Bhavat Bhavam and the Modern Interpretation of Nakshatras

1 Bhavat-Bhavam  and

the Modern Interpretation of Nakshatras

by Janos Tamas Melocco (Kartikeya), Vedic astrologer (Budapest, Hungary)

 The aim o the present article is to e!plain the direct direct use o Vedic Vedic nakshatras in chart interpretation and transits on a basis slightly di"erent rom the usual ones encoded in symbols, deities and other attributes, though deeply in harmony #ith those$ % belie&e that using nakshatras actively  (as  (as in neo'Vedic astrology) gains tremendously rom the application o this element moreo&er, that this #ay o thinking about nakshatras is i s deeply encoded into the Vedic odiac itsel$ *dditionally, it might thro# a di"erent light upon interpreting Vimsottari +ashas (planetary periods)$ ike many disco&eries, this -nding has a history$ history$ My teacher o Vedic astrology at the time, Maria .som had been a practicing /estern karmic astrologer in Budapest$ 0n the inspiration o her oga master 2#ami3i Mahesh#arananda, she decided to e!periment #ith using Vedic astrology, then gradually s#itched o&er to using only %ndian charts, e4ual houses, and a sidereal odiac$ Maria became really intrigued by the nakshatras, these mysterious areas o the Hindu odiac, #hich constitute the basis o the Vimsottari dashas, dashas, a po#erul techni4ue o prediction #ithout e4ui&alent in /estern astrology$ astrology$ Her intuition #as that i the planetary periods 5 so undamental in Vedic prediction 5 are counted rom the nakshatra positions o the Moon at the time o birth, perhaps these obscure di&isions o the sky held the real secret o a -ner analysis o birth charts and transits in the %ndian #ay$ #ay$ 2tarting to study the classic publications about nakshatras by +a&id 6ra#ley and +ennis Harness, she #as trying to relate the mythological and other properties p roperties to the Vedic charts o clients, riends and amous people$ 2tudying ga&e rise to a piece o inspiration7 at -rst, you need to 8translate9 the basics o nakshatras to the language o /estern astrologers 5 planets in signs$ Then :ur&a :halguni could be understood as similar to a eo Venus, Bharani to an *ries Venus and so on$ Kno#ing ho# lordship has much more signi-cance in the e4ual house system o Vedic astrology, Maria began to correlate the nakshatras to the signs ruled by the nakshatra rulers, gaining rulers, gaining additional inormation rom the position o these signs counted rom the sign #here the nakshatra is i s ound$ Basically, she #as applying the bhavat bhavam principle bhavam  principle 5 counting a house rom a house 5 reasoning that i Venus;s o#n signs (Taurus and ibra) are the third and tenth houses rom eo (#here :ur&a :halguni is ound), :ur&a :halguni should display a general meaning that deri&es rom ha&ing a nakshatra ruler #hich is a third house lord and a tenth house lord$ lord $ The third house, among other things, reers to e!pression (noted in the charts o amous entertainers), communication, tests and trials, #hile the tenth house reers mainly to proession and occupation in the Vedic analysis$ eo is a sign o sel'e!pression sel'e!pression and leadership, #hile Venus (2hukra) is the patron o arts, thereore :ur&a :halguni could be ma rked in the charts o people #ho use Venusian energy professionally, professionally, for example e xample in the arts – music, even psychology, television or marketing$ marketing $ Venus is the ruler o Taurus, the second sign, thus it is a karaka o money and enterprises in the 8natural 8natural horoscope9 (the %ndian term or the parallel bet#een be t#een houses and signs)$ The third house bears a parallel to th and ?rd house are Venus'ruled rom eo)$ 2o the di"erence bet#een these t#o nakshatras 5 on top o the di"erence bet#een the themes o the t#o -re signs housing them 5 #ould basically be a di"erence bet#een a eo Venus area #ith Venus;s signs being in the ? rd and 1>th house and an *ries Venus area #ith Venus;s signs being in the = nd house and the @ th house rom the home sign$ /e started to study this insight methodically #ith the Budapest group o basic Vedic astrology students gathered around Maria .som around the turn o the millennium, and #ent through the #hole circle o signs and nakshatras #ith &arious planets in them, trying to correlate the bhavat bhavam characteristics o nakshatras and came up #ith ar more nuances in the case o oursel&es, riends, relati&es, amous people and the charts o clients$ *nd in e&ery case, #e ound that the bhavat bhavam e!planation o nakshatras bore additional ruits o interpretation, and that these #ere &ery much in harmony #ith the original intent coded into the odiac o %ndia, noting also the traditional symbols, deities as #ell as the male'emale characteristics, and other classi-cations, or e!ample the AakshasaManushya+e&ic classi-cation (#hich can be roughly translated as acti&e and aggressi&e people'centered or passi&e and idea'centered)$  The parallels o the 8natural horoscope9 help interpret the &arious numbers #here the nakshatra ruler could ha&e its sign(s)$ The si!th house could signiy sickness and healing, enemies and karma yoga$ Thinking about it as a parallel to the sixth sign, Virgo, helps e!plain #hy it is useul to integrate the /estern idea o the si!th house being a house o #ork, along #ith the traditional tenth house o #ork in Vedic astrology, #hich is parallel to the tenth sign, .apricorn$ %t i s the main house o #ork and occupation, ho#e&er, it does not carry the additional meaning o enemies, sickness and healing$

1. Nakshatras of the Nodes; Dashas and Nakshatras Co# #e can begin to describe some additional characteristics o nakshatras based on the bhavat-bhavam logic$ Cotice that in the picture, % colored the signs ruled by the same planet as the nakshatras they rule$ *ll nakshatras are arranged in trines, that is, the same se4uence o nine rulers repeats itsel three times$ The nakshatras o#ned by Aahu and Ketu are less interesting rom the point o &ie# o this article, because no sign is o#ned by either o the shado#y planets$ %n a birth chart, you #ould relate them to the natal placement o Aahu and Ketu$ D!perimentally, one could still count the houses rom a Aahu nakshatra to the placement o Aahu in the chart, though$ * e# points still turn up in analysis, ho#e&er$ 2o let us 4uickly sum up #hat #e can say about nakshatras ruled by Aahu or Ketu$

?  The nodes are both enemies o the 2un and the Moon$ .oded into legend, this is because it #as the t#o luminaries that betrayed the stealing o the amrita by the demon cut into t#o by Vishnu;s disk$ (They remained immortal, though, ha&ing already had a sip o the amrita o immortality)$ This myth con&eys a practical piece o inormation or Vedic astrologers7 The 2un and the Moon su"er #hen being aEicted by the male-c aspect o either Aahu or Ketu, and by e!tension, they #ill su"er in the nakshatras o Aahu or Ketu$ %n my e!perience, Ketu nakshatras are more diFcult or a Moon placement Aahu nakshatras are more diFcult or a 2un placement, but naturally, this is urther re-ned by the aspects and the lordships o the particular chart$ Mula could be the hardest o all three Ketu'nakshatras or the Moon, since the Moon’s own sign – Cancer – is eight  houses away from agittarius$ (This is also bhavat bhavam thinking 5 applied to another le&el, #hen #e place a planet in the nakshatra$ *t this point % think it is indispensable to use a graphic representation to be able to count 8houses9 (or signs really, in this case)$ 2o here it goes7

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 * Ketu nakshatra placement or the Moon additionally means that the nati&e;s lie #ould start in Ketu dasha, #hich is a separating and re4uently other#orldly inIuence 5 not easy or a child$ ou could say people #ith a Moon in a Ketu nakshatra arri&es into physical lie ully only ater Ketu dasha is o&er, #hen the subse4uent Venus dasha starts$ iterature states that the Moon in the same sign as Ketu could lead to the loss o the mother$ %n modern society, % -nd this is not necessarily so direct rather, the nati&e;s mother can be a more masculine, tough person, or someone #ho su"ers hardships, or that the mother'child relationship is some#hat disturbed by other actors$ %t is #orst, ho#e&er, #hen the Ketu period deri&es rom the Moon being in Mula (2agittarius)$ Because the Moon;s sign being eight houses rom 2agittarius, #hat #e re4uently see is that the nati&e;s mother has undergone a painful loss or separation which has an indirect impact on the early life of the native! *s#ini Moon is also placed in a Ketu nakshatra, but an *s#ini Moon nati&e can ha&e a strong mother 5 unless other aspects spoil that$ The sign o .ancer is our houses a#ay rom such a Moon, hence amily lie is all'important or the mother$ /ith Magha, .ancer alls into the 1=th house, #hich could among other things reer to the nati&e;s ormer lie #ith the mother, a meditati&e lie or a stay in a con-ned situation 5 or other 1= th house signi-cations$ Moon in a Aahu nakshatra means a diFcult childhood #hile Aahu dasha lasts 5 it is more appropriate or Aahu dasha to start in adulthood #hen you are constantly gro#ing and changing yoursel, ne&er reaping the results$ 6or a nati&e #ith a Moon in Aahu nakshatra, ho#e&er, lie #ill start #ith the remaining portion o Aahu dasha (counted proportionally rom ho# much the Moon has co&ered out o the gi&en Aahu nakshatra at the moment o the -rst breath)$ Aahu dasha can be brutal, hard and shocking to a child$ Co #onder traditional Vedic te!ts say Aahu is rough, male-c and brutal, and points at obsessions and sudden changes 5 though the e!planation o more mystical astrologers (more in the /est than in modern %ndia) is that Ketu points at ormer li&es and Aahu points to#ards uture li&es the nati&e;s soul #ishes to e!perience in the uture$  The themes o the three Aahu nakshatras are di"erent, though7 2#ati Moon (in ibra) #ould sho# that the mother (and by e!tension, the ather) ha&e ma3or relationship troubles, di&orce, cheating etc$ *rdra Moon ( parts 5 #hich is not a coincidence$ .hanting mantras 1> times #ould address the mantra to e&ery small portion o the starry sky o %ndia in your birth chartN)  The second part #ill e!amine the main house connections o each nakshatra ruler planet (#e co&ered Aahu and Ketu) rom the point o &ie# o bhavat bhavam, mentioning 3ust a e# speci-c e!amples in each case$

2. Bhavat Bhavam Themes in the Nakshatras of Venus  The three nakshatras ruled by Venus are ound in the middle o -re signs7 Bharani in *ries, :ur&a :halguni in eo and :ur&a 2hadha in 2agittarius$ 6or the sake o completeness, % repeat #hat % said in my starting e!ample7 Venus is the ruler o the second sign (Taurus) and the se&enth sign (ibra) rom *ries, thus the themes o Bharani #ill be, or e!ample, money and se!, and holding on to relationships, plus important relationships #ith #omen (or both genders)$ Taurus is doubly signi-cant here because it is both the second sign and the second house rom *ries at the same time, #hile it is simply the most earthbound and sensual o all signs, relating to eating, gardens, possessions, money, beauty, diets and cosmetics$ The second house in a chart #ould also signiy speech and teeth$ Bharani is #iring is diFcult, because *ries means independence and spontaneity, #hile the nakshatra ruler Venus emphasies relationships, and it o#ns the se&enth house$ Thus Bharani placements could lead to &iolent s#ings bet#een being dependent on relationships and indi&idual spontaneity$ % ound that the possessions o Bharani people can Iuctuate depending on #hether they ha&e a good partner or #ithout one (Bharani is romantic but passionate 5 it is in the cardinal -re sign o Mars)$ That is to say, Mars as sel'#ill and Venus as relationships (the theme o ibra, an air sign, is ad3usting to another person) are mi!ed here and they are in a constant seesa#$ Venus #ants you to adapt to your partner and make compromises, #hile Mars as the sign ruler #ould #ant you to go ahead and do #hat thou #ilt and conorm to no one$ :ur&a :halguni, in contrast to Bharani, has the Venusian signs in the third house (ibra) and the tenth house (Taurus) rom itsel$ Thus it signi-es a more proessional aspect o Venus, such as being a proessional artist, entertainer, or leadership #ith style$ 2ince the third house can be communications and its parallel sign in the 8natural horoscope,9