Churning of the ocean of milk
The churning of the ocean of milk, is the story of how the Nodes and eclipses were formed. It is an important event in Hindu philosophy, and the most common form of the story is from the Mahābhārata – perfectly describing the symbolism of the Nodes and Eclipses.
Mohini and Vasuki, or the story of a woman, a snake, & elixir of immortality
Hindu Gods, Devas, wanted to generate soma, an elixir of immortality also known as amrit. They asked Vasuki, the serpent king of Nagas, for help. He became the churning rope wrapped around the mountain.
Devas pulled back and forth on the snake’s body, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean.
The Churning Of The Ocean, watercolor and gold on paper from the Gita Govinda manuscript ca. 1785 Kangra court Pahari School India, San Diego Museum of Art.
Ocean Birth of the Goddess of Wealth and Good Fortune
All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and subsequently, fourteen treasures known as Ratnas were produced in the process, amongst them the Sun, Moon, Lakshmi – the Goddess of Wealth, Beauty and Good Fortune, as well as her older sister Goddess Jyestha of Misfortune, other supernatural animals and treasures, as well as the elixir of immortality – soma.
Vishnu as his female avatar Mohini took charge of distributing the freshly made soma to the Gods. However, one of the demons Rahu disguised himself as a god and sat with the Devas to drink some of the elixir.
Immortal Head of the Demon
The Sun God and Moon God recognized him and warned Mohini. As Rahu was swallowing the soma, Vishnu sliced off his head with a sword. However, because the soma had passed into the throat the head had already become immortal. To avenge the Sun and Moon, Rahu chased the Sun and Moon across the sky occasionally catching and swallowing one of them which in turn would cause an eclipse. Once the victims fell out of Rahu’s mouth, the eclipse would end.
Eclipse season upon us
An Eclipse (“the act of seizing or holding”), or occultation, is formed when the Sun/Surya or Moon/Chandra is obstructed from view by a certain set of circumstances involving the Earth, Sun, and Moon. For in depth explanation please read my article from 2017 based on a lecture I attended by Ronnie Dreyer, my Jyotish teacher.
“The demons who caused the eclipse.”
Wishing you a peaceful and transformative Eclipse season.
Take time to meditate, to turn inward, and to align with the stillness of this celestial moment.
Agni Jnana Yannanda, AstroCreatrix
The One Who Speaks With The Stars
Triple Moon Goddess performance ritual by Jana Astanov
Curated by Claire Zakiewicz, Venice, Italy, 2019.
Agni Jnana is an astrologer and an artist (Jana Astanov) originally from Mazury Lake District of North-Eastern Poland and currently living in the Shawangunk Mountains of the Turtle Island. Agni Jnana, which translates from Sanskrit as Mystic Fire, comes from Old Slavonic, Agnieszka, one of the oldest Slavic names associated with the Goddess of Fire, and Joanna being Slavic Dziewanna, the Goddess of Life and Wisdom (Sanskrit Jnana) presiding over the Summer Equinox and life re-affirming rites.
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