PLANETARY SOUNDS
Having dealt with the subject of planetary numbers we may now consider
that of Planetary Sounds, these being an obvious connection between
Number, Form, Sound and Colour. Number underlies all forms, all sounds
and all colours, for modes of vibration in the same universal medium
give rise to all of these. Thus it is said that the Logos or Word gave
existence to all living forms. Those who have constructed Sound-forms by
means of the Eidophone will readily understand how all forms may be
derived from simple or complex sounds. Sound is also related to colour,
and there are those who are sensitive enough to see sounds and to hear
colours.
The seven notes of the gamut are related to the seven celestial bodies,
thus—
C D E F G A B
Sun Saturn Mercury Moon Mars Venus Jupiter
The colours answering to these are—
Orange Indigo Blue Green Red Yellow Violet
The numbers following the order of the gamut bring us once more into
touch with the inevitable apposition of the fire and water elements,
represented by Mars and the Moon, to which reference has already been
made in the preceding chapter. The numbers thus arranged are—
Sun Saturn Mercury Moon Mars Venus Jupiter
1-4 8 5 7-2 9 6 3
18 18
9 9 9
Mars
If we multiply this number 9 into the number of the signs of the zodiac
we shall obtain 108, which gives us the key to the Ashtottaravàk or 108
sounds of the Mantrasara. Let us look at the origin of these, 108
sounds, since they have been much exploited without any specific
explanation of their origin.
In Indian Astrology there are 27 lunar asterisms or Moon-stations which
are each of 13° 20´ in extent. It has already been said that the whole
period of man’s life is taken at 120 years, or an arc of 120°, which is
one-third of the circle, and by dividing this by 9 we obtain an arc of
13° 20´, which is the extent of a lunar asterism or Moon-station. These
Moon-stations were in great repute among the Arabian astrologers, who
attached specific influences to them, but in the West they have been
entirely neglected. They still continue to form the basis of all Indian
calculations, and, as will be shown, are at the root of the planetary
sounds.
Each asterism of 13° 20´ is again divided into four padams or quarters
each of 3° 20´, which is the value of the Navamsha or one-ninth part of
a sign of 30°. Now since there are four amshas in each asterism and 27
asterisms in the circle, there are 108 amshas, and these correspond with
the 108 sounds.
There are five primary vowel sounds, and each of these lasts for 24
minutes, or one Indian hour, which is equal to 6° of the zodiac or
one-fifth of a Sign. Therefore the 5 vowels are distributed through the
5 parts of the Sign. The vowels are—
ah ee oo ae oh
â î û é ô
They are all long and pure vowel sounds. The compounds such as _oi_ in
“oil,” _ow_ as in “now,” etc., are produced from a combination of these.
These five primary vowels range through the several Signs and are taken
up by successive consonants attached to each of the Signs. These
consonants extend throughout the Signs to which they are attached, as L
through Aries, V through Taurus, etc., so that the five Indian hours or
120 minutes during which Aries is in evidence, are related to the five
vowels in connection with the consonant L, as Lah, Lee, Loo, Lae, Loh,
and these are succeeded by Taurus with the sounds Vah, Vee, Voo, Vae,
Voh.
By taking into account the five vowel sounds, the consonants attaching
to the various Signs, and the relative positions of the planets at any
given time, a mantram may be formed which is in exact harmony with the
astral vibrations obtaining at that particular time. Mantrams are also
formed from the positions of the planets at the time of a person’s
birth. Some of these mantrams are traditional with Hindu families and
others have been adopted. At one time they were delivered with the
horoscope immediately after a birth had taken place, but many of these
ancient practices have fallen into disuse among the moderns.
Here follows a complete table of the sounds showing the Signs and parts
of Signs to which they are attached.
Table of Planetary Sounds.
0-6 ah 6-12 ee 12-18 oo 18-24 ae 24-30 oh
Aries Lah Lee Loo Lae Loh
Taur. Vah Vee Voo Vae Voh
Gemini Kah Kee Koo Kae Koh
Cancer Hah Hee Hoo Hae Hoh
” Ḍah Ḍee Ḍoo Ḍae Ḍoh
(hard
Dh)
Leo Mah Mee Moo Mae Moh
” Ṭah Ṭee Ṭoo Ṭae Ṭoh
(Hard T)
Virgo Pah Pee Poo Pae Poh
Libra Rah Ree Roo Rae Roh
” Tah Tee Too Tae Toh
(soft)
Scorpio Nah Nee Noo Nae Noh
Sagit. Yah Yee Yoo Yae Yoh
” Bah Bee Boo Bae Boh
Capri. Jah Jee Joo Jae Joh
” Gah Gee Goo Gae Goh
Aquar. Sah See Soo Sae Soh
” Dah Dee Doo Dae Doh
(soft)
Pisces Chah Chee Choo Chae D Choh
From this table we are able to extract the Planetary Sounds, and for
this reason I have called it a Table of Planetary Sounds, for in the
thought of all astrologers a Sign infers a planet and a planet infers a
Sign. Hence as Mars rules the signs Aries and Scorpio, we have the
consonants L and N and the five vowels, when sounded in conjunction with
the initial consonant.
But it should here be remarked that the five vowels are not all
attributable to Mars, although they are set at the head of the Table
under the sign Aries. They merely characterize the five divisions of the
Signs, and are seen to range through the whole zodiac from Aries to
Pisces. They are associated with the five disposers, or moderators as
they are called, namely, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
We are now able to construct a Table employing all the Consonants, which
we may call the
Table of Initial Sounds.
Saturn Jupiter Mars Sun Venus Mercury Moon
J Y L M V W K Q H
U O O
G B N Th R P Dh
S Z X Ch A T
D Sh I
It will be observed that I have eliminated some sounds contained in the
Sanskrit alphabet which have no English equivalents, and also that in
the Table of Initial Sounds I have added some that are allied to those
found in the original, as for instance Q and C (hard) under K, Z and X
under S, etc.
An attempt has been made to fix the vowels under the planets, but they
are not found to be consistent, and indeed it is not to be expected that
they should be, since the swara, which is constantly changing,
determines the vowel sound in force.
As initial sounds the vowels U and O, having affinity with the consonant
W, may be classed under Venus, A under Mars, since both are initial
factors in the scheme, and long I or Ee under Jupiter as related to Y.
But as I have said, when in combination with the consonants, that is to
say, when not initial, they are in a constant state of flux owing to the
change of swara. Subject to this consideration they may be added to the
Table of Initial Sounds, where they will be seen in the above scheme.
The application of this scheme of Planetary Sounds would appear
originally to have been in the direction of determining what sounds
should be employed at specific times in the construction of mantras
appropriate to the nature of the planet then ruling. They were not
originally associated with the signs of the zodiac, nor yet with the
planets ruling those signs, but solely and specifically with the
navamshas, of which there are 108 in the entire circle, and as these are
connected with the asterisms through the Moon’s motion, there can be no
doubt that they had originally a lunar basis.
Each of the signs is divided into 9 parts of 3° 20´ each, the order
being as follows—
Aries 0°-3° 20´ is under the influence of Aries navamsha, 3° 20´-6° 40´
under the influence of Taurus navamsha, 6° 40´-10° under Gemini
navamsha, and so on, the last 3° 20’ of this sign Aries being under
Sagittarius navamsha. The sign Taurus then commences with Capricorn
navamsha, and continues on to Virgo navamsha, when Gemini sign commences
with Libra and ends with Gemini navamsha, and is followed by Cancer sign
which begins with Cancer navamsha and ends with Pisces navamsha. Leo
then commences again with Aries navamsha and follows the same course as
the sign Aries. Thus nine successive signs are used to designate the
navamshas of each 30 degrees of the zodiac, and so we obtain the 108
navamshas, thus—
[Illustration: Figure 17.]
But we have already seen that the lunar asterisms, each of 13° 20´, are
divided into four padams or quarters each of 3° 20´, and as there are 27
asterisms we have again the 108 amshas or subdivisions of the ecliptic,
which undoubtedly were originally associated with the 108 sounds. The
fact that these sounds have come to be connected with the signs of the
zodiac is due to the affinity which exists between the asterisms and the
signs through their respective planetary rulers. For it will be shown
that the Ashtottaradasha system of Planetary Periods (which see)
recognizes the procession of planetary influence through the 108 padams
in the course of 108 years, so that each year comes under the influence
of one of these sections of the ecliptic, and the count in each case is
made from the position held by the Moon at the time of birth.
This subject of Planetary Sounds is of immense interest, but inasmuch as
it has been developed solely along Oriental lines and has its basis in a
system which did not recognize the Vernal Equinox as a starting-point,
but found its yogatara in the first point of As’wini (_Zeta Piscium_), I
advise my readers to accept with extreme caution the statement that
specific sounds are identified with particular planets or signs of the
zodiac, and more particularly would I caution the reader not to rely
upon the application of these Initial Sounds to the problems of
speculation. I have merely shown in this place how they are derived, and
thus have no doubt satisfied the curiosity of those who have seen them
in other books where they are given without explanation, authority or
warning, and stated as if they had been experimentally proved.