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Agni

The five elements form the basis of life and the panchanga. Both are central to jyotish. These five limbs
or energies of time are the carriers of the five elements and are based on the tabulations of the positions
of Sun and Moon. Each true planet: Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter carries the energy of one
of the five elements: fire, water, air, earth and space (akash). (Sun is a star, Moon is a satellite, Rahu
and Ketu are eclipse points)
The first element, fire (agni), has a physical, mental and spiritual aspect.
In the spiritual sense, Vedic people worshiped Agni as a god. He is the brother of Indra (lord of the
heavens and leader of the devas), the most powerful god from antiquity…
The first word of the canonical Rig Veda (Sukta 1.1) is appealing to Agni: aghnimīḷe purohitaṃ
yajñasya devaṃ ṛtvījam (I Laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice,…)
The ancient Vedic people believed that the gods are the celestial controllers who are subtle but potent
forces of nature and only through Agni can they connect with them (Agni Purana) by yajna (spiritual
ritual where the fire is seen as the carrier of offerings to the gods). The ancient seers (rishis) saw with
their inner eye, Agni relaying the aspirant’s prayers to the divine realms, insuring the growth and
prosperity of humanity. In this metaphysical/spiritual sense Agni digests and transforms the prayers,
mantras, hopes and desires just as physical fire consumes and transforms what it comes into contact
with.

Feeding Agni during fire ritual


These spiritual rituals (yajna) mimic how agni
functions in the mind and body. Digestive
juices in the stomach (the home of physical
agni) “cook” or transform food into energy
(heat) and ultimately into consciousness
(light). Agni is the fire (tejas) of the mind
(manas), giving us the ability to digest mental
impressions, experience, knowledge and
wisdom. Agni is also associated with the eyes,
which digest light.
In ancient Greek mythology, Heraclitus
believed the primal substance of the cosmos
was fire. But unlike the Vedic priests who
invoked Agni through a fire ceremony, the mythic hero of the Greeks, Prometheus, at great personal
cost, used stealth instead and stole the fire from the gods to free humanity so it could evolve out of its
dark, barely above animal existence and begin the process of civilization.
Prometheus brings fire to mankind

“Any technological advance can be dangerous. Fire was dangerous from the start, and so (even more
so) was speech- and both are still dangerous to this day -but human beings would not be human
without them.”
― Isaac Asimov

Modern archeologists and anthropologists credit the use


of fire with the birth and development of civilization.
Humans are the only creatures on this planet that use
fire for cooking. Most animals spend a large part of
their days (or nights) gathering food, ruminating or
resting. Herbivores are either grazing or migrating like
nomads in search of food, while predators follow the
herds stalking and chasing. Both are eating their food
raw. Raw food is taxing on the system and requires
more metabolic energy to digest than cooked food.
Cooking, baking or roasting is akin to pre-digesting
food for an improved absorption. A side benefit of that
is that it not only expands the available variety of foods,
but also helps prevent infections of bacterial or viral
origin. Cooking also makes dried grains, beans, herbs
etc. easily digestible.

Another important benefit of fire is the enormous


reduction of time and physical energy required for
the procurement, use and assimilation of food. It
allows us therefore to spend much more time on
spiritual, artistic, social, creative or scientific
occupations…for example, writing, painting,
philosophizing, studying, researching or
meditating etc.

Sueann in Jaimini Sutra class in Bhimtal Uttaranchal India


Fire is also nourishing our psyche in the form of light, its sister aspect, which is the sine qua non of all
learning, seeing and knowing. And although light is also used by lower animals, the added use of fire
gives humans an edge over merely “seeing in the moment” what is, and allows us to develop the ability
to introspect, to reflect, to remember or learn from past experiences and to project reasonably
accurately future events. But more about light a little further ahead…

We begin our jyotish study with Agni as it is the spark that


initiates all processes. For instance, the creative fire sign of Aries
(Mesa-Ram) begins the cycle of the zodiac, ushering in the
spring. The raw, wild, thrusting and heroic energy of Aries is
needed to rouse the world (northern hemisphere) from it’s winter
sleep. All life forms benefit and depend on the hot energy and
explosive power of fire.

Fire ignites, matter. explodes, the universes come into being (big bang)

Fire symbolizes the masculine principle, the seed planted into


the fertile Earth (the feminine principle or water). Agni energy
in the semen drives the spermatozoa to swim in competition
with millions of others, all focused on the goal of fertilizing the
passive, awaiting ovum…
Agni, as the energy of the fire signs, fire houses, fire padas as
well as other aspects of the jyotish chart represents the first
goal (ayana) of human life, called dharma: (skt; dhr - “to hold,
maintain, keep”) finding direction, purpose, meaning, right action.

A look at world history and events leaves little doubt that the more destructive aspect of agni
(adharma) represented by Mars (rather than the Sun) is the predominant influence on this world. Our
recorded history is mostly about conquests and war. And even attempts to promote positive intentions
and prayers in a desperate desire for peace, would often lead to inaction toward warmongers until the
only answer to save the situation was war. Our history is filled with the deeds of great heroes; warrior
leaders like Rama, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Ashoka, George Washington, Napoleon,
Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill, or wicked tyrants like Genghis Khan, Aurangzeb, Hitler, Stalin
or Mao Zedong. The greatest epics of all time, the Iliad, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are bloody
war poems, as are the battles described in the Old Testament and the Koran.

Rama and his army battle with Ravana and his forces
The more recent history of humanity is also a string of wars and conquests with every inch of territory
and every scrap of property changing hands multiple times after varying degrees of bloodshed. It is no
wonder with Mars ruling land and property.
By comparison, out poets, musicians, scientists, industrial giants, inventors and researchers occupy a
much smaller page in our history, right next to the saints, reformers and founders of religions. And even
the best intentioned religions were often harassed by followers of competitive schools of thought which
in itself ended up causing many wars.

Mangala aka Kuja, Skanda


My war digression is to make the point that the red-hot planet, Mars, also named Bhauma or son of
Bhumi, the Earth Mother, rules our little planet Earth (Bu-loka) and is the battle ground of these forces
and seems to remain such into the foreseeable future. We may not be able to change that, but what we
can and should do, is learn to understand the dynamics and the rules of how to maneuver effectively.
We can do that by observing the planetary danger times and zones from our charts and planets in transit
and to keep our minds safe from the influences of tamasic Mars by use of mantras and other remedial
measures.
The Sun and Mars represents agni in jyotish, but in the panchanga Mars rules.
Agni is described as having 7
tongues representing the 7 rays or
seven forms. Surya, the Sun god in
his day-creating chariot, driven by
seven horses, is the light of agni
tattva. Surya is the spiritual side of
agni; the sarva-atma-karaka, the
universal soul, “the One without a
second.” If we were to apply the
principle of the three gunas, the Sun
is sattva guna; pure light. Surya is
the center of the solar system, it
represents the pure light of agni so
the days of the week begin with
Sun(day) and end with cold
Saturn(day), the planet furthest from the Sun. Mars (Mangala) on the other hand, is tamasic.

Surya in his chariot


Mars, as described previously, is associated with hot-blooded passion, often causing aggression and
destruction, while Sun symbolizes the shining light of Truth, as in “light is the best disinfectant” and
credited with encouraging balance.
As ruler of the Bu-Loka (planet Earth) Mars is the physical side of agni; the energy of heat and visible
forms and as such is deemed the ruler of the first limb of the panchanga called Vara (skt. vasa: to sit,
ra: seed sound of Agni), or day of the week. Only the seven visible planets with physical existence can
qualify as lords of the week days which is why the shadow planets Rahu and Ketu are excluded. Each
day holds the energy of agni and the day of the week one is born holds valuable clues to the health of
an individual. By studying this planet, called the vara lord, based on the day of the week a person is
born, we can discern the problematic influences on the vara lord and be alerted to possible issues with
energy level, health and vitality and take precautions. Which planet it is, where it is placed, who it is
associated with… one can ascertain strengths and weaknesses and find remedies, if needed, to address
them.

In other limbs of the panchanga ruled by other elements agni also plays a role. For instance in the limb
ruled by water (jala) called tithi (phase of the Moon, there are 15 tithis each with a ruling deity), Agni
initiates the tithi scheme by ruling the first one. Nakshatras, the limb ruled by the air element, also has
Agni ruling the nakshatra Krittika, the first nakshatra of the earliest lunar zodiac.
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atharvaveda).

Ps. Thank you for reading… feedback, comments, corrections, constructive criticism (I have Venus in
Krittika , I can handle it as long as it is well meaning please) . I hope to be adding more as I learn more
about the nakshatras particularly Krittika.

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