The Meghan Project and Glossary

For our 4th Year Apprenticeship (Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program) we have to submit three 10 000 word essays demonstrating how the indicators of sign, house and planet work together to create the life experience of the person.

My second essay is due next week!!! Would you like a sneak peek and perhaps provide me with some valuable feedback? If so, keep your eyes on my blog because I will be releasing chapters during the following days.

In case you haven’t been exposed to the terms used in Vedic Astrology, I am including this glossary below. As you read the “Meghan Project” Blog posts, please refer to this list if there are terms that are unfamiliar.

N.B. The numbers relate to my “House Analysis Tool” that is in the final stages of testing right now. When it’s ready, you can look for it in my Shop. The “House Analysis Tool” will help you collate all the indicators for sign, house and planet together by house so you can see patterns and frequency of indicators. Feel free to contact me if you would like to find out more about the Tool while it is still under development.

Glossary of terms

Here is a glossary of terms used in the Blog.

1.       Active and passive[i]

2.       Ayana Bala[ii]  

3.       Ayurvedic Dosha or Constitution[iii]

4.       Balaadi Avasthas[iv]

5.       Benefic/Gentle or Malefic/Cruel planets[v] 

6.       Combustion[vi]

7.       Conjunct[vii]

8.       Dig Bala[viii]

9.       Divisional charts[ix]

10.   Element[x]

11.   Gunas[xi]

12.   Guru[xii]

13.   House class[xiii]

14.   Jagradaadi Avasthas[xiv]

15.   Karaka[xv]

16.   Lajjitadi Avasthas[xvi]

17.   Manifesting planets[xvii]

18.   Moisture qualities of the planets[xviii]

19.   Planetary Dignity[xix]

20.   Prosperity and Annihilation of a House[xx]

21.   Purusartha[xxi]

22.   Raja Yoga[xxii]

23.   Shad Bala[xxiii]

24.   Sign Qualities.  Signs can be Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable[xxiv]

25.   Sthana Bala[xxv]

26.   Yavanajataka “Places”[xxvi]

27.   Yoga score[xxvii]

[i] Signs can be active or passive.

·         Active signs are – day / masculine / extrovert – all the odd-numbered signs

·         Passive signs are – night / feminine / introvert – all the even-numbered signs (Fish 2012, p33)

[ii] Ayana Bala shows the person’s approach to conflict.

[iii] Ayurvedic Doshas or Constitutions.  There are 3 Doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha

·         Vata is composed of Ether and Air elements

·         Pitta is composed of Fire and Water elements

·         Kapha is composed of Water and Earth elements

[iv] Balaadi Avasthas describe how mature a karma is for the person.  The Balaadi Avasthas are:

1.        Bala – Infant

2.        Kumara – Young person / Adolescent

3.        Yuva – Adult

4.        Vriddha – Old

5.        Mrita – Dead

[v] In Vedic Astrology, planets are categorised as Benefic /Gentle or Malefic / Cruel. 

·         Benefic planets help the person by being gentle and supportive. 

·         Malefic planets help the person by being cruel and demanding.

[vi] Combustion refers to being too close to the Sun and can weaken the planet. (Fish 2012, p55) N.B. in this essay I am referring to planets Kala Software marks as Combust.

[vii] Conjunct means located in the same house or sign.

[viii] Dig Bala – dig bala shows whether the person can hear the directions given by the planet.

[ix] Divisional charts.  The vargas (or divisional charts) are made from the birth chart and give deeper insights into particular areas of life.  The divisional charts referred to in this essay relate to:

·         D1 – the birth chart

·         D2 – wealth and ability to meet one’s responsibilities

·         D4 – wealth beyond one’s needs

·         D7 – chart of creativity and legacy

. D9 – purpose, marriage

. D10 – achievement and power

[x] Elements.  Signs and Planets can be of the Fire, Earth, Air or Water Element.

·         Fire signs are assertive, open and aspiring

·         Earth signs are practical, steady and grounded

·         Air signs are sociable and communicative

·         Water signs sensitive and instinctive (Fish 2012, p34)

[xi] The Gunas are the primordial energies that underpin matter.  The gunas are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.

·         Sattva is pure, light and still

·         Rajas is active, energising and fast-moving

·         Tamas is heavy, impure and inert

[xii] Guru means teacher (remover of darkness).

[xiii] In Vedic Astrology, houses can be:

·         Angular (Kendra) (1, 4, 7, 10)

·         Trinal (Kona) (1, 5, 9)

·         Killer (Maraka) (2, 7)

·         Suffering (Dusthana) (6, 8, 12)

·         Increasing i.e. getting better over time (Upachaya) (3, 6, 10, 11)

·         Difficult or inauspicious (6th from the 6th i.e. 11th and 8th from the 8th i.e. 3rd) (Fish 2012, p84-88)

[xiv] Jagradaadi Avasthas describe how responsive a person can be to their karmas.  The Jadradaadi Avasthas are:

·         Sushupti – Asleep

·         Svapna – Sleepy

·         Jagrat - Awake

[xv] Karaka means indicator.

[xvi]There are 5 Lajjitadi Avasthas which describe the psychological pressures and supports that planets can experience due to planetary aspect.

·         Shamed – involving malefics, the 5th House or a node

·         Proud – when a planet is exalted or in its moolatrikona sign xix

·         Starved – aspected by or conjunct an enemy or in an enemy sign

·         Thirsted – as above (starved) but less severe because taking place in a water sign x

·         Agitated – conjuct vii the Sun or a malefic enemy

[xvii] Jupiter and Mercury are the 2 planets that can provide support to a house to help it manifest its results.

[xviii] Planets can be wet, moist or dry.

·         Wet planets create flow and ease, like the oil in an engine keeping things frictionless

·         Moist planets can provide some lubrication to ease life

·         Dry planets cannot lubricate life and consequently can make things more difficult or uncomfortable

[xix] Dignity shows how comfortable a planet is in its place in the chart.  The more comfortable the planet it, the more it can give good effects.  The dignities of the planet from best to worse (with their Deeptadi Avastas in brackets) are:

1.        Exalted (Radiant)

2.        Moolatrikona

3.        Own Home (Confident)

4.        Great Friend (Rejoicing)

5.        Friend (Serene)

6.        Neutral (Scarce)

7.        Enemy (Miserable)

8.        Great Enemy (Suffering Cruelty)

9.        Debilitated (Alarmed)

10.     Combust (Mutilated) (Kurczak 2014, p35-36)

[xx] Prosperity and Annihilation are a summation of indicators which show whether the house is receiving support to be able to produce its results.  The calculation includes Rasi Aspects which are from sign to appropriate sign (i.e. Mutable signs to each other, Cardinal signs to Fixed signs except adjacent, Fixed signs to Cardinal signs except adjacent xxiv) if there is a planet located in the sign.  The Rasi Aspects are benefic or malefic v depending on the planet sending the Rasi Aspect.

[xxi] These terms relate to the Purusartha or “4 Aims/Pursuits”.  They are Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.

·         Artha relates to work

·         Kama relates to desire

·         Dharma relates to inspiration

·         Moksha relates to spiritual liberation

[xxii] A Raja Yoga is when an angular lord or house combines with a trinal lord or house.  It is looked upon well because it combines the manifesting action of angular houses with the grace and dharmic nature of trinal houses xiii.

[xxiii] Shad Bala means 7 strengths.  Shad bala is a calculation of 7 different factors which contribute to planetary strength.

1.        Sthana Bala – see xxv

2.        Dig Bala – see viii

3.        Kala Bala – what leaves an impression on the person

4.        Chesta Bala – is the confidence the person feels with the planet

5.        Ayana Bala – see ii

6.        Drik Bala – support or stress that will come when using the planet

7.        Yudha Bala – planetary war

[xxiv] Sign Qualities.  Signs can be Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable

·         Cardinal signs are outgoing and enterprising

·         Fixed signs are intense, steadfast and resistant to sudden change

·         Mutable signs are variable and adaptable (Fish 2012, p34)

[xxv] Sthana Bala shows how effective a person is with a planet and is what we, on the outside, can perceive about the posture of the person.

[xxvi] The “places” and “objects” in the Sign descriptions in this essay come from Yavanajataka as shared in the “Rasis and Signs” course in the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program.

[xxvii] Yoga score is an equation that quantifies the possibility of a planet being able to manifest the results of a positive yoga or a negative yoga.

Bibliography

Fish, Richard and Ryan Kurczak. 2012. The Art and Science of Vedic Astrology Volume 1 The Foundation Course. Asheville, North Carolina.

Kurczak, Ryan and Richard Fish. 2014. The Art and Science of Vedic Astrology Volume 2 Intermediate Principles of Astrology. Asheville, North Carolina.