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.
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.
