by Katya Faris, M.A.
Vedic Palmistry, “Hasta” Samudrika Shastra, is “the ocean of signs and symbols” in the hand. It is a sibling to Jyotisha as it is included in Nimitta, which is one of the six vedangas, or limbs of Jyotisha. Nimitta, or the science of omens, includes all markings of the body, but finds its purest manifestation through the ocean of “omens” found in the hand. The karakatwa, or innate meanings, of the nine planets are found in all areas of the hand, the fingers and the palm.
One of the aspects of Vedic astrology that really resonated with me in my chart and helped me to switch from Western to Vedic is my Moon nakshatra, which is in Virgo Hasta. In Sanskrit “hasta” means hand, and people with this nakshatra prominent in their chart often use their hands for their work, such as musicians, Reiki healers, massage therapists, nail technicians, any job that requires fine motor skills you will see it. When I was growing up I played hand bells in our church choir, played piano, and then played finger cymbals for dance; also, one of my favorite aspects of Arab dance has always been the intricate hand work and designs we make that define our art. I always have been fascinated with palmistry, and I became a Reiki healing practitioner in 2014.
My husband introduced me to the Tuckaway House in Indianapolis through a friend of his who owned it, Ken Keene, which is the home of famous American palmist, Nellie Simmons Meyer, who gave readings to all of the social elite of the early 1900’s including Isadora Duncan, Walt Disney, and Eleonor Roosevelt just to name a few. It’s amazing to see the signed autographs of the famous hands she’s read lining her hallways of the house, and I’ve sat at the table she gave readings at. She warned Carole Lombard not to board the flight to LA to confront Clark Gable about the affair he was having with Lana Turner, because she saw in her hand that the plane would crash, and it did, and we tragically lost Carole, RIP. She is also credited with convincing Mrs. Roosevelt that each palm is unique, and then she in turn convinced her husband, FDR, to make the FBI use fingerprints to track people. True story. So once I got into Vedic astrology and learned that palmistry was its twin, I had to get a reading!
I learned of the Birla Center in Montreal, Canada through my teacher, and I was impressed with how long it had been in operation and the founder felt like someone I wanted to get a reading from. So I booked a reading with Ghanshyam Singh Birla in the late summer of 2017, which meant they needed to get my palm prints, as it would be a long distance reading online. The team mailed me an ink print kit, and I made two versions of each hand, just to be safe. They set up a test appointment date to make sure that the Zoom meeting was operating correctly. I was very impressed with how thorough they were with making sure that everything was set for my reading.
I’ve gotten a lot of readings from Westerners who practice Jyotisha, but I had never booked a real reading from an Indian. I’m so blessed that Ghanshyam was the first, because he seamlessly blended together my Vedic chart with my palm, and explained to me how the planets were reflected in my hand. He could tell that I was interested in astrology just from my hand! Apparently, a good Jyotishi should be able to read your chart just from your looking at your palm. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to that level, but it’s true, you don’t need a birth time, and the hand is always up to date!
What really shocked me was that he was able to read other physical attributes I had and tell me about myself, not just my hand. I have a small gap in my upper front teeth, and he said this was a sign that I was a ghandarva. These are the celestial musicians, and while you can read about it online, he told me some things that I have not seen online. He said that ghadarvas are not from this Earth plane, and if they are here it’s their first life here. While we may have lives on other “lokas”, or planes/planets/dimensions, if we are a ghandarva here then this is our first lifetime on Earth. He also said that our right hand is our current life, and our left hand is our past lives. While my left palm print wasn’t as clear as he’d liked it to be, he said it didn’t matter, because he could tell from my right hand that I was a ghandarva, and that this was my first time here. So, I asked him, well, then where am I from? He said that ghandarvas are from the astral realm called “Mahar Loka”. Hindus believe there are 14 lokas, 7 above, 7 below, and Earth is in the middle; Mahar Loka is the 4th realm up, and is the home of sages, saints, celestial musicians, and enlightened beings.
So, I asked him, if I don’t have any past lives here, then why do I feel like I have, and have visions of other lives in other times? He said that’s your DNA talking; those are your blood ancestors living their story on through you. It’s up to us to not fall into unhealthy patterns by perpetuating the past. Who you are is your soul, so don’t confuse that with your DNA. This really blew my mind, as I had become attached to those stories of fantasized past lives.
The Starseed Consciousness Movement
At this point I feel we need to have a discussion about what we in the West call “starseeds”, because we don’t want to culturally appropriate a Western term onto Jyotisha. This term has come to refer to people who feel they are not from Earth, but rather originate from other star systems, such as the Pleiades, Sirius, and Arcturus. The term “Indigo Children” refers to people who are born differently, and are wired differently, such as with ADHD, autism and the entire spectrum between. These Indigo, Rainbow and Crystal Children are all starseeds here to teach humanity a lesson about acceptance, higher consciousness, and telepathy. This largely stems from the American Indians who have many tribes that speak of coming from the stars, such as the Sioux from the Pleiades, and the Hopi from Sirius. Zuni elder, Clifford Mahooty, speaks a lot about this new consciousness movement, and specifically about what is happening to our DNA. According to Mahooty, our current DNA is carbon based, but what is happening is that as our consciousness elevates with this flood of ether from the galactic center our DNA is turning to a crystalline-base. Chief Golden Light Eagle of the Yankton Sioux tribe also speaks about the Star Nations at his Star Knowledge Conferences where I have performed and taught workshops at; Chief has given me the name of Rainbow Dancer to recognize my place in the Rainbow Tribe. The video The Pleiadian Message is a great summary of what this movement believes, and they refer to themselves as “Lightworkers” in the “Family of Light” here on a mission to help save planet Earth from destruction from the Reptilians. It all sounds a bit sci-fi, and not Vedic at all, as nowhere in Vedic astrology are these exact terms used, but many Westerners who see themselves as starseeds are attracted to Vedic astrology. I believe that the Vedas and Jyotisha specifically do talk about starseeds, they just don’t use that terminology. Let’s not forget the Hindu mythological war between the “devas” (angels), and the “asuras” (demons) is at the heart of Jyotisha, as seen in the planetary camps. My experience with Vedic palmistry has shown me that there is a place for understanding and discussing the starseed movement in Vedic astrology, and astrologers should be open to clients who consider themselves in this category.
One of the links I see between Lightworkers/Starseeds and Vedic astrology is through the Hindu understanding of the passage of time. The grand cycles of time are called Yugas, and right now we are in the end of the Kali Yuga, which is the age of darkness. This is when we are furthest from the Central Sun, the Galactic Center, and human consciousness is low. This correlates with the “call” that is being heard by starseeds to come to Earth now to help uplift consciousness. To understand how the Yugas work it helps to understand how our solar system is moving through space in a helical motion, not heliocentric. This video by DJ Sadhu exemplifies this phenomenon: The Helical Model-Our Solar System is a Vortex; and our galaxy: The Helical Model-Our Galaxy is a Vortex. It’s all about being aligned with the Galactic Plane, because then we can receive more energy in the form of ether from the galactic center. This high ether content is what defines higher consciousness. Right now we are becoming aligned with the galactic plane, and in 64 years we will be at the end of the Kali Yuga in 2082. This is why the Earth is being flooded with souls who think that they are not from here, and feel very out of place.
In telling my story I hope that others from the West who feel they are starseeds and drawn to the wisdom of the Vedas will not be put off by people who tell them that Hinduism doesn’t explain the starseed phenomenon. I feel it is imperative when we see a client like this to not buy into the West’s notion that there is something “wrong” with them, but rather look at it from the wisdom of the East and see what is “right” with them. There is something very wrong, however, with modern society and how it doesn’t want to recognize all types of intelligence, and I feel these people are here to shine the light and show us the way out of this darkness. Remember, Einstein failed math in school. The most important thing about Jyotisha to undestand is that it is the Science of Light, so by that definition all Jyotishis are Lightworkers. Namaste 🙂
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