2.65. Prithvi Tattva refers to the essence of creation that embraces the earth element.
Tat is “That”. Tvam is “You”. Tatvam Asi = “That Which Is You”.
Tattvam is the essence of something. Tattva is a principle that defines the essence of something.
2.66. How do you visualise earth? How do you think earth feels when you come in contact with it? What is the nature of earth? What is the purpose of earth?
Prithvi tattva is the solid ground beneath our feet. It is the embodiment of Mother Earth. Under the earth’s crust is fire, water and air too. The center of our earth is supposed contain molten magma. When the ever patient Mama E is fed up with her children(that would be us!), she throws up her hands and volcanoes spew liquid fire. There is water underneth. From groundwater to aquifers to water wells, there is water underneth the earth’s surface. And of course, there is air. The soil is actually a living organism and doesnt just support life. Everything that we need to sustain ourselves and even plants and animals rely on living soil to synthesise food. Plants give out oxygen and take in CO2 for us whereas we need oxygen and breathe out CO2.
Jala tattva of water, the Agni tattva of sun and Vayu tattva that exists under the surface of the earth results in what sustains us as a planet. A farmer will tell you that the friability of soil and soil that allows carbon to be sequestered is what keeps our planet viable. At the cusp of potentially disastrous climate change sceanrio and raising global temperature, our hope lies in carbon sequestration. The easiest way to achive this is to plant more trees and especially more grasslands and prairies to trap CO2.
So if soil holds water, air and nutrients as well as life, then what exactly is Prithvi Tattva? Prithvi Tattva is the earth’s sheath over our earth and the rest of the Tattvas. What is visible to us is only the surface of the earth that may be covered with water or soil. When we poison our soil and cut down trees, we are poisoning Mother Earth and choking her. The Prithvi Tattva which is her power cannot be destroyed by us as the tattvas are more powerful than any of us because it is pure conscious energy. We must remember however that we dont take care of Mother Earth. Rather she takes care of us. Abusing Prithvi is akin to abusing our own mother. We stomp on her, we extract from her and we break her for minerals and metals and oil and water. And she bears it because she wants us to thrive, but if we abuse Mother Earth, the Prithvi Tattva that resides in us(because tattvas reside everywhere and in every creation other than the Brahman), we will kill off the power of Prithvi tattva inside us and what’s outside that support us.
2.67. There are two kinds of Tattvas in a chart. One is Rasi Tattva and the other is Graha Tattva.
Rasi Tattva is the essence or elemental nature of the 12 Rasi houses or signs.
Graha Tattva is the essence or elemental nature of the 9 Grahas or celestial bodies.
Rasi is a ‘space’ that is fixed in the zodiac/skies. They contain within them 27 nakshatras or stellar constellations. These 27 nakshatras are distributed evenly amongst the 12 Rasis or Zodiac Signs.
Graha is a celestial body that is always in motion in the skies. A snapshot of their positions during the moment of birth in the zodiac and in particular Rasis is what we call our horoscope.
Grahas are influenced by the Rasis whose signs/spaces they are ‘visiting’ during their transit. Rasis are not affected by the Grahas. This means that Grahas have an innate nature and Rasis have an innate nature.
Since Graha is like a guest that goes around to various Rasis, their tattva or elemental nature will be influenced by the tattva of the Rasis.
2.68. Graha Tattva of Prithvi: Prithvi Tattva can be seen in only one grahas. Mercury
2.69. Mercury represents the Prithvi Tattva in Jyotish. What does this mean? It means that Mercury controls the tattva of Prithvi or Earth. Mercury is a sheath. There are two sides to it. In astrology, Mercury has two sides to it. It is the most flexible of the Grahas. It can be benefic OR malefic because it takes the side of the grahas it resides with or is aspected by…this is not to say that Mercury doesnt have its own nature. It just means that Mercury’s nature is to shift and adjust to it’s circumstances. Much like Mother Nature. That is why the tattva of Mercury aka Budha is Prithvi.
Mercury is the son of Chandra, the Moon God. Jupiter adopted him. So Mercury possesses adaptability that is similar to the nature of the Moon but also the intellect that was so admired by Jupiter. But Mercury’s intelligence is not Jupiter’s wisdom. Thats why the tattva Mercury controls is Prithvi. He does not share the Akash Tattva that is wisdom emanated from pure universal consciouness. He also does not share the Jala Tattva of Chandra. He doesnt possess the nurturing qualities or intuitiveness of the Moon. His thinking is sharp, rational and precise. And calculating.
Mercury is also responsible for the gift of communication and skills. Just like underneth the earth’s crust lies all the other tattvas hidden and leashed, Mercury’s Prithvi tattva helps the graha to access all kinds of skills. Mercury denotes multiplicity, “more than what meets the eye” aka “what you see is not what you get” and finally, the skills and enthusiasm to be “a jack of all trades.”
Mercury is the one who likes to begin things. It is within Mercury’s domain that youth’s rash and enthusiastic energy resides. Mercury represents children or teenagers. The body organ Mercury controls is the skin. The skin is the largest body organ of the human being. Under the sheath that is the skin, we are muscles, bones, blood, organs, marrow and all that. Each physical body would be indistinguishable from another if it werent for the skin sheath which gives us defination and features.
Mercury offers distinguishment. It could be through appearance or lineage or skills or intelligence. That’s why the other shadow side of Mercury is calculativeness and being critical. The earth’s sheath defines and distinguishes valleys from mountains from fields from water bodies. Underneth, there is a bundle of other tattvas or energies that has potential and can be expressed in a multitude of ways. It is the Prithvi tattva that acts like a sheath which gives distinguishing features. Similarly, it is Mercury that gives us distinguishing features.
2.70. Rasi Tattvas are assigned to the Rasis or Signs of the zodiac. Prithvi Tattva is assigned to 3 Rasis: Taurus(Vrishaba), Virgo(Kanya) and Capricorn(Makra)
2.71. Taurus’ Prithvi Tattva is the Sthira or fixed nature of Earth. It is solid ground under one’s feet. The earth here is also the fertile nature of Prithvi. Our food comes from earth. The nature of Prithvi that grows crops for food means that Taurus Rasi has a predominance of Prithvi Tattva. In Taurus, Prithvi tattva is able to siphon from underneth the earth, riches, food and nourishment(remember, Moon is exalted in Taurus) and turn it into something tangible. The lord of Taurus is Venus. Here Venus acts to enjoy life in all the material offerings it can access.
2.72. Virgo’s Prithvi Tattva is in the dual nature of Earth. Virgo Rasi’s attributes are service, discernment and discrimination that can be in the form of critical nature. Here Virgo is very rational and logical. The ultimate goal of Virgo is to serve and it is not a place of emotions. It is where practicality resides. Sometimes no matter how much we drill, we cant find water. If we abuse the earth, Mother Earth simply takes away what we take for granted. That is her at her strictest telling us that all actions have consequences. It is a practical lesson and not an emotional one. If we don’t follow the rules, we have to face the consequences. The purpose of Prithvi tattva is not to be the enforcer of the law, but simply the enacter of a rule.The lord of Virgo is Mercury. This is the cold intellect of Budha at play.
2.73: Capricorn has a predominance of Prithvi tattva. It is a place of duty and work. Capricorn also represents oil, metals and all the things that take long to form. These are the bounties of Mother Earth, the riches that lay beneath the surface. But these are not easily accesible. They can only be extracted with hard labour and dedication. Metals and petroleoum that take eons to form are valuable and precious but they cant be easily obtained. This is the reason why Capricorn has an abundance of Prithvi Tattva. The lord of Capricorn is Saturn. The energy here is dedicated and dutiful labour.
2.74. Even though Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn (2, 6, 10 bhavas or houses of the Kalapurusha’s chart) are all posssessing Prithvi Tattva, the nature of their energy is slightly different.
2.75. A common feature of all Prithvi Tattva is that they possess within them the ability to hold a multiplicity of hidden gifts/riches, discriminate/be factual and demands effort to access it. Time is a feature of Prithvi Tattva. It takes time to form anything of value and worth. This could be a skill or good reputation or tangible things like fossil fuels/diamonds/metals etc. Prithvi Tattva when it domainates can be all about duty.
2.76. The Prithvi tattva of Taurus Rasi is stable, stubborn and desires comfort above all else. They are also hard working. The hedonistic nature of Venus, the lord of Taurus makes this a rich and prosperous rasi. Here is a storehouse of wealth. Wealth can be in the form of riches or money, vehicles, food etc. The karaka becomes very fond of these goods and is not cutting any corners on the enjoyment factor. It is a rich person’s hedonism.
2.77. The Prithvi Tattva of Virgo Rasi is where there is a brilliant but sharp mind. It is so sharp that is is all edges and no soft curves. Criticism resides here because the intellect sees everything clearly. It is the sign every there is doubt lurking everywhere due to the over analytical nature of the Prithvi Tattva. The goal of this Rasi is to serve others. Mercury is the lord of this nakshatra. Here is the energy of no nonsense work and service.
2.78. The Prithvi Tattva of Capricorn Rasi is where the lord of karma, Saturn, unfurls the flag of duty. Things take a long time to fructify here. There is an emphasis on duty and karma. But this Rasi also holds a lot of wealth, but it will never be released unless the person who desires it proves why he deserves it. Often it is in the form of hard work and dedication. Sun gains directional strength here. Jupiter is debilitated and Mars is exalted. We will examine this in later lessons. This is the Rasi where turning points happen and karmic demands are made.
2.79. Important to remember: The lord of a Rasi does not have a tattva assigned to it on the basis of a Rasi. Example: The lord of Pisces is Jupiter. Pisces Rasi has Jala Tattva. Jupiter, the graha does not have Jala tattva. It is important to remember this.
HINT 1 : THE TATTVA ASSIGNED TO A RASI MEANS THAT THE RASI HAS A PREDOMINANCE OF THAT TATTVA.
EXAMPLE: GEMINI RASI HAS A PREDOMINANCE OF THE QUALITIES OF VAYU. GRAHAS THAT VISIT THAT RASI WILL BE INFLUENCED BY VAYU.
HINT 2: THE TATTVA ASSIGNED TO A GRAHA MEANS THAT THE GRAHA CONTROLS THAT TATTVA.
EXAMPLE: SATURN HAS A GRAHA TATTVA OF VAYU. THIS MEANS THAT SATURN CONTROLS VAYU TATTVA.
HINT 3: THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW TO UNPACK RASI TATTVA AND GRAHA TATTVA.
- RASI IS A ‘PLACE IN THE ZODIAC SKY’.
-GRAHA IS A ‘CELESTIAL BODY’.
HINT 4: RASIS ARE STATIONARY SPACES IN THE HEAVENS.
GRAHAS ARE ALWAYS IN MOTION, MOVING FROM ONE RASI SIGN/HOUSE TO ANOTHER.
2.80. Assignment:
How will Mars act in the earthy sign of Capricorn?
How will Venus act in the earthy sign of Virgo?
How will Moon act in the earthy sign of Taurus?
Write down the Rasi Gunas and their movement from week one.
Write down the Graha Gunas from week one.
Combine Graha Gunas and Graha Tattvas in a table.
Combine Rasi Gunas and Rasi Tattvas in a table.
PLEASE ASK DOUBTS IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND ANY OF THE ABOVE IN THE LIVE CLUBHOUSE SESSIONS. WE ARE HAVING THE CLUBHOUSE SESSIONS ONLY TO RESOLVE DOUBTS OR ANSWER QUESTIONS.
GUNAS AND TATTVAS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THIS AND KNOW THESE ALLOCATIONS BY-HEART, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT LATER DURING PREDICTIVE CLASSES.
THE END.