Slimming Tips from Astrology by Gayatri Devi Vasudev

Article by Gayatri Devi Vasudev

The beauty ideal of the present times is the young taut slim body. This ideal has so enamoured large chunks of the urban population that it has set into motion a relentless pursuit for the perfect body. In the process a whole new world of products and advertising has emerged as a multi-crore industry doing brisk business as never before. However, this trend is far from congenial for both the body and the mind. Many people with perfectly normal, not perfect, bodies see themselves as excessively heavy or disgustingly thin and feel miserable. At the other end of the spectrum are those who are overweight and see themselves as failures simply because they cannot fit into the slim and beautiful image that social pressure and the media cum advertising world have created and extolled adnauseum as the sole recipe for accomplishments of every kind. This ideal of slimness has now assumed the momentum of an ideology which  dictates  that  without  a slim  body, one is a misfit in society. Such is its power, that many have been driven to starving themselves to death if only to lose those extra pounds. It has led to many suffering from a serious distortion of one’s image resulting in depression, melancholia, dangerous levels of jealousy and even suicidal tendencies. It has stolen away from them the peace and contentment that comes from feeling comfortable with the body one has to live in.

Taking care of the health and wellness of the body is a desirable goal but excessive pre-occupation with how it should look is nothing short of a dangerous obsession and the surest way to feeling wretched.

The horoscope which is an X-ray of what one brings with one at birth carries clues to the kind of body one has to live with. It can show if one will be slim, reed thin, stout, fat, obese or suffer from morbid obesity. Based on an understanding of the signs and planets involved, one can identify the contributory factor to the kind of body promised by the chart. One can then put in suitable effort to change it to some extent. However, the main thing the chart does is to help one understand the wisdom of feeling comfortable in the body one has.

The signs and planets influencing the Ascendant are the primary determinants of the kind of body one gets.

One of the most commonly occurring features in the charts of those severely overweight is the preponderance of common signs. Such common signs can be Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.

There is a commonly held belief that a slim person’s metabolism is high and an overweight person’s is low. But modern findings veneer towards the viewpoint that weight is not necessarily directly linked to metabolism. Instead they attribute it to total calories consumed being far in excess of total calories burned. But this statement is open to debate for it must have been everyone’s experience at some time or the other to have come across people who gorge themselves on food but appear emaciated and starved with not an inch of extra flesh on them. Nor are they known to have exercised in any way at any time. Such cases disprove the theories that excessive intake of calories leads to overweight. Though this is true in part, it cannot apply to all as the above instance shows. Such reed thin people may eat very well but also have a high metabolic rate which burns away the food they eat. Therefore, there can be cases both of overweight linked to metabolism and also of those not.

Most classical works carry combinations for thin as also for fat bodies. They identify planets and signs that can either show slimness or overweight as also those that give slender beautiful bodies.

Jataka Tattwa (A-35), for instance, gives a list of watery signs,

The signs Cancer, Aquarius, Capricorn, Pisces and Scorpio and Libra are termed jala or watery. The rest are suska or dry.

That is, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Sagittarius have been shown as dry signs.

According to Jataka Tattwa (A-65),

Saturn, Sun and Mars are termed dry or waterless planets. The Moon and Venus are called watery planets. Mercury and Jupiter are water-resorters.

Chart 1: Gulzarilal Nanda: Born July 4, 1898 at 0h. 2m. at 32 N 34, 74 E 3 with a balance of 10 years 4 months 25 days of Venus Dasa at birth.

Gulzarilal Nanda (Chart 1), one of our most honest and principled politicians, was slim and reed thin. The Ascendant is the suska or dry sign Aries occupied by its ruler, the dry planet Mars. No other planet, especially watery ones, influence the Ascendant Aries or its ruler Mars resulting in a personality that never put on any weight.

Apart from Mars, Saturn is another dry planet. In fact, Saturn is the Karaka for an emaciated-looking frame. Saturnine sign natives, that is, those born in Aquarius or Capricorn, more particularly in the former, are relatively safe from putting on extra weight though Capricorn is defined as a watery sign. The rulership of Saturn is not without its characteristic influence unless overridden by other weight-producing factors. Saturnine signs with Saturn influencing the Ascendant directly, especially from dry and airy signs, usually works against putting on weight.

P.T. Usha, India’s golden girl as she was known in her heydays, is a good example of the Saturnine check on overweight.

Chart 2: P. T. Usha: Born May 20, 1964 at 1h. 00m. at 11 N 30, 75 E 36 with a balance of 6 years 2 months of Venus Dasa at birth.

The Ascendant is the airy Aquarius in Chart 2 occupied by its ruler, the dry Saturn. The Moon, a watery planet, aspects the Ascendant but being in Leo, a fiery dry sign and himself aspected by the dry Saturn, his influence ceases to be weight producing.

The watery and dry signs produce corresponding kinds of bodies but Aquarius is more of an exception under watery signs. Likewise, though Sagittarius figures in the list of dry signs, its nature as a common sign contributing to girth takes control. Libra is a watery sign but being airy, is not really over-weight producing.

There are also specific combinations (Jataka Tattwa) which show thin bodies.

1. i) zÉÌlÉcÉlSìÉæ qÉåwÉå SåWûMüÉzÉrÉïqÉç |

If Saturn and Moon occupy Mesha (Aries), the native will have an emaciated body. (C-13).

1. ii) AlirÉåzÉå sÉÉpÉMåülSìaÉå uÉ¢åü SåWûMüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If the lord of the 12th occupy the 11th or a Kendra (quadrant) and be retrograde, the result is a slim body. (C-14)

iii) sÉalÉåzÉÉÍkÉ̹iÉpÉåzÉÎx§ÉMåü SåWûMüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If the owner of the Rasi occupied by the Ascendant lord be in the 6th, 8th or 12th the body is slim. (C-15).

1. iv) zÉÑwMüÉ…¡åû zÉÑwMüaÉëWåû SåWûMüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If a dry planet occupies a dry sign (on the Ascendant), it shows a thin body (C-16).

1. v) zÉÑwMürÉÑiÉåÅ…¡åûzÉå MüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If the lord of the Ascendant be conjoined with a dry (sign) planet, a thin body is the result (C-17).

1. vi) zÉÑwMüaÉëWû¤ÉæÅ…¡åûzÉå MüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If the lord of the Ascendant occupy a sign owned by a dry planet, it results in a thin body (C-18)

vii) sÉalÉåzÉÉÇzÉåzÉåå zÉÑwMåü MüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If the lord of the Navamsa occupied by the lord of the Ascendant be a dry planet, it shows a thin body (C-19).

viii) zÉÑwrÉÉ…¡aÉæÈ mÉÉmÉæÈ MüÉzrÉïqÉç |

If malefics occupy dry signs and the Ascendant, it shows a thin body (C-20).

Chart 3: Film Star: Born November 2, 1965 at 2h. 30m. at 28 N 36, 77 E 12 with a balance of 3 months 5 days of Moon Dasa at birth.

India’s most successful film star currently, the native of Chart 3 has Leo rising with its ruler Sun in a Venusian sign Libra and which has endowed the native with a charismatic, not necessarily handsome, personality. The Ascendant Leo is a dry fiery sign and is aspected by the dry planet Saturn from an airy sign Aquarius. The actor is slim and may need no extra exertion to continue that way.

Though Libra and Aquarius are shown as watery signs in classical texts, they belong to the airy triplicity of Gemini. Rarely do these signs produce heavy bodies unless overcome by weight producing factors.

When airy and dry signs are predominant on the rising sign and dry planets influence the Ascendant directly with no watery planets interfering, then one gets a trim figure and physique. More often than not, when Aries, Leo, Libra and Aquarius are aspected by Mars directly, such natives rarely put on weight. When these signs are aspected by Saturn, then they are also slim but tending more towards thinness and a scraggly appearance. When Venus is also involved in directly influencing the Ascendant by aspect or occupation, then such natives would not only have no problem staying slim but also have proportionate well-formed bodies. An example for such a body is the late Princess Diana (Chart 4).

Chart 4: Princess Diana: Born July 1, 1961 at 17h. GMT at 3 W 0, 53 N 0 with a balance of 2 years 4 months 24 days of Mars Dasa at birth.

The sign Scorpio rising has its ruler Mars in the dry, fiery Leo with Rahu. Mars is aspected by Moon-Ketu who themselves are influenced by the airy sign Aquarius which they occupy. Venus aspects the Ascendant which endowed the native with a tall, slim attractive frame. The fact the aspect of Venus on the Ascendant is from his own sign Taurus added to the beauty of the frame.

Chart 5: Jurist: Born January 16, 1920 at 0h. 45m. at 18 N 58, 72 E 52 with a balance of 18 years 8 months 4 days of Saturn Dasa at birth.

In contrast is the native of Chart 5, a well-known brilliant jurist, whose appearance was anything but good-looking. Bird-like and scraggly, he was also small-built. The Ascendant (in Chart 5) is the airy sign Libra occupied by the dry Mars and aspected by the even drier Saturn from the fiery dry sign Leo. Thin and wiry, the native’s appearance belied his intellectual brilliance.

 Chart 6: Scientist: Born January 8, 1942 at 2h. 29m. (GMT) at 51 N 46, 1 W 15 with a balance of 5 years 3 months 10 days of Sun Dasa at birth.

Another example of such a personality is of a British scientist (Chart 6) whose discovery of theories related to Black Holes brought him global recognition. Thin and gawky, he can lay no claims to looks of any kind. The scientist is confined to the wheel chair after he was struck by motor neurone disease. That apart, what is to be noted is the fact many people confined to wheel-chairs tend to put on excessive weight, especially waist downwards. In this case that has not happened. We may note the airy sign Libra rising is aspected by suska Graha Mars from the dry fiery Aries.

In all cases where only dry and fiery factors influence the Ascendant, the natives in a way are blessed with bodies that refuse to put on weight. Mars and Saturn are dry planets and give high metabolic rates. So they do not help fat to accumulate. If Mars alone is the factor causing a slim or thin body, then the natives are smart with trim waistlines. With very little effort they can even develop muscular looks. If Saturn is the planet, then muscular looks are next to impossible even with exercising with weights. On the other hand, since Saturn is sometimes a planet who does not exactly contribute to looks, he could give a tendency to a nice little paunch even if the rest of the body is thin. Such natives need to consciously fight this tendency through exercises that focus on the abdominal region.

Summing up, fiery and airy signs on the Ascendant make one naturally thin. The influence by aspect or occupation of Mars or Saturn or of both on such an Ascendant adds to the characteristic of staying thin. If Venus, under such circumstances, influences the Ascendant, one is slim and attractive in build. If Mars alone aspects or occupies such an Ascendant, then one has a good physique and an athletic frame. If Saturn alone is the planet in such a position, one is thin and gawky. As always, afflictions mar the results. Favorable influences enhance the results. In all these cases, exercise may or may not be necessary to retain the slimness. If perchance, such natives tend to put on weight for any extraneous reason – life style basically – simple exercises can help shed the extra pounds. The awareness that one has such combinations as described above in the chart should make one realize that one’s body is structured that way and very little effort, if any, is needed to stay that way. It can be a blessing then but if they want to gain weight, they must work harder than others to acquire a well-rounded figure.

But what of those with obese bodies? Do they have a chance of reducing based on astrological factors? More of it at a later date.

About Author : Mrs. Gayatri Devi Vasudev is the Editor of  Modern Astrology, the successor to Dr. B.V.Raman’s The Astrological Magazine which closed down in December 2007 following her resignation from its Editorship in June 2007. As Editor (January 1999 to July 2007) of The Astrological Magazine, the world’s foremost and most authentic journal on Jyotisha or Indian astrology, and earlier as its Associate Editor  Gayatri Devi Vasudev was actively involved with her father— its Founder and the Father of Modern Astrology Dr. B.V.Raman,—- from 1972  to  until his death in December 1998, in his mission to bring astrology into the comity of sciences. She continues his mission. She is also the National Vice-President of the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences founded by Dr. B.V. Raman in 1984 to organize the study and practice of astrology. Gayatri Devi Vasudev has authored many books on astrology that include The Art of Matching Charts, The Art of Prediction in Astrology, Advanced Principles of Prediction, Clues to Interpreting Charts, Practical Horary Astrology, The Story of Dr. B.V. Raman for Children and How to Judge a Horoscope- Volume II.