Grahas – The Planets
Graha : Sanskrit: To grasp, to hold, to seize.
Surya – Sun
The sun in the chart is the Great Light which reflects the Light of the Soul and its journey in this lifetime. The 12 sign zodiac is reflective of the 365 days the sun takes to “travel” through he zodiac. 1 degree ° every day. One solar month is roughly 30 days, one zodiac sign is 30° (degrees)
Each ‘zodiac sign’ called ‘rashi’ in Sanskrit.
The 12 solar months connect to the 12 Adityas, the sons of Aditi, the primeval mother goddess, often represented as a cow. The 12 adidyas are honoured through each pose of the 12-posture sequence of Surya Namaskar – The Sun Salutation, commonly practiced in Hatha Yoga. Aditya is another name for the Sun.
Wherever the sun is placed in the chart, shows the main magnetic focus upon which the rest of the planets in your chart revolve around. Surya’s location indicates the area of life in which you desire to shine; a key area of life in which your talents, gifts and strengths can find expression in this lifetime.
Surya links us to the element of Fire – Agni Tattva. The element of fire grants us vision, allowing us to see; governing the sense of sight and the eye. Surya, in particular connects to the right eye. Agni the process of digestion, discrimination and discernment – separating what is useful from what is not. Agni governs the heat in our body, desire and is essentially the power of transformation.
A strong sun will generally give strong leadership qualities, however, often there can be issues around power, control and domination, there may be relationship issues. In the puranic myths, Surya was too bright for his wife Sanjana, who needed a break from her husband, leaving a shadow of herself in place! (this led to a whole series of events too vast for this piece) – however the key theme is to recognise that wherever the Sun is placed, it has a tendency to burn, to be ‘too hot’. It can be difficult to get close to a strong Sun.
Western astrology places much importance on the sun sign – which is what is referred to when people ask “what is your star sign” – they are asking, where was the sun located when you were born.
Moon (TBC) … x
Darinka Maja 