Nimitta & Shakun Shastra – The astrology of Omens

A very interesting branch of Vedic Astrology is Nimitta or Shakun Shastra, this is the astrology of Omens, or changes in the environment at the time a question is asked/ prediction is to be made/ or on the way to something auspicious, which indicates the outcome of the event.

Omens are happenings or incidents that occur naturally, without knowing, that act as a forewarning about something that is about to happen. They can be interpreted as good or bad depending on the incident.

Omens can be sneezing on the way out somewhere, a cat crossing your path, twitching of body parts, seeing a coffin or funeral procession, breaking of glass, dogs barking for no reason and so on. 

Predicting through Omens
It is always good practice for an astrologer to be aware of his/her surroundings when making a prediction. They should be alert of their environment, as sounds, happenings and visions can be the universe’s way of answering the question asked. For example, a client asked the question how will my journey be abroad, and whilst he was on the phone and had asked the question, I heard a loud crash outside, it was a car accident, lots of screeching and not a great feeling. No matter what I would have seen in the chart of the person, that point could not be ignored, and I forewarned of possible danger and extra caution when travelling. 

Another example, one of my guides has told me about, was where a client had phoned him up and asked about his sick uncle, that when will he get better and any remedies. At the time the question was asked over the phone, the astrologer saw a funeral procession coming in front of his path. This intuitively let the astrologer know that the person’s uncle may not survive, and without looking at the horoscope it was put to the client sympathetically. And a few days later, unfortunately, the person’s uncle had in fact passed away. So what I am saying is that omens or Nimitta do matter, and any sudden, strange happenings at the time a horoscope question is asked, should be taken into consideration.

Different cultures have different omens
An example is a black cat crossing the path may be considered lucky in some cultures, whilst unlucky in others. But if someone is making the prediction, then the result that you take for it should be according to what the astrologer interprets it as, as they are receiving that message from the universe.

Nimitta is not just for Astrologers, it applies to everyone, and therefore can be implemented by all. Some well known general Omens are as follows:

• Black cat crossing path from left to right – unlucky, will not get success in your work

• 1 Sneeze before starting something new – inauspicious – person should sit down and attempt to go out a bit later.

• 2 sneezes before going out – auspicious

• Dog barking for no apparent reason- illness may come to the household

• Tripping, or falling when going up the stairs – loss in status

• Spilling a matchbox – very lucky, for the unmarried it means a new person is coming

• Right eye twitching for female – something inauspicious is about to happen (vice versa for males)

• Itching of left hand- money will be going out on unwanted expenses

• Itching of right hand – money coming in

• Itchy feet – a journey is indicated, or change of place

• Itchy nose – new romance coming up/ someone is admiring you

• Spilling Milk/ burning or boiling milk out of the pan – inauspicious

• Breaking of glass suddenly – is good, takes away the evil eye ( nazar)

We must be careful that Omens are not confused with everyday superstitions, the omens that are used in astrology or predictions are to do with things that predict what might happen as a result of the action that has happened.
So watch out!