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NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 3, 2004: As man takes giant strides into exploring Saturn — deified and demonised in world myths — Indian astrologers are wondering if it is a welcome incursion into that “evil-eyed” planet. Saturn – or Shani in Indian astrological parlance – is considered a powerful influence by Hindu astrologers, who draw up horoscopes on the basis of planetary configurations. Soothsayers, palmists and pundits are busy pouring over their theories to gauge what the consequences could be, with some predicting a catastrophe. “Saturn is even more powerful than the sun,” said astrologer Ajay Gautam. “When Saturn figures in someone’s horoscope, it sends people scrambling to astrologers and priests. Man will never reach there. He will be destroyed before that. He should not even attempt to build such enemity with nature and, least of all, with such powerful planets.” He was referring to the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft – a collaboration between NASA and other space agencies – firing its engine into Saturn’s atmosphere. He said many recent disasters around the world, for instance, a devastating earthquake in Iran, were linked to such efforts by man.



However, other soothsayers are not so sure. “There won’t be any serious impact,” Pandit Laxmi Narayan Shastri, the head priest at the Birla Temple here, told IANS. “The rocket is like a small pebble falling into a mighty ocean. Nothing will happen to the ocean or the people who depend on the ocean. But the pebble will definitely be drowned,” he said. He said there would not be any impact of the space probe on people who worship Shani or Saturn. “But those monitoring the spacecraft will definitely be affected,” he said. “The effect could be positive or negative, depending on their own planetary positions,” he continued.



Astrologer Ajay Bhambi believes the marvels of planet Saturn will be unravelled one day. “Man will definitely benefit from this attempt. Man will go there, he will discover new chemicals, he will expand his existing knowledge and thus develop whole mankind in the process. Anyone who predicts anything else is bluffing,” he said. “Our astrology is more than 5,000 years old. It has been worked out by the experience of our sages and seers. But this is the first time that a rocket is reaching Saturn. We must wait and watch to see what happens.”

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