#vedic god

[faith-of-the-wheel]

Ṛ́tkonā Part 2: Comparison of Cognates

Oh boy. This is gonna be long and not nearly as clean as the cognate comparison we did not that long ago for Rudlos. Most of the goddesses attested in later Indo-European mythologies come from pre-Indo-European deities eventually assimilated into the various pantheons following the migrations, like the Greek Athena, the Roman Juno, the Irish Medb, or the Iranian Anahita. Diversely personified, they were frequently seen as fulfilling multiple functions. Conversely, Proto-Indo-European goddesses shared a lack of personification and narrow functionalities as a general characteristic. However, I'd like you to keep in mind that adapting new goddesses into the archetypes of older ones is perhaps the oldest IE tradition regarding goddesses. The point being, the methodology for goddesses is significantly different, and adapting later, foreign goddesses is just part of the process.

Artemis, The free she-bear

The first deity I ever truly worshiped was Artemis, and I continue to worship her now. She is a goddess of so very many things, who has been syncretized with so very many of goddesses. Of the many potential cognates we will speak of here(with perhaps the exception of Parvati) , Artemis is easily the most well documented, complex, and multifaceted, ESPECIALLY when viewed from a modern lens.

Artemis is presented as a goddess who delights in hunting and punishes harshly those who cross her. Artemis' wrath is proverbial, and represents the hostility of wild nature to humans. She often functioned as a female counterpart, albeit one of undoubtedly equal standing and popularity, of her twin brother, Apollon. Many cult images relate her to, or depict her as, a bear. In several myths, she sends monstrous boars upon those incur her wrath. She was also associated with war, which was related to hunting.

Put as simply as I feel is possible, she is the goddess of wild animals(and dogs), hunting, archery, childbirth, and the embodiment of the Greek belief in liberty and personal freedom, of which her virginity is symbolic(A couple of cognates share this but I am not convinced it is integral to her character, and is undoubtedly a symbolic shorthand for her autonomy and the importance of femininity). Her virginity also possibly represents a concentration of fertility that can be spread among her followers, in the manner of earlier mother-goddess figures, who she is often syncretized with or portrayed as(see Ephesus).

She is a goddess of women and children, associated with the moon, the night, vegetation, and water. Her temples(and myths) were often centered around marshes, rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes. The Dorians also associated with very strongly with mountains, as did a few other places. She was also called Britomartis on Crete, who was a mountain goddess of hunting. She was also called Diktynna, and may have been related to a Minoan goddess.

She is the archetypal Potnia Theron("Mistress of the Animals"), Being especially associated with deer, bears, boars, wolves/dogs, and myriad birds(most famously guinea fowl). She has an often understated erotic aspect, particularly in the masked, orgiastic dances of the Dorians, whose religion is often said to be notably conservative for Greece, as well as in her connection to wedding rites, and her well known beauty.

Also keep in mind the Greek meaning of virgin is often closer in meaning "maiden" - unwed rather than untouched, so her simply having sworn of marriage and not sex is arguable. However, it is pretty notable that Artemis is very even vaguely described as being intimate with another, which the poets who write the myths rarely shy away from revealing.

She is also associated with stars, and is famous for creating multiple constellations. This may simply be an outgrowth of her nocturnal associations but no other cognate we have shows explicitly. Albeit, Artemis is never(to my knowledge) worshiped as Goddess of the Stars and the info we have on most of the other cognates is pretty limited at times.

I also want to note the story of Orion, whose candidacy as a reflex, not necessarily of Rudlos per se(although I feel I have made a strong argument for it), but rather his relationship with Rtkona, is significant. You can read more about him here, his section is towards the end of the post.

Artio, The lost bear

We know almost nothing about this goddess. All we have of her in the figure above, recovered from Gaul, and the fact her name means "bear". Yep. That's it. A Celtic Bear goddess existed. That's all we got. Okay, let's move on.

Arduinna/Ardbenna, Huntress of the Mountains

The eponymous tutelary goddess of the Ardennes who the romans identified(like Artemis) with Diana, she is represented as a huntress riding a boar. Her name derives from the Gaulish "arduo-", meaning height(cognate with Latin "Ardua-", steep). It is also found in several placenames, such as the Ardennes Woods (Arduenna silva) and the Forest of Arden in England, in personal names Arduunus and Arda(from the Treveri), and Arde(Galatian).

Olmstead offers up an etymology derived from Ardbenna,  “She of the High Peak”. The goddess Ahuardua (Hadrian’s wall) may be a linguistic cognate.

Two statues have been found bearing in the Ardennes of a knife-wielding huntress astride a massive boar(pictured above). These have commonly been ascribed to her, but there is no hard evidence.

As best we reconstruct, she was a goddess of the mountains, which lines up with the archaic Dorian view of Artemis.

Sadhbh(Sive)

An Irish figure, who is characteristically obscured by lack of proper documentation by Christians, as most Irish myth is. However I believe her connection to Fionn Mac Cumhaill, who I believe to be a strong cognate of Rudlos, is itself a good indicator.

The legend goes that Sadhbh was enchanted to take the form of a doe for refusing the love of Bob Doireach (or Fear Doirche, depending on the version), the dark druid of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She held this form for three years, until a serving man of the Dark Druid took pity on her and told her that if she set foot in the fort of the Fianna of Ireland, the druid would no longer have any power over her. She then traveled straight to Almhuin (Fionn's house) and was found by Fionn while he was out hunting. Since Sadhbh was a human in animal form, she was not harmed by Fionn's hounds Bran and Sceolan, as they too had been transformed from their original human shape. On their return to Almhuin, Sadhbh became a beautiful girl once more and soon she and Fionn were married. Fionn loved her so much that he gave up hunting and all other pleasures but her, and she quickly became pregnant.

It was while Fionn was in battle against the invading Vikings that Sadhbh was taken from him. A false image of Fionn and of Bran and Sceolan appeared outside the fort and Sadhbh ran out to her husband, unaware of the danger. As soon as she reached the false image it changed to reveal the Fear Doirche, who took out a wand made of hazel and struck her, thus she became a deer once more.

Fionn spent seven years searching for Sadhbh, but to no avail. At the end of these seven long years, a wild boy was found in the forest while the Fianna hunted. Immediately, Fionn recognized in the boy's face some of Sadhbh's features and realized he was looking at their son. He was named Oisín and over time he became as famous as his father is in Irish mythology.

Sadhbh is derived from Proto-Celtic *swādwā, meaning '(the) sweet and lovely (lady)', the name is cognate with the initial elements in the attested Gallic names Suadu-gena and Suadu-rix, and with Sanskrit svādú-, Ancient Greek hedýs, Latin suāvis (compare Suada), Tocharian B swāre and Modern English sweet.

Skaði, Winter's hunting shadow

Norse jotunn Skaði is a goddess of hunting, archery, skiing, and nature, especially mountains. She is most strongly connected to bears through her second husband, Odin(who, along with Thor, is VERY strongly associated with them), after her separation from the Vanir sea-god Njordr. Note that the pairing of Skaði and Odin lines up nicely with Artemis and Apollon for my theory that Rtkona and Rudlos are siblings and/or spouses. Her connection to Ullr may also be a reflex of this, although it would make more sense for him and his cult to have formed later if that were the case, which it very well could be.

I suspect that this bear connection running through Odin instead of being part of her cult may be due to the cult of Odin absorbing this aspect of her, perhaps indicating their historic proximity to each other in the region.

Her name is connected to Germanic nouns meaning "shadow" and "harm". The shadow connection is older, so we will focus on that, but don't forget "harm" when we talk about Kotys later on. She is very strongly correlated with the environment of Scandinavia and some have speculated that the word itself means "Skaði's island". Dumezil has argued that Scandinavia has a connected meaning of "darkness" and that Skaði's name comes from it, rather than the other way around. Regardless, Skaði's name is closely connected to the region of which she is patron, not at all unlike Arduinna. She also has an interesting cognate across the North Sea.

Scathach, The Scottish Amazon

Her name shares the same origin as Skaði's, as well as several interesting features. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher(and according to some sources, Queen of the Island of Skye) who trains the legendary Ulster Cycle hero Cú Chulainn(who we have connected to Rudlos) in the arts of combat, and hunting, and gives him his legendary spear, Gáe Bulg(from a Proto-Celtic compound *balu-gaisos meaning "spear of mortal pain/death spear". Metal.). Texts describe her homeland as Scotland; she is especially associated with the Isle of Skye, where she resides in Dún Scáith ("Fortress of Shadows"). She is called "The Shadow" and "Warrior Maid" and is the rival and sister of Aífe. Cú Chulainn later becomes her daughter's lover after accidentally breaking her finger, and then dueling her previous lover, but Scathach is on board with it by the end. He also duels, defeats, and impregnates(it's complicated) Aife when she comes threatening Scathach's domain.

It my one personal theory that she may be of some relation to Liath Luachra("Grey One of Luachair"), the foster mother of Rudlos' cognate, Fionn mac Cumhaill, who hides him from his enemies for a time and teaches him "the art of war and hunting". Her name's meaning of 'Grey One' aligns with Scathach's 'Shadow'.

While we have no evidence of any cult dedicated to her, it's safe to say the Ulster Cycle is no work of Homer when it comes to myth and pagan religion documentation. Still, a fair bit of common character has the potential to shine through.

Unfortunately for us, there is a potential explanation for that. The Isle of Skye was visited by Nordic people, who heavily integrated into the culture and tribes there. So Skaði may have had some serious influence on Scathach, if she isn't an outright cultural calque, although I find that unlikely. Still, she is worth mentioning as a potential Irish Celtic cognate.

If so, she may represent an evolution of Rtkona from a nature/hunting deity with war associations, to a deity who is primarily characterized as a warrior and mother figure. Artemis and Skaði were both worshiped as war goddesses at times, and Arduinna would certainly have been worshiped when the Ardennes was under attack.

From Skadi and Scathach's names I have reconstructed the epithet Sḱeh₃onā (from *(s)ḱeh₃- "shadow"), written Skehona from here forward. I am not a linguistic, so this reconstruction might be terrible. But the epithet "She of the Shadows" seems likely to me.

Medeina/Žvorūna, The Great She-wolf

The Lithuanian goddess Medeina/Medeinė (from medis "tree", or medė "forest"), who often treated as synonymous to Žvorūnė/Žvorūna (derived from žvėris – "beast". Note the connotation of power and danger here). She is a goddess of forests, hunting, and animals, especially wolves and hares, which are sacred to her. She is also associated with bears, sometimes depicted riding one in the nude. As part of the official pantheon in Lithuania before christization, Medeina represented military interest of warriors and later was replaced by Žemyna(žemė "earth", she is a cognate of Dʰéǵʰōm Méh₂tēr), goddess of the earth representing the agricultural interests of the peasants.

In the 15th century, Polish missionary Jan Długosz compared Medeina with Roman goddess Diana.

According to research by Algirdas Julius Greimas, Medeina is single, unwilling to get married, though described as a voluptuous and beautiful huntress. She is depicted as a young woman and a she-wolf (cf.vilkmergė) with an escort of wolves. According to the author, Medeina can be described as a goddess with both divine and demonic traits. He also claims her duty is not to help the hunters, but to protect the forest, and that when a hare is spotted during the course of a hunt, it must be ended to avert her wrath. Lithuanian Archeologist Vykintas Vaitkevičius identified five Hare Churches (sacred stones, hills, forests) and ten Wolf-footprints (stones with hollows that resemble a footprint) in Eastern Lithuania that were related to the cult of Medeina.

Devana, The untamed daughter

The goddess Devana(or Zevanna), associated with wild nature, forests, hunting and the moon, was worshiped by the western slavs. She is associated with war, and with spring rituals, and Boginki, female nature spirits not dissimilar to the nymphs of Artemis, who are associated with archery and the moon. She is closely associated with the verbascum flower.There are several interpretations of Devana's name. The most obvious etymology are words such as dziewa, dziewka, "girl, young woman, maiden", and dziewica, "virgin", a word derived from the dziewa. This evokes very Artemisian imagery. Another word, from which the name of the goddess may come from, may be the old Polish dziwy, "wild". It has also been argued that Devana comes from Dyeus, making her cognate with Diana.

Sidebar: Many use Diana as supporting evidence for PIE goddess called Diwona, who is the wife of Dyeus and a trifunctional goddess. I have thoughts on this that we will get into another time, but suffice it to say I do not believe the reconstructed Diwona(specifically as a consort of Dyeus) would be cognate with Rtkona. That said, I believe I have stated it before that I believe Rtkona to be the sister and wife of Rudlos. Rudlos' identification with Dyeus in later cultures could possibly account for this confusion.

There is a folkloric myth of her rebellious character angering her father(either Perun or Svarog, depending on the tribe), she acts with hubris towards the other gods and their power, claims she should rule all three realms. Her father fights her, and she ultimately loses after putting up a good fight. She is then wed to her father's enemy and rival, Veles.

Her role in the ushering in of spring and fertility is opposed and counterpart to that of Morana/Marzanna, goddess of winter and death, cognate of PIE Kolya.

I believe both of these roles contain elements of slavic dualism(likely gained from Zoroastrian influence). Veles is not cognate with Rudlos(though he may have influenced by him in many ways, and is sometimes thought to be a cognate of the PIE god Welnos), Just as Perun is not cognate with Dyeus(although he is cognate with Perkwunos). But I believe the cults of both to have been influenced by them.

Bendis/Kotys, The nocturnal huntress

A Thracian goddess, heavily syncretized with Artemis when her cult was imported to Attica. A goddess of hunting, the moon, nature, and maybe motherhood . Her name is thought to derive from a Proto-Indo-European stem *bʰendʰ-, meaning 'to bind, unite, combine'.

She was often depicted in Thracian style dress, with boots, a fox-skin or phrygian cap. She is accompanied by satyrs and maenads. Her festivals were primarily nocturnal.

They may have blended her with another Thracian Goddess, Kotys/Kotytto. Her name is believed to have meant "war, slaughter", akin to Old Norse Höðr "war, slaughter". Worship of Kotys was apparently adopted publicly in Corinth, and perhaps privately in Athens about the same time, and was connected, like that of Dionysus, with licentious frivolity. It also included a baptismal ceremony. Kotys was often worshiped during nocturnal ceremonies, which were associated with rampant insobriety and obscene behavior.

Her worship may have spread as far as Italy and Dorian Sicily. Later art from Thrace showed her as a huntress-goddess similar to Artemis, but in literature she was instead compared with the Oriental-Greek-Roman Cybele (Great Mother of the Gods).

Those who celebrated her festival were called Baptes, which means "bathers," from the purifications which were originally connected with the solemnity: the pre-worship purification ceremony involved an elaborate bathing ritual. Notably to me, this evokes the water connection and the death of Actaeon/bathing myth of Artemis.

Also notable is her named festival, the Cotyttia, an orgiastic, nocturnal rite, calling to mind the orgiastic masked dances the Dorians performed for Artemis. It originated with the Thracian tribe called the Edones, reportedly as a celebration of the rape of Persephone. Throughout Thrace it was celebrated secretly in the hills at night, and was notorious for its obscenity and insobriety.

Through influence of trade and commerce, the Edonian form of the festival spread to Athens, Corinth, and Chios, where its mark became so pronounced that "companion of Cotytto" apparently became synonymous with "slut".

In Sicily the rites of Cotyttia were much more mundane, celebrating the waxing aspect of Persephone.

Freyja, The Lady of the Slain

Before we get to our two eastern cognates, I want to look at a more out there goddess of the nordic pantheon. While she may not be directly cognate, and may even be originally from another, non-IE culture, now lost to time, I believe she may very well have been influenced by Rtkona. I believe one of the best arguments for a potential connection is fact that she is so tied to her husband, Óðr, who is a well known hypostasis of Odin.

Freyja(literally "The Lady") is a goddess of many things, love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). She rides a chariot pulled by cats, owns a falcon feather cloak that allows her to transform into the bird, and is associated with boars. Her father is Njörðr, the first husband of Skaði.

Freyja assists other deities by allowing them to use her feathered cloak, is frequently invoked in matters of fertility and love, and is frequently sought after by powerful jötnar who wish to make her their wife. She also gets first pick of the war dead, taking them to her hall, before Odin gets to take his pick of the lot for Valhalla.

Scholars have debated whether Freyja and the goddess Frigg, who is also called the highest goddess and also the wife of Odin, and is a goddess of motherhood, marriage, and fertility, ultimately stem from a single goddess common among the Germanic peoples. They have connected her to the valkyries, female battlefield choosers of the slain, and analyzed her relation to other goddesses and figures in Germanic religion, including the thrice-burnt and thrice-reborn Gullveig/Heiðr, the goddesses Gefjon, Skaði, Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa, Menglöð, and the 1st century CE "Isis" of the Suebi.

Outside of theories connecting Freyja with the goddess Frigg, some scholars, such as Hilda Ellis Davidson and Britt-Mari Näsström, have theorized that other goddesses in Norse religion, such as Gefjon, Gerðr, and Skaði, may be forms of Freyja in different roles or ages.

I am not personally convinced of Freyja being a cognate proper, but I believe her connections to other goddesses, namely Skaði and Frigg, and her sharing some notable symbols and connections to Odin, may indicate her either having been formed from a offshoot of Rtkona or was simply influenced by her cult after her adoption by the Indo-European germanic peoples.

Eastern(Indo-Iranian/Anatolian) cognates:

I have struggled to find a solid Indo-Iranian(or Anatolian) cognate for Rtkona, and have come to the conclusion that her cult was not as widespread among the peoples that became the Indo-Iranians, or she simply hadn't formed into the reconstructable Rtkona, who must have solidified much of character later by the time the Indo-Iranians split off.

I have seen it hypothesized that Artemis formed in Anatolia, with Apollon, and emigrated to Greece with him from Lycia. If this were the case, Ephesia would likely represent an older form of her cult, giving a strong mother/fertility aspect in place of a virgin one. If this were the case, than we can put together a short evolution of her cult.

She her most archaic form would have a strong motherly fertility aspect to her, which may or may not have included references to her being a "virgin", in marital or sexual sense. She lost aspect in favor of slightly younger, virginal one, but retained authority over childbirth and fertility.

Lycia itself, the religion before its adoption of Luwian deities, could have looked like, Apollon(the chief deity), his sister/wife Artemis, and some worship of their mother + other lesser deities. It definitely would have been altered heavily by the other Anatolian cultures and the other peoples of the ANE. We'll get into this later in the third part of the series.

Inara, Daughter of the Thunderer

Hittite goddess of the wild animals of the steppe and daughter of the Storm-god Teshub/Tarhunt. I want to draw some parallels here real quick. Artemis and Diana are the daughters of Zeus and Jupiter respectively. Devana is the daughter of Perun. If Diwona is a name of the reconstructed Rtkona, then it would specifically indicate her role as a daughter of Dyeus, not a consort figure, although this would be a bit strange linguistically.

Not a great connection, but the Anatolian connection is always difficult. Between poor attestation and the heavy ANE substrate, it's always difficult to sift through.

Aranyani, Queen of the forests

This one is a stretch, but worth mentioning in my opinion. The rigvedic goddess of forests and wild animals. Aranyani(literally "forest") has one of the most descriptive hymns in the Rigveda. The Aranyani Suktam (Hymn 146 in the 10th mandala of the Rigveda) describes her as being elusive, fond of quiet glades in the jungle, and fearless of remote places.

In the hymn, the supplicant entreats her to explain how she wanders so far from the fringe of civilization without becoming afraid or lonely. She wears anklets with bells, and though seldom seen, she can be heard by the tinkling of her anklets. She is also described as a dancer(as is Artemis in many instances, especially archaic traditions). Her ability to feed both man and animals though she 'tills no lands' is what the supplicant finds most marvelous. The hymn is repeated in Taittiriya Brahmana and interpreted by the commentator of that work.

Parvati, The Great Mother

The wife and divine consort of Rudra/Shiva. Parvata (पर्वत) is one of the Sanskrit words for "mountain"; "Parvati" derives her name from being incarnated as the daughter of king Himavan (also called Himavata, Parvata) and mother Menavati. King Parvata is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas; Parvati implies "she of the mountain". She also has many titles associating her with mountains. Her famous epithet Uma connects her with marriage, loyalty, and love.

She is also associated with and referred to as Durga and Mahakali. Mahakali wields a sword, wears a garland of severed heads, and protects her devotees and destroys all evil that plagues the world and its beings.

Durga is a major goddess in her own right, worshiped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Her name is translated as "Invincible" or "Fortress", however I believe one of the most accurate is is "Difficult to pass". She is well known for her demon-slaying and wielding a variety of weapons. She is also known a patron and protector of children, like Artemis.

The historian Ramaprasad Chanda stated in 1916 that Durga evolved over time in the Indian subcontinent. A primitive form of Durga, according to Chanda, was the result of "syncrtism of a mountain-goddess worshipped by the dwellers of the Himalaya and the Vindhyas", a deity of the Abhiras conceptualized as a war-goddess. Regardless, she is a well evidenced ancient goddess.

She is also called Ambika, who is described variously as sister and consort/wife of Rudra/Shiva, and has a myths that parallel the myths of Actaeon and Orion. Rolinson of Arya Akasha has an excellent article explaining this connection which I will link here. I will warn those of you who are familiar with my work on Rudlos, that Rolinson considers Rudlos and his cognates to be cognate with Dyeus. While I myself do not share this view, they were certainly associated with each other and this far from a bad take on their connection. That said, I personally remain unconvinced at this time our their being the same deity.

I myself connect her husband Rudra to Apollon(and both of them to the reconstructed Rudlos), both of whom share many features with Artemis and the other cognates listed above, especially in regards to hunting, animals, wild nature, and war. She herself is 'Mistress of Wild Animals" closely paralleling Artemis' role(and the other cognates for that matter) as goddess of animals and nature. She is closely associated with lions and tigers(Rudra wears a tiger loincloth), and Artemis in particular is noted for having been associated with cats in some earlier Potnia Theron depictions and via interpreatio graeca with Egyptian Bastet.

Most importantly to me, she shows us the motherly and consort aspects of Rtkona that the western cognates often seem to obscure, via her marriage and children with Shiva. They were even worshiped in a combined form, called Ardhanarishvara.

Outside of this, I have found parsing through any post-Vedic text for potential links to be both tedious and difficult to parse for a variety reasons.

In the next part of this series, we will put these pieces to together to form a better picture of Rtkona and the ways that we might worship her. I may update this most if I come across something that I feel is important enough to add to our pool of sources.

[purposeastro]

A bit More about 2025

We are moving towards a very negative and bad era for humans. Animals are already getting wiped off from the face of the earth which is a warning sign for humans. It's a god's way of telling that humans are next!

Things are going to move very quickly as the Jupiter is a slow planet but is moving quickly. 2025 is a total Mars energy. On 29 March 5 planets Rahu, Venus, Sun, Moon & Neptune with Saturn will be in Pisces sign. Pisces is the last zodiac Sign and rules over the water bodies. These 6 signs are aspecting on the first house. Jupiter is acting as a Hindering planet.

June to November there is high chances of War. Many changes in workplace will be seen. Everyone will get lazy. I'm feeling lazy for quite sometime too. There'll be layoffs in office and people will work from home. A lockdown due to a pandemic can occur. Mysterious diseases will spread. AI will take over people and replace humans. There'll be increase in people's loneliness that everyone will prefer to talk with AI more than a real human.

The person who never got angry will get angry and vice versa things will happen. There'll be fire in many places. People having pro skills will rise. It's high time to develop a skill which can be beneficial for this time. Agriculture will be on rise as the demand of items will increase with less supply due to war pandemic, etc.

War and natural calamities will fall together on humans. Due to Pisces sign all the water bodies will become active. People near the coastline are in Danger ⚠️ Tornados, flood, earthquake can happen.

There'll be increase in theft all around the world. Meat Eaters who want to stay alive please become vegan otherwise even god won't save 🙏 Work of Doctors will increase. Doctors, psychologist will be on the rise. Increase in road accidents too can be seen. North Node Rahu in Aquarius will expand AI to the TOP. Cases of divorce will increase. People will struggle more mentally.

People from all over the world will start going to India. There's lot of news about people visiting India. Trade, civil war. People will become more spiritual. People will get into yoga, etc. There will be a rise in Sanatan Dharma.

Dharma : Dharma is cosmic order or law. Dharma can best be explained as conduct that upholds universal natural laws, and when humankind follows these laws, it allows them to be happy and prevent suffering. It's a combination of morality and spiritual discipline that guides one in living one's life.

[niyasruledbyvenus]

How did you start and elarn abt vedic astrology and for what do you use it for?

Overview {Vedic astrology or “Jyotish” is an ancient Indian system of astrology rooted in the Vedas/ Hindu scriptures. It interprets the influence of celestial bodies such as planets (Grahas), stars (nakshatras), and constellations (Rahis) on human life and events. It also uses divisional charts (Vargas), Dashas, and transits to predict personal life events.}

I have went through some messed up things especially in my childhood. Which drew me to astrology and psychology. Kind of a way that I was subconsciously trying to find answers. I started learning Vedic astrology after I learned almost everything about tropical because some parts wasn’t resonating with me. It just felt too surface level to me. I needed a deeper analysis.

I feel Vedic astrology is more accurate when it comes to predicting things like future spouse, career, children, etc. More in depth when it comes to one’s thoughts, soul mission, personality, positive & negative qualities. Also, you can predict world events more accurately. In Vedic the description of planets & houses are less black and white when it comes to how they function. Cough cough, or should I say sugarcoated

Even when you get into nakshatras of someone’s chart. The things they say and the way they act start to make sense because it correlates to the deity/story of the nakshatra.

I kind of started off by watching YouTube videos from sidereal/ Vedic astrologist like KRS & Claire Nakti then I started doing my own research by reading.

Here’s some resources I can think off the top of my head

Vedic blogs

@vindelllas

@yourmyheaven

@conceptionsofconciousness

@kiraastro

@amtalchemy

@chitra111goddess

@lychee-angelica

@venussaidso

@laifromthecosmos

@shukraastro

@makingspiritualityreal

YouTube Channels

Thehiddenoctave

Claire nakti

KRS channel

Vic Dicara’s Astrology

Joni patry

AstroMartine

Addittya Tamhankar Podcasts

Poonman Dutta (Satyamshakti)

astrologyloka

Daquan jones

Dr Arjun Pai Astrology

Vedic Oracle

Websites

Books

https://ia904500.us.archive.org/5/items/1050-astrology-books_202107/Bepin%20Behari_Fundamentals%20of%20Vedic%20Astrology.pdf

https://vedicastroamit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yoga-Jyotish-book.pdf

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Continuing the legacy of the Rigvedic priests and spreading my Indraite propaganda with @inc0rrectmyths and @hydestudixs

Art credits: Vimanika Arts, David Benzal, Bhairav Pujari (and idk the rest so if any of you know pls lmk)

[rishabh4832]

#गुरुनानकजी_के_गुरु_कौन

.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, singing the glory of the Supreme God Kabir Ji, in his words, has written in Kabir Sagar,

Chapter - Agam Nigam Bodh, page 44:

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Hakka Kabir Karim Tu

[vedicinsights]

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATION PART 18

When Rahu or Ketu is placed in Aquarius in the 5th or 9th house, and the Rahu or Ketu Mahadasha is in effect, the native’s belief system or morals may undergo significant changes. This is because the nodes are unconventional planets, and Aquarius is a revolutionary and eccentric sign, causing these planets to behave unusually in this position. The 5th house represents our belief system, while the 9th house signifies morals and higher learning.

LET ASTROLOGY CHOOSE YOU

[marsprincess889]

NAKSHATRAS AS GODDESSES

2/27

👄🥀BHARANI🛶

DISCLAIMER: This is based solely on my research and the patterns that I saw. I can't promise that I'm gonna be sure in all the coorelations, but I'm going to attribute each nakshatra a goddess that I think fits it the closest. If you're dissapointed, to make up for it, I'm going to list some other deities in the end that I think also fit the nakshatra. Don't come for me if you think I'm wrong, be respectful in the comments if you think so and have fun 🤍

For Bharani I chose a goddess that I love personally and while I definitely see her connection to Bharani, I still hesistated when putting her here. Not much research was needed while writing as I had already researched almost everything that I could find about her and knew tons. Without further ado, let's start.

Freya

Pantheon: Norse

Name meaning: Lady, mistress

Associations: Love, sexuality, beauty, fate, death, war, magic, cats, gold and amber.

Symbols: Cats, swines, falcons, amber and gold, daisies, swords, romantic music, strawberries, aurora borealis(northern lights)

Freya is a strong, powerful Norse goddess of love, sex, war and death. She has a chariot pulled by gray cats, a loyal boar_ Hildisvíni, that she rides on when in battle, a cloak made of falcon feathers that allows her to shapeshift and the most beautiful piece of jewelry in the world: her necklace Brisingamen.

Her brother is Freyr (lord), god of fertility, agriculture and male virility. Her family comes from the tribe of gods called the Vanir. They're peaceful gods, connected to all civilised earthly matters. The other tribe- Aesir, are said to live in Asgard, away from them. A war broke out between the two tribes. Eventually, a peace negotiation was settled: Freya and Freyr would go to the Aesir as a gesture and would live with them. Despite being Vanir, Freya is debatably the highest standing Norse goddess, comparable in power only to Frigg- the queen of the gods. Some sources say that she taught the Aesir the magical art of seidr, the act of seeing and influencing the future.

Unfortunately, there are not many sources available that would desctibe Freya in greater detail, and this is true for all norse gods. Despite this, some key details about her have been preserved, enough for me to coorelate her to Bharani.

Despite being a love goddess and having a husband, she's very independent, having an iron will and being particular about her preferences. Like the Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus, her origins are associated with the sea, but in a different way. She's not born from sea, but her father is the god of the sea, oceans and commerce- Njord. Despite this venus associations, she's also a maiden goddess (not unlike Persephone) associated with death and war.

It is known that viking warriors who died in battle had the privillege of entering Valhalla- a kind of heaven presided over by Odin, the chief Norse god. While that's true for half of the warriors, the other half went with Freya in Fólkvangr, where lies her hall- Sessrúmnir. Moreover, it was Freya who had the first pick, Odin had to be content being second.

Her husband, Odr, was frequently away. Missing him, she would cry tears that would turn gold when falling on the ground, and amber if they fell into the sea. She loved her husband, but also had untamed sexuality that was notorious. It was rare in those times as a woman to express yourself sexually and to do so with so much passion and courage, so, it's no wonder why this goddess survived as an important figure for many women.

There's a myth about Freya and her desire being so strong, it causing her pain. The desire was for a necklace made by the dwarves. It was of gold and amber and immidiately captivated her. She went to acquire it but the only price the dwarves would offer was her spending one night with each of them. Feeling like she had no choice, Freya agreed. When her husband found out about her betrayal, he left her and went to the sea. Freya cried and cried but he was nowhere to be seen. After some time, she learned he that he turned into a sea monster and went to him, still loving him unconditionally. Somebody saw the monster and killed Odr, not knowing it was him. Furious, Freya demanded a place for him with the Gods, so they could be together and she got her permit, so that they were reunited in the end.

Freya's names and epithets: Gefn (the giver), Hörn (flaxen_reference to her hair), Mardöll (sea shaker), Sýr (sow), Valfreyja (lady of the slain).

If you read my post about Bharani, it should not be a surprise that I coorelated Freya to this nakshatra. She rules over love, sex and death, all things Bharani. When reading about Freya and Freyr being twins, Yama (Bharani's god) and his twin sister_ Yami came to mind, especially considering that Yami was said to be free and unrestrained, just like Freya. This is also true for real life Bharani natives, because Bharani is a natural place for females, women tend to find themselves comfortable in these energies while males act restrained.

Freya's desire for her necklace and it causing her problems is also very Bharani, as explored in my Bharani post. The theme of her crying because of her love and ultimately love conquering everything is also closely connected to this nakshatra.

I also avoided choosing either Aphrodite or Persephone, because they're so polarized from each other. I do think Bharani is more Persephone, but I don't think that either of them represent Bharani completely. I see Bharani as having traits of both: Ruling over love/ sexuality but also being a maiden. Freya seemed perfect. I debated whether she was better suited for Purva Phalguni or not, but the death association made Bharani the better choice.

I'm well aware that some people think that she and Frigg are the same Goddess and they're definitely similar and there's a great possibility that they originated from the same goddess. I really don't think they're the same though. To me Freya is fire, Frigg is ice, Freya's the mistress, Frigg is the wife. Freya is the maiden, Frigg is the mother, and so on...

Deities that I attribute to Bharani other than Freya:

Persephone- Greek goddess of vegetation, spring and the underworld, "Queen of the Dead"

Bhairavi- Indian goddess, "awe-inspiring" "formidable".

Hel- Norse goddess of the dead, who's half dead, half a beautiful young girl

Inanna- Sumerian goddess very similar to Freya. Also a love/sexuality goddess and also a maiden. "Queen of the Heaven", she also decended into the underworld.

Gwenhwyfar- Queen Guinevere, Welsh goddess of sovereignity and the Earth, representing the land itself. (This one I hesitated to put but the vibes are matching, to me at least).

EDIT: So, obviously, Hades, Pluto or whatever god of death any culture has is also coorelated to Bharani, ig I forgot about them cause Bharani is so female-centered lol.

So that's it! I hope fellow Bharanis and everyone else found this entertaining and insightful. You're welcome to research all these goddesses if you wish and let me know if u think I'm right. Being my moon nakshatra, Bharani was extra pressure, but what's done is done. LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, PLEASE 🤍

[rrcraft-and-lore]

You know the Norse 9 realms perhaps. Yggdrasil, the world tree. But the idea of a world tree, cosmic tree, exists in many cultures/mythos. But what of the Vedic 14 realms? The Lokas.

Let's discuss.

As said, there are 14 worlds/realms 7 higher ones 7 lower ones.

Following?

7+7=14

We're not using Terrance Howard math here.

Okay. These are the Vedic lokas (because there is a more commonly accepted number in Hinduism - nuance moment: commonly accepted, doesn't mean it's believed in totality by everyone).

K, back to the 14 first.

The higher 7 lokas are said to be the heavens, inhabited by the gods and celestial beings more affiliated/closer to "truth" - in vedic and hindu terms, this is idea of divine truth, waking up to the realizations of the universe - maya (the grand illusion), think more awakened, fully formed, wise, have achieved some form of spiritual liberation from ego and the like). And to counter - the 7 lower are often thought of as "hells" - not exactly fire and brimstone but where you suffer the consequences of bad karma, having to live out/purify yourself.

In some iterations, yes, hellish beings to use that phrase, and demons (of a like) can occupy those lower lokas.

As mentioned earlier, in Hinduism, one of the most common take on the lokas is the: Trailokya.

Or three lokas, three spheres, planes of existence, three worlds, often considered: Earth (Bhuloka), Heaven (Svarga), Hell (Naraka), or - Earth (Bhuloka), Heaven (Svarga), and the Netherworld (Patala).

This is just a primer - because of the birth of Buddhism and it's spread, the idea of lokas spread as well to cultures that later adopted Buddhism. So there is a Tibetan Buddhist take on lokas, a Chinese Buddhist one, Vietnamese, and there is even a Jainism interpretation/belief on lokas.

[saviourmachine23]

The One Piece characters as their VEDIC ASTROLOGY SIGNS THO!!!

Luffy - Aries

Zoro - Libra

Sanji - Aquarius

Nami - Gemini

Robin - Capricorn

Chopper - Sagittarius

Usopp - Pisces

Brook - Pisces

Jimbei - Pisces

Franky - Aquarius

Law - Virgo

It just makes more sense to me idk why.

[lilmeawmeawblog]

"Work alone is your privilege, never the fruits thereof. Never let the fruits of action be your motive; and never cease to work. Work in the name of the Lord, abandoning selfish desires. Be not affected by success or failure. This equipoise is called Yoga"

--- Bhagavad Gita

[sidrashakti]

Goddess of the Week: Mut

"Lady of Heaven, Mistress of All the Gods"

Happy Fall Equinox! In honor of The Goddess, I’m starting a weekly thread studying a particular Goddess each Moonday! 🪷🪷

Week 1: Goddess Mut: "Lady of Heaven, Mistress of All the Gods"

Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was an ancient Egyptian mother goddess. Her name means “mother” in ancient Egyptian. 

Mut-the-Great, "The Great Mother,"  is considered a primal deity, associated with the primordial waters of Nu from which everything in the world was born. Some legends say Mut gave birth to the world through parthenogenesis, but more often she was said to have a husband, the solar creator god Amun-Ra.

Mut was usually depicted as a woman wearing the double crown of the kings of Egypt, representing her power over the whole of the land. In art, Mut was pictured as a woman with the wings of a vulture, holding an ankh, wearing the united crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and a dress of bright red or blue, with the feather of the goddess Ma'at at her feet. 

Mut never had the widespread popularity of some other goddesses, and was often an elite deity associated with kingly power. During the high point of her cult, the rulers of Egypt would support her worship in their own way to emphasize their own authority and right to rule through an association with Mut. Mut was worshiped in many ancient Egyptian festivals such as the Opet Festival and the Beautiful Festival of the Valley. 

Her identity has merged at times with that of other more famous Egyptian Goddesses, such as Hathor and Sekhmet. As a result, Mut has been depicted as a cobra, a cat, a cow, and  a lioness. However, she is frequently pictured with a vulture headdress, highlighting her role as a protective mother. 

Surviving temples dedicated to Mut are located in modern-day Egypt and Sudan, reflecting her widespread worship. The center of her cult in Sudan became the Mut Temple of Jebel Barkal and in Egypt the Precinct of Mut Temple in Karnak. Surrounding the Mut Temple in Karnak, on three sides, is a sacred lake called the Isheru. During her rule in the Eighteenth Dynasty, the pharaoh Hatshepsut had the ancient temple to Mut at Karnak rebuilt. 

Patricia Monaghan writes, “This creatrix, depicted variously as vulture, lioness, and crowned woman, was a punitive goddess in whose temple traitors were burned to death. She was associated with the period preceding the Nile’s annual flooding, when harvest had left the fields empty and the people relied upon stored foods. Some have theorized that she was an invented goddess, designed as a corollary to the important god Amun, but evidence shows her to be an early divinity of Thebes. (Ellis; Lesko; Müller; Wilkinson).”

During the reign of Rameses II a follower of the goddess Mut donated all his property to her temple and recorded in his tomb:

“And he [Kiki] found Mut at the head of the gods, Fate and fortune in her hand, Lifetime and breath of life are hers to command ... I have not chosen a protector among men. I have not sought myself a protector among the great ... My heart is filled with my mistress. I have no fear of anyone. I spend the night in quiet sleep, because I have a protector.” 

Mut, her son Khonsu (who is a lunar deity) and her husband Amun formed The Theban Triad, which was particularly important during the New Kingdom period when Thebes was Egypt’s capital. 

In the Payprus of Ani, there is a hymn to the Theban Triad:

“Hail to thee, O Amun, Lord of the thrones of the earth, the oldest of the gods, self-created, and creator of all things.

Hail to thee, O Mut, Lady of heaven, mistress of all the gods, the great mother, who gave birth to the sun.

Hail to thee, O Khonsu, the young, the beautiful, the beloved son, who brings light to the darkness and guides the traveler on his way.”

The following is a short excerpt of The “Crossword Stela” of Paser, circa 1150 BCE, found in the sacred Precinct of Mut is a hymn to Mut that can be read both horizontally and vertically”: 

“Great of Sunlight, Who illumines the entire land with Her rays. She is His Eye, Who causes the land to prosper, the glorious Eye of Harakhty, the Queen of what exists, the Great and Powerful Queen, Life being in Her possession.

Great of Might, Her Eye has illumined the Horizon. As to the Ennead, Their hearts are glad because of Her, the Queen of Their joy in this Her name of Sky, for the spirits go forth within it because of Her.

The Two Lands and the Netherworld thereof are light because of Her, when She has appeared in the sky. When She goes forth, all good plants are born. She Who rises early, existing in a multitude of forms, enduring as the Nurse.

Ra sees Her Might just as She sees by means of Him, since He knows Her Majesty’s beauty. The Goddesses shout for Her: food and provisions for Her, the Goddess in Uaset-Thebes.

READING FROM MUT: 

I asked Mut to describe herself and bring forth any messages she’d like to share. 

16. Demeter: Devotion, Family Growth “Demeter, help me heal my grief and pain.” 

40. Freya: Courage, Passion, Gifts “Call on Her for gifts of good and long companionship”       “I will continue to be a beginning for all of my days, even until the very end.” 

25. Blodeuwedd: Lady of the Nine Flowers     She who refuses to be possessed. “Above all else, do not be possessed.” 

Sri Ramani Pada: The Fulfiller of Wishes: “Sri Ramani Pada is a beautiful young woman. She is Icchanvati, the one who is wishful, because she has the powers of transforming through love any wish into a positive reality. She is a sensuous Yogini who frolics in the higher levels of consciousness.”

Enthusiasm: “This card describes someone who is energetic and outgoing, with a good sporty sense of fun and adventure."

Mut is a friendly Goddess, encouraging us to call upon her and build relationships with Her, regardless of our ancestry. She can transform our grief as well as be a companion to us as a face of the Divine Mother. She is particularly fond of being communicated with through intuition and astrology, and wants continued study of and research into Her myth. She is horrified by the destruction in Sudan and is with each of her children there that are suffering. Female devotees wishing for a baby are encouraged to ask her to aid in their fertility struggles. She feels the pain of all her children, and wants to help them restore their power and sovereignty through love. 

More:

Etsy

Twitter: @SidraShakti

[purposeastro]

Every Day I feel so grateful to God! 💗

The Higher power, God gave us everything without even asking. All the resources God created are free to use. Only your karmas make the difference which make us feel like "God is biased" but the truth is the Karma was not good. God is within us.

Aham Brahma Asmi

The literal translation is I AM BRAHMA. BRAHMA is the creator.

I am Divine or I am Part of God "I am (part of) Brahman", Quoted in (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)

The more you think, and DO Good the more you become Godlike. That includes caring for nature obviously.

We are smaller than the ants in the universe. But our DNA strand can wrap around 4 rounds of Earth, If I'm correct. What more evidence can tell you that we're Divine?

Divine beings do Divine things so think carefully what you're divinity is doing.

[222search]

[h0bg0blin-meat]

I think I need to make it clear for many Vaishnav (looking especially at you, ISKON) Hindu extremists (and even many Shaivites) that ya'll can have your sects and your beliefs as Vishnu or Shiva as your supreme lords. I don't have an issue with that.

But when you try to say that this is the ONLY truth about the Vedic religion (I'm not using Hinduism here because it doesn't sum up the pantheon as much as the ''Vedic" word does, despite the term being associated with the Vedas, and yes we need to come up with a better word that comprises this entire pantheon as a whole), that's when I have a problem, because that is definitely NOT the entire pantheon.

Do not spread the beliefs of your sect as the ONLY canon belief and don't speak for the people who don't fall under this category. I have seen this in all of social media and it pains me how much of a linear pantheon this once oh-so flexible culture has become.

Yes the concept of Prajapati and the Supreme being has existed since the Vedas. But when you say that Vishnu and Shiva are somehow superior to other gods as the ONLY CANONICAL BELIEF, that just flips me off, and I'm gonna call it out.

How dare you forget the four Vedas, that had no mention of such an idea? This might tick some people off but Indra, Agni, Rudra (which later became synonymous with Shiva, but is a whole different deity), Mitra, Varuna, Vayu and a few other Gods were just as much powerful as Vishnu or Shiva, if not more. This is ANOTHER canonical truth that these extremists (again, somehow mostly Vaishnav) are denying.

Ancient pantheons weren't some linear path with just one canon event. These were their own multiverses of a plethora of VARIOUS canon events, myths and legends. So stop making the Vedic religion a linear, rigid pantheon. Remember? It's not an organized religion. There can be SEVERAL canonical truths. Like I definitely understand that a religion/culture changes overtime. It evolves. Fine. Vishnu is the supreme God now, fine. But you can't deny the history. The Vedas that didn't canonize this. Are you gonna say that these Vedas, that came BEFORE this Vishnu/Shiva being the considered the supreme lord(s), were wrong? I hope not lol.

Besides, I'm not even gonna get into ISKON. They have regarded anyone that's not Vishnu as a demigod, which is ABSOLUTELY VILE AND DISRESPECTFUL. Do they even KNOW what a demigod is??? FUCK NO. They don't. They just like to use that word to inferiorize other deities, due to their unhealthy and toxic obsession with Vishnu, who doesn't deserve it. On top of that they have claimed that worshipping such gods will not lead you to eternal peace, or that it's somehow wrong. Ah yes. Gotta love gatekeeping and toxic cult fan behavior. Call me rude but if you disrespect a GOD (yes, Indra, Mitra, Varuna and others are ALSO GODS, FYI) is WILD, and they should be called out for it. (Some Shaivites have done the same in case of Shiva, and they need to be similarly called out.)

In conclusion, worship whoever tf you want, but remember that theologically, and even historically, there can be more than one canonical story. It really depends on which sect/region you belong to. You CAN be a polytheist. Idk why Hindus these days are inadvertently trying to appeal to the monotheistic pantheons so much, to the point that they have an internal dislike for polytheism, which they're not aware of, but it shows when they speak up.

This pantheon (like every other pagan pantheon back in the day) is very broad. Remember that. And it's very flexible. So let it be like that, and stop gatekeeping it and having a war between who supreme Lord is. I'll stop my yapping here. But I hope people understand this. Cuz damn.

[rishabh4832]

#श्रीशिवजी_किसकाध्यान_धरतेहैं

.

Is there a mystery behind Ganga coming to God Shiva?

.

#sanatandharma

#SantRampalJiMaharaj

[cleapallea]

I am planning to learn Vedic astrology once I have enough knowledge of Western astrology, and since this is a lifetime learning experience, I know I need equal effort, hard work, and time. While they say people with good analysis, memorization of functions, rules, etc., and knowledge of mathematical and calculation aspects are likely to learn about it,  I have no problem with that, except for one thing: sometimes I give up when I see there is no purpose at all. So, thanks to God, please lend me the strength to continue this thing.