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vertigoblockbuster · 20 days

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☋☋ ☋ मघा Magha Nakshatra मघा ☋ ☋☋

Past lives, ominous, traveling inward

Hughes Merle's Mary Magdalene in the Cave, 1868. The reptilian arms are not part of the original painting.

The Basics Ruling planet: Ketu Ruling deity: Pitris Yoni: Male rat Symbol: Royal throne

Rahu and Ketu We can't talk about Ketu without talking about Rahu as well. Rahu and Ketu are referred to as the lunar nodes in astrology. They aren't physical objects in space like Jupiter or Saturn. They are calculated points. However, for ease of communication, Rahu and Ketu are often referred to as planets anyways.

The lunar nodes are determined by the orbits of the sun and the moon. The intersections of the orbits of the sun and moon as apparent from Earth tell us the position of the nodes at a given time. It takes about 18 months for the nodes to journey through a single zodiac sign and about two decades for them to cycle through all twelve.

Image from Wikipedia.

Since the nodes are located where the sun and moon overlap as seen from Earth, they are associated with eclipses. Rahu (the north, or ascending node) swallows the sun during a solar eclipse and Ketu (the south, or descending node) swallows the moon during a lunar eclipse. We can further assume that the nodes are always exactly 180° apart, or opposite to, one another. If the north node is in Sagittarius, for example, the south node will always be in Gemini.

The nodes in astrology deal with karmic destiny. The nature of your south node placement shows who you were in a past life, what you have previously mastered and now know in your bones to be true. Your north node placement shows what you are working towards in this life, what you strive to accomplish, the lessons you are here to master.

Rahu and Ketu In Mythology According to Vedic mythology, Rahu and Ketu started out as one being, a demonic serpent called a rakshasa. They were separated into two beings as punishment. During a ceremony to honor the planets, Lord Visnu churned up the oceans to create a divine nectar for them to drink and become immortal. When the planets (or deities) lined up to drink, the demon snuck under Visnu's nose to drink some of the nectar for himself. Rahu/Ketu had already ingested the immortal drink before they were caught in the act - becoming accidentally undying. Furious, Visnu beheaded the demon but at that point it was too late. Rahu (the demon's head) and Ketu (the body) become two entities and were cast to opposite ends of the sky.

A depiction of a rakshasa (demon) done in Yakshagana, a traditional style of theater prominent in southern India. Image from Wikipedia.

Rahu, being the head, is arguably more responsible for the separation of the demon into two parts. As the head, Rahu is consumptive by nature. This is why one's natal Rahu placement indicates what they are after in this life. The devouring head symbolizes our insatiable desire to obtain more and become more.

Rahu's willingness to ignore boundaries to obtain the immortal nectar is telling - he has no regard for authority. He is not much of a leader himself, more so interested in mocking those holding positions of power. In this way Rahu is hypocritical because he attacks the character and methodologies of those in power yet he himself demonstrates childishness and irreverence. When he is rendered a head without a body, he is left an eternal troublemaker.

When separated from his head, bodily Ketu is doomed to forever long for his other half - reminiscent of the past being the past, something we can never go back to and simultaneously can't shake the memory of. We master our Rahu and Ketu by connecting our heads with our bodies - that is, by balancing past with future, applying ancient knowledge stored in the body to achieve future-facing objectives the head seeks to fulfill.

"Ketu's permanent longing for wholeness is a consequence of Rahu's excited refusal to respect conventional boundaries. As a result of Rahu's wildness, Ketu the Dragon-Tail Cauda Draconis is forced to gaze with eternally unsatisfied longing at His dear severed partner Rahu the Dragon-Head Caput Draconis." - Barbara Pijan Lama, Vedic astrologer based in Portland, Oregon

A makeup look done by smeyuka on Instagram. Note the grey/smokey tone of the face and red emphasis added to the eyes.

In Phaladeepika, a classical Sanskrit text on Vedic astrology, Ketu is described like this:

"Ketu is fiercly red-eyed, is venom-tongued (speaking venomously), and without a body or disembodied, he is violent (using weapons, wants to scare), and ignoble (low, fallen, no social contribution, uncultured, wild, intense), his complexion is smokey (ominous), he is a constant smoke drinker (using opium or marijuana), his body is covered in scars (not cooperative), not fatty (emaciated, thin, angular), and cruel (unforgiving)."**

** what is in paranthases are notes on different ways the text can be translated. Watch Vic Dicara's videos on Rahu and Ketu.

Artistic rendition of Ketu/Kathoo in E.A. Rodrigues's The Complete Hindoo Pantheon. Image taken from Wikipedia.

Some people think that what we experience as eclipses are actually Rahu and Ketu taking revenge for their separation. Eclipses are times of sudden change - when the sun is obscured by the moon or vice versa, the atmosphere on Earth is very different. Having witnessed the total lunar eclipse of 2017, I remember things turning a grey/yellow/brown hue, and the air taking on a kind of hazy quality (but I believe this was due to wildfires). If you have ever seen the movie Enemy with Jake Gyllenhaal, it looked like that.

Still from Enemy (2013)

Here is a description of a solar eclipse by Dr. Rick Feinberg, astronomer and science communicator (now retired):

"Measurements made at recent total eclipses put the illuminance at totality around 5 lux, comparable to civil twilight. The sky is still some shade of silvery, purply blue. In contrast, the black sky on a night of full Moon is 10 times darker still, less than 0.5 lux. Yes, bright planets –– especially Venus and Jupiter –– are obvious in twilight, but stars? I don’t like to waste valuable time during totality looking for stars; the only time I saw one was on August 21, 2017, when 1st-magnitude Regulus glimmered just to the left of the totally eclipsed Sun.

It certainly feels like it gets as dark as night during the final minute before totality, but that’s just because your eyes haven’t had time to adjust. The changes in illumination at the beginning and end of totality happen much faster and more dramatically than at dusk and dawn, respectively."

Image of the 2019 solar eclipse above the European Southern Observatory in Chile, taken by Mahdi Zamani.

Non-dualism and the Ouroboros The nodes are inseparable opposites, both two and one - like how the past and future becoming one in the present. In this way they demonstrate the concept of non-duality. Non-dualism is a philosophical concept observed in many spiritual and religious traditions, particularly ones that originated in the East such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. The non-dual perspective holds that there is no fundamental separation - between objects, energy, people... it's all one.

“All things are permeated with God, just as all things are permeated with air.” – Hildegard of Bingen

Ketu's rulership over Magha suggests that people with heavy influence from this nakshatra in their birthchart are deeply spiritual and/or philosophical. If you think about Rahu and Ketu as being an axis - that is, talking about the same topics but having opposite opinions on them - Rahu expands outwards, forever seeking to consume and grow materially. Ketu expands internally. The expansion of Ketu looks like material poverty from the outside, but Ketu is not interested in earthly objectives. Rahu wants to grasp and Ketu wants to release. By releasing attachment to the physical, Ketu finds bliss.

Rahu's knowing is of the head. It is entirely cerebral. Ketu's knowing is bodily. That is, it is completely intuitive and feeling/sensory-based. In the world we live in, computational and logical thinking is (for better or worse) king. For this reason, if you have prominent Magha placements, I wouldn't be surprised if you feel like you either 1) don't belong in this world or 2) have been here before, perhaps many times over. Ketu, symbolizing past lives and knowledge gained from them, wanders the earth, aimless, forever drifting. He finds nothing on earth to be of substance.

While Ketu-heavy or Magha-heavy people can possess deep inner knowing that endows them with a certain type of respect, this same trait can be the source of an overly apathetic attitude when taken to an extreme. Detachment is all well and good, but unless you're truly the type to pursue a monastic or nomadic path, it's necessary to keep your feet on the ground at least a little bit to live in a well-rounded way. Ketu people are faced with a challenge to ground their intuitive knowledge and bring what they find on their travels inward out to the world around them.

One symbol that is steeped in unity and oneness is the ouroboros. Depicting a serpent or dragon devouring it's own tail, the ouroboros has appeared in ancient Egypt, Mexico, India, as well as Hermetic and Alchemical texts. The serpent chases its continually regenerating tail in an eternal circle, just as Rahu and Ketu are condemned to chase one another from opposite ends of the sky forever.

Two ouroboros symbols shown encircling a figure in An Enigmatic Book of the Underworld, funerary text and shrine discovered in King Tutankhamun's tomb. The figure has been speculated to be the mummified form of King Tut himself, while some think it is the unification of Ra and Osiris.

An Enigmatic Book of the Underworld is regarded as the place of the first appearance of the ouroboros, dating it to at least 14th century BCE. It is thought that the book illustrates the replenishing of the solar disc - the ancient Egyptians believed that the sun would use up all of it's heat and energy during the day and had to 'recharge' at night. At night, the Sun was said to pass through the same region of death where the gods were believed to reside. Their souls would follow the Sun as he cycled above and below the horizon while their bodies remained in the underworld. Time was seen as cyclical repetitions rather than a linear unfolding. The ancient Egyptian's understanding of time was based on their observations of recurring natural events like the Sun's daily journey across the sky and the annual flooding of the Nile.

An illustration of the ouroboros in an alchemical text from around 400AD.

The Alchemists believed that all physical materials on Earth originated from the same original source material and could be differentiated by their varying levels of purity. Gold was held as the most pure and 'perfect' form of matter, which is why the Alchemists sought to create it using lower quality metals such as lead - a process called chrysopoeia. The desire to create gold from crude materials that is central to Alchemy is largely metaphorical. The broader goal of the Alchemists was to evolve the human soul through deepening the understanding of one's self. The ultimate objective of alchemy was to transform personally into someone 'greater' than you were before. More knowledgeable, powerful, physically healthy or beautiful...

The Pitris The deities ruling Magha are the Pitris, spirits of the paternal ancestors of humanity - the word 'pitris' is Sanskrit for "fathers."

The word Magha can mean gift or it can mean power. As it relates to Magha nakshatra, it means gifted power - that is, inherited power. Each nakshatra has it's own associated sutra, which are kind of like condensed teachings. The translated sutra for Magha is "The forefather's gift of power needs demoralization, to ruin."

Vic Dicara explains the lesson of Magha nakshatra as illustrated in it's sutra - how to be victorious without getting wounded. The sutra for Magha is saying that the way to defeat your enemies is to prevent the battle from happening in the first place. And how do you do that? By bullying them, basically. Magha natives have the power of the forefathers (Pitris) behind them, which they brandish and threaten their potential opponents with. Before a single punch has been thrown Magha puffs out his chest, letting his opponent know that he has friends on the other side backing him up - think Dr. Facilier from the Princess and the Frog.

Magha's Yoni: the Male Rat The word "yoni" in Sanskrit refers to the vagina. The word can be used to refer literally to female genitalia, but it also has a deeper meaning relating to source material - the empty 'womb' out of which the universe materialized.

Each nakshatra has a corresponding yoni assigned to it. The yonis of the nakshatras describe their primal and sexual nature - how they behave when backed into a corner and the different ways they behave in the bedroom. In the vedic astrological system, the yonis are depicted as different types of animals - appropriate, considering the aspects of the human personality they attempt to describe and categorize.

Magha's yoni animal is a rat. Rats are inquisitive, playful and sociable by nature. They are intelligent and, as pets, trainable. They are hygienic, keeping themselves clean by grooming their tails, fur, and faces. They also do everything quickly - I've never seen a rat move in a leisurely way.

Rats are venerated at the Karni Mata temple in Deshnoke, India. Large saucers of milk are left out to keep them fed. The temple is a monument honoring the coexistence of life in every form - which is why rats are treated reverence here rather than seen as pests. Image by Paolo Bampani.

The rat signifying the primal nature of this nakshatra suggests a few things. We can easily surmise that Magha people are curious, likely quick-witted due to an above-average intelligence, and energetic. We can also guess that Magha people are adaptable - think about the poor conditions rats are able to survive in. An additional quality of rats which I think relates to Magha is their use of their whiskers to both balance themselves and maneuver around objects in their environment - they don't have the best eyesight and rely heavily on the sensitivity of their wire-y mustaches. This hearkens to Magha's bodily, ketuvian intelligence.

At first, the personality of the light-footed and friendly rat seems to clash with the ancient wisdom Magha has. When I think of someone in touch with their forefathers and past lives, I think of someone who moves slowly (literally and metaphorically), approaching and completing all tasks with patience, precision, and caution. The good-natured and hyperactive qualities of the rat combined with Magha's connection to protective (paternal) ancestors, dispersing and wandering ways of Ketu, and transforming power of the eclipse paints a particular personality profile. This is a person who has their head in the clouds and could rip you to shreds - if you provoke them first.

The Symbol of the Royal Throne Magha is considered to be an auspicious nakshatra - that is, it brings positive things to whatever planet is placed here. The rulership of the Pitris over Magha cements their innate power. It is one thing to be a powerful person because of the things you have accomplished, but when someone is powerful because of their ancestors has royalty in their blood. It can never, ever be taken from them because it is simply who they are.

Magha spans 0°00' to 13°20' Leo. Leo is the most regal and royal of all twelve zodiac signs. The most common gripe people have with Leo's is their pride and self-centered attitude. The thing is is that Leo is ruled by the Sun - the literal center of our solar system. Resenting a Leo for shining is like disliking the Sun for burning. Of course, egotism has the potential to run rampant if a Leo person has not matured very much, which is the shadow side of this sign. Oftentimes, though, you will find that the warm, glowing self-sureness of Leo's triggers the insecurities in those around them, causing them to lash out.

The Iron Throne from Game of Thrones.

The symbolism of the throne for Magha should come as no surprise. Those who sit and have sat in thrones throughout history were usually born into that role as opposed to being appointed - bringing us back to the ancestral power brought on by Magha's connection to the Pitris.

Song for Magha: You Don't Mess Around with Jim by Jim Croce And they say... You don't tug on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger And you don't mess around with Jim

This song talks about a local legend who's reputation precedes him. It is known so well that you don't cross him that doing so would be as obviously foolish as spitting into the wind. While Jim, the menacing figure the song centers around, is described as being big and dumb - traits that aren't as applicable to Magha - his reputation as someone you don't want to mess with fits perfectly with the power of this nakshatra. Jim, just like Magha, has won the fight before it started because you're probably too intimidated to approach him in the first place. Maybe Jim had the Pitris backing him up, too.

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Check out Vic Dicara and Claire Nakti on YouTube - both influential figures in the vedic astrological community.

#Magha #magha nakshatra #vedic astrology

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vertigoblockbuster · 2 months

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ज्येष्ठा

Jyestha: Victory, jealousy

Jyestha is Nakshatra Eighteen

Nakshatras are sometimes called lunar mansions - one full cycle of the moon equates to it's passage through all twenty-seven nakshatras, or all of it's twenty-seven 'homes' or 'mansions.' In this way, the moon is of utmost prominence in Vedic astrology - a key difference from astrology in the West, where the placement of the Sun is generally revered as being most important.

Jyestha means "eldest one" in Sanskrit. It also can mean "first one," "right one," "most victorious." If we think of the twenty-seven nakshatras as being twenty-seven sisters, Jyestha would be the oldest - despite this not being the final nakshatra in the Vedic zodiac. Although Jyestha is the oldest, wisest, and presumably the best by her name, it is the nakshatra Rohini who is the favorite dwelling place (mansion) of the moon.

A dark side of Jyestha nakshatra is it's tendency towards jealousy. Rohini, while not the wisest or 'best' of the nakshatras, is favored above all the others by the moon - this kind of thing greatly agitates Jyestha. There is a deep pride at this point in the zodiac. While they often come by their pride honestly by way of perseverance and victory through personal hardship, there is a danger of feeling entitled to special treatment. If A Jyestha person is (in their mind) robbed of the attention or respect they deserve, these are people that can be viscerally covetous. Of course, the inverse may be true as well - Jyestha people are commonly on the receiving end of jealousy coming at them from other people.

In the neo-pagan feminine triad of maiden, mother, and crone (represented by the waxing, full, and waning moon phases), Jyestha is the crone (Rohini, sitting opposite to Jyestha on the zodaic wheel, is the maiden). She is a wise and weathered old woman with a wealth of knowledge and sage advice. She has accumulated her life's lessons and now seeks to pass them down to her younger sisters. She expects her advice to be heeded, her presence respected. And rightfully so - she possesses priceless lived experience.

It's easy to love an old woman who doesn't give a fuck. She knows that she knows better than you... why would she care about your opinion? There is a deep inner knowing that radiates from Jyestha people, and they are made all the more attractive by their confidence in their beliefs, values, morals, etc.. They carry an air of victory, even in moments of defeat. They know that for every moment of despair there is a moment of bliss, for every defeat a victory. Defeat to Jyestha people simply implies that victory is ensured in the future.

Jyestha is Located at 16°40' to 30°00' Scorpio

In the astrology community (or at least the pop-astrology community) Scorpio is one of the most widely misunderstood and stigmatized signs. Traditionally Scorpio has been associated with the planet Pluto while modern astrologers have come to associate it this sign with Mars. The constellation ruling Scorpio is Scorpius, with the bright red star anteres at it's heart. It's symbolized by.. a scorpion.

If you run in astrological circles you've probably been hearing a lot about Pluto in recent months. That's because it recently entered Aquarius after being in Capricorn since 2008. Pluto is going to retrograde back into Capricorn one more time in 2024 before it slides into Aquarius for the long haul, from November of this year until 2043. When it changes sign its kind of a big deal.

It takes Pluto about 250 years to orbit the sun and complete it's journey through the zodiac. For this reason its considered to be an outer or generational planet because the sign that Pluto is in stays the same for a long time. A cohort of people born in the same time period will have an outer planet in the same sign. Most millennials will have Pluto in Scorpio, and most of Gen Z will have Pluto in Sagittarius.

Pluto moves slow and his effects are profound. Pluto is Hades, god of the underworld. From this linkage it's easy to understand Pluto's connection to death, rebirth, riches and wealth (thinking about mining as literally going underground to find precious metals). As the underworld planet, Pluto rules over things that effect us that we can't see - material buried in the subconscious. Potent Pluto transits unearth patterns in our life that we didn't know we had - or were in denial about. Pluto is tricky because when it's truly operating you aren't aware of it. It is a planet that brings us face to face with our own psyches.

It should be noted that Jyestha's association with Scorpio depends on the astrologer you ask. Sidereal versus Tropical calculations will tell you different things... you might be a Scorpio ascendant using sidereal calculations and a Sagittarius ascendant using tropical calculations. The reason sidereal astrological calculations give different placement results from tropical ones is because the sidereal system takes into account the 'wobble' of the earth's rotating axis. More about that here: https://www.whitelotusoflight.com/blog/sidereal-vs-tropical-zodiac-and-why-it-matters

Jyestha Falls at a Gandanta Point - Places of Transformation in the Zodiac

Vedic astrology notes three places in the zodiac where (potentially volatile) changes take place in an individual. These places are called gandanta points and can be found where the water signs meet the fire signs - on the Pisces-Aries cusp (Revati/Ashwini), the Cancer-Leo cusp (Ashlesha/Magha), and the Scorpio-Sagittarius cusp (Jyestha/Mula).

"Gand" means knot and "Anta" means end. Gandanta points are where karmic knots are tied and untied, depending on previous lives and where someone is in terms of soul evolution. Only you can untie knots that you have tied. This is why for people with prominent natal placements in gandanta nakshatras (look at the sun, moon, and ascendant signs in particular) are faced with difficulty in their lives. They are here to unlearn and relearn new and different ways of being to ultimately merge with universal consciousness. This comes through exposure to (sometimes painful) life lessons. If you pay attention, different iterations of the same lesson come to you over and over until you have mastered how to handle it. This is the cyclical nature of karma. We are constantly creating and releasing karma, this is the reality of living in a physical world of cause-and-effect. Until you are different (untying the knot/breaking the karmic cycle), you will get the same.

A lot of fear-mongering is out there about gandanta points. It's human nature to be afraid of what we don't understand, and a lot of the time we don't understand why we suffer difficulty and pain. I think that these gandanta points are master courses in surrender. The way you thought things were, the way you thought they should be, no longer works. It doesn't matter how tightly we cling to how things were, these gandanta points pry from our hands what we thought was true to reveal Truth. Reality, whether we like it or not, makes itself known. To progress past who we have been, we have to let go of who we were and fully surrender - thus untying the karmic knot so we can tie a new one.

Indra: King of the Gods

We can derive a lot about the unique characters of the 27 nakshatras through investigating their ruling deities and Jyestha is no exception. Jyestha's deity Indra is one of the most important gods in the Vedic pantheon. He is god of the skies, controlling rain, thunder, and storms (often depicted artistically as wielding a lightning bolt or vajra). His connection with storms associates him as a warrior god and he was often invoked before battles. He is king of the devas, king of the gods.

Indra's most famous moment of victory is his battle with the demonic serpent Vritra. Vritra stole all the water on earth, bringing drought upon all it's inhabitants. To prepare for his fight against Vritra, Indra consumed copious amounts of the ritual drink Soma to provide him with supernatural strength and energy. Using his Vajra (a kind of weaponized version of a lightning bolt) Indra vanquished Vritra by removing his head.

At the time of Indra's battle with Vritra it was Varuna who ruled the gods. Upon his return from battle Indra saw his opportunity to usurp Varuna. The way he did this was by whispering in the gods' ears, planting seeds of doubt regarding Varuna's ability to lead. "If Varuna is such a good leader... why was it me who killed Vritra?" This is very Jyestha behavior - these people are indirect, intelligent, and calculating. They constantly look to work situations in their favor. They don't lie, exactly. They also aren't inclined to tell the truth, especially if doing so is not advantageous to their own goals.

Indra, while one of the most powerful and important Vedic deities, is known for possessing human qualities and flaws. He drinks soma heavily, revealing his susceptibility to drunkenness and addiction. He is prideful and selfish, taking a position of power by means of manipulation and deception. He has obvious human vices and traits.

In many of Indra's blunders in Vedic mythology, his pride is often the cause of his downfall. This is perhaps the most important lesson we learn from Jyestha nakshatra - the greatest protection against rivals (and those with Jyestha prominent in their chars are almost guaranteed to face rivals in their lifetime - this is the cost of reaching for victory) is humility. The greatest leaders and victors are those no one can possibly spin negative stories about because of their unwavering goodness. Jyestha people have to learn to be humble (at least outwardly) no matter how victorious they become in their lives. To not do this is to ensure inevitable defeat. Perhaps by the same means through which they claimed their own victories.

A Song with Definite Jyestha Vibes: Getaway Car by Taylor Swift (Jyestha Sun)

I'm in a getaway car I left you in a motel bar Put the money in a bag and I stole the keys That was the last time you ever saw me

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Check out Vic Dicara's YouTube channel for more information about Vedic astrology.

#Jyestha #vedic astrology #nakshatras

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vertigoblockbuster · 2 months

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The Mother Wound/Mommy Issues™

•Most commonly thought of as existing in daughters but also exists in sons •At it's core, the mother wound is a loss or lack of mothering -grief -grieving childhood, what one never had, what one wanted and never received •The mother wound is usually generational -how we are parented/how we experienced parenting becomes how we parent •You do not have to have experienced abuse or neglect from your mother to have mother wounding. Children raised by mothers who struggled with mental illness or addiction can grapple with their wounding well into adulthood, as can adults who were raised by mothers who may have met physical needs/provided positive interaction but didn't engage with their children in the deeply loving and attentive way that kids need. -Love and attention as a need -The mother wound impairs one's ability to connect with other people. The lack of connection through loving attention from the mother as a child becomes a source of pain that drives us to seek out relationships, feeling like if we don't get the connection we crave we'll die. Coming at relationships from a place of inner desperation to be accepted in the way we never were by mom - unconditionally, warmly, lovingly.

•Mommy issues = attachment issues •Research indicates that masculinity is more associated w/avoidant attachment while femininity is more associated w/anxious attachment •characteristics of anxious attachment = low self esteem/self worth, fear of abandonment, smothering others in relationships, distrusting others, hyper sensitive to feeling like someone is pulling away from them

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vertigoblockbuster · 3 months

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On experiencing desire without attaching to it's gratification

Step 1: Set aside some designated time for this. I prefer to do this kind of thing alone but you know yourself best.

The goal is to experience a state of intense desire. This could be uncomfortable depending on the nature of the situation in your life that is bringing you to try this practice. Remember that everything everywhere all the time is changing constantly, so other feelings you perhaps thought were unrelated to your desire could surface as well.

Step 2: The best setting for this practice is one with minimal distraction in my experience. Settle down in a quiet space in a comfortable position. I like laying on my bed with my arms at my sides, and sometimes wearing noise-cancelling headphones and a sleep mask to block out more light. Wearing comfortable clothes and being clean is a good idea, and so is having a bottle of water nearby. Treat yourself like you would treat a sick child, basically.

Step 3: Define your desire. Is it a state of being? A material goal? A person or an experience? Get as specific in your head as possible.

Step 4: Totally immerse yourself in your desire. In the image you’ve created in your head, be there with your entire body. Try not to be in your mind so much. Just breathe and let the emotions and physical sensations wash over you. Allow yourself to be totally swept up in them. Notice the different parts of your body lighting up and becoming activated.

Visualize sitting next to him in the car. Across from him in a hot tub. Listen to passers by at the river as you swim with friends, the shuffling of cards amidst chatter and a google home playing Imagine Dragons or Young the Giant or Ed Sheeran or Chlidish Gambino. Sense the warmth of the sun and the frigid AC in the car. Taste the cheap tequila in both of your mouths. Hear the empty liquor bottles clanking in plastic bags as they're stored safely in a Subway dumpster.

Step 5: You have conjured your desire on purpose and from nothing.

Step 6: Sit in this space until you feel like you have gotten out of it everything that you needed to. Think about what your desire is trying to tell you. Store the information you have gathered, with the option to come back to it later.

Step 7: Consider that the act of sitting still and intentionally in the desirous state you just created allowed you to experience what it would be like to have what you want.

Step 8: Consider that maybe you already have what you want and just forget sometimes.

Step 9: Consider ways in which you would like to embody the person who already has what you want.

Step 10: Exit this practice gradually and softly. Wiggle fingers or toes, open your eyes if they were shut. Sit up and have a drink of water.

Step 11: Continue about your day. The next time you find yourself pining for someone or something, remember you can access the state of having anything you desire at any time. It puts the power back in your hands and removes what you want from any pedestal it was on.

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vertigoblockbuster · 3 months

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1/17/2024

When you identify as a healer or savior, your identity relies on someone else doing worse than you

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vertigoblockbuster · 4 months

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Mrigashira: Gentle, multifaceted

Mrigashira is the 5th of the 27 nakshatras

Following Rohini and preceding Ardra, Mrigashira lies in the late degrees of Taurus and early degrees of Gemini. It is symbolized by a deer or just the face of a deer. Mars is the planetary ruler of this nakshatra and it's governing deity is Soma. Soma is often thought of as its form as a food or drink, and the deity Soma is kind of like the personification of the qualities it brings to it's consumers.

The Symbology of the Deer

Deer are herbivores which means they don't hunt other animals. They are also very selective when it comes to the plant material that they eat. Part of why deer are such picky eaters is because the growth and health of their antlers is impacted by the quality of their food. Antlers are important for confrontation/combat and they also function as impressive displays during courtship, so the bias of deer towards nutrient-dense plants makes sense.

"Baby with a rack like this, you won't be worrying about these clowns." - Bambi's dad, probably

The herbivorous nature of deer and their high selectivity when it comes to their food suggests that people with prominent Mrigashira placements in their birth chart are 1) fundamentally gentle and 2) curious, restless, and diffuse because they constantly look for the next best thing. If you know anything about deer you also know that they are very flighty and timid animals, qualities this nakshatra possesses as well.

Another important characteristic of deer which is revealing of the nature of Mrigashira is their preference for groups. They are herd animals, not solitary ones. Something this nakshatra cares deeply about is pairing things up. Mrigashira-heavy people will be multi-faceted people with broad minds. They ceaselessly collect new ideas and update their ideologies naturally as they move through life. They look for ways to apply what they learn - not only in the way it was applied in it's original context, but in all areas of their life. These are people that will read a book about Finnish cuisine and their main takeaway is they need to reinvent their relationship to their career.

Mrigashira is ruled by Mars

Mrigashira, Chitra, and Dhanishtha are the Mars-ruled nakshatras. The planet Mars in astrology represents the way you assert yourself. Mars wants to get the job done and doesn't really care about your opinion. Actually, if you wanted to go outside and hash it out Mars would be happy to do that. It's an aggressive planet, a hot planet, a physical planet, an "I'm going to get what's mine" planet. Everybody needs a healthy sense of drive, and the condition of your mars says a lot about how you accomplish (or don't accomplish) your goals. It also gives information about your sexual desires and physical body.

So why does Mrigashira belong to Mars? How does it make sense that the planet of war lords over the same star represented by such a delicate animal like a deer? What links the hot-hotheadedness of Mars with the flightiness of the deer is desire. Mrigashira natives naturally take interest in collecting knowledge, friends, and ideas as they move through life (like a deer combing the forest floor for good food - behavior driven by a hunger, or desire) and want to combine them in ways that make everyone happy. They are driven by this desire; to diffuse and collect, and then to creatively recombine.

Soma as a Deity and as a Miracle Drug

Soma governs Mrigashira. He is the god of the Moon. As a deity, he rarely appears in Vedic mythology in human form. It's more common that Soma refers to the special drink that the gods consumed to gain immortality and supernatural strength. In ancient times it was drank by yogis and sages to bring them closer to the gods while they performed rituals. Soma provides the consumer with 2 things: health (immortality and strength), and pleasure (delight and happiness.)

Soma was created specially for Indra, who was king of the gods as well as being the god of rain and storms. Before Indra ruled the gods it was Varuna who held this authority. After Indra defeated the demonic serpent Vritra, he turned the other gods against Varuna and took his place. Varuna left big shoes to fill and Indra needed assistance to fill his new role. This is where Soma comes in.

Soma the drink was created for Indra by Soma the Moon god so that Indra could become unconquerable. Another name for Soma is Amrita, meaning "no death." All food is Amrita because we need it to live. Soma is what nourishes the plants that we get our food from - water. Water is the element closely connected to the Moon, both relating (in an astrological context) to things like emotions, femininity, nurturing and nourishment, and introspection. What Soma created for Indra was a plant that could be made into a special drink that had an intoxicating effect while nourishing the body. It's like if eating a home-cooked meal sent you on the best trip of your life.

There has been no consensus when it comes to identifying Soma in nature. It is thought by some that when Soma was prepared by regular people, it was made with poppy, cannabis, and Ephedra. Some theories exist linking Soma with magic mushrooms/psilocybin. R. Gordon Wasson was one of the first people from the West to start trying to identify what plant the Rig Veda could have been referring to when mentioning Soma. He thought that the Soma plant was Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric.

The Lesson of Mrigashira

The broad and multifaceted nature of Mrigashira can manifest as aversion to commitment. It can result in someone who is unable to stand for anything, know what they believe in, or find their own center. Focus of energy becomes too scattered to get anything done.

The medicine of Mrigashira is the balancing act of being multifaceted and diffuse in love and life without becoming a commitment-phoebe. If you're on the more rigid side, Mrigashira asks you to be open to de-compartmentalizing different areas of your life. If you're on the more fluid side, Mrigashira asks you to exercise more control over where your attention is going.

A Song to Listen to with Mrigashira Themes: Just Another Man by Glenn Campbell

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Credit is due to Vic Dicara for a lot of the information I talked about here. If you're interested in learning more about Vedic astrology, his YouTube channel is a great resource to do that.

#mrigashira #vedic astrology #nakshatras #astrology

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vertigoblockbuster · 4 months

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Uttara Phalguni: Devotion, affection

The Phalgunis are the first pair of the 27 nakshatras - later coming the Ashadas, the Bhadrapadas.

Before Uttara Phalguni comes Purva Phalguni, symbolized by the front legs of a bed. Being half of a pair, Uttara Phalguni (symbolized by the back legs of a bed) is concerned with union - happy partnerships and communities. The attitude of Uttara Phalguni is a response to Purva Phalguni, a sign also concerned with union, but in a different way. Purva Phalguni has more to do with the initial attraction or "spark" that we first experience in new relationships. Uttara Phalguni comes along after the Purva Phalguni spark has died down and strives to make the relationship last beyond the initial excitement.

The bed as the symbol of Purva and Uttara Phalguni

The symbology of the bed encompasses themes of both of the Phalgunis. Love, marriage, sex, pleasure for yourself and others, rest, and rejuvenation are all things that can be associated with a bed. Purva Phalguni is more likely to see the bed as a supportive environment for weird kinky sex after a date. Uttara Phalguni seeks to sustain this attraction and, ultimately, transform the bed into one shared between two deeply committed partners.

Part of what makes Uttara Phalguni different from and complementary to Purva Phalguni has to do with their planetary rulerships.

Uttara Phalguni is ruled by the Sun. The Sun represents very masculine qualities and principles - the ego, your sense of self. It projects itself outward into the solar system, representing the doing nature of the Sun as opposed to the being nature of the more feminine planets (Venus, the Moon...). The Sun is the archetype of the father and embodies classically paternal qualities - someone generous, expressive of love and pride, who treats children and loved ones with respect and care.

Purva Phalguni is ruled by Venus, the planet embodying archetypal femininity - things like beauty, love, and pleasing aesthetics. These are the sexy and exciting things that help kick start new relationships and draw us to one another in the first place. Purva Phalguni magnetizes a companion towards her with her innate, seductive qualities and Uttara Phalguni follows close behind to build the relationship into something long-lasting with it's more fatherly approach.

Aryaman: God of community, friendship, marriage, partnership.

The ruling deity of Uttara Phalguni is one of the Adityas, Aryaman. He is brother to Bhaga, the ruling deity of Purva Phalguni. The Adityas are a group of 12 deities and make up (some of) the offspring of Aditi, a primeval goddess and mother to many gods.

Hinduism is known for having.. a lot of different gods. 330 million is a common estimate. With this in mind, it isn't surprising that some deities are not well-known. Aryaman is an important solar deity in the Vedic pantheon but relatively little information is known about him today. Some important information about Aryaman can be derived from his name, though.

The Sanskrit root of the name Aryaman is -Ri, meaning to go forward or to progress. The word arya, stemming from -Ri, means to come together or to form a bond. Putting the two together, the meaning of Aryaman is to progress towards union. -Ri can also mean something that is true and can stand on it's own. Aryaman as a name and deity carries the essence of truth. Aryaman is all about relationship and partnerships, so truth should be thought of with this in mind. True in the context of relationships means reliable, trustworthy, dedicated - prerequisite qualities to be part of a real partnership. This is what Aryaman embodies and stands for as a deity.

A song to listen to that has Uttara Phalguni vibes: If the House Burns Down Tonight by Switchfoot

I see the smoke piling up in the rear view mirror Yeah but I ain't ever seen it any clearer If the house burns down tonight I got everything I need when I got you by my side And let the rest burn

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Credit is due to Vic Dicara for most of the information I talked about here. If you're interested in learning more about Vedic astrology, his YouTube channel is a great resource to do that.

#uttara phalguni #vedic astrology #nakshatras #astrology

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vertigoblockbuster · 6 months

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8/18/23 Start of a short story

I had had about fuckin' enough. Elaine was on one of her tirades she keeps on rotation that day, some horseshit about how the Winn Dixie off 85 keeps changing where they keep the rice cakes.

"But they're nawt a cracker yew-geene," she whines, red toenail-polished feet hanging out of my passenger side window. She takes a pensive sip from her half-gallon Diet Dr Pepper before continuing,

"And they're nawt a bread neither. Don't know why the fuck-ups keep puttin em next to the bagels. Swear to god it's like the world doesn't want me to be skinny. Written in the stars, cross my heart - there are powers at be that want me to stay a fatass forever. Put it on my tombstone: Here lies Elaine Willard, destined to die a whale."

Elaine and I had been going for a year and a half at that point. She was at least eight pounds underweight and whatever she was lacking in mass she made up for in decibels.

Things weren't bad with Elaine. We had a sort of covert contract that I'd pretend not to notice her hair was falling out due to malnutrition if she pretended I didn't do bumps in her parents' bathroom while they cleaned up dinner to put out dessert. Have you ever done a couple lines before a warm brownie with ice cream? I do every other Saturday.

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vertigoblockbuster · 6 months

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Info Dump: Ashlesha Nakshatra

Ashlesha nakshatra is the 9th lunar mansion in the Vedic zodiac, spanning 16.40' - 30.00' Cancer. The associated constellation with Ashlesha is Hydra and it's ruling deities are the Nagas, a cohort of superhuman beings that are part-human and part-serpent. A coiled serpent symbolizes this point on the zodiacal wheel.

Ashlesha is a commonly misunderstood nakshatra. Snakes don't exactly conjure fuzzy feelings. When describing the human personality, those with Ashlesha prominent in their natal charts are often noted for their propensity to behave in cunning, manipulative (often emotional), and deceptive ways. These natives are also widely recognized for possessing profound healing abilities as well as potential for enlightenment.

The symbol of a snake brings to mind a few extrapolations we can make about Ashlesha's nature. A particularly striking one, though, is understanding the serpent as representing Kundalini. Kundalini is a source of largely untapped energy inside of all of us that is located in the Muladhara or root chakra at the bottom of the spine. Associated with the lowest and most primal point of consciousness, the root chakra is concerned with our sense of survival and feeling safe. When someone goes through a Kundalini awakening, this sleeping energy is aroused and travels up the spine until it penetrates the crown chakra, like a coiled snake being charmed to life. Similar to a snake shedding it's skin, the person is transformed in this process.

Kundalini is pure life force and deeply sexual. One way those who have experienced Kundalini awakenings arouse this power within themselves is through the practice of tantra. Practicing tantra doesn't always imply sexual union, but it's one of the most potent forms tantra can take. Being in a state of extreme vulnerability during physical intimacy creates a perfect space for an awakening to happen. Similar to the way your body can't lie in the way it responds to another's, nothing that is buried in the depths of your subconscious is "off limits" during a transformational process. The person you hold to be "you," along with all of the corresponding beliefs, fears, and traumas, has to be discarded along with your socks.

From looking a little bit at how the snake is representative of transformation through arousing Kundalini, we can see that Ashlesha is a very spiritual sign. People with prominent placements in this nakshatra are usually interested in the taboo and occult, and often psychology. There is an interest in self-transformation in Ashlesha people that might be coupled with insecurity about how to achieve it. If we are operating from an unconscious place as represented by the sleeping serpent in the root chakra, it makes sense that these people have a reputation for resorting to manipulation and mind games (that they will beat you at every time). These behaviors are often rooted in a tremendous desire to feel safe and loved. If proper guidance is sought out and an Ashlesha person is willing to be really honest with themselves and tap into their less basal psychology, there is a lot of potential to heal and transcend some pretty gnarly subconscious material.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Ashlesha people naturally have healing abilities in spades. The practice of tantra, a very Ashlesha activity, is not just about drawing up power that previously lied dormant, it's about bringing soothing calmness to the parts of ourselves that maybe we didn't even realize were wounded. You have probably seen the symbol of two snakes twisting around a winged staff at a hospital or on an ambulance - the Caduceus. The staff with the snake has been used as a symbol of medicine for thousands of years, since around 1400 B.C..

The Rod of Asclepius (represented by a singular snake twisting itself around a staff) came before the Caduceus. While the Caduceus came to be used by the Greeks in association with Hermes, patron of messengers, merchants and thieves, the Rod of Asclepius belongs to the Greek god of healing, Aesculapius. The Caduceus's use as a medical symbol as opposed to the Rod of Asclepius is actually due to a mistake made by a U.S. Army Captain in 1902. It's an interesting and a kind of funny story and you can read a little more about that here: https://www.caduceusmedicalgroup.com/for-patients/legend-of-caduceus/

Why are snakes used as a symbol of medicine and healing when they are also a widespread symbol of evil and harm? A couple reasons. The ability of snakes to shed their skin indicates longevity and their tendency to quickly switch from a resting state to one of action represents recovery from sickness. The use of the snake and staff as a symbol of medicine also has Biblical roots as seen by the story of Moses leading the Jewish people through the desert:

While wandering through the desert, the Jewish people became angry with God and Moses, demanding to know why they had been led from Egypt to die in a wasteland. In response God sent poisonous snakes to them, wounding many people and killing others. The Jewish people came to Moses and expressed remorse for forsaking the Lord and begged him to pray to God to have mercy on them. God instructed Moses to build a staff with a bronze serpent mounted on it so that anyone hurt by the snakes could look at it and be healed.

Ashlesha belongs to the Mercury-ruled nakshatras along with Revati and Jyestha. In astrology Mercury rules over things like communication, intellect, kind of brainy/cerebral things. It's not really considered to be a benefic planet (like Venus or Jupiter, bringing pleasant, positive things) or a malefic (like Saturn or Mars, bringing difficult, negative things.) Mercury is dual in nature and can go either way - you have the free will to use your mind for good or for bad. The duality of Mercury can be seen clearly in the symbolism of the twins as representing Gemini. This duality exists in Ashlesha natives in their ability to flip back and forth (doing this fluidly and often without realizing) between channeling their higher versus lower consciousness.

Since Mercury is the sign of intellect and communication, it makes sense that it is the ruling planet of the nervous system. What this means for people with heavy Ashlesha influence in their natal charts is that they are highly sensitive to their environment, picking up on subtleties in communication (including ones they aren't apart of) and social dynamics. It's also not uncommon to see Ashlesha people being fastidious when it comes to personal hygiene. Beyond bodily cleanliness, this high-strung nature is extended to the way the person relates to the world. Details of interactions are picked apart, and there is a concern for social technicalities and "rules." This is a more nit-picky sign than a big-picture one. Funnily enough, while Ashlesha is often critical towards other people, they are hyper sensitive to the same lens being applied to themselves. It's like there is a sentiment here of "I'm trying so hard to get these tiny details perfectly correct (because I know that how you do one thing is how you do everything) and you should know that so you have no right to point out my (very real) personality flaws."

There is an interesting polarity in Ashlesha because on one hand, it's a very primal and sexual sign. On the other, Ashlesha is concerned with cleanliness and purity. A celebrity example of this polarity is Marilyn Monroe, who was an Ashlesha ascendant. She might be the most well-known sex symbol to exist, yet this was largely a mask she wore in an industry that wanted to profit off of her. Those close to her described her personality as sweet and empathetic, and have said that she obviously possessed a great deal of intellectual prowess. Since her death and more has come out about her life, it's obvious that she was deeply unhappy with the way she was portrayed in Hollywood as being naive and overly sexual. She was attracted towards more serious roles even though she never really got a shot at one. Her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller is one example of her attraction towards intelligence and self-expression.

At the risk of looking Ashlesha through an overly male lens, the polarity of sexuality and purity that exists in Ashlesha can be related to the psychological concept of the Madonna-Whore Complex (MWC). The MWC is a term created by Freud to describe problems men have in relating to women, particularly those they are in intimate relationships with. Men suffering from this complex, whether conscious of it or not, place women into one of two mutually exclusive categories, Madonna or Whore. Women are labelled as being either warm, nurturing, and loving or sexually desirable but not both at the same time. When left unexamined, this complex can create hefty dissatisfaction in relationships if a man is either unable to experience sexual attraction towards women he respects or is unable to respect women he deems sexually attractive. Even though the MWC concept is outdated in it's support of a patriarchal view of society and heavy influence from Western Judeo-Christian principles, the problem it speaks to is one that still exists.

With a sensitive, mercurial nervous system and desire to explore transformative (often sexual) healing, we have Ashlesha as a character that is rigidly virginal while simultaneously having an intense (maybe suppressed) sexuality to them. This is a flighty and finicky person that has a huge yearning to be asserted upon so that their sexuality can come out of it's sleeping state and they can experience the pleasure and healing that they desire.

In the beginning of this post it was mentioned that the ruling deities of Ashlesha are the Nagas, beings that are part-human part-serpent. To understand the Nagas and what their ruler ship over Ashlesha means, let's look at where they dwell in the universe, how they came to live there, and the space that they created for themselves.

In Hinduism, the cosmos is conceptualized as being globular in shape and divided into three layers - similar to how the earth has it's cool outer crust, hot central core, and it's warm mantle between the two. The outer layer of the cosmos is called Swarga, where divinities and nakshatras (or stars) are. The middle zone is called Antariksa, where part-human part-divine beings live. The 9 planets used in Vedic astrology as well as the planetary gods exist here. The third innermost layer is called Buu, where we live on earth.

These three basic cosmic layers can be further divided into fourteen worlds. Seven of these fourteen layers are deeper within the core of the cosmos, or deeper inside of the earth, and seven lie above earth's surface. When Indra banished the Dragons and Nagas from Swarga, the outer part of the cosmos, they fell to Buu, the inner part of the cosmos. Being serpentine in nature, the Dragons and Nagas burrowed below the earth to avoid the gods policing their activity. Under the earth they created their own alternative paradise: Naga Loka, a world full of sensuality (the word Ashlesha literally means "to embrace"), pleasures, and what many would call hedonism.

Naga Loka, though technically an underworld, is not like hell. It is filled with pleasure rather than punishment and pain. One reason as to why Naga Loka is so beautiful is because it is tucked away from the sunlight - think of how neon and incandescent lights shine hypnotically at night or the bio-luminescence of some deep sea marine creatures. The absence of sunlight in Naga Loka also means that those dwelling there do not visibly age.

The word Ashlesha itself meaning tight embrace, entwining with another, and intimate contact, is a nakshatra associated with the taboo. This is not only because of the stigmatization of sex and sexuality by society, but also due to it's close relationship with the reptilian. Snakes and dragons are creatures usually representing evil and villains in all kinds of stories - Nagini in Harry Potter, the deadly cobras Nag and Nagaina in Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and the serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. When someone is called a "snake," we know that that person is being accused of being deceitful, sneaky, and underhanded. A pop culture example: Taylor Swift, capitalizing on her feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in which Swift was accused of being a snake, created her album Reputation. The album is full of vengeful, vindictive themes, and takes full advantage of her assigned snake-like character by incorporating heavy serpentine symbology into her work.

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I credit Vic Dicara for the information about the Nagas and Naga Loka. If you're interested in learning about Vedic astrology check out his YouTube Channel.

#ashlesha #vedic astrology #nakshatras #astrology

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vertigoblockbuster · 6 months

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Info Dump: Ardra Nakshatra

In vedic astrology, Rudra is the ruling deity of Ardra nakshatra, the 6th lunar mansion in the Hindu zodiacal system. Rudra is a form of Lord Shiva the Destroyer. Within Hinduism Shiva is one of three principle deities, the other two being Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. In extremely simple terms, Brahma is the creator of the universe, Vishnu is the preserver of it, and Shiva destroys it to recreate a new universe.

Rudra is very different from the other gods. Rather than desiring nice clothing and adornments, Rudra prefers to wear animal skin and tree bark. A graveyard is his preferred dwelling place over a peaceful home. He doesn't wash or cut his hair and searches for a deeper meaning that he values above all earthly comforts. One who has Rudra nakshatras (Ardra, Mula, and the two Bhadrapadas) prevalent in their birth chart has the power to unleash their anger onto untrue, impure things. Lies, harmful people, and corrupt institutions are the types of animals Rudra hunts. Evil is washed away by his storms and a clean slate is made available for good things to manifest.

Shiva is eternal and therefore is not literally "born," instead he is an embodiment of an energy that existed in Brahma first. The story of Rudra's "birth" from Brahma goes like this: Brahma worked hard to create beings to help him in forming the universe. When they disobeyed him because they did not want to mingle with lower earthly things, Brahma understood their reasoning but was simultaneously furious at their disobedience. His rage built up between his eyes (think of how we scrunch our faces when we become angry) and when he pulled it out of his head it took the form of a howling baby that was purple and androgynous, Rudra.

To help Brahma in his creation of the universe, Rudra was instructed to separate his male and female forms and make eleven copies of himself so that they could reproduce together. These beings formed from Brahma's fury were full of anger and threatened to destroy the world that he was attempting to create. Brahma instructed Rudra to control his anger by meditating. Rudra threw himself into yoga to conquer his mind and become peaceful. Brahma was pleased with the work that Rudra had done on himself and renamed him Shiva. Literally translated, Rudra means the "howler" or the "most frightening one" while Shiva means "calm" or "benevolent." Rudra's self-mastery through yoga is why he is revered as one of the original masters of the practice, another being Brahma. Rudra is perhaps a more notable yogic master because of the inner rage he had to conquer within himself. His path to self-control was more challenging because he is the embodiment of Brahma's anger.

When used unhealthily, this destructive force is inflicted on innocent people and things around the native with Rudra influencing their chart. It can also be turned inward by the native onto themselves. Here we can see the archetype of the tortured bad boy or the tragic bad girl. No superficiality is tolerated (at least not comfortably) at this point in the zodiac and must be destroyed, including one's own character.

Some of the symbology associated with Ardra includes the color green (Ardra translating to mean moist one or fresh one), a jewel, a human head and a teardrop. The color green reminds us of the rich landscape of a forest after a storm. After a violent downpour the plant life is hydrated, nourished, and rejuvenated. Here is a reminder that storms, while frightening experiences best avoided from a superficial standpoint, are not only beautiful on a deeper level but necessary for growth. This same principle can easily be extended to human beings and is the major lesson we learn from Ardra nakshatra: Anger is not bad. We need anger. The challenge is directing it properly.

The symbol of the jewel evokes ideas of the formation of diamonds. It is commonly known that tremendous heat and pressure are required to form diamonds, and that they are held around the world to be extremely valuable. Again, we are brought back to the idea of using our turbulent, angry emotions (think of the heat and pressure required for a diamond to form) as tools to create a life that we truly value (the diamond itself).

The human head and teardrop are associated with Ardra because it is a nakshatra of intellect, deep reflection, and also of anguish and suffering. Crying has been said to be a remedy for those with prominent Ardra placements in their chart because it releases pent up emotions. After crying we are left with a clean emotional slate and there is now space to recreate ourselves.

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I credit Vic Dicara for the information on the story of Rudra/Shiva. Please check out his YouTube channel Vic Dicara's Astrology if you are interested in learning about vedic astrology.

#astrology #vedic astrology #ardra #nakshatras

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