Jyotish, Light, EMFs and the 2026 Solar Eclipse
In preparing for the 12 August 2026 solar eclipse, I’ve been exploring both the Jyotish and astronomy perspectives. My astrology episode on this eclipse (Vivasvān Solar Eclipse 2026) looks at Saros Series 126, mythic cosmology and the Aditya lineage. But in my recent conversation with Astronomy educator Steven Jones, I found myself asking questions about light itself and whether Jyotish has always been pointing toward something far more expansive than visible light.
This blog gathers the threads I loved most from that conversation about the nature of EMFs, the meaning of planetary darśana, gravitational aspects, cosmic origins, and the mythic beings who guard the edge of the Sun’s rays.
Did Jyotish always mean the full electromagnetic spectrum?
I know that Jyotish can be translated as “the study of light” but as I was talking with Steven I wondered if I have shallowly been assuming that “light” in Jyotish meant visible light?
Astronomy defines light as photons across the entire electromagnetic spectrum - radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X‑ray, gamma. Only a tiny sliver of that is visible to the human eye.
So when Jyotish calls itself the study of light, did the ancient seers mean:
literal visible light,
the full EMF spectrum,
or light as information?
Steven and I explored the idea that Jyotish may have always been gesturing toward something broader — not just what the eye sees, but what the cosmos communicates.
Are we detecting EMFs from the planets?
Astronomers detect infrared radiation from the Moon, radio waves from Jupiter, X‑rays from the Sun, and even gamma bursts from distant galaxies. Every planet emits or reflects EMFs in its own signature pattern.
This led me to wonder:
Is planetary darśana - the “seeing” of planets - actually an encounter with their electromagnetic presence?
Planets have distinct EMF identities, and Jyotish has always treated them as distinct archetypal intelligences.
EMFs encode information - is that how Jyotish works?
Steven explained that EMFs are not just waves. They are information carriers.
Fiber‑optic cables use light to transmit data. Radio telescopes decode signals from space. JWST reads infrared signatures to identify molecules in exoplanet atmospheres.
So I asked myself …
Is this how Jyotish works? Do planets “communicate” through information encoded in the EMF spectrum?
Planets emit EMFs.
EMFs carry information.
Jyotish interprets planetary information.
Light carries meaning, and Jyotish is the discipline that reads meaning in light.
Are graha dṛṣṭis gravitational aspects? Dark matter?
I’ve always been intrigued as to why Vedic Astrology uses unique graha aspects.
Are the unusual graha dṛṣṭis - the non‑Ptolemaic aspects - actually gravitational aspects?
Jyotish aspects are directional, not geometric. They don’t map neatly onto Western astrology’s angular relationships.
It makes me wonder whether Vedic Astrology aspects take into account …
gravitational influence,
orbital resonance,
or even dark matter distribution
Is that why Mars sees in the 4th and 8th, or why Saturn sees in the 3rd and 10th?
Can’t wait to explore more …
Although we recorded for more than 90 minutes, I still have more questions, like …
Viṣṇu’s navel and the search for a singularity
I can’t wait to talk to Steven next time about one of my favourite mythic images …
The universe emerging from Viṣṇu’s navel, through a lotus, with Brahmā descending the stalk searching for the source.
Brahmā cannot find the end - a perfect metaphor for …
searching for a singularity,
descending into a black hole,
looking for the origin point of spacetime.
The myth says:
All worlds arise from a single point, an axis, a womb of light.
Astronomy says:
All spacetime emerges from a singularity.
Food for thought :)
The Bālakhilyas - neutrinos at the edge of the Sun’s rays?
Another myth I’m eager to explore further is …
When Brahmā began creation, he needed micro‑intelligence. So he generated 60,000 thumb‑sized sages - the Bālakhilyas - who live at the end of the Sun’s rays.
I’ll be interested to hear about how …
photons stop at the heliopause,
neutrinos pass through everything,
Voyager has crossed into interstellar space.
Are the Bālakhilyas behaving more like neutrinos than photons?
tiny
numerous
nearly weightless
boundary‑crossing
guardians of liminal zones
A final reflection
Discussing this eclipse has been a portal - not just into astronomy, but into a deeper understanding of Jyotish as a cosmic language of light.
Light as photons. Light as information. Light as meaning. Light as darśana. Light as the medium through which the universe speaks.
And in August 2026, the Sun will briefly dim, the corona will reveal itself, and we will have a moment to listen.
I hope you enjoy the conversation and do let me know what you think in the comments.
