How's The Weather?

For thousands of years we lived looking up at the sky. I don't mean only astrologically, at the stars and other planets. But we studied the patterns of the sky even at closer distances. It held the answers for our life on Earth.

In Tamil "the state of the sky", "vaan-nilai', is the word for weather. In Sanskrit the weather is "vata-avarana", "the envelope of wind".

Weather comes from the root word that means sky, or wind.

It has a sort of intangible quality.

The sky. The wind. How do you get hold of them?

And yet, it's not just small talk to ask "How's the weather?" Because it's this intangible weather that decides our basics in life.

Aaj Mausam... Oh Ho

Explorers who set off on their sail boats discovered that winds blew in patterns.

Arab sailors used these winds to propel their boats. They called these winds 'Mausim'. That translated to 'the season' or 'the time of the year'.

Mausam eventually, used by different tongues, changed into the word Monsoon.

Al Masudi (a polymath from the year around 800 AD), tracks the periodic winds that blew from the north-east in the cooler months. And from the south west in the warmest months. These were predictable winds and could be relied on for maritime trade across the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Since wind patterns were relied on for trade, the winds themselves came to be called 'trade winds'.

These winds didn't only bring us trade goods. They are our lifeline. They bring our rains.

What About The El Nino?

The Pacific is the largest and widest ocean. It absorbs a massive amount of sunlight. And heats the water.

There are steady trade winds that blow from South America towards Asia. From East to West. Along the equator. Imagine you are looking at the map from the other side. You'll have South America on your right, and Australia and Asia on your left.

These winds sweep the warm waters into the oceans towards Asia. The moisture they bring strengthens our rain bearing clouds.

Around South America, when the warm water is pushed away, cold water from the ocean depths comes to the surface. Bringing plenty of fish to the surface.

But Every Now And Then

Every once in a few years, something mysterious happens.

There's a disruption in the wind pattern. These trade winds blow in the opposite direction. From Indonesia to South America.

The warm waters are no longer swept towards Asia. Our cloud forming capacity weakens.

The build up of warm waters brings heavy, non-seasonal rainfall in South America.

The fish don't come up to the surface.

There's a shortage of food across the world.

This phenomenon is not new.

Historical records from 1578, say fishermen in Peru observe their waters becoming very warm during certain years. This phenomenon peaked during Christmas. They named it El Nino de Navidad. The Little Boy of Christmas. Who made the waters warm and the fish disappear. And probably gave them a holiday break from fishing.

The strange part ....is .....that ....we have still not discovered why this phenomenon take place. It remains a scientific mystery.

Predictable And Yet Unpredictable

While the South American trade winds and currents help our monsoons, they are not the only reason why we have our monsoons.

The other factors seem to have kicked in, and thankfully our monsoons have advanced, albeit after a sluggish start.

But has this slow start already affected our sowing season?

Usually, pre-monsoon showers soften the earth in May. And by mid-June, farmers have planted their seed. The saplings grow enough to face the strong rains by July.

What happens now?

Hopefully no farmer sowed at the end of May, and found the Sun baking his seed by mid-June.

And hopefully for the farmers who have delayed their sowing, the monsoon patterns now work in their favor.

Delayed Not Denied

The root of the word 'Mausim' means 'timely'. Astrology is also called Samaya Vidya. The Knowledge of Time.

Time brings an understanding.

In the past everything was woven together. Science, religion, philosophy, art, astrology, agriculture and culture. These days everything is a world on to its own.

In the days of the past, it was observed that rains in Ashwini nakshatra, were wild. They brought hail storms and gusty winds.

The rains in Rohini were marked as the fore-tellers of the future rains. If it rained well on the first day of Rohini, you could go ahead and predict a good monsoon season.

In Mrigashira, if red velvet mites swarmed, it was a cause of joy. If they grew in numbers and even entered your home, you knew that there would be a strong monsoon season.

For this year, you would have consulted the ephemeris, and found that there is an Adhika Maasa (Extra Month). That corresponds with the dates from May 17th to June 15th this year. So you would not have sowed seed during the Adhika Maasa. You would have waited until mid June.

Calendar

A solar calendar is used to track vast periods of time. Large cycles. A wide perspective. Aligning you with distant stars. And is used in a spiritual context.

Farming is season dependent. And refers to the luni-solar calendar.

A lunar year is calculated by tracking the phases of the Moon. This adds up to 354 days in a year.

A solar year is calculated by tracking the Earth's orbit around the Sun. This adds up to 365 days for a year.

The difference of 11 days is ignored in that year's calendar. Until by the third year, a total of around 33 days add up, as extra. These extra days are inserted as a whole extra month.

These extra months added once every 3 years, could be adjusting the calendar, more accurately to the weather patterns, like the El Nino phenomenon.

At least, for this year, it has aligned perfectly.

Waiting And Watching

There was a wonderful way we interacted with the world around us. Looking at the weather. Finding natural rhythms.

We understood that we cannot control the weather, so we created alternate ways to safeguard ourselves. We focused on our river systems, irrigation canals and ponds.

We knew one thing was very predictable.

We would die without water.

And our lives revolved around our basic needs.

Now, we don't like the obvious.

We are beyond basic needs. Caring about food and water, are the dullest possible ideas.

Our lives are about conquering space. Adding zeroes. Doing the unthinkable.

We do some cloud seeding. And we think we can control the weather.

While in reality, we don't even know why the trade winds go retrograde in the first place.

Bada Beiman Hai

We are in uncharted waters. There's never been a time such as this one.

There's never been this much hydro-carbon burnt. Never been nuclear bombs blasted for over 80 years. Never been data centers of this scale.

This makes prediction challenging.

We can allow ourselves to be fooled by the mainstream narrative.

Earlier, they went on about Global Warming, because it gave them something to do. Some summits to attend. Some platform for trading carbon credits. People who spoke against global warming were labeled as nutcases.

And then they made crypto-currency. And AI. Now they say climate change doesn't matter.

When The Last Tree Is Cut...Then We Will Realize We Can't Eat Money

On the other hand, we can also allow ourselves to find the fun in what we thought was dull.

We could allow ourselves to think that we need food and water. Clean air and rivers.

We could refuse to give our water to a data center. Where a few people who own the IPO, will make money. And the other few people who will rent out the facilities, will make money.

Off the resources that belong to all of us.

The water. The power. The data.

Third House

We are very much in the Third House territory.

Of winds. Trade. Messaging. And the weather.

To be courageous to face changing winds. To weather storms.

It's about looking at our neighborhood. The microcosm of the small, world around us. Our local community.

To not discount the small things.

To understand what messaging is in our benefit. What is not.

Mercury is a wonderful planet. Next week, hopefully, we get a chance to give him a closer look.

The Week Ahead

It's an interesting week. It's a week of clear energy shifts. Observe how you are today. And check in again one week later, to see the difference.

We start with Jupiter, Mercury and Venus in the sign of Cancer.

On Sunday Venus moves across to Leo. Joining Ketu. Wednesday, Mercury moves back into Gemini.

Mars and Uranus, remain too close for comfort all week.

As I said, we are now entering into far more intense times. Jupiter is moving into exact opposition to Pluto. Which happens on the 19th.

For now, the retrograde Mercury, will help. It's good not to rush into stuff. A retrograde Mercury can slow things down. Give you a chance to think things through.

Other than that, one can only repeat. It's a period of time of great karmic retribution.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

However, it's a time of change. A time of belief systems collapsing. Situations where you will be forced to open your eyes. Look at things you were ignoring.

That's the energy of the upcoming month. For this week, it's best to go over your work. Check things. Re-assess.

Stick to the basics.

Until we see each other, next week, take care. Take it easy.