Animal Symbols of the Nakshatras - Monkey -1

Purva Ashadha – Male Monkey

Shravana – Female Monkey

The animal symbol of the 20^th nakshatra Purva Ashadha and 22^nd nakshatra Shravana is Monkey and both are present in the third category of nakshatras i.e. Sattva. The Lord of Purva Ashadha is Venus and the Lord of Shravana is the Moon. Venus is considered a Brahmin (Scholar) and Rajasic planet and Moon is considered a Vaishya (Merchant) and Sattvic planet. All three Gunas (qualities) of Purva Ashadha are “Sattva-Rajas-Tamas” and Shravana are “Sattva-Tamas-Sattva”.

Monkeys are considered an intelligent animal. They are known for their communication, social behavior, and problem-solving skills. To communicate with each other they use facial expressions, body movements, and various kinds of sounds. They are mostly active during the daytime. They are known to run and leap across trees with ease. They live together in groups.

The energy of these two nakshatras is considered a mature and wise energy. It is necessary to understand the behavior of monkeys deeply to understand the behavior of these people. The above qualities of monkeys are present in the personality of these people.

Following are the explanations of the qualities of the people of these two nakshatras along with the similarities of the qualities of Monkey.

Agile and Clever

Monkey: Monkeys are agile and clever animals. They are emotional, intelligent and playful. They have a sharp mind and behave like humans.  They do not want to stay in one place for long and like to jump from one tree to another. They use tools to solve problems. They live on trees and climb fast. They can travel far quickly on tree branches without touching the ground.

Monkeys are very energetic and they have varied diets which keep them energetic during their amazing tree-swinging activities. They eat fruits, seeds, berries, herbs, leaves and insects. They are famous for eating bananas.

Human: The symbol of the monkey with these nakshatras represents a curious person known for his intelligence and wisdom. They never get discouraged by the complexity of the problem and have very strong problem-solving skills. They are energetic and do not get frustrated even in the most difficult circumstances. Their hope is always alive and no matter how difficult the situation is, they find a solution.

They are emotional people but they never show their true feelings. In other words, they know how to change or hide it through facial expressions. Acting requires a fluctuating facial expression. The ruling planet of Shravana Nakshatra is the Moon, so those born under this Nakshatra are good at acting.

The energy of these nakshatras makes a very wise person but a person cannot become wise by staying in one place throughout his life. Unless a person goes through multiple experiences, his wisdom is incomplete. Knowledge can be gained by reading books, but experience is important for wisdom and it is gained only with time.

Such a person has to go to different places, meet different types of people, and experience many things in life. Great wisdom requires many experiences, and to become a mature person it is important to understand both sides of the coin. They have wide range of skills and abilities and knowledge in multiple fields.

As the monkey jumps from one tree to another after some time, these people do not like to stay in one place for a long time. In other words, their fate forces them to move from one place to another, one job to another, one house to another, one city to another, and only then they can gain multiple experiences and become an extremely intelligent and wise person. Hence, the energy of these nakshatras is considered a mature energy.

These people do not hesitate to travel miles to gain some knowledge or experience and they are quick in their work. They like to eat green things, which contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for their health. They do not think about eating delicious food but prefer to eat fresh food. Travel, experience, and knowledge are important in their life, not the taste of food. They are enthusiastic people and eat whatever is available. Their diet is balanced and varied, and proper nutrition keeps them energetic to explore new environments with new experiences.

Excerpts: Animal Symbols of the Nakshatras

Animal Symbols of the Nakshatras - Monkey -2

Not Suitable Pets

Monkey: Monkeys are not suitable pets. They live in a natural environment with very specific needs. Monkeys are naturally aggressive and may attack and even bite their owners.

Human: They are free-spirited people and like to work according to their own will. They do not like any kind of pressure and if pressure is applied, they leave that place immediately. Like monkeys, it doesn't take them long to jump from one tree to another and they feel no compulsion to change their job or place. They cannot be forced to do anything. They are very hardworking people, they are loyal to their work and never cheat anyone. They can work for hours to solve a problem. Their needs are less but they like a special place or environment for their work, just like monkeys like to live in trees.

Though they are social and like to live in groups, somehow, they are different from others and their unusual behavior creates a difference. The positive side is that they become popular and liked by others but the negative side is that they use their skills for the wrong purposes. They want cheap popularity and willingly create a sensation to attract the attention of others.

These people prefer an independent profession rather than working under someone. They are their masters and never hand over the reins to anyone else. It is difficult for these people to follow the orders of others, so they often disobey orders. They want to live their independent life without any compulsion.

If someone has not requested politely and tries to bring them down by using his power, the monkey inside is ready to change places immediately, and they do not bother about consequences. Remember monkeys are not afraid of jumping, so these people are not afraid of changing places or exploring new things. They never demand an easy-going life. They are ready to burn their finger but want to learn from their experience. Monkeys are not suitable pets, they can bite their owner and this is true with these people.

Only love can win their hearts. When they get respect they become loyal, dignity is always important for them and they always remain loyal to those who respect them. If they overcome the problem of overconfidence from their personality then Monkeys have great capacity to do impossible tasks. Monkeys should be handled with extreme caution, similarly the monkey personality must be dealt with utmost care, they are aggressive people, take no time to jump and can change the outcome of the entire game.

Remember the story of Lord Hanuman in Ramayana who forgot his power due to overconfidence but later regained it and made the impossible possible with his devotion towards Lord Ram.

Excerpts: Animal Symbols of the Nakshatras - A Unique Book that Explains the Relationship Between 14 Animals Associated with the Nakshatras and Humans 

Rahu & Ketu: Important Characteristics

Rahu Makes Legs Active, Ketu Makes Legs Inactive

Rahu does not have legs but it controls the person's legs. As long as the desires keep burning, the person keeps running here and there and he cannot sit in peace. The legs make the person run and help him fulfill his desires. Rahu indicates that the person does not have control over his legs. The direction of the feet takes him to a negative place. When a person is surrounded by negativity or desires are driving him, at that time if the person changes the direction of his feet, then it becomes impossible for him to do anything wrong in life.

Ketu has legs but on the negative side, it makes the person lethargic and lazy. Due to the negative effect of Ketu, the person does not want to make any effort to get success and blames his fate. Such people always talk about their past but in the present, they are not ready to do anything. Ketu shows that the person always likes to rest his legs. The 12th house represents feet and Ketu in the 12th house makes the person inactive. Rahu forces the person to run here and there and Ketu creates inertia.

Exerpts: Rahu & Ketu: The Invisible and Mysterious Planets

Understand How the Traits of Animal Deeply Influence the Personality of Humans

Snake - Role in the Ecosystem

Male Snake - Rohini

Female Snake - Mrigashira 

Snake: Snakes play an important role in the ecosystem, maintaining balance in the food web and keeping rodent populations under control. Rodents crawl into our houses and damage our food. Increase in population of rodents leads to loss of crops.

A sudden increase in rodent populations can lead to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. Rodents spread deadly diseases and snakes eat these disease spreading rodents. Rodents, which are also mammals, carry many diseases that spread among mammals. The snake eats rodents and helps humans by reducing the chances of humans contracting deadly diseases. Snakes play an important role in balancing the ecosystem. By reducing crop losses and preventing diseases that can be caused by rodents, they are truly protectors.

Human: These people actively participate in protecting the environment and its cleaning. Food items scattered here and there invite rats to eat, these people collect these food items and throw them away and stop the movement of rodents. Therefore, they pay a lot of attention to cleanliness and take active participation. They like everything clean and shiny and throw away anything that invites rats, lizards, insects, etc. The food left on the plate invites rats at night, so, they never waste food.

They always give priority to those things which are eco-friendly and which have the potential to increase the fertility of the land. Just as the snake protects the field produced by eating rats, these people always support production and growth.

Growth is the main factor for these people and just like a snake leaves its skin and goes away; similarly, these people have no hesitation in leaving behind what has become useless. Development happens only when useless things remove and production is secured, so they are always alert about growth and discuss how to increase it.

In my career I have seen that these people always ask for productivity reports from their employees and always discuss how to increase productivity and achieve growth. Taurus is an earthy sign that signifies hard work with commitment, hence, they work very hard to increase production and also expect the same from others.

They work in those departments that prevent the spread of diseases. They have strong knowledge of all those chemicals that prevent the spread of diseases and help to increase the fertility of land.

The existence of snakes means the absence of rodents and security for production. Therefore, they implement strict security measures so that no one can enter or breach their security. Just like a snake plays an important role in the ecosystem, similarly these people play an important role in the growth of the organization, they are quiet hard workers and do not like to beat the drum of their contribution, but if the organization ignores their value, then they do not hesitate to leave it. Whatever becomes useless to them, they discard it immediately, just as a snake sheds its skin.

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Excerpts: Animal Symbols of the Nakshatras

Rahu & Ketu: The Invisible and Mysterious Planets

Rahu is a Novice, Ketu is an Expert

Rahu is immature and Ketu is mature. Rahu is a novice and is ready to explore everything new but he is only keen to satisfy his inner itch. He is not interested in going deeper. He is restless and wants to experience many things and after asking a few questions he moves on to other things. Since Rahu's energy works for expansion, he gets bored of things very quickly and starts taking interest in something new. This is why new things attract people, because Rahu attracts.

Ketu brings expertise from past life. The person becomes an expert in the work that he has done many times. The position of Ketu shows that the person did the work related to that house many times and now he has no interest in those matters, but it does not mean that he has forgotten them. For example, if you pour some water on the ground then after some time the water dries up from there and if you pour water again at that place then it flows in the same way as it used to flow earlier, although no trace of it is visible on the ground.

The functioning of Ketu is similar to the disappearing water, everything is hidden but everything functions.

Nakshatra of Sun

In Vedic astrology, the lordship of Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha has been given to the Sun. Sun is the source of energy and represents life force. The dominance of these three Nakshatras over the Sun shows that the energy level in these Nakshatras is very high.  High energy is required to complete any difficult task. When the resources are less and the goal is big then a lot of energy is required, because if the energy is less, then the person gets disappointed soon but if it is the never-ending energy of the Sun then the person never gets disappointed and moves ahead with self-confidence. Therefore, these three nakshatras represent high energy and abundant self-confidence.

These people are able to handle difficult situations in life and where others think victory is impossible, they emerge victorious. Their life gives them challenges because difficult tasks are given only to those who have the courage to complete them. In fact, every difficult task provides an opportunity to gather energy and achieve the goal. Sun is the hero of the universe and the nakshatras of Sun provide a heroic personality to the person and the deeds done by these heroes are remembered by the people for centuries.

I have written in detail about all 27 Nakshatras in my book "The Light of Nakshatras" available at amazon. Following are some excerpts from the book about the Nakshatras of Sun;

1. Krittika

Krittika’s energy is a very high fiery energy. When the energy is high it can’t sit idle. These people never hesitate to take initiative; they are adventurous and never afraid to take step towards the unknown path. Due to their penetrating insight and ability to play with sharp objects, they properly assess the depth of the risk and prepare their planning accordingly.

As the symbol of knife indicates, their logics are very sharp and with their penetrating eyes they can see the hidden truth or hidden motive of a person. Their focus is always on a direction and immediately cut all those things which have lost its direction. In a meeting they cut the worthless discussions, they cut the relations; they leave their work and place without hesitation. They are the first who speak in a meeting and when no one dare to ask, they ask questions and as the fire is visible from a long distance, they get attracted immediately. This energy is a unique mix of sharpness and softness, they are very aggressive people but their personality also has softness and they never use their aggression for wrong deeds. The fiery energy of Krittika never does any harm to anyone unless it is teased. This energy always works for protection.

They can catch a flying knife by their hands but they keep its sharp edge always down and raise only when danger arises. They are very sharp but on face always appear to be a soft and polite person. They like calm and peace in their surroundings.

Krittika's natives are not afraid of trials; being courageous they always take their step forward and want to see the outcome from their eyes. They lack consistency and want to enrich their experience, so, they leave their job, they leave their city and country too. Years of relations they cut within seconds, they are not social person, they are not diplomats.

They see various ups and downs in their life and till the middle age their life is full with trials and experiences. They are very rich in many experiences but lag behind socially. They never look back; they are very optimistic and go ahead soon. The second half of their life is completely a changed life. They have knowledge of various arts and subjects; they learn from their trials, their experience is vast, which many people do not have.

2. Uttara Phalguni

Uttara Phalguni means “The latter reddish one” and red is the color of Phalgun (Joy and Happiness). Red is the color of sweet and blue is salty. The word ‘latter reddish’ means these people will get the fruits of success after very hard work. There is “No rose without thorns”, this proverb fits perfectly on these people. They never get disheartened by difficulties and always believe in working hard in life. Their legs are always ready to complete the difficult task and they never show their back. They never run from the circumstances and never weep about the scarcity of resources. In any adverse situation, you find that these people never complain to anyone, they believe in doing their work and they find their own ways to complete the work. They are the perfect “Karma Yogi”.

Uttara Phalguni people are choosy in nature, they spend hours to select the best. They work on multiple options and chose the best which is suitable as per the circumstances. Without options, it is difficult for them to take a decision, either in the matter of clothes or work. Once they decided they remain firm on their decision. They have a collection of various unique things at their home and they like to collect those items which are rarely available. They can spot a diamond among pebbles and they rarely do any mistake in their selection.

3.  Uttara Ashadha

The caste of the nakshatra is ‘Kshatriya’ (Warrior). Warrior never hesitates to sacrifice their lives on the battlefield. It is their duty to obey orders and have only one goal - to win. They know very well how to play with dangerous weapons and always keep them under their control. Planets in Uttara Ashadha indicate that such a person has all the qualities of a warrior; they fight very fiercely till they win and wait for the right moment for each attack.

This nakshatra bestows the person with many qualities. The 10 Universal Gods indicates 10 major qualities of the person and their focus is always on achievement. With all the combined energy these people have the potential to achieve higher things in life. They are intelligent and truthful persons who work without any partiality. They are able to see all the pros and cons of a situation, they never get scared and never run away from reality. They are ambitious persons who hold senior administrative positions.

 

Sun - Saturn Conjunction

What happens when two extremely inimical planets are together in a person's horoscope? 

Sun is the soul which represents light and Saturn is the main ruler of death and represents darkness. These are two opposite energies. According to astrology, the relationship between Sun and Saturn is inimical. When planets with opposite energies meet in any house of the horoscope then they do not support each other and start dominating to show their supremacy and this creates disturbance in the matter of that house. For example, Sun is the indicator of time and Saturn is the indicator of the end of time. Hence, this combination shows that the watch of such a person will never work properly, either he will lose it or it will get damaged. The poor watch has been gone in the fight between Sun and Saturn. There is another meaning of this conjunction. Damage of watch indicates damage of time, the Sun-Saturn conjunction indicates a delay in time. Therefore, there is a delay in things happening and nothing happens on time in their lives.

Following are some more differences for better understanding of these two energies;

1.  Sun is a fiery planet, due to its influence things become hot, active and agile. Saturn is a cold planet, due to its influence things become freeze and isolated, speed slows down and every activity stops.

2.  Sun is the king and Saturn is the guard. When the king arrives, the doors are opened and the guard's job is to close and lock the doors. When the Sun comes in the morning the darkness goes away, when the Sun goes in the evening the darkness returns. These two are opposite functions and both cannot happen simultaneously.

3.  Sun is the beginning of activity and Saturn brings limits, restrictions and takes things to their end; Saturn is “The End”.

4.  Sun represents autocracy and Saturn represents democracy.

5.  Sun shows ego and Saturn brings down every ego. Saturn shows the real truth of life and makes the person humble by removing all types of ego.

Hence, this combination indicates overcoming ego because Saturn means being devoid of ego. Saturn creates many obstacles to reduce the ego, this shows that the more ego a person has, the more obstacles he will have to face in his life. Saturn is an emotionless planet which teaches discipline and hard work in life. This combination makes the person extremely practical who stays away from all kinds of gossip and manipulation.

Rahu work as an agent to Saturn and has full power to engulf the Sun i.e., remove light in the life of the person. Therefore, giving up ego and becoming a humble person is the only key to overcome the negative effects of this conjunction. If this conjunction occurs in Aries then it indicates a high ego whereas if it occurs in Libra then it indicates a humble person.

Sun represents father and authority and Saturn who is his son represents masses and working-class people. Saturn is the planet of justice and brings balance. The judge shows no mercy while giving justice. That is why Saturn shows no mercy to the Sun and destroys all its negativity. This combination indicates that the person will not have a cordial relationship with his bosses and will challenge his superiors for any wrong doing. It indicates wild arguments between father or authority figure and in transit the situation become worst. Therefore, the career of these individuals is inconsistent as both Sun and Saturn are the karakas of the tenth house which is the house of career and the fight between these two, spoils the career like a watch gone haywire in the above example.

In the house in which this conjunction occurs, the person has to face various obstacles. For example, if this conjunction falls in the fifth house then the person faces problems in his creativity and the child is our creation. Hence, such a person has to face problems in marital life or children related problems.

If this combination comes in the fourth or tenth house in the horoscope of a native, then it is not good for his professional life. He has to face a lot of struggle to make his way. The aspect of these two planets with each other in the fourth and tenth houses also creates a lot of struggle in the native's professional life and he gets initial success in his career after a lot of struggle. The maturity age of Sun is 22 years and the maturity age of Saturn is 36 years. Hence, the life of such a person between the age of 22 to 36 years is full of struggle.

The Positive Thing

The positive thing is that this combination gives birth to a very mature person. However, many kinds of obstacles come in their life but they are always ready to fight them. They tend to be self-made individuals and achieve success through their own efforts, although their learning curve may be longer than others. They become down to earth people and are ready to remove every obstacle from his life. They remain isolated from others, become spiritual and take interest in occult. On the higher aspect, this combination indicates that the person will seek the light but will have to go on the path of darkness and one cannot move towards the light without seeing the real truth of life where the biggest obstacle is one's ego.

On the Downside

The downside is that they become undisciplined and pessimistic individuals who lack goals in life. Instead of becoming humble, they become timid, avoid challenges and do not have the courage to face adversities.

Uttara Bhadrapada Nakshatra

Uttara Bhadrapada is the 26th of 27 nakshatras and situated at 3° 20′ - 16° 40′ Pisces. Uttara means latter, left or where everything has an answer. Bhadra means auspicious and Pada means feet which represent stability and strength. Hence, it means “Latter auspicious feet”, “The latter blessed one” or “Strong and auspicious answer”. 

The right is good for starting and the left is used for closing. When the answer is found, all questions cease to exist. The energy of this constellation works to find solutions and the search continues till the answer is found.

Deity: The deity of the nakshatra is known as “Ahir Budhanya”, a form of Rudra who brings rain. Ahir Budhanya is also known as the serpent of deep water. 

Ahir Budhanya has the vital power of cleaning. An unclean person is not allowed to enter the temple of God. Before entering one should be completely free from the desires of the material world. This energy compels the person to go to this world and clear the ashes of desires time and again until he is completely clean to enter the temple of the God.

Shakti (Power): This energy works to "Bring rain". It converts barren land into fertile land, it is a gentle energy for healing purposes. When a dead body is cremated near a river, water is used to clean it and all the ashes are thrown into the river. When it rains, all the dust in the atmosphere gets washed away. It is a calming and soothing energy that is used to cleanse and rejuvenate.

Planetary Ruler: Legs represent stability and stability requires balance. Hence, the lord of balance, ‘Saturn’ is the ruler of this nakshatra. 

Symbol: The main symbol of the constellation is “The back legs of a funeral cot”.  The back legs always support the front legs. Front legs provide the direction and the back legs follow them. As its predecessor star, the funeral cot signifies the passing out of dead things.

Caste: The caste of the nakshatra is Kshatriya (Warrior). They are duty bound person and never wave to fulfill their duty. 

Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada means the above all are going to be activated. Therefore, significant changes are going to be witnessed in the near future.

Saturn will transit into Uttara Bhadrapada Nakshatra on April 28, 2025 and will remain there till October 3, 2025. Saturn removes every adulteration, every falsehood, and every garbage then only the truth remains. Saturn throws every unnecessary thing in life. Hence, it is said that Saturn shows the real truth to the person by cleaning every dirt.

The energy of Uttara Bhadrapada is deeply connected to water. Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada indicates heavy rainfall and the process of cleansing through water will intensify. Therefore, unusual and unexpected rainfall is possible as water is important for cleansing. Therefore, water is going to play an important role during this period.

The animal of Uttara Bhadrapada is cow and Saturn is the planet of justice. This means that the cow will receive justice during this transit. The cow represents the person or community suffering pain and injustice for so many years due to their immense patience, but now their patience is over, the cow is angry. So, this transit of Saturn represents a big change where the patience of the people is over, and now the matter is present in the court of Saturn for justice.

Sun – Jupiter Conjunction

Sun is the king and Jupiter is the Devguru and both are friends of each other, hence this conjunction produces fruitful results. These people are very optimistic and creative in nature with religious inclination. The decision taken by a king is always important as it affects the lives of many natives of his kingdom. Therefore, decisions for the benefit of the state should always be taken in collaboration with a very intelligent person and this combination indicates the same.

When the king and Jupiter come together then the king cannot take any hasty and inappropriate decisions because every decision is influenced by Jupiter and he represents wisdom. Jupiter indicates a person with wide knowledge who has experience in many directions and Sun is a royal planet. Both of these are collaborative forces and they work where the individual provides his guidance and opinion on important matters. Therefore, this combination creates a very intelligent person who directs the energy in the right direction for the proper functioning and well-being of the people.

These natives work as professors, priests, chief advisors to the government, etc. They provide their valuable suggestions to the government or the person in charge for taking decisions. This combination creates a natural counselor whose job is to distribute his knowledge to people and provide the right direction.

In case of afflictions, these people misguide others for their own benefit. They misjudge the situation and suggest wrong conclusions which make the situation worse. They become arrogant about their knowledge and always try to dominate others.

Retrograde Planet

Hindu astrology says that a planet either benefic or malefic becomes stronger and more powerful when they become retrograde. If a planet is exalted and retrogrades it gives the result of a debilitated planet and vice versa. Retrograde or backward step means time to review and reassessments the areas of life in which house the planet is retrograde and completes your pending assignments. 

Let us understand the whole concept with an example. Suppose, you decided to travel from Mumbai to Delhi with a few other friends in different cars to complete a certain task there. After travelling for about a few miles, you suddenly remember that you have left the water tap open in your house, the electric lights are on, and have forgotten to lock the door. Now you cannot go any further, you will have to take a U-turn and return to your home. Your return speed will be higher than your earlier one. Your task is to finish all the uncompleted assignments quickly, but your friends are moving towards their goal and they have gone far ahead of you. But what about those tasks that you decided to complete before the start of this journey. Now your speed is again fast to complete the rest of the assignments. This is the work of the retrograde planet in the horoscope. When you first went out with your friends, your mind was calm but now your mind cannot remain calm during this whole process. Retrograde planet means lack of peace.

When Mahadasha and Antardasha and of a retrograde planet start, the life of the person does not remain normal, the earlier pace of life is disturbed and various changes start coming. Many of us must have noticed that the memory of some unfinished work comes shortly after starting a new journey. You have not gone very far and suddenly your mind remembers the unfinished task.  We just started the journey and we have to come back to complete the pending tasks that we have left in our previous lives. Therefore, the retrograde planet is very powerful.

The universe is a great recorder. It records everything, all the sounds we have produced so far, good or bad, it has recorded, and we cannot proceed further with the heavy burden of unfinished assignments. The retrograde planet forces us to complete our work and then move on.

Planetary Strengths and Weaknesses

Strength of Planets Based on Its Degrees

While observing the chart it is necessary to observe the degree of the planets. A planet in the first or last two degree of a zodiac sign is considered to be powerless and does not give good results to the houses ruled by it.

Various states of Planets as per its degree -

·       Young Planet – Between 10° to 22°

·       Adolescence Planet– Between 2° to 10°

·       Old Planet – Between 22° to 28°

·       Dead Planet – Between 28° to 30° and 0° to 2°

Young Planet: When a person becomes young he is vigorous, lively and full with energy. Similarly, when a planet is situated between 10° to 22°, it gives maximum results. These results can be positive or negative and depend on other combinations.

Adolescence Planet: At Adolescence age, people begin to learn about the world, they spend a lot of time in each other’s company or communicating on phone or chatting on internet. But at this age people lack experience and looks for direction from senior members. Therefore, it is the best time to gather knowledge.

A planet between 2° to 10° indicates immaturity of the person. It indicates that such a person is unable to take wise decisions in life.

Old Planet: At this age, a person attains sufficient maturity and is well aware of common mistakes. With his experience he has the ability to provide guidance to newcomers. Similarly, when a planet is situated between 22° to 28° then it is considered to be a very mature planet and is strong enough to take necessary decisions. Such a person learns quickly in life, behave in a matured manner and able to provide guidance to others.

Dead Planet: Ancient texts says that when a planet is placed between 28° to 30° and 0° to 2° it is considered as dead planet. I have seen that many people take these two positions blindly, but there is a difference between them.

A planet between 0° to 2° should be considered as a newborn baby. A baby is dependent for its existence on others, it feels panic quickly and looks for support. Similarly, when a planet is between 0° to 2°, it is like a newborn baby who needs support for others, such a person gets nervous quickly in adverse situations and looks for a safe place like a child.

When a planet is placed between 28° to 30°, it is also considered a dead planet. Like a 90 years old person who is on bed but the person has seen the world. He has seen that when and how the tide turns, he has seen the changing faces of his near ones. He is a very experienced and mature person but lacks energy. A planet at these degrees should not be considered as the planet situated at 0° to 2° but it should be considered as enough mature and highly experienced planet.

But there is a drawback to this placement. Like the ego of an old person, the planets placed on these degrees indicate the stubborn and rigid nature of the person. Such people think that they are always right and they never change their decision under any circumstances. They always try to protect their ego.

Sun – Venus Conjunction

According to astrology, the relationship between Sun and Venus is inimical. Venus is said to be the lord of arts and represents feminine qualities. While King Sun is a masculine and krura (fierce) planet. Venus is the hottest planet due to the presence of carbon dioxide, clouds and acid, while Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun.

Despite being the hottest planet, Venus has gentle qualities and is considered the goddess of love. Love is very delicate, it has tenderness and cannot be treated strictly. Love is like a fresh flower and it withers as soon as it hardens. Just like we have to hold a fresh flower with delicate hands, love also requires the same delicacy. Sun is bold and forceful having no soft qualities and there is no place for tender feelings near it. Ruling a kingdom requires taking tough decisions and toughness is exactly the opposite of Venus's nature. Therefore, these are two different energies where the symmetry is completely missing. Hence, a person having this conjunction has to face tough situations in life.

Venus wants art, music and love and Sun is devoid of all these qualities. People with this conjunction tend to have the qualities of Venus but they have to face difficult situations in life where their soft qualities do not take shape because all these qualities are absent in the Sun. Hence, their efforts go in vain.

Sun is the hot planet which represents action and dryness and Venus is the soft planet which represents politeness and freshness. Venus is the ruler of fresh water, a very close combination indicates that water evaporates and dryness remains. Therefore, Venus feels uncomfortable in displaying its qualities and becomes suppressed if it is combusted. When Venus passes over the Sun in transit it indicates that all the water on Venus has dried up. Water indicates not only emotions but also relationships. A close conjunction between Sun and Venus indicates relationship is dried.

This conjunction indicates that Venus's softness gradually begins to dry up in various circumstances of their lives. If the conjunction falls in the 7^th house, the person with this combination has tender qualities but he may face tough behavior from his partner whose reactions may dry his tender tendencies. Whenever they want softness in life, they always get a harsh answer. Slowly, the flower of tenderness starts withering from their lives.

Venus wants to enjoy the joys and luxuries of life but Sun is always busy with matters of state (work) and does not have time for all these activities. It shows that the person wants to enjoy luxuries but circumstances do not support him. Gradually, the tender feelings of Venus begin to dry up. Venus always avoids quarrel and turmoil at any cost, and tries to lead a happy and peaceful life, but Sun shows arrogance and anger.

The qualities of these two planets are totally differed from each other. A person with this conjunction wants to live a peaceful life which he does not get. Sun is extremely fierce planet and Venus is extremely soft planet, due to the difference in the basic nature of both, the combination of both spoils the matter of that house. No matter how many differences exist between these two planets, Venus does not go beyond 48 degrees from the Sun.

Therefore, before doing any analysis it is necessary to check the distance between these two planets. A very close conjunction to Sun and Venus also causes eye problems. I have seen in my experience that a person gets glasses late in life whose difference between Sun and Venus is more than 28 degrees. If this difference is less than 5 degrees then vision weakens quickly. Venus represents transparent glasses then he has to take help of glasses. A person with weak Venus is unable to handle delicate glasses and often breaks them.

We can understand this combination from some more examples from life. In the presence of women, men like to show their gentle behavior to attract their attention. They stop fighting and abusing each other and wait for the woman to leave the place. The mere presence of a single woman has the power to change the heat of the discussion because no man wants to expose his absurd behavior to a woman. Similarly, the presence of Venus affects the decisions taken by the Sun. Sun cannot be always rude in presence of Venus. Hence, this combination enhances the creative qualities of the person and makes the person soft, gentle and humble.

These people are interested in love, art, music, fashion and like to eat rich and tasty food. Venus is a very sophisticated planet which shows that gentle behavior, manners and etiquette are their top priority and this conjunction indicates a person with such qualities. But these people have to face dryness in love related matters because a close conjunction indicates that the water of Venus evaporates. However, a close conjunction to Sun is good for spirituality. When Venus is far from Sun it indicates more water that means an emotional person. Such a person is good at building relationships and maintains strong bonds with his friends and family. They are not ready to leave those people to whom they love.

Their negative side is that they are very emotional, even small things hurt them. They spend more than their capacity and show off unnecessarily.

Who is our friend and who is our enemy?

We all meet different types of people in our life. Friends are those who are always ready to help and enemies are those who never help and are ready to throw into the well. A very close friend and enemy have a deep impact on our lives. Without true friends, it is very difficult for a person to move ahead in life and fight against odd circumstances. A friend can be anyone, someone from the family or someone outside the family can be a good friend, but the identity of a true friend is he is always ready to help without any selfishness. The following few points provide the differences between these two;

·   A friend always stands behind the person to support him and prevent him from falling. The enemy also stands behind but is always ready to push.

·     The friends who stand near us are called close friends and the enemies who stand around us are called close enemies.

·    It is possible that a friend may fail to cooperate with you or may not answer your call when you need him, but the enemy never misses, they just wait for the opportunity, and the enemy is more alert than the friend.

People want to live among their friends and want to get rid of their enemies as soon as possible. The principle of friend and enemy not only works for humans but it also works on planets and stars.

With the help of the above description of friends and enemies, we will understand the principle of Shubh Kartari and Paap Kartari yoga that works not only in the birth chart but also in the transit of planets.

Shubh Kartari and Paap Kartari Yoga

Shubh Kartari Yoga is formed when a planet or a house is surrounded by benefic planets from both sides and Paap Kartari Yoga is formed when a planet or a house is surrounded by malefic planets on both sides without any beneficial aspect. This yoga can be understood better in a situation when both of our neighbors are good then they will help us, and when both of the neighbors are bad then no help will come, they will affect the matter of the house and create unnecessary problems. Sometimes the very presence of this kind of rogue person in their own house creates problems for their neighbours.

Shubh kartari yoga increases the auspiciousness of the planet or house while Paap Kartari yoga tends to cause difficulty for that planet or house.