Each asterism of 13° 20´ is again divided into four padams or quarters each of 3° 20´, which is the value of the Navamsha or one-ninth part of a sign of 30°. Now since there are four amshas in each asterism and 27 asterisms in the circle, there are 108 amshas, and these correspond with the 108 sounds.
There are five primary vowel sounds, and each of these lasts for 24 minutes, or one Indian hour, which is equal to 6° of the zodiac or one-fifth of a Sign. Therefore the 5 vowels are distributed through the 5 parts of the Sign. The vowels are—
| ah | ee | oo | ae | oh |
| â | î | û | é | ô |
They are all long and pure vowel sounds. The compounds such as oi in “oil,” ow as in “now,” etc., are produced from a combination of these.
These five primary vowels range through the several Signs and are taken up by successive consonants attached to each of the Signs. These consonants extend throughout the Signs to which they are attached, as L through Aries, V through Taurus, etc., so that the five Indian hours or 120 minutes during which Aries is in evidence, are related to the five vowels in connection with the consonant L, as Lah, Lee, Loo, Lae, Loh, and these are succeeded by Taurus with the sounds Vah, Vee, Voo, Vae, Voh.
By taking into account the five vowel sounds, the consonants attaching to the various Signs, and the relative positions of the planets at any given time, a mantram may be formed which is in exact harmony with the astral vibrations obtaining at that particular time. Mantrams are also formed from the positions of the planets at the time of a person’s birth. Some of these mantrams are traditional with Hindu families and others have been adopted. At one time they were delivered with the horoscope immediately after a birth had taken place, but many of these ancient practices have fallen into disuse among the moderns.
Here follows a complete table of the sounds showing the Signs and parts of Signs to which they are attached.
Table of Planetary Sounds.
| 0-6 ah | 6-12 ee | 12-18 oo | 18-24 ae | 24-30 oh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Lah | Lee | Loo | Lae | Loh |
| Taur. | Vah | Vee | Voo | Vae | Voh |
| Gemini | Kah | Kee | Koo | Kae | Koh |
| Cancer | Hah | Hee | Hoo | Hae | Hoh |
| ” | Ḍah | Ḍee | Ḍoo | Ḍae | Ḍoh (hard Dh) |
| Leo | Mah | Mee | Moo | Mae | Moh |
| ” | Ṭah | Ṭee | Ṭoo | Ṭae | Ṭoh (Hard T) |
| Virgo | Pah | Pee | Poo | Pae | Poh |
| Libra | Rah | Ree | Roo | Rae | Roh |
| ” | Tah | Tee | Too | Tae | Toh (soft) |
| Scorpio | Nah | Nee | Noo | Nae | Noh |
| Sagit. | Yah | Yee | Yoo | Yae | Yoh |
| ” | Bah | Bee | Boo | Bae | Boh |
| Capri. | Jah | Jee | Joo | Jae | Joh |
| ” | Gah | Gee | Goo | Gae | Goh |
| Aquar. | Sah | See | Soo | Sae | Soh |
| ” | Dah | Dee | Doo | Dae | Doh (soft) |
| Pisces | Chah | Chee | Choo | Chae | D Choh |
From this table we are able to extract the Planetary Sounds, and for this reason I have called it a Table of Planetary Sounds, for in the thought of all astrologers a Sign infers a planet and a planet infers a Sign. Hence as Mars rules the signs Aries and Scorpio, we have the consonants L and N and the five vowels, when sounded in conjunction with the initial consonant.