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Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī – An Astroprofile




When I am dead, seek not my tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men

- Rumi



Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Mawlānā or Molānā (Persian: مولانا‎, meaning Our Master), Mawlawī or Molavi (Persian: مولوی‎, meaning My Master), and more popularly in the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Iranians, Turks, Afghans, Tajiks, and other Central Asian Muslims as well as the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy in the past seven centuries. Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. He has been described as the "most popular poet in America"[ and the "best selling poet in the US".

It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.

Rumi believed passionately in the use of music, poetry and dance as a path for reaching God. For Rumi, music helped devotees to focus their whole being on the divine and to do this so intensely that the soul was both destroyed and resurrected. It was from these ideas that the practice of whirling Dervishes developed into a ritual form. His teachings became the base for the order of the Mevlevi which his son Sultan Walad organized. Rumi encouraged Sama, listening to music and turning or doing the sacred dance. [1]





Shown here is the horoscope for Rumi drawn for noon 30 September 1207 at his birthplace Vaksh, Tajikistan.  The most notable thing in this chart is the conjunction of the Sun [13li] with the star Spica [13li]. Alpha (α) Virgo, Spica, is a binary, brilliant flushed white star marking the Ear of Wheat shown in the Virgin's left hand.  About this star Diana Rosenberg writes:

 In India, it was the single determinant star of the asterism Citra, ruled by Tvastr. Valerie Roebuck writes of Citra’s ruler, the divine Carpenter: “Tvastr and his children possess maya, the power of making and shaping the way others see the world that is a form of magic.” Usually cultured and well-educated, they often have literary, artistic, and (especially) musical ability – they seem to reach out and grasp inspiration from the stars themselves – words and music pour forth from them as from a deep well spring.

The other planetary aspects in the chart are outlined below [4].

Sun conjunct Poseidon

Fulfillment through religion, metaphysics or living according to one’s principles; important revelations or inspiration through integration of new ideas; aware of tranquillity through the relationship between body and spirit; to see that receptivity to spirit can cause some transparency or fragility of the body; to understand the power of the astral plane and to find fulfilment through study or the spiritual.

Mercury conjunct Poseidon

Inspired words or writing; spiritual writing or thinking; receptivity to spiritual ideas

(Sun conjunct Poseidon) semisquare Uranus
Sudden flashes of genius – of intuition or “channelled” insight; clairvoyance; to hear of the bolt out of the blue that deals with new ideas or spiritual awareness; ideology or beliefs inherent in motivating change or social movements or that is the organizing / unity principle in a group or between friends.

Using the astrological principle of “translation of light” we can say that for all practical purposes Sun-Poseidon-Mercury conjunction is opposite Neptune-Hades which is square Saturn. So although it may not look like it,  we are dealing with a loose T-square with Saturn at the apex of the T.





The chart for November 15, 1244, the date of Rumi’s meeting with Shams Tabriz is shown here. The Neptune-Apollon conjunction (also conjunct his radix Saturn) is trine Pluto-Poseidon and quincunx Zeus. Notice how the transit Sun triggered the combination.

Neptune-Poseidon: to be susceptible to spiritual influences – there is heightened receptivity to the unconscious and the emotions of others

Pluto-Poseidon: to see mental metamorphosis; to recognize the power of ideology, religion, persuasion or beliefs – and to see attempts to influence people through these things; to see ideas create radical changes; to understand ego surrender in a spiritual context

Apollon-Poseidon: opportunity to teach or share new ideas

Zeus-Poseidon: to see ideas, convictions, religion or morals as the basis for enthusiasm or creativity; creative inspiration


Since all the transit activity was focused on Saturn, it may be interesting to look at Mirzam, the star conjunct Saturn.

This star Mirzam or beta (β) Canis Major, was often combined by the Arabs with the star beta (β) Canis Minor (Gomeisa), and these two beta stars together were titled "The Announcers" [2]. Mirzam provides a message to redirect our focus and daily efforts to prepare and become ready for a greater change to come, for a greater action, involvement, or event, an arrival of global proportion [3].

[1] Wikipedia

[4] Orders of Light; Martha-Lang Wescott

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