Kucooot

"Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?"

"Yes."

"All like ours?"

"I don't know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree. Most of them splendid and sound—a few blighted."

"Which do we live on—a splendid one or a blighted one?"

"A blighted one."

— Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Ardra Moon

Today, we’re going to contemplate Ardra, the nakshatra through which we may understand the exact nature and cause of universal suffering. This understanding of the universe forms the basis of my spiritual philosophy and why I am constantly screaming for our collective liberation.

When we think about what makes us suffer in life, we tend to point the finger at economic systems and societal flaws, describing them as the root causes of all suffering. Money, as we know, is said to be the “root of all evil.” But we must collectively understand that it goes much deeper than that.

All suffering comes from the foundational nature and structure of the universe. Its duality and therefore its inherent division are what causes us to continuously struggle with little to no returns for our efforts. To elucidate this, I came up with a way to easily visualize the concept through examining that which is the basis of life as we know it: DNA.

DNA is a molecule that not just humanity, but all life forms, strive to maintain the structural integrity of. To do this, life forms need energy. They need energy to carry out basic cellular functions, to protect themselves, and to reproduce—all of which serve to maintain the integrity and continuity of DNA. Energy is a resource that is finite, since all matter and energy in the universe is finite, as far as we know, and as far as what we have access to. Therefore, there is a finite amount of resources, which means that this process of structural maintenance cannot go on forever, because finite resources will run out.

On top of this, the universe is expanding and accelerating in its expansion. This causes an increase in entropy, where the universe becomes increasingly disorderly and it becomes increasingly impossible for things to maintain their structural integrity or “orderliness.” This universal phenomenon of destruction directly threatens the integrity of DNA. It thus becomes clear that life is fighting a fool’s battle against the very forces of the universe, with a finite amount of resources to maintain its own existence. It is a zero sum game.

This constant battle for resources is everywhere. This is what causes violence in all forms of life. It even causes violence (which I define as the destruction of structural integrity) to that which is not alive. And so, violence and oppression are not unique to human beings. In order for creatures to maintain their own structural integrity, they need to absorb resources, which necessarily entails the destruction of the structural integrity of other entities to gain the resources they either contain or possess.

This is why lions kill wildebeest, why cows kill grass, why humans kill non-humans and each other, why plants kill insects, why insects kill each other, and so on, and so on, and so on. Even when there is no direct killing involved, in the case of, for example, non-carnivorous plants, there is, in fact, a destruction of structural integrity. Plants photosynthesize by obtaining light from the Sun, which emits light due to a process in its core called nuclear fusion, where elements are fused together in a process that releases energy. This process is what essentially destroys the structural integrity of the Sun, which will eventually die. And so the destruction of the structural integrity of the Sun maintains the structural integrity of terrestrial plant life. And hell, even plants are incredibly violent to one another, and I know this thanks to this post I read the other day.

My point here, if I haven’t reiterated it enough, is that the process of maintaining one’s structural integrity necessarily entails the destruction of another’s, and this is precisely the violence that is inherent to the universe and that causes suffering for all. Therefore, the very nature of existence is suffering. The desire to exist in this universe is in itself the root of all evil, of all the violence that is enacted in the name of existing on one side of the [exists / does not exist] dichotomy.

In Ardra nakshatra, we are forced to confront this harsh reality head-on. Biblical scripture has referred to this universe as the Valley of Tears, reminiscent of Ardra’s teardrop symbol. This tikshna nakshatra shows exactly how the dualistic foundation of the universe is the cause of all violence. The very nature of conflict requires at least 2 entities, with one causing the destruction of the other or both causing the destruction of each other. An axe cannot cut itself. It must first be divided into axehead and axe handle, at which point the axehead can be used to cut i.e. destroy the handle. And so the very reason that violence, conflict, and suffering can occur is because of the very existence of division and duality. A schism, a rift, a crack, it may be called. Ardra with its core essence allows us to see this violent realm for what it is.

And more importantly, you may have heard it said that Ardra is the fall from the “Garden of Eden”, a supposedly paradisiacal place where everything is sunshine and rainbows in which Adam and Eve are living with all the little birdies and monkeys like it’s some kind of fucking Disney movie. Ardra is supposedly the “Fall” where we are thrust into a world of division and chaos. But it’s not. Now, I will state the most important teaching of Ardra, which is that:

We already exist in Hell.

Ardra is where our eyes are opened to the true horror of existence in this universe where everything is constantly eating each other in an incessant process of destruction and consumption. There are people being bombed, shot, and burned alive in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza right now. There is a wildebeest somewhere in Kenya being eaten alive by hyenas. There are thousands dying of terminal cancer. Some are dying of the Ebola virus. A lioness has just killed a wild dog cub. A pack of wild dogs is eating a pregnant impala alive, devouring her fawn too. A polar bear has just killed a seal and her pup. An orca has just eaten the liver of a great white shark and left the rest of the corpse to rot in bacteria that will feast on it. A neutron star is tearing a planet apart. A black hole is ripping a star apart. A baby crocodile has just killed a baby rabbit. There are people being tortured and murdered. There are non-human animals being tortured and murdered, by humans… Hell, even the fucking trees are killing each other. I could go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.

And so in Ardra, there is no “Fall”. In Ardra, we simply realize that the “Garden of Eden” that we still exist and languish in has been the Hell we’ve been so scared of all along. Hell isn’t some distant subterranean place of fire and brimstone and suffering and torment.

Hell is right here.

Rahu is better than ketu

I always wondered why for so many centuries men have always been the one in power and women never even got a chance at it, I did some thinking and I realised the reason, the only reason - PHYSICAL STRENGTH. Men have remained in power for so long not because they are smart, but because they have always been able to threaten women with physical harm, violation and public ostracisation/humiliation from other men with physical strength, and last but not the least, Death.

But in the modern age, physical strength is becoming less and less admired as academic prowess is becoming the new thing of worship and this is where rahu comes in. Rahu is change, radical change, rahu is constantly moving and changing, meaning that the world is also forced to change and evolve, shifting perspective and power. Take the recent transit of rahu in its own sign- Aquarius, and see how it strips power away from the people who have had it for too long, see how it exposes every buried secret of the elites aka- people who have been supported by ketu, because when rahu is involved power shifts and does not remain in one party's hand for too long unlike ketu who keeps power stationary letting it only belong to the forefathers and keeping you tethered to useless traditions that serve no one but the ones in power. Take another example from the Egyptian pharaohs or even any major kingdom like the Romans or the

A while ago I designated this book as required reading for an understanding of Vedic astrology and Vedic philosophy in general.

Now, I am generally careful with my language, and so I said it was a “must-read”. I didn’t say that I endorsed Vedic philosophy. There is a very big difference. I recommend this book because it will help to give you objective insight into how people think in this spiritual framework.

One thing that we as women must always remember is that just as shitty males exist now, shitty males existed 2000 years ago. And just as shitty males write senseless bullshit now, shitty males wrote senseless bullshit 2000 years ago. Just because something is a classic text doesn’t give it inherent worth. The classic texts are filled with heaps and piles of misogynistic horseshit.

Let me give you an example. Indra, the ruler of Jyeshtha, has a consort named Indrani, also known as Shachi. Shachi’s primary role is described as giving Indra his lofty status. This is of course, dressed up in very romanticized language, like oh Shachi is the SHAKTI and BRILLIANCE of Indra who elevates his GLORY to the highest heights.

But if you look at it for what it really is, it’s just the same old shit where men use women as objects to signal their status. That’s all it is.

And throughout the “spiritual” classics you will find this same drivel littered all over the place, where women are simply proxies for men’s “glory”.

We as women must always question and fight against these horrid constructs so we can move forward as a collective (unlike certain dummies who sell “female path” courses that, instead, reinforce these constructs).

This is is personal to me.

When you look at New Age spiritual circles or the classic tantric texts, you’ll see that they they have one thing in common that they love to parrot: that all the Mahavidya—and all goddesses—are one and the same and equal in power and their ability to liberate.

If that were the case…….. why is there only 1 old woman among all the Mahavidya? And if you move out of esotericism and into mainstream Hindu sects, you’ll see that the archetype of the Hag is completely non-existent.

Whether it’s the modern context or the ancient context, it all reads like token diversity, where 1 token minority is thrown into a sea of majority figures and they dust their hands off and say “OK that’s good enough. Quota reached.”

Seriously.

Why don’t we stop to think at why there’s only 1 old woman? Why can’t all of them be old women?

And the answer to this question is that they are simply not the same.

There’s a very well known phenomenon in Guwahati, Assam, where the Dasha Mahavidya Peeth (a peeth or pitha is a location where Shakti’s energy is said to be concentrated) is located. This place in Assam is also known as the Kamakhya Temple, where temples to all 10 Mahavidya are located. And guess what?

While almost every temple there is filled with people giving offerings, prayers, libations, respects, there is one that is just… crickets.

Dhumavati’s.

Nobody goes there. Maybe the occasional sadhika/sadhaka, but other than that… crickets.

So no, she is not the same as the others.

And not only is she not just not the same, she is higher than the others. The highest seat, in fact—which is why her other name, Jyeshtha, means most senior/most superior.

She is the only one who possesses the truest brilliance of the Feminine, because she is the only one who does not need a consort to give her her power. Her power is hers alone and hers to give.

Today we’re gonna be looking at the actual core of the feminine, with regard to a nakshatra we’ve all heard so much about.

Ashlesha is nakshatra that you’ll see a lot in New Age circles and Vedic Twitter and tumblr as being one of the main lunar mansions of “feminine mystique”, whatever the f*ck that means. Yin, magnetic, seductive eyes, frigid sexuality, paralyzing power of the kundalini, tantra queens, makeup, glamor, prostitution, channeling erotic female Lilith energy, etc etc etc etc.

Very much of this is due to what that uwu princess female adept woman has put out into the world, and I have to say… the feminine mystery part is true—just not in the way that one would think, and certainly not in the way that ms. nócty thinks.

Ashlesha is said to be the birth nakshatra of Ketu, which I ruthlessly dragged in another one of my posts. But today we’re going to look at the other side of Ketu. Ketu is associated with strīm̐ (स्त्रीं), the strī bija, which directly translated means the “woman root syllable”. As you may know, Ketu is associated with excavation, spiritual knowledge, looking past superficialities, and the “root” of things. And these significations are of the utmost importance when a woman wants to know her true spiritual power.

Ketu is associated with 2 vidyas: Dhumavati and Tara. Tara is the concept of strī, woman, itself. Both of these goddesses are described as absolutely horrifying to look at; Dhumavati (me, lol) is ugly, old, haggard, frightening, wrinkled, and nasty, and Tara is fat, disheveled, pot-bellied, and described as extremely awkward to look at. And yet… they are the only goddesses who have the ability to save. Not Lakshmi, not Kamala, not Tripura Sundari, not Bhuvaneshwari. Dhumavati brings about Daruna Ratri, which brings about the end of the corruption of the world, and Tara comes from the Sanskrit root word tṝ, which means to cross over or to transcend. Tara is commonly referred to as a boat that takes one over the sea of samsara, and this is confirmed even further by Tara’s association with the Matsya (fish) avatar of Vishnu.

Tara and Dhumavati, along with their yantras

To understand the freeing power of Ketu, especially for women, we have to look at the mythology of the Nagas, the rulers of Ashlesha. They are said to reside in the lowest realm, buried deep (Ketu) under all the others. This realm is known as Patala Loka. Patala Loka is unique in that it is not illuminated by solar bodies like the other realms; it is illuminated by the jewels worn by the Nagas of Patala Loka, each of them having their own brilliance and luster.

“There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear.”

Ashlesha, according to ms. nǒckty, is characterized by external “feminine mystique” and makeup and glamor that creates the “yin” to attract solar energy to it, since feminine beings—again according to her—are unable to produce their own light.

But if you dive into the deepest realm, characterized by the feminine powers of the Nagas, you’ll see that they have no need for a Sun to provide illumination. Their own gems are enough to bring light to the entirety of Patala Loka. And for all the nǒckty worshipers who by now still haven’t gotten the point: a woman in her most profound state of existence does not need a man to give her anything for her to spiritually progress. What she needs is already within her. All she needs to do is to dive deep within herself to find these gems that are inherent to her. As women, the brilliance of our own consciousness is Tara herself, who is herself Dhumavati, the one who has no consort because she is enough for herself.

This is the true core of the feminine and is the essence of my messaging here. You as a woman have the gift of unimaginable spiritual clarity, and the way to get there is not by dolling up your temporary physical vessel in order to attract a “virile solar being” who will simply reduce you to a physical object to be used and cast aside. You as a woman do it by excavating deep into yourself and finding the mysteries within. You as a woman do it by realizing that YOU are the true virile solar being. And this is how you as a woman cross the ocean of samsara and into liberation.