Some nakshatras have very difficult themes. The stories of the Gods in Vedic literature gives some of the meanings associated with each of the nakshatras.
From the book ‘Light on Life’ we get these definitions:
‘fierce/severe’ – aka Ugra (Bharani, Magha, all Purva’s) terrorists, assassins, pursuing lawsuits, violence, force, weapons, confronting enemies, battles ,ruining enemies, disgrace, destruction, demolishing a structure, deceit, imprisoning, capturing others with force, poisoning, burning, striking with weapons, murders
‘sharp or Dreadful’ – aka Tikshna (ardra, ashlesha, jyeshta, mula) mesmerism, exorcism, incantations, invoking spirits, -destructive activities, success in attacks, murder, acts of torture, punishment, imprisonment, separation of friends. Acts of separation or alliance implying strong, well-defined, impassioned, focused, arduous activities
On the lighter side: ‘soft mild tender’ – aka Mrdu (Miga,Chitra,Anuradha, Revati) favourable for activities pertaining to subtle things such as wearing new apparel, learning dancing, music and fine arts, sexual union, performance of auspicious ceremonies etc.good for ‘making friends, sexual union, enjoyment of garments and ornaments, performance of auspicious ceremonies like marriage, and music’, easy-going, pleasure-loving
I think the 5 nakshatra’s that stand out the most for their harsh qualities are:
Mula – some qualities include: sharp, active, butcher, neuter, vata, tamasic, dog, rakshasa.
Nirriti is the deity= a name of Rudra. Nirriti (‘calamity), dissolution who personifies evil , death, and corruption. Is alsos known as Alakshmi, the opposite of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.
Ardra – deity is Rudra, Rudra is often equated with Shiva. Born to assassinate Brahma in one story. Has the qualities of sharp dreadful, dissolution, vata, sharp, tamasic.
Associated with rage, anger, killing, cruelty, internal and external conflict, rejection, outcast, abandonment, betrayal, tears, loss , sadness
Ashlesha – some qualities in include sharp/dreadful, active, dissolution, outcast, female, cat, rakshasa.
-coiled serpent, the deity is Sarpa’s, everything associated with snakes. snakes = wily, creepy creatures which hypnotize their prey with their movements and their eyes before entwining themselves around their victims. Snakes, which enjoy secrecy , often misunderstood, operate out of sight.
-insincerity, avarice, deception, cold-bloodedness, and for poisonous, painful, fanged bites. People who are very self serving, like robbers, behind-the-scenes manipulators and greedy, cunning, miserly.
The Bhadrapada’s are similar to each other, with Purva Bhadrapada being harder than Utttara Bhadrapada. Both are Rudra nakshatra’s and have the themes of death and destruction, rise and falls, the funeral cot, anger, storms, cynicism, harsh speech, greed, and ‘a fascination for the ecstasy of evil and the darker side of life. ‘
I think it’s important to note that any nakshatra can go wrong if: it has natural malefics in or aspecting into it, it’s located in a trik, it’s Vimshottari lord is in bad shape in the chart, and if any of these factors are in difficult yogas.
Another factor is don’t use the karaka qualities of the Vimshottari lord of a nakshatra to define the nakshatra’s attributes, eg Anuradha isn’t like the karaka qualities of Saturn. Different dasa systems that are nakshatra based use different grahas as the nakshatra lord.
The drekkonas can be a contributing factor to a negative placement of a graha. Like the 2nd Drekkana of Scorpio is called Passa, which means ‘a noose’, and can bind one, addictions, prison, being stuck somehow. These meanings are not part of the meanings of Anuradha, but a graha placed there may exhibit some of those qualities. Another example is Revati whose meanings are desirable qualities, but Revati is totally in a Sarpa Drekkana. Sarpa drekkana’s: Rudra qualities, harsh, poison, conflict, serpent, wiley demon, creeping, crawling, wicked , cheating, dishonest. Claire Nakti says Revati has a lot of negative attributes, but I think that is wrong, what she’s seeing comes from the Sarpa drekkana Revati is in.
In Vedic Astrology, a war is said to take place between 2 planets that are within one degree of each other. This is called Graha Yuddha. A war can only happen among the five true planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. According to Brihat-samhita, written by Varahamihira in the 6th century, the winner is the planet that’s the brightest and most Northernly. Some software will show brightness as magnitude, using a logarithmic scale where the lower the number, the brighter it is. Venus is so bright, it often is said to win even when being more southern.
War is a disturbing conflict. Just as in real life, a war can cause immense damage for all involved. While the winner gains a great advantage, and the loser is left bleeding or worse. A war in a natal chart is a powerful and significant affliction. The conflict is seen through the houses owned by the 2 planets and their karaka qualities. To determine just how bad this will be, we need to assess whether are there other disturbing factors, like :
1 – being in a bad trik house, 6th, 8th or 12th houses?
2 – is it hemmed, aspected, or associated with malefics?
3 – combusted by the Sun?
4 – is either of the planets in this war part of an undesirable yoga?
The bad results are lessened if there is benefic influence by aspect, association, or by being hemmed by benefics. What we see in all of my examples below is that the losing planet is still able to give some good results.
Kartikeya: Mars is the Hindu god of war
Adolf Hitler has a war in his chart and is famous for starting WWll. His war was between his lagna lord Venus and Mars, Venus wins. Hitler was violent, sadistic, hateful, conflicted, angry, and emotionally exaggerated. These are all the negative qualities of Mars. While his Mars was afflicted, his Mars was in his own sign and in yogas, so his military might still came through. Two malefics contribute to Mars’s affliction, as well as every dustana lord. All of this, and more, brought out a historically catastrophic time for the world and ended in the violent destruction of Germany and Hitler himself. The war takes place in his 7th house, the house of romantic partner and marriage. His romantic partners from earlier in his life met mysterious violent deaths. He didn’t marry until the very end of his life, just before he and his wife killed themselves.
The astrology chart of Adolf Hilter.
Woody Allen has a war in his 4th house, between the lord of the 2nd house Mercury (indicating family) and Jupiter lord of the 5th house (indicating children). Saturn lord of the 7th house (indicating wife) exactly aspects the war! Saturn is powerful and makes a lust combination with the Moon. And the Sun, the lagna lord, combusts the war. His wife and his child have accused him of child rape. This has sunk his career and ripped his family apart. Jupiter is the lord of the 8th house and he will be remembered for sexual scandal.
Birth chart of Woody Allen
Jerry Garcia was a legendary guitarist. He had a planetary war in the 10th house with Jupiter, lord of the 7th house of marriage and sex, and Venus the significator for marriage, sex, and romance. Jupiter is the karaka of children. He was married 4 times and had endless affairs with many women. He spawned at least 6 children. He was a drug addict and a practicing hedonist who embraced the hippy culture of free love and anti-authority. The 4th house is morals and his were typical of an addict. He was busy with his career and his kids were mostly ignored. He enjoyed worldwide fame, see the Amala yoga in the 10th, which gave him a devoted fan base that grew larger and larger until his death. His rise of fame exploded at the age of 18, when his Vimshottari Venus dasa and his Sagitarrius Chara dasas started. He has many yogas, including many Jaimini yogas. After his death there remained a chaos of lawsuits and anger among his many women and children.
On December 16, 2022, the world’s largest aquarium collapsed in Berlin Germany. Fifteen-hundred fish and 264,000 gallons of water came tumbling out of a 50-foot-high glass structure all at once in a hotel lobby. No humans died, only two were slightly hurt, although it was a fish apocalypse that poured all the way out onto the sidewalk.
sidereal chart of the event
Vedic astrology uses a sidereal chart, giving us a Scorpio lagna, ie 1st house. Scorpio is a water sign and is the 8th sign in the natural zodiac. The 8th house has many difficult meanings: death, destruction, dissolution, carnage, explosions, etc. Scorpio being the 8th sign shares these 8th house meanings.
Mars is the lord of Scorpio. Mars is the God of war, son of Saturn, and the God of death and transformation. Mars rules accidents, explosions, destruction, etc. At the time of this event (5:45 AM), Mars was retrograde, making him very strong and erratic. Mars was placed in the 7th house, which is a Maraka house.
SCORPIO
The Maraka houses are 2 and 7. Maraka houses, their lords and the planets placed in them are given a potential for harming and even killing, or bringing an end to something or someone.
Mars in a Scorpio ascendant, owning the first house and the 6th house. The trik houses, 6-8-12 are all capable of undesirable and disruptive influences. So this Mars, the lord of this chart, goes to a Maraka house as lord of H6, and aspects 4, 7 and 8 houses away from it. In other words, it throws its influence onto those houses.
This brings us to the 2nd house of this chart. This house, as stated, is a Maraka house and has in it Sun, Venus and Mercury. Why this is so central for this event is that the time period running when this event happened was Sun/Moon/Mercury, AKA the dasa-main period, bhukti—the sub-period and Mercury is the sub-sub-period. These grahas are central to the timing of this event at this time and place.
The Sun is the dasa lord and it is placed at 0 degrees in Sagittarius in the 2nd house. This position is called gandanta, and it occurs between water signs and fire signs. This juncture is also the space between the end of a nakshatra cycle and the start of the next nakshatra group. It is said in the Vedic astrology classics that a planet (graha) placed here is profoundly weak, stuck and troubled. If other factors support, then a difficult event can occur. Not only is Sun gandant, a powerful natural malefic Mars, lord of 6th house, placed in a Maraka house, aspects—throwing his troubling influence onto this Sun. And what’s more, Venus is the lord of the most difficult 8th house and Mercury is the lord of the 12th. The 12th house is a house of loss and “a fall from a high place”. This is all quite a bitter soup of influences.
Surya
The 3 main focal points of a chart are the lagna, the Moon and the Sun. It is commonly done in Vedic astrology to rotate the chart to each of these and read the chart again. So make the Moon in Leo the ascendant, and then Sun in Sagittarius in the first house. In all 3 cases, we see catastrophe.
Jupiter was in Pisces and hence, throwing a powerful influence/aspect onto the lagna. Pisces has the symbol of two fish and indicates, or is the karaka for, animals of the sea. Jupiter at the time of the event was aspected by a powerful Saturn. Saturn is an indicator of accidents, death and destruction.
Pisces
One last point is the 64th navamsa and it plays in this chart. The 64th navamsa is famous for its connection to triggering 8th house types of events, usually difficult things. The classics all calculate from the lagna. So, what- ever the lagna degree is, put it in the 8th house and that navamsa is it. Some classics include from the Moon too. In the modern era, we see people like K.N. Roe and others saying to calculate the 64th N from all the grahas. I have gotten a lot of hits with this. In this chart, the Lagna Lord Mars is in the 64th navamsa from explosive/destructive Ketu! And Mercury is in the 64th N from Mars! And Moon is in the 64th N from Saturn!
Each Vedic God has his own special mode of travel.
Travel is a common query for an astrologer. Movement or lack of movement are universal parts of the human experience. Will there be movement? When will this happen? Will it be a pleasant or harsh experience? Why will one move? Blending the themes and meanings of the planets, houses, signs and nakshatras can be used to answer these questions.
Long distance travel can be seen by the 7th, 9th and 12th houses, and H3 (i.e. 3rd house). For short distance travel, local travel we look to the 3rd house. For example, if the lord of the 9th goes to the 7th or 12th, travel may occur during the dasa bhukti (time periods) of the planets involved. Their connection with H10 can mean travel for work. Connections amongst these 4 houses of long distance travel are perhaps the first best place to look. The more they interconnect, i.e. the lord of one goes to the house of another, the more likely they will result in travel, if the dasa bhukti of the relevant planets are running.
The 12th house is connected with foreign places, so travel abroad can be indicated. If factors for education are connected with the 12th, perhaps one gets education in a foreign land. If factors for residence go to H12, perhaps one emigrates. Rahu and Ketu, as well as Saturn can indicate things foreign, like a wife who comes from foreign lands, or foreign travel.
The 8th House can play a major role in leaving your country and distant travel, strange adventures, crossing large bodies of water, dangerous/obstructed/fruitless journeys, sudden changes, e.g., death is the end of something. It could be the end of a job or a home and moving is the result.
Another factor to add to the mix is signs, aka rashis. There are 12 signs, each is assigned an element and a ‘quality’.
The Qualities:
The Cardinal / Chara signs are associated with Rajas and signify movement, change and dynamic activity.
The Fixed / Sthira signs are associated with Tamas and signify inertia, no change and suggest no movement.
The Mutable / Dwisvabhava signs are associated with Sattva and signify a balance between change and stability.
Vehicles of the Gods
Nakshatras
The movable/ephemeral nakshatras are Punarvasu, Swati, Shravana, Dhanishta and Shatabhisha. They incline one to movement, e.g., career change, residence change, and travel.
Other nakshatras that are connected to movement and travel:
Migashira – journeys, moves, roads and paths, suspicious and prone to wander, deer roam around on predictable trails hunting.
Punarvasu – like the arrow in the quiver, always prepared for travel.
Anuradha – travel frequently, people who reside in far-off places, is rarely satisfied with its place of residence.
Revati – associated with protection, shelter and hospitality while traveling, especially the journey from this world to the next. Connected with anything to do with roads.
As an example, let’s look at the chart of a woman who was adopted at the age of 14 months old and flown half-way around the world to start a new life in a foreign country. Her trip occurred during her Rahu / Venus / Mars periods.
In her natal chart, we see Rahu and Mars in her 8th house of big transformations and sudden endings. This was a very dramatic change to every aspect of her life. Note that Mars is also the lord of H3, a travel house. One of Rahu’s meanings is foreigners. Meanwhile Venus is the lord of the 9th house of long distance travel and has gone to H12, the house of foreign travel and foreign residence. Note that Venus is also the lord of the 4th house of home. The 4th lord going to the 12th is a common placement in the charts of people who immigrate.
Looking at the transits for that day, her dasa lord Rahu was in her 7th house of travel. Venus the sub-period lord, and the lord of her 9th goes to the first house with Ketu, who signifies foreigners. She was surrounded by them, including her new mother. Finally Mars, the sub-sub lord, was in the 3rd house, another house of travel.
transits at the time of travel
A side point is that 6 planets were vargottama in their transiting position when she got on the plane to leave her place of birth! Vargottama is a very special placement that brings a special positive energy to the planets involved. There is a rule in Jyotish astrology that Rahu will act like his dispositors. Rahu’s sign owner and nakshatra owner are both vargottama, as well as Rahu. Venus, the sub period lord, was also vargottama in her lagna where she aspected Rahu. The lagna lord Saturn is vargottama, as well as Sun. This is rather extraordinary and perhaps points to the great fortune she experienced to be suddenly with a home and parents.
Now let’s look at the chart of the woman who adopted her.
The dasa bhukti time period was Jupiter / Jupiter / Saturn. Jupiter sits in the 7th house. Saturn is the lord of the 12th house and aspects into the 12th as well as onto Jupiter the period lord. Saturn is in the nakshatra Anuradha in the birth chart and by transit was in Revati. If we look at her chart from the Moon, we see that the dasa lord Jupiter is in the 9th house from the Moon, while Saturn, the sub sub lord is LH3 in H12.
Now let’s look at the chart of a woman who immigrated to a foreign country in her Jupiter / Saturn / Rahu period. Saturn is the lord of her 12th house and Rahu in in the house of the home H4. Rahu will act like his dispositors and here we see the lord of the 4th house goes to H12, connecting foreign to residence. Both Rahu and Saturn are indicators of things foreign, as well as times of transformation and ‘death’. One could say her home ‘died’ or was transformed when she immigrated.
Immagrated
With Vedic astrology, we often ‘rotate’ the chart to view the planetary placements from different perspectives. First we look at the chart from the first house. It is common to then look from the Moon, i.e. make the sign the Moon is in the first house and read the chart again from there. If we do that with this chart, we see that Jupiter now is the lord of H7, Saturn is the lord of both 8 and 9th houses, and Rahu is in H12. So again we see the travel houses are profoundly aligning with travel.
So in our examples we see a confluence of indicators pointing to the likelihood of travel. Look for lords of your dasa and sub periods connecting with the travel houses and their lords. The more connections you see, the more likely travel is indicated.
Vedic Astrology gives us many tools to analyze the wealth and career potential of a chart. Chief among them is yogas, ie combinations that bestow wealth and success. In particular, classic texts like Parasara’s Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra and Phaladeepika by Mantreswara lay out many of the techniques and combinations in order to see wealth in a chart. The yogas listed in these books are essential for seeing the range of potential a chart can obtain. Finally, in my next articles I will go over a lesser-known, but incredibly powerful and innovative set of principles from Sheshadri Iyer of Bangalore. Lastly, I will look at the classical Indu Lagna, used to predict wealth.
Jeff Bezos — The Richest Man in the World
Looking at Jeff Bezos’s chart, we see powerful indications for wealth. Mr. Bezos is the wealthiest man in the history of the world, with $185,000,000,000 and rising. We would expect to see Jyotish’s many factors for wealth being strongly present, and we do.
The chart of such a historic and wildly successful person will, most of the time, will have a powerful first house, several interlocking yogas, and at least a few powerful planets. He has it all. Mr. Bezos has a powerful first house. Jupiter has positional strength, dig bala, and is in his own sign, forming one of the great yogas in Vedic astrology – Hamsa yoga. This yoga gives great wisdom, makes one charitable, learned, prosperous, acclaimed, and gives a spiritual nature. I believe we will see these qualities blossom in his Jupiter period, starting in 2029. His first house has a double strong natural benefic. We would expect to see many of the best qualities of Jupiter being displayed in his nature and way of interfacing with the world. Jupiter gives an optimistic and expansive attitude that enables one to want to reach for the stars. From the first house, this empowered Jupiter aspects the other two trinal houses — the 5th and the 9th houses. Also, Jupiter’s aspect has an empowering effect on these houses, therefore strongly helping to bring forth their more desirable themes.
Jupiter’s surface
Houses, Trines , Jupiter, Money — Good Luck & Good Fortune
Jupiter is the greatest of the benefics. His influence lifts wherever he touches. Many of the great yogas involve Jupiter. In the natural zodiac, Jupiter owns the 9th sign, Sagittarius. The 9th house is the highest place of Bhaga, good fortune. The 9th house is the highest of the trinal houses, is indicative of life’s higher offerings like intelligence and wisdom, luck and good fortune, creativity, and higher education; all are typically found in people of great wealth and accomplishment. Many of the higher paying careers require a master’s degree or Ph.D., which are seen in the 9th house. The 9th house shows the father. A good father comes with a good lineage and can pave the way to success. A good 9th house is wealth through virtuous means, in line with righteousness and dharma. Many of the famous yogas mentioned in India’s classic texts involve the 9th house and/or its lord.
The 5th house is another important trinal house. From here we see intelligence, advising and the advice you get, teaching, children, creativity, speculative business, stock market investments, speculations where chance plays a role, sudden gains, racing, lotteries, betting. and the past life karma we bring to this life.
When considering wealth, the first thing that any student of Jyotish would see in this chart is the amazing 11th house. The two money houses have come together in a money house; Saturn is in his own sign, and Mars is exalted in a money house, as lord of a money house.
The 2nd house is accumulated wealth, money saved, net wealth. The 11th house is income and cash flow from work and investments. The 11th house is a place of large-scale projects and can show those who create or work in big undertakings, like large entertainment, business, or industrial ventures. Combinations of these 2 houses and their lords with trinal houses and their lords make the basic Dhana Yogas, combinations that indicate wealth potential. The stronger the planets involved in a desirable yoga, the better the results. Bezos also has the lord of the 9th house, that exalted Mars, in his 11th.
In fact, if you rotate the chart and make the Sun and Moon the 1st house, then we still get an amazing Dhana Yoga with Saturn and Mars, this time in the 2nd house. You also get a Dhana Yoga in the second house from the Indu Lagna, a Lagna used to analyze wealth, more on that later.
Yogas, Strenghth and Wealth
Typically, the charts of renowned people will have several yogas. He also has a Shankha Yoga formed with his Sun and Moon. The Sun has dig bala, giving this yoga strength. The Moon forms Raja Yogas with Ketu and Mercury. While the Moon is weak due to its closeness to the Sun, these yogas do have power. Mercury is strong through retrogression and Ketu is strong through its sign dispositor Jupiter, who enjoys double strength by being dig bala and being in his own sign. In fact, the whole 10th house is lifted up by having its lord so powerful and also in a Raja Yoga. If we rotate the chart to put the Sun and Moon as the first house, we see Mercury and Ketu still forming Raja Yogas and Jupiter’s Hamsa Yoga repeats as well.
Rahu will give the results of its dispositors. In addition, Mercury is its rasi dispositor powerfully aspecting Rahu while aspecting into his own sign as well. Rahu is aspected by these yoga-forming planets in the 10th house, giving Rahu the power to bestow those yogas. Rahu is in his own nakshatra, which gives a subtle power. Bezos is in the Rahu period now and has been flying high. Venus will be lifted up by its dispositor Saturn’s strength and the strength of its nakshatra dispositor exalted Mars.
All of his planets are in yogas! When the planets that make up yoga are in 2 or more yogas, this gives an exponential growth of the power of that planet, and the yogas it participates in.
Jupiter the Lord of the chart is forming Hamsa Yoga from the 1st house, the Sun, and the Moon Lagnas!
Mars and Saturn: Dhana yoga from the Lagna, as well as the Sun and the Moon.
Sun: Shankha Yoga
Moon: Shankha Yoga, Raja Yoga with Mercury, and with Ketu.
Mercury: Raja Yoga from all 3 ascendants
Venus: Vipareet Raja Yoga aka Sarala Yoga.
All of his planets have strength:
Jupiter is double strong, dig bala, and in his own sign.
Sun is dig bala
Moon is exalted in the navamsa
Mercury is retrograde
Mars is exalted
Saturn is in his own sign
Rahu and Ketu will channel the power and results of the planets they sit with, who aspect them and their nakshatra, and sign dispositors. This makes his nodes very powerful! Also, a little-known principle from S.Iyer, is that Rahu is empowered by being in a dagda rasi. He is currently in his Rahu dasa and has become ever richer! This is absolutely a powerful chart!
A painting of Lakshmi Goddess of wealth.
Bill Gates the 4th wealthiest Person in the World
Mr. Gates is a historic figure who is known internationally and has had a major global influence with his business and charity efforts. He has the biggest charity foundation in history. After his retirement from Microsoft, he has worked tirelessly on large-scale projects for the betterment of humanity.
North Indian style Jyotish chart
Like Mr. Bezos, he has several yogas that involve strong planets; this supercharges his chart.
The lagna (ie the 1st house) is always important in any chart. His lagna lord is Mercury. Mercury is in a powerful yoga called Bhadra. Bhadra Yoga gives a powerful intellect, great wisdom, analytical ability, good speech, writing and communication skills, flexibility, management skills, mathematical skills, a youthful face, good health and physical stamina, and business skills; He is known for these qualities.
Furthermore, he has a stellar Laxmi Yoga, both the version from Phala Deepika and the version from Parasara! His Laxmi Yoga is made up of a powerful Saturn, lord of the 9th house of Dharma, good luck and good fortune. Also, a powerful Venus, the planet of prosperity in the trinal 5th house. The 5th house is the house of creativity and intelligence. The results are born out in his life: Good looks, virtuous, wealthy, owns many lands, well educated, kind, famous, blessed with family. Well, maybe not the looks.
Moreover, he has another famous wealth yoga called Chandra Mangala. In addition, notice that the Moon is bright and owns the second house, while Mars owns the 11th. Furthermore, the Moon and Mars also make a Dhana Yoga with his Mercury. The Bhadra Yoga is influencing his Chandra Mangala Yoga. Finally, Gates has another major yoga called Chandra Adhi Yoga that involves and supports his Moon.
All of his planets are in yogas!
Mercury: Bhadra, Adhi, Dhana
Mars: Chandra Mangala, Dhana
Moon: Dhana, Chandra Mangala, Adhi
Jupiter: Adhi
Sun: Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga
Venus: Laxsmi, Raja Yoga
Saturn: Laxsmi, Raja Yoga
Rahu and Ketu will act like their sign and nakshatra dispositors. Ketu will act like Mars and Venus. Rahu will act like Mars and Mercury. consequently, since all of those dispositors are in yogas, the nodes are capable of giving yoga-like results in their time periods.
The benefics are always Jupiter and Venus, and then the Moon when bright and Mercury when not influenced by malefics. Time and again we see yogas requiring combinations of benefics, or aspects of benefics. While Jupiter stands out as the great benefic, Venus too can be powerful in his ability to bring success and wealth. Venus is the natural indicator of luxuries, pleasures, and beauty in all its manifestations.
By Rama19920 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, By Rama19920 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Rama19920
Yogas: Combinations for Wealth, Status, and Success
Above all, when looking at wealth with Vedic Astrology, yogas are one of the first things to look at. As always, first, consider the ascendant and its lord. A strong 1st house indicates the person will be able to utilize the opportunities life presents. A good ascendant gives good health, an independent spirit, good character, and good capacities to endure. Next look for yogas. Specifically, the more you find interconnected and overlapping yogas, especially when powerful, you will more often than not find a destiny where the person will rise well above the average. Usually, yogas in the angles and trines, aspected by benefics, will enhance the houses the yoga/yogas are in, as well as their lords. Here are some important yogas to look for wealth:
Money Yogas
Laxshmi Yoga: Phala Deepika (PD) by Mantreswara: Lord of 9th house and Venus are in trine or kendras and occupy OH or Exaltation sign.
Parashara: When the Lagna Lord is abundantly strong and the 9th lord occupies a kendra identical with his OH, Moolatrikona, or Exaltation sign.
Results – Good looks, virtuous, wealthy, owns much lands, well educated, kind, famous, blessed with family.
Chandra Mangala Yoga: Moon and Mars in an angle to each other.
Results: wealth, gains through women, treats mother badly
Vasumat Yoga: all the benefic planets occupy upachaya houses (3, 6, 10, 11) from the lagna and or the Moon.
Results: will always remain at his house (perhaps this means that he will not go out of his native land) and he will be very wealthy.
Dhana yogas – the most common and famous of the money yogas. These involve combinations of trinal lords, houses 1-5-9, and the money houses, 2 & 11. Specifically, it’s best if they are sitting together, mutually aspecting or exchanging, but if any of them are in the other’s house, it’s helpful for attracting wealth.
From Phala Deepika we get the 24 yogas. There are 2 groupings, one for better, the other for worse. Firstly, these yogas give desirable results when house and lord are under exclusively benefic influence and the lord of a house goes to a positive house, ie not a dustana house. The second half of these yogas are the opposite where the house and lord is exclusively under the malefic influence and the lord goes to a bad house, ie a dustana house. For example, the following four yogas are from this series.
Bhagya Yoga for the ninth house: “The person born in the Bhagya Yoga will move in excellent vehicles in the midst of sounds of musical instruments (bands, drums, etc.) and with chowries waving to and fro. He will always be equipped with wealth and will observe a righteous code of conduct. Gods and Brahmins will be pleased with him for his devotion and virtues. He will make his family illustrious and will have a lowering disposition.’
Khyati Yoga for the tenth house: “The person born with Khyati yoga at his birth will become a king who will protect his good subjects by following a code of conduct approved by all. He will have sons, friends, wife and will be very wealthy, prosperous and famous.”
Dhenu Yoga for the second house: “The person born in the Dhenu Yoga will command good food, drink, etc. He will have wealth, and a very good education all around, and be blessed with a large family. There will be plenty of gold, gems, wealth, corn, etc., and he will shine like God Kubera.”
Parijata Yoga for the eleventh house: “The person born in the Parijata Yoga will always be in the midst of festivities (or auspicious ceremonies), becomes a King, becomes the lord of much-hoarded wealth, will own a large family, intent on hearing stories of great people, learned and doing something auspicious.”
Status Yogas
There are many yogas that will give a rise in status, which usually has an accompanying rise in wealth. Notice that most of the classic yogas involve natural benefics and/or kendras and trines. The kendras are places of action, the trines are places of good luck and good fortune. Therefore, when strong kendra lords (action) meets powerful trinal lords (good luck and good fortune), consequently, the karma is there for the individual to rise above the norm in life. The condition of the Lagna and its Lord and the presence of yogas will, almost always, reveal that the chart is of a successful person.
Raja Yogas – can give status, fame, success, and prosperity. The most famous are combinations of an angle and a trine, ie the lords of houses 1-4-7-10 and 1-5-9, sitting together, mutually aspecting or exchanging.
Raja Yoga – Exalted Lord of the 10th aspecting the Lagna.
Raja Yoga – benefics exalted in the 2nd Bhava and natural Benefic in Kendra.
Rahu and Ketu create a Raja Yoga when one is in a trine with the lord of a kendra, or in a kendra with a lord of a trine.
Parvata Yoga – from Phaladeepika (PD) 5:35 When the dispositor of the Lagna Lord is in OH and in Kendra or Trine from Lagna.
From Parashara – 1) Benefics in the kendras, with 7 & 8th houses empty or occupied with benefics. 2) The lagna lord and the lord of the 12th house in mutual kendras while aspected by benefics.
Results – fortunate, wealthy, communication skills, charitable, leader of town or city, well educated, lustful, humorous, a leader.
Pushkala Yoga – PD 5:19 When the lord of the Moon’s (Moon’s dispositor) conjoins the lagna lord in a Kendra, in an auspicious rashi which is strong or a rashi of a very friendly planet and a strong benefic aspects the Lagna.
Results – wealth, sweet speech, loved by the King.
Maharaja Yoga – If 2,9,11th lord is in a Kendra from the Moon while Jupiter owns 2nd, 5th or 11th
Shankha Yoga – A) 5th and 6th Lords in mutual Kendras and Lagna Lord is strong, or B) the 1st and 10th lord occupy a movable sign & 9th L is strong. Result – kind-hearted, virtuous, learned, blessed with wife and children, morally sound, versed in sacred scriptures, owns land, enjoys prosperity.
Amala (aka Amalarkirti Yoga) – natural benefic in the 10th house from Lagna or the Moon, without the aspect of a malefic.
Result – praised by the king, good reputation, agreeable, good character, generous, wealth, fame.
Maha-Bhagya Yoga – for a man you need a Day Birth, and the Lagna, Sun, and Moon in odd signs. For a woman, you need a night birth and the Lagna, Sun, and Moon in even signs.
Results – gives good fortune, wealth and character. Odd signs will increase the masculine qualities in men, and the even signs will increase feminine qualities in women.
A male will be of agreeable nature, generous, famous, a ruler, noble and long-lived.
A female will have the blessing of healthy children.
Chatussaagara Yoga – A) All planets occupy 4 Kendras or B) All planets occupy the 4 movable rashis
Result – This yoga destroys numerous afflictions in a chart and ensures wealth and high status. He will earn a good reputation, be equal to a ruler, have a long and prosperous life, be blessed with good children and health and his name will travel to the confines of the four oceans.
Yogas with 9th lord is involved
Laxshmi Yoga – see above
Beri Yoga (Bheri) – A) 9th House Lord is strong and all planets occupy the lagna, the 2nd, 12th, and 7th houses ONLY or B) The 9th Lord is strong and the Lagna Lord, Jupiter, and Venus occupy kendras.
Results – of royal bearing, of noble birth, moral, healthy, wealth, family and comforts, fame. Excels in power and politics. Receives wealth from various sources. Spiritual and good-natured.
Khadga yoga – a parivartana between 2nd & 9th houses, and the lagna lord occupies a kendra or trine.
Shankha Yoga – A) 5th and 6th Lords in mutual Kendras and Lagna Lord is strong, or B) the 1st and 10th lord occupy a movable sign & 9th lord is strong.
Results – prosperity, owns land, generous, moral, good education, blessed with family, studies scriptures.
All of the Trinal Lords in angles or even better in trines, then luck and good fortune, fame, wealth, prosperity, luxuries, properties, and success. Trinal lords in the trinal houses make a Raj Yoga.
Results – native leads a comfortable and blessed life.
Chamara Yoga – 1)Two benefics conjoined either in that lagna, or in the 9th house or the 7th house, or in the 10th or 2) benefics in 1 and 9 or 7 and 10. Exalted Lagna Lord occupying a Kendra and aspected by Jupiter
Results – Kingship, honor from high places, skilled in communication, wise, knowledgable of many things, studies sacred scriptures, lives to 71 years.
Kahala Yoga – PD 5:35 1) if the lords of the 9th & 4th are in a kendra from each other, while the lagna lord is strong. 2) The dispositor of the dispositor of the lagna lord is in kendra or trine and is exalted or in his own sign. 3) The lord of the 4th house is exalted or in its own sign while being aspected by or in conjunction with the lord of the 10th bhava.
Parashara – a) 4th Lord and Jupiter in mutual kendras and LL strong.
b) 4th Lord Exalted or in OH associated with or aspected by 10th lord. Kahala means mischievous.
Results.: The native will be stubborn, not well informed, daring, head of a small army and a few villages.
Jupiter dependentYogas
Gajakesari – Jupiter in Kendra from Lagna or Moon, stabilized by natural benefic while avoiding being in debilitation, or enemies rasi. Prefer Jupiter not afflicted.
Results: capable, efficient, comforts and conveniences, obtains a higher position, creative arts, good at arguments, debate and very intellectual, sharp intellect and prosperity. good longevity. Gaj = intelligence and knowledge.
Kesari – Jupiter in Kendra from Moon.
Gouri Yoga PD 6:21/25– If Moon in Kendra or Trine Exalted or in OH and aspected by Jupiter.
Result – appealing personality, born of illustrious family and a friend of the sovereign. Success ans praised by one and all.
Vedic astrology has made some wonderful contributions to the world of astrology. The tradition of astrology has been alive and well in India for 5000 years or more, making India’s astrological community perhaps the oldest and largest on the planet. One of the oldest parts of the Vedic astrology tradition is the 27 nakshatras. Many of the ancient astrological systems from around the earth use the 12 signs of the zodiac; Aries, Taurus, etc. The 12 signs and 12 houses are also important in the Indian system. The Vedic astrology system has a unique contribution of 27 nakshatras, each with their own Hindu Deity and a unique set of characteristics. The stories of the deities can be found throughout the vast collection of Vedic and Hindu literature. It is always amazing to see how the stories of the Gods play out in the astrology charts and lives of chart owners.
The Lord of the Sea and the Night
Varuna is the Vedic God who rules the nakshatra Shatabisha. Varuna rules the ocean and the night, the realm of the dark, where Sun that goes beneath the horizon; the oceans can be the emotions and the subconscious, one who can swim in those seas with integrity can rise to the status of truth teller, judge, law enforcement, Lord of Order in the Universal Laws and their application. In the Vedic era Varuna was once a God on par with Indra. Fierce and dreadful, all seeing and all knowing, Varuna knows if you have been naughty or nice and will punish you accordingly. And Varuna can forgive sins as well, if you can repent and behave yourself. One of Varuna’s weapons is the net, pasa, and will capture and contain you, if need be and bind you to the rule of law.
Varuna hangs with Indra and Vayu and loves to throw back some Soma. Addictions of all sorts can be a down side of Shatabisha.
Varuna can empower one to be a shaman or therapist who guides you into hidden realms of the spiritual world or subconscious. Being a healer, doctor and/or one in need of healing, are common Shatabisha traits.
the Sun moving under the horizon into night
Being lord of the night, the realm the Sun disappears into, things unseen and hidden can be part of this nakshatra: criminals, plotters, those who dwell in dark places, people with big secrets or who reveal secrets of others, revolutionaries, and underground movements could be qualities.
Once Varuna desired the wife of a man and stole her away, hiding her so well that her husband had to drain every last drop of water on the planet to find her. Varuna is good at hiding things.
Famous People with Shatabisha
Some great examples of Varuna playing out in the charts of famous people are:
Edgar Allen Poe (Moon and Lord of the 1st in5th house)
The serial killers Ricardo Ramirez (Sun H12, Saturn goes to H8) and John Wayne gacy (Ketu H4 emotions)
Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Lagna)
Che Guevara revolutionary warrior (Moon H12-secrets and foreign lands)
Anais Nin erotic memoir writer (Sun H6)
Frank Sinatra famous singer who hung out with the mob (Moon)
Elvis Presley founding figure in rock and roll, womanizer and drug addict (Moon)
United States of America (Moon)
Whitney Houston singer who died of drugs (ascendant)
B.V.Raman epic Indian astrologer last century (ascendant)
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa major Indian spiritual leader (Sun)
Robin Williams had Moon and Rahu, very close together, in Shatabisha in his 5th house of creativity and the mind. Venus, the lord of the chart sits very close to Ketu. He was one nodal kind of guy. His creativity was unique and often he spoke very openly about his drug abuse and his vulnerabilities in life. Also, he loved being subversive and was brilliant in his ability to talk about things in his life most of us keep hidden.
Personal Example of Varuna’s Influences
Another great example; my wife has Saturn in Aquarius in Shatabisha the ascendant. So she has always been a rebel and at the same time, she has been a lifelong stickler for the truth. Fruthermore she has a gravitas that’s striking, being very intense and direct. In addition, she has great confidence and leadership qualities. Her body language and facial expression say “I’m in charge. Amoung her Varuna qualities: she is a therapist and a licensed scuba diving instructor. Furthermore, she has multiple health issues that require her to see multiple doctors. Also, she has worked as a parole officer working with rapists, pedophiles, and murders. She has an amazing ability to sit with people’s suffering to help them untangle the thoughts and emotions that got them there. She guides people to their pain, and then she guides them out.
In addition, I have Sun in Shatabisha and share a fascination with emotions and dark realms of the mind and rebellious people. Obsessing on truth and justice is a shared passion. We relate from a deep emotional place and hold each other to being honest all the time (as best we can). Also, we enjoy nefarious characters in movies and the process of uncovering the truth. We like to look into the dark. I also have multiple health issues that have required multiple doctors.
Finally, I’m just now realizing that our house is full of aquatic things, like paintings of the ocean and fish and we have a scuba diving helmet in the living room.
Many modern Jyotish astrologers believe the Greek God Neptune is similar to the Hindu God Varuna.
What can Jyotish astrology tell us about the famous actor Shia LaBeouf? Mr. LaBeouf has a wild ride in life, from a poor dysfunctional family to a wildly successful career in acting. He has been in Hollywood blockbusters and praised for his performances in thoughtful indie films. He’s also been fired from movies, arrested for drunken behavior, been in and out of rehab, and recent revelations from two ex-girlfriends have surfaced of repeated verbal and physical abuse.
For fame and career success the first place I look at is the first house and the 10th house of career. The first house indicates the character, nature, and potential of the chart owner. A strong and well-placed ascendant lord can give the foundation for achieving one’s goals in life. Shia has Aquarius in his ascendant, which is owned by Saturn. Aquarius is a fixed, air sign giving many of the qualities he is known for: individualistic, social, creative, insightful. However, when afflicted they can be controlling, self-centered, or critical; all traits of the downside of Saturn.
birth chart of Shia LaBeouf
For violence of any sort, I immediately suspect Mars and Ketu,who acts in part like Mars. Ketu likes to renunciate (reject), and also can have a deep fear of rejection. Both women said he was jealous and needy and went crazy if they didn’t reassure him endlessly.
We would expect to see his mind and emotions troubled in the chart and indeed we do; his newish Moon (karaka) is in the 6th with the LH4 Venus. Transiting Saturn aspects them from the house of loss, and also aspects the dasa lord Ketu.
Mars as a dispositor of the dasa lord, is retrograde, making this often violent natural malefic more powerful and erratic as it aspects the second house-the house of speech, fifth house and lord of the 5th house, and Karaka Mercury AND that Moon and Venus. The sixth house and the third are fighting houses, so put the emotions in H6 and pour some Mars on and you get an explosion.
Kartikeya God of war
Ayuda Drekkanas can indicate violence, aggressive behavior, weapons of any sort eg verbal weapons. Shia has several planets in Ayuda Drekkanas: Rahu, Mercury, Ketu, and Mars.
To seal the deal the nodes go over the house of emotions and the lagna lord, bringing scandal and no doubt emotional turmoil to the lord of the first, Saturn, and the lord of the seventh, Sun. These two are famously at odds to begin with; now the dasa lord Ketu transits over the Sun, the lord of the 7th house, and she publically and harshly (rightly so) renunciates Shia calling the attention of the world.
Saturn can be harsh and critical and controlling, especially when retrograde in Scorpio. Another interesting piece is his Saturn is in Pasa Drekkana, which means the noose. Possible meanings include: tie, bind, snare, trap.
The period leading up to this was Ketu Rahu. Rahu is in the 3rd house with Mars as the sign dispositor and Ketu as the nakshatra dispositor.
A parting thought, Mercury is in the howling Rudra nakshatra, Ardra: lies, treachery, cruelty, tears… Ardra’s nakshatra dispositor Rahu goes to the 3rd house in Mars’s sign. Mercury is the afflicted lord of the 8th house. This same volatility may serve him well as an actor.
What do you think? How will all of this go for him?
The Golden State Killer started out as a creeper, peeping and ransacking hundreds of homes. He devolved into a rapist, with over 50 known rapes, and finally into a serial killer, killing at least 13 people. He never would have been caught except for the novel use of using his DNA and tracing him on genealogy sites.
Since we don’t have a birth time for Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., we can’t draw a chart in the usual way. Without a time we don’t know what sign was on the eastern horizon when he took his first breath in this world. This would establish which sign is in the first house. This puts us at quite a disadvantage since we don’t know which planets own which houses. But, in the Jyotish astrology tradition, often the chart is looked at from the Moon as a secondary ascendent, putting whatever sign the Moon is in that day as the 1st house. Indian astrologers highly value the Moon, usually more than the Sun. The Moon shows the inner dimension of the emotions; the feeling part of the mind. The Moon is connected to the Manus; the part of the mind that collects and processes sensory data. If the Moon is disturbed in a chart, the chart owner may have an inaccurate perception of the world, making it harder to function in the world. I assume his life story and his crimes are heavily tied into his mind and emotions. Even with just a Moon chart, I’m amazed by the picture that unfolds.
First off we see the Moon very close to Ketu. Ketu is the headless half of the South Node. Headless Ketu acts on instinct without thinking. Ketu on the Moon can bring strong subconscious impulses and drives that grasp and overpower the mind. Some Jyotish astrologers consider Ketu to be a co-owner of Scorpio. Scorpio is the Marsian 8th sign in the natural zodiac. Scorpions hide in crevices and are feared for their quick striking poisonous tail. Being the 8th sign, Scorpio and the 8th house share some common attributes: secrets, death, murder, crime, rape, mental illness and much more along those lines. Ketu is often thought of as spiritual. His nature is to renounce, cut off, give up, leave behind. If favorably placed in the 12th house and aspected by a strong Jupiter, one might find success in spiritual practices. But Ketu is a natural malefic and in Vedic astrology natural malefics like Ketu have a role of disturbing and bringing unwanted events and conditions. Ketu on the Moon suggests disturbance to the normal functions of the Moon and therefore the mind. Ketu acts like Mars; he is explosive, can be violent, can be connected to phobias and disturbances of all sorts, there are sometimes sudden harsh endings and cutting of relationships when connecting to relationship factors in a chart. Secrets and secretive behaviors are a nodal possibility and sometimes can indicate perversions, addictions, and inability to control impulses and cravings. Interestingly, his crimes began after he was rejected by a woman he wanted to marry. One of his victims heard him saying her name as he raped her. Ketu rejects and is terrified of rejection.
The Moon is new and not bright. A new Moon can be vulnerable and insecure, especially if afflicted by a strong natural malefic. This Moon and it’s afflictor Ketu, are in the Nakshatra Mula, owned by Ketu. Mula is a dry barren wasteland owned by the Goddess Narriti, a name for Rudra, the Goddess of death known for calamity, destruction, corruption, and death. By its self, this one factor would not be enough to declare, ‘serial killer’. But this is a weak and vulnerable Moon very close to Ketu. Ketu is empowered by being in its own nakshatra and unlike the other grahas, the nodes are stronger at early and late degrees. Ketu is strong and the Moon is weak. Read the story of Rahu and Ketu, where Vishnu cut them in half for sneaking into the circle of the Gods who were drinking Soma. The nodes can make someone be nefarious, have bad boundaries, inappropriate, and twisted in their actions and morals.
Rahu is in Ardra, lorded by the fierce howling God Rudra. This nodal nakshatra placement, ie Mula/Ardra, is one of the most difficult. This was where the nodes were in February 2020 as COVID 19 was picking up steam in the world in its beginning days. The Rudras are the atmospheric Gods described in the Vedas. They are associated with life’s more difficult side: terrible and fierce like a “formidable wild beast”. “cringing fear, whose wrath is to be deprecated”. This is said to bring powerful malice, fear, cruelty, lawlessness, perversity, self-centered attitudes, resulting in rivers of tears. This Rahu in Ardra is in the 7th house from the Moon and has something to show us about his inner mental state in relationship to 7th house issues: sex, relationships, ‘the other’. Other examples of Rahu in Ardra are 9/11, Hiroshima, the AIDS outbreak, and the JFK assassination.
Rudra is the Lord of Ardra
Ketu and Rahu are creating Kali Sarpa Yoga, famous for epic rises and falls. The Moon and Ketu are close and moving towards each other. Ketu is the headless tail of the snake, and when the conditions are right, can be driven by unconscious destructive forces, patterns and compulsions from past lives. Jail is one of the possibilities with this yoga, especially if on the 6/8 or 2/12 axis. We don’t know what sign is in his ascendent, but I find this intriguing.
Natural malefics can be troublesome. Add strength and/or weakness, then more so. Put them next to each other, then more so. Joe’s Mars is debilitated and about 4 degrees from a retrograde Saturn. If you make the Moon the first house, they end up in the 8th house of crime and such. Mars is the graha of battles and fighting and passion and anger. When Mars in afflicted by other natural malefics, then Mars’s more undesirable qualities can arise. Add the fact that it’s in the 8th and debilitated, then one can expect some unruly results where Mars sits and where it aspects. A good Saturn is a noble and valuable asset to a chart. But a retrograde Saturn is extremely powerful and may bring forth its harsher side. Now add a close-said by debilitated Mars and you get a pressure cooker. Saturn holds down, Mars builds up and explodes out. Saturn aspects Jupiter and Mars aspects Venus and Sun.
His crimes were directed against women, but he often involved the men who were there, traumatizing them as well. Interestingly, his Venus is strong in the 7th sign of Libra. Sun joins Venus and is debilitated. Both are aspected by this very disturbed Mars. Venus and Moon are women, Ketu and Mars can be violent and in this chart they are afflicting the women. Saturn’s and the 8th house influence rubs off on that Mars here, adding the cruelty, pain and death.
A debilitated Sun, with a powerful Venus, in the 7th sign of union, aspected by debilitated Mars, suggests to me big ego, desire and control issues with women.
Violent serial offenders tend to be men and invariably you’ll find the major malefics Saturn, Mars, and/or the nodes tied up with Venus, or the 7th house or 7th Lord. The trik houses also play an important supporting role in describing planets gone wrong in a chart. All the trik houses, 6-8-12 and let’s throw in the 3rd house as well, disrupt the desirable qualities of a planet. The 3rd and 6th houses can be fighting houses and can be factors pointing to a violent nature. The 8th and 12th houses can be secretive and deviant, Saturn is the karaka. Some examples include:
Bill Cosby has Ketu and Venus in the 8th house aspected by Mars and Saturn.
Ted Bundy has Sun, Mars, Mercury, Moon and Ketu all in the 4th house of emotions.
John Wayne Gacy has Ketu in the house of emotions, with Saturn and Mars in the 7th house of sex. Saturn aspects Ketu and Mars aspects Rahu. Most of his sexually motivated murders were in his Ketu period.
Donald Trump was caught on tape talking about how he can’t control himself and loves to assault women by grabbing their crotch. At least 26 women have accused him of sexual assault, including rape. He also has a long list of other crimes. Trump has his debilitated Moon right next to Ketu in the house of emotions. There has been an international agreement amongst mental health professionals that he is a malignant narcissist and a sociopath.
Vedic astrology has a unique contribution to astrology with its shadow grahas. The ‘Upa-Grahas’ are mathematical points that can be calculated for a chart. They cannot be seen or heard, but their disturbing influence can be felt according to how they are placed in a chart. There are about 14 of them, so they can be spread all over a chart. In this study, I am only noting when one of them is very close to a planet.
UpaKetu is a negative Ketu, a secondary Ketu. It is said to be like a flame capable of considerable destruction. Upaketu in his chart is a direct hit, Jupiter is at 20’51 and UpaKetu is at 20’50. Jupiter is the great benefic that can bring wisdom and blessings. No doubt his Jupiter’s ability to give him higher qualities is diminished by this association.
Parivesha is a second Shadow Graha that is extremely close to Jupiter, sitting at 23’49. Parivesha is said to be akin to a very disturbed Moon and causing dearth, pollution, and destroying whatever is nearby.
Mandi is said to be one of the worst of the Upa-grahas, capable of causing one to become a thief, cruel, arrogant, and ignorant. Joe’s Mandi is at 2’30 and his Moon is at 3’35.
In Vedic numerology, the number 8 is associated with Saturn. Saturn is a planet of pain and struggles and hard lessons in life. Like Lord Shiva, Saturn is a destroyer. On the high end, Saturn destroys ignorance, kills that which holds us down, so that we might rise up. But Saturn’s lessons are usually hard ones, and often ones we wouldn’t choose for our selves. Saturn is the signifier, know as karaka, for the 8th house. Many of Saturn’s meanings overlap with the meanings of the 8th house. As the karaka, if Saturn isn’t doing well in a chart, then the meanings and indications of the 8th house will suffer.
The 8th house has amongst its meaning,s deep suffering, painful loss, and death. The 8th sign is Scorpio, ruled by the violent Mars, aka Mangala. Mangala is often associated with Kartikeya the God of war, the son of Shiva. The 8th from any house in a chart will be a place of detriment to that house. And the 8th from any planet is also a place of detriment to that graha.
The 64th navamsa shows sensitive and dangerous places in a horoscope. Jyotish software will calculate these points for you. Usually, this point is calculated from the Lagna, i.e. the ascendant degree, and also from the degree the Moon is in. The Lord of the 64th navamsa is empowered to do great harm in a chart, and planets placed in, or transiting through the 64th navamsa are harmed. This calculation can also be made for any planet in a chart, showing a special toxic spot 8 houses from that planet, a 3’20 navamsa that becomes a dangerous segment for that planet.
Using this idea, we find that Joe’s Saturn is in that very spot, the 64th navamsa, as calculated from the Shadow Graha Mandi. Amazingly, the 64 navamsa from his Moon is where Mars sits! Jupiter is in the 64 navamsa from the Shadow Graha Mirityu. Mrityu is the son of Mars. He brings agitation, animosity, restlessness, and harm.
Another fascinating and unique feature in Vedic astrology is the Drekkanas. Each sign in the zodiac gets 3 equal divisions of 10 degrees, making 36 drekkanas. Sage Varahamihira describes each drekkana in his book, Brihat Jataka. Each drekkana is given a description full of symbols and images.
One category of drekkana is called Sarpa Drekkana. Snakes are a potent symbol around the world, not always negative. DeAngelo’s Mercury is in a Sarpa Drekkana, possible meanings include imprisonment, restrained, wily demon, creeping, crawling, stealing along, a wicked man, a cheat, deceptive, manipulative, seductive, and sexual.
Another drekkana category is called Arudha. With planets in these drekkanas, the person might be assertive, aggressive, angry, or violent. Often you will see someone in the security field, Joe was a cop when he started his crimes. They might have weapons, be athletic, and employ verbal weapons. DeAngelo had a history of very harsh speech, he used various weapons in his crimes and he was known for his physical prowess when he escaped several times. His planets in Arudha drekkanas include Sun, Moon, and Ketu.
We likely will never get The Golden State Killer’s birth time. With the birth time, we would know if planets are in the difficult trik houses and who the trik lords are. We’d know which houses are the maraka houses, houses that can indicate death and troubles. Without knowing which house is the 1st house, we can’t know what yogas are formed that might shed some light on his darkness. But even without the birth time, we can see that virtually every planet has some disturbances that we’d expect in a serial killer.
President Biden’s Vedic astrology chart is a great example of a powerful chart. Joe Biden has had a long rise to the most powerful seat of power in the world. He has spent his adult life as a powerful politician. How does his Vedic astrology chart show this unusual karma? Let’s look at the astrological factors that would give one the kind of power to become President of the United States of America.
How to Become a President
To achieve the status of President you need to be born at a moment when there’s a powerful first house, powerful combinations of planets called yogas, and a powerful 10th house. President Biden has it all and then some. This chart is full of empowered and well placed planetary combinations that promote status, authority, and high achievement.
The first house is an all-important first place to look in Jyotish astrology. The first house will tell us a lot about nature, personality, character, virtues, values, fame, status, dignity, honor, charisma, stamina, and motivations of the chart owner.
At first glance, President Biden’s first house doesn’t appear powerful. He has Scorpio in his first house and the planet that owns Scorpio, Mars, goes to his 12th house in the sign of Libra. Typically to achieve power, this is not a placement that is desirable. The 12th house is a ‘trik’ house and is considered a mark against the planet’s capacity to fully express its self. Also Libra is not a sign Mars is at all-powerful in. There’s also a strong Saturn in H7 aspecting H1, often this creates obstacles and delays, and is considered an affliction to the ascendant. There are three kendra (angle) lords on the 1/7 axis and no yogas amongst them.
Yogas Yogas Yogas
BUT, there is a Parivartana yoga. This yoga, I believe, makes Joe Biden the President of the United States of America. In Indian astrology, yogas are planetary combinations that can generate powerful life experiences, like a rise in career, wealth, fame, and much more. A Parivartana Yoga is made by the exchange of two signs. This one is between the 12th house and the 1st house. Joe has his lagna lord (ascendant owner) in the 12th house and Venus, the lord of his 12th house in the first house. With this yoga, you ‘exchange’ houses, and put the planets into their own signs. So you read it as though Mars is in the first, in his own sign, and Venus is in the 12th, in his own sign. The trick is you read the strength and placement, which are made before the exchange, and then the strength and placement, after the exchange.
Mars in the 12th makes a Dhana yoga with Mercury, a Chandra Mangala yoga with a bright Moon, and a Shankha yoga with an extremely strong Jupiter. But Mars in the 1st is a real game-changer. In this position Mars becomes very strong, being in his own sign as Lord of the chart. So Mars, the Lord of his chart, is involved in five yogas. This layering of yogas has an empowering effect, a sort of exponential build-up, making Mars extremely powerful.
So for someone to achieve a high level in this world, we typically expect to see: a strong first house, lots of yogas that are made with planets that have the power needed to energize them. In Biden’s chart virtually every planet is involved in yoga! Jupiter is also in a great person yoga called Hamsa yoga. Classically this yoga requires Jupiter in an angle house from the lagna. My teacher and his teacher feel it also occurs from the trinal houses. Jupiter is the planet of wisdom and healing and it has the greatest power to stabilize and empower wherever he touches in the chart. A powerful Jupiter aspect to the ascendant is a great blessing in any chart. Here his Jupiter aspects his first house, the Lord of the first house Mars, and the Sun, the signifier (karaka) for the first house. Jupiter’s touch also enriches all the yogas Mars is involved in.
Another basic principle in evaluating yogas is to spin the chart and see if they reoccur from the Sun and Moon. Since he has the Sun in the first house, all the yogas that are occurring from the ascendent are also occurring from the Sun. If we rotate the chart so the Moon is the first house, we see the Hamsa yoga again, now forming in the 4th house. Sun makes Raja Yogas with Venus and Saturn. Mars aspects into his own sign in the ascendant, an important principle that adds strength.
President Biden’s many yogas:
Parivartana Yoga – This particular one Biden has is called Dainya, which is considered a negative yoga due to the exchange happening between a positive house and a trik house: affliction, misery, ill health, persistent troubles, persistent trouble from opponents. Here’s the wonderful complexity of yogas and their results, this yoga has given him the exalted status he has enjoyed throughout his adult life; and has delivered the life-defining losses he’s endured with the accidental deaths of his wife and daughter, and later the loss of a son to cancer.
Hamsa Yoga – Jupiter in his own house or exalted in an angle or trine. This is an important yoga and one that you would hope for in a political leader, especially in these challenging times. A good Jupiter is a planet capable of expressing wisdom and higher knowledge. Jupiter is traditional, sincerely religious, has an open heart and a generous spirit which are accompanied by a strong sense of higher duty and service to God and humanity. While the President has not lead a perfect life, he has brought to America a welcome change in all of these ways listed for this yoga. Biden’s Jupiter is special in many ways. It is extremely powerful by being exalted and retrograde. It is the lord of the fifth house, a house of intelligence and dharma, and goes to the ninth house of higher knowledge and dharma. His Jupiter is also in its own nakshatra, which is a less commonly used factor for strength. Looking deeper, his Jupiter is both Vargottama and Pushkar NavamsaHis Jupiter is also the lord of the second house of speech, gone to the house of religion and philosophy. He speaks often and with a great sense of depth and sincerity about his heartfelt desire for unity and harmony for America. He speaks freely, and I think sincerely, about his religion. He believes in the rule of law and the need to follow tradition, all these ideas are represented by Jupiter, the ninth house, and this yoga. Finally, Jupiter is in the nakshatra called Punarvasu. This nakshatra is associated with virtues, noble actions, higher knowledge, and good character.
Kesari Yoga – Jupiter in Kendra from Moon. The classic text, Phaladeepika, says one will attain a high position, will be learned and associate with educated people, will have convincing and authoritative speech. His Kesari is powerful since the Moon is very bright and Jupiter is very strong. Biden became a lawyer before he went into politics. This yoga occurs in his sixth house and ninth house, both associated with the law. As a senator, he was involved in making laws. The sixth house is a house of battles and struggles and accidents, all of which have played a major role in his life.
Shankha Yoga – A) 5th lord Jupiter and the 6th lord Mars in mutual Kendras and LL is strong. Kind natured, ethical, learned, blessed with wife and children, and wealthy.
Dhana Yoga – Mars and Moon are both trinal lords and Mercury is lord of the eleventh house, this makes a yoga that is helpful for making money. Moon is bright, Mars and Mercury are not strong, so I’m not too excited about this yoga.
Chandra Mangala Yoga – This yoga is said to increase wealth.
Sunapha Yoga – forms when a planet is in the second house from the Moon. This yoga is helpful for wealth. In order for this to be of real impact we need at least one or both participators to be strong; both are strong.
These yogas are all overlapping yogas, Mars is part of three yogas, the Moon is part of four yogas, and Jupiter is part of three yogas. This layering and intermingling of these planets in multiple yogas has a synergistic effect, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. When a planet is participating in several yogas, there is a nonlinear explosion of results. We are also seeing this effect with Mars and all of his yogas.
Another important consideration is Rahu and Ketu. The nodes will give the results, in part, of their nakshatra and sign dispositors, the planets they sit with, and the planets that aspect them. Since every planet in the chart is in yogas, this bodes well for the nodes. Rahu is in the house that represents the highest point of the sky, the tenth house. In Biden’s tenth house is the sign Leo, long associated with Kings and leadership. The lord of Leo is the Sun, also indicating people in high places. His Sun is in his first house and is aspected by that wonderful Jupiter Biden has. So Rahu has a lot to offer in this chart. Ketu is in Saturn’s sign and Saturn is double strong being dig bala and retrograde. Ketu is in the nakshatra of Mars. Mars is the all-star player of this chart and Ketu will radiate Mars’s indications.
Powerful Planets gets the job done
A basic principle in Jyotish is, the stronger the planets are in a chart, the more powerful will be the results they give. Most important is the lord of the chart’s first house. Biden’s Mars, due to the Parivartana yoga, becomes strong in his first house in its own sign Scorpio. Saturn and Jupiter are both double strong. Both are retrograde. The Shad Bala system of accessing strengths gives 60 points to retrograde motion, the same allotted to exalted planets. Jupiter gains strength by being retrograde and exalted. Saturn has dig bala in the 7th house and is retrograde as well. Moon is bright, being six houses away from the Sun. Any planet in an angle gains strength according to Shad Bala. He has five of his planets in the angles.
Amsa and Varga Charts
Most Vedic astrologers also look to the Varga sub-charts for strength as well. The Navamsa chart is chief amongst them, and always the first varga to look at. Many see the Navamsa as a subtler chart, that shows a deeper layer of a chart’s power or lack thereof. President Biden has two planets in their own signs, Sun and Mercury, while Rahu, Ketu, and Jupiter are exalted! Jupiter also attains an important state, called Vargottama, by being in the same sign in the Navamsa as the natal chart. Vargottama gives a planet great power. His Jupiter is in the 10th house of career, considered the most powerful house in the chart. The Sun is the King, and the Sun is highest in the sky when it is in the 10th house. The tenth, eleventh and ninth houses are pinnacle houses and powerful planets there can indicate having friends and connections in high places, undertaking grand endeavors, having leadership positions, having an outstanding education, and the blessing of good luck and good fortune in life. Biden has the Sun in his own sign in the eleventh, Jupiter exalted and retrograde in the tenth, and Mercury in his own sign in the ninth. Some believe if a planet is retrograde in the natal chart, it is considered retrograde in the varga charts as well.
Another important varga chart is called the Dashamamsha, which is looked at for career. Biden has five planets in their own sign. The Sun is in the 11th house and is a planet of the King and leadership. Mercury and Moon exchange signs, putting them in their own signs. This exchange simultaneously makes a Maha Raja Yoga between the ninth and tenth houses, one of the most powerful Raja Yogas. This blending of the 9th and 10th is also a major indication of working in, or for the government. Again we have the three highest, most prominent houses, with each having their lord strongly positioned in their own sign. Mars is making Ruchika yoga, aspecting the first house. In both of these varga charts the lord of the first house, Venus, goes to the King’s sign of Leo with the Sun. A powerful Jupiter aspects the tenth house.
There is one last observation that I find encouraging in this chart. It’s commonly known that the sign Scorpio can bring intensity, its poisonous sting, and Mars’s harsh ways. But Indian astrology gives us additional insight. There is a 13° 20′ segment of Scorpio that has the nakshatra Anuradha. President Joe Biden has two planets and the ascendent degree in this nakshatra. Of the 27 nakshatras, this is one of four nakshatras classified as Mrdu,soft-tender. Usually, these classifications are used for the timing of events, but I believe they can be used to understand some of a nakshatra’s qualities. Biden has some genuinely soft and sweet qualities. This nakshatra is known for its friendliness and ability to lead and inspire without needing weapons and armor. Often we’ll find organizational skills, leadership prowess, and the ability to inspire and uplift while doggedly pursuing a goal. In this nakshatra, sweet speech, inclusive attitude, and a generous spirit can empower one to bring people together in a common cause.
This is simply an amazing chart. Most of what I’ve discussed here is just basic classic Jyotish astrology, as practiced for thousands of years in India. Again and again, we see empowerment, great qualities of character and leadership, and a sincere and kind man with a deeply spiritual nature. I’m happy to see that the President of the United States has a chart like this.
