India and the Heavens
"The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology"
"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."
- The Bhagavad-gita
The Hindu Vedas
The Vedas are the sacred literature of India and form the tradition of what is known as Hinduism. The Bhagavad-gita is considered to be the essence of Vedic knowledge and is one of the most important Upanishads in Vedic literature. The Vedas are attributed to several divinely inspired poets, or Rsis. Scholars believe they were written about three thousand years ago although their mythical origin stretches back into prehistoric antiquity. The Rsis, or seers, were men and women who were believed to distill spiritual truths, recording and transmitting them for posterity.
The Vedic hymns reflect a great wonder and awe at the majesty of nature. Even today the culture of India is largely agricultural and therefore still consciously linked to the sky and the changes which cyclically occur there.
Four separate Vedas were passed down by oral tradition through generations of families of Brahmin priests. The oldest is the Rig Veda (Rgveda), the Veda of hymns. The Yajurveda, the Veda of prayers, and the Samaveda, the Veda of chants are largely variations of the Rig Veda. The Atharvaveda was the last of the four to be recorded. The Atharvaveda displays a detailed interest in the celestial motions of the heavenly bodies. At the time this Veda was written the system of the naksatras, or Lunar Mansions, had already developed in India.
Lunar Mansions
The Vedic naksatras are twenty-seven groups of stars through which the Moon journeys each month. The original sequence of mansions began with the Pleiades, called Krttika, but has since shifted to the stars of Aries. This may mark a point in time when these stars rose at spring equinox. The Pleiades are also one of the most recognizable groups of stars close to the ecliptic.
The Lunar Mansions, or naksatras, of Vedic (Hindu) Astrology are part of a legacy of knowledge that predates the incorporation of the Greek zodiac into Indian Astrology and are believed to be very ancient. The Lunar Mansions were known and used in the west until about a century ago. Although this component of Astrology fell out of use, the study of Vedic Astrology, including the naksatras, is experiencing a resurgence among western astrologers. In my Father's house are many mansions
Like the Egyptian Thoth, Candra, the Moon in India, is perceived as a male god. He is depicted clothed in white, holding two water lilies (which open at night) and is drawn across the sky in a chariot pulled by ten white horses. The origins of the name Candra mean shining or bright but also stem from a root which means "to measure." The regular movement of the Moon has been linked to measurement from ancient times.
The Lunar Mansions are envisioned as dwelling places, possessing individual character. Each mansion is ruled by a god, and the mansion's quality corresponds with the nature of the deity. We might imagine stars residing in stellar palaces which are in turn ruled over by a god. As each month passes the Lunar Mansions imbue each day with a quality. People can choose their endeavors based on whether they will be helped or hindered by the quality of the day. The Moon's presence in a particular mansion endows a person born on that day with certain qualities. This is a distinct influence from the interpretation of the Moon in a sign of the Tropical zodiac.
Circle of Stars
The Lunar Mansions contain stars which are close to the ecliptic where the Moon moves. In her book The Circle of Stars, Valerie Roebuck states that "other stars were important, some of them being thought of as forms of the Vedic Rsis (sages). The bright star Canopus (alpha Carina) was identified with the sage Agastya, who is believed to have taken Vedic teachings to South India. His star rises only in the more southerly parts of the subcontinent. The seven brightest stars of the Great Bear were called the Seven Rsis, after a prestigious group of Seers."
Other Cultures
China also uses a similar system known as the twenty-eight sieu, meaning "night inns." This system began with the star we call Spica, alpha Virgo. The Chinese called this star Kio, the Horn. Valerie Roebuck believes this may point to a time when Spica marked the autumn equinox.
Arabic astrology also uses twenty-eight manazil, meaning "stations" or "houses." The Arabic system, like the earlier Vedic, begins with Al Thurayya, the Pleiades. During the Renaissance, after the Dark Ages in Europe, astrologers absorbed the Arab system of lunar stations into Western Astrology. In THE ART OF MEMORY, Frances Yates relates how Giordano Bruno, the noted philosopher of the sixteenth century, created a sophisticated mnemonic system based on images of the lunar mansions, planets, houses and decans designed to enable an adept to order and recall all knowledge.
Point of View
An exploration of myth, and the stellar lore of ancient cultures, reveals issues of viewing perspective of the sky based on variables of latitude, climate, and ability to see the horizon. How the sky was watched depended on the point of view of the observer. Chinese astrologers, for example, use the celestial equator (extension of Earth's equator into space), and chart the motions of stars around the pole. Indian astrology uses the ecliptic (Sun's apparent path in the sky) like astrologers in the west. Likewise Vedic and western systems both use the same zodiac, inherited from the Greeks, which is divided into twelve equal signs. The difference is the starting point of the cycle.
Sidereal versus Tropical
Since the time of Ptolemy most western Astrologers use what is termed the Tropical Zodiac which places the beginning point of the cycle, zero degrees of Aries, at the vernal point (spring equinox) where the Sun appears to cross the equator on its annual northward trek. Indian astrology utilizes the Sidereal Zodiac which places zero Aries at a certain place among the backdrop of stars relative to the backward march of precession. Neither system uses the actual constellations which are of unequal size.
Ayanamsa
From the Vedic perspective the stars remain fixed, but the equinox points slip backward at the rate of fifty minutes of arc per year due to precession. As a result, the planets, ascendant and house cusps have to be adjusted. This adjustment factor is known as ayanamsa, a Sanskrit word which does not really translate to an English equivalent. There is disagreement among Indian astrologers as to the value of the adjustment, but the correction requires subtracting around twenty-four degrees of arc.
A division problem
Perhaps the naksatras fell out of favor because of arithmetic. The Lunar Mansions, are based on the movements cycle of the Moon and denote the slice of sky through which the moon moves in one night. The Moon's lunation cycle, or Synodic motion, takes slightly more than 29.5 days to move from New Moon to New Moon. The sidereal month (the Moon's return to the same position relative to the stars) takes 27.3 days. Therefore the Mansions have to divide the ecliptic by either twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and either way the divisions will not be round numbers.
The Lunar Mansions are also distinct from the Moon's phases since the new and full Moons occur in different Mansions each month. As the Earth moves around the Sun the Moon's relative place in the sky also changes.
Arab, Chinese and Renaissance astrologers used twenty-eight mansions since this conveniently worked with a system of seven planets and four-week months. This did not solve the problem of dividing the 360 degree circle of the ecliptic by any multiple of seven.
The Indian system generally uses twenty-seven mansions since this more closely corresponds to the actual sidereal movement of the Moon (return to the same place in the stars). Likewise this fits with a nine planet group, including Rahu and Ketu, the Moon's nodes, which over time have achieved nearly planetary status in interpretation.
Houses of the gods
Following are three examples from the twenty-seven Lunar Mansions and their influences. Third Mansion -- Krttika, the Cutters. This mansion is comprised of the six brightest stars in the Pleiades and is depicted as a sharp-edged weapon or a flame. The Moon in Krttika is said to make the person bright, full of energy, enjoying sensual pleasure and likely to be famous.
Sixth Mansion -- Ardra, the Moist One.
Pictured as a tear drop this mansion corresponds with Betelgeuse, the alpha star of Orion. The energy of this mansion is said to make one proud, ungrateful and tending toward violence. This is a warrior star and as such is likely to bring tears.
Eighth Mansion -- Pusya, Nourishment.
This mansion is marked by three stars in the constellation of Cancer. Perceived as a beneficent mansion Pusya confers luck, peace, and wisdom. Those born with the Moon in this mansion are said to walk in dharma, or right relationship to all things. East or west?
Both systems work because they seem to function on different principles and vastly different cultural orientations. The Lunar Mansions are based on influences which come from the stars themselves and which are likely to be far older. The quality of the naksatras is imbued with the archetypal force of gods from the Indian pantheon which correlate with the stellar influences. The Tropical system is an interpretation based on time and relative position in a repetitive cycle of manifestation which begins with spring and moves through the seasons. The common denominator in any archetypal system is a skilled and intuitive interpreter of the symbols. In the final analysis it's the talent of the astrologer, regardless of system, that makes the difference.
"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."
- The Bhagavad-gita
The Hindu Vedas
The Vedas are the sacred literature of India and form the tradition of what is known as Hinduism. The Bhagavad-gita is considered to be the essence of Vedic knowledge and is one of the most important Upanishads in Vedic literature. The Vedas are attributed to several divinely inspired poets, or Rsis. Scholars believe they were written about three thousand years ago although their mythical origin stretches back into prehistoric antiquity. The Rsis, or seers, were men and women who were believed to distill spiritual truths, recording and transmitting them for posterity.
The Vedic hymns reflect a great wonder and awe at the majesty of nature. Even today the culture of India is largely agricultural and therefore still consciously linked to the sky and the changes which cyclically occur there.
Four separate Vedas were passed down by oral tradition through generations of families of Brahmin priests. The oldest is the Rig Veda (Rgveda), the Veda of hymns. The Yajurveda, the Veda of prayers, and the Samaveda, the Veda of chants are largely variations of the Rig Veda. The Atharvaveda was the last of the four to be recorded. The Atharvaveda displays a detailed interest in the celestial motions of the heavenly bodies. At the time this Veda was written the system of the naksatras, or Lunar Mansions, had already developed in India.
Lunar Mansions
The Vedic naksatras are twenty-seven groups of stars through which the Moon journeys each month. The original sequence of mansions began with the Pleiades, called Krttika, but has since shifted to the stars of Aries. This may mark a point in time when these stars rose at spring equinox. The Pleiades are also one of the most recognizable groups of stars close to the ecliptic.
The Lunar Mansions, or naksatras, of Vedic (Hindu) Astrology are part of a legacy of knowledge that predates the incorporation of the Greek zodiac into Indian Astrology and are believed to be very ancient. The Lunar Mansions were known and used in the west until about a century ago. Although this component of Astrology fell out of use, the study of Vedic Astrology, including the naksatras, is experiencing a resurgence among western astrologers. In my Father's house are many mansions
Like the Egyptian Thoth, Candra, the Moon in India, is perceived as a male god. He is depicted clothed in white, holding two water lilies (which open at night) and is drawn across the sky in a chariot pulled by ten white horses. The origins of the name Candra mean shining or bright but also stem from a root which means "to measure." The regular movement of the Moon has been linked to measurement from ancient times.
The Lunar Mansions are envisioned as dwelling places, possessing individual character. Each mansion is ruled by a god, and the mansion's quality corresponds with the nature of the deity. We might imagine stars residing in stellar palaces which are in turn ruled over by a god. As each month passes the Lunar Mansions imbue each day with a quality. People can choose their endeavors based on whether they will be helped or hindered by the quality of the day. The Moon's presence in a particular mansion endows a person born on that day with certain qualities. This is a distinct influence from the interpretation of the Moon in a sign of the Tropical zodiac.
Circle of Stars
The Lunar Mansions contain stars which are close to the ecliptic where the Moon moves. In her book The Circle of Stars, Valerie Roebuck states that "other stars were important, some of them being thought of as forms of the Vedic Rsis (sages). The bright star Canopus (alpha Carina) was identified with the sage Agastya, who is believed to have taken Vedic teachings to South India. His star rises only in the more southerly parts of the subcontinent. The seven brightest stars of the Great Bear were called the Seven Rsis, after a prestigious group of Seers."
Other Cultures
China also uses a similar system known as the twenty-eight sieu, meaning "night inns." This system began with the star we call Spica, alpha Virgo. The Chinese called this star Kio, the Horn. Valerie Roebuck believes this may point to a time when Spica marked the autumn equinox.
Arabic astrology also uses twenty-eight manazil, meaning "stations" or "houses." The Arabic system, like the earlier Vedic, begins with Al Thurayya, the Pleiades. During the Renaissance, after the Dark Ages in Europe, astrologers absorbed the Arab system of lunar stations into Western Astrology. In THE ART OF MEMORY, Frances Yates relates how Giordano Bruno, the noted philosopher of the sixteenth century, created a sophisticated mnemonic system based on images of the lunar mansions, planets, houses and decans designed to enable an adept to order and recall all knowledge.
Point of View
An exploration of myth, and the stellar lore of ancient cultures, reveals issues of viewing perspective of the sky based on variables of latitude, climate, and ability to see the horizon. How the sky was watched depended on the point of view of the observer. Chinese astrologers, for example, use the celestial equator (extension of Earth's equator into space), and chart the motions of stars around the pole. Indian astrology uses the ecliptic (Sun's apparent path in the sky) like astrologers in the west. Likewise Vedic and western systems both use the same zodiac, inherited from the Greeks, which is divided into twelve equal signs. The difference is the starting point of the cycle.
Sidereal versus Tropical
Since the time of Ptolemy most western Astrologers use what is termed the Tropical Zodiac which places the beginning point of the cycle, zero degrees of Aries, at the vernal point (spring equinox) where the Sun appears to cross the equator on its annual northward trek. Indian astrology utilizes the Sidereal Zodiac which places zero Aries at a certain place among the backdrop of stars relative to the backward march of precession. Neither system uses the actual constellations which are of unequal size.
Ayanamsa
From the Vedic perspective the stars remain fixed, but the equinox points slip backward at the rate of fifty minutes of arc per year due to precession. As a result, the planets, ascendant and house cusps have to be adjusted. This adjustment factor is known as ayanamsa, a Sanskrit word which does not really translate to an English equivalent. There is disagreement among Indian astrologers as to the value of the adjustment, but the correction requires subtracting around twenty-four degrees of arc.
A division problem
Perhaps the naksatras fell out of favor because of arithmetic. The Lunar Mansions, are based on the movements cycle of the Moon and denote the slice of sky through which the moon moves in one night. The Moon's lunation cycle, or Synodic motion, takes slightly more than 29.5 days to move from New Moon to New Moon. The sidereal month (the Moon's return to the same position relative to the stars) takes 27.3 days. Therefore the Mansions have to divide the ecliptic by either twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and either way the divisions will not be round numbers.
The Lunar Mansions are also distinct from the Moon's phases since the new and full Moons occur in different Mansions each month. As the Earth moves around the Sun the Moon's relative place in the sky also changes.
Arab, Chinese and Renaissance astrologers used twenty-eight mansions since this conveniently worked with a system of seven planets and four-week months. This did not solve the problem of dividing the 360 degree circle of the ecliptic by any multiple of seven.
The Indian system generally uses twenty-seven mansions since this more closely corresponds to the actual sidereal movement of the Moon (return to the same place in the stars). Likewise this fits with a nine planet group, including Rahu and Ketu, the Moon's nodes, which over time have achieved nearly planetary status in interpretation.
Houses of the gods
Following are three examples from the twenty-seven Lunar Mansions and their influences. Third Mansion -- Krttika, the Cutters. This mansion is comprised of the six brightest stars in the Pleiades and is depicted as a sharp-edged weapon or a flame. The Moon in Krttika is said to make the person bright, full of energy, enjoying sensual pleasure and likely to be famous.
Sixth Mansion -- Ardra, the Moist One.
Pictured as a tear drop this mansion corresponds with Betelgeuse, the alpha star of Orion. The energy of this mansion is said to make one proud, ungrateful and tending toward violence. This is a warrior star and as such is likely to bring tears.
Eighth Mansion -- Pusya, Nourishment.
This mansion is marked by three stars in the constellation of Cancer. Perceived as a beneficent mansion Pusya confers luck, peace, and wisdom. Those born with the Moon in this mansion are said to walk in dharma, or right relationship to all things. East or west?
Both systems work because they seem to function on different principles and vastly different cultural orientations. The Lunar Mansions are based on influences which come from the stars themselves and which are likely to be far older. The quality of the naksatras is imbued with the archetypal force of gods from the Indian pantheon which correlate with the stellar influences. The Tropical system is an interpretation based on time and relative position in a repetitive cycle of manifestation which begins with spring and moves through the seasons. The common denominator in any archetypal system is a skilled and intuitive interpreter of the symbols. In the final analysis it's the talent of the astrologer, regardless of system, that makes the difference.