Ganesh Loses his head
Out of his deep-seated anger against his father Saturn started doing penance (see Birth of Planets). His objective was to become more powerful than Sun, his father.
In Indian Puranas it was believed that by doing penance one could gain such powers that one could even topple the seat of Indra (Indian equivalent of Zeus).
During penance, one had to remain celibate, control all his emotions and subject the body to extreme suffering. In summer, one had to stand on one leg within a Ring of Fire or in winter stand neckdeep in cold water through the night. All the while chanting specific mantras, which could energize one’s latent powers. Saturn went through this for years and finally success was his. While Sun gave life to all beings, Saturn became the dealer of Death. He had the additional power of bestowing instant wealth and prosperity and also the power of healing (by denying death).
Even after achieving his goal he continued to be a celibate and led the life of a hermit. Chhaya, his mother was alarmed. She literally forced him to marry a girl of her choice believing that the beauty of the bride would ensnare Saturn into domesticity.
No such thing happened. Saturn continued with his daily meditation after going through the marriage rituals with extreme reluctance only to please his mother. He remained a celibate, although technically married. It is not clear why he agreed to marry. While agreeing to his mother’s entreaties he remained totally oblivious to the fact that in the process he was ruining the life of normal and healthy girl. Possibly he did not quite understand the responsibilities of marriage! His wife tried her best to win him over. She would bedeck herself with all kinds of finery and try to attract his attention. But Saturn did not even look at her.
One day she had enough of it and cursed Saturn saying “Since you did not even bother to look at me, I curse you that from today whomsoever you look at will perish.”
All this while, elsewhere other important things were happening. Mother Uma the consort of Shiva created a child from her mind. The baby was most gorgeous looking and Shiva made him the leader of his guards known as the ‘Ganas’. Hence his name became Ganapati or Ganesh.
There is an Indian ceremony when a child receives his first meal of solid food. Family and friends are invited and there are festivities. It is known as Annaprashan.
The time came for Ganesh’s Annaprashan. Uma in a joyful mood invited all the gods and demigods. Everybody was too happy to oblige. Everybody except Saturn. Remembering his wife’s curse he did not turn up. Uma noticed his absence and sent her emissaries to fetch him. It was difficult to avoid her summons and reluctantly Saturn went. He decided that he would not look at the child and only join the festivities and bless him with his eyes closed.
Alas, that was not to be. Uma brought the child to him and wanted to know what he thought of him. Saturn told her that he did not want to see the child because if he did something terrible might happen.
Uma would hear none of it. She asked Saturn to look at the child and assured him that she herself would remain responsible for the consequences. What could Saturn do? He looked at Ganesh and as he did Ganesh’s head dropped off his shoulder.
Uma was hysterical. There was general confusion. Everybody started crying. Only Vishnu kept him cool. He took one of Shiva’s attendants aside and asked him go out and find the first living being lying with its head towards the north. He was to cut the head off and bring it as fast as possible to Vishnu.
The attendant found an elephant lying down with its head northwards. He chopped the head off and brought it to Vishnu and he set it on a Ganesh’s headless body and Ganesh became whole again. Since then he became known as the elephant god.
Such were the powers of Saturn - made even more potent by his wife’s curse.
In Indian astrology it is said that the house which receives Saturn’s aspect (i.e., the house to which Saturn looks) is ruined and nothing good can be expected from it.
Madhushri completed her early schooling at the Shri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry. Having grown up in an environment of literature, music and spirituality she proceeded to complete her Masters in Comparative Literature from the Jadavpur University after completing graduation studies in the same course of the University. In addition, Madhushri also hold a Masters degree in Music from the Rabindra Bharati University.
Given her deep interests in mythology, literature and spirituality, the move to Vedic Astrology was a natural extension. Being an intuitive reader of Natal Chart, she brings a successful blend of astrology and spiritual skill-sets into all her readings and counseling’s. A natural flair for expressing complex and difficult matters makes her a prolific creator of most of the content on CyberAstro website since 2001. Madhushri has a large following for the accuracy of her daily, weekly and monthly zodiac predictions.
Tags: astrology, Devotion, future prediction, hanumaan, hinduism, Lord Ram, religionAstrology - A Simple Reading
Because astrological readings can be a chapter in a book alone, for the purposes of this article we’re going to do a very simple and stripped down reading. However, this will give you a good foundation for really getting into depth when doing your own reading.
The first thing you have to do is get the subject’s birth info. We need the date, time and place of birth. For the purposes of this reading, we’ll just pull some info out of thin air. Let’s take April 15, 1984, at 8:00 AM in the town of Newark, New Jersey.
We take this information and throw it into our favorite astrological computer program. For this example we’ll use Astro123, which is actually a shareware program with some very powerful features.
After throwing in our variables, the program spits out an astrological chart for us containing the position of each planet and some analysis to follow.
Reading the chart itself can be a little difficult at first, but with some practice you’ll more than get the hang of it.
The first thing we want to look for is the sun sign. In this case, the sun is in Aries so this person is an Aries. As stated in an earlier article people born between March 21 and April 20 are Aries. Aries people have very strong personalities and are usually natural born leaders. They are very straightforward, which means they can be very blunt. An Aries is the kind of person you want to have as a friend as they will fight to the death to defend your honor.
Looking beyond that, we have the following pieces of information. This person’s moon is in Scorpio. This indicates that this person is very secretive and tends to brood in silence over the wrongs that people have done to him or her. These wrongs can be real or imagined. It doesn’t matter to a person with their moon in Scorpio. Other planets are in other signs but we concentrate on the moon because since it is the body that is closest to the Earth it is the one with the most influence on us.
Then there are the planets as they fall into certain houses. Remember, there are 12 houses and 8 planets plus the sun and moon. How each of these bodies fall into each house affects how we deal with the various aspects of our lives.
For example, this person born on this day has the moon in their 5th house. Taking what we know about each of these we can make some generalizations about this person. The moon is what represents our feminine side. The 5th house is the house of creativity. A person with the moon in their 5th house indicates that emotions may get in the way of creativity. This is not a good thing for someone who dreams of being an artist. Unfortunately, many of histories most tormented artists had the moon in their 5th house at birth. That is why so many ended up as suicides or going mad.
Then we have the aspects that we discussed in an earlier article. These are the things that provide us with the challenges in our lives. One of the strongest aspects in this person’s chart is Mars being square to Neptune. In this case it is a perfect square at exactly 90 degrees. Squares are the most challenging of aspects. In this case, Mars square to Neptune indicates a person who fights for the underdog. Many rights activists have Mars square to Neptune. These people are constantly challenged and their lives are never easy when fighting for the rights of others.
These few pieces of information are but a fraction of a person’s astrological analysis. You can see now why astrology is such a complex science and a lot more than just predicting the future.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Astrology
The Only Horoscope Reading You Will Ever Need
No need trying to find your daily horoscope in your newspaper or on the Internet every day of your life. Use the Universal Horoscope below. You’ll be glad you did.
Is Today Your Birthday?
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Stargazer!
Happy Birthday to You!
Your days will be long and fruitful. Just everybody loves your pants off and wants to be around you. Use this to your advantage by making business deals and getting discounts on used cars. Today will be a happy one for you because you were born on this very day.
ARIES The Ram, March 21 to April 20: You like to get out there with the boys, tramping through the woods, quickly understanding the flora and the fauna, making quick-witted remarks about tree fungus, jumping up and down with joy when you see a porcupine. You take unnecessary risk and get angry when your fellow traveler looks at you like you’re nuts. You like to jump too-wide creeks. Beware of your powers and don’t step in the deer poop. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/aries.htm.
TAURUS The Bull, April 21 to May 21: You like to sit under the Yum Yum tree waiting for the world to bring you what you need. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t know you are there. Get up, grab that stranger, and show your loving persistent self. Hide that piece of cake under the sofa pillow until your guest leaves so you can eat it all by yourself. Don’t call your mother and tell her that you love her even if it has been 17 years since you last saw her. Keep her stewing a bit longer. Every day turn your head the other way when you walk past her house. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/taurus.htm.
GEMINI The Twins, May 22 to June 21: Don’t miss that party tonight. No party? Well, get on the telephone and invite the whole town. Get a band and show your youthful eloquent self. Now don’t go off in the corner and say you can’t do this on such short notice. And, damn, get rid of that new wig. It’s not helping your appearance. Something special is going to happen tonight. Don’t you want to know what it is? It will happen at the party (if you invite me). Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/gemini.htm.
CANCER The Crab, June 22 to July 22: It’s over! You’ve got to let go. Let up on your conscious tomorrow. That deal is there for your taking. But don’t let the buggers grind you down. A night on the town with your partner is appropriate tomorrow night. You will have something to celebrate. Let go of my coat. No crying! Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/cancer.htm.
LEO The Lion, July 23 to August 22:It’s time to expand those grandiose plans. Don’t forget China. Stick your nose into your friends business. See if you can’t come up with something for yourself. I know how you’ve been looking at you-know-who. Let yourself go. President Bush is not an idiot. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/leo.htm.
VIRGO The Virgin, August 23 to September 23: You don’t have to dust after your spouse has already dusted. I know your partner has a mole on the neck. It doesn’t matter. Take a walk in the park today and don’t over analyze the squirrels. They do what they do. I’m sorry that Reagan’s son is a Democrat. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/virgo.htm.
LIBRA The Scales, September 24 to October 23: Easy on the Butter Brickle Ice Cream; you must watch your figure or you won’t get to first base with “Dimple Cheeks.” Today would be a good day to take a stroll through the county history museum. Offer to volunteer if they will pay you a good hourly wage. I’m telling you again; the tooth fairy doesn’t come when you’re over 12 years of age. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/libra.htm.
SCORPIO The Scorpion, October 24 to November 22: Remember your childhood dream for success? Now is the time to move full speed ahead. For gosh sakes don’t tell anybody about it until you are sure your dream will come true. You don’t want those slime balls stealing your idea do you? I know how you can get even with Harry; put catsup on his hotdog. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/scorpio.htm.
SAGGITARIUS The Archer, November 23 to December 21: How are you coming on your dissertation on the Red-bellied Green Tree frogs of Korea? No, I don’t think you will be able to convert it to a novel, but knowing you, you will. Stop calling your sister, El Elefante. You know how that hurts her-or do you? When you recover, don’t use your homemade pole for pole vaulting again. Next time you might find that pole sticking out your back (just a joke). Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/sagittar.htm.
CAPRICORN The Goat, December 22 to January 20: Entropy isn’t everything. Come out of it. I heard that one, pretty funny. You’ve found seven new ways to solve Rubik’s Cube? You’re working on a new one? I’ll drop by later. It’s time to go to http://www.astrology-online.com/capricrn.htm.
AQUARIUS The Water Carrier, January 21 to February 19: What’s that you’re working on; a soft-boiled egg de-sheller? Interesting! No more yellow fingers. My mother is fine. She’s your mother too. Why don’t you call her? Yes, I gave to the Salvation Army. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/aquarius.htm.
PISCES The Fishes, February 20 to March 20: You can come out from behind the couch now. I want you to go to Newark with me today; now put on your cinnamon outfit with your orange baseball hat and hiking shoes. That’s the way! You gave your toothbrush to a vagrant? Well, use your finger. Go to http://www.astrology-online.com/pisces.htm.
The End
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.dumbincome.com
Tags: advice, astrology, Birthday, future, horoscope, my horoscope, reading, whats in the stars