The Zodiac is also called “pashu” in Sanskrit. Pashu means that which is tied or bound to a post. The Zodiac has been compared to a post or stake in the ground with several animals tied to it. The ancients say that the planetary mind of the Earth receives the changing shapes of the constellations, these shapes form the templates for the bodies of animals born on Earth.
In the same way human beings are equipped with minds, the planets including the Sun and the cosmos also have their own minds. These are called the planetary mind, solar mind and cosmic mind respectively. This is one of the manifestations of Maya, the so-called veil of illusion, the “substituted secret” through which we can attain the real secret of existence – that which appears to Be gradually reveals to us what really IS. Thus the geocentric system can be taken to be valid long as we are “tied” to our bodies. The heliocentric system applies when our consciousness ascends to higher planes.
The zodiac has also been compared to a Golden Egg. Meditating on this Golden Egg is said to reveal all secrets of the Universe. When the ancient sages meditated on this Golden Egg, they first saw it divided into two, then into three, four, five, and so on up to twelve parts. They also saw it divided into seven parts above and seven below, forming a total of fourteen, this number represent the fourteen Manus or progenitors of the human race. The division of the zodiac into two parts is the division into the pairs of opposites: day and night, expansion and consolidation, male and female, birth and death, speaking and listening, consciousness and force, represented by Shiva and his wife Parvati or Vishnu and Sri. This is an expression of the law of alternation. For example, when we respect the law of alternation in our speech, we avoid cross-currents and disharmony, because we speak when it is time to speak and remain silent when it is time to listen to others.
In the year, the two-fold division happens from 22nd December to 22nd June (the beginning of Capricorn to the beginning of Cancer) and then from 22nd June to 22nd December (the beginning of Cancer to the beginning of Capricorn). The ascending path of the year begins in Capricorn, called Uttarāyana in Sanskrit. This is the time when the Sun moves towards the north and the days become longer and longer (in the Northern hemisphere). It is a time of spiritual upliftment in the year. The descending path begins in Cancer, called Dakshināyana which is the time for materialisation and consolidation.
The Zodiac may be further divided into three parts of 120 degrees; into four parts of 90 degrees each delimitated by the solstices and equinoxes, similar to the day’s sunrise and sunset, noon and midnight; into five parts of 72 degrees each (just as we can draw an imaginary circle if we stand with our legs open and arms outstretched forming a five- pointed star); into the six seasons of 60 degrees each, into seven parts that correspond to the seven planes, the seven rays, the seven musical notes; into eight parts that contain each three lunations, and so on.
For the purposes of Astrology, however, the division most commonly used is the division into 12 signs, 12 being the result of the multiplication of 4 x 3, in the same way as the 7 rays are a reflection of the sum 4 + 3.
The 12 syllabled mantra of the Lord within the Heart is “Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya”. The Lord within the heart centre is called Vāsudēva. He is the Lord who sacrifices himself to dwell within the wheel of the zodiac.
Meditation upon this mantra helps us realize the presence of the Lord in the form of all living beings.