#PURVA ASHADA #NAKSHATRA
Watery Star of Hopeful Urge
“By the Power of the unstoppable urge
Now you can drink it or you can nurse it,
It don’t matter how you worship
As long as you’re
Down on your knees.
So I knelt there at the delta,
At the alpha and the omega,
At the cradle of the river and the seas.
And like a blessing come from heaven
For something like a second
I was healed and my heart
Was at ease.”

L. Cohen – Light as a Breeze

Purva Ashada Nakshatra is in the constellation of Sagittarius and brings clearing, cleansing purification. The deity of this Nakshatra is Apa, she is the cosmological river Goddess of fresh water and the lover of Varuna the god of the seas.

Losing one’s individuality and merging into the greater sea of being, is the energy that this Star brings to us. This is a Shukracharia (Venus) ruled Nakshatra and rules conception. The river wishing to rush to meet the ocean is relatable to the urge of the sperm moving to meet the ovum.

“Purva Ashada Nakshatra
brings fluidic transitions
just as the inherent symbolism
of the river Delta…
where one water body
loses its identity for another.”
Transition from individual states of being to awareness of more expansive states of being comes from a losing of established identities. By purification of the subconscious sediment that we carry, we rush into the vaster ocean of reality. It is interesting to note that a river delta is also a place where underwater sediment in most pronounced.

Our subconscious sediment colours and expresses itself in the rivers of our being. Transition to new states of being come as things are resolved and purified from the underground. This is the lesson that Purva Ashada Nakshatra brings to us – That we have to leave some things behind if we are to come into more fluid states of being. Figuratively speaking – surface skiing upon the water does nothing to really resolve ones Karmic themes, though it certainly gives the feeling of moving.

On the path of a Tantra, the Yogin is careful to not exchange superficial surface maneuvers for the introspective healing work of facing the deep dark depths.

Bhairav Astami
The science of lunar houses is very detailed and subtle because it is dependent upon which Moon phase transports the energy to earth. Uttara Ashada Nakshatra occurring upon

“The Bhairav Astami
of half descending Moon
brings a movement
of unconscious sediment
and offers a transition
out of individual unconscious patterns
into a new sea of being.”
Bhairav is the deity who makes us face that which we fear, that which we turn away from and do not wish to face becomes our unconscious shadow that lives in the depths, and just like the undercurrent, it informs all the maneuvers of our consciousness.

Bhairav Astami has been ritualized by Yogins since time immemorial as a Moon day for accessing the unseen and unconscious shadow elements of our reality.

The occurrence upon Bhairav Astami of Purva Ashada Nakshatra is a time of working ritualistically with water. There are many inner and outer practices in Tantra that work with the healing powers of water.

The Gurus of Creation
Purva Ashada is under the rule of the 2 Gurus. #Venus is #Shukracharia, the #Guru of the #Asuras, and #Brhaspati ( #Jupiter) is the Guru of the #Devas. The Asuras are the dualised creative energies of the egg that splits upon fertilisation. The spermatozoa is the Devic singular force. We see that Purva Ashada is ruled by the Venusian Guru Shukracharia and is in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The stories tell that Shukracharia has in his possession a magical power that puts him in the possession of abilities that make him superior. It is the power of Sanjeevani Vidya that he possesses. This is the wisdom and power of bringing the dead to life. Shukracharia it is who brings life to the soul in an eternal circle of life and death.

“The seed holds the spirit,
but the egg is the doorway
of Sanjeevani
that permits incarnation.”
#Purva-Ashada Nakshatra is an auspicious time for the conception of a child, as power is given to the ovum and the spermatozoa. This Nakshatra brings the energies of Venus and Jupiter together, these planets are dualistic forces that if brought together result in creation.

Mythology & the Watery World
When Venus and Water Meet we get the mermaid, hence the star of Purva Ashada being connected to the Yakshinis, who are the elemental spirits connected to the water element in the unconscious. The Yakshinis stir in their depths when this Nakshatra is present.

The Yakshinis are the sexual elemental spirits of the second water ruled Shakti Chakra.

“Some aspects of Tantra
work with summoning & evoking
these sexual beings.”
The picture above is called Hylas and the Nymphs by the British painter John William Waterhouse. The Naiads are the water nymphs of Greek mythology. This story presents many poignant themes of Purva Ashada Nakshatra. The story tells how Hylas was on a search for fresh drinking water when came to an enchanting pond where the Naidas lured him in with their beauty.

The Naidas are similar to the Yakshinis of the unconscious watery worlds. They are energies that can lure us in by the promise of something wonderful.

The Yakshinis in the Indian mysteries offer treasure, pleasures and powers untold by those who find them, but like the story of Hylas, they can submerge us in an elemental world and keep us from fulfilling our karmic tasks. Hylas was looking for fresh water for the team of Argonauts but he never returned. We see him holding a jug of water in his left hand, the pond abounds with water lillies which interestingly are called Nymphaeaceae in Latin.

The tree of Purva Ashada Nakshatra is called the #Sita-Askhoka #tree. The stories tell us that the Ashoka forest was where Sita was kept captive by Ravan when he kidnapped her. The Expansive urge of Ravan was enticed by the Venusian caverns of Sita. Sita literally means a cavernous incline and is suggestive of the female Yoni. The Venusian ovum draws the expanse Jupitarian force, Ravan was so overcome that he stole her away. This is the theme of the Epic Ramayana.

The Ashoka is the tree that is sacred to the sensual water nymphs known as the Yakshinis. The Yakshins dwell in the deep unconscious levels of the inner world. Tantrics who make the unconscious conscious are able to see into the world of the Yakshins. Some Tantric magicians work primarily through Siddhis (powers) they gain from these elemental beings. Tantrics consider it a dangerous practice to enter into union with the elemental world for magical powers. It carries many dangers and karmic consequences for the soul.

We see in many fairy stories that humans become submerged in the fairy realm to their detriment. The story of the Fisherman and his Soul by Oscar Wilde hi-lights this allure of the elemental world wonderfully. The occult novel of the Sea priestess by Dion Fortune also covers the theme of elemental possession. The well known story of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson reverses the polarities and tells of a Mermaid who comes to the human world as opposed to the other way round.

Shooting Off
This Star brings a strong sense of Tapasya – this is quality of ruthlessness and fearless voyage towards the unseen. A yogin is for this reason called a Tapasyin. The word Asha in Ashada means hope and urge. This watery lunar house brings a battle like rush of water. It is activates the urge of the spermatozoa to merge with the ovum.

“The Ovum is Shukracharia (Venus)
and the Spermatozoa is Brhaspati (Jupiter).”
The urge to rush into the realms of life can become dispersing to our Shakti if we are focused on barren pursuits. Whether physically or psychically… we become aware of the nourishing or vampiric quality of our pursuits as the unconscious becomes conscious. When we gain insight into the motivation behind our urges, we come to see the mechanism of how they express into the fabric of our lives and the resultant effect thereof upon the Shakti we carry.

Brhaspati (Jupiter) is the biggest planet in our solar system. He abounds with an abundance of boundless energy. Purva Ashada is a time to study the focus of our urges. As this star is in the Brhaspati (Jupiter) ruled constellation of Sagittarius, the tendency to shoot out is pronounced. Under this star in concentrated ritual – Tantrics make a pronounced focus upon reversing the outward tendency of motion known as Privritti to the inward energy known as Nirvritti.

Brhaspati (Jupiter) is the ruler of Sagittarius. Brhaspati is the expansive energy of subtle wisdom, that is why he is the Guru of the Deva’s. The energy of Brhaspati is to expand and subtlety penetrate things. But the state of the fields of life that we are penetrating is to be taken into account, they will produce either barren or fruitful produce. The Tantric honours Shakti by discerning whether they are watering the field of death, or the field of life.

“The merging of the river
with the sea symbolism of this Nakshatra
is very much about the unconscious
becoming conscious.”
Remember the deity of this #star is #Apa, the #goddess of the #river. In the symbolism, she merges with the lover #Varuna the god of the #ocean through the releasing of parts of her identity that are born of unconscious imprints.

https://healinginthewillows.com/purva-ashada-nakshatra/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyD9N6PBhEk

#Asuras #Explained By #RajarshiNandy - #How It Can Affect You?

#UTTARA_ASHADHA #NAKSHATRA

#UTTARAASHADHA NAKSHATRA
THE #STAR OF #IMPOSSIBLE #VICTORY

The full Moon of Saturday the 24th of July will be in the Nakshatra (lunar house) of Uttara-Ashadha. This will be the ritual day of Guru Purnima, which is a central day in the Tantric calendar of celebrating and honouring the teachers and elders who carry sacred wisdom.

This lunar junction of the Guru meets us annually when the Moon is in the star of Uttara Ashada. A position of power that encompasses the vast array of universal spiritual forces.
The other major Tantric festival that occurs when the Moon is in Uttara Ashadha, that is worth mentioning here, is Dusshera.
This is the 10th and concludent night of victory after the 9 nights of the Goddess in the Navaratri ritual festival.
The Navaratri ritual festival links together all aspects of the feminine mysteries, by traveling through a spiritual story that traces the path of the Goddess and her many expressions. This point of multiplicity is greatly poignant to the energy of Uttara Ashadha as we shall consider in the next section below.

This star signifies hard-earned victory and accomplishment.
Its victory is one that comes through drawing all psychic and physical forces into focus.

In our daily lives, we regularly apply this principle of gathering a multiplicity of forces together towards accomplishing an activity.
For example, the act of just going shopping, draws together many forces towards the single end of acquiring groceries.
It encompasses a vast array of activities… from finding our hat and coat and putting on our shoes, to navigating the many aisles of a supermarket, to gathering the right ingredients for the cake we are baking.
This is a mundane example of an accomplishment that many of us might take for granted.
It has elements of the accomplishment of Uttara Ashadha in that it draws together many elements and abilities. In the case of Uttara Ashadha, all the universal powers and skills are drawn together unto the attainment of the greatest of all victories… which is the revealing of the sacred heart.

Uttara Ashadha is sometimes called the star of victory and accomplishment, this is the wish and desire of this Star energy.
Ashadha is the urge and wish that focuses on the victory.

The god or gods that dwell on this Nakshatra are very interesting when considering the nature of the energy that this star carries to us.
The god of this star is Vishwadeva, who is not a singular being, but rather the collection of all goddesses and gods.
The Vishwadeva(s) is/are the collective of all the goddesses and the gods.
They are nourished by, and in turn nourish this star through the reflective lunar mediary of the Moon.

Vishwa literally means all and everything. Vishwadeva is the ultimate plurality of all sacred celestial beings. This multiplicity is the nature of the far-reaching force that is delivered by this Nakshatra.

It is also of note that some Puranic writings highlight a specific number celestial gods who are also called the Vishwadevas.
These 10 Vishwadeva deities and are the 10 qualities of Uttara Ashadha.

Vishwa is a word that implies multiplicity, interestingly, there is no one unanimous account of what the Vishwadeva really is. Some accounts single out a specific number of celestial deities, some accounts signify all deities, while some Mantras and accounts acknowledge all Devas and Asuras as coming under the title of Vishwadeva. What is unanimous in all accounts, is the idea of multiplicity and the conjunction of many forces.

And so, #Vishwadeva is the god of this Nakshatra, as we have seen, it can be taken to mean the conglomerate of all #goddesses and #gods and even #Asuras, but it can also be taken to mean 10 specific deities who carry the traits of Uttara Ashadha.
Sometimes an additional 2 Vishwadeva deities are also given, but we will highlight 10 for now.

Let us list the qualities of the wisdom of this Nakshatra, by naming the 10 Vishwadeva’s, and consider the 10 wisdom qualities that the Nakshatra of Uttara Ashadha represents and transports.

1) Vasu is fullness, expansiveness, illumination and brightness. This is wisdom in a broad sense. Wisdom that encompasses all things. It is a wisdom that is both elevated in metaphysical principles, but equally, it is a wisdom that is able to articulate on a street level. A wisdom that is able to touch and make contact with any arena of life. This is a totally non-exclusive quality to put it in a nutshell.

SATYA

2) Satya is truth and reality without sentiment or bias or restriction to any singular perspective.
Again, it carries the fullness and broadness of the previously highlighted Vasu quality. And because of this vast perspective, it is able to see the wide picture of reality in which all perspectives are at once acknowledged. This is the quality of not leaning towards any particular side. It is a quality of not escaping reality through any drama, distortion or sentiment.

KRATU

3) Kratu is focus of intention and will. This is the measured expertise that knows how to apply just the right amount of exertion. It is the focus that has forbearance and a deep intelligence, measurement and strategy. Kratu feeds its own certainty. Once it has considered the best angle of action and is certain about its course, it will approach its action with the quality of a charging elephant that will attempt to go through everything with unwavering persistence and urge.

DAKSHA

4) Daksha is skill, it is geometry and dexterity, it is a subtle creative vision that is able to link all things together into inner and outer harmonious forms. This is the skill of ritual, the ability to cloth metaphysical realities in tangible form. This is the skill of Tantra.

KAALA

5) Kaala is Time. It is the power to have the awareness of the reality of time in the phenomenal world, and at the ‘same-time’ it is the quality and power to be able to go to that plane of reality which is beyond the constraints of time.
Interestingly, Kala pronounced with the shortly accentuated ‘A’, means artistry, an artistry with a love for carefully detailed beauty. This is the artistry that comes from timing. Timing and rhythm are like the forms in which beauty is distilled, refined and expressed.

KAAMA

6) Kaama is desire, it is the urge of the soul, the unstoppable wish and hope (remember that Asha in Ashadha means urge and hope) Dha means wealth, this is the victory of desire. Not necessarily the fulfillment of desire as one is apt to think. But rather, to be possessed of the secret urge is the wealth itself here.
Kaama is the root power behind all desire, it is the spiritual longing and wanderlust that underlies all desires. Pure desire, if you will.

DHRTI

7) Dhrti is concentrated ruthless firmness and focus, this is the focused shot of the arrow. It is the ability to hold to a thing with full psychic involvement and endurance and patience. This is a quality of a healer and a Tantric magician, who focuses upon a thing and therefore manifests it, through their sheer Shakti of focused power.

KURU

8) Kuru is ancestral power, it is the strong relation to the realm of the ancestors. It is a spiritual sensitivity that at once lives in the manifest world, while at the same time being aware of the subtle movements of the inner planes. Kuru is to see the multi-dimensional interrelationship between matter and ghost, or spirit and body. The word Kuru is derived from the root Kri, which means to do or to act. Our actions carry power when they are related to our roots. When the acknowledgment of our roots and heritage informs our action, then it is truly potent.
Kuru then is connected to actions of healing ancestral imprints, so as to potentise and bring healing depth to our action.

PURURAVAS

9) Pururavas is abundance, broadness and generosity. The generosity of Pururavas is the kind that comes from a trust in the invanquishable and self-perpetuating well-spring of the heart. Pura means fullness it is to be remembered. The quality of Pururavas is that it’s not afraid to take risks or to lose. There is a deep trust that beneath any apparent loss and failure, is am inexhaustible wellspring of reserve life power. Pururavas is on the way to Madravas because of this fearlessness and trust in life force.
Generosity is not just a saintly virtue. It is a natural quality of the wisdom principle of ever-fulfilling a inexhaustible force. When we move away from the inexhaustible force of nature, we simply become exhausted. Pururavas is natural power that is effective because it burns like a steady flame, we could liken this to the endurance of an elephant that knows deeply about the wise handling and distribution of its life-force.

MADRAVAS

10) Madravas is natural power and joy of heart. It is accomplishment and the celebration of the freedom of the sacred heart. We are here dealing with a joy that is not dependent on any condition or form of entertainment. It is an inner natural power of spiritual essence that is not obscured by any hint of Ahamkara

So as we have now seen, The Nakshatra of Uttara Ashadha draws from a wide array of universal forces.
This star brings together the collection of a vast array of attributes. Let us say that it is the star that possesses the celestial toolbox, and has access to the broadest and most diverse range of spiritual instruments.

THE CELESTIAL TUSKS

The two twin stars of Ashadha are represented by Yogins as the elephant tusks of the celestial realm.
Uttara Ashadha is the matured elephant power that represents the full potential of grounded celestial forces in an earthly sense.
The Yogins connect to, and invoke the penetrating force these dual astral-tusk-points of energy, in rituals where Uttara Ashadha is worked with.

#Ganesh is the grand Chakravatin, which means he is the earthly foundation structure upon which all the other Chakra spin.
Ganesh and all creatures that have #tusks are connected to Uttara Ashadha Nakshatra. The tusk obtrudes beyond the sphere of the body towards the sphere of vision… in a similar way that horns do.

This is the star of focused victory. A focus sharply focused with a penetrating sharp tusk like urge of vision.
The tusk of Uttara Ashadha points – through its focus – towards a victory to which it is very close. Remember Uttara means mature, and the wise force of maturity is implicit here.
This star has the celestial blessings of its ruling deity, which as we have seen, is in fact the collective of all goddesses and gods, or alternatively, are highlighted as a group of the 10 qualities of wisdom.
This is indeed a heavy Nakshatra, possessed of the force of wisdom, we could say the heaviest.
It is like the weight of Ganesh, the elephant god who sits at the very foundation of the Chakras. It is the very weight of deep Saturnian wisdom in the cavern of the soul.

Uttara Ashadha is the focus of celestial forces into the vessels of earthly being. It deals with bringing together the most celestial with the most earthly, as we shall soon see in the next section.

The symbol of this lunar house is a tusk. Indeed, the energy that this Nakhatra imparts has the ability to bring us the tenacity of teeth and bone. The elephant and other tenacious creatures with tusks are linked to this Nakshatra.

Uttara-Ashadha is often considered to be the 21st Nakshatra. This is interesting when we consider that the number 21 is sacred to the Ganesh, the god with the elephant head.
The number 21 further links Ganesh to Nakshatra.
Ganesh rituals are well-known to involve 21 offerings along with the chanting of his 21 names. Ganesh as well as many other deities – as we shall see – are linked to this Nakshatra.

DUAL SINGULARITY OF FOCUS

Big obstacles are overcome by focused force and endurance – is the teaching of this Nakshatra, focus being the operative word here.
Uttara Ashadha is ruled by Surya (the Sun) and the quality of this Nakshatra is the transmission of powerful burning solar force through the mirror of the Moon.
Where an object meets the sun, there is a shadow, to take away the shadow is to take away the object.
Uttara Ashadha is certainly singularity of focus, but the paradox is that it’s singularity is aware of the multi-layered dualities of life. The dualities of life can be perceived as a singularity, for example, when the principle of sun and shadow are taken together. Sun and shadow are a unity when the object is in the picture, take away the object, and we have duality and endless metaphysical abstractions only. The object can’t be taken out of the picture if reality is valued.
The two tusks of the elephant bring together dualities by the space of life between them.

In the next concludent section of this text, we shall take a look at a spiritually cosmological teaching story that highlights the dualities of the tusk that saved the earth.

Uttara means mature and Ashadha implies a victory that is eternal.
But more accurately, it is the desire and urge to reach that victory that this star presents.
This star moves one towards victories by its power of enduring focus and discipline. It brings all seeming dualities and forces together in a single point. Or let us rather say, two unified points, like the tusks of an elephant.

The wisdom that Uttara Ashadha Nakshatra brings to us, is a wisdom that is aware of the dualities of light and shadow upon all its octaves.
To understand and know a thing comes through understanding and knowing it’s opposite.
To truly see the revealed, is to acknowledge and be aware of the unrevealed half.

Focus is a quality where all our powers are beamed in one direction and one direction alone.
Tantra is but the art and science of focus, ritual is focus.
Extraneous expenditure of our life forces must be reigned in and harnessed towards the most needed point in the path of our destiny, if we are to receive the teaching of Uttara Ashadha.

Uttara-Ashadha gives the teaching of enduring focus.
As already outlined, its focus is singular and unwavering – this is the quality of the Guru.
The Guru is an uncompromising force that endures in the vision for the very deep and enduring truths.
Guru Purnima is an age-old festival Uttara Ashadha Moon festival that honours the Guru.

In a world of beliefs opinions, likes, dislikes, dualistic information and endless modes of self-expression of all of these, we risk the very opposite of what Uttara-Ashadha wishes to show us.
If we spread our energies wide and thin, we risk dispersing our psychic spiritual power. But at the opposite spectrum, if we gather our forces together in concentrated unity and singularity of urge, we bring all the celestial forces to one point. This is the secret of communing with Vishwadeva.
It means to open ourselves to all the forces by maintaining a seat of power.
Like being in an observatory or a planetarium that sees all the multitudinous revolutions of realities orbiting the spirit that we are.

Uttara-Ashadha is the very opposite of light dispersing action. Guru is an adjective that means heavy, who is just like the elephant energy, that is the prominent earthly expression of the weight of this Nakshatra.
Just like the weight of memory possessed by the Elephant that never forgets… Uttara Ashadha gives power to mind and memory.
Heavy weighted enduring focus is given to us when the full Moon is in this lunar house.
When the full Moon meets this Nakshatra, it presents the gift of its qualities to us on earth.
We will open up in ritual to invoke and receive the lunar emanations of Uttara Ashadha Nakshatra.

THE POWER OF THE EARTHLY TUSK

Varaha is the Boar headed earthly deity of mighty tusk, who carries the lesson of Uttara Ashada very well, so let us consider it here.

The story of Varaha tells of how he saved the earth from drowning in the subterranean waters when the Asuric forces attacked and threatened to ruin the earth.
Varaha and Bhumi (Earth Goddess) are lovers, together they birthed Mangala (Mars). Varaha saved Bhumi from drowning in the subterranean waters by lifting her in his tusks.
The impossible concentration it took Varaha to lift the earth out of the enveloping waters in which she was drowning, required the exclusion of all else but the matter at hand.
Or rather we could say, the matter at tusk – for Varaha hooked the earth in his tusks and carried her to safety.

Varaha presides over the Dhatu (physical element) of bone – this is the most hard of the Dhatus, and symbolises strength solidity of focus.
Varaha, in saving the earth, drew together all skills and abilities towards the single end.
The tusks are sharp and – being two – represent the dualistic forces concentrated into one action to achieve the victory that it is our Karma to accomplish.
What that victory is, is a personal journey to discover.
The discovery and realisation of our destiny requires dualistic forces to come together. This is the focus of Varaha, he is a most mighty deity… mighty of focus.
⁣
#Uttara-Ashadha can be seen to signify the imminent victory of the very real and deep pressing matters. Its imminent victory comes through the application and uniting together of all extraneous forces and subtle energies.
Its victory can’t be assumed without endurance and determined clarity of focus.
This endurance and determined clarity of focus is a Saturnian quality.

The story of Varaha saving the earth from drowning in the waters holds a Saturnian code within it. The Saturn ruled constellation of Capricorn is known as Makara to the Yogins. This is the constellation of the crocodile, who gives us the wisdom and power to articulate deeply between the dualities of its realms of mastery – water and earth.
Just as the mighty and fearlessly focused Varaha and Bhumi reveal the initiation of earth and water through the power of the tusk.

https://www.ancient-tantra.com/61-uttara-ashadha/

#BHARANI #NAKSHATRA

THE WOMB OF LIFE & DEATH
“CONFUCIUS SAID.
A SEED GROWS WITH NO SOUND, BUT
A TREE FALLS WITH A HUGE NOISE.
DESTRUCTION HAS NOISE, BUT CREATION
IS QUIET.”

Bharani Nakshatra is the lunar house that deals with the mysteries of #life and #Death.The symbol of this Nakshatra is a #Yoni, which means the female vagina,The ruling planet of Bharani is #Shukracharia ( #Venus) The god of Bharani Nakshatra is the lord of death and justice, known as #Yamaraja. Yamaraja is lord of the South. Yamaraja literally means the king of binding restraint. He carries the Pasa (noose) with which he binds and draws the soul out of the body at the appointed time.He is said to have been the first immortal being to have experienced death. As the first to taste death, he became the god of death and king of the ancestors. He is the first ancestor to have paved the way.The father of Yamaraja is Surya the #Sun. It is of interest to note that the sun gets exulted in the constellation of Bharani. That means, the best qualities of the sun, astrologically-speaking, are empowered by its exaltation here.Yamaraja has a twin sister named #Yami and a brother named #Shuni ( #Saturn) Just as in the case of Shuni, the animal associated with Yamaraja is the #Crow.

Yamaraja, gives the Karmic results of one’s present actions in the future, whereas Shuni gives one the results of past actions in the present. We see that a Shuni (Saturn) has its debilitation point in Bharani Nakshatra. Interestingly, the stories point out that Shuni and his older brother Yamaraja do not get on very well.Debilitation of a planet, astrologically-speaking, is when it’s effect is weakened. Debilitation is the opposite of exultation. Consider also the exulted sun in Bharani. Saturn and the Sun are inimical to each other. It was Shuni who caused his father to go into eclipse by a mere gaze.

The Justice of Yamaraja, is not a punishment as we might perhaps be apt to think of it. Justice in our world might seem like restriction and punishment, but justice for Yamaraj is reflection, reverberation and the law of effect.If for example, we drink a glass of castor oil, it will have a particular effect in the Southern Hemisphere of our being. It might not be pleasant, but it has nothing to do with punishment.

Bharani means to bear weight. To bear a child, to take responsibility. The symbol of Bharani Nakshatra is a Yoni. The Yoni offers life into manifestation. This is more than just the feminine symbol of sex and reproduction. We know that the Yoni bears life into this wold physically, like a portal or doorway. On another octave, the spiritual principle of Yoni bears spiritual life. Yoni is a sacred word. It is a sacred doorway into existence. This sacred Yoni is called by many names. Some words for the sacred Yoni are some of the most derogatory of the language. It is worth pondering why the Yoni bears so many words of derogatory connotation. These are perhaps hidden words that are not part of pleasant society. Words like cunt, fanny, gash, pussy or fuck-hole are a sexualisation of the sacred door of the Yoni. They are words that carry a power, but they also depart with the full range of power and sacredness of the Yoni. These descriptions may certainly be an aspect of the Yoni, but they tie the energy of the Yoni to a minuscule corner and portion of its power. The power of the Yoni is infinite. It is the power of the sacred doorway. It is the doorway that carries spirit into manifestation.

A thought is conceived and an action is undertaken. That is energy graduating through the layers, from the psychic realm unto the physical.Let us take a practical example of this principle in action:
You may be at home with no ingredients in the Kitchen. You may conceive an idea to bake a cake. The application of your intention follows with a bit of shopping, stirring, pouring and mixing. The house soon is scented by the sweet fragrance of a baking cake, and then soon after, the cake stands grandly upon the table.The cake was conceived as a psychic conception, and after a creative process, has taken birth and is ready to eat. This is the principle of the womb of conception, and the Yoni of manifestation that Bharani presents.
The cake comes into manifestation through the psychic principle of Yoni.Baking may be fun, sweet, warm and tasty. But that is not all that it is. Baking can also involve getting burned.If we divorce the cake from the art of baking, then we get a store-bought one, rather than the birth and living artistry of our creative faculties.
So when considering the Yoni of Bharani, we are to look beyond the hole that carries the function of sex and childbirth. It is verily the channel of the creative womb. It carries creative force by pouring into manifestation. Working with the star of Bharani is to work with and worship of the sacred Yoni.

Bharani Nakshatra is ruled by Shukracharia. This is Venus. To the Tantrics, he is the #Guru #of the #Asuras. Shukra literally means the male seed essence. When the seed enters the Yoni, it has the potential to create life.These two energies of seed and Yoni, obviously work like that upon the physical plane. But this is the tangible aspect of the manifestation of a subtle phenomenon. The psychic, or even physical seed or Shukra meeting the Yoni, does not lead to instantaneous manifestation. First it must find the doorway in, it must grow, and then it must find the doorway out and into manifestation, just like the baby, or the cake baking. It is a process of gradual enlivening and manifestation. The store-bought cake, of course exists. But it’s not our conception, in the same way that a cake baked by our own hand is.Shukracharia is the deity who is in possession of a special Vidya (wisdom).Mritsanjeevani Vidya is the knowledge and magical power to bring the dead back to life. This is a point to meditate upon, as to why Shukracharia (Venus) should have this power to bring life to the dead. Meditate upon this and consider what it’s implications might be?

Bharani is autonomy. Its potential is conception and birth. In both a physical, and spiritual sense.Taking on a couple of fancy spiritual slogans and set of beliefs, is like going for a wholesale, fast-food, ready cut, ready packaged slice of cake. It may seem to taste fine, but it’s most probably void of Prana and life-force. When our spiritual vision is truly conceived from the sacred Yoni in our soul, then it is different to taking on a ‘store-bought-ideology’. To truly birth a spiritual view, the seed of effort must be ploughed into a fertile soil. This takes patience, work and the awareness of timing.Tapasya is the drive of the seed. It is planting in the garden of the soul. The sacred Yoni is the very garden of our soul.

The place between life and death is the realm of Yamaraja, his world is called Naraka. It is the place of spirits. Yamaraja is also known by the name Pretaraja, which means the king of ghosts. The land of Yamaraja, Naraka, is often incorrectly described as hell. It is a realm where one looks into the mirror of the soul and justly has their shadow reflected back to them. There is a story of the sage known as Durvasa Muni who entered Naraka that highlights this principle. When Durvasa Muni entered Naraka, suddenly it was transformed to a paradise. It was transformed because of the quality of his heart which that was full of love, sweetness and devotion.And so Naraka, is the mirror of truth. It is the real unveiled and revealed, it reflects everything, and that includes that which is hidden, buried and unresolved in our heart. Yamaraja is the grand lord of fairness and justice. He is a judge in this sense.

Yamaraja is the collecter of souls. Yamaraja means restraint and Raja implies king.He is the lord of justice. He is the well-timed restraint of destructive impulse, he is destiny. A story that demonstrates his restraint runs thus. Once he grew angry at his mother for expressing what he considered unjust behavior, and upon impulse, he went to kick her in a fit of fury.Realising what he was doing, Yamaraja restrained the swing of his foot in mid-air. Just has his name means, Yamaraja the king of restraint reigned-in his foot mid-swing, and so the fateful blow was negated.Yamaraja knew it was an Adharmic action to boot his mother with a full-pelt kick, and so he kept to the laws of Dharma and applied Ahimsa, which means non-violence.

Dharma will be considered in the section that follows the next, entitled ‘The Laws of Dharma’. Simply put, Dharma is wise action. ‘A’ as the prefix becomes a negator here, and so Adharma means unwise action.The kick was restrained but it was not without consequence. His mother saw that he had intended to kick her, and she in turn cursed his foot to rot away and be ridden with death, rotting with worms and all manner of creepy crawlies. For this reason, Yama is known as Sirnapada, which means the shriveled-up foot.And so Yamaraja had to accept the consequences of almost breaking his own codes of wise action. This was Yamaraja’s initiation into the realm of death. He got an even deeper insight and initiation into the nature of action and consequence by this.That Yamaraja was such a wise, fair and just being, is what gave him his position as the god of the law.The curse on his foot was negated by his father. And from the celestial spheres, the rotting flesh and worms fell upon the earth and brought death to our realm, which was said to have previously been a place of immortality.It is interesting that the foot symbolism appears here. The foot is the body part connected to Bharani Nakshatra. It is the Southern-most portion of the body. Yamaraja rules the Southern direction.

The Indian custom of turning the feet of the dead towards the South is worth pondering in this respect. Yamaraja rules the land of the Southern world known as Naraka. It has many divisions described in the writings, sometimes it appears like a very complex map of inner realities, whereas in reality the principle of Naraka is rather straight forward. It is the souls mirror. It’s many divisions are reflections of the inner Karma of the soul. Naraka has many names, sometimes it is called Yamalokh or Yamapur… realm or city of Yamaraja It is also known as Pitrilokh which translates at the realm of the ancestors. Its many sub-divisions have their own names, they are places where one enters the universe of their inner Karmic reality, somewhat like a psychic hall of mirrors.
Shuni (Saturn) is the brother of Yama. It is interesting to note that Shuni also has an affliction that makes him rather lame.

There are several stories of astrological significance that tell of how Shuni became lame. Let us briefly consider the story that fascinatingly correlates to the above story of kicking the mother. Shuni also went to kick his mother, but he did not restrain the kick like his brother Yamaraja had done. Shuni did actually kick his mother, and thus his foot was cursed, giving him a slow limping gate. He is in fact the slowest of the visible 9 planets of the Yogins. There is another foot story that involves Yamaraja, that we will now consider as we travel further South, to the section directly below. This time it is Yamaraja who is the recipient of a kick.

Let us look at the origin of Yamaraja, the lord of death.The father of Yamaraja is the sun who is known as Surya. When the Suns wife was pregnant with Yama, Surya gazed upon her, but his light was so bright that she had to close her eyes and shield herself from his burning gaze. The Sun took it as an insult to his pride, and in a fit of fiery rage, he cursed his wife to give birth to a child that would be the destroyer of humankind. That child was born as Yamaraja.And indeed Yamaraja became the great god of mortality.This is an important point in grasping the energy and secret of this Nakshatra. Consider, if you will, that Bharani rules the womb and the Yoni. The womb is the place of conception and the Yoni is the place of birth. While Yamaraja was still in the womb, he had the curse of the planetary solar-force thrust upon him.

That curse became Yamaraja’s destiny after he was born. This story points at what we discussed in the first section, of how the conception of a thing begins with an impulse… as in the wish to bake the cake. The energy and intent of the conception manifests in the birth and in the destiny.
As soon as a soul is born as a mortal upon the earth, the assistants of Yamaraja start to move closer. From the very first breath, death is marked, and Yamaraj’s attendants who are known as the Yamadutas, move ever closer.Upon the last breath, they take the soul to Yamalokh, which is the world of Yamaraja. There the soul goes to meet the grand king of Justice who is Yamaraja.

There are a few rare instances of souls escaping Yamaraja one particular story concerns the allotted death of a young boy that echoed back upon Yamaraja as his very own death.

Markandeya Rishi was a sage who was destined to die at 16 years of age.

Markandeya was a Yogi who worshiped Shiva day and night. He is said to be the legendary author of Chandi Partt. This is a mantra dedicated to Durga.

When his 16th year arrived, the attendants of Yamaraja came to take him to their lord.

Markandeya held on tight to the stature of the Shiva lingam and prayed to live. So intense was his resolve that the Yamadhutas could not extricate him from his grip upon the Shiva Lingam.

Then Yamaraja himself came riding on his Buffalo with his noose in hand, ready to lasso the youth and take him to the realm of justice and truth. Normally the personal assistants who are known as the Yamadutas come to collect the soul. Yamaraj only comes on rare occasions when the soul is very powerful. The Yamadutas are the Pitris (ancestors) they are sometimes pictured as hideous frightening beings. Again, they are like the mirror of Naraka, they appear as a reflection of our soul. What is of note here is that Bharani Nakshatra holds the energies of ancestral-generational curses and misfortunes. We have already seen in the narrative of the story, a surprising interplay of curses going on, the curse of the mother upon the son and the father also laying a curse upon the unborn fruit of the womb that was to ripen into Yama, the god of Bharani Nakshatra.

The death that Yamaraja brings, can also be taken to mean the opportunity to meet the death of cycles of generational and ancestral Karma.

On with the story, Yamaraja cast his noose towards the boy, but it lassoed both the boy and the Shivalingam. Yamaraja set off on his Buffalo and attempted to draw the boy into his realm.

Shiva was enraged by this behavior of Yamaraja, both for taking his devotee in his sacred place, and for lassoing the lingam in which Shiva himself lived.

And so Shiva appeared from the lingam and kicked Yamaraja with thunderous force on the chest. Yamaraja died and Markendeya was saved. The form of Shiva that killed Yamaraja in a rage is known as Kalanataka, which means the destroyer of time.

Things seemed fine for a time. But with Yamaraja the great lord of death out of action, people stopped to die and the earth began to sink from the weight into the waters.

The universal gods pleaded with Shiva to restore cosmic order by bringing Yamaraja back to life. This was duly done on condition that Markandeya was out of his reach. And so life and death went on as usual once again.️

The realm of Yama is separated from the earth by a river known as the Vaitarni. The river is said to change according to one’s Karma.For those who follow Dharma is is filled with elixir, for those who follow Adharma it becomes blood. It can become utterly noxious, filled with rotting flesh and excreta. The river Vaitarni mirrors one’s inner Karma accordingly. The toxins in ones soul are simply reflected in the river. It can be filled with hideously brutal underwater animals, and it can even burst into flame. The river to the Kingdom of Yamaraj reflects the truth of our soul back to us. On the way to the great lord of justice there is no avoidance of what is in our heart. There is no hiding behind actions and self created delusions, even our good intentions and Karma hides not the truth of the soul when on the way to Yama.It may be noted that the river Vaitarni is somewhat reminiscent of the River Styx of the Greek mysteries.

We have looked at the Yoni that bears us into life. The impulse that begins in the womb and expresses itself through the door of Yoni into manifestation.This is half of the power of the sacred Yoni.The other half of the Yoni is the doorway that takes us out of manifestation. Towards another level of being. This is not the Yoni of birth, but the Yoni of death.The dark mysterious vortex that draws the manifest back into itself.The physical Yoni takes the seed of life into itself, like a death from one life towards the growth of another.It is of note to consider that Shukracharia is the Yogic name for Venus, Shukra is the male seed and Charia means the deliverer.The seed of life is delivered into the Yoni of Bharani.This holds true on a multiplicity of levels.Yamaraja is the force that delivers the seed of our life into the Yoni of Bharani towards the womb of death, to the place where the forces of creation and death meet.His realm is just a hint beneath the surface. It is the universal sex chakra.

A story tells that Yamaraja had a sister who was named Yami.
Yami and Yama were twins. Even though she was his sister, she had a kind of obsession with him sexually, and did her utmost to seduce him. Yami desired Yama, and just longed to be in sexual union with her brother. She tried and tried her best to allure, persuade and manipulate him in every way possible, but Yam was resolute in his refusal. His resolution in this and many other cases, to always adhere to what he thought was wise action, is what earned him the name Yamaraja.
When Yamaraja died at the hand, or rather foot of Shiva, – as the story in the last section above highlighted – his twin sister Yami could not stop weeping.She cried the river Yamuna into being, Yami is also called Yamuna Devi for this reason. She cried uncontrollably from an unrequited love for her brother.The gods could not stop her tears which threatened to drown the whole creation, and thus was created the night, so that Yami would stop crying and forget and go to sleep. Previous to her tears there was no night.
Yamaraj represents Dharma (which is the topic of the following section) and Yami represents its opposite of Adharma.

Yamaraja is Dharmaraja. Dharma is wise action, it is often interpreted as justice, righteousness and rules. Yama stands for the principles of wise action that he believes in. He is firm in Dharma. This is why he is appointed as the lord of justice and fair retribution.

Rather than a punisher or a mere dispenser of retribution, Yamaraja is a mirror of fair reflection, The stories that we have considered thus far of his life and death, point to his concern with action and its outcome and effect. He himself bridled his impulse of violence against his mother in a moment of rage. Yamaraja is possessed of the utmost resolve and restraint in the dramatic fires of sentiment and emotion, Yamaraja is dignity par excellence.
He is not a cruel punisher as he might be portrayed. Certainly powerful and imposing, riding on a mighty Buffalo while chanting the Mantra Hala Hala!… from out the underworld caverns of his powerful belly. Hala Hala! is the poison that only Shiva can drink. Hala Hala! is the ritual cry of the Tantric Yogin
Yamaraja is dark and imposing in the way he reflects that which we have not faced. He reveals the Karmic accounts that we have woven. His only punishment, if it can be called that at all, is the mirror of absolute justice and true reflection.

Yamaraja means rule and restraint, to tie, and to bind. The Yogic Yamas and Niyamas are the rules of, and the fruits of Dharma. They are the rules of action that do not weave one into complexities of Karma. We will look at the laws of Dharma in a list below.

The tenants of Yamaraja are the laws of Dharma. They are sometimes called the dont’s and the do’s. They can be given a multiplicity of meanings and are interpreted in various ways according to the essential meaning. This is a subject where each Yama and Niyama can be talked on extensively in the context of Yogic practices. For now let a very basic list suffice.

Some writing give 5 Yamas and Niyamas, while some give up to 10 or more. The Yamas are the rules of Dharma, the restraint. Yama actually means to rein something in. This is interesting because the power-object of Yamaraj is a noose, with which he lassos and reins in the soul when it’s time has come to go to Naraka.

None can escape the noose of Yamaraja. But actually, there was one character who did, as we have already seen above in the ‘escaping and killing death’ section. We could say that the Yamas are the rules of Dharma, while the Niyamas are the fruits of Dharma.

Here they are listed below:

YAMAS
Ahimsa – kindness, non-harming
Satya – truth, honesty
Asteya -not taking
Bhramacharini – honour of the sacred sexual energy that we carry
Aparigraha – cultivating contentment, studying discontent.
Ksama – patience
Dhriti – power of will
Daya – compassion
Arjava – sincerity
Mitahara – measured
NIYAMAS
Shucha – clarity
Santosh – acceptance
Tapasya – effort
Svadhyaya – introspection and study
Ishvharapranidhana – focus on seeing reality
Siddhanta Sravana – study of ancient teachings
Hri- healing the past by humility.
Mati – reconciliation of opposites
Japa – Mantra chanting
Huta- doing ritual

Yamaraja rules the word of the departed from his throne which is known as Vicharabhu. The name of his throne is derived from the root vicharati, which means to move in all directions. His seat of power has the power to follow the soul into its deepest corners and most hidden recesses.Yamaraja reflects the souls Karma back to it. For this he has an important helping assistant with him. A kind of left hand-man at his side. This is Chitragupta. Chitragupta is the divine record keeper who sees everything, both hidden and revealed. Chitragupta assists Yamaraja in revealing the colours of the soul.In some ways, we could think of Chitragupta as the Akashic-Chronicle of all recorded events. Chitragupta keeps a register that records all things. This register is known as Agrasandhani.It records everything, from the most secret thoughts, to the most obvious actions.

The Name Chitragupta is worth looking at here. Chitra means luminescent, sparkling like a jewel, just like the Nakshatra of Chitra which represents the celestial jewel. Gupta means hidden, veiled, secret or dark. So, implicit in the name of Chitragupta, is the principle of seeing both the revealed and the hidden. And this is exactly his role. He assists Yamaraja in revealing all the corners of the souls who enter his after-life Domain. In Naraka, the medium and skin that covers the innermost self is stripped away, the clothing of the body and identifications with our actions is stripped bare.

It is to be remembered that Tantra is a most practical subject. We have here looked at some of the symbols of Bharani Nakshatra. Each principle that we have considered contains an inherent lesson and subject of meditation.By pondering upon symbols and principles of Bharani Nakshatra, we get acquainted with its secret. Every Nakshatra carries a deep life lesson to us. Reading a few facts about stars and gods is easily forgotten as a useless clutter of information if the heart is not involved to look deeper into the eternal symbols of destiny. If Bharani is a star that teaches anything, then it teaches creative and deep involvement with that which we are doing.
And so, the eternal cycle continues to dance between life and death. Out of one Yoni and back into another. Both life and death are conceived in these wombs of Bharani… and finds entrance or exit through the door-like Yoni that swings both ways.

https://www.ancient-tantra.com/62-bharani-nakshatra/