GLOSSORY 2
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GLOSSORY 2
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King Vikramaditya's court was adorned by many great astrologers, one of whom was Mihira. When a son was born to the king, the astrologers cast his horoscope and said in one voice that he would die at the age of eighteen. But the cause of the death was a point of dispute. Some opined that the prince would be endangered by an animal. But to the surprise of all Mihira predicted that the prince was fated to die by a varaha (pig ), on a particular day at a particular moment. When the day came the king put his son on the seventh floor of the palace, who was well guarded by attendants. No stranger or animal could enter the palace because of tight security. The condition of the prince was reported every now and then. A few minutes before the predicted moment, the report came that the prince was hale and healthy. But alas! The next report was that the prince had died! When the king reached the seventh floor, he saw his son dead in a pool of blood. His attendants were absorbed in a game with the prince. The latter left the game and had gone to the open terrace to enjoy free air just before the king arrived. When a strong wind blew, a stone image of a Varaha fell from the top of a pillar and hit the prince fatally. The king honored the sage with the Emblem of the Royal Title" Varaha".
In Shakespeare's "The Tempest" we have the following scene in Act I (the ship is tossed by a storm by Prospero's spell. Boadswain laments for the safety of his life. Gonzalo says, "I have great comfort from this fellow: Methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him: his complexion is Perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his Hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, For our own doth little advantage. If he be not Born to be hanged, our case is miserable."
In the words of the Astrophysicist, Mathematician and science fiction writer, the erudite Dr. Jayanth Narlikar," Astrology does not meet the requirements of science and hence cannot be regarded as a part of science. In fact, astrology talks about such imports from Babylone and Greece, Rahu, Kethu and Shani, which are akin to hocus-pocus." In the words of the veteran astrologer Llewellyn George, "A test of significance may be defined as a determination whether or not a measure of unusualness is greater than can reasonably be attributed to chance alone. In standard laboratory practice it is assumed that if the characteristic in question actually is found to occur a certain number of times more than its probability of occurrence, it has a corresponding degree of unusualness and therefore significant." An eminent and world renown astrologer of our times, was the author of the "Astrological Magazine" and many books on Vedic astrology. A world famous astrologer and the author of many astrological books, professor Krishnamoorthi evolved a system of prediction (Krishnamoorthi Paddhathi) based on the position of planets in the constellations. He was also the author of the magazine, "Astrology and Athrishta". He had offered numerous predictions which were accurate to the second. The astrological community owes a lot to him for his sub- theory. Llewellyn George, one of the greatest astrologers of our times, observes in his book "A to Z Horoscope Maker and Delineator" "The individual psyche possesses a high degree of resistance to outside influences, a resistance rooted in what is commonly miscalled "free will." The collective psyche is far less differentiated than the individual and therefore more vulnerable to on-the spur reactions to outer stimuli. Modern scientific research has proven that mass psychology, pendulum-like, oscillates from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other, between optimism and pessimism, laxity and tension, mania and depression, etc. This oscillation is traceable to causes variously known as "extra terrestrial influences," "sidereal radiation," "the diurnal bio-electric potential"- all roses by another name, the mother flower being astrology, pure and simple. Modern astrological research corroborates these findings and, furthermore, possesses the Key to prediction of sociological trends ( as witness, for example, stock-market activity as related to long-term and middle-term influences of the planetary aspects)..................." "The progressive student will do well to remember that 'destiny' properly means whatever is possible unto us, and fate means the external influences which appear in our pathway to be manipulated and eventually overcome through effort and understanding. 'He who would slay dragons must first learn their habits." To overcome fate we must first know our fate. Astrology points the way to that desirable information".
Not to scale
Not to scale V. E = Vernal Equinox A. E = Autumnal Equinox
The red circle is the ecliptic and the other circle is the equator. VE = The Vernal Equinox AE = Autumnal Equinox SS = Summer Solstice WS = Winter Solstice The solar system consists of the Sun in the center and the other planets revolving round it. The Sun is in fact a member of the Galaxy consisting of millions of stars. There are countless number of galaxies floating in space. The horoscope, generally, gives a picture of the heavens with the earth in the center (geocentric). The orbits of planets are slightly inclined to the ecliptic which is the apparent path of the Sun. The latitude of the planets is never more than 71/2 degrees. Hence the Zodiac is the belt of space extending to 71/2 degrees on either side of the ecliptic. The first sign of the zodiac, namely Aries, starts at the vernal equinox. The first point of Aries is shifting backwards slightly at the rate of approximately 50" of arc per year( the Precession of the Equinoxes). Whereas the earth and the other planets are very close to the Sun, they are too far away from the constellations (groups of stars). The distances of stars are measured in terms of light years. Our earth is only five minutes away from the Sun.
The earth's axis of rotation is inclined at an angle of 23 1/2° to the ecliptic. Owing to the gravitational pull exerted on the equatorial bulge by the luminaries and this inclination, the earth revolves like a spinning top, its pole describing a great circle (the Precessional Arc) in space every 2600 years (a Great Year). The notation is irregular and hence the variations in the lengths of Great Years from 2300 to 2600 solar years. The wobble causes shifting of the equinoxes backward in space. During a Great Year, earth's pole aligns with different pole stars. At present Polaris is the North-pole star. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the Tropical zodiac also moves with respect to the constellations (stars), which remain fixed in space several light years away. So, the sign Aries of the Tropical zodiac, which commences at the vernal equinox, no more coincides with the asterism called Aswini where the Sidereal zodiac starts. Moreover, the precessional movement is not uniform as we have said earlier. Debate has been going on since the last century about the exact precession of the equinoxes. ( At present the Tropical Aries coincides with 5° Sidereal Pisces.) While Western astrologers employ the Tropical Zodiac (moving) Zodiac, which commences at the vernal equinox, in Hindu astrology the starting point of the zodiac coincides with the asterism called Aswini and hence the name Sidereal (fixed ) Zodiac. Though the signs have the same names in both the zodiacs, the concepts are quite different. The time when the two zodiacs coincided is not exactly known. The rate at which the equinoxes move is also a point of dispute. Hence the need for taking into account the Ayanamsa which is the difference in longitude between the two zodiacs. By subtracting the ayanamsa from the sayana (moving) position of the planets we get their nirayana (fixed) positions. Twins are born with a few minutes' difference, but have different characteristics! Let us make a study the charts of a twin birth. The following chart belongs to one of the twins who is a dealer in machineries. Moon is in unison with Venus, lord of the sign on the X cusp. Hence Moon signifies the X. Mars(-)---> 45(-)-->Venus (+)(Moon) = + Though their parents desired that he became a teacher, he didn't!
Note the sign Virgo is intercepted and Mercury is neutral in polarity w.r.t. the X. ME (N)--45(-)-->VE (+)= -
The younger was born a few minutes later.
In this chart Mercury rules Virgo the sign on the IX cusp and hence negative in polarity. ME (-) ------- 45 (-) ------- VE(+)= +. The native had taken the teaching profession!
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