SCIENCE BEHIND ZODIACS/PLANETS- ASTROLOGY CODE CRACKED-PART II

The last blog established the lost connection between the two great sciences of Vedic Era i.e. Ayurveda and astrology where we realized that how different times of the day/year and different locations create different conditions. Now everyone knows that there are twelve zodiacs just as we have twelve months and the sun stays in each zodiac for one month. So, zodiacs are nothing but different weather conditions only, which evoke different levels of vata, pitta and kapha in the mind and body of all living beings, making us react differently in different weather conditions and locations.

This blog will go deeper to explain the exact science behind each zodiac by using simple principles of Ayurveda. But before that, here is a brief on the role of planets which hold equal importance in Astrology as zodiacs do. This is because each planet of the solar system represents a combination of Vata, Pitta and/or Kapha. A logic driven mind would definitely raise questions as to how planets are affecting our lives. Vedic philosophy answers this question by one statement “ YAT PINDE, TAT BRAHMANDE ” meaning “As is one’s microcosm (the inner universe), so is one’s macrocosm (the universe outside one) and vice versa” and we shall understand the significance of this statement as we proceed further when we learn the nature of different planets vis a vis their effects on human body.

*** Since Ayurveda is the mother of Astrology as explained in the last article too, it is important that you understand that how the basic and fundamental forces (called as DOSHAS) of Ayurveda i.e. Vata, Pitta and Kapha (VPK) work, I urge you to pick up a copy of the book THE ROOT CAUSE  (links mentioned at the end of the blog ⇓⇓⇓) and watch the root cause series videos on Youtube.

SIGNIFICANCE OF PLANETS IN ASTROLOGY

So, to begin with, Sun represents pitta and rightly so because it is sunlight (direct or indirect) which triggers current in our body to perform every act (we have seen in the previous blog that how sun controls the cycle of the day). On the other hand, Moon represents that force which negates the action of pitta (current) and is therefore cooling as opposed to Sun. From scientific viewpoint, moon’s light is cold in nature being white thereby bringing peace in mind. Apart from this, moon’s gravity also plays a major role on our physiology. This is because just the way there are high tides in the ocean due to the effect of moon’s gravity, our body which is made up primarily of water also experiences the pull of moon. Thus, during full moon the peripheral circulation of blood increases thereby bringing calmness to the brain as more blood means more nutrition and more nutrition to the brain means more happiness. Similarly, Mars represents kapha and pitta dominance due to good amount of blood flowing in the entire body especially peripherals, conveying enthusiasm and blood red skin. On ground too, Mars is a ferociously red planet. Jupiter denotes pure kapha and interestingly, it is the heaviest and a slow moving planet in the system, which is the quality of a kapha person. Saturn denotes vata (due to astringency and coldness) and on ground too, it is so light that it can float on water, which is the quality of a vata person (light physique). Mercury represents an equal mix of vata, pitta and kapha and on ground too, it is the densest planet after earth (meaning kapha), hottest after Venus (meaning pitta) and quickly moving (vata). Lastly, Venus represents kapha and a warm constitution. That is what it is on ground too; acidic (sour) and warm (vis a vis Sun), and acidity increases kapha due to expansion.

*** To give you a deeper understanding of planets, here is an example.. Due to equal VPK, Mercury represents buddhi/intellect and also speech because while kapha stores, vata analyses and instantly conveys it through pitta and that is why strong mercury in ones chart especially in second house (house of face, speech etc.) conveys good oratory skill of the person.

Now, Vedic astrology doesn’t give importance to Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, however, this science is incomplete without two more unheard planets. These are Rahu and Ketu, which are the northern and southern intersection points or nodes where earth and Lunar orbits meet/intersect and cause an eclipse.  Thus, Rahu and Ketu are imaginary (shadow) planets, which are always opposite to each other and play a very important role in deciding our constitution as their axis matters a lot as per astrology. To understand how, here is the logic that I understood during my studies-  Sun and Moon are constantly exerting their gravitational pull on earth and therefore their combination creates a force that pulls more of blood in the body towards one side (either upper or lower). Thus, Rahu and Ketu are nothing but two poles on the longitudinal axis of the human body where Ketu is pulling the blood towards itself and away from Rahu. Thus, the point where Rahu sits is low on blood i.e. high Vata (because Vata goes where blood doesn’t go meaning low nutrition) something like Saturn, and Ketu means more blood (high kapha) i.e. something like mars. Of course, this transition from less blood to more is gradual and that’s why Rahu-Ketu axis is considered extremely important in astrology.

*** This logic of how Moon, Sun, Rahu and ketu act on our body and mind (in terms of manipulating Doshas) are good enough to explain the science behind the effect of planets during their transit in different signs/zodiacs (called as Gochar) while deducting predictions in Astrology. Read the science of how eclipses affect our body and mind to know more.

SCIENCE BEHIND ZODIACS 

Now, once we have understood the significance of planets, let us move on to the logic, which defines different Zodiacs. April mid beginning which is also the first Zodiac that is Aries, is the time when summers set in and pitta just begins to accumulate in the body (Please note that months would vary from place to place and this example is for conceptual understanding). However due to the spell of mildly cold weather in the preceding months, the body has accumulated lots of tissues (kapha) and pitta increases blood circulation thereby increasing strength and enthusiasm. Since the environment during Aries’ period (mid april to mid may) is similar to doshas associated with Mars (muscular kapha and pitta), Mars is said to be the owner or lord of Zodiac (no 1) Aries. By mid may, summer is on the rise when pungency (heat) as well as sourness due to consistently high pitta takes over (consistent heat increases sourness) and therefore the Zodiac for this duration, which is Taurus (zodiac 2), is owned by Venus, which represents similar state of doshas (we learnt above that Venus is an acidic planet which means sourness and heat). Mid June, the body begins to feel fatigued due to excess heat and therefore pitta (meaning energy levels of the body) start going down. This is the time when all the three doshas i.e. VPK are at par because Pitta has reduced and Kapha which had accumulated during winters has also reduced and thus, this period of Gemini zodiac (no 3) is owned by Mercury because mercury represents VPK in equal, though low proportion. Mid July onward when cancer zodiac (no 4) begins, the rains go on their peak (probably monsoon derived from moon-soon). Here pitta is already exhausted and sudden coldness of weather due to rains begins to add fluid in the body thereby adding kapha and that is why this period is owned by Moon.  Mid august, the rains begin to decline but due to high body fluids especially blood, vata of brain gets settled when blood reaches there too, thereby invoking pitta (which otherwise was blocked by high prana vata- To know how vata blocks pitta read this blog⇒ HOW VATA PUSHES PITTA/ BLOCKS PITTA/PUSHES KAPHA AND HOW KAPHA BLOCKS PITTA/VATA AND THEIR ASTROLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE/REMEDY). That’s why this period of Leo Zodiac (no 5) is owned by Sun. Come mid Sept, that is Virgo (zodiac 6), again due to the events of the past months, all the three doshas i.e. VPK come at par (though higher than those during Gemini’ s time because now pitta is high due to excitement after rains, kapha is high due to accumulation after rains. And therefore again, Mercury owns this period of Virgo. Mid Oct i.e. very early winters when slight amount of chill begins in the weather, there is a very slight amount of sourness and pitta left in the body and that is why this period of Libra zodiac (no 7) is owned by Venus again. Mid Nov, more of blood begins to reach towards the core (especially digestive system) which had gotten lesser due to high pitta during the summers. The result is healthier jatharagini that is agni of the stomach (in fact digestive system) which increases appetite and accumulation of food and thus tissues (kapha) in the body. All this leads to increase in strength and blood circulation and enhanced enthusiasm and energy levels (though lesser than Aries time) and thus again, this period of Scorpio zodiac (no 8) is owned by Mars. Mid Dec, as the winter increases, peripheral blood circulation decreases leading to increase in peripheral vata. This leads to more blood reaching the core thereby leading to further increase in jatharagini and addition of strength due to addition of tissues. Thus peripheral vata (meaning less blood in the brain too) reduces enthusiasm to some extent however this is the time when the person has a balanced approach of strength and enthusiasm and that is why this period of Sagittarian zodiac (no 9) is owned by Jupiter which depicts kapha. Mid Jan and mid Feb, blood circulation becomes very less due to extreme winters and we all constrict (shrink due to cold). This is the time when vata is highest and that is why, these periods of Capricorn (no 10) and Aquarius (no 11) respectively are both owned by Saturn, which depicts vata. Mid-March is the time, which is similar to that of mid-Dec when body again begins to expand a little after a phase of severe winters and that is why again this period of Pisces zodiac (no 12) is owned by Jupiter. And then again, we reach mid-April when pitta begins to show its effect on accumulated kapha thereby entering into Aries ruled by mars. The cycle goes on and on.

*** Different zodiacs have been categorized basis doshas dominating in their period. To understand that logic please check this blog⇒ AYURVEDA EXPLAINS EXULTED/ DEBILITATED PLANETS -ASTROLOGY DECODED- PART V

SCIENCE BEHIND NAKSHATRAS (CONSTELLATIONS) AND DIVISIONAL CHARTS

Since lots of weather fluctuations happen within a month too, the Vedic Sciences divided the year into 27 equal parts which are obviously smaller than zodiacs and these are called as Nakshatras or constellations each of which is owned by a specific planet the way zodiacs are owned. Same way even if a particular month is overall ruled by one planet (or say specific dosha/s), there are ups and downs within each month too. And, that is why each zodiac is further sub-divided into various parts which are again governed by different planets. That is how divisional charts came into being.

             Finally to conclude, while this is the first time in the recorded history of this civilization that zodiacs have been explained scientifically (though this is also true that knowledge already existed and we are just reinventing the wheel), if we set aside the philosophy of “Yat Pinde, Tat Brahmande” (for want of scientific explanation), the current level of knowledge cannot explain the logic as to how these planets affect our body (except for Sun and Moon). However, here are some of the theories that could crudely explain their role as well as the role of astrology. These are:-

• Theory of entangled particles, provides a clue that the world is much more than what meets the eye and that we all are inter-connected despite being separated by huge distances.
• Effect of different colors/frequencies– Different effects of planets could be because of different spectrum of light (which are different frequencies only) they are emitting since different colors have different effect on our body and mind (due to varying wavelength/frequency) e.g. white light automatically brings peace whereas red invokes emotions. This is one of the principles employed for using different gemstones to impart strength to specific planet (or say dosha) in our body. Probably that is why retrograde planets (vakri) have opposite effect on our lives which can be explained by Doppler’s principle of frequency.
• Theory of Gravitational Waves– Recent confirmation of gravitational waves and their impact could be playing a role here as different planets have different gravitational fields.
• Magnetic force– Since it is the flow of blood that defines vata, pitta and kapha in different parts of the body, which in turn defines the physiology and psychology of the person, it could be, that different planets exert different levels of magnetic force on human body thereby creating a specific flow of blood (because blood contains iron) and defining our physiology etc.
• Planets were constants– Many of you would have heard that to satisfy an equation, physicists used constants. Could it be that since movements of planets and constellations (independent or even with respect to each other) is absolutely predictable at any point of time and space, they were used as constants in the software of astrology to denote specific time when some specific dosha/s was/were dominant (due to a specific pattern of weather like EL NINO after a particular duration)?

ALL STUDIES POINT TO ONE DIRECTION -THAT WE ARE LIVING IN A SIMULATED WORLD

 Vedas have already mentioned that the world is not so real as it looks like (they call it Maya or illusion). This raises a question that are we living in a simulated world where the conscience of our higher self has been assigned a specific body to help us gain certain lessons and desires based on our past life karmas (which can never be really instilled through class room studies) through mutual interactions for further evolution of the soul/conscience? And this software of Astrology in the operating environment of earth (created by combination of zodiacs and planets in form of weather, friends and relatives around, for simulating different conditions using the theories mentioned above), is a tool provided by the higher world to know the conditions we are born with/in; to optimize our potential for achieving our goals (lessons) and desires; and to guide us and help us reflect on ourselves, when we are totally lost to help us come back on our assigned path. In fact in the coming blogs of this astrology series when we shall pick up specific case histories, you will find that while first house of a birth chart represents one’s own soul, the other houses of the birth chart define the type of parents, kids, siblings, friends, spouse (or their soul) we shall come across in our lives which clearly indicates that we are here on earth to learn/impart lessons to each other through simulated conditions (Read books like Many Lives Many Masters, Laws of the Spirit World, My Conscience and you will begin to agree with this fact).

This also implies that more than genetics it is the conditions around (what we eat through all our senses) which decide that how our life will shape up for imparting a lesson to us. 

In the next blog, we shall discuss the science behind Dasha/Mahadasha (planetary periods) system of Astrology which will explain you that how our soul transits from one level of conscience to another thereby proving the fact that TIME IS THE BIGGEST TEACHER.