All this change and diversity we experience is a result of these natural laws.

According to materialist philosophy, this is all there is. And regarding most orthodox spiritual paths which take the tattva into account, this divisioin represents the separation of God and Man; spirit and matter.

Tantra takes us further. And truth be told, even the Upanishades take us deeper though it’s rarely discussed. Beyond the tattvas of material existence are the tattvas which connect us to divinity. But we should be clear that the lower tattva are not in any way disconnected from the divine. ALL OF THIS is the Brahman. “I am Shiva; I am all of this.” Nothing is really separate from the Brahmin. All of this matter, all of this activity that we carry out is all the activity of Brahmin.

The duality is not a true duality, but only apparent duality. It seems to be that way because the limited body provides a limited perspective, but if we take the time we can learn to view the world in a more expansive, holistic, inclusive way. (It might be more correct to say that we can unlearn this world of division that we have become so accustomed to).

What does Tantra teach?

I often refer to Tantra as the Science of Freedom. This is not a hedonistic sort of freedom as practiced by the neo-tantrics (India has it’s own version of materialistic hedonism called Charvak). The freedom we can gain thru Tantra is directly related to the level of personal responsibility we are prepared to take.

The only value that is really taught in Tantra is a deep love and respect for material existence. If we consider that everything arises from within, this becomes a quest for self love; the world is merely a reflection of what we have inside.

That we are Shiva and this world is merely Shiva’s play is a fairly famous concept. But this universal Shiva nature that is dancing creation, maintenance, and destruction is not dancing in this world but upon the stage of our inner selves. It’s not others who are watching the play but our own senses who are the spectators. This is clearly stated in the Siva Sutras.

Why is Tantra the science of freedom? Because it empowers us to take command of our lives and follow what is in our hearts rather than merely reacting to what the world throws at us. We can either be bound by material existence, or we can be set free by it. This may be the only real choice we ever face. Every moment the choice must be made again. Are we free humans capable of directing our own fate, or are we bound pashus (no different from a draft animal yoked to the plough)?

To be empowered thru Tantra does not make one the slave master profiting from the ignorance of others. Love is never greedy and selfish; love is giving and accepting. If Tantra could be measured, we would be advised to look at how much one is capable of giving rather than the modern measure of success which is accumulation.

As we begin to discover some kind of spiritual truth, the only fitting response is worship of that great Lord from whose body the entire universe arises, is sustained and then falls away. Only by grace will our own Shiva nature will be revealed.

So, we can be bound like a draft animal or we can be lord of the universe. If we wish to be lord of the universe we only have to give up the farm; give up everything we have in this life to worship and we will achieve the whole world.

Shiva is free; just as we are free. There is no bargain going on. Shiva is not bound by any agreement; Shiva is not bound by anything. This means that there is no one thing that can be done to coerce his grace to fall upon us. Shiva reveals and conceals out of freedom of the will. He needs no reason to reveal and he needs no reason to conceal.

This is the great play of Lord Shiva.

Om namah shivaya

 

Tantra Series: Part I: What is Tantra?

 

For most of the past 10 years I’ve been searching for an answer to the question: What is Tantra?

How does one write about a secret without spoiling the whole thing? It’s nothing! It’s everything! It’s the yin of the yang. It’s the inner reality beyond the five senses. Tanta is intuitive and emotional. The heart is an infamous symbol of Tantra. Tantra is the mystery of a mystery.

To say someone knows Tantra suggests only that they know a mystery; and how much can anyone know a mystery? Tantra is the secret of a secret: ones own hidden knowledge and hidden potential, which, once released to the light and shared with others looses some of it’s power and potency. Everything about Tantra is subtle. Tantra is often portrayed as a dark goddess who can be the epitome of a woman scorned. Tantra teaches us that all of our relationships are about give and take; nothing comes for free. If we want something from Tantra then we will surely have to give something up. If we do not give appropriate gift, Tantra will make us pay in her own way. Everything can be seen in this light of relationships and it’s that power of our relationships with things that Tantra seeks to harness. Things in themselves have no power and it’s the strength of our relationship with things that allows us to harness their power. This is why Osho can say that the measure of our spiritual progress can be seen in the quality of our relationships.

Tantra is about getting what we want. This is one of the very difficult prerequisites for Tantra; we have to know what we want. To know what we want we have to also know who we are. As long as there is any confusion about these things, then there is very good chance that we will eventually meet a wrathful, vengeful Tantra. She has many names: Tara, Kubjika, Kali, Tripura Sundari; in the west she would be some aspect or other of Mather nature. She has a face for every person, but no matter how nice she comes to you, she’s always incredibly dangerous and can turn on a person for the slightest infraction.

Admittedly, this danger is the attraction; the risk is the romance. People who are stable and content in life have no attraction to Tantra, because Tantra is change and volatility. This is why she stays underground, in the shadows and depths of the heart. Tantra is about transformation. We have to die before we can be reborn. Tantra is a death cult, a secret society that turns everything on it’s head; countering even intuition.

When we talk about Tantra, western people think of sex and the chakras, while people from the east think of black magic. Tantra is all of this. Purity is internalized to overcome physical impurity. All is one but we see it and understand it as two; a world of multiplicity. Fear and taboo become some of the most powerful tools of Tantra. Sex and fear becomes means of transformation and catalysts of higher knowledge.

Like the great Ravana, we must cut off our own heads and offer it to the gods in order to understand Tantra. Tantra is part of the mystic traditions; it’s broad and mysterious, operating at an energetic level, permeating all things. Some say that Tantra deals with how we use things; it’s that relationship between us and things. Tantra is about Devi worship; worship of the divine feminine, Mother Nature in all her aspects. Desire to gain power or overcome fear are perhaps the most popular paths of Tantra.

Tantra is dangerous for too many reasons. All of which can be summed up as ignorance. The primary ignorance is that we do not know who we really are. As long as a person thinks they are an individual, then Tantra cannot be effectively learned or practiced. As long as we think we are separate and free we will remain forever bound. As soon as we relinquish our freedom to Devi, then we become truly free.

In many way’s Tantra looks at the world in a very pragmatic way in which everything is merely an instrument for us to fulfill our desires and our life’s path. However, this is speaking from a universal perspective rather than a subjective perspective for we too are an instrument of divine order. As many advaitans will point out, there is only we in this universe, there is no ‘I’ or ‘you.’ Those who do not understand this spread terror around the world in the name of their faiths. From a mystic perspective, duality is the original sin; division is the world of demons while everything that supports union is of the heavens. Truth, of course is one. Ultimately, God is one, though there are many names; but nature too is singular, though there be many names and many objects. The universe and the purpose is singular, everything is dependent on everything. The whole world exists and comes into being thru the mystic energy of our own hearts; there is no division.

Tantric and Astrological means to Self-Relaization

Part 7: How do we prevail?

Aath pinde, tat brahmade

[As the world is inside, so it is outside.]”

(Manduka Upanishad)

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Self knowledge, the equal of universal knowledge in most of India, is one of the most prized areas of knowledge. Various sciences and systems have been created just for this purpose. One of the oldest branches of knowledge in India is called Samkya. This is a dualist and materialistic branch of knowledge that sought to map out and categorize the various elements of existence that allow us to have this human experience. After some time, many of the philosophers and rishis began to understand that there was more to life than meets the eye. The material designations of Sankya are fine they said, but something was clearly missing since all this matter is inert, insentient and incapable of the complexity that we see in life. So, the rishis and philosopher looked deeper and eventually expanded the categories of tattvas to include several higher elements that connect us to a divine well-spring of power that infuses matter with sentience.

So, anyone wishing to follow the philosophical schools of India should have some cursory knowledge of the tattwas as outlined by Sankya as well as the more subtle tattwas as outlined in Tantra. In this section I wish to share some of the notes I have made regarding the tattwas. I cannot claim this as original work, but since it’s an area of study that I find myself continuously coming back to, I’ve come to believe that a basis in this knowledge is necessary for the more intellectually minded self seeker.

The Bhagavad Gita has said that there are four kinds of people who worship god: 1. the distressed, 2. seekers of knowledge, 3. seekers of wealth, 4. people of knowledge. In his summary of Chapter 7 of the Gita, Abhinavagupta wrote that, “Pure devotion is the wish fulfilling tree by means of which one may fulfill hopes proper to be desired by the sadhaka.” (p186) And elsewhere it has been said that knowledge is better than practice, meditation is better than knowledge, but renunciation of the fruits of action is better than meditation.

Spiritual inclination is grace! Spiritual effort is grace!

Part 8:

Tantric Upayas: Mean of Liberation

Whatever act I may have performed without knowing its good or bad consequences or knowing the proper order of its performances; whatever act I may have performed without concentration or with any other lapse of my intellect; all of that, O Shambhu, you who are compassionate, forgive me, your miserable and ignorant devotee. Through this strota I surrender myself to you and let me never again become the abode of misery for no good reason.” (Abhinavagupta p264)

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So with all of this in mind we can then then use these clues about our true nature to help lend us the faith and knowledge that we all need to begin or continue our spiritual practice. In tantra the means to self-recognition are said to be four-fold; these can be understood as both different stages of practice, as well as different means that can be used in different circumstances. The point of any Tantric sadhana is to efface the ego while cultivating a sense of universal love and oneness with those (and that which is) around you.

Ultimately we all have to accept that this comes only by grace, but a touch of that grace seem to already apply to those whose aim in life is spiritual. In any case these are the four means of liberation.

  1. Shambhav-upaaya: Philosophical and mental means of liberation. Iccha-shakti; method of will. Theory of reflection. A kind of direct perception or pure understanding that form is merely a reflection of the Supreme. There is no method here other than being established in your own will; seated in the self; seated in the heart or however you want to put it. Matrkachakra: this is the awareness of pure thought without constructs; in other words sound. Pratyahara: this is spontaneous absorption which comes only by grace. When one is established in the self what need to be done. Abhinavagupta described pratyahara as, “When, like a turtle which withdraws its limbs on all sides, the yogi withdraws his senses from the sense objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.” (Gita 2/58) We expect our saints to be living at this level of awareness. Accords with the dream sleep when the mind dwells in the throat.
  2. Shakt-upaaya: Contemplative concentration of void. (ex. Gap between two thoughts) Jnana-shakti. Uninterrupted awareness. Discovery of reality of void thru subtle means of conscious awareness. Practices that involve the mind and various higher levels of consciousness. Spiritual teachers are perhaps expected to be practising here. Accords with the dreamless sleeping state when the mind dwells in the heart.
  1. Anava-upaaya: Depends on breathing (uccaara), sense organs (karana), and mental concentration (dhyana). Concentrate on space between inhale and exhale. One pointed concentration with any sense organ (ex. Trataka). Dyana without form like mantra. Dyana with form like yantra. Devote yourself to God thru puja, japa, homa, study of the scriptures. All the practices that make use of the organs of sense and action. This of course is where most of us are trying to practice and learn. Accords with the waking state when your mind dwells in the navel.
  1. An-upaaya: No method. Only remain aware that nothing has to be done. Abide in one’s own self. Surrender your actions to God. This is the back up plan. This is perhaps the practice of the average person. Accords with the 4th state when the mind dwells in the head.

All of the methods we use for self-recognition and self-improvement will fit into one of these categories. For most of us we can only apply an-upaaya. We’re busy completing our karma, we’re engrossed in what we’re doing and that’s ok. We just have to remember that nothing truly needs to be done; we just have to be. For many people, this isn’t enough, we want to go deeper and try to understand and perhaps perceive the subtler aspects that are indeed ensuring that everything will be ok in the end (or it won’t and that’s ok too). We want to apply some upaaya, some means for greater self awareness; we want to apply ourselves and improve our organs of sense and action (anava-upaaya); we want to use study scripture, practice various forms of meditation and yoga that can help get us or keep us in touch with some divine that we all sense is a part of our lives. We generally feel pretty good about ourselves doing all of this until someone reminds us that nothing really needs to be done. At which point we stop doing so much and sit and do it all in our minds: conscious awareness; subtle awareness; shakt-upaaya. We have to do something so we continue, but we try to keep in mind that the doing doesn’t really matter so much; it’s not really part of the job profile of the individual self the individual soul that is still a part of the universal self that we’re all trying to get in touch with has made many of those decisions (after all, astrology clearly teaches us that the universal self is taking care of most of the doing down here on earth). The individual self can, however, move it’s awareness around and put it where ever it likes. (The oldest texts on yoga talk about entering other bodies.) Some say we are to put our awareness on prayer, others say to look for pleasure and satisfaction in life, a few other dare to claim we should focus on combining the two. All would perhaps agree that we should first have some idea who we really are. In the end, grace is our only hope. By grace some people become seated in themselves and there is nothing more to be done (shambhav-upaya). When we withdraw our senses from the objects of sense we experience the pure taste of whatever flavour we have inside of us; we get that pure flavour we crave on account of the wheels of energies that are operating inside of us.

The withdrawal of the vital channels (pranayama), the conquest of the elements (dharana), freedom from the elements (pratyahara) and the separation of the elements (Svachinanda).

(Shiva Sutra 3/5)

…he who constantly tries to discern the spanda (vibration) principle rapidly attains his own true state of being….” (Stanzas)

Vijnanabhairava it the classical text outlining 112 methods of Tantric and Yogic methods of union or self-realization. Some suttras give very specific instruction, others leave the door wide open for you to follow what comes natural to you: a word, an object, a thought, anything at all; fix your mind on it and don’t let it waver. “The expansion of consciousness that takes place when one is engaged in a single thought should be known as the source from whence another arises. One should experience that for oneself.” (Stanzas 41) Or find that point between two breaths, two thoughts, or two actions and try to rest your mind there. Meditate on being both the perceiver and perceived (the subject and the object). Then establish a state of awareness of that which links the two. Become fully aware of the state of perceiving, free from both subject and object. Abhinavagupta has described it as a bird swooping down upon it’s prey. That moment moves fast and we must be swift.

Much of the Vijnanabhairava teaches a kind of concentration or focus, when we can take this power of focus and put it where we like, then we can do what we want. Of course we also have to have he self knowledge to know if we have the various abilities of mind sense and action to get that thing. This is why yoga seems to focus so heavily on health, exercise, learning and study; because if we’re strong healthy, flexible and knowledgeable we will be able to access and heighten all of our natural abilities. If we have looked at and studied the self merely by observing the various faculties of the self we will be more comfortable in our bodies, our minds, and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This comfort allows us to take our awareness away from the body, mind and circumstances and focus instead on those higher aspects of ourself that reach throughout the cosmos rather than remaining trapped in our tiny worlds of suffering and woes. Contemplate each tattva respectively and disattach from it: from least pervasive to most pervasive; from the elements, up thru the senses, mind, intellect, maya and consciousness itself. (See chapter on tattva’s.)

Anything that brings us closer to recognizing and realizing that we are that universe can be considered a means to liberation. Many of the Indian sciences have their own upayas depending on which parts of us we are focused on healing and getting into touch with. But every upaya also affects the whole. So if you’re following Ayurvedic diet to heal your body, that healing is also bringing more awareness of your soul. But of course everything must be followed in balance or you get some excess or deficiency.

In regards to healing, we can often look at to the activity of the senses to see if what is happening on the inside is the same as what is happening on the outside. Food, acupuncture, the clothes and ornaments we wear, the the people we associate with and the activities we perform can all be used to heal. It’s all a kind of worship and ritual. Swami Laxmanjoo made a point when he said that worldly life is pragmatic, worship should be appreciated as theater: art for arts sake. In the Stanzas on Vibration it says: “Constantly attentive and perceiving the entire universe as play, he who has this awareness is undoubtedly liberated in this very life.” With equal gusto it has been advised to ignore the cycle of birth and death; the cycle of life is higher, only it is eternal. If we live for an eternity there is always time and reason for healing and self recognition. It’s cautioned, however, that while participating in sense enjoyment, we are to be enjoying the bliss of self, not the pleasure of the sense object.

The subject is said to be the lord when, in the midst of phenomena, (he experiences them) as his own body. (But he is) a fettered soul when, sullied by karma etc., (he experiences) conflicts (klesha) in the midst of diversity generated by maya.

(Ishvarapratyabhijna)

Part 9:

Jyotish Astrology Upayas

the City of Eight consists of the inner mental organ along with the senses of knowledge and action. Others say that it is [also] made up of the five breaths, the five subtle elements, desire, karma and ignorance.” (Tattvaprakasha)

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Jyotish astrology, as the science of light, also seeks to engage the subtler perspectives and provide upayas for self recognition. Astrology acts as the mirror of the individual self and suggest remedial measures for helping you to realize your connection with the universal self. For anyone with any experience with Jyotish astrology, we often find that our limits in the material world are much greater that we at first suspected. The extent of our fettered is almost unimaginable, but still we get this wonderful experience of free will. So how do we explain this contradiction between our experience and the knowledge.

Astrology is of course an ocean of a science, and the astrologer merely a pearl diver. The ocean is vast, and the diver is just one small simple man. The client has his or her chart (the ocean) and the astrologer also has his own chart, which is but a wet-suit compared to the ocean. If both charts are favorable, the client will receive a good reading and go away happy and receive the fruits he or she expects to receive. Perhaps the person will even get a glimmer of the divine forces to which are inseparably linked. If, however, just one chart is not favorable, many things can easily go awry. The astrologer can have a bad day and miss something, or the data might not be quite right, or the client might not understand correctly. In any case, it’s always our own fate, we cannot blame others for our misery.

Traditional healers generally maintain that they do not actually perform any healing. The client comes (we always hope) with that healing already inside of them. The healers job is merely to point them in the direction of healing. The healer is just an instrument of healing. This is why such a variety of scientific and non-scientific methods all work to heal; because it’s not the method which is providing healing, but the patients own life force. Astrologers need to impress upon people that what they generally decoding for them is what they have inside of themselves; and not necessarily some outside force. There are no upayas that can bring you anything you don’t already have inside, all they can do is help you to reach the highest and best potential of what you already have.

From an astrological perspective, what is outside of us and outside of us are merely reflected versions of each other that are constantly acting and interacting together. We get a combined effect of the reactions that are produced. We often say that an astrology chart is like a pathology report. The astrologer is like the doctor who interprets that report. The client doesn’t really need to know the details of the report, what the client needs is the remedial measures.

In truth, most people know themselves fairly well. They don’t really need an astrologer to tell them about themselves, what they need are ways which will help them understand the interconnectedness of everything. Giving specific selfless service is said to be one of the best ways of overcoming or understanding our suffering. When we serve those who share our suffering or represent our fears then we dissipate that negative quality; life become just a little bit lighter.

Meditation and any spiritual practice in general can been good, but even these things can be fine tuned with astrology. Of course gemstones are easiest for most people with a few extra dollars, but without grace, I can’t imagine the effect to be as strong as with some practice which can include service and ritual, but also tapas, worship, mantra, the study of scriptures and other such engaging practices.

What is important to remember is that “Identification with the City of Eight is bondage.” This may come as a surprise to many people who have been taught to identify with their own inner soul, rather than with their body, but these lessons of the City of Eight suggest that even the deepest essence of our individual soul is binding, as of course it must be, since freedom is not an individual experience but rather a universal one.

Part 10: The Goal

Meheshwar

Somewhere within all of this is supposed to be some goal. We want something for all of this work performed. What exactly we want is not easy to describe. Many words get used such as enlightenment, self-recognition, self-empowerment, freedom, liberation. Many other describe as self-improvement or self-betterment. We are not, after all, merely doing this for our health. So what should we expect? The truth is that we should not expect anything. Of course everything is always changing so there will be change, but fundamentally nothing will change. You will still have the same fate and karmas to perform. As Krishna said in the Gita: “we cannot avoid action, not even thru non-action.”

What changes is our awareness? By gaining deeper more focused awareness we are able to recognize how we are ourselves the universe. This is self-recognition. We come to recognize the eternal subject which is ourselves, as well as the relationships of that subject with the various objects of the world beginning without own body. We are not this limited individual self, we are the universal self in part and in whole.

Some beliefs bring people to an emptiness once the individual self has been over come, Tantra promises a fullness like a pot boiling over. The fullness is the dynamic interplay between subject and object, the movement and change of the world. To be aware of this is said to be freedom. The practice of yoga is the practice of being aware of all those things that connect us with ourselves and the other (which is who all the gods essentially represent) We should be aware of consciousness, breath, energy levels, rituals, mantra and worship. Expanded awareness is the only goal and these are the tools (our body and this world) This is the same awareness which shows us that there really is no distinction between fate and free will.

This is a big concern for many people who feel as though they are being led thru life like a draft animal. Many people who hear about astrology feel like this whole concept of astrology somehow interferes with their free will. Most people is this world are very attached to the ignorance they call free will. This common idea that we are the body and thru the body we can do what we like thru free will is a very narrow and ignorant perception of freedom and will. If we start to recognize that we are all of this, only then will we recognize the place from where that freedom and will arise.

We recognize our free will when we are aware of that all of this is emanating from the free will of that Shiva which is inside of us; that which which is us. Freedom is exercised on the levels between Shiva and maya, not on the level of our minds, bodies and senses. These things are merely the tools for exercising that freedom. Of course once a choice is made, we have to live by the karma of that choice. As soon as an individual soul takes a body, the time and place of that activity becomes crucial for the rest of ones life. This is of course the time and place of our birth and first breath, and whatever karma is given to us at that precious moment will determine the extent of the work to be do in this life. The trick is to recognize all of this and maintain that awareness that we are Shiva, we are the chooser, and have chosen to experience all of this. What is inside is outside so we have as much power inside of ourselves to affect events in our lives and this world as the Sun and the Moon have to affect the life cycles of this universe. It’s a fully reciprocal relationship between ourselves and the world. The more we recognize this, the more harmony comes into our lives and the world. The truth to life and freedom are vast; they range far beyond the mundane details of life. We can be sure, however, that everyone will play their role and each of us will get that taste we most crave; the quality of that flavour will be up to us.