Sanaischara, Sauri, Kala, and Chayasuta:

these are other names by which Shani is called.

Saturn has an emaciated and long physique, has tawny eyes,

is windy in temperament, has big teeth,

is indolent and lame, and has coarse hair.

"First is ignorance - not knowing the truth and not realizing that we do not know.

Second is materialism - the belief that there is nothing but the physical.

As spiritual beings, we long for the Divine, but we lose contact with this source of truth if we trust only our senses.

There is also hopelessness, which robs us of our joy and movement toward the light. "

• Taskmaster Shani's primary corrective methods = austerity, negation, refusal, denial of resources, withholding of approval, censure, punishment, forced repetition and (when fortunately place) intensive study of the law.

• Neutral Shani's ultimate target is forgiveness. The fast route toward transformation of ignorance into wisdom is always the path of forgiveness. However, absent the will to forgive, Shani the lord of Time is perfectly happy to rake the native over the coals of ignorance for as long as it takes!

How to appease Shani

• Shani is not concerned with matters of divine law, personal intelligence, happiness, or higher truth.

• Shani wants lawfulness, social-material stability, and a reliable, predictable, safe, uniform routine.

• Scarcity-thinking Shani rewards safety, austerity, minimalism, conservatism, and adherence to human social law.

• The keys to pleasing Shani are: careful attention to detailand complete neutrality while accepting responsibility for the situation one has created in order to pay off the past-life debt.

• Successful completion of Shani-regulated duty requires an attitude of responsibility without guilt

Shani regulates the repayment of debt which originated inactions which caused harmto others in past lives.

In the present lifetime, these account-balancing actions recur "on the flip side". the native is now positioned to be inconvenienced, punished, slowed, frustrated, and possibly more severely harmed.

(In general, Shani does not cause bodily harm. Hurting the body is more properly the job of Mangala the Aggressor.)

Shani's portfolio in the various rashi produces laborious, slothful, incorrigible, repetitive, change-resistant, and persistently frustrating situations .

Lawful Shani being the Karma planet, most of the saturnine behaviors have a negative, dark, rather sour and bitter quality.

Cold, dry, unyielding Shani = human behaviors which are fundamentally stubborn, persistent, punitive and slow.

However, on the plus side, Shani trusts in the Law and calmly supports its application to all situations of Life.

• Shani does not waste energy in His own or friendly signs. Indeed, when well placed, Shanaicarya = a paragon of austerity, elegant simplicity, and skillful conservation of material resources. Social-regulator Shani promotes a culture of equitable distribution of resources and Safety Above All .

  • In Makara, Kumbha, and Thula, enforces lawful governments, regulated economies, and fair contracts. Beneficial results.

  Otherwise Shani's slow stubborn style of repeating the same act of ignorance again and again = quite frustrating.

• Shani's friends = Budha the Accountant, Shukra the Balancer

• Enemies of Dark, Harsh, Frozen Shani = Surya the Brilliant Light, Chandrathe Gentle Nurturer,Kuja the Vital Birther

• Neutral = Brihaspati the Wise Teacher

Growing old is Mandatory.

Growing up is Optional.

Shani represents those tasks, duties, relationships, experiences, and perceptions which we must perform over and over.... and over and over... until Ignorance has been converted into Wisdom. Shani rules Chronicity, obligatory repetition, natural laws, Time, routine, drill.

• Shani rewards attention to detail. Shani rewards punctuality, regularity, discipline, modesty, conformity, stability, predictability, and safety. Shani punishes innovation, recklessness, illicit and adventurous behaviors, curiosity, creativity, and fun.

After determining Shani's character by rashi, drishti, and bhava, consider making a commitment to Shani. For example, Shani in 7 requires a commitment to exceptionally regular practice in marriage.

A conventional approach to religion is required by Shani in 9.

In 2, He demands (what seems like) nearly infinite repetition of difficult family matters and financial disappointment, until a sufficient humility is in place; however as with all bhava once the native admits the severe karmic ignorance of Shani and asks for help, the ignorance is already well on its way to becoming wisdom. Admitting one's ignorance is often the most difficult step.

If Shani's demands are met, He will reward regular practice with dignified social reputation (10) and material accomplishment (11).

Ideal conditions for Shani

According to BPHS Chap 47: 53-56, Shani performs best under these conditions:.

"If Shani is

• in his exaltation, in his own Rashi , or in MulaTrikona, or friendly Rashi,

• in his own, or exalted Navamsha,

• and in Sahaja, or Labha."

In BPHS 47, it is predicted that a Shani placement which includes these beneficial traits will produce in the Shani Mahadasha

• "recognition by Government, opulence and glory, name and fame, success in the educational sphere,

• acquisition of conveyances and ornaments etc., gain of wealth, favours from Government,

• attainment of a high position, like Commander of an Army, acquisition of a kingdom, benevolence of goddess Lakshmi,

• gain of property and birth of children."

~~ T.S. Eliot, (1888-1965) --from the poem, "East Coker"

"I said to my soul,

be still,

and wait without hope".

"The wise do not seek to hasten the ripening of that which is not yet ripe,

but rather they wisely await its ripening. "

• Kumbha rules the lunar side of Shani's terrain. Kumbha governs the bottom of the ida nadi or the central lunar channel which rules on the left side of the sushumna. (Or, it can be seen to form a caduceus-type snake-wrap around the central core, crossing at chakra points. There are several viable models.)

• Makara governs the solar side of Shani's terrain. Makara rules bottom of the pingala nadi or central solar channel in the subtle yogic body, the solar side of muladhara chakra.

• Kumbha is thus a more reflective and intuitive sign than Makara. When Shani occupies swakshetra of Kumbha, He will be intellectualized toward highly conceptual thought, predisposed toward mathematics and philosophy where the lunar trait of calm reflective thought is well developed. Kumbha is the place where Shani meets Chandra - a very abstract, visionary zone of large concepts and their development into interconnected networks. Kumbha's work starts with intuitive insight and moves into rational articulation via symbol sets - e.g., mathematics, music, and esoteric philosophies such as alchemy. Compared to Makara is more cool, more meditative, more concerned with inner process, more emotionally-oriented and much less status-conscious.

• Planets in Kumbha certainly get the cold, dry, pessimistic, somber, materialistic, and structural influence of Shani. But when considering the difference between Shani's character in his two adjacent rashis of Makara and Kumbha, it's important to note the lunar psychic quality of Kumbha to understand how different these two rashis are. Frawley's explanation of why Kuja is exalted in Makara, for example, is quite sensible.

Resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering. ~~

Saturn in Karaka for lead, zinc, black metals, inferior grains, dead relatives, fools, servants, mean women,

salable goods, servants, poor people and self restraint.

(Apart from meaning self restraint also means investing with sacred thread which is in vogue to give "second birth" to Brahmins) .

"Countless rebirths lie ahead, both good and bad.

• The effects of karma (actions) are inevitable,

• and in previous lifetimes we have accumulated negative karma

• which will inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives.

Just as someone witnessed by police in a criminal act will eventually be caught and punished,

so we too must face the consequences of faulty actions we have committed in the past, there is no way to be at ease;

• those actions are irreversible; we must eventually undergo their effects. "

• bones

• skin, nerves

• sinews

• ankles, calves, knees

• digestive system (internal skin of the digestive organs)

Shani gives psychic "serious" energy!

Your mother was right: When you grow up, you have to clean up after yourself. No one else will clean up for you.

• Saturn is the planet which shows your destiny to complete unfinished business from past lives, specifically the unfinished cycles of action-reaction caused by ignorant actions which harmed others in your ancient, subconsciously remembered past.

• Saturn is the karma planet. In the Jyotisha charts He shows the quantity and quality of debts accrued through past-life ignorance. The English word ignorance means lacking knowledge. The Latin word sine meaning lacking, or without is the root of our English word sin .

• This ignorance is carried forward, in the kindergarten-simple karmic accounting system, from actions inadvertently committed from a basis of incorrect motivation.

• The spirit, ever hopeful that you will achieve the moral consciousness to clean up your act, schedules these ignorant actions for repeat, in the current life. You are forced to re-encounter the people, the scene, the forces, that created the old action. But this time, you have the chance to make a better choice.

"Waiting [is] the great vocation of the dispossessed."

~~ Mary Gordon, on the long, long lines for immigrant-processing at Ellis Island. NY Times 3 Nov 1885

Uchcha or swakshetra Shani in a dushthamsha can give extraordinary service results.

Dignified Shani in a dushthamsha generally seeks public service engagement, typically through employment in large institutions or social systems.

• the native is deeply attuned to the plight of the common man, and works diligently in well-structured development of human health and welfare services.

• There is always a strong component of manual labor with Shani.

• When dignified His labor does not decrease, but the scope of His service affects many people, the public .

In Sahajasthana/bhava-3:

• Service offering tends to contribute communications skills in public administration, with the native diligently improving the customer service messaging and responsiveness of organizations involved in social aid, social coordination, or "public discourse" of the narrative type. (Discourses are public = Shani but not specifically argumentative, but rather literary text weavings, conversational and witty)

• Native attends many exhausting planning meetings and shapes multitudes of advertising programs which get the word out and make resources more accessible to the underserved.

  • example of 'customer service': Jackie Kennedy Onassis started adult life as a journalist (3). Although the press (3) was often oppressive in her life, Ms. Onassis worked during her later years in the book publishing industry (3) where she served as an advocate to authors of color (socially marginalized, associated with service class, not normally well-represented in fine literature) assisting these writers (3) to achieve publication (3) of their class-influenced narratives

In Aristhana/bhava-6:

• Service offering tends to contribute public medicine andpublic advocacy skills. Beneficiaries of Shani's labor are poor and sick people, but anyone suffering severe imbalance such as criminals, police, crime victims, is helped by the native with dignified Shani in house-6. Bad planet in a bad house typically gives very good results. Superb for national health service, low-income clinical medicine, police work.

In randhrasthana/bhava-8:

• Service offering tends to contribute damage-control skills that attempt to curtail or resist (Shani) sudden, unexpected changes (Mangala/Ketu) such as emergency preparedness and response to sudden disintegration of public order or abandonment by normal government.

  • Covert but highly structured intelligence gathering, typically in employ of a large but secret or semi-secret public organization.

  • Administers confidential social justice policy and programs, handles undocumented exchanges. Privy to secret plans. Follows rules of alternative governance which may not be understood by the general populace but which are very influential in world affairs (if uchcha) or national level of government (if swakshetra). Native's official title may be a decoy; his actual public responsibilities are masked.

In vyayasthana/bhava-12:

• Service is also hidden here. Employment in national or international security, espionage, prison systems, safe-house systems, And other protective enclosures. Works for public protection, but generally the public is not apprised of his purpose. Native may work diligently to ensure his nation remains a sanctuary of peace and unmolested living. May serve in prison administration,

Shani in dushthamsha is very hard working behind the scenes. Never a celebrity. (Only rising uchcha Shani makes a celebrity, see former US President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter for a rising uchcha Shani that gives public recognition connected to social justice.)

Seva

• Shani is in many ways the most important planet in the chart of any person born on Earth, because Shani shows the way we serve others. Seva, or conscious service,is a guaranteed way to burn off the effects of past-life errors. Shani shows how, when, and why we can consciously serve.

• Shani reveals what type of experience, what facet of the human condition, is most difficult for the native to understand and accept in this life. Shani shows the location of the person's greatest ignorance, fear, and bondage to material reality. Of these the most key for service is fear.

• Shani represents the harm we have inadvertently caused others in past lives. (Even if one willfully harmed another in a past life, we can call it inadvertent because it was done in ignorance of the Karmic Law.)

• When we have harmed another then the karmic machine is set in operation. Shani will ensure that we enter a future lifetime positioned to receive precisely that harm we once delivered to another. By and large the harming agent is precisely the person we hurt in that past life.

• People reincarnate in karmic groups over and over, specifically to facilitate this karmic payback. Although being in a dysfunctional family, marriage, or workgroup doesn't feel very pleasant, it's actually how we liberate each other.

• The nature of one's conscious service offering is known through Shani and his relationship to all the other Graha.

Benefits through Things = Old, Parched, Stony, Cold, Arid

Shani may give good results through things that are old, exhausted of value, arid, working-class, mass-produced, inexpensive, simple, and commonplace.

Example =

• Ted Turner, billionaire media mogul and landowner. Turner built his enormously profitable communications empire largely during his Shani Mahadasha, through shrewd acquisition of cracked old films that no one thought had any value.

• In Budha Mahadasha, his empire expanded through shrewd buying of huge tracts of supposed wastelands, which turned out to be both valuable and productive ranching and environmental properties (when correctly managed).

For Thula lagna , Shani becomes the Yogakaraka L-4+L-5

• in which capacity He brings gifts of education, cultural rootedness, children, and creative genius. Whatever troubles Shani may bring in His karaka roles, Shani periods will also provide the gifts of L-4+L-5.

For Vrishabha lagna, Shani becomes the Yogakaraka L-9+L-10

• While not as strong as the L-4+L-5, Shani for Vrishabha lagna is still an exceptionally beneficial provider of wisdom and social dignity. Shani periods will elevate the native socially, bringing respectable roles such as professor and organizational executive.

the native who is blessed with a Thula-Vrishabha combination = Thula lagna with Chandra in Vrishabha, or Vrishabha lagna with Chandra in Thula = a good deal of power during Shani periods.

• Although Shani's methods always involve hard work and substantial responsibilities, Shani will bring the great good fortune of children, home, religion, and good reputation into the native 's life.

• Shani Mahadasha will be very strong and productive, however the native will be amazed at how much work is involved to realize all of these lovely benefits!

The Shani Finger

• Shani in the radix and varga charts corresponds to the Shani finger on the human hand. Saturn's finger is the second-from-index finger - normally the longest finger, mid-way between the thumb and the final finger.

• When the hand features a long, sturdy Shani finger, the Jyotisha charts will always contain a strong and effective Shani. Shani may have weight in sign or kendra, or receive powerful aspects. The more distinguished is the Shani finger, the more urgent and capable is the person's will toward Seva, or conscious service.

• Abbreviated Shani finger suggests the person is not yet conscious enough to work for the happiness of others as a key to their own liberation. Such a person is often in terrible bondage to their own need and unable to hear the constant messages from beyond the material world which can guide us away from suffering.

• hose message all point toward compassionate service as the soul's highest calling.

There is more liberation potential in those recurring karmic scenes during your Shani Mahadasha, bhukti, or transit than in any other transaction. If you have Shani in kendra, where He commands your body, home, marriage, or career you know these ego-challenges are brutal but very purifying.

Shani has some fixed rules. If you are conscious enough to accept the discipline in exchange for a clear mind, here is a general idea of what Shani requires:

• Think responsibility at every level. Shani rewards *neutral responsibility* - not martyrdom or victim state but responsibility. Neutral responsibility is calm, experienced adult judgment and response, free of guilt or grief.

• Be very, very careful.Shani requires neurotic attention to detail. Take responsibility for the whole enchilada in your projects/home/marriage etc. - from tiny details up to broad strategy. Shani is a perfectioniSaint

• Clean out cellars. Shani rewards cleanliness. Because Shani works under the ground , His effects are found in astral memories that are feeding on stuck emotions and negative expectations; and physically in objects that are lurking or lingering in the dark. Check material spheres for evidence of reactive behavior, obsession /compulsion /ritualism, emphasis of form over content, letter of law over spirit of law etc. Diligent work to clean up stored anger, bitterness, grief, victim-attachments will prevent undesirable effects on the material plane.

• Think locally. Pull in your aura. Shani is a narrow traditional ist. He's concerned with you and yours, period. Leave the expansive globalist philosophy for another bhukti - like Guru or Chandra. Shani goes beyond conservative. Shani is a survivalist.

• Be skillful.Shani rewards time, effort, craft, and professional judgment.If you can do a good job in the service of others with the intelligence and skills you have developed in this lifetime, Shani will reward your industry and dedication to social good. If you are flaky, idealistic, trusting in a general sort of way, waiting for an angel to rescue you... guess what. Whack.

• Get serious... but not too serious ! Shani is a functional-structuralist.If you look at the structure of the universe you'll see that neutral responsibility is the point on the serious-joy continuum. A little paranoia is probably a good thing during Shani's periods, but only because one of the few benefits of clinical paranoia is a heightened awareness of detail!

• Welcome austerity.Shani is a minimalist.Doing better with less, living simply so that others may simply live, etc. Ignore the self-indulgence messages that blast us from modern media. (Remember you can indulge with impunity under Guru and other permissive house lords.) Shani punishes excess and rewards elegance. Tidy up. Streamline. Jettison. Less is more... or anyway, less is survival.

• Do service. Shani, lord of slaves, rewards neutral service. Shani rules poverty, ignorance, filth, darkness, coldness, all those boulders blocking our path to the pure warm light of divine bliss. Follow your inclination to help those suffering poverty or ignorance. But be careful. Shani requires compassion and NOT sympathy. Remember Shani is neutral, neutral, neutral.Shani rewards sound judgment but He punishes judgmentalism, throwing the first stone etc. Shani rewards skillful neutral compassion but He punishes messy emotional sympathy.

• Stick to the basics, particularly when serving others. Recite Chapter 48 of the UN charter: right to food, clothing and shelter -and only do things that you knowwill work. Save speculation and visionary thinking for future bhutki's of Mercury or the Moon :)

• Concentrate.Shani, Lord of Time, will not tolerate frivolous waste of any kind, especially waste of time! Shani rewards focus, rigorous attention to matters of rule and principle, and dedication to task.

These are general rules of course but you get the idea: simple, neutral, aware. Apply these rules to your life practice when Shani becomes strong.

Shani is strongest during the times when He is bhukti lord and simultaneously He is also transiting the rashi zone of major planets or kendras in the nativity.

For example, if Shani would be casting a gochara drishti on your Moon (or maximum effect Sade Saati) during a Moon/Shani period, the emotions get VERY serious.

Expect some serious depression to the point of self-loathing, and [isn't it lovely] it lasts for several years. Probably you'll need deep healing, so go get it.

By contrast,

• if Shani is only transiting His own natural bhava-11 ruling gains

• And there are no major planets in lagna, 5th, or 8th houses (which receive drishti during Shani's travel through bhava-11),

• then expect to be relatively poor and lonely for awhile. Austerity is the conscious principle to apply. Apply it. But fear no serious consequences, really, except less moolah and fewer parties for awhile, you'll be quite OK.

Ignorance, Survival, and the Seven Deadly Sins

Shani's job is to correct moral errors made in past lives. These past errors of judgment and their unfortunate social results are listed in detail in each soul's Akashic Record . Saturn governs sin - from the Latin sine meaning lacking i.e. ignorance. Sin is another word for ignorance. Sin and the karmic obligation to correct sin results from ignorance of the Golden Rule. Knowledge and conscious practice corrects sin, and gets Shani off your back.

he most popular ways to break the Golden Rule are well-known in the west as the Seven Deadly Sins. (If you grew up Catholic you got this list with your mother's milk or at least with your catechism.) These essential perfections of human ignorance are all rooted in selfishness: survival thinking, scarcity thinking, and fear.

1. Pride

2. Envy

3. Gluttony

4. Lust

5. Anger

6. Greed

7. Sloth

Luckily there are also seven virtues which, conscientiously applied, will fix most Saturn-caused problems. In other words, if an action is motivated by these generous, charitable, and compassionate attitudes that act will carry out the Golden Rule. The resulting positive social effect will be recorded in the credit column of the Akashic record. Karma is ridiculously simple.

1. Prudence

2. Temperance

3. Justice

4. Fortitude

5. Charity

6. Hope

7. Faith

If this list is too long or ponderous or you just can't remember the catechism, the seven virtues easily boil down to * Compassion*. Think first about the effect your thought or action will have on others. Saturn's job is to force this pause in thinking. Saturn's role is to make relationships, jobs, families, wealth, health all difficult enough that we must stop and think.

• Hey, how did I get into this trouble?

• Of course the first instinct is to blame others - our family, our government, the system .

• But in the spirit of neutral awareness, it is possible to skip blaming and move to the next step in liberation:

• How can I get out of it without hurting others and setting up a karmic boomerang?

• The answer will be via neutrality and intelligence

• Ensure that present actions and thoughts are motivated by only by Compassion

• Vigilantly resist guilt and blame

• Skillfully apply your conscious knowledge to negotiate the situation

• Karma is resolved when there is no residual ego-attachment - neither praise nor blame

• If you still feel that things should have been done differently, there is some hidden guilt or blame that needs attention

• Saturn is should energy

• The good news is that through meditation and self-awareness you can catch it before it catches you!

• Be proactive - Meditate.

Saturn is definitely the Bad Boy of the Seven Planets because He is the agent for the toughest karma - the painful payback. Yet, without the payback, we can't correct the moral errors of past lives. Shani's job is to force us to chip away at our karmic backlog. We all have a certain amount of debt to repay.

Depending on Shani's angularity in the charts, Shani may force a person to deal with their debt constantly. Shani can be very oppressive, relentlessly creating difficult situations for the soul to struggle with. Shani rules poverty, fear, sickness, ignorance - all the fun stuff. A tough Shani position makes a person quite the expert in the dark truths of the human condition.

But even in nativities wherein Shani = a semi-beneficial agent bringing dignity, such Vrishabha or Thula, Lord Shanaicarya will come down hard bearing heavy responsibilities as the price for that dignity. during His planetary periods. Saturn mahadasha lasts 19 years, and Saturn bhukti (sub-periods) within each mahadasha can last from one to three years.

During Saturn periods it's best to just bite the bullet. Shani is a VERY HARD WORKING fellow. When and where He's in charge, He expects you to be hard-working, modest in comportment, and socially lawful too.

Accept responsibility.(Not guilt! Just responsibility.) NEUTRAL non-guilty responsibility. For your role in creating the difficulties you will inevitably face, release any claim to blame others, and set to work applying your intelligence to the solution. This neutral style of problem solving which fully defines the grievance but is not psycho-emotionally attached to perpetuating it, is exactly what Shani wants. Follow the rules and Shani will give you excellent results.

You'll see the full results of Shani's problem-solving and guilt-releasing on your death bed. That's where the rubber meets the road, spiritually speaking. It's a good idea to tidy up as much psychic debris as possible during this blessed lifetime. That's what we're here for.

It's incredibly hard to obtain one of these human bodies. Esoterically it is said that only one in 10,000 candidates will actually receive a human body. Those 10,000 candidate spirits are morally eligible to get a highly desirable earth body, but there is a tremendous shortage and the queue is amazingly huge. Be grateful - if you're reading this with your water-bubble eyes, you got one of those incredible earth bodies! Use it to advantage. Make every thought and action conform to the Golden Rule.

If others hurt you through their ignorance when they ignore the Rule, appreciate that the Rule itself will catch them. You personally do not need to waste your own energy to blame the Rule-breakers. You have bigger fish to fry. They'll pay back at their own pace. Meanwhile, allow Shani to help you remove the boulders blocking your path to God by accepting that the terrible suffering we face here on earth - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual - is a spiritual privilege in a hideous package. Shani's karma always has an educational message about neutral responsibility; releasing guilt, grief, and blame; and

In order to move ahead on the path to God, the soul requires self-awareness, then awareness of the identity of self with the divine. If these big stupid boulders of ignorance - survival mentality, scarcity thinking, me first = screw you, and general fear-driven decision making continue to dominate the soul's consciousness, that soul will receive only short-term benefits of possible material wealth or power. At the time of death, that soul who has awakened to the true beauty of karmic law will be awed and impressed - but not afraid - of the greater structure of the universe which can be perceived after Death.

Q 42.Is a natural malefic, like Saturn, evil or good when exalted or in own house?

Ans.

• Even a natural malefic becomes benefic in his own or exaltation house.

• Though Saturn in 4 is bad for mother, happiness, education etc., normally, if he is exalted or in his own place he is not bad.

  • But to become fully benefic he must combine with, say Venus or be aspected by Jupiter.

  A malefic can become a Yogakaraka but cannot become a full benefic . This is the result in practical experience.

  • For instance, such a man with Saturn in 4 may pass and get degrees but may not have a brilliant academic career without any failures at all.

  For Aries Lagna, Saturn in Taurus, the house immediately after debilitation and the house of his very intimate friend will give position and income as lord of 10 and 11 in 2, more especially if that lord Venus is strong or if there is also the aspect of Jupiter.

• But as a natural malefic, He will certainly cause some wasteful expenditure and some trouble in the family like loss of children. "

~~ B.V. Raman, A Catechism of Astrology . p. 48

Drishti of Shani - esp. Vrishabha and Thula lagna

Q. 59 Saturn is a malefic planet, he becomes a benefic by owning kendras. If so, are his aspects also benefic? Is the term aspected by benefics'' occurring in the texts applicable to Saturn and such evil planets ?

Ans.

Saturn is always an evil planet but may be malefic or benefic by ownership.

We classify planets into four kinds :

1. subha and subha phalada = good and favourable ;

2. subha and papa phalada = good and unfavourable ;

3. papa and subha phalada = evil and favourable

4. papa and papa phalada = evil and unfavourable.

Whenever you find aspected by benefics we have to take good or subha planets .

In the expression benefic aspects it means only aspects by natural benefics such as Jupiter and Venus.

Physical Diseases of Shani

Shani rules obstacles which block flow. Health is a condition of free, balanced energy flow. So virtually any type of physical blockage is within the purview of Shani. Such blockage does have psycho-emotional roots; however, during Shani periods, the physical symptoms are acute, and they normally require direct treatment on the physical level.

Shani prefers long-term wasting, drying and hardening effects such as arthritis and osteoporosis - but He can certainly induce a crisis through blockage, if He is virulent enough.

Shani is associated with rigidity, dryness, cold, and exhaustion. Shani's two mortal enemies are

• Kuja, ruler of blood, muscular flesh and kinetic energy

• Surya, lord of heat, moral confidence, and divine energy.

Shani rules repression, constriction, scarcity, bones, teeth and fixed structure, and fear. Physical diseases of fearful holding onto the past, like tumors; malnutrition and exhaustion; pain in the teeth and bones, and any illnesses that result from constricted circulation such as atrophy, frostbite and gangrene, are within the disease portfolio of Shani.

Impact in the Shani's region of lowest (mula-dhara) chakra, such as colo-rectal disease, anal disease, and intestinal blockages. Shani (and also Azlesa) rules excessive squeezing, such as being squeezed by snakes - from the inside or outside.

Heart attacks which result from congestion of the arteries; compressed nerves such as pinched disk of the spine; stress fractures and bone breakage; circulatory

Diseases of poverty and aging, such as effects of malnutrition; arthritis, rheumatism, and osteoporosis, are also within Shani's area of expertise.

Remedies such as homeopathic Arnica, which specifically increases blood circulation to compressed tissues (cures bruising) may be useful in acute injury or worsening of chronic conditions during Shani periods.

Ayurvedic quality food oils (olive and sesame) can help counteract Shani's natural drying effects on the body. Massage and hatha yoga will help. Being nice to yourself will help.

Compassionate neutrality in every part of life (especially neutrality to Shani's specialties of old age, disease, and death) will help.

as a rule, it does not do any good to try to combat Shani's effects with the behaviors of His enemies Mangala and Ravi.

• Mangala rules vigorous, warlike exercise and aggressive competition. Except possibly in the bhukti of Mars, extremelyathletic activity is not a good idea - and will probably lead to breakage in weak body structures. Moderate activity is good.

• Surya involves high heat. Although a nice session of warm hatha yoga or a big cup of spicy ginger tea in the winter can be very healing, be careful of counteracting Shani bhukti's constrictions with too much heat. Avoid high excitement in the physical realm by staying out of extremely hot climates (unless you are native there and know the right pace of life). Similarly avoid excitement in the realms of rational discourse by staying away from politics, moral and cultural conflict, and social change in general.

• During periods of Shani it is better to stay with the predictable. Remaining with one's own people, in one's familiar climate, and one's customary moral principles, will be easieSaint Avoid challenging taboos.

Gently breaking up overly rigorous, survival-driven or conformity-driven routines of all kinds may assist resolution of health problems - especially those that are due to long-term, embedded, sedentary habits.

Perhaps surprisingly, Ailments of Shani respond best to the energy of His planetary friend Shukra. Thus, sensual pleasures and bodily indulgences are beneficial aids to Shani's constrictive, drying, aging, permission-denying, rule-bound structure.

Delicious foods prepared with healing pure oils and indulgent spices are very good for Shani conditions! A glass or two of dark wine; a soak in warm healing waters; allowing you (O responsible one) to be taken care of by another for an hour or so... are all marvelously effective antidotes which Shani ACCEPTS because ... He likesShukra!

Mental Diseases of Shani

Anxiety

Anxiety gives Shani-type symptoms like constriction of blood vessels (pin-dot pupils) cardiac seizure, and other types of constricted pranic flow.

Saturn's essence is fear. Phobia - from Phobos the ancient Greek god of Fear - is irrational fear.

• Combined with Rahu, Shani can generate some intense irrational fears stemming from very real past-life experiences. They are only irrational in terms of the current lifetime, which may provide no viable explanation for the person's strange and compulsive fearful reactions.

• Such psycho behavior often makes perfect sense in terms of past lives, however - so if you see Shani in combination with Rahu in an evil sign (such as Scorpio) and no help from benefics, then it's off to past life regression therapy (or guided vajrayana meditations) for you!

• Saturn will normally protectmatters of the house it Occupies. It slows progress in those areas for sure; things happen slowly in Saturn's occupied house. But, matters of the occupied house are, it's important to note, generally made very detailed and labor-intensive rather than destroyed.

• Saturn-caused suffering mainly occurs in the houses He rules and aspects.

• Of course, the distance between Shani's natal house and the two houses He rules makes all the difference. If the distance is favorable - say, 4, 5, 9, 10, or 11 houses apart - Shani will give measurable results. They may take awhile to manifest as the person develops mastery over the subject of the occupied and ruled houses, but there will definitely be material results. If the house at stake is putra bhava, for example, we expect children late in life - manifested only after masterful awareness of human limitation is gained.

• By contrast Shani occupying a house in 6/8 or 2/12 angle to the houses He rules will be troublesome to the point of denying any results whatsoever. The virtue here will be neutral acceptance.

• There is also Jyotisha guideline that a bad planet in a bad house gives good results.

• In this case the person with Shani in a dushthana has very low expectations so their ego does not interfere with the work at hand. They apply a simple straightforward craft in their humble contribution to society.

The results are usually favorable for wealth and health -- as Ben Franklin suggests! So even the most downtrodden Shani in those scary dushthana's Ari, Randhra, or Vyava Bhava might give good mental and physical results stemming from Saturn's clear, unsentimental realism -- especially if Shani's dispositor is favorable.

Shani can in special circumstances give incredibly good results. However, all the other planets would need to support Him. The only way for Shani to become a bona fide benefic is for him to occupy His own or exaltationsign (i.e., in Makara, Kumbha, or Thula) *and* occupy a kendra *AND* receive the drishti of Guru.

• E.g., Scorpio is rising, with Shani in Kumbha in bandhu bhava while ThulaGuru sends a drishti from vyaya bhava. This person will have an eccentric, poor, and visionary mother who provides an excellent social foundation for him in terms of education, emotional security, and class manners (portfolio of the 4th house).

• E.g., Shani rises in Libra and Guru sends a drishti from Mithuna in dharma bhava. This is a most excellent leadership situation. Rising exalted Shani gives panch-maha-purusha yoga-- a great person is born . With the Guru aspect, this great person gets top-level spiritual guidance. Results will be excellent.

Generally Shani deniesresults when He rules a dushthamsha; but delaysresults when he rules better houses.

• For example Shani is not a denying force for Thula lagna and Vrishabha lagna, where He is yoga-karaka. See for example, charts for Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter for an excellent rising Yogakaraka exalted Shani.

• But also see Shani with Chandra, a controlling mother - remember Miss Lillian.

• Note that Carter's Shani does not receive the aspect of Guru, so according to BV Raman (above quote) Carter's Shani = not a true benefic. Shani makes Carter work very hard in the professional Seva of Thula's specialty areas: social justice, law and diplomacy.

• As an exalted angular planet his Shani gives powerful worldly results - status, power, responsibility. But it's not easy. It's real work - real Shani!

"The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling."

The more serious limiting and destructive force comes from Shani's drishti, or aspect, onto the houses which lie 3, 7, and 10 away from it. Shani's drishti can destroy the power of even the most flamboyant house.

• Yet Shani grants an essential strength, without which few adults will survive. Realism. Shani gives knowledge and acceptance of the dark side of human nature. Shani expects no help from those quarters he damages.

• Shani is pragmatic, realistic, hard-boiled, sensible, dry-witted, cautious. Shani expects to find weak links in every chain, and He does. His presence grants success in ventures where His mature, curmudgeonly, realistic, and unsurprised mentality is needed.

• graha drishti cast upon houses 3rd and 10th from Shani is FULL; drishti cast upon house 7th-from-Shani is 75%.

• A man with Shani occupying the radix 7th will find that although his spouse may be difficult, she will not be impossible. Once married, he will try to stay married. However, his relationship to his father [Shani's 3rd aspect] and mother [Shani's 10th aspect] has been harmed long before marriage.

• He has negative marriage-modeling in his mind; this will be very difficult to correct in adulthood. He is physically uncomfortable in his body [Shani's 7th aspect] and may need to keep moving to avoid his (largely emotional) pain. Because it negatively affects both of one's parents And One's own body, Saturn in 7th is a tough row to hoe, too.

Effects of Shani's 3-7-10 drishti, by house location

Shani is all about Negative expectations (including Fear). Native carries in preconceptions from past lives and is again reinforced in childhood, to expect poor results in the matters of the houses which Shani aspects.

• I find in practice that the 3rd aspect is the most negative expectation of all. If you understand nothing else about your radix chart, pay attention to Shani's position and aspects.

• Shani is the very definition of your karmic resistance:the acceptance and release work you have set for yourself in the current life. Shani's impoverishing, restricting, damaging impact can be very significantly improved through Reflective Awareness. All of use are carrying around inherited negative expectations. Take a Skillful Pause.

• Question the negative training of your upbringing. Subconsciously driven negative expectations are extremely powerful, which is why Shani's power is traditional ly feared.

• As F.D.R. famously said, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.Consciously re-setting your Psychic Permission Levels whilst working respectfully with inherited restrictions, can advance you step-wise into a much easier, brighter future.

Saturn does better in Swakshetra (own houses)

Shani in Karma bhava

Shani in Labha Bhava

As always, check Moon and the individual condition of randhra and vyaya bhava before concluding the extent of Shani's spiritual and emotional repression.

Saturn in Bandhu bhava (4th house)

Similar to Shani yuti or drishti Chandra ...may cause problems in the relationship with the mother or stress in the family home. However, mother may enjoy a long life unless Saturn also afflicts the Moon or there is some other unfavorable influence on house-4 or Moon. (See example of Ashort-lived mother.)

• Generally the mother is unavailable/uncaring and the child feels abandoned or ignored. However in reality she will be accessible by following certain timing rules. The maturing child will develop skills for getting her attention.

• Often this is a hardworking or over-committed mother. In modern times the mother may have only partial custody. But also the mother may have drug or behavior problems which separate her from the child. The child will have health problem related to the emotional issues with the mother because Saturn will drishti the 6th house. Childhood issues continue into adulthood.

• Saturn's aspect from the 4th rashi to karma bhavais generally favorable because it increases the native 's sense of duty, self-restraint, and compassion for the common people. Because He aspects the lagna from bandhu bhava, Saturn will stunt body growth somewhat and make the person always work hard for their achievements. All of these drishtieffects of course are rooted in being deprived of mothering, but in and of themselves these aspects do no serious harm. Saturn in the 4th house makes a person sober, hard-working, materialistic, and self-reliant. Often also very patriotic. In modern culture those are high virtues!

All questions of fleshly longevity must take into account the character of ayushkaraka Shani, "Lord of Age" (ayu).

• Shani in 8 = long life, because Shani resists change (8) especially the catastrophic change of rebirth (8).

Saturn is a natural marakaor killer planet. Saturn plays some role, major or minor, in every death.

We know to examine the 8th and 12th rashi - especially the 22nd decanate, which is the middle third section of randhra bhava - to find the circumstances of death.

• [Randhra bhava is 8th-from-lagna and Vyaya bhava is 8th-from-4th, showing circumstances of end of matters .]

Parashara says that the 8th and 12th from Saturn should also be assessed.

• ... both the 8th and 12th from Shani stand for consideration .. in respect of ... death. ~~ BPHS Ch. 7, Shloka 39-43

B.V. Raman, A Catechism of Astrology . p. 33:

"Q. 40: Bhavartha Ratnakara says that if malefics occupy kendras, good results will happen.

Tamil authors say that Saturn in Lagna is bad.

How do you explain these contradictory statements?

Ans.

It is true that malefics in kendra are good and it is also equally true that malefics in kendra are bad.

• Malefics in kendras are bad for the Bhavas and good for themselves only.

Saturn will be able to do good in everything that pertains to Saturn as a Karakaor as a Bhava lordor as a planet.

This will be experienced in his Bhuktis and Dashas,

• while the house where he is posited will be spoiled

• and everything connected with the Bhava on which he stands, will be unfavourable.

• If he is in 1, the person's health will be weak, there will be impediments to success, etc. and these will be experienced throughout life."

"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office."

Similarly the professional behavior: it is very difficult (until later middle age, when Shani gives fruits of maturity) for Shani-rising people to understand how they affect others through leadership and a tendency to enforce Draconian consequences.

Shani's drishti from bhava-1 or bhava-4 upon karma bhava tends to place heavy leadership responsibilities upon the native . The most common pattern is to acquire responsibility which outweighs one's authority, so that the burden of the personal task list (Shani-1) tends to take all the fun out of high-visibility leadership roles. (Shani = enemy of Surya karaka for delights and fun.)

Naturally, an empathetic Moon, a wise Guru, or a gabby Budha can improve this taciturn situation greatly.

Typically this native experiences some considerable handicap in perceiving the spouse's feelings. One relates to the marriage partnership almost entirely on the basis of material responsibility. The spouse remains an outsider and, increasingly, a work-task or time burden.

• This alienation and objectification of the spouse is due to the karmic memory of isolation and rejection stored deep in the native 's subconscious. This memory insists that others are fundamentally untrustworthy.

• Unless the spouse also has drishti to the marriage house, the spouse may feel rejected, unrecognized, unappreciated, and probably exploited. Marital dissatisfaction is likely to arise despite the fact that Shani native is a hard worker, efficient householder, and solid financial provider who typically earns well through sheer persistence.

• (If Budha is favorable that will be persistence plus intelligence, but persistence is always the keynote of Shani!)

• It is probably a good thing for one whose nativity shows a strong Shani influence upon the marriage house, to seek a spouse with similar configuration in radix and navamsha. Despite the prognosis for heavy doses of materialism, isolation, and fear in that marriage, the native s will share a neutral and realistic view of time and resource management. They will both be hard workers and appreciate their partner's contribution however scarce it may be.

Only another Shani native will appreciate the heavy realism and fear of failure and death which motivates the alienation behavior in the spouse. Shani marital coldness is not malicious or exploitive but simply the result of lifelong self-reliance, non-collaboration, fear-driven choices, and an urgent need to control scarce resources. It is worth repeating that Shani-in-marriage natives are usually very capable providers.

Ceteris paribus, Shani's negative aspect to the marriage house, which occur when Shani occupies houses 1, 5, and 12, does not break up marriages.

• This drishti can make marriage loveless, unhelpful, or full of grief.

• But it doesn't cause divorce, per se.

• Shani occupying bhava-7 obtains dik-bala. In the yuvatishthana, Shani gives tremendous endurance in loveless marriages to an unsuitable or oppressive spouse. Shani respects tradition above all.

• Unless Shani is L-8 (as for Mithuna and Karka lagna) Shani is not a divorce causer. Just a misery causer...

Ceteris paribus, both the Shani aspect to yuvati bhava and Shani aspect to 7th-from -Chandra profile an emotionally cold, unsuitable first spouse.

In the West where we are generally socialized to quest for satisfaction rather than settle for what nature provides, Shani's aspect to the 7th house usually signifies the need for a second marriage, because the first marriage is so unsatisfactory. However Shani does give staying power, and the native who has Shani aspecting either kalatra bhava or 7th-from-Chandra will generally stay in the difficult marriage for many years in order to exhaust all possibilities for agreement. In the end, this harsh drishti forces marital separation and the native feels cut off from social approval as well.

• Typically the profile of Shani rising or with yuti Chandra combines heavy labor with emotional stress. It's not an easy life for these folks. Nevertheless, they are responsible and no matter how deep their suffering they will always find the strength to accept responsibility for raising children, caretaking elderly parents, or serving the state. The Shani-afflicted may have lifelong emotional cramping, but they will always be working or ready to work.

• Saturn gives the karma of carrying others' burdens, of being the result of others' actions, and of remaining in a state of financial, emotional, physical, or intellectual survival throughout life. Shani-afflicted have a deep and often unshakable sense of resource scarcity; yet, thinking they must always be on the run in a state of bare survival, they can rarely save money or build lasting security.

Is there a fix? Sure. release ignorance.

Shani's suffering is caused by Separation from those people, places, and things to which we are most attached in material life. While we will all due to our human natures endure some trauma of constant attachment-separation, attachment-separation in this life, we need not become the victim of it. By developing a knowledge of life outside the ego - by learning to think and perceive outside the box of material senses - Shani's suffering can be seen scientifically, as a real but impersonal phenomena of karma running off.

Shani's portfolio is to call past-life moral errors to our spiritual attention. Once recognized, however, these errors can be quickly and permanently corrected through a simple release process. Standing outside the situation in a neutral, non-judgmental place and accepting moral responsibility (not guilt!) for the situation, humans can easily appreciate our own brilliant creativity in creating the karma, and as soon as we own it we can choose to release it. Making amends to the persons involved may be helpful, but the essential chemical in the release process is simply gratitude.

Steps to release the fear, resistance, repression, and bondage imposed by dutiful Shani:

• Assume a neutral, non-judgmentalstate of mind

• Accept responsibility for making changes to one's own mind and actions

• ake the step up in moral consciousness that will ensure one does not erroneously mistreat oneself or others again

• voila! ignorance transformed into wisdom - and karma dissolved

(It's easier than you might think.)

Shani's portfolio is to call past-life moral errors to our spiritual attention. Once recognized, however, these errors can be quickly and permanently corrected through a simple release process. Standing outside the situation in a neutral, non-judgmental place and accepting moral responsibility (not guilt!) for the situation, humans can easily appreciate our own brilliant creativity in creating the karma, and as soon as we own it we can choose to release it. Making amends to the persons involved may be helpful, but the essential chemical in the release process is simply gratitude.

Steps to release the fear, resistance, repression, and bondage imposed by dutiful Shani:

• Assume a neutral, non-judgmentalstate of mind

• Accept responsibility for making changes to one's own mind and actions

• ake the step up in moral consciousness that will ensure one does not erroneously mistreat oneself or others again

• voila! ignorance transformed into wisdom - and karma dissolved

(It's easier than you might think.)

If you read Tarot, you might enjoy contemplating the essentially Saturnine features of the Emperor and Justice. Bunning says, Both cards stand for universal order; the Emperor in its underlying structure, Justice, in the action of karma - cause and effect.

Also consider the Knight of Pentacles . Note how in Joan Bunning's description, the Knight can either use or be used by Saturn's thorough ... or obsessive ... drive.

-- Learning the Tarot, Joan Bunning

One who plucks unripe fruits from a tree doesn't enjoy its taste, but succeeds in destroying its seed.

Shani Mahadasha

Q:Letter to a client experiencing the frustration of needing to accept 19 years disciplined apprenticeship in your craft - i.e., the Shani Mahadasha. Fortunately, this person's Shani is auspiciously located in the radix chart in Shatataraka Nakshatra , in Kumbha, in The tenth house of leadership and public responsibility. But 19 years is a long time to be working on the basics! Even more socially frustrating when Shani Mahadasha occurs in mid-life...

A: Luckily, due to the superior dharmicnature of your Shani in Shatataraka Nakshatra which exposes your spiritual development in past lives, you are capable of consciously accepting austerities - in fact, you relish tapasyafor the fruits it brings. Therefore there is no need for you to undergo the scorched earth experience of severe ego annihilation that so many people must endure with Lord Shani, who forbids fast progress.

Rather, you will experience the normal and natural effect of Shani Mahadasha, which is extremely slow progress using even the best-laid plans, a constant polishing of public presentation, and ruthless elimination of ego from all relationships, especially one's relationship to the public at large.

Although Shani normally is a troublemaker, your personal Shani is transformed into a good planet because

• it occupies the character-building tenth rashi ( karmaa-bhava the house of prestige and professional contribution to society)

• in its own sign of Kumbha (Aquarius)

• **AND** Shani receives a drishti ( focus ) from Guru (Jupiter)

• **AND** Shani is Vargottamsha. All these improvements add up to a powerful leadership destiny.

There is a significant downside to your unique Shani position. For you, Shani directly aspects both your commanding Sun and your dramatic Moon. This creates social and emotional tension for nineteen years.

You want a much bigger audience than the spirits will allow, and you want to reach them at a much more profound level than the spirits will approve.

The biggest challenge of Shani Mahadashatherefore is to release personal control - always doing your absolute best, of course - but accepting that the performance limitations are in place for a reason. Allowing the spirits to work through you rather than forcing them to impose outside restrictions requires a high level of psycho-spiritual awareness.

Setting the energy in a room, making agreements with the spirits that control the physical environments and also with the guardian spirits who attend you and the folks who come to you seeking professional information, will give superior results. Also being as detached as possible from the results of your efforts, whether success or failure, will help immensely in expanding your impact.

The end result of Shani Mahadashawill be perfection of public behavior due to profound inner purification. You are probably thinking, what is left to purify? But, because you still have about five years of Shani Mahadasharemaining, we know there has to be more laying in wait! You are now in the bhukti of Mars, a difficult place. Beware of criticism of self and others, hypocrisy, passive-aggressive expressions of anger,

Absolute objectivity is required to optimize your planets. For most people, the combination of Shani dasha with sade saati is devastating. Your spirit has determined that such catastrophic measures are not required for you in this lifetime.

So, it's exactly as you say: Jes keepin' on keepin' on!

When gochara Shani crosses your lagna:

This transit is a can't period which oppresses the physical body and social personality, usually involving loneliness and separations, as people find you difficult to live with and work with due to your subconscious low-permission state (manifesting as dysfunctional perfectionism and dominating ego).

You can survive it with maturity and objectivity, consistent with your dedicated spirituality and commitment to serve others.

Regarding the fearful situation of sade saati occurring within Shani Mahadasha(especially right at the beginning in the Shani/Shani period)

The swami is absolutely right: if sade saathi does coincide with Shani Mahadasha, those 2.3 years of the white hot core of sade saathi (seven-and-a-half) can be very intense.

However, this event does not occur in your lifetime. Rather, you have the slow and steady polishing and purification, meeting many obstacles and patiently developing the skills to overcome them. Each time gochara Shani changes signs (every 2.3 years) a new set of obstacles arises.

For example, gochara Shani is now transiting your 2nd rashi bhava, and aspecting your Simha Chandra and Meena Budha . This condition gives financial pressure, and troubles of all types connected to the mouth [eating, speaking, oral traditions, teeth, jaw, etc]. Speaking especially -- because of Shani's drishti to Mercury -- requires exquisitely fine attention to detail, and full consideration of effects on others before speaking.

So of course, you are graced to channel a magnificent teaching speech -- but because Shani requires tremendous neutral attention to detail, and Shani who slows everything, resists everything -- rules electro-magnetic communication devices -- your genius will not be electronically captured for posterity unless you personally set up the equipment. It's about mastery.

What Shani does is to create (or more properly, expose) psychic resistance (which can be eliminated by consciously working the spirits in the room) but also He demands that the native accept more personal control of the technology. In other words, if you want it done right, do it yourself. Shani asks for higher and higher levels of leadership responsibility, in order to reach a broader and broader audience with fairly tight control over the medium and the message.

Dear Shani. Each obstacle contains a lesson. The spirits know that you are a born leader with a mission to raise spiritual consciousness in the educator caste. They ask for your conscious partnership as they call your attention to finer levels of detail.

The purification process allows one to eliminate crude ego - i.e., attachment to those social and material results which the ego expects. Then if we can partner effectively with Shani, we are allowed to replace that flimsy and unreliable ego-attachment with the much more powerful and effective directive of the spirits, who have the bigger picture.

Trust the pace of progress under Shani to be perfectly timed and entirely appropriate to who you are - and who you are becoming - in the big picture.

Learn the rules so you will know how to break them appropriately.

A:

Namaste,

very good question! Those who are under influence of Shani, for a short time (transit or bhukti) or a long time (a natal placement) will surely recognize your concerns.

Patience

Patience, as you note, is a key to surviving periods of survivalist Shani. Shani is a primary agent of karma. Karma means action , a doing, an event which is obliged or required to occur. It often seems that others (those who are represented by Shani in the nativity) are doing bad things. Or that others are rigid and unforgiving. Or that others are bitter, materialistic, fearful, or cold.

In this perceptual condition, where it seems that others are creating the problem, you are very right that patience with difficult persons in one's life will yield fine fruits of mature wisdom and acceptance. Shani's greatest gift is indeed acceptance of all that is difficult in this life.

Compassion and Patience toward Others

Often the accuracy of one's perception is improved during Shani periods, especially in later life.

If one is eligible, through credit obtained via compassionate acts toward others, to understand that it is not indeed others who cause the problem (e.g., it is not the government or the company or the economy or the boss ).

If one is blessed (perhaps only intermittently) with the awareness that it is indeed one's own negative expectations, due to trauma in the present or past lives, which is causing a scripted repetition of a fundamentally fear-driven negative belief -- then, one can be patient with oneself. In being patient with oneself, the highest value may be appreciation of the power of time.

Time

Yet via to the relentless march of Karma which regulates the conversion of ignorance into wisdom, Time does heal all -- eventually.

Intention to Release the Suffering

Fear of death, fear of pain, fear of abandonment, fear of entrapment, fear of falling, fear of disgrace ... the list of human fears goes on!

Skillful application of Mindstream Narrative management tools can very much assist one who is experiencing the effects of Shani.

Acquire the necessary toolkit. It is internal and not external.

It is good to be aware of Shani's motive (to correct past-life moral errors) and his methods (infliction of fear-driven survival anxiety).

No one is to blame.

Tong-Len can be very helpful in getting through moments of the most severe grief and terror.

Ultimately, compassion for one's own self is required. Jyotisha can be a helpful tool for self-understanding and self-neutrality.

Naturally each person born on Earth has some position of Shani present in the Jyotisha nativity, and this Shani will have numerous characteristics.

Shani rewards patience, perseverance, scientific neutrality, careful and detailed observations -- in short, Shani rewards study.

Shanaiscarya is the very karaka of the Student!

Comprehension of Suffering

with

Non-Reaction to Suffering

Compassion is essentially one's ability to comprehend the human suffering of another person without instinctively reacting to their pain. Compassion motivates competent, skillful action, in a positive, educated, and pro-active context. However, compassion excludes reactive responses such as punishment or incompetent trying to help .

Often, the most compassionate response to something or someone is simply to leave it alone.

Non-interference, discipline, careful attention to detail, and neutrality are Shani's hallmarks. These observant but non-reactive behaviors tend to give good results during sustained Shani periods.

Isolation, separation, fear and grief

Socio-emotionally, Shani periods tend to contain scripted events of isolation, alienation, separation, humiliation, and grief. Shani is noted emotionally for feelings of intolerance, conservatism (esp. fear-driven reactionary conservatism or fundamentalism) and resistance to change. Shani periods are distinguished by acute experience of scarcity, fear of death-annihilation, coldness, labor, and fear. Did I mention fear? All the diverse elements of the Shani Script are rooted in fear.

Therefore, it is recommended to choose some safe and gentle ways to beat around the bush with fear - don't attack it directly unless one is under supervision of a reputable tantrik guru. First develop compassion toward the fear.

Compassion toward oneself, who is the fearful one.

Shani and the Power of Time

Shani periods can give good results if the native maintains an attitude of self-compassion, respect and appreciation for the power of Time, a willingness to listen to the advice of Elders-Survivors, and most of all a practical, hard-working, common-sense view of the material components of human existence. Humans are part material and part ephemeral; part animal and part divine. Shani rules our material nature.

As the Christian Bible says, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to the Lord what is the Lord's . In other words, Shani periods require pragmatic attention to the earthly details of survival: food, clothing, shelter, basic social dignity, and respect for the power of Time. With these basic tools it is possible to craft a reasonable defense against the material, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual crises of sustained onslaughts of Shani.

• Lower Shani, Higher Shani -- higher is easier!

At the lower levels of awareness, Shani's script generates judgmentalism, anxiety and worry. At the higher levels, Shani indicates discipline, trained skill, and moral accountability to the customs of one's people. Should one notice a sinking of consciousness into the lower realms of anxiety and worry, it may be useful to consider that choosing to experience Shani at the higher levels is simply much easier.

Rather than worry about all the bad things that are happening or could happen, a smart Shani person looks at one's skills and abilities, looks at the task at hand, and estimates what can be done - and not done. That which can be done, will be done. That which cannot be done .... cannot be done!

The famous Serenity Prayer of the Alcoholics Anonymous movement (and of many before them) might offer a useful instruction for one in the grips of hard-working, survival-driven Shani:

• Lord, help me:

• To change the things I can

• To accept the things I can't

• And the wisdom to know the difference.

• Amen.

Best wishes for success in your Jyotisha studies,

Sincerely,

Barbara Pijan Lama, Jyotisha

"...Do not be discouraged.

It would be very foolish to give up now.

On those occasions when you feel most hopeless, you must make a powerful effort.

• We are so accustomed to faulty states of mind that it is difficult to change with just a little practice.

Just a drop of something sweet cannot change a taste that is powerfully bitter.

• We must persist in the face of failure.

In difficult personal circumstances the best recourse is to try to remain as honest and sincere as possible.

• Otherwise, by responding harshly or selfishly, you simply make matters worse.

This is especially apparent in painful family situations.

• You should realize that difficult present circumstances are entirely due to your own past undisciplined actions, so when you experience a difficult period, do your best to avoid behavior that will add to your burden later on.

It is important to diminish undisciplined states of mind, but it is even more important to meet adversity with a positive attitude.

• Keep this in mind:

• By greeting trouble with optimism and hope, you are undermining worse troubles down the line.

Beyond that, imagine that you are easing the burden of everyone suffering problems of that kind.

This practice -- imagining that by accepting your pain you are using up the negative karma of everyone destined to feel such pain -- is very helpful. "