Fasting and Astrology

Fasting and Astrology

Being  a westerner and a practicing Vedic (Indian) Astrologer has proven to be a challenge and a blessing as well. Is like having the best of both worlds !

Vedic astrology ,according to tradition, has almost a divine origin and is considered one of the main "darshans" or Indian philosophies. It is as important as Patanjali's Yoga Sutras or the Bhagavad Gita. No wonder that India has one the highest ratios of astrologers per person.

One of the planets that Vedic Astrology  studies the most is the Moon.

Many of the calculations regarding the native's chart , predictive techniques and planetary combinations have the  Moon as its main character. Like many ancient cultures, the Moon played an important role in their lives.

Its cycles determined the Indian calendar and according to Krishna ..."I become the Moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables" (Bhagavad Gita as it Is Ch15 v.13).

 The Moon (Chandra in sanskrit) has so much influence on life that Krishna also compares it  to a Nakshatra or constellation: "among the stars I am the Moon" ( Bhagavad Gita Ch 16 v.21)

The Moon is considered gentle if full and not so gentle if waning (two planets in one !!!) Its  path when intersected by  the Sun's trajectory around Earth, forms the Moon's North and South nodes! Two planets as well!!

The north Node is known as Rahu and the South Node is known as ketu and are  considered to be two independent forces or planets. So we can only begin to ponder the importance of the Moon in our lives and destiny.

According to ancient Indian Scriptures the moon also controls the descent of our karma or destiny if you will. The Sages of India described the way this happens and even to this day many spiritual traditions follow the lunar calendar to keep their holidays and religious festivities.

One of the methods used to get the most out of those Holy Days or Moon-energized days, is  fasting.

Fasting has been recognized as a spiritual practice by many if not all the world traditions. From the Mexican Shaman to the Imam in Mecca to the Yogi in Rishikesh all saw fasting as way to get closer to God.

Fasting is a spiritual technique of biblical proportions. It is mentioned several times in the Old and New testaments as well.

But according to Vedic astrology if you do the right thing at the right time with right intention everything changes for the good.

So when fasting  we use the Moon as our guide  to get the most out of our "penance" and atone for our "sins". The cycles and phases of the Moon are key to this.

There are two special days in a lunar month when this is particularly relevant. One is the eleventh day after the new moon (krishna Paksha) and the eleventh day after the full moon (Shukla Paksha). By fasting on these days one can begin to manage the individual karma as the seeds of destiny enter our minds . You may do a complete fast ( no food, no water ) or do a juice detox those days. For  fasting to be effective, no animal products nor grains (or byproducts including oils) should be consumed.

The eleventh day after the full and new moon are key to this process and are called Ekadashi ( Eleventh).On these two specific days the seeds of our auspicious and inauspicious deeds enter our psyche and bear fruit at a later date in our lives. In other words we receive our karma on those specific days of the month according to Vedic scriptures and tradition.

As you can see the Spiritual traditions of Old placed a huge importance on fasting, not only for our overall well being but also as a technique to "cast out the devils" of our karma.

So next time you schedule a detox , think of those Ekadashi days, think of the moon and think of Krishna.

Happy Fasting!

Hare Krishna

Jorge Vrajabasi Torres