Bharani Themes: Sexuality and Reproduction

Lunar constellations or nakshatras are a great source of information. Each constellation/nakshatra (hereinafter nakshatra) has unique features including symbols, stories, deities etc. The energy of nakshatras manifests in many ways including world events and the life experiences of individuals.

The nakshatra of Bharani falls in the zodiac of Aries ruled by Mars. The body part associated with Bharani nakshatra is the female sexual organ/yoni. The deity of Bharani is Yama (associated with death). A mix of the deity and symbol sheds light on the potential the Bharani nakshatra holds. The capacity (biological) to give birth to life, ideas, creative works is the active energy here. The capacity to create is coupled with experiences involving restraint, pain, and sacrifice. Themes of sexuality, sexual freedom, fertility, birth, life in the womb, reproductive freedom, birth control, contraception can be associated with the nakshatra. Bharani is also seen as a expressive and fierce nakshatra because of its direct connection to the physical processes of pain and pleasure.

Uranus in Bharani

Uranus has been transiting in the nakshatra of Bharani (currently 15 Aries 04'/ Vedic). Uranus is the rebel, the eccentric, the innovator and the visionary. (for Uranus see previous post on Generational Planets, 2020. https://www.8thhouse.org/post/belonging-to-the-collective-influence-of-generational-planets)

Uranus is a generational planet (other Pluto & Neptune) bringing long term changes and shaping ideas and experiences of many at a time (generations). The transit of Uranus in Bharani appears to have influenced the way in which reproduction and sexuality are viewed. The advancement of sexual freedom has been a global agenda. Women in particular have strongly asserted sexual and reproductive freedom. The Uranian impulse in Bharani appears to be taking the world forward by ushering in new perspectives and technological innovations in medicine and science.

Fertility and Sexuality- Present and Future

The Uranian impulse in Bharani can be sensed in light of three global trends shaping the agenda on sexuality and reproduction.

First, advancement in technology. The technological advancements to assist in reproduction have been put to greater use in the last 35-40 years. Infertility in particular is sought to be treated with the aid of technology. In the more recent times, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also being explored. Quoting from available research, AI may provide an objective method for evaluating human embryos, enabling the identification of key developmental hallmarks of embryo viability. Current methods of evaluating embryos include... are highly dependent on the experience and knowledge of the embryologists, although such analyses can be highly subjective. (Artificial intelligence: its applications in reproductive medicine and the assisted reproductive technologies, 2019; https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(19)30476-5/fulltext).

Country wise developments can also be seen. In India, the government is in the process of adopting a law to deal with artificial reproduction technologies (ART). The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Bill), 2020 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 14, 2020 and is currently under consideration. (See https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/assisted-reproductive-technology-regulation-bill-2020) . Other countries have also advanced in the legal frameworks to regulating the domain of artificial reproduction. (See Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Artificial Reproduction, 2012; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344725453_Legal_and_Ethical_Dimensions_of_Artificial_Reproduction_and_Related_Rights)

The advancements brought in through innovation will continue to shape the way reproduction and fertility are dealt with in the future.

The second trend involves the social and political control/regulation over reproduction and reproductive choices. Government policies regulating use of contraceptives, abortion services are seen as being controlling of women's reproductive freedom. (Also see Gag Order issued by the United States promoting the anti-abortion agenda, America must stop using international aid to export anti-abortion ideology, 2020; https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2020/10/15/US-abortion-sexual-reproductive-health-aid). The political control is resisted with the assertion of right to access reproductive health services and choices.

The third trend involves taking serious action and punishing actions which cause physical harm to the women's body/sexual organs. Take for example the practice of female genital mutillation, a harmful practice which has been subject matter of debate. WHO defines female genital mutilation (FGM) as the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. (See https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation.

Several countries have advocated Zero Tolerance for the practice of Female Genital Mutilation. A few have also made the practice punishable.

The themes of sexuality and reproduction are shaped as a private, social, moral and global concern. On social and world perceptions on the subject, the biggest changes that the future brings will not be technological but social and ethical, with yet further challenges to our established ways of thinking about sex, gender, sexuality, reproduction, pregnancy, and the family. (See Reflections on 40 years of IVF, 2019; https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.15513).

Bharani: Individuals and Generations

The power and energy of the nakshatra can be seen as giving a definite color to the Uranian impulses. A few points on the potential it holds in general and in the working of individual astrological charts;

1. Bharani nakshatra is a repository of energies involving incubation and release. Planets placed in Bharani will be influenced by the nakshatra's dominant themes.

2. Under the influence of Bharani, body is the conduit for material and spiritual liberation.

3. The power of Bharani involves discipline, restraint and lifelong bondage to that which is being created.

4. Bharani's placement in the sign of Aries ruled by Mars involves overt expression of sexuality or sexual freedom.

5. Bharani can create a feeling of being restrained. Restraint may be experienced through the moral burdens imposed from within or outside.

6. In the esoteric sense, Bharani is where polarities merge to become whole and complete. The nakshatra is driven towards merging with the material world/resources.

7. Bharani's association with Yama is somewhat ironical for Yama is associated with death and Bharani with fertility and birth. Understanding the two themes is primary in Bharani.

8. Themes related to sexuality, fertility, responsibility/burden will be central in the life of individuals influenced by Bharani.

Can you relate with the energies of Bharani?

Do you see birth as bondage or liberation?

Photo/Art by Rupinder Sodhi