Crawl 07: Friday the 13th!!

In vedic astrology, the Sun represents the Structuralist approach, where things are always defined, rational, ordered, linear, clear cut, and transparent. What you see is mostly what you get. Whereas, Shanidev/ Saturn, the son of the Sun, represents the deconstructive approach, the serpentine journey, where things are always different from what they seem. You never get what you see, and never see what you get. 
Today's Friday the 13th, after a long time. It was considered inauspicious in Western tradition because it was when Jesus Christ was put on the crucifix. The very famous horror/ slasher Friday the 13th, movie series, made it much more popular to the masses. From the Vedic astrology point, it doesn't hold much salt, but from the Hebrew Kabbalah numerological viewpoint, they ascribe some dark attributes to this day. From the logic, rational, centric, Solar viewpoint, one would try to define whether this myth is true OR not. Classify it clearly either as True OR False. But from the Saturnine/ deconstructive perspective, it is another matter altogether. It is worthwhile to penetrate deeper into this apparently simplistic Urban legend of Friday the 13th. To plumb beneath it's surface implications, to reach a  deeper perspective, of the underlying potential that this day has to offer! I feel it's an opportune day to address/ pay homage to the symbolic/ theoretical mythological darkness associated with the Crucifixion of Jesus, the son of God, in the Christian religious order. I believe, at the prehistoric, primitive age, the roots of all world orders, religions were the same. And hence, there is some salt to the mythic rituals, observances. Rather than adopt the Solar approach of ignoring/ subscribing to Friday the 13th, I will try to use the occasion, as an excuse of an opportunity,  to plumb into the undercurrent of it's belief/ mythos. For some potential unraveling insights that this day might have to offer. Who knows?
... to be contd.. (?)

Crawl 06: Android Update

In my previous post, Crawl 02: caveman-in-future-shock I had bemoaned about how I was perplexed  with android phone technology. How, after disposing my crumbling cellular phone, I hastily bought a 2G phone, and later, how, stumbling with the slow Net speed, I further hastily, had attempted it to resell it by the internet portals of Olx and Quickr. But in the deconstructive journey of the Saturnine experience, first sight is often completely erroneous and things always gradually unravel, in the characteristic serpentine, crawls-pace of Lord Shanidev/ Saturn. A journey that finds me currently, NOT using my android phone for constant inetrconnectivity on the net, the sole purpose for which I had purchased it, but rather using it's rather ordinary resolution camera to relentlessly click my hearts desire, my forever fascinated, ever favorite style of the Panaromic view, the magic and mystery of the ultra wide angle photograph. And in a furthermore unanticipated bonus activity, load a LOT of my ancient archives of comic books from the forgotten Golden age, onto the phone, and delve into their complex artworks, designs, at all times and places. Previously, I had been rabidly cursing modern technology as a neccesary evil, but as characteristic of the Saturnine journey, after a short while only, am withdrawing my opinions, by getting amazed by the same digital conveniences. Surprisingly, Android technology, has quite a few tricks to teach, even to an old, antiquated, Saturnine creature as myself. Even though, it did not fulfil the object for which I had purchased it, but suddenly this device began to fulfill some desires, which I had unknowingly for long, fostered and  buried within myself. Especially, I found so, at the Select Citywalk mall, as my wife Sangeeta was wrapping up her Krispy Kreme project, and I accompanied her, reading endless comics on my Android phone, and clicking panaromic snaps, of her site. Even though, which had to be downloaded and compiled later on Power Point software on my PC! :P ! Jai Shanidev!

Crawl 05: Delhi Election Results

The underlying motive of this "Crawl" post series is to give a genuine and accurate, narrative or testimony of the Saturnine experience/journey. And to give an accurate narration of any Saturnine experience, it is MANDATORY to include the compulsory preface/ preamble of that of Shanidev's father, the Sun. Without this mandatory preamble of the Solar- structure, the Saturnine experience DOES NOT exist. The Solar/ Sun order is SINGULAR, and can stand on it's own, as an independent entity, like as in Logos/ Truth/ Clarity, but the Saturnine process/ experience is SERPENTINE, and necessitates a meandering, winding, unraveling, process, becoming. In the Solar order, prefaces/ summaries prove to be consistent. But, in the Saturnine way, what appears at first sight, proves to be compulsorily, something else altogether, in the longer run of things. Hence all Structuralism thought is ruled by the Sun, and all Deconstruction is ruled by Saturn. The popular axiom of deconstruction theory: prefaces harbor lies, perfectly illustrates the Saturnine process.

Delhi Election Results: As the Sun made it's way through the sign of Scorpio, the current Electoral result in new Delhi assembly elections has shaken everyone- BJP: 32 seats, Aam Admi Party: 28 seats, and Congress:  8 seats. I was talking to different people about their views on this unexpected landslide in the electoral results. There was an overall jubilant mood about the triumph of Aam Admi Party who sweeped the electoral polls with tremendous support of the common people. But nevertheless, NONE of the three parties have the required amount of votes to form a stand alone/ independent government. They need the support pf their rivals, their competitors to do so! And hence the Sun- Saturn dilemma. IF the election was held in some other period, this weird situation would not have arisen! The Sun was oh-so-strong, in is transit across Scorpio, creating a heroic mood like that of Bon Jovi's .. Blaze of Glory, or Queens "We Are the Champions"!! But to form any sustaining and persevering government in highly Saturn ruled India, a good balance of all parties is VERY mandatory/ compulsory. It is NOT sufficient to be euphoric with revolutionary zest and ideal, it needs the machinery, the gargantuan yet necessary evil of continuing rulership. Aam Admi Party can prove the powerful watchdog over a coalition government, yet while at the same time subscribing to the already existent machinery. That can help them Focus of Rights and Process. So then, what is the solution??? I feel a good mixture of BJP + Congress + Aam Admi Party coalition where everyone is busy keeping each other on their toes IS the ideal solution for our Saturn ruled India! Because that would Guarantee the maximum service rendered to our Maha Bharat! I have had  the privilege of having some close friends in all the three parties: Congress, BJP and the Aam Admi Party. And from the intimate insight, with astrological justification can say that the the Tri-Guna Rajasic/ Sattwic/ Tamasic (you guess, which one is which is which) of these three Parties are ESSENTIAL/ MANDATORY for the healthy functioning of a Saturn ruled country like India! Jai Shanidev!

Crawl 04: Ovewrhelming Middle of things

According to Heisenbergs Uncertainity principle of quantum physics,  for any atomic particle, at any time, either it's Position OR it's Momentum can be measured. Never Both! In realm/ influence/ path of the Sun, or the Solar path, always Position is very transparent  and clearly  measurable. Where WE STAND, our status and position on the great cosmic grid! But, in the Saturnine path, we have no inkling of where we stand, our position on things, or on the  Status of things! ALL we can make out is that somethings moving! In the Saturnine path, we never have any clue about WHERE things are headed for. Just a great middle-muddle, jumble, of  movement. We can definitely feel something is in progress, but can never make out where it's headed towards! Such is the saturnine way I have been experiencing these past few days..

As mentioned two posts before, I have bought an android phone, but was immediately desperate to sell it on Olx and Quickr, to upgrade to a 3G phone. Out of 30 plus people, who called up to enquire about my phone ad, two guys did actually land up, (I don't even know whether through Olx/ Quickr). But exactly after ten minutes AFTER buying it, returned it, saying it wasn't the model they were looking for!! What a great movement, motion, for a caveman like me, YET, in the end what an anticlimax/ great damp squib!! Meanwhile, a lot of sudden work is flowing over my head, a lot of haphazard motion without any meaning. Obviously, I cannot make out head nor tail of where it's headed for. Things are happening in a jumbled up mash of events, through a sudden  ultra overdose of movement.  And I can't even complain, because few months back, I was always whining about a lack of movement. But then, the world was cosy, ordered, clear cut, defined and  transparent. And now, suddenly, it's gone completely berserk, all of a sudden, it's become too much movement, to be able to be handled! And of all the processes begun, commenced, NOT ONE of them has reached any closure. Every process is stuck in the awful middle, in the half baked, midway of things! JUST LIKE MY ANDROID PHONE: it's always in the middle of  something: updating software, downloading something. Never reaching any rest or closure!!

In my Serpentine blog, I have mentioned that Ketu is always about extremities: the beginning or end of things, and Rahu is always about the middle. The continuing, ever ongoing, process of the middle/ muddle. I must add that, it feels incredibly draining. All this insecurity and uncertainity! But, all I can do, as of now, being Saturnine/ Saturn ruled, is try to crawl forward...!!  :o  :o

Update/ inference/ hindsight: 3rd December, 2013, Tuesday evening, 8:54 pm-
As characteristic of the theme/ topical planet of this blog Saturn, I guess this tail end, retrospective, hind sight add note, foot note of wisdom and revelation was/ is/ and always will be in throe/ hidden curriculum. I'll (once again) repeat myself for the trillionth time, being acutely Saturn ruled, I get headway of prevailing transits,  only halfway through (at the best) and at the fag end, at the worst! While posting the above article "Crawl 04: Overwhelming middle of things" I never even gauged that i might have been subconsciously been following the Sun- Saturn transit across the skies! An hour back, my friend Kapil Razdan called and we were chatting away after a long time. I had predicted the current transit of Sun across his ascendant sign Scorpio ( 17th Nov - 15th Dec) to be a particularly powerful period for him. But he was equally fazed like some of the rest of us, especially me! The reason, after some insight, was that, in his birth chart,  he had debilitated Moon in his ascendant sign of Scorpio! As the Sun transited his natal sign, Scorpio, his already debilitated Natal Moon became even more combust ( The Sun does that to any planet it crosses, it burns it out). Hence, the marked effect of overstress that he was experiencing! And as usual, a LATE eureka moment for me! For my own self, being Libran ascendant with natal sun in 12th house,  the rising ascending malefic Sun across my 2nd house of Scorpio, was directly aspecting my 8th house of disease, obstacle, unease and dread. AND AS I TYPE THIS, the Sun is in the (guess the word) MIDDLE of Scorpio, and the above article I subconsciously titled it as "Overwhelming Middle of things"!!! the Jungian perspective of all people being synchronously, unconsciously connected to transiting planetary rhythms was proved truer, one more time. But WHO would follow WHICH planetary transit depended on SO many factors in the "horrorscope". Being Saturn ruled, obviously the Sun's transit across the heavens would definitely have a direct effect on me! Because wherein the rule of the Sun, my malefic lord ended, the rule of my significant Karmic lord, Saturn began!!
The very simple fact of myself being into astrological research/ observation so deeply, is simply because/ due to the 9th house Saturn. Because of the Saturn position ( especially conjunct with Ketu) I was simply programmed to function THAT way!
Anyways, finally I want to add, that this insight of prevailing transit of Sun across Scorpio, especially it's halfway/ mid-way/ middle position was only triggered on hindisght by the "conicidental" call of my friend Kapil Razdan. An event whom I had merely to recognise, it being there, straight in front of my face! From tomorrow, as the Sun enters 18th degree and beyond of Scorpio, I can shrug off some of this accumulated pressures, and exhale in Saturnine shade of relief! Jai Shanidev!!!!!!!!

Crawl 03: Two sides of Gravity

Today, on occasion of our 8th marriage anniversary, we went to see Gravity the movie in 3D, at luxury theatre of PVR, Directors cut @ Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, The movie was spectacularly, full of special effects, two astronauts marooned in space, human struggle, emotional drama in space. Sandra Bullock with a stellar performance. an emotional movie worth watching!!! Now from the saturnine viewpoint...

From the Saturnine perspective: Gravity is such a loaded word! my first connection with the word was with the John Meyer song "Gravity". he sings about gravity dragging him down under, in the same lines of other songs: the song "i believe I can fly", Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge " One day i'll Fly away", and most importantly Pink floyd's "Learning to Fly'. All these, and another million songs are about flight, anti gravity, flying away, into the sky/ beyond. Gravity, the movie talks about a complete reversal of this scenario, without Gravity, without humanity, lost, marooned, isolated in hevavenly space, you crave, die, long, to return to the ground, terra firma, .. and Gravity! In the last scene sandra bullock claws, grasps at mud on a lake's edge,cherishing gravity! In most metaphysics/ astrology etc, Saturn Shanidev has been always associated with Gravity/ gravitas. everyone curses him for the heaviness/ burden of their lives, but like in this movie, outside of his influence, in the cold, suspended animation of zero gravity, free folating, unberable terror holds!! What Milan Kundera calls: The Unbearable Lightness of being!

Being Libran ascendant, my ascendant constellation/ Nakshatra is Swati (15), the symbol of which is "young plant shoot blown by the wind".. basically a rootless, ungrounded character. who could crave for saturnine gravity, the ROOT-edness of the Muladhar chakra, more than ME! I could so identify with the later part of the film, as Sandra bullock, alone in space, yet scrambling, scampering to return to earth/ root/ Gravity!! So what I'm saying is cherish the Gravity, the Saturnine heaviness, the Karmic burdens, that we constantly bicker about. WITHOUT it, we could be so utterly rootless, un-grounded, lost/ marooned in space! So, cheers to Gravity, the movie! Jai Shanidev!

Crawl 02: Caveman in Future shock

Since the last post, Crawl 01: Crawling From The Wreckage, for me, it's been like a caveman in Future Shock! Just the way, Alvin Toffler had described.in his book!!
All these years I had been using a Nokia N-72 phone for years and years. My earlier phone in 2010 was some newer Nokia phone, which I sold off after just using for few months finding ita limit of 2000 numbers, and took the N 72, a hand me done phone from wifey who had bought in 2006, and had later upgraded to a blackberry. The N 72 could store unlimited numbers, had a few games, calculator, etc. But this week, suddenly, after so many yearsof using a slowly dying phone, I decided to upgrade to an android phone. And the serpentine experience began...

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Star Pro, a most basic and cheap Android phone, one day later which I found was a 2G phone, so internet outside of wi-fi was incredibly slow. And to type on the touch screen pad to type out letters was difficult enough for facebook comments, so I had to JUST FORGET about blogging. Defeating the main reason why I took the damn android phone anyways. Also, the other main reason was to constantly, on the go,  update, on my facebook group Adims astro Zoo for my followers, but, groups seemed to never open on a 2g phone. Endless notifications and updates from other people constantly flooded  my phone, but what I wanted, well never. What a classic flop! Basically, my entire reason of buying the android phone, to connect with the world on the net constantly, had completely crashed!!

From the Saturnine Perspective: As I have written in 3 Headings on top of the blog:  (Saturn Intro/ Deconstruction/ Journey), in the Saturnine journey, initial failure is always a mandatory part of the journey. the legacy of previous failed attempts, is a must. It's never a graphical, linear, smooth progression, like in the diametrical opposite of the Solar order. And, moreover, what the hell, what was i expecting? That, yours truly, a primitive 80's caveman waking up to the android world would find it so easy to adapt, all at once??? The Saturnine journey, the Crawl is always like the great dialogue from the movie Contact stg. Jodie Foster.. " small steps"! So, here i am, stuck with an cyborg android phone. THANKFUL, that i can at least call up!! I realised what architect Mie Van Der Rohe always said... LESS IS MORE! I mean, with all the proliferation of the internet age, has actual social interaction increased/ or ACTUALLY severely dropped between humans. I would vouch for the latter. So, here I am, a caveman, grumpily grumbling about the Android age. When, I should have taken it saturnine slow, and gradually upgraded, over a period of a year, slowly to more advanced phones, before diving into the "lateshtt"Android platform. Like Alvin Toffler says.. "future shock'.

Another experience was even more disorienting, but ultimately, much positive and fulfilling due to involvement of a young cyber friend. Since I gave up music composition, arrangement, since 2005, things had  changed quite a lot. Those days, I used to program design music tracks on my 16 track Korg workstation, keyboard sequencer. Later used to dump it in studios track by track, for mixing. Since the long days of my absence, people had moved on to computers, and music/ sound soft-wares like Logic, Nuendo, Pro Tools, virtual instruments, VST plugins. All programming, designing, and music tracks were completely done  was much more efficiently done on laptops, and PC's. I had fallen behind relevant technology by years and years, and even now always preferred to programme tracks on the keyboard sequencer, Korg Trinity, Triton etc.
Recently after gradually crawling back like a worm, back into music composition, arrangement, at this very old, withering, Saturnine age, I  had to give a rough outlay for a music for a corporate ad film. before the director went for the shoot, he wanted the music, so he could design it according to the feel of his indicated music. my friend was far off, there was No keyboard to programme, no studio access. and the day of deadline had dawned upon me! I hastily called my young musician friend/ colleague Saurabh Babbar, ex guitarist of Vedic Death metal band "Bhairav'. On my insistence, he had now gradually shifted from guitar to explore his fiull potential as an electronic musician with some deadly tracks! saurabh he came down with his Laptop which had Ableton software loaded on it, and we sat down. without even my keyboard as a MIDI trogger device! just the laptop. Like old bollywood style, I chewed some paan, stood standing and began humming notes and melodies, which Saurabh then literally typed down/ programmed / converted into arranged layers and tracks of music, on his Ableton software. All notes, selected from the on screen virtual keyboard!, with NOT even a mouse!! He was Typing it all out,  and on the touch pad of the laptop!! It was far out !! And the result?  The most analogue, Indian, ethnic track that I had ever composed in life. Question: What was happening here??

Ans: The Saturnine journey: As described in the 3 headings above, the Solar/ Sun path is straightforward, and where, Journey= Goal, Process= Product, Objective= Result. What you see is what you get. But, the saturnine journey is completely opposite, it's angular, serpentine, disjointed, tangential, like the name Konastha (angular) of the ten names of Shanidev, suggests. In the Saturine journey, the journey is often diametrically opposite of the Goal. And the the Product is often diametrically opposite of the process!! The saturnine journey is NEVER straightforward. What you SEE is what you NEVER GET!! And what you never foresee is what you get!! A winding, tangential, rhizomatic, serpentine becoming! You never know, what you get.. in the saturnine journey,..

Crawl 01: Crawling From The Wreckage

"Crawling from the Wreckage" I have waited FOREVER to use that title, somewhere, sometime in my blog. This was the title of Storyline from issue # 19, of Doom Patrol, from where Grant Morrison took over the usual storyline, and the normal costumed hero comic book, continued to became one of the most awesome Avante Garde series in comic history!

Today, 11/11/ 2003, or 11th day of the 11th month of 2013, as the Sun enters 25th degree of Libra, and achieves 5 degrees of distance between the Sun @ 20th degree, thus (almost) ending the Combustion of Saturn by the Sun. (Sun combusts any planet within 5 degrees distance). So the unholy combination/ the wreckage of Sun + Saturn + Rahu conjunction in Libra is slowly getting over. ( Check my Karmic blog link: Kalsarp with Rahu Sun Saturn 17 oct - 16 nov). And hence the ideal time, ideal opportunity of using the title.. Crawling from Wreckage!
In fact, so disturbed was I by the events of this transit that by noon was I contemplating changing, overhauling this entire blog into some other topic/ format. But by evening Amon-RaAset Magus from the Frateritas Saturni facebook group commenetd on the blog, and an old friend Urja Syrop called up from US after a long time. And I HAD been reading Doom Patrol yesterday late night, so it all fell into place. Previously, I had used the title "Crawl" erroneously in my prior Ketu blog for a long time. But in the end, it's Lord Saturn who Crawls so slowly. and I have Shanidev conjunct with Ketu in my 9th house of Fate/ fortune, thus, things often Crawl forward for me! :P
In the end, I feel we arte just vessels capturing the Ego/ essence quality of planetary transits. Just responding to planetary motions in the sky, even though a lot of us love to believe in the Illusion of 100% free Will/ Will power/ or Will to Power! But the Saturnine way is that of the Crawl. Slow serpentine, meandering crawl, unraveling journey.
So, here I am finally recovering/ crawling from the disaster of Sun + Saturn conjunction in my ascendant... yours truly.. Crawling from the Wreckage..!!