I ask my students every week to write 10 observations of the actual world. It’s very hard for them.

Ms. Tippett:

Really?

Ms. Howe:

They really find it hard.

Ms. Tippett:

What do you mean? What is the assignment? 10 observations of their actual world?

Ms. Howe:

Just tell me what you saw this morning like in two lines. I saw a water glass on a brown tablecloth, and the light came through it in three places. No metaphor. And to resist metaphor is very difficult because you have to actually endure the thing itself, which hurts us for some reason.

Ms. Tippett:

It does.

Ms. Howe:

It hurts us.

Ms. Tippett:

You naming something.

Ms. Howe:

We want to say, “It was like this; it was like that.” We want to look away. And to be with a glass of water or to be with anything — and then they say, “Well, there’s nothing important enough.” And that’s whole thing. It’s the point.

Ms. Howe:

It’s the this, right?

Ms. Howe:

Right, the this, whatever. And then they say, “Oh, I saw a lot of people who really want” — and, “No, no, no. No abstractions, no interpretations.” But then this amazing thing happens, Krista. The fourth week or so, they come in and clinkety, clank, clank, clank, onto the table pours all this stuff. And it so thrilling. I mean, it is thrilling. Everybody can feel it. Everyone is just like, “Wow.” The slice of apple, and then that gleam of the knife, and the sound of the trashcan closing, and the maple tree outside, and the blue jay. I mean, it almost comes clanking into the room. And it’s just amazing.

Ms. Tippett:

In some basic level, what they’ve done is just engage with their senses.

Ms. Howe:

Yeah, and have been present out of their minds and just noticing what’s around them, which is — we don’t do. And again, not to compare it to anything. They’re not allowed. And that’s very hard for them. And then on the fifth or sixth week, I say, “OK, use metaphors.” And they don’t want to. They don’t know how. They’re like, “Why would I? Why would I compare that to anything when it’s itself?” Exactly. Good question.

So then you think, why the necessity of a metaphor? Why do you have to use a metaphor now? Not just to do it to avoid it, but to do it to make it more there. And it’s very interesting.

The deity commonly associated to shatabhisha is Varuna, lord of the oceans, sea, water, sky, maya (which he used for the purpose of rta) and also one of the guardians of rta (cosmic, moral law and order). He is depicted riding a makara, which is a sea monster but is illustrated as a crocodile like creature with characteristics of others animals. Interestingly, according to the “Five Years Of Theosophy”, Ma is equivalent to five (Chaldean and Pythagorean numerology equates M to number 4 and A to number 1, so altogether it would be number 5) and Kara means hand. Building on this, the Theosophists (which are various contributors, H.P. Blavatsky, Mohini M. Chatterji, Damodar K. Mavalankar, and T. Subba Row to name a few) refer to the Sanskrit word trī-bhujam for triangle, where “tri” means three and “bhujam” means a side, and treat “bhujam” and “karam” as symbolically interchangeable. Since the Chaldean and Pythagorean numerology system assigns the value five to “Ma”, they form the term ma-karam by combining “Ma” with “kara”, yielding a word meant to represent a five-sided figure (a pentagon).

As an extension of this, they argue further that because Makaram (a pentagon) is also the tenth sign and the Sanskrit term dasadisa refers to the ten “faces” or directions (north, south, west, east, northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, up and down) of the universe, the sign (Capricorn) symbolically represents the structures of the cosmos. If those “faces” are understood as pentagonal (based on their interpretation of ma-karam) and if the universe is assumed to be symmetrically formed then it’s shape would correspond to a dodecahedron (a three dimensional shape made up of twelve pentagonal faces), the same geometric model Plato said the Demiurge used when constructing the material world. Now, that being said the makara is the vāhana of Varuna. A vāhana is the symbolic vehicle or mount of a deity in the Hindu pantheon, it represented the deity’s power, an extension of their domain, qualities and the type of energy they have mastery/control over. Varuna’s being the makara implies mastery over these cosmic structures or the material world, which is such a nod back to his title as the previous supreme ruler, before Indra became the supreme ruler but also to the sign of Capricorn because Makara is the name used for Capricorn in Sanskrit and it’s Aquarius that comes afterwards. The 11th house is the house of fulfillment of our desires (which comes from the 3rd house), which the nakshatra Varuna is associated with sits at the heart of Aquarius (the 11th sign).

Neville Goddard has his Sun and Ketu in Shatabhisha. He is known for teaching and writing about how our consciousness has this powerful influence over reality, meaning that people have an innate power to shape the world as they choose, either knowingly or unknowingly. That we are god and encouraged that we operate as so, through the means of consciousness. Much of his work forms the basis of the Law of Assumption, and many who practice Law of Assumption have likely encountered Neville Goddard’s teachings. Most of his focus is on the fulfillment of one’s desires by living in the wish fulfilled, this info he gathered from his guru, the Ethiopian Abdullah. I believe that through his relationship with Abdullah, Neville was able to access the past-life abilities associated with his Ketu in Shatabhisha and share that knowledge with a broader audience (which based on Neville shared testimonies of those who attended his lectures, this knowledge has changed their life entirely and were also able to obtain mastery).

The late, wild-life conservationist Steve Irwin also has his Sun in Shatabhisha (I’m sharing him here to show how makara can show up in other ways as well). Though he worked with a wide variety of animals, he felt a special gravitation toward crocodiles, dedicating much of his life to protecting them from danger and misunderstanding. His interest began very young, as he was introduced to reptiles, crocodiles and other similar animals early on because his father was a wildlife conservationist, keeper of their family’s reptile park, and a herpetologist (someome who studies reptiles and amphibians). Steve grew up to be known in the mainstream as “The Crocodile Hunter”, but his true focus was on conservation, rescue and education rather than hunting. This strong connection with crocodiles is an example of how the energy of Shatabisha, symbolized by Varuna’s makara, can appear in a native’s life as well (a literal manifestation in Steve Irwin’s life).

P.S. I’m not a professional or doctor so please do not see me as one.