Your gifts brought some welcome cheer and happy smiles for deserving children in Tamil Nadu, India. It is truly in giving that we receive.

On Christmas morning, December 25, 2008, several staff members and volunteers went to visit Boystown, a school supported over the past several years by Tripura Foundation. The boys created custom Christmas cards for us with beautiful graphics, and the caretaker, Mr. Kannan, was very gracious in giving tour of the entire facility.

After a short visit at Boystown, Astroved staff and volunteers next travelled to a nearby children’s home which has 120 children who are either orphans or have families which cannot care for them. All the children were given a gift of new clothes sponsored by Astroved supporters. All the boys received a fresh, collared shirt and sturdy trousers, and all the girls were given a colorful skirt with coordinated blouse. The children were very excited to receive these personal gifts.

The children posed for photographs and practiced “shaking hands.”

Next a hot lunch with favorite south Indian cooked foods along with fruit and Christmas sweets was served to all the children.

The clothes, lunch and sweets were all sponsored by Astroved supporters, and we wanted to share a big “THANK YOU!” from the children and from us for a most magical Christmas morning.

All the planets are said to be pleased by charity donations, and seeing the happiness in the faces of the children, it is easy to understand why.

Can Vedic Astrology still predict who will rule the kingdom? The primary indicator in defining the mind and thinking process of an individual in Vedic Astrology is the Moon, and more particularly the star in the sky that the Moon is aligned with at birth. The seers identified 27 primary stars, called nakshatras in Sanskrit. These 27 stars are even today easily found in the twelve primary constellations which make up our sky. One’s soul is said to originate from this “birth star” in its journey to incarnation on the earth.

Contributing Astrologer: Ramkumar

Jupiter also called as ‘Guru’ is the teacher of science of light which includes astronomy and astrology. Jupiter controls all mental faculties and is a very important central aspect of the Navagrahas or the nine planet system in Vedic astrology. This year, Jupiter transit takes place on 6th of December 2008, based on Vaakya almanac and on 9th December 2008 based on Ephemeris. It moves into the sign Capricorn which is ruled by Saturn. This transit will bring mixed results in general to all of us. While financial institutions will struggle to cope up with the energies associated with this transit, there is still some hope for people for whom Jupiter is favorably placed in their charts.

Jupiter is a benevolent planet and takes care of events associated with marriage, money making, wealth and children. When favorably placed, the native will find that heavens open up to him or her. Specifically when Jupiter is exalted or is placed in its own house, the person will enjoy high status and power. When unfavorably placed, the native would see lot of obstacles coming his way, particularly for money making initiatives.