Birth Story #3, Part 2: Astrology

When I wrote in my "Introduction" post on this blog about some of my experiences growing up in a Hare Krishna devotee family, there were of course plenty of things I didn't mention.  One of them was astrology.

Astrology, or the science of examining the configuration that the planets and stars are in at any given moment and reading/interpreting what their effect will be on the people and events operating here on Earth under their influence, is one of the branches of Vedic (ancient Indian scriptural) knowledge, and part of Lord Krishna's culture.  As stated in the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 8, Verse 5 (in which Lord Krishna's father, Nanda Maharaja, is speaking to the sage Gargamuni):

~*~

jyotisham ayanam sakshad

yat taj jñanam atindriyam

pranitam bhavata yena

puman veda paravaram

SYNONYMS

jyotisham—knowledge of astrology (along with other aspects of culture in human society, and specifically in civilized society, there must be knowledge of astrology); ayanam—the movements of the stars and planets in relationship to human society; sakshat—directly; yat tat jñanam—such knowledge; ati-indriyam—which an ordinary person cannot understand because it is beyond his vision; pranitam bhavata—you have prepared a perfect book of knowledge; yena—by which; puman—any person; veda—can understand; para-avaram—the cause and effect of destiny.

TRANSLATION

O great saintly person, you have compiled the astrological knowledge by which one can understand past and present unseen things. By the strength of this knowledge, any human being can understand what he has done in his past life and how it affects his present life. This is known to you.

Last paragraph of the purport

(by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada):

Nanda Maharaja was trying to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by Gargamuni's presence, for Gargamuni was a great authority in this knowledge of astrology, by which one can see the unseen events of past, present and future. It is the duty of a father to understand the astrological position of his children and do what is needed for their happiness. Now, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by the presence of Gargamuni, Nanda Maharaja suggested that Gargamuni prepare a horoscope for Nanda's two sons, Krishna and Balarama.

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The line in which Shrila Prabhupada says "It is the duty of a father to understand the astrological position of his children and do what is needed for their happiness" apparently made an impression on my father, because I heard him quote that line several times during my childhood.  Immediately after my birth and that of my younger brother, my father had Nalini Kanta Prabhu, a Godbrother (fellow disciple of the same guru) and friend of his who had studied this Vedic astrological science, prepare detailed horoscopes for us.  These horoscopes each filled many pages (mine, which I still have, is 24 one-sided 8x11 sheets, plus a beautiful cover and a couple of introductory/explanatory pages).  Nalini Kanta Prabhu had also done similar horoscopes for my father and mother.  Every so often throughout our lives, my parents would pull out our horoscopes and reread them, and together as a family -- snuggled up in a happy bunch on my parents' bed, or sitting around the kitchen table with lively conversation and my mom's delicious cooking to anticipate (or digest) -- we would enjoy discovering things in them that had proven true or newly become applicable since the last time we had read them.  They were always fresh and exciting to revisit -- a rich mine of descriptions of our physical appearances, tastes and personalities and predictions for every stage of our lives up to death, with a sprinkling of advice, tailored for each one of us.  Our family consensus was that they were incredibly accurate.  Beyond engendering family fun and togetherness, my own horoscope was considered crucially important when it came time for me to get married, as comparing the horoscopes of the prospective bride and groom and checking for compatibility between them (with the help and advice of an expert astrologer) is a vital part of the process of spouse selection in our culture.

So I'm sure you can imagine that astrology is very interesting and important to me.  My favorite component of it is definitely the analysis and description of personality traits.  Predictions are cool too (and can certainly be useful), but meh...!  Compared to understanding people -- how they feel, what contributes to their sense of identity, and what drives them to act the way they do -- I hardly care about what the future may hold.

I have a curious mind and love learning about things that interest me, so although making a formal study of astrology has never been a priority for me and I am thus a complete amateur, I have picked up a few small bits of information connected with it that have gotten incorporated into my awareness of the world and how I live my life.  One such piece of information concerns the demigods that preside over the different days of the week.  Suryadeva, the sun-god, rules Sunday; Chandradeva, the moon-god, rules Monday; Mangaladeva, lord of Mars, rules Tuesday; Budha (Mercury) rules Wednesday; Brihaspati (Jupiter) rules Thursday; Shukra (Venus) rules Friday, and Shani (Saturn) rules Saturday.  Each of these planetary lords has his own qualities, which color whatever happens under his influence.  Of course there are other factors involved which affect the ultimate outcome, but the question of whose day it is does constitute at least a small part of the picture.  In India, my understanding is that people in general try to be careful never to schedule any big, important events on days ruled by inauspicious (malefic or harmful) planets.

My understanding is that Mars, with his angry, warlike nature, and Saturn, with his tendency to make everything painfully slow and difficult by placing obstacles in our paths so we must work very hard to achieve anything, are considered the most inauspicious planets.  The Moon and Venus (the most feminine planets) are generally soft, gentle and kind in their effects on us, and are viewed as the most auspicious or benefic planets for many purposes.  The impressions I have of them based on what I've heard and read are that the Moon is domestic, maternal, caring, emotional, sentimental and sensitive; Venus is sensual, indulgent, pleasant, easy-going (sometimes to the point of being lazy), decadent, opulent, seductive and fun-loving.  Jupiter is also super auspicious, representing righteous religiosity, rich abundance and generous giving.  Mercury has a restless, mobile, quick-witted, intelligent and verbally articulate nature, which is very good for travel and communication, but there are situations in which Mercury's influence might not be the most ideal, so Mercury could be considered sort of middle-of-the-road in terms of general auspiciousness.  The Sun is noble, great and glorious, but also capable of burning people with the intensity of his fire, so I might say, perhaps, that he might lean a little toward the inauspicious side of the spectrum as a result of that.

One very significant life event that often remains out of our control as to which day it happens on is, of course, birth.  As with any other major event, which day it takes place on will indicate much about the way things are going to unfold from that point forward for everyone involved.  Not surprisingly, the person affected the most is the one who is born that day; the planets will influence the development of his or her personality and orchestrate the lifelong playing out of his or her destiny (as determined by karma from his or her previous life).  Again, which day of the week a person is born on is only one part of the picture; but still, I felt like I had noticed a strong pattern wherein the personalities of people I knew tended often to reflect the weekday they were born on.  I was born on a Friday, and I definitely feel that I have more Venus in my nature than anything else, although I don't relate 100% with all those Venusian attributes that I mentioned above (to be specific, sensuality, decadence and opulence, while present, are tempered in my nature by the effects of other planets that influence me to be more mental/intellectual than physical, and to be religious and moral.)  My brothers were both born on Saturdays, and sure enough, both have personalities dominated by Saturn (aside from being hard-working and having to undergo a lot of struggles and suffering in life, this also means that they are loyal and true. <3 ^_^ )  My dad was born on a Tuesday, and yep, you'd better believe that he's a warrior with an explosive temper.  ;)  My mom was born on a Wednesday, and although I don't think Mercury rules her personality more than any other planet, she does have quite a bit of Mercury in her nature.  My ex-husband, also born on a Wednesday, is definitely ruled by Mercury more than anything else.  My current husband was born on a Thursday, and although I don't think Jupiter dominates his nature above all, he's definitely a righteous man with a love of religiosity and frequently an abundantly generous, giving nature.

So you can probably understand why I felt quite interested in and concerned about which day of the week my child would end up being born on.  While ultimately I was surrendered to whatever arrangement the Lord might make, I had by this point in my life undergone plenty of suffering, a good part of which was due to living with intense, dramatic, and chaotic people, and honestly I did not feel ready for more of the same.  I really, really wanted this baby to be different -- to be easy to live with!  I thought: Monday, ruled by the moon, is a sweet, gentle and auspicious day, but what are the odds of this baby being born today?  I'm sure it's not going to happen!  My labor with my first baby was 50 hours, and with my second baby it was 36.  I do expect that my labor could very likely get shorter with each birth, because that's the pattern my mom followed with her births, but how short can I expect this labor to be when the first two were so very long?!  It'll probably end up being somewhere around 24 hours long.  So if it starts tonight, this baby will be born tomorrow -- on a Tuesday -- and be a heroic warrior type with anger issues.  Or if my labor starts tomorrow, then this baby will probably be born on Wednesday -- in which case he may be a persnickety stickler for perfectionism like my ex-husband.  I think we've already got a generous share of both of those personality types in our family.  I don't look forward to having another family member that fits either of those descriptions.  Why did Kathy have to put me in this position by poking around in my cervix, without telling me ahead of time that it might stimulate labor?!

I felt a bit outraged and disgusted that Kathy had asked my permission to perform that exam on me, without letting me know what the consequences of it might be.  What happened to informed consent?!  My mind was tossing in an ocean of agitation and bewilderment as I made dinner and took care of my family.  And then, as I stood in the kitchen at about 7:30 that evening...

... I felt the first gentle cramp in my abdomen.

to be continued...