Guru Nanak is the founder of Sikhism, the youngest and fifth-largest of the world's major religions. He was born on April 15th, 1469 in Talwandi in Punjab region of South Asia. According to tradition, in 1499 Guru Nanak has a divine revelation that changed the course of his life. In his own words, he was summoned into the presence of the divine and commissioned to spread the message of God's oneness and universal love, which he subsequently did.
He recorded revelations as they came to him, capturing them in 974 musical compositions known as shabads. It later became a nucleus of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh scripture speaks of one God who is universal, loving, and gender free, and whole love extends to people of all religions. Behind the diversity of the world is a divine unity.
Since the exact time of the birth is not known, we will look at Surya lagna (chart from the Sun) and Chandra lagna (chart from the Moon).
We see 4 exalted planets here: Sun, Jupiter, Moon, and Venus - all the sattvic planets are exalted pointing to exceptional nature of Nanak.
Pisces sign is highlighted in this chart by position of the ruler of the 1st house Venus in Pisces, as well as Sun in 12th from the Moon, Raj yoga formed in 12th from the Moon, parivertana yoga between ruler of of 9th and 10th and ruler of 12th from the Moon.
Pisces is the most compassionate sign of all, connected to the ability to see the Universal Truth that is beyond dogmas and rituals. This Oneness and All pervasiveness of all creation is the central theme of Guru Nanak's message that he expressed in Mul Mantra that is repeated numerous time in Guru Granth Sahib (sacred scripture of sikhs). If there was ever a hymn of Venus in Pisces, it would be Mul Mantra, which is Guru Nanak's personal testimony of ultimate Reality.
Mul Mantra can be translated as follows:
One Reality Is
Eternal truth is its name;
Creator of all things,
Fearing nothing and at enmity with no one,
Timeless being;
Beyond birth and death;
Self-existent;
By the grace of the Guru, made known to human beings.
This is also reflected in his second revelation: na ko hindu na musalman (there is no Hindu and there is no Muslim). Because we emanate from the same source, all external labels are superficial and distinctions are false.
Exalted Jupiter with Ketu in Cancer further shows that Guru Nanak came to share and spread divine knowledge and wisdom of love. Planet of the Guru in Pushya nakshatra, associated with Brihaspati, teacher of all the gods, along with highly spiritual planet Ketu, further highlights his ability to nourish hearts and minds by providing spiritual knowledge to the seekers. Universal guru.
Aquarius is the sign that is often associated with the start of new ideologies, religions and group movements.
It is prominent in the chart of Guru Nanak by position of Mars (expression of ambitions energy) in Aquarius but also by position of ruler of the 1st house in 11th from both Sun and Moon. Aquarius is the sign of progressive thinkers and unconventional humanitarians. Sign of communities and equality for all, it is often seen in charts of leaders.
Nanak protested against the economic and social inequities that prevailed back then. He gave rise to religious tradition in which there was no priestly class. The scriptures to be accessible by both men and women without intermediaries.
"Guru Nanak also set up a vast network of congregations by establishing centers wherever he went. He initiated people into the Sikh fold during his travels, leaving behind congregations and dharamsals (Sikh places of worship). This was an early sign that Nanak was not just a retiring mystic but an organizer with an uncommon ability. He was laying the foundations of not merely another dharam but a counter-culture that would consist of its own social order, music, aesthetics, texts and institutions."
Guru Nanak was an agent of change who sought to give women equal right to men. He wrote Bhand Jamee-ai shabd that translates as follows:
From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
When woman dies he seeks another woman to woman he is bound.
So why call her bad. From her, kings are born?
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman.
Blessed, beautiful it the mouth that praises the Lord continually.
O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord.
Saturn in Aries
Saturn in Aries, position that is associated with disagreement, going against old and tried, a revolutionary leader that questioned the established rules and traditions.
"The traditional accounts describe several episodes where Nanak used an unconventional style to educate those around him.
An incident at Hardwar offers another glimpse on Guru Nanak's style. He saw pilgrims facing east and throwing splashes of water toward the sun, as an offering to their dead ancestors. Guru Nanak followed suit except he turned westward. When questioned, Nanak responded by saying that if their offering can reach the sun, surely he could water his fields in the Panjab, just a few hundred miles away!
At Mecca, Nanak lay down for a night's rest with his feet pointing to the Kaaba, the holy sanctum. When a qazi admonished him for pointing his feel toward the house of God, Nanak replied that he was too tired to move and suggested that the qazi move his legs and point them in a direction where God did not exist. The qazi was stumped."
Exalted Moon
Guru Nanak created foundational Sikh institutions one of them being langar, a community kitchen. Moon in Taurus is associated with food and nourishment. At langar meals are served free of charge to all visitors - without a distinction of religion, caste, gender, economic status or ethnicity.
Me with Moon in Taurus
To give community self-definition, he created a new script called Gurmukhi. He recorded his revelation that he passed on later on to his successor. He also was fluent in Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic. Mercury and Moon being positioned in a sign ruled by exalted Venus (music, art, aesthetics) gave him advanced understanding of South Asian musical and aesthetic traditions.
Quotes are taken from "Sikhism through the scriptures" course at edx.org
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