Balinese use this board to find your zodiac. One of these squares represents your star in Bali. This board is called Palelintangan.
Your birth date
Pancawara - Saptawara
5 day cycle - 7 day cycle
They use two cycles to place you on the board: the 7-day week we all know (Monday to Sunday), so they need the weekday you were born, and a second 5-day Balinese cycle called Pancawara. By crossing both, they find your symbol in the board.
Palelintangan Board Analysis
The first row are the gods
The next 5 rows are the stars
The last row are the animals
Pancawara - Saptawara
5 day cycle - 7 day cycle
The rows of the stars show where your astrological symbol is found. It is a grid of five rows and seven columns. To place you correctly, they need to know your date of birth so they can determine your position in the Saptawara cycle—the familiar seven-day week (Monday through Sunday)—as well as the Pancawara cycle, which is a five-day cycle they use.
By intersecting these two positions, one corresponding to the column and the other to the row, your star can be identified.
For each star, there is an associated god and animal, shown in the first and last rows, similar to an ascendant. The columns are determined by the Saptawara cycle, so the day of the week you were born sets your corresponding god and animal.
THE MOON STORIES
THE ETERNAL FALL OF THE MOON
Talking about the moon is often considered a trivial topic, even naïve or romantic, as if it only serves the purpose of deceiving or enchanting someone with its nighttime glow. However, this view is a mistake. The moon has a deep history, laden with meanings and events that have radically changed our understanding of the world and, ultimately, our very existence on Earth.
The moon is not just a beautiful object adorning the darkness of the night; in many ways, it is the invisible engine behind some of the most transcendental advances in science, technology, and society. It is crucial to understand its influence, as behind its silvery silhouette lie stories that have transformed the course of humanity.
Most of us have probably heard of Isaac Newton in school, especially the famous story in which an apple supposedly fell on his head, leading him to formulate the theory of gravity. We are often told in a simplified way that Newton saw an apple fall to the ground and that this inspired him to discover the law of gravity, the first of the four fundamental forces of nature known today by science—gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force.
However, what is rarely mentioned is the true origin of Newton’s curiosity: Why do objects fall? If everything we know falls toward the ground, why doesn’t the moon do so? Newton’s fascination did not begin with the falling of an apple, but with the fall of all objects, except one: the moon.
Why doesn’t the moon fall, while everything else seems to do so?
With that mystery in mind, Newton began to investigate. His obsession with solving the question of why the moon didn’t fall led him to develop new mathematical tools, such as calculus, and to write his monumental work Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, where he eventually formulated the law of universal gravitation.
This discovery not only revolutionized science but also gave rise to advances that transformed the world in unexpected ways. The new understanding of gravity allowed the development of technologies such as the engine, which powered the Industrial Revolution. This, in turn, radically changed social structures, promoting the emergence of the working class and the labor rights movement. Thanks to the power of engines, machines once thought impossible were able to perform physical tasks far beyond what humans could do on their own.
Moreover, the engine revolutionized transportation: cars, motorcycles, ships, and, even later, airplanes and spacecraft. What started as a simple question about why the moon didn’t fall sparked a series of developments that transformed life on Earth. When you ride your motorcycle or use any form of transportation with an engine, it exists thanks to the existence of the Moon and to the question: Why doesn’t the moon fall, while everything else seems to do so?
The true beauty of Newton’s answer lies not only in his scientific discovery but in the way he approached the mystery of the moon. When he was finally asked why the moon doesn’t fall, his answer was both simple and poetic: “The moon is always falling.”
For Newton, the moon was not kept in orbit by some strange or inexplicable force; in reality, the moon is in a “process of eternal fall.” The gravity of the Earth pulls the moon, just as it does with any other object, but at the same time, the moon moves so fast in its orbit that the centrifugal force counteracts the gravitational attraction, preventing the moon from crashing into the Earth. The moon is, in a certain sense, always falling, but in a balanced way, in a controlled fall that keeps it in orbit.
This concept not only has a mathematical explanation but also gives us a poetic view of the cosmos, where celestial bodies are not mere objects moving through space, but rather caught in a delicate dance of forces that keep them in balance, helping us understand that they don’t fall when they are actually falling eternally. “The moon is always falling.” So, when we look up at the sky and see the moon, we are seeing much more than just a simple reflection of light. The moon was the origin of one of the greatest technological and social revolutions. The answers to trivial questions related to the moon forever changed the history of human knowledge. It wasn’t an apple that inspired Newton, but the moon. And it wasn’t just a matter of physics: Newton’s obsession with understanding the moon led us to the Industrial Revolution, the creation of engines, and the transformation of society.
Today, when we ride a motorcycle or travel by car, we should not forget that, in some way, these advancements exist thanks to the moon, they are connected to the moon. The engines that allow us to move on the road are possible thanks to discoveries inspired by this, our Earth’s satellite, the Moon. And though it may seem like a poetic reflection, knowing that our vehicles and many other technologies ultimately owe their existence to the moon connects us with something profound and mysterious. It is a reminder that balance, harmony, and the strength of nature are present in many aspects of our lives.
For our first modern story, the moon has multiple impacts with Newton’s discoveries, but for me, the most beautiful thing is knowing that, when I ride my motorcycle, it exists thanks to the existence of the moon. My motorcycle exists thanks to the moon. This, in some way, gives me a sense of protection, balance, and harmony, so important for our culture in Bali.
Lastly, it’s important to highlight that Newton was considered “unbeatable” for three centuries. During all that time, he was known as “the unbeatable,” and it was believed that no human could go beyond his discoveries. It was thought that no one would surpass him and that we had reached the peak of human intelligence, when everything started with... Why the moon is not falling? and ended... The moon is allways falling!!
THE MOON STORIES
TALKING TO THE MOON
The second story about the Moon begins with a 21-year-old young man named Arthur C. Clarke, in the midst of World War II. At the time, he was serving in the Royal Air Force, playing a crucial role: operating the radio to detect enemy aircraft and alert his comrades on the battlefield. Every day, young Clarke faced a painful reality. Through the radio, he repeatedly heard how his friends fell in battle, their last words, and their lives lost on the battlefield. This constant and cruel pain ate away at him. Clarke was a sensitive young man who did not understand the world he lived in. He could not grasp why humanity was trapped in a meaningless war or why he had to listen to the deaths of his friends through the static of the radio.
To ease his anxiety, Clarke decided to take his radio each night to a quiet hill, far from the chaos of war. There, in the silence of the night, he sought refuge, trying to lessen the emotional burden of the violence surrounding him. In an act that many might consider childish, but to him was a source of comfort, Clarke pointed his radio at the Moon and began to speak, sending his greetings. He said “hello” through his radio, and his signal traveled out, directed at the Moon. The radio signal, aimed at the Moon, touched its surface and, upon contact, bounced back toward Earth. Through his radio, Clarke heard the echo of his own signal now distorted and weaker but his first “hello” had reached the Moon and returned. Distorted and weaker.
Clarke decided to do this every night, and talking to the Moon became his nightly ritual. He held long conversations, sending messages and waiting for the signal to bounce back. Because the Moon was so far away, the signal took two seconds to return. Clarke, a sensitive young man, found comfort in this, trying to understand himself through the Moon, searching for a way to stop hearing the deaths of his friends even in his dreams at night. He did not understand why the world was the way it was. To him, this world was not his world, and he was deeply wounded by the loss of his friends and comrades.
After practicing this routine for several nights, one evening, Clarke suddenly had an idea. As he listened to his signal bouncing off the Moon, he imagined… If the Moon were more reflective and not so rocky, the signal would not be distorted, and he could hear himself like a clear echo... This idea fascinated him, and he decided to explore it further. He imagined that if the Moon were closer and not so rocky, the signal would not take two seconds to return but could be heard in real-time sending a signal and immediately receiving a clear, undistorted echo. At 21 years old, the thought of talking to the Moon brought him comfort. With these two concepts a more reflective and closer Moon Clarke suddenly envisioned a reality that would change the world forever. His idea was: Why only one Moon? Why not have more than one? We have only one Moon, but we could have several... Perhaps these Moons could even communicate with each other... And suddenly, a great idea formed in his mind. Using simple mathematics, Clarke tested whether this idea could become a reality creating a global communication system using the Moon.
Clarke envisioned having three Moons, positioned closer to Earth and more reflective. These Moons would be arranged in an equilateral triangle, each side of equal length, with Earth at the center. This way, his “hello” could travel to one of these Moons, and the signal could bounce from one Moon to another, as if they were talking to each other, before finally returning to the last Moon. This would allow his message to reach the farthest parts of the world without needing a transmitter on Earth. With three Moons, it would be possible to connect the world. These Moons only needed to move geostationarily rotating with the Earth at the same speed. With this system, thanks to these Moons, people could communicate with anyone at any place in the world.
By talking to the Moon, Clarke unknowingly laid the foundation for a global communication system where anyone could speak with anyone in the world. This is what we now know as artificial communication satellites. When he shared these possibilities with the scientific community, he quickly became a highly respected scientist. The baseline for modern communication satellites was named in his honor: the Clarke Belt. The modern satellites we use to communicate today owe much to Clarke’s imagination and concepts. But to Clarke, these satellites were not merely technological machines they were Moons… reminders that through communication, we can avoid the pain caused by misunderstanding and violence. When asked how he viewed his creation and its impact on the world, Clarke humbly and profoundly replied: “These artificial Moons exist so that I no longer have to hear my friends die through the radio. My hope is that, by being able to communicate with one another, we can better understand each other and avoid resolving our differences through violence.”
What Clarke imagined in his youth, under the shadow of war, became the driving force behind a revolution the telecommunications revolution. Communication satellites, which are now a reality and an integral part of our daily lives, are the legacy of a lonely young man who once spoke to the Moon. Without the Moon, Clarke might never have imagined this system. And without his vision, we might have taken much longer to develop the technology that now connects us instantly not only with those nearby but with anyone in any corner of the world. After receiving global recognition for his scientific contributions, Clarke decided that his path would no longer be in science but in literature. He moved to Sri Lanka, where he focused on writing science fiction, seeking to further understand the future. In the mornings, he went diving, as he believed it was the closest experience to being in space. In the afternoons, he wrote, creating worlds and visions of what the future might hold.
His books have been adapted into films, and one of his novels is considered by many to be the greatest film ever made: 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick. This film, like many of his other works, contains our story of the second Moon. Today, when I look at my phone, with Google Maps guiding my way, I can’t help but think that the signal the information helping me reach my destination comes from one of those artificial Moons. Thanks to that vision, thanks to the conversations with the Moon, we now live in a connected world, where distance is no longer a barrier, and the telecommunications revolution has transformed the way we live, interact, and understand each other.
Thank you, Arthur. Thank you for the Moons.
THE MOON STORIES
PROVE OF THE RELATIVE UNIVERSE
In this, our final story about the moon, we will need the ability to observe how a beam of light can change direction when passing through a supermassive gravitational field. This seemingly simple concept lies at the core of one of the most groundbreaking discoveries in modern physics.
Gravity, as revealed by Newton, is a force inherent to the natural world, present whenever an object has mass. We, humans, also have mass, although due to our relatively small size, the gravitational field we generate has no significant impact. However, Earth, with its imposing size, creates a gravitational field that keeps us bound to it, preventing us from floating in the air. The Sun, being much larger than Earth, generates a much greater gravitational pull.
The story we’re going to tell about the moon is closely tied to the figure of Albert Einstein and his revolutionary theory of relativity. We will not attempt to analyze the theory in its entirety, as this would lead us through a long journey of the complexities of scientific thought. However, regarding the moon, we are particularly interested in how relativity was empirically demonstrated.
Every theory begins with an idea, which is then translated into mathematical language. But for that theory to be considered valid, it must be corroborated through empirical experimentation: in other words, an experiment must be conducted that confirms the theory is not just an abstract concept but a phenomenon that can be observed and verified in the real world.
Thus, Einstein faced the challenge of proving his theory of relativity not just in mathematical terms but in the physical world, where the theory could be tested. Relativity introduced a profound concept that transformed our understanding of time and space, revealing that both are relative. One of the most fascinating aspects of this theory is that the faster we move, the slower time passes for us. In simple terms, if we were to travel at the speed of light, we could, in a way, reach eternity and witness the future. Imagine that, while with your friends, you decide to move at a speed close to that of light. After one minute, you return to the same spot, but in that minute, time has not passed only for you. Time has passed much faster for your friends, who will have aged considerably or even passed away, while you only experienced a brief moment.
One of the most astounding consequences of this phenomenon is that a ray of light, when approaching a massive gravitational field, like that generated by a massive star like the Sun, will experience a deflection in its path. In other words, a ray of light that, in principle, travels in a straight line, may curve when passing close to an object of great mass. This phenomenon is known as gravitational lensing. To demonstrate relativity, Einstein proposed observing how the light from stars curves when passing near the Sun.
Let’s imagine we are a star, emitting light towards Earth during the night. However, at dawn, when the Sun rises in front of us, the light from our star is overshadowed by the intensity of sunlight. If the Sun were not there, the inhabitants of Earth could see how our light changes direction due to the gravitational influence of the Sun. But, since the Sun dazzles us, this phenomenon is invisible to humanity. If the light from the stars could be seen during the day, people on Earth would notice that the position of the stars is not where it should be; it has shifted due to the curvature of the light as it passes near the Sun.
Einstein’s challenge was, therefore, to find a way to observe this phenomenon during the day, but the intense sunlight made it nearly impossible to see the stars behind it. After many days of reflection and analysis, a surprising solution emerged: the solar eclipse.
Bingo.
We know that on rare occasions, like during a solar eclipse, the moon blocks the Earth’s view of the Sun by partially or fully covering its disk. This phenomenon briefly transforms day into night, providing a unique opportunity. Einstein decided to take advantage of this natural event to observe how the light from stars behind the Sun curves, allowing him to finally verify the theory of relativity.
With great patience, Einstein and his team traveled to locations where the next solar eclipse was expected to occur. There, equipped with measuring instruments and cameras, they captured the moment when a human being was able to demonstrate that light bends due to the Sun’s gravity, confirming relativity.
In this way, thanks to the moon, what seemed like an unattainable and abstract concept in Einstein’s mathematical equations became reality. Without the moon, Einstein’s relativity would have remained trapped in mathematical theory, impossible to verify. It was thanks to the moon that the impossible became possible.
In this way, thanks to the moon, what seemed like an unattainable and abstract concept in Einstein’s mathematical equations became reality. Without the moon, Einstein’s relativity would have remained trapped in mathematical theory, impossible to verify. It was thanks to the moon that the impossible became possible.
In the end, it was the moon, that satellite we’ve often gazed at in silence from Earth, that played a crucial role in one of the greatest scientific confirmations in history. Without it, Einstein’s relativity might have remained locked in the shadows of mathematics, a powerful but unprovable theory. The moon, by blocking the Sun’s glare during an eclipse, allowed scientists to observe the curvature of the light from stars behind the Sun and, in this way, confirm the distortion of space-time predicted by general relativity.
This event not only validated Einstein’s theory but also marked the beginning of a new era of understanding about the universe, the nature of light, gravity, and time. It reminded us that the cosmos, though vast and enigmatic, can be revealed through the simplest and most everyday phenomena, such as the moon passing in front of the Sun. Thanks to it, we understood that the laws governing the universe are not as linear as we once thought. Time and space are malleable, subject to gravitational forces that, although invisible, affect everything we know.
Furthermore, the implications of this discovery go beyond physics. It invites us to reflect on how everything is interconnected. The moon, so close to us and seemingly small compared to the Sun, was the missing piece in the puzzle of relativity, revealing that even the smallest events can trigger the greatest discoveries. It reminds us that sometimes, the answer to the deepest mysteries of the universe may be right in front of our eyes.
The consequences of this discovery are profound and will continue to resonate in science for centuries. It not only changed our understanding of physics but also expanded the limits of what we believe is possible. We now know that if space-time can be curved by the gravity of massive objects like the Sun, there are many more questions and phenomena yet to be discovered. Perhaps one day, with the right technology, we will be able to manipulate space-time at will or even travel across the universe in ways we’ve only imagined in science fiction novels.
Ultimately, what the moon taught us is not just the beauty of an eclipse or the fragility of our existence under the vast cosmic mantle, but the importance of human curiosity.
