Astrology 13.2

[Derek (Admin)]

Astrology 13.2

Practical Astrology: Vaastu Shastra -  The Science of Astrological Architecture

Professor Cabot Forbes

RL Date: October 7th -
IC Date: Spring 2041
Time: 4 PM
Weather: Scattered Clouds
Other Information: Text: "Principles of Vaastu Shastra by Nidi Gupta"





Left Section: First & Second Year

[FB]  [2]  [3]  [DW] [5]  [6]
[7]  [8]  [9]  [10]  [11]  [12]
[13]  [14]  [15]  [16]  [17]  [JS]

Center Section: Third & Fourth Year

[19]  [20]  [21]  [22]  [VJ]  [24]
[25]  [AM]  [AT]  [28]  [29]  [MG]

Right Section: OWL/NEWT

[31]  [32]  [RT]  [34]  [35]  [36]

[Professor Forbes (MOD)]

The weather was changeable and cloudy when Cabot drew back the curtains of the Astrology classroom in preparation for the next lesson. The room had its starry ceiling, but each of the walls directly ahead, and to the left and right of the professors podium had large wall hangings. One was instantly familiar, a large Tapestry borrowed from the Library’s Map Room. This was directly behind the Professor. It depicted the school and grounds, and its many floors and classrooms. To the left was a large diagram that looked something like a compass wheel, but also had words associated with the points of the compass. To the right was a square diagram with the tracery of the Divine being superimposed upon the square. On each desk was a thick red book, entitled “Principles of Vaastu Shastra: by Nidi Gupta”. Cabot had everything in readiness for today’s lesson which was part lecture and part exercise.

As the students filed in, he was sitting on the front of his desk, legs crossed in front in a casual way. The classroom was divided into sections, and in the front center section of the room just in front of the professor was a large object on a stand. It was a compass of the bowl variety. He greeted each student as they took a chair. The name of the lesson, Vaastu Shastra: The Science of Astrological Architecture was on the chalkboard. There were also instructions for First and Second year students to sit in the Left Hand Section; while the Third and Fourth Years sat in the center section, and senior students clustered to the right.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to Astrology. Please take a seat. You might not think that Astrology has much to do with architecture and the way rooms and buildings are oriented and constructed, but two cultures in the world put great importance on the direction the building’s rooms are facing, as well as other considerations. You may have heard the term feng shui. This is the Chinese discipline that teaches us how to capture the flow of cosmic energy by arranging the furniture and rooms of our homes into the most advantageous positioning. Vaastu Shastra is similar, but means literally Dwelling Science. Today’s we’re going to do a little examination of these principles, using familiar places as the model for your research.  You will be writing today, so you will need parchment and ink,” he said. Then he picked up a copy of the red leather book. “This is a reference volume for some of the principles we’re going to cover today. These are stored in the classroom should you wish to read into it further as a class project of if you are taking OWLS or NEWTS this year.”

He stood up and paced down to the compass on the stand.

“This compass is here for convenience, should you need it to understand the orientation of the various places we’re going to study,” he said. “It’ll make more sense as we get started. You can also use the Four Points Charm if you know it,” he added.

“Take a look at the diagram of Hogwarts here, and the orientation of the school along north south lines. Then take a look at the Divinity Diagram on your right. If you think of a large north-south-east-west grid dropped over the school, you’ll see that it corresponds to the square diagram, and the different parts of the heavenly body that governs the discipline. Why does this matter? Basically, the Principles of Vaastu Shastra say that you ought to follow certain rules when building something, or the best rooms in the dorms or the school the ones most aligned with the cosmic energy flow. Yes, the school isn’t a perfect square, nor is the diagram of the parts of the Divine body, but if you can imagine stretching them this way or that, it’s easier to see,” he said. "So, why does this matter to us? We know that phases of the moon affect our ability to cast magic, make potions, and so forth. Think about something commonplace: some of us don’t like riding on the Hogwarts Express going forwards or backwards or in a certain place, because we feel 'off.' The orientation of rooms or a building might have a subtle effect on your body and mind as well."

“Your assignment today is an essay and analysis using these principles and diagrams. If you are First or Second Year, you’ll write 12 inches today about some favorite place in the school. See if it’s got the right alignment and positioning. Or maybe it’s a classroom you don’t like. Maybe it's in the wrong part of the diagram you see. Some of the school ghosts might even mention this! Take a look at where it is in relation to the diagrams you see and the principles in Chapters 1 and 2 of the text. If you’re Third or Fourth Year, do the same, but also write about your own home. Think about how it’s placed and write 12 inches on the school and twelve inches on your home. OWL and NEWT students assignment is a little more in depth, and will require a little more thought: Write about the various key features of the school, and how the builders scored in positioning them: The Great Hall; the Astronomy Tower, the Dorms and classrooms. I’ll need at least 36 inches on the school from you older students.”

He walked down between the aisles. "OWL and NEWT students may visit those actual rooms they are writing about today to get exact compass positioning using the Four Points Charm," he said. "You may begin, and please place your completed assignments in the basket on my desk there," he said. "If you get stuck, or don't understand one of the Principles in Chapters 1 and 2, I'll be please to answer questions," he said smiling.

[Valentina Jones]

With her Astrology Journal tucked under her arm, and her backpack on the other shoulder, Valentina arrived at the Seventh Floor classroom for Astrology well ahead of time. The classroom was nearly deserted, and that allowed her a pick of seats for herself and H. She sat in Desk #23, and save Desk #24 for Hugo with her backpack. The chalkboard had the name of today's lecture, and it was an Indian word that she didn't recognize. The pictures on the walls were also strange. One looked like a compass, and another looked like a picture of a strange man sitting cross legged with parts of his body named. The school map she had often looked at was behind the Professor. Indian culture wasn't something that she knew much about, and it was only her exposure to students of Indian descent and classes in History of Magic and Astronomy that made her recognize it at all.

"Good afternoon Professor," she said. She didn't ask the obvious question, although she was tempted. Professor Forbes was her head of house and she had spoken with him quite a bit this year, and he'd even helped them try to decipher the meaning of that strange picture not far from the classroom. She decided to hold off questions until she knew more. She picked up the book, with its red covers and gave it a once over. It had a lot of pictures inside, and it showed all kinds of architectural diagrams, as well as lists of things about buildings and land and orientation to the poles. It all seemed rather complex and confusing, but she guess that it was some kind of Divination art that had to do with where you lived, rather than your stars or birthday as in other forms. She got out some parchment, and her favorite teal ink and put her name at the top of the page, along with the name of the lesson. She sat and studied the diagrams on the walls, and some of the ones in the books while the classroom filled up around her.

[Fornia Bekhet]

Rumors were all over the school that something had happened off of the campus. Someone said that three girls had been killed, but there was no one missing in Hufflepuff as far as she knew. Hwever, Fornia was taking no chances. She made sure to stay with groups of students wherever she went in the castle, and walking to class with a group was reassuring. Today she had an afternoon class for Astrology with Professor Forbes. Perhaps the stars and the horoscopes held some answers to these riddles? Fornia didn’t know, but she liked the course matter because it was so random, yet so informative at the same time. She believed that perhaps she could be a Seer someday, if she could hone her skills better. She was going to try, and so she took Divination and Astrology again this year.

She took Seat #1. She always took that seat if it was open in any classroom. She looked around and saw the entire room was redecorated with large wall hangings or tapestries that were part of the lesson. She’d never heard of this kind of Astrology, and it turned out not to be strictly Astrology at all. She wasn’t really sure what it was, but it certainly had an effect on your life. In her culture, the compass directions held great meaning, and prayer times relied upon it. Buildings in Egypt were oriented with the stars, sun or moon, so that part of it was interesting. She picked up the book and read until the class started. The Professor was going to have them write about a favorite part of the school. Fornia had to think about that for a while. She liked the courtyard near the Transfiguration classrooms, and she would often go and sit under the trees there if the weather was fair. She took a look at the directional compass and at the picture of Buddha on the wall. She didn’t have to stare at it very long to see that the courtyard of Hogwarts were towards the center, with other things around it. According to the book, this was the right place to have such a space. Open, so you could ‘breathe’, and surrounded by areas of learning. It was more North than any direction, and this corresponded to a space that equated with health and long life. In her native land, courtyards were prized for being the contemplative area, just as in India, and the cool awnings spread over them protected you from the sun. She wrote more than 12 inches about this courtyard at the school, and felt like she somewhat understood what this discipline was about: It tied mysticism and practical science together with the movements of the earth and stars. She handed in her essay early. That had been fairly easy.

[Matthew Garrow]

As he climbed the stairs from the dungeons to the Astrology classroom, Matthew dug through his bag to find his notebook. He was sure it was in there somewhere, but he couldn't decide where he'd last seen it. He wasn't the most organized of students, nor the most attentive, but he was good enough to pass. Which was all he needed really. He knew it wasn't a mandatory class, but it was worth something eventually, so he might as well take it. Matthew figured that he should figure out what he wanted to do with his life eventually, but that for later life, he didn't need to care now.

Of course he knew he did need to, but it was easier to convince yourself that you didn't, than you did. Once in class, he noticed Valentina sitting with her bag saving the seat next to her - for Hugo most likely. He thought they were cute, and innocent. Even a year younger than himself, Matthew still felt like he'd been through enough to picture them as younger than himself. He took Seat 30 and nodded at Valentina. If she spoke, he'd talk, if she didn't, he was fine.

[Ruby Tucker]

Tha last class of the day was Astrology, and for once, it was on the way back to her dorm. Ruby had double potions that morning, and then Transfiguration, and now Astrology with Prof. Forbes. It was a strange class, as were all the Divination courses, but Ruby had decided she might as well take one of them for an OWL, and then she could decide if she liked the work enough to continue on into Sixth Year with it. When she got the the classroom, there were some very strange wall displays, and she'd never heard of the discipline they were studying before.

After a lecture by the Professor, they were free to do their own work on a paper. Ruby thought she had heard about things like this before, and certainly the position of the school was probably interesting. She made a long list of the school's key rooms and gathering places. Going by the map of the school, she chose to write about the Great Hall; the Astronomy Tower; the Divination classrooms; the Headmaster's office, and several other places. Hogwarts, in her opinion, was almost ideally placed with regards to how Vaastu Shastra recommended: Most of the major rooms were  oriented the right way, and the picture of buddha was overlaid in the correct manner. Only the Headmaster's Office seemed out of place. Ruby thought it ought to be oriented with the head of the buddha, representing intellect. Nevertheless, she easily had the requisite 36 inches, and was finished quite early.

[Valentina Jones]

The red head spent a few minutes trying to figure out what this weird form of Astrology was. She wasn’t even sure it was Astrology. Hugo hadn’t arrived yet, but Matthew had. He sat down and greeted her from a seat nearby. She turned around to talk with him. Matthew had been one of the HAS members she’d talked with the least, and that she knew the least about. He was slightly older, but apparently he hadn’t been at Hogwarts a couple of years ago, so she wondered whether he was repeating any classes, or if he’d been tutored at home. The Vaastu Shaastra discipline quite forgotten, the redhead smiled and addressed the Slytherin boy. Sometimes he seemed almost indifferent to people, while with others, he would engage in lengthy conversations in the halls. Valentina also wondered what his likes and hobbies were, but she supposed he was a private sort of boy who didn’t let on much. Valentina tended to veer towards being an extrovert when she was feeling normal, although she liked quiet time too.

Astrology was hardly a favorite subject, but it fascinated her a little.  She had rarely gotten beyond Ouija boards at home, and ghosts had troubled her until recently. She and Hugo had long talked about some of the strange dreams she’d had, and that had been the same as Ariadne Wright, the poor Ravenclaw girl who had gone rather mad and had to be sent off to St. Mungo’s. If they got a chance, Valentina wanted to go and visit her. While they waited for class to start, Valentina decided to find out a little more about Mr. Garrow.

“Hello Matthew,” she said in a cheerful way. “I didn’t know you liked Astrology. For me, the future is very scary, but I figure the more I learn about it, the less I have to fear. Is that what it’s like for you? And do you know much about dreams?” she asked.

[Danielle Windrall]

Dani breezed into class and set her books down at desk 4 with a thunk of her books. She looked around at the kids in the class, but she didn't know too many of them. She leaned over to talk to the Hufflepuff girl nin Desk 1. "Hey, I'm Dani, what's your name?" she asked. Then she looked over at a red-headed girl that she'd seen in class before, and waved. The class was about Astrology, but they were studying the way buildings were built? This made no sense. With a sigh, Danie looked into her books to see what she could make of this assignment. It was very confusing to the girl.

She looked at the big picture of the buddha figure, and then at the plan for the school. The place she liked. What places did she like? Her own dorm room in Gryffindor Tower. She looked on gthe map to find Gryffindor Tower, and faked out 12 inches talking about how the Grreenhouses were positioned ont he north part of the school, which meant that they were perfect to promote health and healing, which was because they grew things there to help make healing potions. It was a loongshot, but she used a lot of big words, and even threw in an example of mandrakes. The Gryffindor Tower was also north, and norther n light was good for study. She signed it, and turned it in well short of the end of the period.