Tag: nakshatras (Page 3 of 13)

Vishakha

10/08/2024 / / 0 Comments
  • Span: 20°00′ Libra to 03°20′ Scorpio
  • Deity: Indra and Agni (yes, two)
  • Dasha Lord: Jupiter
  • Symbol: Forked Branch, Archway or a Spindle
  • Animal (Yoni): Tiger (male)
  • Shakti or power: vyapana shakti = power of vast achievement

The name Vishakha refers to something split, or branched. Vish can mean something spread, extended or all encompassing. Akha refers to a sword or a hoe (the tool). Together, this means a blade with multiple sides. Or a forked branch, which is one of the main symbols here. Vish can also refer to accomplishing or achieving, and achievement is a very important point in regards to this star. A final meaning of Vish deals with entering a place or settling in a place.

The meaning and symbolism here refers to a forked branch, a Y-shaped object. A secondary symbol, which relates to entering a place, deals with an archway. The final symbol is a spindle, which is another possible translation for the word Vishakha itself.

The symbols indicate the nature of life and desire. The Y-Shape shows choices, divisions and turning points, where we come from a common thread but must select a distinct path. The Archway shows the achievement or arrival. The spindle shows the spinning nature of life and the universe, with cycles and movement.

Going more in depth on each symbol, the Y-shape stands out as the main one, as it refers to the dualities present on this nakshatra. Unlike other nakshatras, this one has two deities. Agni, which is the deity behind Krittika nakshatra, the god of fire; and Indra, the deity behind Jyeshtha nakshatra, the god of war and the leader of the gods.

The duality here represents an inner conflict. Indra is the god of luxury, with palatial buildings, while Agni is the god of sacrifice and penance. In life, this acts as a conflict between boastfulness and achievement, compared with humbleness and detachment.

The symbol of the archway deals with a notable structure, like the triumph arch or the pearly gates of heaven. This shows achievement, something great being accomplished. It can also show the archway of an altar, where marriage is celebrated.

The problem with achievement? A cowboy’s work is never done. You work hard towards something, but there is no rest afterwards. Either another goal appears, or you simply have to keep working to maintain that. With marriage, this is specially true. No matter how many fireworks and helicopter rides the ceremony has, the real work begins afterwards. Staying together, sharing a life, tackling problems, dealing with flaws and pet peeves, not murdering your partner, etc.

The final symbol of the spindle shows the Wheel of Dharma or the cycle of life. As this nakshatra deals a lot with achievement, conquering things, the idea of a cycle is inevitable. Desire, followed by achievement, followed by a new desire restarting the cycle.

The shakti of this star refers to all encompassing achievement, vast achievement. This is a very powerful nakshatra for achievement. These natives usually accomplish a lot in life, this is also a powerful day for getting things done. Achievements here reach far and wide.

Some loose notes:

  • Strong desires for power, achievement and leadership.
  • Big need for partnership and marriage.
    • Intense relationships and need for love.
    • Longing and pinning for lovers.
  • Very active, strong and forceful character.
  • Excellent placement for material achievements and progress in life.
  • Strong work ethic or endurance
  • Excesses and indulgences can be an issue.
    • Food, alcohol, sex, etc.
  • Polarities and inner conflict, double energy
    • Penance vs Opulence
    • Hard work vs Glamour
    • Humble vs Bragging
  • Very knowledgeable and intelligent.
  • Urge for change and transformation in life.
  • Can be a coward
    • sacrificing others for his own good
  • Grass is always greener syndrome, they might never be satisfied with what they already have.
  • Career wise:
    • Being very determined, they tend to thrive on most fields.
    • A preference for professions where they can use their charm and wits is present.
      • For instance, a Vishakha doctor would lean towards management or leadership positions. Heading councils and boards, rather than just dealing with patients.
      • They will seldom stay in the background, or settle for the average position. Managers rather than workers.
    • They tend to change careers or fields, usually for greener pastures.
    • Competitive sports and politics are fields where they are frequently found.
    • At some point in life, these natives will tend to get involved with politics.

Through the symbols discussed above, we understand that desire and achievement are the main points of this nakshatra. Most of it lies in the sign of Libra, the natural 7th house, which represents kama and desires. Libra naturally promotes strong desires, specially for material possessions and marriage. This nakshatra highlights this desirous aspect of Libra.

Vishakha deals with a native that is always longing for the great victory. For the palace, the wealth, the perfect spouse, the top of the tops on everything. That comes allied with great skill, endurance and work ethic. So these natives usually work hard to get what they want. Similarly, this star tends to promote achievement and victory. As the Archway represents arriving, reaching a higher ground.

The concept of a split or a branch, however, is the most important point. On desires, it represents the endless stream of them. Once an achievement is made, a new desire arises, maybe multiple desires. You move to a better neighborhood, now you need a better car. Also, you might need better furniture. Once you have enough furniture, you might need a bigger better house for it.

The split specially represents the uncommon point of two deities, specially two deities with mostly dissonant meanings. Agni represents penance, Indra represents opulence. Agni is the initial force, also a permanent presence. Indra is a position, temporarily occupied by a soul, ephemeral.

The split meaning is, not shockingly, split. On one side, it represents the division of a desire/goal into multiple desires/goals. On the other hand, it represents a dual nature of sorts, where the native swings between two extremes. A humble, gentle character, or a boastful and highly desirous person.

Vishakha also tends to indicate strong love relationships. These natives have a strong craving for romantic love, as well as marriage. This star is all about goals, and love is one of these goals.

Natives tend to put all their efforts, all their strength, into their relationships. For good and bad. On the positive, they are very dedicated partners who will do a lot for their loved ones. On the negative, they can become obsessive at times, engaging in odd and controlling behaviors.

As usual, let’s delve into the negative. The main problem with Vishakha is excess and its derivative actions.

On the most obvious ground, that can show indulgence. The native might be excessive with food, alcohol, drugs or sex. Addictions and troubles can arise from these excesses. A negative trend here is also about cowardice, sacrificing others for your own good.

But a big excess comes from a vicious life pattern, where the native is always aiming for the next big thing, never enjoying what he already has. There is a hard time finding satisfaction here, finding solace in what you have. The native is always longing for something more, for a new mountain not yet conquered.

Problems of insecurity, not feeling good enough can arise out of this. Developing gratitude for what you already have goes a long way for Vishakha natives. Learning to appreciate what you have achieved, rather than feeling small because you could’ve achieved more. There will always be someone with more, that doesn’t mean that what you have is not good, or that you are not worthy or valuable.

As a daily star:

Vishakha days tend to either be a time of intense indulgence or effort. It can either be a day where you are just partying, having food, alcohol, sex and enjoying life. Or it can be a day where you are working towards achieving something. It tends to either be the busy little worker, trying to become somebody, or the somebody who is enjoying life.

On the work and achievement grounds, this is a great day to reach any goal. Reading these descriptions is one thing, an important one at that, but living them is another. I recently went through a Vishakha day where I had a complicated task to solve. Something that I didn’t want to do, a responsibility that just showed up, but it had to be dealt with. It was something that could end up taking more than 8 hours of work, depending on how things went. Well, it took about 2 hours and it was done to perfection.

The energy here is favorable towards any concentrated and clear effort. It is a great time to concentrate, tackle problems and deal with important projects.

→ Favorable activities with Vishakha: Exerting force, making efforts to achieve a goal. Favorable for clear goals and targets. Getting things done. Defining goals or making resolutions. Harsh activities. Anything needing focus, mental or physical. Favorable for parties, ceremonies, specially those that deal with honors or pomp. Romance and seduction.

→ Unfavorable activities with Vishakha: Negative for travel, anything requiring diplomacy or tact, as this is a fierce and forceful energy. Not good for initiations or marriage.

On a predictive manner, Vishakha represents an imposing and determined force. With the 2nd house, this could mean that the family of the native is very controlling, and that they tend to impose their will on the native. With the 7th house or Venus, this could show multiple marriages, as the person might not be satisfied, always seeking the perfect partner.

See more Nakshatra posts here

Questions, July 15th 2024

15/07/2024 / / 0 Comments

This time we have, yet again, Mercury retrograde. A galore of retrogrades, discussion on the most evil and difficult nakshatra. 2025, the year of ascension. We have god, we have lasagna, we have everything.

See the previous Q&A here.

Mercury Retrograde, but this time it’s different

"i was born with mercury retrograde. some places say this is good, others say that it is bad, what is it?"
Name: Yuri

Short answer: neither.

Long answer:

Retrogrades are a controversial topic in Astrology, with varied interpretations of it. Let’s make a couple of inferences:

  1. Retrograde motion makes planets slower, therefore more noticeable, or stronger.
  2. Retrograde means moving backwards, so the effects tend to be “reversed” in some manner.

Both of these points tend to be an agreed basis on interpretating retrogrades, the problem comes in making the actual interpretation.

On point number 1, we have the classical issue of reductionism. Everything is good or bad, demons and angels, highs and lows. Nothing can be human or in-between. So people assume that “stronger” will always mean better, and “smaller” will always mean worse.

On a brash example, would having a stronger cancer be better? Nope, not really. Retrograde planets are stronger, period. Whether that is “good” or “bad” depends on the what, the when and the who.

On point number 2, what does reversion entails is the million dollar question. In my view, this deals with internalization and externalization. The qualities of a retrograde planet are internalized, meaning that a native relies more on his inner fortitude, than on external circumstances.

For instance, Saturn retrograde tends to make hard workers and people who aren’t easily put down by life. Saturn itself tends to create challenges and obstacles in life. A Saturn direct person tends to see these problems, and get boggled down by the unfairness of life. A Saturn retrograde person will tend to rise above, and want to work towards solving things, rather than blaming the circumstances.

Going into Mercury, what does retrograde entail?

Mercury deals with perception, the senses, communication, the nervous system. It deals a lot with noticing things, analyzing and seeing. Retrograde makes this stronger, so these people tend to notice more. On one hand, this gives great intelligence. On the other hand, issues of sensory overload or mental exhaustion can arise.

On the internalization front, Mercury here can be less communicative, natives might have a hard time making themselves heard or expressing themselves. A fear of telling your real thoughts can arise, and get in your way at times, as you yield to please people and forget about your own needs.

Overall, Mercury Retrograde in a natal chart tends to make highly intelligent people, who can excel in academia or any mental work. Still, the excessive mental activity can create some nervous issues, as well as things like anxiety. It can also lead to a fear of expressing yourself, which needs to be remedied and worked on, learning to show your true self (and true intentions) without fear is a big lesson with this placement.

Retrograde Galore

"mercury gets all the attention, tell us about other retrogrades"
Name: Lasagna 2

Short answer: Hi Lasagna 2, love you too, my darling.

Long answer:

The answer above is a really good intro and complement to this, but let’s make a retrogrades galore:

→ Mars retrograde: Coming this December! I like to explain Mars Retrograde with a garden hose. Open the faucet, cover the hose hole with your thumb. You will have a huge build-up of water, and pressure, that will seemingly explode when you remove your thumb. This is Mars retrograde.

Mars retrograde internalizes Mars, which is a planet that deals a lot with externalizing and making things. So we feel the anger, the lust, of Mars. But we build it up inside, instead of releasing it. There are less confrontations, less aggression and less turbulence with Mars retro. The few things that happen tend to be ineffective. But the anger is still there, building up inside.

When Mars goes direct, all that pressure is released, much like with our hose example. The weeks (sometimes months) after Mars goes direct tend to be times of trouble, aggression and conflict. As Mars retro built up all that pressure.

→ Pluto retrograde: Pluto deals a lot with inner fears or tensions that arise out of a need for control. Dealing a lot with the internal, retrograde tends to invert that, and Pluto gets externalized.

During Pluto retrograde, we are more inclined to face our fears in tangible manners. For instance, going after something we want, rather than just sitting and complaining. Getting yourself into the dating market, rather than just complaining about your love woes. Having hard conversations, etc.

On the other hand, Pluto retro tends to promote violence, as people similarly want to externalize their desires for power and security.

→ Jupiter and Saturn retrograde: Grouping these two together, when discussing their retrogrades, is interesting. As they represent positive and negative, in many ways. Jupiter is growth, Saturn is decay. Jupiter is glory and prosperity, Saturn is lack of recognition and poverty.

When Saturn goes retrograde, we tend to internalize the karmic conscient ways of Saturn. The idea that we make our own troubles, as well as our own fortune. Saturn retrograde is a strong time for problem solving, life improvement, as we tend to stop blaming external circumstances and focusing more on our own ways.

Jupiter retrograde makes us careful, we tend to spend less money, and we are fearful of pushing our luck, so we tend to plan and act in less flamboyant ways. People who get financial windfalls during Jupiter retrograde, tend to save it or invest it carefully, rather than making lavish mindless purchases.

When these two go retrograde together, it is easier to be productive and focused, as both of their cycles tend to stimulate hard work. In recent (not that much) years like 2018 and 2019, this happened for many months. This year, we will have October with both of them retrograde.

The Hardest Most Evil Meanie of Nakshatras

"i have moon in kritika, joni patry has just called it 'the most difficult nakshatra' is that true? 😧"
Name: april

Short answer: No, I don’t think so.

Long answer:

I’ve been around with Nakshatras. I’ve read, heard and researched a ridiculous amount of opinions on them. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen someone classifying Krittika like this, not even once, not even kinda.

Usually, the crown of “most difficult” is fought between Ashlesha and Purva Bhadrapada, with some other contenders occasionally popping by. And I haven’t seen Krittika appearing among the contenders.

Let’s remember some points about Krittika. It is represented by fire and a scalpel. It is ruled by Agni, the fire god. It has an energy akin to Mars, dealing with intensity, passion and force. This can be, and usually is, harnessed towards productive possibilities. But it can lead towards aggression, combativeness or violence.

There is potential for trouble, yes. But I wouldn’t even classify it as “one of the most difficult”, let alone the most difficult itself. Usually, these natives tend to harness their excessive energy, finding some outlet for their fieriness. A lot of them get involved in cooking (knifes, fire and yelling Gordon Ramsay style) or with fitness and sports. Competitive, fast paced work environments are a similar expression, with things like the stock market — on a more white collar route. The inner fire of Krittika placements is usually easy to handle, as long as the native finds an outlet. So no, I don’t think it is difficult, let alone the most difficult one.

On the why she said this, I can only speculate, as I couldn’t find where she said it. But I remember an interview with Joni, where she talked about equating the Fixed Stars (of western astrology) with the Nakshatras in her practice. Something that I would call questionable, to put it softly. My guess is she is equating this nakshatra with some disastrous fixed star meaning.

By principle, I like to think that things have names for a reason. Paul is not John. Paulette is not Paul. John is neither Paul or Paulette. They are all different people. Fixed Stars are one thing, Nakshatras are another. Fixed stars are points to be searched, and analyzed when a planet is conjunct them. Nakshatras are a zodiac of their own.

Fixed Stars are usually applied with a 3° orb of influence, sometimes even less than that. So a Fixed Star would span about 6° of influence in a sign. A Nakshatra spans 13 degrees and 20 minutes. Equating a Fixed Star, of about 6°, to an entire Nakshatra, of 13°20′, is questionable in many ways.

Could I wear my 10 year old cousin’s t-shirt? Yes, but it would be a cropped top on me, and some establishments might kick me out because of dress code, no matter how cute my belly button looks. It wouldn’t fit like a t-shirt, it wouldn’t be the same.

2025

"is 2025 the year of the rapture?"
Name: god

Short answer: No.

Middle answer: I got multiple questions about 2025, I kept the most fun one, too lazy to add more.

Long answer:

If you’ve been around occult circles, you know the hype about 2025. As early as 2016 you could read about it. People talking about ascension, raptures, return of christ, mass awakenings, a new golden age and things of the sort. Usually, this type of hype would die down, the more we approached the actual year. But this time around this isn’t happening. The hype is either the same, maybe even more, than it was a few years ago.

Do I believe the hype? No.

What do I think? Well, that is a long answer so long, that I would rather just make into an actual text. Was actually working on it even before this Q&A, will put it out soon1. But for now, a short preview/summary:

Most of the hype about 2025 deals with a Saturn-Neptune conjunction, that happens about every 36 years, last time it was 1989. Some have taken this to mean a new era for humankind, where everything will be unicorns and rainbows.

To me it, is just another cycle. The Saturn-Neptune cycle shows our illusions, hopes for society, taste in arts and creative works. So those will certainly change. For the better? Maybe, one can only hope, but probably not. Will the world be fixed, and we will be surrounded by love and peace everywhere? In my view, The Beatles coming back, with Kanye West replacing John Lennon, is more likely — the music would probably be better2.

But hey, I could be wrong and all of the rapture people could be right. One can only hope for the best, we can’t guarantee it.

1Sometime between now and never, most likely around late July or early August.

2Yes, I had to say it. Yes, I wanted to get boomers mad. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending for the Q&A.

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