My relation with astrology.

From a young age as I remember my childhood years, I had an interest in what is in the universe, behind it and with everything bright I saw in the sky.

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I was touched in a special way by the idea that there are various planets visible to the eye, some beyond and even the thought that all this vast universe we are in is a small piece of an infinity.

 

In the dark sky on the days around the new moon I remember my self gazing up and being enchanted by the spectacle, which gave me the felling that we are not alone here but these lights are something ‘alive’.

 

I was enthusiastically lost in the infinite lights of the sky and especially when I was in southern Crete where the spectacle was even richer since there was no lighting from the city up there.

 

My first interest about astrology and palmistry were through some books that my parents had and I read them with great interest while trying to apply them to my environment, to friends and classmates from school.

During my teenage years as I grew up I did not deal with astrology but I always had its form and idea in my life and daily life as a good friend of mine who advises me wisely.

At around the age of 25 I was in India looking for something to develop as a human being, I heard a voice that was in my soul from the moment I came into this life, and that was the my relationship with music.

 

Starting lessons in Indian classical music playing the well known string instrument the Sitar in Varanasi, northern India, I experienced  moments of happiness, as music was always making mw feel happy.

Music has been and is evolving more and more as probably my best friend so I was very happy in those years that I dedicated my life to these studies, while now I feel grateful that I had this opportunity.

 

Since at that time music was my whole world, I did not have in mind that I would take time for something else, while at times I noticed that my interest in astrology was also deep in my being.

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Around 1999 a good friend of mine talked to me about the art of palmistry and I was thrilled with the idea.

The same year on my next visit to India, my music teacher told me about a friend of his who knows how to read her palms.

 

Margaret Mahan is from Canada and spent long periods each year in India learning and practicing the art of astrology. I met her one day while doing horoscopes at my music teacher's family.

 

When I expressed my interest in learning the basics of palmistry she told me that this art is a part of what is called in Sanskrit as 'Jyotish', which means the light of God and includes palmistry, astronomy, astrology, and various healing techniques that benefit man, so she suggested that I start with the basics in astrology.

 

Very soon I found myself with the very intensive time studying music at that time to include the study in astrology step by step, such as preparing an astrological chart, studying the nature and influence of each planet there and in for a while I was designing and interpreting the horoscopes of my friends and acquaintances in my environment, where their interest was another inspiration.

 

What was very impressive to me at that time was the 'light' that illuminated my life through the wisdom that I discerned, as for example I understood why some of my relationships with the environment were in the form they had, because something happened in life a specific time and every detail, which in the end this knowledge offered a truth in my every step, which inspires a calm knowing and coexisting with it.

 

Looking at my own chart I felt a grandeur in the cosmic laws of the universe when I saw that the period of Jupiter began for me in 2000 and would last for the next 16 years.

 

In each chart every planet has its role and in mine Jupiter is the planet that symbolizes the teacher, the deep knowledge and truth and this planet is at the point of operation of the mind which shows that when its time comes I will influence as appropriate, which as soon as that time came I noticed that I started my apprenticeship in astrology, went deeper into music and choose the Dhrupad style, a very deep approach to sound with musical instruments similar to it such as the ‘bass’ Sitar called ‘Surbahar’ and the Rudra Veena where I dedicated my life later.

 

Also practices such as yoga, meditation and an increasingly ethical daily life where I would support the above choices became more and more solid in my daily life, offering the appropriate 'foundations' needed in it.

 

I consider it a great fortune and blessing to get in touch with important teachers in my life where it all started at the period of Jupiter , who offered a vast 'carpet' of knowledge and truth, inspiring me to 'walk' it carefully without stepping out of it .

 

Starting astrology classes with Margaret Mahan for a few months in Varanasi, I was soon able to calculate astrological charts and look at her palms.

By reading a palm we can see the state of the planets, and how much they agree with the interpretation of the chart, while we also observe the physiognomy on the face and body to confirm the corresponding characteristics on the chart.

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For the next year I often had the opportunity to read the charts from friends both in India and in Greece, until it soon became known to my environment with an acceptance that seemed familiar like water flowing in a ditch effortlessly.

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The next year when I returned to India I found myself in a friendly house where someone practiced Vedic astrology. When he looked at my chart he suggested I go and meet his teacher, where we soon went to his place.

 

The meeting with Ram Kumar Mehrotra seemed quite familiar and I would say as if we did not need to say anything further, it was self-evident that I would learn with him. At that time when the period of Jupiter had just begun and also Jupiter was in a very favorable place in the sky those days, the sign was obvious that I would come in contact with a teacher where I would go deeper and start a long apprenticeship.

 

I was happy with my already teacher Margaret but since she did not live in Varanasi we could not have frequent contact which I would have preferred, it seemed next to develop contact with a teacher who was close to where I lived.

 

Starting my apprenticeship with Ram Kumar Mehrotra, the ‘papuji’ as he was called asked me to stop reading astrology books where I had already read some of the most important texts in this tradition. I took some notebooks with which I wrote daily notes dictated to me by my teacher's son, Ashish.

 

This continued for that year, so on my return to Crete I studied these notes, which reported basic information such as the effect of each house on the map, the planet responsible there, the various planets on the map, the seasons them, etc.

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At that time I came closer and more familiar with the place I was learning. It was a big old house, upstairs where my teacher, his father, Vashudev Mehrotra, and various other family members lived, such as his brother who was also an astrologer helping his father draw the charts.

 

On the ground floor was a temple of Rama in the form of a child and in front of the temple is the office of astrology where at that time it was operated by my teacher's father. A very special form of man where he inspired me a lot through his experience, knowledge and attitude.

He was very old and had many, many years of experience in this field. Basically the whole family has been practicing astrology for several years, from father to son, with my teacher's son being the fifth generation.

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In this area there was very good knowledge in practice, what happens in each period and phase of life, what advice to give, as well as the appropriate treatment.

 

As far as I remember there was a lot of people queuing and waiting in this office, as well as people who came from other cities for this reason, who were waiting to ask some questions to get the appropriate answers.

The energy of the place was very special since everything is done in front of a temple, where practices are given, such as writing the name of Rama 500 times a day for a few months, following a strict vegetarian diet and a similar daily routine.

At the end he brought the texts, which were stored around the temple, also creating a powerful energy from the concept of ‘sadhana’, the spiritual practice of each practitioner.

 

The idea of what is happening in that place gave me a lot of inspiration and created the corresponding awe in my being, that something spiritually strong is happening there, which filled me with joy every day that I left with my new notes.

 

Sometimes I spent time with my teacher's father, where every phrase, especially around astrology, had a sense of truth, stability and confidence, like the steps of an ‘elephant’.

 

Returning to Greece, I continued to practice astrology to friends and acquaintances, without any financial benefit (which lasted for a few years) and I experienced great joy and mental satisfaction through the help I felt that this science offered.

 

The next year when I returned to India, I learned that the whole family was in the hospital because of my teacher's father who was being treated like that and I went there to visit.

As soon as I saw my teacher's father and greeted him in a short time he passed away and it seemed like a sign that I was the last to say goodbye to him.

 

After that day something changed and I experienced an even bigger and warmer welcome from my teacher's family, where I began to feel somehow as a member of the family, which became more and more intense.

 

From this visit to India and for the next 7 years I spent endless hours with my teacher, either in his office where I was daily listening to the way he advised people, or at his house, or in our frequent walks around the ghats of Varanasi. talking, and listening to him, but also in the various cafes of the city.

 

Basically we spent a lot of time together every day, and I have many nice stories to remember from those moments.

Based on the notes I had written from now on, the practice was to learn in many different ways, either by listening to him speak to me, or by speaking to people.

 

Sometimes there was a time when we did not say anything as a lesson, and there he would ask me what I see on a map, what I suggest, where in this way I imagine he saw my evolution.

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When at some point it was appropriate, and that wherever we were, he would say to me a phrase that would have the essence of a year of lessons I would say…

It is not enough to read a chart alone, but to keep in mind what to suggest, when to say something, how certain it is. A small detail changes the whole picture of the interpretation.

 

Practical and substantive experience is very important in an art like astrology, while semi-learning is very dangerous.

 

One day I remember looking up some information about a chart in a book and when I asked my teacher why this approach is so it did not seem logical to me, he told me to look at what profession the author of this book does, which when I looked at it I saw that he was an academic, not an astrologer.

He then reminded me that it is easy for someone to gather information from here and there and write a book, but that does not mean that, practical experience is what counts in essence.

 

After a few years I went to a bookstore with my teacher and he suggested I get some astrology books where I enjoyed them.

He told me that now that I had a base, I was able to read and discern what is not useful.

 

When a communication base was created with my teacher about how a chart works, what a planet emits and how it affects a horoscope, how to read a palm and pay attention to each physiognomy, how to make the counseling approach from there on our communication and apprenticeship was done through practice, mainly listening to him.

 

In the years that I have already been involved in astrology I feel fine and grateful for this contact with the cosmic laws in the universe and an opportunity to offer my service to this world through this art.

 

I have seen people who have benefited from this art and it gives me joy and appetite to be available to whoever wants it.