Welcome to spring! This month brings with it the official start of the Vedic New Year on April 14th when the Sun enters his exaltation in Aries. Aries is considered the ‘head’ of the body of time and therefore a natural start to the twelve-month course taken by the sun through each of the signs.
Celebrating the New Year at this time is enjoyable for many reasons, one of which is that the month when the Sun is exalted tends to bring a natural sense of new beginnings, energy and initiative. It is a great time to revisit your goals in any area of life, but especially in relation to physical and spiritual goals. The Sun’s exaltation also gives us a natural ability to be more attuned to how our rhythm and routines impact our health, and to clean these up in such a way that our daily habits are contributing to our health and well-being, rather than draining us.
Sun is the overall governor of structure and timing, which is why his affliction in a horoscope (or in transit) can cause someone’s schedule and routines to be so erratic that it starts to negatively impact their health. Take this month (starting from the 14th) to build your day in a way that will sustain your optimum energy, enthusiasm and well-being.
If your eating, waking, sleeping and exercising times are reliable, your body will meet you more and more readily in whatever activity it is you’re engaging in. If you eat at consistent times each day, you’ll notice that your hunger turns on once that time approaches. This means your agni or metabolic fire is ready to digest the food you are about to intake. If instead you ‘push through’ your morning and hunger and end up eating at an odd time, your digestive fire will be inefficient (or nonexistent) and whatever you consume may not be properly digested. This can create irregular energy levels in addition to digestive issues like bloating, constipation, and the like.
Three Basic Causes of Disease
The Sun is one of three planets that are considered the cornerstones of health from a broad level perspective in Ayurvedic Astrology. It governs rhythm, routine and structure which are grouped into Dinacharya in Ayurveda. Moon governs use of the senses, which heavily impact the mind which can go on to influence the body. And Jupiter is connected to one’s ability to listen to the feedback of their own body which is absolutely invaluable.
These are the three sattvic or ‘balanced’ planets that have the ability to protect our health, and they are connected with the three basic causes of disease mentioned in Āyurveda: (disturbance to) time (Sun), innate intelligence (Jupiter) and the senses (Moon). Afflictions to any of these planets in a chart suggest a weakness in that area which has the potential to create health problems down the line. When Jupiter goes into exaltation in June, we will all experience a heightened ability to tune in to what our bodies have to say and respond. From my perspective, this is a superpower: it gives each of us the ability to take any information we receive from others and test it through our own experience. And with all of the confusing and conflicting dietary and lifestyle opinions and information circulating in the cultural sphere today, this ability is more valuable than ever.
If you cannot already tell, I’m gearing up for the Āyurvedic Astrology course which is beginning in May. You’ll be hearing more about Āyurveda along with Astrology in the coming months.
Back to the sky!
Outside of the Sun’s exaltation bringing in the Vedic New Year, this month will see the reduction of ‘warring’ energy which began February 22nd of this year with Mars’ entrance into Aquarius to join the north node Rahu. Mars-Rahu tend to bring battles wherever they go. Mercury has been taking the brunt of this harmful energy, since he has been in Aquarius for the duration of the Mars transit. Mercury rules children, money and communication. All of these Mercury-ruled areas of life could have experienced more stress and pressure during this time.
As Mars moves into Pisces on April 2nd, he will join Saturn. This creates a combination called Yama Yoga, which on the positive side can bring positive discipline and on the negative side can bring destruction and even death. Their conjunction with the Sun will last until the 14th, and during this time there is an above average potential for assassinations or deaths of people in positions of power.
Because the Sun will technically be ‘cursed’ in the sky during this time, it is a good time to protect your personal routine and rhythm. The external pressures on these are likely to high and can create a situation wherein it is easy to abandon the structures you rely on for support and healthy functioning.
Mercury will join the band of planets in Pisces just a few days before the Sun leaves, shifting the themes from Aquarius (which dominated March) to those of Pisces. Mercury will again be afflicted (and debilitated), but the details will be different. Instead of being negatively impacted by the warring energy of Mars and Rahu, he will be hurt by the combined pressures of Saturn and Mars. You can expect any existing financial and communication-related pressures to persist through the end of the month. This, with the fact that Mercury will be debilitated will all likely contribute to a feeling of overwhelm.
The overall health of Mercury should begin to improve in May and experience some semblance of actual health by the end of that month. The Mercury affliction tends to create a lack of seamlessness in the realm of trade, commerce and financial transactions (something the present world and economy depend heavily on). The pressure of rising prices is related to this affliction, as is the issues and confusion surrounding the ability of leaders to come together and negotiate on extremely important and pressing problems.
The days surrounding the transition of both Mercury and Sun from Pisces and into Aries will be significant because they will be crossing the gandanta or ‘spiritual knot’ between these two signs. These occur at the three junctures in the zodiac of Fire and Water signs. Because these elements are considered inimical, and because the nakshatra or lunar zodiac does not connect the signs at these places, they can generate a lot of tension and stress—generally related to the unknown and uncertainty, specifically as it pertains to the archetype of the planet in question.
For the Sun this will be a couple of days before and after April 14th, and for Mercury it will be a couple of days before and after April 29th. Expect a little extra tension during this time as well as the possibility of some unanswerable questions. It is best to avoid making any major decisions or changes during this time, as one usually does not have all of the required information. Anyone with existing spinal or alignment issues should also take care not to do anything potentially provoking on or around the Sun’s transit date, as the Sun rules the skeletal structure it is can be unstable during this time.