October is a gentle time of year, marking quiet tenderness of the seasonal change from warmth to coolness of air, and in the wild places and temples, beautiful flowers still bloom. One of my favourite ones during this time are the cosmos flowers, which bloom from summer until first frost. They are so wonderful to see and always bring me so much joy and sweetness. Fun fact – they actually smell really sweet; the ones in our garden literally smell like honey!
The name “cosmos” comes from the Greek word kosmos, meaning “world,” “order,” or “harmony”. Even back in the day, Spanish priests who cultivated these flowers in Mexico named it this way because of the symmetrical and evenly placed petals, which they felt reflected the order and harmony of the universe. Another meaning of the flower is that its name means “beautiful”, and is sometimes associated with the idea of a balanced universe.
When I think of Tropical Libra, and this time of year with Corvus constellation rising, as well as the beginning seeds of the sidereal Hasta nakshatra, cosmos flowers are the perfect and most beautifully aligned – because cosmos flowers symbolize order, harmony and balance, reflecting the beauty and tranquility of the universe.
They also represent love, peace and joy, and to me personally, they often remind me of the sacred art of self adornment and nature’s beauty. As a child I called them “rings”, because each time I’d walk past them in nature, I’d slip my hand under their gorgeous petals – and I’d be adorned with the most beautiful ring of all! And I still do. Each time I see the cosmos flowers, here I am again, hand slipped under the petals! I can’t help it – being eternally romanced by nature’s beauty.
Last time in The Dharma of Each Nakshatra I shared with you about the spiritual evolution and dharma of each nakshatra and the importance of its understanding in order to step into our higher path of life. I discussed Ardra and Rohini, and I’ve also written in depth about the beautiful dharma of Punarvasu in The Dharma of Punarvasu Nakshatra., as well as about Bharani and the magnolia trees in The Dharma of Bharani Nakshtra.
Today, as we are in the beginning of October, and the cosmos flowers are blooming their wisdom of balance and harmony, reflecting the beauty of the universe, the sun travels along the left arm of the celestial virgin, entering the lunar mansion of Hasta. So what a perfect time, with my cosmic ring, to dive into the dharma of Hasta nakshtra and the wisdom this time of year has.
Regardless of whether or not you have Hasta touch your planets, whether natally or by transit, or you just seek to deepen your knowledge through different spiritual perspectives, may this be enriching to you.
Of soil and stars
As above, so below. To understand celestial wisdom, we must also understand the soil and seasonal intelligence. In the Tropical zodiac, sidereal Hasta relates to the second decan of Libra, which time wise happens in the beginning of October.
If you were to take a telescope and look up the sky during that time, you would see the sun move along the left arm of the celestial virgin within the Virgo constellation; I call her the woman of earth and faith, the bridge between soil and heavens, the spiritual and the physical.
In ancient astrology, and astronomy, she was often portrayed as woman who travels the horizon laying on her back – in her left hand she’d often be imagined as holding a branch of wheat, symbolizing her connection to earth, service to others and staying humble, while her right arm would be raised towards the sky, showing her deep connection to her faith, to god and the divine.
This part of the sky essentially holds within its hands two worlds – the physical and the spiritual; and reminds us of the importance of our spiritual core and higher intention into what we do and give to others.
There is humility here in the way she serves and her daily effort with the symbolism of making bread – recognizing the divine in the ordinary, and being mindful of what we feed, make and give to others. With integrity and higher values, she uses her hands to uplift, rather than control or for her own self interests. Essentially, this is at the core of Hasta also: using our hands for others.
In this part of the sky, whenever I see someone has their natal planets here, I always speak of surrender and the power of faith and trust, as well as the power of creation and being mindful of what we make, give and support. Hasta is a Moon ruled nakshatra, and as such, part of the Brahma trimurti, so it holds within itself the themes of spiritual development, intuition, creativity and the element of water.
Brahma is connected with Svadhishtana, which in Sanskrit translates to “one’s own base”, “having a good standing place”, and in our body this relates to our navel or sacral chakra. The navel and sacral are associated with creation, with pleasure, and also, with the unconscious and with deeper emotions. It is a water space, and it is also about our nurturing and nourishment we receive, and then give.
Hasta is ruled by Savitar, the creative, inspirational and transformative form of the Sun God. Each nakshatra has feminine manifestation power or shakti; or in other words, is like the feminine soil within which a seed is planted, and something is born.
The feminine manifestation power of Hasta is known as “hasta sthapaniya agama shakti” – which essentially means that the power that Hasta gifts us is the ability to gain what we are seeking and place it in our own hands.
Usually this relates to creative things, as Savitar is the creative will that builds up the universe with all of its beauty, but it can be anything or any other goal the Hasta native seeks to have or make or gain.
Hasta means hands – so here it becomes really important to put in the effort into what we desire and seek to create in life; but it also holds a promise that our efforts, under these stars and skies, will have success. As such, it is important to choose high aspirations, and keep working with dedication towards them.
The dharma of Hasta is a beautiful one, and if I were to phrase it simply, I’d say,
With knowledge in my hands I give, to rise and to uplift you.
Here we find the hands of love, reminding us that love isn’t just about speaking it, it is about moving it, becoming it, embodying it, and using our light and knowledge to uplift others, rather than control them or for our own benefit.
Love isn’t a thing that sweeps us away like an ocean always. Instead, I believe it actually gathers us into the body of the present moment so deeply, so wholly, that almost all of our explanations or reasonings fall away. In such a moment, so deep into the present, the ordinary comes alive in the most beautiful ways, and timelessness takes us. The ordinary, in all of its plain and simple, begins to shine, becomes luminous, alive. Everything awakes. Every facet of our world awakes, and you within it.
Love asks us to become her hands – to hold one another, to hug, to give. Love desires us to become her lips, her tongue – to speak beauty into the world, to speak love, to speak kindness. Love desires us to become her walking, her rhythm – to become kindness and patience of rhythm, to move in grace, to move in harmony.
Love is to have the eyes of love – to be able to hold someone’s tears, sadness, grief with compassion and tenderness; while also being able to hold them in a vision of goodness and joy, health and wellness, so that when they share their dreams and hopes and their most vulnerable parts of themselves, you hold it all with love, not doubt. It’s really important to have people in your life who are able to hold this space for you, and hold this vision for you, and to be mindful whom you share your deepest self with.
In this part of the sky, from the lens of Western Tropical astrology, we see the blend of Venus and Saturn. At this time of year of Hasta, is when we enter the second decan of Libra, which is co-ruled by Saturn, so we see that love is about the small steps also – it is about the small acts kind of love, and how much it matters. It is about how we are showing up for others in our own, how can we bring more beauty, how can we be more compassionate, how can we support someone?
It’s been a difficult time lately for many people and in the collective, in our world. This time of year, with the hands of love, we are reminded that we are never alone, and that we aren’t meant to walk alone. But I know it may feel lonely sometimes. And I know that many have experienced a lot of sadness lately, we all have in our own ways. Things we thought would happen, perhaps didn’t; and now another summer behind us, a coolness in the air enters of dreams that perhaps didn’t happen yet.
And then there are other time, when we may lose sight, lose focus, get lost in things too far ahead or too far back. Sometimes we lose sight of what actually matters in our life, or get too anxious for the future. The hands of Libra love remind us to stay present. Little steps. Step by step. Do the best you can each day. Don’t be harsh on yourself and don’t impose impossibly high standards on yourself. Stay in compassion. Don’t punish yourself, don’t critisize yourself, just self reflect and perhaps tomorrow do better.
This part of the sky is a beautiful reminder that the little things matter, the present moment matters. It’s never too small a thing we can do in the present moment, so don’t stop yourself from doing something just because you may think it’s not yet enough. For example, and that’s a very simple yet common example, but often people don’t donate to causes or people because they think “oh, all I have is just a few dollars I may give, that would be embarrassing.” And so they don’t give anything. But can you image if everyone gave just a dollar?
Or, “oh, it’s just a smile, or a kind word or compliment I may give, what good would that do, they probably have so many others say nice things to them.” And so … nothing is said, and no one says anything, and no one feels supported. Can you imagine how perhaps that one kind word may make someone’s day better, fulfill them or perhaps even encourage them in the moment they felt discouraged? You never know how a seemingly small thing may turn out to be a big thing. And you never know how a little gesture may turn out to be a great love story. Big things happen often through the smallest of ways or gestures or movements or choices.
Spiritually, and through the lens of Shamanic astrology, the Libra Mystery School created the structures and traditions for sustainable long term relationships, including marriage, partnerships, agreements and commitments. The dharma is Tropical Libra has always been about finding harmony and balance, so that we may settle differences into peace. It is about interdependence, and the humility that we need to treasure, which is that we are all here together, not in isolation.
Through the lands of Venus and wisdom of Saturn, we see the rhythm, the nature of things, the ebbs and flow, the nuances and changing of leaves. We see the complexity of the human experience and emotions, and that there are many layers, which invite us to listen more intentionally to one another; to try to let go of judgments, assumptions, and categorizations.
As a spiritual astrologer I often describe Venus as our body when we sleep – the way it gently moves through the night to find itself in more comfort, more balance. Venus is that which puts into balance all that isn’t balanced yet. This also reminds us that balance is not static, it is dynamic and ever moving. It reminds us of the universal law of rhythm also.
The Antennae Galaxies are a well-known pair of interacting galaxies in Corvus – and what it actually looks like is two galaxies currently in their process of merging. Once they merge, they will become something similar to the Milky Way – an ocean of stars in marriage.
The galactic collision of these galaxies is currently in the starburst stage, and the rate of star forming activity in the region is exceptionally high.
Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA
In the image above of the Antennae Galaxies, we see what astronomers may describe as chaos. Clouds of gas are seen in bright pink and red, surrounding the bright flashes of blue star-forming regions – some of which are partially obscured by dark patches of dust.
As I mentioned above, the rate of star formation is so high right now, that the Antennae Galaxies are said to be in a state of starburst, a period in which all of the gas within the galaxies is being used to form stars. This is deeply symbolic, because creativity too often arises from a state of some “chaos”, and needs independence to thrive.
So there is a lot of creativity with Hasta, and Corvus, especially with anything related to the hands, such as sculpture, painting, architecture, jewellery, pottery making, fashion design, writing, and even consulting careers, as it’s about “bringing things together”. Just like the two galaxies, Hasta natives may build relationship skills to bring things together, or through their creativity, “make new stars” i.e. make new forms and shapes.
Hasta natives are quite well known for their intelligence, clarity of thinking and humour, which are of course very beautifully aligned to the raven or crow energy of Corvus; and there is also a lot of creativity here, with the symbolism of the hands. But what I believe is the higher purpose and dharmic path of Hasta is in what we create with our hands, and the every day movements – the way we choose to use our knowledge and abilities and light in this world, and to hopefully choose it to uplift others.
It’s the small acts with great love kind of love rippling outwards.
It’s something our world needs profoundly. A kind word, a smile, a feeling like we are not alone; because often we walk on the street and rarely people give a smile, share eye contact, or give one another compliments. There is also a lot of separation in our world, a lot of difficulties people go through, and we all go through in our own ways, and this can be very burdensome – so how can we offer more beauty and warmth in our world today?
Beauty in words, beauty in movement, beauty in gesture, beauty in our perspectives and ideas. Beauty has a spiritual purpose, and I’ve written about this in depth before – but it is essentially an opening of heart, an awe with life and presence, and a softening of our body also. It’s about deepening our relationship to awe, to goodness, to people, to one another, to beauty, to ourselves.
Become a hunter of awe, hunter of beauty. Notice, witness and amplify awe. Let the warm sun touch your skin, let yourself fall into the scent of a rose that still gifts us with sweetness, fall into the weightlessness of a moment, a touch, a melody. Let the world touch your heart, let magic reveal itself to you.
Give a compliment to someone, see something beautiful and inspiring in them, and let people know when they have helped you or inspired you or soothed you in some way.
This is not just about making our own little corners of the world better, nor is it about making our own individual lives better – it ripples outward. This is how change is made, and how it is already made. Goodness doesn’t cost anything. Kindness doesn’t cost anything.
Beauty isn’t about shallowness – it is about the essence, the movement, the grace that becomes us and moves us forward, and it radiates through us and it inspires others also. When we amplify awe, we disrupt apathy; when we amplify beauty, we amplify togetherness. Beauty isn’t about aesthetics – it is about inherent geometry of togetherness and interconnection; about how we are in the world, and it of us.
This isn’t about “being nice”, it is about anchoring a vision of the kind of world we desire to live in and build, and contribute towards living in and building. It may sound subtle, or too little – a smile, a loving word, a kindness of movement when we walk on the street – but this is the soft power found here; whether you choose to call it Hasta, or the warm Venusian Libra Sun, or the left arm of the woman of earth and faith.
In this part of the sky the hands of love are. Hands that hold the sacred knot of both strength and surrender; the process of moving winds and changing seasons, creating new things and new possibilities; and hands holding galaxies colliding, things merging only to make stars, cycles within cycles and nature rhythms.
Threads unite here and fabrics too to make beautiful dresses; and hands create beautiful art and craft that inspire others, uplifts and even heals; and there are also waters here, beautiful waters, which is why many Hasta natives are not only interested in art but also in healing professionals, especially related to water. Jewellery makers are found here also, as well as sculptors, architects, and ceramicists. With the symbolism of the celestial woman, there is birth here, so midwives are found here also as professions for Hasta natives.
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Cover photograph by me of me and the beautiful cosmos flowers in our garden that smell like honey!
For more of my writings, browse through my Art of Love.
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