Gemstones and Astrology

               

When and Why should we wear gemstones????

When should we wear and why should we wear gemstones? Whether it has to be worn when a planet is negative or when the planet is weak? And if we wear, will the planet become positive or will it become strong or whether to enhance the positive weak planet or to enhance a positive strong planet? What should we do and when should we wear a gemstone? These are the frequently asked questions about wearing a Gemstone.

 Planets need to be classified or categorised based on being natural benefics or malefics due to their characteristics. So if a natural benefic is ill placed and being a yoga karaka planet for that horoscope then what should be suggested?

Let’s take an example of Jupiter. If in a horoscope Jupiter is well placed but with inimical influence i.e. posited along with enemy planets or malefic planets, it becomes weak. Let’s consider Cancer Ascendant for which Jupiter is the 6^th and the 9^th Lord. If it is posited in the 9^th House i.e. along with Saturn and Rahu, Jupiter though placed in its own house and a strong trine it loses much of its positive energy. In this case we can wear a gemstone for Jupiter which will actually enhances its strength to fight the negative influences of Rahu and Saturn and will individually try to give some good benefic results to the native.

Now let’s take another example where for the same Cancer ascendant Jupiter is posited in the 6^th house i.e. Sagittarius along with Rahu and Saturn. Here in this case, the native should not wear a gemstone of Jupiter. Because by wearing a gemstone of Jupiter the native will enhance the qualities of 6^th House creating more hurdles in his life. All the planets except the luminaries have ownership on two houses. Jupiter also has dual lordship but because of its placement its orientation will be more towards the ninth house if it is placed in Meena i.e. Pisces (9^th House) and if placed in Sagittarius here it will be more strong as the 6^th Lord than the 9^th Lord because of its position in the 6^th house. Also Sagittarius is the moola trikona sign for Jupiter hence wearing a yellow Topaz or yellow sapphire in this particular combination will be harmful for the native.

 Let’s take another example of Pisces Lagna. Moon is the 5^th Lord and if it is debilitated (posited in Scorpio i.e. in the 9^th house) and conjunct Saturn (the 11^th and 12^th Lord for Pisces Lagna) should we wear a gemstone related to Moon to enhance its strength or should we avoid it?

In this case we can wear a Moon stone because the Moon is basically a trikona lord (5^th lord) and it has moved to another important trikona (the 9^th). We should always enhance the strength of a planet which moves from 1^st to 5^th or from 5^th to 9^th. Here Moon is weak due to its placement but not malefic. In this combination the thought process and thinking ability of the native would have slowed down due to the weak placement of Moon and wearing a Gemstone like the Moon stone would bring in positive results.

If in the above context Moon is placed in Cancer along with Rahu and Saturn, then it becomes the 5^th lord placed in the 5^th house and hence Moon is quite strong. In this scenario a Gem Stone is not required. Moon is well placed and will give good positive results.

A malefic planet in a malefic house should we enhance it?

For example - Mars in 6^th house. Yes in this case you should enhance Mars. Wearing a Coral is unethical and should be avoided by all means, since coral is not a stone, it’s an animal. It is unethical to kill an animal and wear its body part on our finger. As an alternate we can wear Blood stone which is the best for Mars.

Why should we enhance Mars?

Boosting Mars will enhance competitive spirit because it is posited in 6^th house.

What is a malefic house?

For each planet malefic house differs. Normally the 6^th and the 11^th houses are considered malefic since both represent roga (illness). Saturn gives benefic results when placed in the 3^rd, 6^th and 11^th houses. The 3^rd house is the best. The same three houses are good for Sun. Though both these planets are opposites they have common good placements. In the 3^rd house which is the Parakrama sthana (house of valour) one needs to have patience and also valour. For patience Saturn is required and for valour Sun is required. It’s not the same for Mars. For Mars we have other houses, like if Mars is posited in 7^th, it is good. The person will be open towards relationships or mingling with people. People associate the term relationship with the opposite gender for the purpose of lust.

For a person who has to be good in marketing and selling products or if he has to sell a concept, he needs to know his environment and take quick decisions. This quality is given by Mars. Lust is a part and parcel of Mars in 7^th. But 7^th Mars if it is aspected by Jupiter or yoga karaka planet Saturn then the person will be ethical in his behaviour.

Let’s take another example - if we enhance Shukra i.e. Venus the person will be excellent in his skills but the other qualities of Shukra will also get enhanced. A strong Venus in the natal chart by birth can make the native a very good artist, ex. a good singer, a painter etc. He might become popular and famous but along with that he might also indulge in other unethical relationships.

For example - What if a person is going through Jupiter Dasha and if he wants to wear a  Gomed (Hessonite Garnet)?

Pukhraj  or a yellow topaz is for Jupiter and if Jupiter is well placed then we can say go ahead to wear the stone Pukhraj but if he asks for a drastically opposite gemstone i.e. gomedh (it is a honey colour stone) which is for Rahu, it is like wearing a gemstone totally opposite to the significations of the planet Jupiter. But in some cases where Jupiter is placed in 11^th and Rahu is placed in 2^nd we can wear a Gomed during Jupiter dasha.

But in case if Jupiter is placed in 5^th and Rahu is placed in 11^th, in this case we should not recommend wearing a Gomed. It is because both are aspecting each other (i.e. 7^th aspect which is also known as an inimical aspect). So by wearing Gomed Rahu’s strength will get enhanced and overshadow Jupiter which is in the 5^th.

The fifth house which is the house of progeny, honesty, imagination, creativity etc. will be spoilt and trampled by Rahu from the 11^th. Unethical means of earnings is its signification. Everybody wants earnings from different sources but we should know the means we earn it. We need to think and as Astrologers we have to be careful in suggesting any gemstone. Earning income from unethical sources is not required and since it is easy it will make the native get caught in it.

There are more than 200 combinations to decide whether to wear a gemstone or not.

Let’s say if we suggest a person not to wear any gemstone at all, then it may be  because the person is going through Sade Sati. We should not restrict our analysis to the nine avasthas (status) of the planets but also need to see many other aspects of Position, Aspect and Conjunction. For ex. - if Mars and Jupiter are at war i.e. if Mars and Jupiter both are placed within one degree with Mars having the highest longitude then Mars wins the war.

For example: - suppose Mars is at 13 degrees 20 minutes and Jupiter is at 13 degrees and conjunct, then we know that Mars is ahead by Jupiter only by 20 minutes.  In this case Mars wins the war. Though Jupiter is a beneficial planet it will not be able to give any benefic results because it has lost the war. If Mars is benefic to that Lagna then the native can wear a gemstone related to Jupiter because Jupiter has to overcome the defeat. In this case suggesting a gemstone for Mars would not be benefic for it will totally spoil Jupiter’s positive qualities. We need to see and check many aspects like yogas, strengths, etc.

There are different types of gemstones for yogas. For example if dasha of Gajakesari yoga is running, the combination of gemstones is suggested in the same ring or by wearing two rings on the same finger.

Another example is - Budhaaditya yoga. We can wear both Ruby and Emerald stones together in the ring finger because they are friends and this combination will enhance the quality of this yoga.

Another example is when both Mercury and Jupiter are placed in 12^th house however benefic they are for that Lagna, due to their placement and position wearing their gemstones will not be a good suggestion.

I have cited many examples in this article, but have not covered all the important ones. When time permits, I will be writing more.

Sun and its Significations

Sun and its Significations

When we hear the word Sun we see a bright lit ball of fire up in the sky.  Its so powerful and bright that its impossible to stare at it after a few minutes after Sun rise.  This shows the ferocity of Sun.

Sun is considered as a Graha (the one who has gravitational power) or the one who has Grahanashakti. It is the most powerful object in the Solar System and being at the center of it, is controlling the whole show.  Hence it is referred to the King. Its arc diameter is the largest at 0.5 degrees when viewed from earth.

The factors like, Heat, Light, Brightness, Consciousness, Routine etc., crops up once we start thinking about the Sun. Other most important significations of Sun are Mass appeal (magnetism due to Charisma), Justice, Righteousness, Courage, Ego, Political Career, Government, Conceiving, Father, Soul, Confidence, Medicines, Metals, Jewelry, Recovery from illness, etc.,

Lets start discussing in detail some of these factors.

Heat : One can observe the tropics where the Sun's heat plays an important role.  The whole landscape is parched, dry with very less forest (tropical dry forest), with mountainous and rocky terrain, arid in some places due to their distance from the ocean/sea and so on.

These are the places where horticultural farming shines. People grow Oranges, Grapes, Sweet Lime, Acid Lime, Pineapples, Papayas, Pomegranates, Guavas, Custard Apples and many more fruits.  Crops like Cotton, Sugarcane, Pulses and Millets are grown.  Sun is required for the young immature sour fruit to become a sugary sweet fruit. This transformation happens only if there is the heat of Sun.

Also due to this constant heat there are very less pests.  All those pests which survive in moist environment do not exist in this area.

Light and Brightness : These factors make the population early rises and hard working. Lets compare the tropical morning to that of an norther European morning, where the Sun comes up late with very less heat, light and brightness, the weather is dull and cold.  This would only increase the sluggishness on a person and put him into more sleep, rather than a tropical morning which will wake one up early in the morning and would put him on to his duties.  In the tropics the metabolism is fast. People are of average height, eat and drink more often and work long hours in sweat.

Sun's heat is one of the major factors for fertility in human beings.  Many people from the Sub tropics come over to tropical countries to enjoy the warmth and heat the Sun provides.  This for them is a therapy to increase their metabolism.

Consciousness: Consciousness barely means that one is aware of his surroundings or is in a state of mind and knows where he is.  But, the deeper meaning is that the person also knows the meaning of his being on this earth.  In cases where the Sun is badly placed or is weak, the native will have very little consciousness and will be gross.  His consciousness is limited to enjoy the basic needs of a human being. He gets satisfied when his Ego is satisfied. When Sun is well placed and is strong, then the person will not only be conscious of his surroundings, but will be confident in whatever he is doing. He will be composed and only uses energy where it is required.  He will show determination in his life and will aim for the best.  When the same Sun is moderately placed with a weak ascendant lord, the person will be aware of his surroundings, but will not have confidence to face the world and hence would become an introvert.

A weak Sun with a weak ascendant will make the person fearful of the situation and hence would be acting too cautiously.  The confidence to believe will have failed and hence a lot of counseling is required to motivate this type of a person.

Righteousness and Justice: Sun in the Indian Mythology is usually referred to Sri Rama the king who was known for his Rama Rajya (the kingdom where justice rules).  A kshatriya (warrior) who was just and impartial with his decisions.  He was known to value his word more than his life.  All these factors are associated with a strong well placed Sun who has benefic planets on either side of it (in the 2nd and the 12th from Sun - Ubhayachariyoga).  This is one of the strongest yogas a person can get.

KENDRAS AND TRIKONAS

Quadrants (Kendra’s) 1, 4, 7 and 10 are also known as Dharma (1^st), Artha (2^nd), Kama (3^rd) and Moksha (4^th).

Dharma represents Lagna/Ascendant, i.e., the First House - Righteousness.

Artha (Finance to live in this world). It’s the money, finance, economy and everything which makes the material world moving i.e. the 4^th House.

The 3^rd Quadrant is the 7^th House, i.e. Kama. Kama means attraction towards the materialistic world. It signifies the desire to own things, i.e., materialistic desires or any attraction towards whatever you see, touch, feel, etc.

Moksha is to attain peace by eliminating all the above three by performing actions, i.e. the 10^th House.  Hence 10^th House, it is the way and means of getting Moksha by doing righteous karmas, by earning and making the money flow in the right direction and to have the best kind of relationship with the creation. The less we prioritize 1, 4 and 7, the more we can focus towards performing the 10^th.

The highest prominence is always given to the highest degree of longitude and that is the 10^th House, which is known as the karma sthana (the house which represents Duty bound responsible actions).

Trines or Trikonas represent the Body, Mind and Soul, i.e., 1^st, 5^th and 9^th Houses.

Here Body which means all the parts and organs of the Human Body as a whole is represented by the 1^st house i.e. the Lagna.

The Mind is represented by accumulated memory both organized and unorganized (Organized memory - which is known as knowledge and unorganized memory – random experiences). The knowledge might be acquired through thought, imagination, books, experiences, etc.

This self interactive thought process which has the ability to learn and adapt is known as the mind and is represented by the 5^th House.

Soul - here Soul for the basic understanding means as follows: -

1^st level Consciousness

2^nd Level (advance) Conscience

3^rd Introspection using the consciousness into deeper levels of the mind and try to understand what is within you.

4^th Self Realization which is the final step of the soul, where it is to connect with the Macrocosm and be in sync with it.

What is Consciousness and Conscience?

Conscience depends upon the upbringing and the environment where a person is brought up. For ex. – if someone around you is eating egg or non-veg, as a vegetarian you would feel that he or she is committing a crime by killing an innocent animal. But if we go to places like Siberia, Russia or other cold areas where vegetables cannot be grown (due to the climatic conditions), there it’s a everyday lifestyle and there if we ask them that why do you kill animals like rein deer, musk deer, lion seal, walrus, etc., they will tell you that it is the only way to survive. Hence in this case they are not doing anything against their Conscience. For basic survival they have to kill or else surviving would be a question mark.

The conscience of the person depends upon on the social ethical values which he experiences through the community or the society in which he has been brought up and it varies from place to place, or we can say region to region.

Conscience also means - to differentiate between right and wrong. Let’s understand this by an example - if you lie to someone then where ever in the world you are, you are deemed to be wrong.  i.e., speaking a lie or following honesty is universal whether it is in India or Russia or America or any other place in the world.  So these human values like empathy, anger, sympathy, sorrow, happiness are all links between the mind and the soul.

Hence 5th and the 9th are given very less importance. In the real world where business is norm of life, human beings are running around for most of the hours and rest of the hours the person is sleeping i.e., he is unconscious. When a person is conscious his conscience, his self-realization, his mind set, his ethical values, his social commitment has to be in active mode. If these factors are asleep and only the Lagna that is the body starts functioning he will be a shrewd businessman who is not even bothered about what the other person thinks of or feels. Hence when an astrologer goes through charts he needs to see the placement of planets in these four Kendras and also three Trikonas. The Lagna becomes both the Kendra and the Trikona so it has the body and also it follows righteousness so that a person who has all good planets placed in all these 6 houses, the 1^st , 4^th , 7^th , 10^th , 5^th  and 9^th  is said to be a perfect person, this type of combination is not available on this earth. Since this combination is not available the complexity of astrology comes into play and you need to analyze each house with regard to its strength and positivity.

 We need to check whether the planet which is present in the soul i.e., if the 9^th House is placed well or not, whether the planet which represents business that is mercury is placed in the right place or not. What if mercury is placed in the house of meditation? In this typical case the business aspect is killed and the meditation aspect is also spoiled. That is to say, Mercury being a hyperactive planet will not allow you to do meditation and also not strong enough to do business. Hence Mercury being the planet who is a purely business planet has to be placed in a business Rashi like Libra and in the same way a creative planet like Venus or Moon has to be placed in a creative house that is 5^th house. If they are placed in the house of reality or daily routine, you will not get full benefit out of it.

 Planets like Saturn and Jupiter can be placed anywhere because they are slow moving and they have got dual characteristics.  Like Jupiter is both a righteous and a Dhana karaka planet. Hence it can give good prospects in business along with wealth and knowledge.  Saturn makes a person realize the importance of reality, truthfulness, honesty, etc. Frank opinions and fighting for justice can be attributed to Saturn. If Saturn is placed in the 10^th House, the person will perform actions righteously. Responsibility is also one of the most important significations of Saturn and because of this it would not let the native to deviate from his path of righteousness. Hence we can say that the placement of planets is extremely important to understand the characteristics of a person. Also as Astrologers we can understand how to rectify the negative aspects of planets.

Now let us understand the term “Rectification?”

Purushartha is the term used to define the free will of a person to think, plan and perform a particular action. What if a person can liberate himself from the influence of the planets and perform karma? It is like saying that the person has his “Mind over Matter”. Here rectification means to go above these planetary influences and try to correct our path for the well being of both mind and soul. If we succumb to the forces of negativity of these planetary influences then we become the slaves under the planets. Our five senses get caught into the web of miseries and the whole world would seem like a dark never ending saga. We should be able to rule and control the five senses and the working of planets by performing our duties i.e., our karmas correctly. Usually people fall prey to these planetary influences and lose control over mind and actions.  It would be like continuously getting entangled into the situations without knowing the way out.

It’s not that Rectification means to only pray or perform ritual sacrifices to God. There are several scientific means of rectification wherein a person would have to set right his routine, lifestyle, eating habits, behavioral patterns, sleep patterns, etc.

Scientific methods of rectification help much better than traditional methods in the present world. 

Planets and Our Five Senses

Planets and Our Five Senses

As we know by now, that planets have a very important role to  play in our day-to-day life and in each and everything we do (thats because without our knowing, planets control our way of thinking and hence control our actions). 

Now, in this article I am explaining the role of planets and their influence over our Sense Organs.

Before going into the relationship of planets over our Sense Organs, let us understand the planets to know their nature.

Sun by nature is bright, will throw light into matters, is the biggest luminary near to Earth and represents Fire and life.

Moon by nature is timid, cool, bright on a full moon day and dark on a new moon day, represents Water and again life.

Mars by nature is aggressive, loud, represents the vigour and blood in our body and hence also represents Fire and Earth.

Mercury is naive, young and fresh, it is active throughout the day and represents fresh Air and Earth.

Jupiter by nature represents Knowledge, Wisdom, Righteousness and Judgement and represents both Air, Water and Space.

Venus by nature signifies material, sensuousness, desire to relish and hence represents Earth.

Saturn by nature is cold, slow, old age and represents used Air.

Rahu by nature is impurity, sluggishness, barrier and hurdles and represents Smoke (emanating due to the conflict between Fire, Air, Water and Earth)

Ketu by nature is mute, inwards, nothingness, separation and represents non physical entities (lets call it for now as Ether)


Now with the above definitions of planets, the link between their nature and our senses are like follows : -

Sun represents our Eyes (the organ inclusive of the connection between the Eyes and the Brain), but in turn Moon represents our Eye Sight (what we see and what we perceive using the organ).

Mars represents our Ears (the organ which can hear sound), but Jupiter represents the hearing quality and our interpretation skills when we listen.

Mercury represents breathing process (inhaling fresh air) and skin (an important organ), but Saturn represents breathing out air (used air) and represents touch a feeling which is transmitted through skin. 

Rahu represents our Tongue (the organ which is used for tasting food), but Venus represents the ability to differentiate and appreciate taste.

Ketu represents the Nose (nostrils, breathing tract, sinus and all the hollow spaces in our body) and the sense of identifying smell and also signifies impairment, stoppage and neurological dysfunction and hence is a cause of many organ failure and ailments.


With the above facts, you should be now able to understand the malefic influences on different planets and its effect over our sense organs or its functioning. 

For example if Rahu afflicts Moon, then there might be cataract in the Eye, the age of infection is to be calculated using both transit and planetary period (Dasha and Bhuktis of planets).

If Rahu afflicts Sun (Rahugrasta Surya) will affect the organ itself. There may be retinal defects, there might be colour blindness and also in some cases blindness. 

This way one can understand the disposition of different planets and analyse as to whether they are afflicted and also understand the duration of affliction depending on whether the planet is fast moving (temporary problem) or whether it is slow moving (chronic problem).

When benefics conjunct Moon then the perception of the native and his interests will be influenced by the nature of the influencing planet.

In this case the native will be motivated to see good things, read good books and to watch good events.

Now the same Moon when afflicted by a malefic or retrograde planet will influence the native to go through objectionable matters which may not be appropriate to the society and hence can be deemed as a negative factor.

Every astrology student has to keep a record of 50 charts (minimum) and test the above theory to understand the authenticity of it and then only go ahead and put this into their future practice.

Ashtamasthana - 8th house and Longevity

Ashtamasthana - 8th house and Longevity

Eight house is analysed in an horoscope to predict the longevity of a person.  Most of the recent commentaries analyse the 8th house and predict the type of death a person will beget.  This they do by analysis of the planets which are placed there.

Saturn has been regarded as the planet which gives longevity.  The strength of Saturn has to be determined by the rules put forth in calculating Graha Bala (planetary strength) in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. 

The role of Roga karakas and Marakas has not been well addressed and our focus is shifted only to the 8th house. It is a well known fact that the 12th from 8th (the 7th) and the 12th from the 3rd (the 2nd) are known to be maraka sthanas (House of killers). The particular position of the 2nd and the 7th lords have to be analysed in a chart. Their strengths and associations with other planets and their influence over the Ascendant lord has to be analysed. 

As per my experience, in most of the cases of death of native, the association of the maraka planets with the roga karaka planets (6th and the 11th lords) has played an important role in determining the time of death of a native, rather than that of the planets placed in the 8th house.  

In many cases the maraka planets when placed in the 8th, have detrimental role to play with regard to sudden demise of a person.

8th house or the Ayush sthana is said to give longevity or will determine the number of years a person has to spend in this Birth. All the three trik sthanas (6-8-12th houses) can be analysed to understand the karma a person has to go through in this lifetime.

In few cases though the person will be left with Karma (i.e to say he has to live to spend it) the maraka planets when come into play will do their job of trying to kill the native. In this situation when there is pending Karma of an individual and with no physical self, the sookshma shaeera (aural body) will be around till a certain period before getting its turn to get into another cycle of birth and death.

Therefore to understand the longevity of a person the Aayrudaya has to be calculated using the principles elucidated in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra.