Celebrating the End of Winter on Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is the name of the day the great luminary Sun begins again his northward journey, and therefore the days begin to lengthen and warm again. This coincides with the day that the Sun moves into the constellation (rasi) of Makar, which in Sanskrit and Hindi means "crocodile," and is the sidereal Capricorn.

sun Of course, it is actually the angle of our axis and our orbit around the Sun that create the appearance of the Sun being ever lower on the southern horizon through the latter part of summer and the autumn months. The appearance of the southerly movement is called "Daksinayan", and when the Sun begins his northerly motion again it is called "Uttarayan".

Makar Sankrant is celebrated differently in different places, and even has different names in various parts of India, but it is a nation-wide festival, and most often involves some use of sesame oil, or sesame seeds. Modern Hindu calendars describe the use of the sesame as being related to the value Ayurveda places on the warming qualities of sesame, but neglect to explain why we would celebrate the use at the END of winter.

A more likely explanation for the use of the seeds is to invoke something of the deity quality of Sankranti (yes, a deity, who slayed a demon). The deity is likely somehow linked to the planet Saturn, since it is He who owns the constellations that the Sun will travel through for the next two months, and since he is the son of the Sun, even though the Sun and Saturn are inimical to one another. In support of this view of Makar Sankranti is the ritual association of sesame seeds, black cloth, and the feeding of people who are "Saturnian" on this day - beggars, the lame and blind, outcastes (shudras) and the like.

One interesting note that is also commonly held: if one dies on this day, one is said to get Moksha. The theory here being that dying while the Sun is in his northerly motion is preferable to dying in the months when he is in Cancer through Sagitarius, and thus in a southerly direction. In India the southerly direction is associated with death, is the abode of Yama, and is also more likely to be the direction of the hell realms.

So welcome the beginning of the growing season in mid-January with a bow to the Sun and Saturn, and mark the end of the winter gloom. Of course for people living in the northern latitudes of the US or Canada, it is not yet warm exactly. Even so, one who pays attention will be able to discern the increase in the suns potency and the lengthening days. Something to celebrate, certainly.

About the Author: Margaret Mahan has been a student of Jyotisha for the past 13 years, and of related subjects, including Ayurveda, since 1988. She has been trained in Parasari and Tajika Varshaphal Jyotisha by the renowned Hart de Fouw, and in the special techniques of Prasna and Astakavarga found in Kerala, India, by the wonderful Mr. G. Ramesh Nayak.

Margaret co-founded Sushakti with Dr. Robert Svoboda in order to promote the growth of Ayurveda in the West. Dr. Svoboda was a long time coach in Ayurveda and also in medical astrology, and Tantra Shastra.

Margaret has been a purebred cattle rancher, organic food producer, community activist and college executive, among other things. She holds graduate degrees in public policy and public administration, and diplomas in community development and adult education.

She continues to study and practice Jyotisha, Sanskrit and Ayurveda from her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Margaret Mahan's email address is mjm108@uniserve.com.

From the December 2005/January 2006 issue of Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter. Click to subscribe to this free Jyotish newsletter.