Indigestion- What Has Vedic Astrology to do with it? Part II

The fifth house in a horoscope rules over stomach and heart. For healthy digestion, a strong fifth house and its lord are a precondition. If malefic planets influence the fifth house or the fifth lord, the stomach and digestion suffer.(Heart and blood pressure will also suffer provided moon is involved)

The sixth house rules over the small intestine and has a direct bearing on how we digest and process our diet. Any weakness in the ability of the small intestine to assimilate food will allow undigested food to pass through our body without imparting any nutrition to it. This can cause diseases related to malnutrition.

The sixth house rules over the large intestine also and if a problem develops here, the fecal matter is unable to pass through. We call this constipation and in chronic cases it causes great damage to body.

Liver is ruled over by Jupiter and the strength or weakness of Jupiter has a direct bearing on the capacity of liver to perform its job in the best possible way. Jupiter also represents the pancreas.

The role of Leo and Virgo
We talked about the fifth and sixth houses as being pivotal to healthy digestion. The fifth and the sixth signs too assume importance as they are the fifth and sixth houses in the natural horoscope.

If Sun is weak in Shad and Vimshopak Bal, is afflicted by Rahu, Saturn etc. or is placed in the eighth house, the ability of the stomach to perform its three functions will be eroded. This will result in hyperacidity, heartburn, gas formation and frequent belching.

Mercury in a similar situation causes impaired peristaltic movement, and inability of the small intestine to extract all nutrients from food. It also results in constipation and a host of diseases in other parts of the body.

Astrological diagnosis of causes of indigestion
In a chart, if the lord of the Ascendant, the fifth and sixth houses are afflicted and Sun, Mercury, and Jupiter are also not fully strong, it is certain that the individual suffers from digestive disorders. It becomes important to look at the strengths of all planets involved very carefully. 

In the chart given above, take a look at the Ascendant lord Mercury, fifth lord Saturn, Jupiter and Sun. Mercury is placed in the twelfth house in Rahu-Ketu axis and is rendered weak. Fifth lord Saturn is placed in Neech Rashi in the Navansh chart and is also unable to give full benefits. This Neech Saturn aspects Jupiter and afflicts him. Finally Sun the natural significator for the fifth house is also afflicted because of two reasons. Firstly he is at the end of the sign and secondly because Rahu aspects him.  

The person has suffered from weak digestion and hyperacidity for the whole of his life and can only digest very bland food. 

Remedies for indigestion
Once the weakness of one or more planets causing digestive disorders is established, we have to find ways to strengthen these. If the Mool Trikon Rashi of the fifth lord does not fall in the sixth or eighth houses, the patient can be safely advised to wear the gemstone representing that planet.

The sixth lord can not be strengthened through a gemstone. For that we have to chant the Mantra connected to that planet.

If problem is due to weak Sun, Mercury or Jupiter, then too one must decide the best course keeping in mind the house lordships of these planets.

In case Rahu and Saturn happen to be the afflicting planets, their remedies need to be performed keeping in mind the house in which these are placed.

In our next blog we shall look at some other remedies for indigestion that work well.
Rajiv Sethi
Your questions and comments are very welcome. I also look forward to hearing from you about topics you want discussed. Please write to me at amvedin@yahoo.com or visit my website at http://indian-vedicastrology.com

I can also be reached at 011-91-(98-99-589211)

This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without the consent of the author.

Indigestion - What has Vedic astrology to do with it?

A fairly large part of human race suffers from indigestion. It is partly due to wrong eating habits and partly because of a sedentary lifestyle. There is however a third component which is fundamental to it, and allows wrong eating habits and inactive life to act faster in bringing about indigestion.

That third component is the astrological cause.

What is indigestion?
Once we push the food down through our esophagus, it reaches the stomach, which performs three tasks. Firstly it is a storage space for what we ate, and secondly it mixes up the food we ate with digestive juices and hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach. 

The lower part of the stomach combines the ingested food with this digestive cocktail by its muscle action. This primes the food to be broken down into smaller molecules which can be absorbed by the small intestine and used as nourishment. The third task of the stomach is to empty its contents slowly into the small intestine.

The small intestine contains a layer of muscle that enables the wall to move in a an ocean wave like movement. The wall contracts at one point and pushes the food forward. It then contracts again a little further on and repeats the process. This is called peristalsis. This movement of organ walls propels food and liquid through the system and also mixes it up with digestive enzymes from glands that empty directly into the intestine.

Two solid organs the liver and the pancreas also produce digestive juices that help in the absorption of the food. Liver produces a substance called bile which it stores in the gall bladder and pumps it into the intestines when needed. Bile acts somewhat like detergent and dissolves the fat in the food in to a liquid. This liquid is then digested by the pancreatic juices and enzymes in the small intestine.

Food travels through the small intestine and all its nutrients are gradually absorbed by our body. The waste matter then empties into the large intestine from where it is ejected periodically as fecal matter.

When the activities connected to the stomach, the small and large intestine are interrupted, or when the liver and pancreas work at less than full capacity, indigestion results.

Body parts and their astrological representatives.
In a horoscope, the first house rules over the body of the individual. The strength of the Ascendant lord determines the strength of the human body. An Ascendant lord who is strong in Shad and Vimshopak Bal, and has a high Isht Phal (desirable results) gives a strong and well formed body with all limbs and organs working at optimal level. The converse is also true. A weakness in Ascendant lord causes a disease in the body part indicated by the rising sign and the planet owning that sign.

To be continued. . . . . .

Rajiv Sethi

Your questions and comments are very welcome. I also look forward to hearing from you about topics you want discussed. Please write to me at amvedin@yahoo.com or visit my website at http://indian-vedicastrology.com

I can also be reached at 011-91-(98-99-589211)

This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without the consent of the author.