CHAPTERXVPLANETARY SOUNDS
Having dealt with the subject of planetary numbers we may now consider that of Planetary Sounds, these being an obvious connection between Number, Form, Sound and Colour. Number underlies all forms, all sounds and all colours, for modes of vibration in the same universal medium give rise to all of these. Thus it is said that the Logos or Word gave existence to all living forms. Those who have constructed Sound-forms by means of the Eidophone will readily understand how all forms may be derived from simple or complex sounds. Sound is also related to colour, and there are those who are sensitive enough to see sounds and to hear colours.
The seven notes of the gamut are related to the seven celestial bodies, thus—
C D E F G A BSun Saturn Mercury Moon Mars Venus Jupiter
C D E F G A BSun Saturn Mercury Moon Mars Venus Jupiter
C D E F G A BSun Saturn Mercury Moon Mars Venus Jupiter
C D E F G A B
Sun Saturn Mercury Moon Mars Venus Jupiter
The colours answering to these are—
Orange Indigo Blue Green Red Yellow Violet
Orange Indigo Blue Green Red Yellow Violet
Orange Indigo Blue Green Red Yellow Violet
Orange Indigo Blue Green Red Yellow Violet
The numbers following the order of the gamut bring us once more into touch with the inevitable apposition of the fire and water elements, representedby Mars and the Moon, to which reference has already been made in the preceding chapter. The numbers thus arranged are—
If we multiply this number 9 into the number of the signs of the zodiac we shall obtain 108, which gives us the key to the Ashtottaravàk or 108 sounds of the Mantrasara. Let us look at the origin of these, 108 sounds, since they have been much exploited without any specific explanation of their origin.
In Indian Astrology there are 27 lunar asterisms or Moon-stations which are each of 13° 20´ in extent. It has already been said that the whole period of man’s life is taken at 120 years, or an arc of 120°, which is one-third of the circle, and by dividing this by 9 we obtain an arc of 13° 20´, which is the extent of a lunar asterism or Moon-station. These Moon-stations were in great repute among the Arabian astrologers, who attached specific influences to them, but in the West they have been entirely neglected. They still continue to form the basis of all Indian calculations, and, as will be shown, are at the root of the planetary sounds.
Each asterism of 13° 20´ is again divided into four padams or quarters each of 3° 20´, which is the value of the Navamsha or one-ninth part of a sign of 30°. Now since there are four amshas in each asterismand 27 asterisms in the circle, there are 108 amshas, and these correspond with the 108 sounds.
There are five primary vowel sounds, and each of these lasts for 24 minutes, or one Indian hour, which is equal to 6° of the zodiac or one-fifth of a Sign. Therefore the 5 vowels are distributed through the 5 parts of the Sign. The vowels are—
They are all long and pure vowel sounds. The compounds such asoiin “oil,”owas in “now,” etc., are produced from a combination of these.
These five primary vowels range through the several Signs and are taken up by successive consonants attached to each of the Signs. These consonants extend throughout the Signs to which they are attached, as L through Aries, V through Taurus, etc., so that the five Indian hours or 120 minutes during which Aries is in evidence, are related to the five vowels in connection with the consonant L, as Lah, Lee, Loo, Lae, Loh, and these are succeeded by Taurus with the sounds Vah, Vee, Voo, Vae, Voh.
By taking into account the five vowel sounds, the consonants attaching to the various Signs, and the relative positions of the planets at any given time, a mantram may be formed which is in exact harmony with the astral vibrations obtaining at that particular time. Mantrams are also formed from the positions of the planets at the time of a person’s birth. Some of these mantrams are traditional with Hindu families and others have been adopted. At one timethey were delivered with the horoscope immediately after a birth had taken place, but many of these ancient practices have fallen into disuse among the moderns.
Here follows a complete table of the sounds showing the Signs and parts of Signs to which they are attached.
From this table we are able to extract the Planetary Sounds, and for this reason I have called it a Table of Planetary Sounds, for in the thought of all astrologers a Sign infers a planet and a planet infers a Sign. Hence as Mars rules the signs Aries and Scorpio, we have the consonants L and N and the five vowels, when sounded in conjunction with the initial consonant.
But it should here be remarked that the five vowelsare not all attributable to Mars, although they are set at the head of the Table under the sign Aries. They merely characterize the five divisions of the Signs, and are seen to range through the whole zodiac from Aries to Pisces. They are associated with the five disposers, or moderators as they are called, namely, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
We are now able to construct a Table employing all the Consonants, which we may call the
It will be observed that I have eliminated some sounds contained in the Sanskrit alphabet which have no English equivalents, and also that in the Table of Initial Sounds I have added some that are allied to those found in the original, as for instance Q and C (hard) under K, Z and X under S, etc.
An attempt has been made to fix the vowels under the planets, but they are not found to be consistent, and indeed it is not to be expected that they should be, since the swara, which is constantly changing, determines the vowel sound in force.
As initial sounds the vowels U and O, having affinity with the consonant W, may be classed under Venus, A under Mars, since both are initial factors in the scheme, and long I or Ee under Jupiter as relatedto Y. But as I have said, when in combination with the consonants, that is to say, when not initial, they are in a constant state of flux owing to the change of swara. Subject to this consideration they may be added to the Table of Initial Sounds, where they will be seen in the above scheme.
The application of this scheme of Planetary Sounds would appear originally to have been in the direction of determining what sounds should be employed at specific times in the construction of mantras appropriate to the nature of the planet then ruling. They were not originally associated with the signs of the zodiac, nor yet with the planets ruling those signs, but solely and specifically with the navamshas, of which there are 108 in the entire circle, and as these are connected with the asterisms through the Moon’s motion, there can be no doubt that they had originally a lunar basis.
Each of the signs is divided into 9 parts of 3° 20´ each, the order being as follows—
Aries 0°-3° 20´ is under the influence of Aries navamsha, 3° 20´-6° 40´ under the influence of Taurus navamsha, 6° 40´-10° under Gemini navamsha, and so on, the last 3° 20’ of this sign Aries being under Sagittarius navamsha. The sign Taurus then commences with Capricorn navamsha, and continues on to Virgo navamsha, when Gemini sign commences with Libra and ends with Gemini navamsha, and is followed by Cancer sign which begins with Cancer navamsha and ends with Pisces navamsha. Leo then commences again with Aries navamsha and follows the same course as the sign Aries. Thus ninesuccessive signs are used to designate the navamshas of each 30 degrees of the zodiac, and so we obtain the 108 navamshas, thus—
Figure 17.Figure 17.
Figure 17.
Figure 17.
But we have already seen that the lunar asterisms, each of 13° 20´, are divided into four padams or quarters each of 3° 20´, and as there are 27 asterisms we have again the 108 amshas or subdivisions of the ecliptic, which undoubtedly were originally associated with the 108 sounds. The fact that these sounds have come to be connected with the signs of the zodiac is due to the affinity which exists between the asterisms and the signs through their respective planetary rulers. For it will be shown that the Ashtottaradasha system of Planetary Periods (which see) recognizes the procession of planetary influence through the 108 padams in the course of 108 years, so that each year comes under the influence of one of these sections of the ecliptic, and the count in each case is made from the position held by the Moon at the time of birth.
This subject of Planetary Sounds is of immense interest, but inasmuch as it has been developed solely along Oriental lines and has its basis in a system which did not recognize the Vernal Equinox as a starting-point, but found its yogatara in thefirst point of As’wini (Zeta Piscium), I advise my readers to accept with extreme caution the statement that specific sounds are identified with particular planets or signs of the zodiac, and more particularly would I caution the reader not to rely upon the application of these Initial Sounds to the problems of speculation. I have merely shown in this place how they are derived, and thus have no doubt satisfied the curiosity of those who have seen them in other books where they are given without explanation, authority or warning, and stated as if they had been experimentally proved.