Solomon Grundy,Born on a Monday,Christened on Tuesday,Married on Wednesday,Took ill on Thursday,Grew worse on Friday,Died on Saturday,Buried on Sunday.That was the end,Of Solomon Grundy

All of us of a certain generation are familiar with this nursery rhyme . At least I remember saying it with much gusto not realizing how morbid it was .And, coming to think of it,  not the best way to help a child remember the days of the week! Actually, most of the childhood verses we learnt were sheer nonsense and worse still morose ;  happily alluding to misfortune and misery  like poor old  Humpty, Dumpty who couldn’t be put back together after a fall and  Jack who fell down the hill followed by his girlfriend Jill.

December,  being the wedding season, Hubby Dear and I wanted to make sure there was nothing in the offing before taking off this weekend ( part of the recuperation process). I knew there was a wedding in the extended family but wasn’t quite sure of the exact dates  so I asked the building supervisor if the wedding was on this Saturday. Shekhar scoffed at the idea and actually held his ears in the way Indians traditionally do to ward off an evil thought and told me that the wedding was on Sunday because , he emphasised, SATRURDAY was a very BAD DAY AND NO ONE HAS A WEDDING ON A SATURDAY.  I asked him how this was possible  considering every day was made by God and he told me that call it superstition or what but Saturday was also  considered inauspicious for death – if a person dies on a Saturday he is going to take two more souls from the family with him! Well nonsense of not, I was amazed to find this sentiment repeated in the ditty on  Solomon Grundy!

Some Shani Facts

• Saturn or Shani as he is known is one of the Nine important celestial beings or planets in Hindu astrology. As the first born son of the glorious Sun he is dark unlike his father . He is held in dread and is respected as one of the most powerful planets who can make or break your destiny.
• Saturn returns to its original position in your horoscope from 27-30 and again from 57-60 which means vast changes in your fortune
• Some people wear a blue sapphire to ward off the evil effects of this planet while others believe that wearing a blue sapphire is only inviting trouble. 
• Shani can play havoc in your life for 7 1/2 years when it transits from the 12th  house from the Moon to the 2nd house from the Moon as it appears in your horoscope at birth.

So Saturn or Shani, feared and revered is a hard planet to please and you would do well to have him on your side…..