Firstly, Ganesh.

No enterprise begins without invoking the auspicious creativity of the Elephant

God, a son of Siva:
 Vishnu means the one that pervades. Thus the Surya SUN resonance.
As well as his benevolence, Suryas is a destructive, cleansing, Self-willing power. In Indian
culture, he is drought, fire and death as well as truth and creativity. In Egyptian initiations, it was
said Osiris is a Dark God. To grow, we must confront.
Chandra, the deity of the Moon, is also SOMA, the nectar of the gods.
Mangala, Mars, is the son of Earth.
Budha, Mercury. Intelligence is budha, a faculty which quicksilvers the mind, but is not the mind,
it is the Universe.
Guru: Jupiter: Brhaspati is the protector of the hymnology of the Vedas teacher of the science
of Light controller of the Sun and Moon.
Sukra: Venus. An androgynous figure. Sukra means white.
Sani Saturn has a dark complexion, and carries lance, dart, spear and bow.
Rahu, the upturned glyph, is the Dragons Head with a serpent body.
KETU the Moons South Node is the body chopped away from the Asura from the serpent
who tasted nectar, and remained for ever addicted.
 Dattatreya, the Guru of Life
Dattatreya, at the finale of this sequence, complements Ganesh at the beginning. Dattatreya is
the Guru of those who no longer walk holding the hands of someone more grown up. Dattatreya
is the unconditional preceptor through nature and through every situation in life: puja to the
sacred art of Life.

Jyotish means the science of Light. This term is applied to Indian astrology, and particularly to
its Vedic pantheon. The science of Light is rooted in Earths relationship to the constellations. Our
western astrology, due to the precession of the equinox over the millenia, is not aligned with the
constellations. It has shifted about 23 degrees from them, so far. It interprets the Zodiac signs as
phases segments of the arc of Earths journey around the Sun.
Both approaches however, deliver profound experiential insights.
Planetary
of the Elephant Deities.Firstly,
God, a sonGanesh.
of Siva: No enterprise begins without invoking the auspicious creativity
Surya: Vishnu means the one that pervades. Thus the Surya SUN resonance.
As well he
culture, as ishis benevolence, Suryasasiswell
a destructive,
truth andcleansing, Self-willing power. In Indian
said Osiris isdrought, fire and
a Dark God. death we
To grow, mustasconfront.........The
creativity.
Sun isIn the
Egyptian
powerinitiations, it was
of light (Jyotish)
onthe translation onto the negative-film of the material plane. The real Light
our retina...................Suryas beauty has an awesome simplicity a pitiless and denudedappears as darkness
dharma. He is wheel-rolling.
another, merely In Surya,
to hint at the Whole all orbitsofand
dimension revolutionsThe
his mandala. turnblack
at different angles
in his yantra to one
suggests
the corona, and sunspots: solar flares and magnetic bursts............His yantra
force arises out of its centre on a different plane. He has a superb innocence. Aruna the Dawn here, is tilted. His
drives his chariot, but It could be as well be Krishna; because Surya is akin
archetype, the Sustainer, the all pervading.............Light is generated in Surya, to every direction to the Vishnu
and field ofinspace.
or effect Nothing reflects
the intoxicating nucleusorofisthe
reflected. It is all Self
Oneness.........In creating.
Jyotish, a SunThere
ruledispersonality
no polarizationmay
lack sensitivity to others, and is also not very impressionable in
occult experiences particularly if Earth and Saturn are strong in the chart.the astral field, i.e. does not have
Chandra, the deity of the Moon, is also SOMA, the nectar of the gods........Fluidity, receptivity,
clouds, sea, an infinite series of crescents, reflected light let us form a vessel; attunement,
watery, childlike a polarized light is drawn across the heavens..............The foundation of Vedic
Astrology has 27 Lunar Mansions and 108 segment/divisions (27 times the 4 lunar quarters). The
fast mover around the constellational field, absorbs every resonance, and determines the
constellar imprint at birth, for a lifetimes cycles. In India, the Moon is the central significator,
more so than the Sun. Indian and Western astrology have varying cultural and climatic nuances,
and a different harmonic chart structure, but interpretation brings forth the same principles,
like different sides of the same leaf...............The grahas or gods are all represented as male
even the Moon and Venus. This is because it is taken for granted in Indian metaphysics, that
every god has his Shakti or feminine half, and cannot operate without her. So some of them are
profoundly and rogenous..................Chandra carries a mace and a white night lily. Chandras
complexion is silvery white. His mystic vehicle is drawn by a young antelope; the three wheels
are lunar-phase Yantras. The ten horses are the seminal energy of Brahmas child Atri, spilt in all
the 10 directions (damsels) and received by earth.............Chandra expresses the love of children,
of the young in all the Universe. Light giver, boon bringer, he touches surfaces, moving the lunar
tide...............Chandra is the son of Varuna (the winds) Lord of the Oceans, from which the Moon
rises. During the waning half of the month, (moonth) 36,000 gods feed on his nectar and
exhaust him. During the waxing half, Surya feeds him with the water of the Oceans, and he
regains strength and fullness.............A Lunar ruled personality is highly sensitive, receptive,
yielding: susceptible also to shadow persuasions and deception.
Mangala, Mars, is the son of Earth. That is why he does well in Capricorn. For all his energy and
drive, he represents aspects of the tamas-guna i.e. enclosure, systems, the trained warrior,
control and obedience, skill. The tamas-guna gives form to the fiery, centrifugal rajas-guna.
(See Tree of Life, Three Gunas, at the end of this post.)............Mangalas spear, club and the
demon-destroying Skanda on peacock, are the spirit of war and of self defense. The negative
side of this is: wilful destroyer, tamas-inertia, road rage (chaotic or cold), ignorance. Note his
sensual facial features: fire in earth. Mangala carries his Shakti on his lap. His hands gesture
freedom from fear. The Shakti is also the spear. The feminine Shakti is the Kundalini of which
Mars when in his exaltation, is Lord............Big muscular body, but also stillness. The alert spear is
at rest: law-sustainer, the balance which is sattva-guna. The red energy is kept still and quiet.
Budha, Mercury. Intelligence is budha, a faculty which quicksilvers the mind, but is not the mind,
it is the Universe. Sweet mischievous winged one, hears the speech of birds, blesses, delivers,
playful chameleon, has lived as a woman the son/seed of Chandra(moon) and Tara, goddess of
the Word. Thus Budhas Ardhanariswara curve, his sensitive androgenous grace.........Budhas
vehicle is a Lion with an elephants trunk rather a surprise. The Lion is the king of beasts. The
Elephant is the remover of obstacles, and very Indian. The Lion is the power of grace, and the
Elephant who grows SLOWLY is the power of speech and memory............Budhas aura is gold.
He is like Hermetic gold, clear, sparkling and childlike. The most adaptable and amenable of
archetypes, he can take on also the colouring and power of theasuras demons. He carries a
short sword and a Tara Yantra shield.
Guru: Jupiter: Brhaspati is the protector of the hymnology of the Vedas teacher of the science
of Light controller of the Sun and Moon......His western counterpart is Jove, or Zeus. Brahma is
his tutelary deity. He holds rosary, mendicants staff, sacred water-pot, and his gesture disposes
boons. Auspicious, except when reversing...............He has a yellow-white complexion, and sits on
a golden lotus. His hair and beard are matted, and he wears an antelope skin. He is the
preceptor of the Gods. Eight horses or lotus petals, the directions of space pull his chariot.
The Great Swan is Paramahansa. In Vedic symbolism, the swan churns nectarine Light from the
dark water the cream from the milk.
Sukra: Venus. An androgynous figure. Sukra means white. The preceptor of the demons
was Kavi he brought destroyed asuras back to life. Bull Nandi found this out, and told his
Master, Siva, who ordered Kavi before him, and gobbled him up. Inside Sivas stomach, Kavi sang
hymns in Sivas praise. Pleased, Siva let him out through his penis, and told him (Kavi) he is his
own Son, now called Sukra the white............Like the Nilakunta/Kalakunta story, an atomic
homeopathy comes into play: the transformation of the demonic at the root, by Siva.......This tale
of alchemic transmutation has strong resonances with the mythology of Uranus and Aphrodite.
Uranus engendered so many Titans (cosmic demons), that he was castrated by Chronos (Saturn)
by order of their mother, Gaia. His organ fell into the sea where it burst into a great froth, out of
which emerged Aphrodite, goddess of love comely as in Botticellis The Birth of Venus, brought
to shore. No wonder, many believeshes the cause of all the trouble........In the Solar system,
Venus and Uranus both rotate around their axes at right angles to the rest of the planetary
universe..............Sukra/Venus had agreed earlier to be the preceptor of Demons, because he had
feelings of envy and ill will towards Bhraspati (Jupiter), the preceptor of Gods. The Vedic
psychology is as precise and informed in its symbolism of dark and light, as any Jungian analysis.
The demonic vitality, when regulated, becomes an auspicious servant.........Sukra/Venus enjoys
white flowers, and to ride a red lotus; favours water, carries a water-pot, staff, rosary and boon-
bestowing gesture, like Jupiter. The tutelary deity is Indra; the vehicle is pulled by the 8 white
horses of the sea.

Sani Saturn has a dark complexion, and carries lance, dart, spear and bow. Sanaischava was
the second son the firstborn was Manu, scribe of the Laws of the shadow wife of Surya.
Suryas actual wife (Samjna) couldnt bear Suryas brilliant Light, so she left her shadow-replica
for Surya to conceive with................Sani keeps his head bent, for fear of causing injury to living
beings. This is because once upon a time, being engaged in austerities, he failed to notice his
lovely wife who cursed him henceforth, that whatever he looked at, would be destroyed. So
when the Gods persuaded him to visit Siva and Parvati and their new baby Ganapati (Ganesh), he
kept his head bent, and wouldnt look..............(Some say that he did look, and that is why Ganesh
has an elephant head. In general the Vedic Divine behaviour has much in common with
Olympus.)................But if Sani averted his gaze, he lost the ability to behold good fortune and the
removal of obstacles, and grew gloomy. So he has a sadness, a darkness in his heart about the
intolerable brightness of Surya; and a compassion with the living beings the burden of their
Dharma...............Sanis tutelary deities are Prajapati, Lord of Creatures and their Procreation, and
Yama the Lord of Death. His ornaments are a very dark sapphire the colour nila. His ikon is
black iron installed on a pedestal the shape of an arrow. Sani is slow moving, and tends to be
lame. He has the face of the Sun, but rides a crow. He is a philosopher of the wheels within
wheels which themselves are turning.................David Frawleys book says Sanis Vedic vehicle is
an Ox. So I gave him a pair, yoked and slow moving. Sani has musicians hands. Saturn is the
musical discipline, the harmony of the spheres, the subtle intelligence, or cosmic intellect.

Rahu, the upturned glyph, is the Dragons Head with a serpent body. Rahu is a wide ranging
break-dancer, with a passion for manifestation and reverse modes. He chases the Sun and Moon
to eat them, but whenever this begins to occur, there is a strange resonance of alignment along
the ecliptic planes: the Oneness, the silence in all the Universe which Rahu
dreads.........Paradoxically, Rahus dark path around the petals of the Light, cancels every
difference................Rahu most resembles Uranus. Vedic astrology, with galactic archetypes to
deal with, as well as planets, dispenses with Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. As with Uranus, Rahus
multi-dimensioned visit apparently breaks apart the known world, manifesting and destroying
islands of aggrandizement to reveal, as in Holsts The Planets: Nothing. Ringing silence. Or
Magic! Rahus energy field is a clash of cymbals................His vehicle is a Lion and eight trotting
horses, as black as beetles. He occludes and occultates the Sun: thus his power to promote
illusion, magic and worldly gain, political tyranny and wealth which break apart. He is pure
Hollywood glitz. On a sundial, the principle of Time the all-devourer, faces the Sun: Rahu is the
shadow the Sun throws behind Time. He carries sword, shield, spear, gesture of protection and
gesture of boon disposal. He is worshipped by black flowers, and his face is tiger like. His tutelary
deities are Kala great Time and Sarpa, the Serpent queen. Kala is another name for Yama,
Lord of Death............[NB: The KaLAs (accent on second A) are fractions of the Moons orbit. The
Nitya Shaktis are 16 moon digits around the cycle of its waxing and waning...................KaLA is a
manifestation (through the unfolding of Sri Chakra Yantra) of material force, along with sound
(Nada). See also the similar root words: KaLA meaning root; KALI yuga, materiality, and
KALAKUNTA, the great black demon churned up with the gods ambrosial butter, which Siva
swallowed and turned peacock blue in his throat. ............So KaLA suggests materiality and also
part or fraction which is what the materiality-projection turns out to be. KaLA is said (in Sri
Chakra Yantra writings) to limit the infinite power of Siva who is formless. KaLA forms and
separates. ...............KAla is the god of Time, carrying noose and cudgel. This also limits and
materializes.]...................In Rahus story, he was an Asura a great Demon. He pretended to be a
god, and came to drink Soma with them in their revels. Surya and Chandra (Sun and Moon)
detected him, and reported him to Vishnu, who cut off his head with his Discus. But Rahus mouth
had already tasted Soma and become immortal; so Brahma had to reluctantly make him into a
planet. Rahu is hungry for ever, for the bliss. He pursues the sun and moon during the period of
eclipse. Rahu, the North node, is a point of intersection of the orbits of moon around earth and
earth around sun; this point travels counter-clockwise around the zodiac. It makes a complete
circuit every 18.6 years................Rahu rules the constellations Ardra, Svati and Satabhishak. His
nature is feminine-absorbing, with Jupiter and Venus influences. He is exalted in Gemini, rules
Virgo, is harmony in Libra, discord in Aries, detrimental in Pisces, and falls in Sagittarius the
story of his life. He contributes to worldly prosperity.

KETU the Moons South Node is the body chopped away from the Asura from the serpent
who tasted nectar, and remained for ever addicted..............Ketu favours spiritual development,
Yoga and the party is over. Ketu is what got left behind Rahus binge, and is the situation of
most of us. Rahu assists the general razzmatazz, but Ketu is much smaller than that giant head,
and his tendency is to concentrate and distil, rather than to expand. Core-wise, he isnt interested
in externals...............Ketu is exalted in Sagittarius, rules Pisces, is harmony in Aries and discordant
in Libra, causes grave detriment in Virgo and falls in Gemini. In some representations he is two-
armed, with his left hand on his knee.............In the centre of the wheel is stillness. The tail end of
the dragon seeks stillness. I feel blindfold with this KETU. I cannot see, he is a great mystery, and
there isnt much to read about him. He rides on Pigeons. His ikon is banner shaped. His tutelary
deities are Brahma and Chitragupta. Chitragupta is an attendant of Yama. Thus: the Creator
and the Destroyer are his guardian angels. He winnows out the excess. His head is deformed,
and his complexion and ornaments are ashy. NAM YAR who am i?...............RAHU is the shadow
of the Moon; KETU is the shadow of the Sun. Ketu is contractive, centripetal, like Saturn. Ketu
tends to use up ones vitality overwork and isolation, but the most wonderful insight from
past lives, aligned with Mercury. KETU means a flag. He boosts all the planetary powers. He is
most like Pluto trans-formative, the Light of the dark..........................Rahu and Ketu indicate
the factors which block out the light of the great luminaries.