Articles

The Precession and the History of Mankind (Gochara Editorial March 2018)

The Tropical and Sidereal Zodiacs (Gochara March 2018)

President Trump and his Associates (August 17, 2017)

Why President Trump prefers NYC to Washington (August 17, 2017)

The History of Astrology (Gochara March 2016)

North Korea, a Threat to take Seriously + Terrorist Events Warning (1 April 2013)

Pope Francis (31 March 2013)

Obama Set to Win, Fusion Prospects and more (Gochara, 23 March 2012)

The Joplin Tornado (25 May 2011)

The Next 50 Years, Some Clues (8 Jan 2011)

Warning of Upcoming Difficult Period starting November 29, 2010 (Gochara, March 2010 and 24 November 2010)

Sen. Barack Obama – Update (3 August 2008)

Sen. Barack Obama to be the next president of the USA (10 Feb 2008)

The Precession and the History of Mankind

In my editorial last year (2017), the study of the longer-term history of humankind was mentioned using methods like the SaptaRishi Dasha. Another method is studying the precession of the Vernal Equinox (VE). Even though I was aware of this, I only started looking at it more exactly when writing this editorial and after a conversation with my colleague Gordon Brennan who was studying ancient history. I was amazed by how revealing it is. The most interesting points in this process are the key degrees that we know from Parashara, so I am covering those for the last 3500 years.

The VE moves at about 1⁰ every 72 years, or one sign of the zodiac in 2160 years. Using Chitra Paksha Ayanamsha, based on the astronomical position of Spica, the most commonly used point in the sky to determine the ayanamsha, the day when the tropical and sidereal zodiacs coincided was 30/6/285 (June, Julian Calendar). The chart for this is given below in the section on Pisces. Mercury, Saturn and Ketu are particularly powerful.

Aries

The debilitation of Saturn at 20⁰ Aries occurred in 1164 BCE. This century was characterized by the ‘Late Bronze Age collapse’. It is described as a Dark Age transition period in the Near East, Asia minor, North Africa and around the eastern Mediterranean. Many kingdoms collapsed leaving small isolated village cultures, interrupting trade routes and reducing literacy in much of the ‘known’ world. ‘Within a period of forty to fifty years at the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the twelfth century almost every significant city in the eastern Mediterranean world was destroyed, many of them never to be occupied again’ Robert Drews (Princeton Uni. Press, 1995). The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe Ca. 1200 B.C. The very few powerful states who survived by mid-century went into decline.

The Solar Exaltation degree at 10⁰ Aries should be a significant time in Earth’s history. If we go back (about) 720 years from 285 AD, we come to the VE at 10⁰ Aries on 19/11/439 BC. This was an era of a remarkable flowering of wisdom and philosophy across the globe. For example,

Confucius 551 BC – 479 BCE
Lao Tzu 5th or 4th century BCE or possibly believed to be contemporary of Confucius
Gautama Buddha c. 563/480 – c. 483/400 BCE (other dates have been given)
Mahavira 6th century, possibly 5th century
Panini (genius Sanskrit grammarian) 6-4th century BCE
Pythagoras c. 570 – c. 495 BCE
Socrates c. 470 – 399 BCE
Plato 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BCE
Aristotle 384–322 BC

This was a remarkable period in China as the states fought to ultimately create a single empire. The most often cited date for this beginning was 475 BC and the wars ended in 221 BC with the creation of a unified Chinese empire, the Qin Dynasty. The Roman Republic commenced in 509 BC and led to a progressive expansion. It ruled the entire Italian peninsula by the 3rd century BC.

Pisces

The movement of the Vernal Equinoctial point over 0⁰ Aries is crossing a Gandanta point, where both the cycle of signs and Nakshatras end and then resume. This is considered dangerous like a void. In 235 the Roman emperor was assassinated and then the next 50 years was a state of crisis that almost destroyed the empire. The crisis ended with the ascension of Diocletian in 284. Diocletian then formally divided the rulership into four, the Tetrarch, starting in 285. Rome was no longer the centre of administration as the four rulers based themselves closer to their borders. On 1/5/305 Diocletian retired to his palace and the peace and order he had established started to fall apart. People appealed to him to resume the throne. He replied “If you could show the cabbage that I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely wouldn’t dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness of this place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed.”
Constantine became sole emperor in 324 AD after a series of civil wars. It was after this that the tide turned for the Christians. Christianity went from being a persecuted sect to being the official religion of the Roman Empire. Some Christians used the Piscean symbol of two fishes. Shown below is one of the earliest Christian inscriptions. This started during the 2nd Century. The early Christians may have believed that the Piscean age would be their age and, remarkably, the biggest breakthrough in the history of Christianity occurred almost immediately after the Piscean age began.

The next major event was the beginning of the exaltation degree of Venus, 27⁰ Pisces. This started 26/2/501 and continued for 72 years. Most notably, the Prophet Muhammed (570 CE – 8 June 632 CE) was born near the end of this period and he started a religion whose holy day is Friday.

For the time around 501, the great medical text of Ayurveda, the Sushruta Samhita, particularly famous for describing surgery techniques was promulgated. This is interesting because some scholars say 500 AD and others say 500 BCE and it is quite possible that the original text dates back to the BCE time of the great flowering discussed above. Also, around 500 AD, the Roman Catholic church declared its independence from the secular authorities, a significant step. The 6th century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the start of the Middle Ages. All over the world major empires rose and fell. In particular, the period of Classical Indian civilization is said to have ended with the fall of the Gupta empire leaving North India vulnerable to invaders from the North-West. Around 500, Huns repeatedly attacked. Indian urban culture started to decline, and Buddhism was gravely weakened with the destruction of many monasteries. The great centre of learning, Taxila, came under the control of the Huns in 500 and languished.

Mercury is the AtmaKaraka of the Piscean Age. It’s maximum debilitation is 15⁰ Pisces. This occurred on 12/12/1365. The Vijayanagara Empire was established in 1336. This empire united South India and lasted until 1646. Around 1365 they had to face repeated attacks from Muslim Sultanates. This empire limited the expanding Sultanates and the Mughal empire but was eventually driven South. Elsewhere this century, political and natural disasters wrought havoc in Europe and the Mongol empire. All four of the Khanates suffered major setbacks. They were driven out of China and lost power in Persia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. 1368 was the end of the Mongol Yuan empire in China. The black death ravaged Europe claiming up to 200 million lives (peaking in 1347-1351). The hundred years war between England and France ran from 1337 to 1453.

We are still within the range of Mercury’s debilitation. In essence we might say that Jupiterian knowledge weakened while Mercurial knowledge dominates. It is not that Mercury is stronger in Pisces but that it tends to resist the wisdom approach of Jupiter. This is the flaw of Mercury in Pisces. It loves to come up with theories which overturn or disregard the traditional knowledge of the past. This has fostered the era of a purely intellectual approach to knowledge largely divorced from wisdom and many would say that it has seen a steady decline in the Vedic knowledge and certainly life-style. Overall though, Pisces is a strong sign for Jupiter and religion and spirituality have dominated the world until quite recently and will continue to play a key role.

From 1964 to 2205, the VE is transiting Leo Navamsha in Pisces. Virgo Navamsha ran from 1724 to 1964. This coincided rather exactly with the period of the British Empire.

The establishment of the United Kingdom in 1801 has a Virgo Ascendant. Prior to that in the later 18th century, the American colonies were lost but after the formation of the UK and the defeat of Napoleon, Britain dominated the world until worn down by the wars of the 20th century and eclipsed by the rising power of the United States. By 1964 the last of the larger colonies were being granted independence.

If the USA chart has a Sagittarius Ascendant, then Leo is certainly favourable to it. The People’s Republic of China on 1/10/1949 at 15:01 has a Capricorn Ascendant though the earlier proclamation of the People’s Republic on 21/9/1949 may have a Libra rising (time uncertain). Leo favours India being the 4th house in the Indian independence chart. Leo is hardly favourable to the UK being the 12th house. It can be said to support the EU, as the chart of the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty, which introduced the Single European market, has a Cancer Ascendant.

This EU chart shows some difficulties going forward but has considerable staying power. The Moon is in the 1st degree of Taurus. Rahu dasha started 27/1/2015 and is certainly difficult but Rahu is in Anuradha and the strength of Saturn will ward off collapse.

Rahu is conjoined its enemy Mars, but he is the yoga karaka for the chart and is giving a powerful Raja Yoga. Mars represents islands and England’s natural sign is Aries. As such, it is hardly surprising that a split is threatened. Clearly, being associated with the UK is good economically for the EU. On the other hand, the UK chart has a powerful Rahu in the 7th house, which is also co-lord of Virgo. Thus, an economic union is key to both entities and is likely to persist however much underlying enmity there might be. Exactly the same point can be made regarding the union of the four UK countries. Amazingly though predictably, maintaining the unity of the UK is forcing the negotiations with the EU, just as the charts suggest.

In a union, every country has to be given a veto over major changes, however small that country is. This is how the EU is structured and it is what the British government chose to forget when calling the EU membership referendum. As it happened, the election called by Mrs May in 2017 gave the Irish a de facto veto on the UK side, just as they have a veto on any agreement on the EU side. After the history of the English in Ireland, it is perhaps only fitting that such a situation has arisen. On 10/10/2017, the EU’s sub cycle of Jupiter (in Chitra) started. This should facilitate the current transformation as it appears to be doing.

Thence, in the absence of any Leo Ascendants, it seems unlikely that any of the current major powers will achieve the kind of world domination enjoyed by the UK in its time. If a major meltdown is going to occur during Leo, then this is more likely to occur in the latter half of this century.

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Vedic Astrology and the Use of the Sidereal and Tropical Zodiacs

Originally published in Gochara, the BAVA Journal, March 2017. Fully revised for Gochara 2018 and further developed April and May 2018.

In his opening verses of the discourse on Hora (astrology), the great sage Parasara (Brhat Parasara Hora Shastra 3:3-5) says that the zodiac consists of 27 Nakshatras starting from Ashwini and these are fixed, i.e. sidereal. That same space is also divided into 12 signs starting from Aries. Thus, in the most unambiguous words, Parasara has made it clear that Jyotish follows the Sidereal Zodiac and the 12-fold division of the signs is laid on top of the 27 Nakshatras and is thus, without question Sidereal. The great sage Garga gives an essentially identical statement. This is discussed in more detail below along with many other considerations which clearly point to the same conclusion.

An Idiosyncratic Approach to Vedic Astrology (Jyotish)

A few astrologers have recently started espousing the novel concept that the nakshatras are sidereal and the rashis tropical. They are therefore promoting the idea that these should be used simultaneously in the astrological chart. This is partly based on an interpretation of the Surya Siddhanta that computes sidereal positions for the grahas and then converts them to tropical for certain calculations like eclipses. However, the Surya Siddhanta has been in wide use for centuries but has never before been interpreted in this way by Jyotishis.

To traditional Jyotish, this mash-up of sidereal nakshatras with tropical rashis is entirely bizarre. This is because the whole system of Jyotish emerges out of the union of the nakshatra (lunar) and rashi (solar view). Therefore, this concept breaks the entire rationale for Jyotish. In the following, I will give just a few of the many instances where this is obviously true.

Life born of the Union of the Mother and the Father – the Basis of Jyotish

Humanity has always looked at the skies and in the days before electricity, humans had a lot of time to view, think and study what they saw. Certain things were obvious. Firstly, there are 12 full moons in a year. Consequently, there is a 12 month calendar and the path of the Sun (the zodiac) is divided into 12. In fact, there are nearly 12 ½ such months in the year [1] so the Vedic calendar adds an extra month about every 32.5 months. This computation is based on the Sun’s passage through the 12 sidereal signs. Thus, the traditional Vedic Calendar still in use by Jyotishis and others today, relies on the use of sidereal signs.

This 12-sign zodiac is considered to be lorded by the Sun because it is based on its annual passage. The ancients also observed that the Moon was seen every night in a different group of stars and took about 27 days to complete one passage of the zodiac. They therefore divided the path of the Moon into 27 ‘Lunar Mansions’ or nakshatras and, naturally, considered this to be lorded by the Moon. Equally naturally, they associated the Sun with the father and the Moon with the mother. Thus, the next step for them was to combine the lunar and solar schemes to understand life as it arises from the union of the mother and the father.
In order to unite 12 with 27, there had to be a number which unifies them. The smallest such number is 108.

12 x 9 = 27 x 4 = 108.

The Aims of Life (Purusha Arthas)

From Vedic times, the day had been seen as divided into four parts by sunrise, midday, sunset and midnight. Since each day was associated with a nakshatra, so each nakshatra was divided into four. In the Vedic scheme, the day begins with sunrise and they used the early hours of the day for Vedic studies and activities that required clear consciousness such as giving Jyotish and Ayurveda consultations. Thus the first part of the day came to be associated with Dharma, doing ones duty especially educating oneself and the youth. After that was the time for seeing to one’s business and so the second quarter was assigned to Artha, the pursuit of wealth and material resources. After sunset was the time for socialization and reproduction, which they termed Kama, and midnight to sunrise, especially the hours before sunrise, was and are the best time for meditation so this period was associated with Moksha, the pursuit of liberation. In other words, the sequence of the Purusha Arthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha – arose naturally from the energies of the divisions of the day.

Because of this fourfold division and its association with the aims of life, this sequence was applied to every nakshatra. Each one was given four quarters or padas, which follow the sequence of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. At some point, in a very natural way, these four were associated with their most appropriate element giving the sequence, fire, earth, air and water. I am explaining this to show that a simple logic can be applied to explain the assignment of the aims to the padas of the Nakshatras. There may be other explanations for this but everything should come down to how life is on Earth for humanity. For Jyotish to apply to human life, it must be based on the natural sequence of things that we experience or at least how the Vedic people saw it.

Since 27 x 4 = 108 it was natural to see how the signs of the Sun could also be associated with this number and this followed effortlessly by dividing each sign into nine parts. If these ninefold divisions, called navamshas, are identified with the padas of the nakshatras, the father and the mother meet and the world arises and so did the system of Jyotish as we discuss in the following paragraphs.

The Fourth and Ninth Houses

From this core equation, the sages assigned four as the number of the mother and nine as that of the father and applied this to the chart. This meant the fourth house was the place of the mother and our protectors while the ninth was that of the father and our teachers. One mixed zodiac astrologer claimed to me that the tenth house, not the ninth, was the place of the father. However, if one looks at the chapters in Brhat Parashara Hora Shastra, the oldest extant and core text of Jyotish, on the ninth and tenth houses, the ninth house chapter has numerous references to father while there is no such reference in the tenth house chapter. After all, our relationship with our father has little to do with our mother’s view of her husband, which might be seen in the place opposite the fourth.

How the Signs (Rashis) are Associated with the Aims of Life and the Elements

At some stage the starting point of the zodiac had to be decided. For many lineages this was based on the brightest star close to the zodiac, the star Spica called by the Vedic people Chitra, which means the beautiful image. Such a beauty could only have been associated with the Goddess, Shakti, so Her Lord Shiva must be exactly opposite this. Hence the zodiac was started from the opposite point, which, of necessity, had no star as Shiva is the formless absolute. In the Surya Siddhanta and other ancient Jyotish texts, it is considered that Rahu was at zero degrees of the zodiac at the start of the great periods of time. Ketu was thus associated with Chitra. In the mantras for Rahu, it states that Rahu was born in Aries (Mesha) and Ashwini, the first nakshatra of the zodiac, thus fixing Ashwini in Aries. Frequent reference to Chitra is made in the mantras of Ketu.

Since the union discussed above is the key to the whole system, the nakshatras and rashis (signs) begin together as the Rahu mantras suggest. That means both start with the first pada of Ashwini in Aries. Mesha (Aries) ends nine navamshas/padas later. Then Vrshabha (Taurus) starts with the second pada of Krittika ending in the second pada of Mrigashira. Thus, Aries starts, ends and has in its centre a Dharma/fire pada. This is why Aries is defined as a fire sign as also a Dharma sign.

If one continues following how the nakshatras cover the rashis (signs), one finds that Taurus is Artha/Earth, Gemini is Kama/Air and Cancer is Moksha/Water. At the end of Cancer, where water ends and fire begins, both the rashi (and its vargas) and the nakshatra end, creating a complete void. These water/fire transitions are called gandantas and are naturally considered dangerous because of the void. Those who reject the integration of the signs and the nakshatras will have to give up gandanta as well as the assignments of the aims and elements to the rashis. There is much more that could be said about how the interpretations of the Rashis and Bhavas are derived from their Nakshatras.

It is important to be clear that the vargas (divisions) are not a separate consideration as they belong to the rashi and all vargas end at the end of every rashi. That means the gap at the end of each rashi is the same from the point of view of the rashis and the vargas! The water/fire sign transition is only distinct from the other rashi transitions because that is where there is no Nakshatra bridging the change of signs. That is why there are only three gandantas, not 12, in traditional Jyotish.

The Exaltation Positions of the Grahas

Maharishi Parashara defines the exaltation and debilitation points of the planets by mentioning a degree within a rashi. This degree falls in a nakshatra. If the nakshatras are integrated with the rashis, as they have always been considered to be, we find the exaltation degrees make a lot of sense. If not, then the nakshatra is unknown and all that is lost. For example, one can ask questions like ‘Is Jupiter exalted in Pushya?’ Pushya is the place of the Sapta Rishis, the seven great gurus of mankind, and Brihaspati (Jupiter) is the devata of the nakshatra. If the rashis are tropical and the nakshatras are sidereal then Pushya is already moving into tropical Leo. The people promoting the novel astrology will have to answer whether Jupiter will be exalted in Leo and debilitated in Aquarius or has he ceased to reach his peak in his own favourite nakshatra?

Is Saturn debilitated in Bharani? The Puranas describe the humiliation of Shani (Saturn) in the story of how his father favoured his half-brother Yama, lord of Bharani, over him. That is why Yama is worshipped to overcome the negatives of Saturn. If Bharani goes to Taurus, is Shani now debilitated in Taurus and exalted in Scorpio? If so, given the critical nature of the exaltation and debilitation lords, the nature of society would change drastically.

Similarly, we could analyze the other planets and find similar conundrums.

The Avatars of Vishnu

It is a critical concept in traditional Jyotish that all the Vishnu Avatars are born with the Moon in the Lagna (Ascendant). This means they have come to serve and care for mankind and all beings. It is interesting to note that there are four Purna Avatars, Shri Krishna, Shri Rama, Shri Nrsimha and Shri Varaha and there are just four rashis where the Moon is fully auspicious. These signs are led by Taurus because this is the place of Exaltation of the Moon and astrologers have always placed Lord Krishna’s Moon in the Ascendant in Taurus. Lord Krishna is said in the Vaishnava literature to be the highest Avatar, the only one with all 16 kalas, like the Moon when it is perfectly full.

What evidence do we have for Shri Krishna‘s Moon being in Rohini and Taurus? In the Shrimad Bhagawatam 10.3.1 it states that Lord Krishna was born with Rohini [2] rising. All the eminent translators have translated this to say that Rohini was in the Ascendant but the Sanskrit also means that the Moon was in Rohini. The Vaishnava literature is replete with references to the opulences of the Lord and only Rohini would do justice to such a term. Vedic Astrologers, of course, assume that Rohini is central to Taurus but is there any evidence for that? In Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra when discussing the Para Vidya Siddhamsha chart, which pertains to supreme knowledge, Maharishi Parashara, the author of the Vishnu Purana, assigns Govinda to Taurus as the devata (deity). With such a clear indication, it is no wonder that Taurus is taken as Shri Krishna’s Ascendant and Moon sign. In Vishnu Purana (5.1.77) Maharishi Parashara quotes Lord Vishnu predicting his birth as occurring on Nabhas Krishna Ashtami. That is the eighth day of the dark half of the lunar month of Shravana that coincides with July/August. This puts his sidereal Sun in Leo and the Moon in Taurus. In the mixed zodiac astrology Taurus is disconnected from Rohini. At the time of Shri Krishna’s advent his degree of Rohini was in tropical Pisces and his Sun was in tropical Gemini in the last degree. How does that explain his regal nature and immovable strength? The whole beautiful chart that so perfectly explains the details of Shri Krishna’s life is lost.

In the case of Shri Rama, there is no room for doubt as Valmiki’s Ramayana clearly states that the Moon was in Punarvasu in the Cancer Ascendant with Jupiter (Canto XVIII, verse 9). This means that Punarvasu overlaps with Cancer as in the sidereal zodiac, which leaves almost no scope for the drifting rashi theory.

The Vimshottari Dasha

Consider the Vimshottari dasha, considered by many as the crest-jewel of Vedic Astrology. As anyone who has studied this knows, especially if they have read the last chapter of the book Yoga of the Planets, the whole basis of the interpretation of Vimshottari is grounded in the identity of the navamsha and the nakshatra pada.
We have shown above how the elements can be assigned to the rashis by the nakshatras. At the end of nine Nakshatras, the set of elements as expressed in the rashis is complete and there is a gandanta. This then naturally defines nine Nakshatras as a cycle. There is no such logic for this cycle in the mixed zodiac view.
This set of nine can then be associated with the nine planets and is used for the Vimshottari dasha. This makes the Vimshottari dasha especially general in application. There is no gandanta during the nine Nakshatra cycle because the nakshatras continue when the rashi changes. The rashi changes break the nakshatras in key places and these breaks are the core of understanding the dasha.

There are three breaks, each occurring between different padas. Therefore, these three Nakshatras, which are expressed as three particular dashas in a life, are associated with different transitions. For example, the first transition between, for example, Aries and Taurus is between dharma (Krittika, 1st pada) and artha (Krittika 2nd pada). Dharma here means learning how to be in the world while artha means taking up the responsibilities of living and, in most cases, being a householder. Almost everyone faces this transition during the third dasha of their life, which relates to the break in the Surya (Sun) nakshatra (the third in the cycle), which bridges the change from a fire sign to an earth sign. After some time in the ardent pursuit of wealth and family responsibility, the next transition comes associated with the fifth dasha and the break between earth and air signs bridged by a Mars nakshatra. And so forth. This is very deep and powerful view and there is a great deal to explain and you can find much more in the book Yoga of the Planets and my recorded workshops especially the one from April 23rd in London (BAVA.org).

Yoga Taras

Traditionally, the nakshatras are associated with certain key stars which are called Yoga Taras. If the nakshatras are taken as of unequal size, then these stars mark the boundaries. However, when the sages chose to equalize the lengths of the nakshatras, these stars remained important for the meaning of the Nakshatra and that meaning translates to their rashi. For example, Punarvasu is associated with the two stars Pollux and Castor that are so bright and obvious in the night sky. The more advanced (Pollux) is the boundary star but the plural in the name Punarvasu and the visibly obvious twinning of the stars led to Gemini being the sign of the twins.

Regulus is the Yoga Tara of Magha, the throne of the king. How can one imagine that Leo is not associated with Regulus and the other stars that make the image of a lion in the sky? All the signs and their symbols are based on the pattern of stars in that sector of the sky and the interpretation of the sign has much to do with the symbol and hence the stars [3] . If Magha drifts out of Leo then where is the king’s throne? If Magha is not in Leo, how is it the royal sign? Merely saying it is ruled by the Sun is insufficient as without the throne, one cannot call oneself the king.

It is strange that tropical astrology uses the names ‘Aries’, ‘Taurus’, etc. for the signs because its signs are just the seasonal months starting from the beginning of Spring. They have nothing whatsoever to do with the signs of the astronomical zodiac. Had proper names been assigned to these tropical ‘signs’ then great confusion would have been avoided. However, it is as it is. At least we should understand that Vedic Astrology emerged naturally from observation of the sky and the nature of life. The integration of the lunar and the solar, the nakshatras and the rashis, the female and the male have given us the beauty of a perfect system for mirroring life.

Does the Tropical Zodiac have a Role in Vedic Astrology?

In Jyotish, we use the Sidereal Zodiac for birth charts and, sometimes, the Tropical Zodiac for matters pertaining to the weather. The Tropical Zodiac starts from the Vernal Equinox which defines the beginning of Spring. In this way the Tropical Zodiac is all about the seasons and the seasons are the principal determinant of the weather as the driver of weather is the Sun’s energy entering the geosphere. Both zodiacs are entirely valid and the precession of the Vernal equinox, which defines the difference, has a key role in the destiny of mankind. In the Editorial to Gochara for Spring 2018, the BAVA journal, I show how the movement of the Vernal Equinox point over the key degrees for the planets has had remarkable effects on mankind.

In the Spring 2016 edition of Gochara, I showed how the interpretations of the rashis that are related to the weather must logically have arisen in North India. Because some concepts about the rashis may be related to seasonal factors, some people seize on this to say that the rashis are therefore tropical. They then insist that the nakshatras are inherently sidereal. This misses several key points. Firstly, the nakshatra interpretations can also be related to the process of planting, reaping, storing and consuming grain. For example, Shatabhishaj can be associated with the time when the grain was traditionally wrapped in herbs and stored so it may become medicinal. Professor Subrahmanyam, who lectured at the British Association of Vedic Astrology (BAVA.org) several years ago, explained this cycle nakshatra by nakshatra. Therefore, both nakshatras and rashis have a seasonal interpretation and they both also have a more fixed sidereal one. There are well established circumstances and systems of astrology that use either the Sidereal or the Tropical Zodiac.

Astronomy and Astrology as Distinct Disciplines and the Arguments of the Mixed Zodiac Proponents

If one considers the challenge of measuring the position of the Sun, the Moon and the planets (Astronomy) and constructing a chart for Astrological purposes one is faced with a challenge. The Sun can only be observed by day when the other lights and especially the stars are not visible. It is therefore inevitable that the Solar position will be measured from some key seasonal point such as the Vernal Equinox. Thus, for the Sun, the position is Tropical. The Moon and the planets are naturally observed at night and can be defined with respect to the stars and constellations they are transiting. These are Sidereal positions. Thus, Astronomy gives such positions but then they have to be combined and this requires converting the Sidereal to Tropical or vice versa. This is done for the sake of Astrology.

Arguments raised for the use of the Tropical Zodiac mainly consist of reference to texts which appear to describe the Sun from a Tropical point of view. For example, Surya Siddhanta 14:7 and the Srimad Bhagavatam 5:21:3. As explained in the previous paragraph, the Sun is naturally measured Tropically so these texts are simply following nature. They do not make any argument about the application to Astrological charts. On the other hand, the great seer of Astrology, Maharishi Parasara, settles the subject in the Third Chapter of Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra. In verse 3 he explains that the Nakshatras are fixed ‘Sthira’. Then, he says

भचक्रस्य नगाश्व्यंशा अश्विन्यादि समाह्वयाः॥४॥
तद्द्वादश विभागास्तु तुल्या मेषादिसंज्ञकाः।
bhacakrasya nagāśvyaṁśā aśvinyādi samāhvayāḥ||4||
taddvādaśa vibhāgāstu tulyā meṣādisaṁjñakāḥ|

In verse 4, he says there are 27 Nakshatras starting from Ashwini in the ‘Bhacakra’ (Zodiac). Here is the word by word translation, Sanskrit word followed by translation in bold:

bhacakra zodiac nagāśvyaṁśā 27 aśvinyādi Ashwini and the others samāhvayaḥ named as (Ashwini, etc.)

In Verse 5, he says ‘Tat’, meaning this Nakshatra mandala just described is divided into 12 equal parts (‘Dvadasha vibhaga tulya’) starting from ‘Mesha’ (Aries). Here is the word by word translation:

tad that just referred to, the zodiac defined by the Nakshatras dvādaśa 12 vibhāgāstu is divided tulyā equally meṣādi Aries and others saṁjñakāḥ known as (Aries, etc.)

Thus, unambiguously, Maharishi Parasara has stated that the Bhacakra (Zodiac) is fixed (Sthira = Sidereal) and that it starts from Ashwini as also the sign Mesha/Aries and that the signs are of equal length. Thus, he sets the stage for Astrology, which is the topic for his book.

Sage Garga, a contemporary of Parasara was a pre-eminent Jyotishi. So great was he that Jyotishis after him were referred to as followers of Garga. He also gave the names to Shri Krishna and his brother Shri Balarama. Much of his work has been lost but he is cited in the 16th Century text Hora Ratnam (1.7) as follows:

भचक्रे मेषादिव्यवस्थामाह गर्गः – The Bhacakra (Zodiac) of Aries and following signs are fixed or determined as is said (commanded) by Garga (in the following)

अश्विनी भरणी मेषः कृत्तिका पादमेव च। – Aries starts with Ashwini Nakshatra, then Bharani and then one quarter of Krittika

तत्पादत्रितयम् केशः वृषः सौम्यदलं तथ॥ – (Krittika) continues with three quarters in Taurus followed by Rohini (Kesha) and half of Mrigashira (Saumya)

and so he continues to describe how the rashis are overlaid exactly over the Nakshatras in precisely the same way as described by Parasara except that Garga spells it out for every Nakshatra and Rashi (sign). Hora Ratnam is of especial importance because he states for almost every verse, which authority he is quoting, taking no credit for himself. Thus, it is certain that he quotes Garga in good faith.

Some think that switching to Tropical can move planets into better positions, especially debilitated planets, like Mercury from Pisces into Aries. The nature of a debilitated Mercury is that it thinks it is right, whatever the arguments raised by others. This tendency does not change by merely adjusting the Ayanamsha or removing it altogether. Doing that overlooks the core truth that the key degrees like exaltation and debilitation are rooted in the Nakshatras, not the rashis, as discussed above The mistake is in feeling bad because one has a debilitated planet as if it was a mark against you. Maharishi Jaimini tells us that debilitated planets can give great wealth. It is better to understand oneself and Jyotish rather than trying to change the whole system. When Mercury accepts the teachings of the traditions of great gurus, then it ceases to feel debilitated and starts to shine.

 Conclusion

The key elements of Jyotish are founded upon using both rashis (signs) and nakshatras in the Sidereal Zodiac. The unorthodox approach by a small handful of Western astrologers who suggest using tropical signs and sidereal nakshatras ignores many crucial cornerstones of Jyotish, including the places of exaltation and debilitation by sign and nakshatra, the placement of the Yoga Taras by sign, the principle of gandanta (the end/beginning zone of both the Rashis and Nakshatras), the perfect correspondence between the nakshatras and the navamshas, the four Aims of Life and their relationship to the rashis and nakshatra padas and the birth of the Vishnu Avatars in the auspicious rashis and nakshatras of the Moon. Finally, we have seen how Maharishi Parasara defines a Sidereal Zodiac which starts from Ashwini and Aries.

[1] 12.37

[2] Referred to as Ajana – Prajapati, Brahma, the deity of Rohini

[3] For example, President Donald Trump’s chart has the ascendant, Mars and Regulus in the same Nakshatra pada

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President Trump and his Key Associates

How People get Connected and the Impact of Transits

August 14, 2017

Leo is the sign of the king as it hosts the star Regulus, the king star. The first lunar mansion or Nakshatra of Leo is Magha, whose symbol is the throne. Those with a strong planet in Magha and a connection to the Ascendant, the rising degree, often take an interest in seeking a throne.

President Donald Trump (DT) has his Ascendant in Magha along with the warrior planet Mars. For Leo Ascendants, Mars is the giver of power. Therefore, this region of his chart is his power zone. It follows that other people with key planets in this zone can play a part in his Raja Yoga, the story of his rise and time in a high position. This is a concept of Vedic Astrology so it is interesting to investigate if this is true in practice. Below, DT’s chart is shown along with information from the charts of his key associates. While, DT’s birth time is known, most of his associates do not have a publicly available time of birth. Therefore, we have only used the date of birth for the associates and assumed a time of noon. This is sufficient for seeing if any planets are in Magha. The main caveat is with respect to the position of the Moon, which moves through one Nakshatra per day so that should be born in mind. In my experience, close conjunctions within a few degrees are powerful in relationships. The reader can draw their own conclusions but it is really quite remarkable to see how this w2orks in this case.

Circle Chart Feature of Shri Jyoti Star

In the following, the Circle Chart feature of Shri Jyoti Star is used. This chart has many powerful features including the ability to show simultaneously the signs, houses and Nakshatras. In the examples below, the house boundaries are shown by spokes radiating outwards. Signs are shown by longer spokes radiating inwards. The Nakshatras are color coded by their lord with the small inward spokes marking their boundaries. The look of this chart can be widely customized to suit the user and the purpose.

The circle chart allows two charts to be matched. One chart has the planets on the outside of the circle of the Zodiac while the other chart’s planets are on the inside. The Ascendant of the outer chart is fixed at the top. Which chart is fixed and whether the Ascendant is at the top or on the left is a matter of user option settings. The actual planet positions are shown by small circles on the large circle of the Zodiac. The name of the planet is close to its small circle as space allows.

First, we analyze the charts of DT’s associates. After that, there is a short look at how the transits of the planets impact. At the time of writing, we are in a period with particularly intense transits for DT. In all the charts shown, DT’s chart is on the outside and his Ascendant is at the top of the chart with his powerful Mars. In most of the examples, you can easily see the planets of people and the transits crossing this zone.

People Associated with Donald Trump

The primary benefic planets for Leo are Sun and Mars the fiery planets. The other fiery shadow planet Ketu, the South node of the Moon, is mostly beneficial as the lord of the Moon’s sign. President Trump’s Moon is in Jyestha Nakshatra ruled by Mercury, which makes Mercury and, on occasions, Saturn helpful to him. Venus and Jupiter are important but will not always do what Leo wants.

Our hypothesis is that the people who play a major role in DT’s story as President will have planets in Magha. Other connections give less robust but still meaningful connections.

People with planets in Magha: Ivanka Trump (Mars), Donald Trump Jr (Saturn. The Moon is elsewhere in Leo), Stephen Bannon (Moon – all day up to about 10pm), Stephen Miller (Sun), Sebastian Gorka (Ketu), Steven Mnuchin (Mars), Rex Tillerson (Ketu), Peter Navarro (Saturn), James Mattis (Venus; Sun and Saturn are elsewhere in Leo), Paul Manafort (Saturn), Robert Mueller (Jupiter and Venus. Mars and Mercury are elsewhere in Leo).

People with no planets in Magha but planets in Leo: Melania Trump (Ketu), John Kelly (Mars and Saturn). HR McMaster (Venus), Hope Hicks (Venus and Ketu), Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Mercury), Sean Spicer (Mercury), Paul Ryan (Ketu), Mitch McConnell (Rahu).

People with no planets in Magha or Leo: Jared Kushner, Mike Pence (see chart below), Jeff Sessions, Kellyanne Conway, Christopher Liddell, Omarosa Manigault, Dina Powell, Wilbur Ross (see chart below), Reince Priebus, Anthony Scaramucci, Carter Page.

(Gary Cohn, Mark House, Michael Flynn DOB unknown.)

Trump and Don Jr

Rex Tillerson (Mar. 23, 1962) connects through his Ketu.

Examples of charts of key associates without any planet in Magha or Leo.

Trump and Pence

VP Mike Pence (June 7, 1959) has his main connection with DT through his Mercury, which is tightly conjunct DT’s Sun and Rahu. This is a political connection as the Sun Rahu conjunction shows his interest in politics. Magha and Leo are more about DT’s executive role. One of Mercury’s key significations is speech and the VP has to speak up for his boss.

Donald Trump and Wilbur Ross

Wilbur Ross’s (Nov. 28, 1937) main connection is in DT’s key fourth house where Ross’ Mercury conjuncts DT’s Moon. Mr Ross helped DT with selling a property (4th house) for a very large profit (Mercury) and is now his Commerce (Mercury) Secretary. This conjunction is in the 4th house from a whole sign point of view.

Recent and Upcoming Planetary Transits over Magha

Rahu, the North node of the Moon, has been transiting Magha from December 9, 2016 until August 17, 2017. It reached his Ascendant on April 11, 2017 and his Mars on June 9. Robert Comey was dismissed on May 9 and Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel on May 17. The chart below shows the transit on this day. Rahu is a planet of turbulence and scandal and this transit has certainly coincided with both. However, it should not be assumed that Rahu’s departure from Leo on August 17, will bring this to an end. According to Vedic Astrology, some effect lasts until Rahu leaves Cancer (March 6, 2019).

This chart is for the day when Mueller was appointed

Clearly, there is merit in this type of analysis though this article does not amount to a scientific study. It is obvious that many of those with key roles in the Donald Trump presidency have strong connections with him through close conjunctions with his planets especially in his power zone in Leo. The impact of the Rahu transit and the forthcoming Solar eclipse may be hard to recover from. In another article, we will explain how moving to Washington, DC is not serving the President well.

This is the chart for the Solar Eclipse.

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President Donald Trump and his Experiences in New York and Washington, DC

August 17, 2017

President Trump (DT) was born in Queen’s and has lived in Manhattan, which he clearly likes. Based on press reports, he was not enthusiastic about moving to Washington, DC, but had no choice having become President. In the last few days, as the consequences of the protests in Charlottesville, VA, unfolded, he made statements in DC and NY with a distinctly different tone. We therefore thought it would be interesting to apply some techniques readily available in the software Shri Jyoti Star to study what these two locations can mean for him.

Here is DT’s birth chart (June 14, 1946, 10:54am Queens).

Here is his chart data in NYC: On the left is part of the AstroMapping screen showing the location*. On the right, at the top, it shows the planet position and the Ascendant, which has moved a few minutes of arc from the birth position in Queeens. Below that, you can see the Ascendant’s Nakshatra lord Ketu and sub-lord Rahu.

In summary, we can see that moving just a relatively short distance can change the experience a person has and this can sometimes be critical.

Acknowledgement: I am indebted to my wife Susie Vance for this critical observation.

* It makes no difference to the results reported whether we use Queens or Manhattan.

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Who Invented Astrology?

Published in Gochara, the BAVA Journal, March 2016

This article shows that there is a compelling reason why neither the Greeks nor the Chaldeans independently developed the core system of astrology that appeared in Chaldea about 400BCE. This article was written as a response to other articles by some Western scholars and astrologers. It takes the form of answers to a series of questions they pose. I hope readers find the answers enlightening.

Is Vedic Astrology Vedic?

The Vedas are important in the study of Jyotisha, which is considered both Vedanga in part and UpaVeda in part. Anyone who has studied the Maharishi Jaimini Krta Upadesha Sutras (MJKUS) understands how deeply encrypted Jyotish rules can be and, with that in mind, much about astrology can be deduced from various Vedic hymns. There are many places where the Nakshatras are described and worshipped including the Taittiriya Brahmana of the Krsna Yajurveda and the Shantikalpa Parishishta of the Atharva Veda. In the Rg Veda, itself, there are references to the Zodiac and the divisions of time from which astrology is derived. There are pointers to the planets as rulers of the days of the week exactly as is standard in the modern form of this knowledge.

Some Western astrologers say that, ‘Zodiac signs are completely unknown’ in the Rig Veda. What they mean is that there appears to be no names of the 12 signs given that they recognize. The reference to the 12 spokes (of the chariot of the Sun) is indisputably present (e.g. Rig Veda 1.164.11) along with multiple references to 12 months. Griffiths’ translation [1] of 1.164.11 states, ‘Formed with twelve spokes, by length of time, unweakened, rolls round the heaven this wheel of during Order. Herein established, joined in pairs together, seven hundred Sons and twenty stand, O Agni.‘ The meaning is rather plain, the Zodiac is to be divided into 12 and 720 (each degree is traditionally divided into two halves as in the D60 chart). The following as well as the preceding verses of 1.164 are replete with such insights. 1.164.1 shows how to derive the planetary lords of the days of the week from the order of velocity of the heavenly bodies. Verse 12 may suggest how the 12 signs are to be named. Pandit Sanjay Rath teaches the use of the 12 names of the Adityas for the signs, which may well follow from ‘dwAdashA krtim divA’.

It is interesting to note that MJKUS does not use the names of the signs at all but refers to them numerically.

Does Brhat Parasara Hora Shastra have any Extant Commentary?

It has been claimed that there are no commentaries on Brhat Parasara Hora Shastra (BPHS) but MJKUS is clearly such a commentary. It itself has several commentaries, the best known being that of Nilakantha. The only known complete text of BPHS is locked up in the Puri Shankaracharya Math or the Jagannatha Mandir in Puri and is inaccessible even to most local brahmins. Pandit Sanjay Rath’s guru had memorised all 108 chapters but he has passed. What exists in writing and available to us was collected by dictation from a few scholars who had also partially memorized the text. This was done fairly recently. Before that, this text was unknown to most astrologers in India. Jaimini’s work does allow us to identify a few apparent errors in the text that have appeared at some era or in some family’s transmission.

Is Vedic Astrology Mainly Derived from the Greeks?

It has been stated that Vedic Astrology ‘…has many elements which were not developed in India but in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece.’ To answer this, we need to see how astrology developed in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. The archeological and literary evidence is that astrology came from Chaldea (modern day Iraq) and the Chaldeans actively introduced it to the Greeks and others.

Our Western conception of the history of astrology based on the archeological record shows a series of horoscopes starting in 410 BCE in Babylon (Chaldea) [2]. Greek horoscopes appeared around the time that the record of Babylonian horoscopes died out in the 1st century BCE. According to Vitruvius’ work de Architectura, a Chaldean astrologer Berossus, born during or before Alexander’s reign, relocated to the island of Kos and set up a school of astrology there. This was around the time of Alexander, Kiddinu and Sudines. The latter two were famous Chaldean astrologers. The Greek geographer Strabo of Amaseia*, in Geography 16, 1-6 writes “In Babylon a settlement is set apart for the local philosophers, the Chaldeans, as they are called, who are mostly concerned with astronomy; but some of these, who are not approved of by the others, profess to be writers of horoscopes.”

The earliest horoscope is dated 29 April 410 BCE. The Chaldeans left a large number of astronomical tablets, 1800, compared with 16 astrological tablets. The Greeks, on the other hand, left some 20 astronomical records and some 10 times as many astrological ones. The earliest known Hellenistic horoscope is for the coronation of Pompey of Antiochus of Commagene in 62 BCE and about 180 exist running to the seventh century AD with the bulk during the first five centuries AD.

The Greeks, the Hebrews and the Romans all referred to astrologers as Chaldeans even in the AD period so even though the Greeks took up astrology with a passion and it was popular in the great city of Alexandria, the source of it in Chaldea was never forgotten. The most ancient Chaldean horoscope has extensive clues to prediction, refers to the 12 Zodiacal signs with which we are familiar and repeatedly refers to planets appearing or rising as also setting which are ancient terms for the Ascendant and Descendant. In Jyotisha Shastra the ascendant is called Udaya (rising) Lagna, the descendant is called Asta (setting) Lagna. It seems unreasonable to argue, as some scholars do, that the Chaldeans had no concept of an Ascendant and had thus not developed horoscopy as it is understood today.

The Greeks used the term Horoscopos for the ascendant. This appears to be the name of a device used in determining the rising point and may or may not be an original term. It has been argued that because of this, the Greeks invented astrology as we know it today. The earlier Chaldean tablets referred to the rising and setting of planets, showing a clear understanding of the importance of the horizons. It should be noted that if one compares modern Western Astrology and the simplest style of Vedic Astrology even as it is today, we see exactly the same difference where the Western astrologer uses the Ascendant as a key point dividing the first and 12th houses while in a basic Vedic chart, the rising sign is given importance and all of it taken as the first house.

Astronomy and divination is very ancient. The Old testament of the Bible/Torah, Genesis 14, states [3] ‘Let there be luminaries in the vault of the sky …; let them give portents and be the measures of time…’. Various forms of astrology such as portents and calendrical development for agriculture and religious application were intensively developed going back at least 10,000 years [4] or even 25,000 years [5]. This appears to have occurred to some extent wherever mankind settled. Reference 4 shows that the division of the sky or the year into 12 was already in use in Scotland 10,000 years ago. A star chart of the Pleiades above the shoulder of a painting of a bull is found in the cave of Lascaux, France dating back 17,000 years. More recently, c 2,300 BCE, a Sumerian tablet lists the names of the 12 signs, which are largely recognizable to us. For example, Leo is ‘lion’, Pisces ‘fishes’ and the name for Virgo translates to ‘her father is sin’.

From the 7th Century BCE, we have Chaldean tablets showing lists of omens but only in 410 BCE does a fully formed astrology appear as we would consider it today, where planetary positions are interpreted. Modern Western writers assume that this is the product of some brilliant Chaldean scholar. They then use this to conclude that this system, after further development by the Greeks, was exported to India. However, it is also possible that the Chaldeans drew on knowledge derived from scholars from further East. Let us look at some relevant issues.

Let us be clear that both Northern and Southern India were in constant contact with the Middle East from a very early date. Alexander’s empire spread from Northern India to Greece. Before him the Persian empire extended into India due to the conquests of Darius I (522-486 BCE). Earlier, the Persians had absorbed the Median Empire that stretched into Afghanistan to the borders of India (modern Pakistan). The priests of the Medes were called Magi, which is believed to come from Sanskrit ‘Magha’. The Greeks considered the Magi synonymous with the Chaldeans. There is a clan of Brahmins in India today who consider themselves descendants of the Magi. The kingdom of Gandhara, an ancient kingdom dating back to Vedic times occupied regions of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. A Gandharan city in modern-day Afghanistan was the birthplace of the great Sanskrit grammarian Panini in the 4th century BCE.

There is both literary and archeological evidence of extensive trade between Ancient Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilization. Several Indus valley seals have been found at Ur and other Mesopotamian sites. They were used to seal bundles of merchandise. Persian Gulf seals have been found in Gujarat, India. Trade documents evidence this trade going back to 2350 BCE.

It is obvious that the peoples of the Middle East and those of Northern India had constant cultural and trade ties. At this stage of the discussion, we can say that the appearance of multiple astrological concepts in Chaldea could have come from their contacts with peoples to the East. There is no evidence it came from the West or the North. The key question is whether there is any reason to attribute the origins of horoscopic astrology to Chaldea or India?

There is one critical consideration that has been widely overlooked. The signs of the Zodiac were assigned significations based on the seasons, as was pointed out by Ptolemy (100-168AD). The cardinal water sign is Cancer, which is followed by the fiery sign of Leo. Then comes the signs of the harvest and market, Virgo and Libra. Wherever this system was developed had rains or floods in June followed by strong heat followed by harvest. This is well-known to be the weather pattern of Northern India but what about Chaldea? Chaldea is the modern Iraq and paleo-climatologists have determined that the climate of ancient Iraq was very similar to that of today. The Winter was wet leading to the rivers flooding in Spring and then March to November was dry. The barley was sown in Autumn and harvested in Spring. This is not the climate of the Zodiacal signs so it is not possible that the significations of the signs were the invention of the Chaldeans or any other people living in the land of Sumer, Ur and Babylon. Whoever developed these significations on which a great deal of astrology depends, it is most likely that they resided in the North Indian plains.

Why do Jyotisha Texts sometimes use ‘Greek’ Names?

Due to the exchange of knowledge between the East and West, the Indians were familiar with the terms used by the Greeks. Authors such as Varaha Mihira (505-587 AD) listed the Greek terms along with those used by the Indians. Just as modern English speakers use terms like ‘Bangle’, ‘Shampoo’, ‘Loot’, and ‘Pyjamas’ which are Indian, so the Indians may have become habituated to using a few of the terms from the Greeks or that sound more Greek. What happens today surely happened 2000 years ago. However, these are very few compared to the corpus of Sanskrit Vedic Astrological terms.

It is important to remember that Brhat Parasara Hora Shastra states at the beginning that the knowledge of the Nakshatras, being well-known, is not being taught. It is thus generally acknowledged that greater importance was given to the Nakshatras prior to Parasara. The majority of the subsequent texts elaborate on Parasara’s teachings and dwell little on the Nakshatras.

A 27 lunar mansion system was also known to the Chinese and the Celts but is essentially ignored in Western astrology. My experience, after much research, is that one must refer to the Nakshatras as a factor in making accurate prognostications. Some important keys for how to do this are contained in my book, Yoga of the Planets, in the printed edition.

In conclusion, the intersection of the significations of the signs and the North Indian climate provide compelling evidence for the development of the core concepts of astrology in India. Scholars in Chaldea clearly took a deep interest in the ideas of their colleagues in India. Whatever they learned and developed formed the basis for the work of Greek, Roman and Hebrew scholars in the Classical world.

References
[1] Hymns of the Rig Veda. Ralph Griffith, 1889.
[2] Astrology: What’s really in the Stars. Joseph V. Stewart
[3] Catholic Bible translated by M. Knox.
[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-23286928.
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_astrology

*A contemporary of Caesar Augustus

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North Korea, a Threat to take Seriously and Terrorist Event Warning

March 27, 2013

Anyone following the news will have noticed that North Korea is threatening to attack South Korea and the USA. This could include nuclear weapons. Many in the world are assuming this is all bluster. Given that North Korea has a new leader, however, the past is not necessarily proof of the future. Furthermore, one war and many minor attacks have occurred in the past. The Korean War began with a fake training exercise (on the part of the North) so it makes sense that they might feel very nervous when the South and the US are holding major military exercises. Previously, President Clinton repeatedly cancelled the annual exercises to avoid antagonizing the North. According to a listing of US military exercises, during the presidency of George W. Bush there were no joint exercises specifically with South Korea. The [Obama] administration has held joint exercises with the South Koreans in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

The current situation has arisen as we approach a period of a few weeks where the transiting planets are extremely intense. All of the fiery planets (Sun, Mars, Ketu) will be in the cardinal fire sign of Aries from the 14th April* and all the storm planets (Saturn, Rahu) are already in the cardinal air sign of Libra fully aspected by violent Mars. On April 25 there is a Lunar eclipse and on May 9 – 10 a Solar one. Both bode ill and this makes the coming months unstable even though the transits greatly improve after May 23rd as Mars leaves the company of Ketu in Aries.

We know that when Rahu is aspected by Mars, terrorist-type incidents are likely (such as 9/11[see Postnote below]) and this transit is greatly aggravated by Saturn and the other planets involved. Jupiter in Taurus provides only limited protection. Thus, the stage is set for a potentially very negative event(s), although difficult transits indicate risk rather than certainty. The transits are global so all varieties of possibilities exist, including natural disasters. To see what the risks are in Korea, we here look at the charts of the players involved.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was solemnly announced on the 9th of September 1948. If this occurred at 10:00 am (time is unknown), then the chart is as below. Some astrologers have used times in the night and on the 10th. The Moon moves to Jyestha but remains in Scorpio. However, the 10:00 am chart on the 9th or a similar time on the 10th is a kind-of worst case scenario, as far as the danger of violent events. We cannot forget that one war has already occurred and that war was never concluded despite occasional positive talk. Tension has remained high with sporadic incidents.

The chart below is both threatening and powerful. The ruler, Venus, is in the 10th house of high status aspected by Jupiter from a martial sign. The Sun is in its own sign in the 11th so there is great pride in the leaders and the people despite their difficulties, which are not easily overcome. The benefics in the 2nd and 12th provide much support, so the dynasty cannot be easily displaced.

The new leader is thought to have been born on 8th January 1983 in Pyongyang. This was revealed by his family’s former sushi chef [1]. The time is unknown. While other years have been mooted, none provide a chart that seems credible.

Let us suppose he was born around 8:45am. Then his chart is as below. The chart shows good intelligence. His Mars is exceptionally dominant and at the time chosen, both Mars and Saturn are promising ‘kingship’. The strength of Saturn shows that the well-being of the people could improve under his leadership. Like President Obama, his Atmakaraka is Mars, a clear sign of a powerful leader and warrior. Jupiter is in the same sign as in the country’s chart and is in the 11th house of one’s desired aim in life. As there is a parivartana between Jupiter and Ketu and Ketu is with the Sun, then consciously or unconsciously he has been headed for the highest leadership since birth. The main problem with this chart is the involvement of the 12th house, where the Sun is placed, which could severely endanger himself and the country if he launches any major act of aggression. He is very proud and will never respond well to any kind of pressure. He is likely quite charming in person and it is best to try to nuture a positive relationship with him, even though this may ultimately fail.

It is Jupiter who has brought him to power and so it seems too early for a great tragedy to occur. Even if nothing substantial happens this year, it would be a grave mistake to assume that the future will be uneventful. Tensions are building between the great and ancient countries of the region, mainly over oil and gas drilling rights, and as fuel resources become scarcer, any source of instability could lead to a very dire escalation.

Here also is the chart of the upcoming Solar eclipse cast for Washington, DC, USA, where Scorpio has just started to rise. The two benefics Jupiter and Venus are in the 7th, which is favourable for the country’s external relationships but a few moments earlier, they were in the 8th with great affliction on the Ascendant creating a degree of uncertainty. Even with Scorpio rising, the focus is on the 6th house, which has quite an aggressive tone. In Seoul and Pyongyang, Gemini and Punarvasu are rising with Taurus navamsha with the Sun Moon conjunction in Scorpio navamsha. This is more troubled than the USA Scorpio chart as the benefics are in the 12th and the chart ruler is caught up in the 11th with the fiery planets. This shows a greater risk of troubling events. The navamsha gives some encouragement that wise councils can be entertained and peace maintained despite an atmosphere of aggression.

References

1. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/12/kim-jong-uns-age-is-no-longer-a-mystery/265983/

*Postnote: The Boston Marathon bombing occured early April 15 at 2:49pm. This was the worst terrorist event in the USA since 9/11/2001.

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Pope Francis

Easter Sunday, 31 March 2013

Early in October 2012, while travelling from India, I met a leading Catholic commentator. He was interested in my work as a Vedic Astrologer and I gave him two predictions. That Obama would win the upcoming election and that there would be a revival in the Roman Catholic church. Obama won, of course, and now we have a new Pope and every reason to expect that his leadership will bring about a revival. The foundation of this is the saintly and principled nature of Pope Francis. If anyone had any doubt about this, one need look no further than his birth chart, which we show below. The time is based on his birth certificate.

This chart is truly outstanding. It contains a combination of Sun, Rahu and Jupiter in an angle to the Ascendant in Sagittarius, which is indicative of a distinct spiritual tendency. Furthermore, as Rahu is the Atmakaraka (AK) or soul planet, this is one of the best possible combinations for genuine humility. He is completely possessed with the righteousness of Jupiter and Sagittarius and yet thinks of himself as a ‘sinner’. Without that, one can easily slip into bad habits.

Here is the Navamsha chart of Pope Francis. The Navamsha chart shows the inner tendencies of a person as well as matters pertaining to marriage. Pisces rises with its lord Jupiter exalted. Jupiter is the marker of priests and teachers and in this highly elevated form is most fitting for the head of a great church. Mercury is also exalted in the 7th house showing a fine intelligence without pretence. In the 4th from the Moon, it also shows healing power and I am sure that miracles will take place and, as a result of his exemplary life and these signs, after his passing there will be a demand for his canonization. I’m sure the Pope would strenously object to the idea of his elevation but that is part of his worthiness.

Another consequence of Mercury in Virgo in the place of marriage surrounded by Mars and Ketu is the willing acceptance of celibacy. He surely feels that that is the ideal of priestly life and is thus unlikely to bend on this. On the other hand, he, like the great saint before, will set an example that will quieten many of the agitators for radical change.

It is interesting to try to find the chart for St Francis, who the Pope takes as his inspiration. Uncertainty surrounds his date of birth but it is believed that it was late November, likely the 26th, in the year 1181 or 1182. Below is the chart cast for 26th November 1181. In my estimation, the 1182 chart lacks the capacity to reflect the life he lived. This chart has a divine yoga (Dakshinamurti), which finds a degree of reflection in the chart of the current Pope. This yoga involves the AK, Rahu and Jupiter. Venus and Mercury rising show his sweet and magnetic character and presence and the chart also shows his willingness to adopt complete poverty due to the position of Ketu in the house of wealth and the dominance of a glorious and pure Saturn, which is the AtmaKaraka, especially its influence on the Moon, which it joins in Cancer.

Ketu shows what can be given up and Saturn the capacity to be dispassionate. While Saturn in the 8th can indicate a long life, as AK it shows the capacity to determine one’s own destiny. Readers will note the dominance of Sagittarius in both charts and the Moon in the 8th house. When Jupiter and its signs are strong and the Moon is in the 8th, wisdom can predominate over indulgence. The Moon makes one aware of one’s sins and Jupiter makes one take a very high road to redemption. Both charts have the touch of Venus and Mercury, making their personalities charming and their speech intelligent and attractive. The association of the Moon with Saturn supports an ascetic life. In the Pope’s chart the Moon is in a sign of Saturn, which trines the ascendant. In the chart of St Francis, this reaches a very profound level with Saturn accompanying the Moon and aspecting the Ascendant ruler.

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Editorial

BAVA Print Journal Gochara 2012

Welcome to the April 2012 issue of Gochara. BAVA has made it past its 15th birthday and it is all thanks to you, the members and contributors, faculty and friends. While many people were worried about 2012, we saw in last years special conference that it is a vast turning point but not a cataclysmic Hollywood-style end-of-the-world though many of the difficulties that will arise will seem big to those involved. A new age is beginning for mankind but we will not fully see how this is unfolding for some time.

Right now, the predictions about climate change are proving much too accurate. The people who have their head in the sand regarding the rundown of critical natural resources such as fresh water and fossil fuels, especially oil, must be starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. It is becoming increasingly obvious that we can’t demand ongoing significant growth from an oil-based economy when oil supplies are gradually but inexorably tightening. We have had several years of compensating by printing money. Momentarily, there was an illusion of a boom and then the inevitable pulling back, which some countries are only just beginning to fully experience.

In the last editorial, I commented on how we use oil and gas to produce machines like windmills and solar cells. This did not mean I am discouraging that production, quite the opposite, making devices to provide renewable energy should be a top priority. This will be especially true if energy supplies become scarce. There is the possibility that we will succeed in exploiting nuclear fusion and can thereby generate ample supplies of electricity. At this point, fusion seems the only way to produce electricity at the levels we have come to expect, wind, tidal and solar can only realistically supply a minority of the current demand and nuclear fission is not an option due to dwindling uranium supplies (according to official data). It can contribute just a small proportion of our energy demand for a few decades.

The 2012 USA Presidential Election

It has been obvious for some time, since before the last US election, that Barack Obama has a high likelihood of serving two terms. On the level of surface appearance, in 2008 the Republican party did not fully throw itself behind their candidate and this time they seem even more ambivalent about their choices. While it may seem clear that none of them have that great a chance despite the extent of Republican enthusiasm to remove President Obama, it is interesting to review the candidates and see what we can learn from their charts. One particular consideration that we can make is to look at the grahas in the first house.

A sign rising with planets has more weight than one without. That weight can often be a burden and those with no planets are perhaps lucky but when it comes to competition, the planets contribute considerably. Benefics provide different kinds of attractiveness, the Moon belovedness, Jupiter the sense of a learned and trustworthy person, Mercury wit and intelligence, Venus pure charisma. The malefics also give weight but they inspire respect rather than attractiveness. Saturn often makes leaders but we all know the various downsides of the malefics so there is no need to dwell on it. The nodes in particular are tough and don’t make convincing people to vote for you that easy. Even though Raja Yogas may lift you up but there can be plenty of critics.

As we know President Obama has a very strong Ascendant with Saturn in its own sign with Jupiter, whose debilitation is cancelled by Saturn and its own retrogression making it act as if exalted.

Speaker Gingrich has undoubtedly acquired fame but even in his own party he stands out, a typical consequence of Ketu in the first. Ketu is said to be a flag so it can give fame but always as someone different and who may feel isolated. His great strength is the exalted Jupiter in the 7th. His marital history owes more to the lord, Moon, in the 12th and the presence of Rahu and Venus. Wherever Rahu falls, that is the place that your critics will find fault.

Senator Rick Santorum’s time of birth is not known. I have rectified his chart, though not to the minute. The Jupiter Rahu combination in the first is powerful and it also activates the Raja Yoga in the 5th house. His Lagna lord is exalted and in Parivartana (exchange) with Jupiter in the First. This is a sure fire combination for lawyers and politicians, combative professions involved with justice and social issues and for someone who can achieve a great status. Of course, it also gives you powerful enemies.

One major problem facing Gov. Romney is the transit of Ketu over his Ascendant sign. The initial front-runner, Gov. Rick Perry also has Taurus Lagna, but without planets, and he faltered quickly despite many good yogas.

Economics

The transit of the nodes through Taurus and Scorpio have caused some financial difficulties, especially at the beginning. Right now the bankers are declaring ‘problem sorted’ but that is likely an illusion. Anuradha is rather a benign Nakshatra, but it represents abundance so Rahu is disturbing that. People are struggling while the tip of the economic pyramid is accumulating and spending like never before.

A very interesting law of nature is called the Power Law. In its simplest form, this says that in any group, 80% of the resources will be held by 20% of the members (and visa versa). This law overrides communism, capitalism or any other system as it represents the natural distribution of things. However, with effort, a distortion can be generated where the percentages change. In such a case, an invisible force will appear to redress the balance. In the USA, the second most unequal country by certain accounts, the bottom 80% have 12.8% of the wealth. That means that there will be a natural resistance arising, typically by way of social discontent, but other things can happen. Thus, the only intelligent approach is to try to conform to the law of nature because then there is a kind of content in society as somehow people feel things are reasonably fair. Unfortunately, greed usually pays scant attention to sanity.

That said, we should watch out for Rahu reaching the debilitation point of the Moon at 3 degrees Scorpio on the 27th October. Rahu enters Vishakha on the 21st so October could generate some instabilities even though it will be a moment of awakening for some who are spiritually attuned. The Vishakha transit may effect food supplies. In essence it is about rapacious behaviour so the debate about the loss of our natural capital, the water, food, flora and fauna, etc. may well take another turn.

Editor, 23 March 2012

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The Joplin Tornado, Adolf Hitler and more

On May 23, 2011 at 5 41pm a tornado struck Joplin causing 124 deaths (this figure will likely rise) and 750 injured, some very seriously. This is the worst tornado in the US since April 6, 1936. In the ’30s warning systems and forecasting were quite primitive compared with today.

The Vedic Astrological chart for the touchdown of the Joplin tornado has a predominant and striking feature. Libra was rising (on the Eastern horizon) and its ruler Venus was in planetary war with Mars in Aries.

A planetary war occurs when two regular planets (not the luminaries) are within one degree of each other. According to Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra, this causes a transfer of power from the looser to the winner and if Venus is involved, she wins due to her greater brilliance. The chart is ruled by Venus, lord of Libra, which is ever eager to cause social transformation. When charged by the violence of Mars in a sign of Mars, here Aries, the 7th house representing the people, it can indicate great danger.

We know this particularly because this is a core feature in the chart of Adolf Hitler who caused terrible suffering for countless people.

Just as some (few) people were left untouched by Hitler, this combination as it arises from time to time touches only certain persons or places and a human can wreak extraordinary havoc compared to a moment of nature’s fury, unless she is exceptionally enraged. Of course, Hitler’s chart has multiple danger signs in it in addition to the core violence emanating from the planetary war.

If we track back to the last time this combination occurred we come to June 23, 2009 when a terrible crash occurred on the Washington, DC Metro, the deadliest on record for that system (more info).

One key difference between Hitler’s chart and the other two is that the great protector Jupiter is well positioned in the two event charts while it is effectively disabled from controlling the person in the 3rd house in Hitler’s chart.

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Some Clues for the Future from the Jupiter Saturn Conjunctions

8 Jan. 2011

About every 20 years there is a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Sometimes there is a triple conjunction. These conjunctions occur in the signs of a single element for about 200 years, and thus cycle through the 4 elements in about 800 years, and these longer and shorter periods have often been thought as markers for predicting the collective experiences of man. It is believed that the Magi who were the powerful astrologers of the Persian kings and their successors used this technique and interpreted the great triple transit in Pisces starting on the 29th of May 7BCE as indicating the birth of a great king. The great astronomer Johannes Kepler also felt this was the famous ‘star’. As an aside, our opinion is that this prediction was made because the ‘Age of Pisces’ represented by the two fishes, the great symbol of Christianity, was about to begin when the vernal Equinox would enter Sidereal Pisces. Thus the conjunction occurring close to this point would indicate the destiny for the next 2000 years. It is likely that the Magi expected the birth of someone who would create an impact for such a period rather than a mere rebel against Roman rule. It should be noted that, at that time, there was a lot of debate about the correct calculation of the Sidereal position of the Vernal Equinox and the Greeks and perhaps the Magi believed that it was around zero degrees Aries even though we now use a somewhat different value. Later, the great Italian savant Marsilius Ficino (1433-1499) wrote “To begin with, Saturn and Jupiter come into conjunction every 20 years, and in any such union these two are reckoned to prolong the influence of that conjunction over many years…”.

Hypothesis

In Jyotish Shastra (Vedic Astrology), Jupiter represents the establishment and Saturn, the AryaJana or citizenry. The combination of these two great planets is considered a Brahma or creator Yoga combination indicating the capacity to create or mould the direction of time. When two planets are in close conjunction, it is considered a planetary war in Jyotisha Shastra. The winner is determined, in this case, by the one with the greater declination – furthest to the North (Surya Siddhanta, Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra). Thus, based on these ancient concepts and without knowing the planetary war outcomes for any of the conjunctions or any pattern that might exist in these, we put forward an hypothesis that when Jupiter wins, the rulers dominate and the people will feel relatively oppressed; when Saturn wins, there will be an upsurge of individual freedoms and the following period will be considered better from the point of view of the citizenry. This is in no way an implication that the effect of Jupiter, the great benefic, is negative but when in close conjunction with Saturn, especially in a planetary war, Jupiter absorbs qualities from Saturn such as heavy handedness, while Saturn, when winning, draws the optimistic and expansive energy of Jupiter. (For another example see the article on the Joplin tornado.)

Based on this, we predicted the planetary war outcomes for the last century. For earlier times, we did not feel confident to say how the people found their experience on this time scale. The borderline period from 1901 was also difficult to call as we had not at this time, studied this period sufficiently. This period included the first World War which was naturally oppressive and periods after wars are not happy times. On the other hand, the war was popular initially and it broke down the dominant monarchical system prevalent in Europe and sowed the seeds for greater freedom for women. The early part of the period was certainly an improvement for individual freedoms. In fact, Saturn won but was only 26′ further North.

Predictions

1921: The roaring twenties was a period of great individual expansion. Saturn

1940-1941: The megalomania of multiple powerful world leaders led to the deaths of tens of millions of people and terrible oppression and suffering. Jupiter

1961: The ’60s were a period of tremendous flourishing of individual freedoms and aspirations. Saturn

1980-1981: The ’80s and 90s saw a surge in individual prosperity and choice. Saturn

2000: After the events of Sept. 11, 2001 restrictions were put on individual liberties and an unprecedented expansion in surveillance and security measures worldwide took place. Jupiter

Outcomes

Conclusion

The planetary war outcomes fully supported our hypothesis. A series of 5 correct predictions where there are two choices is statistically significant compared with random selection at the p=0.03 level.. We can thus make some comments on the next 50 years based on the 2020 and 2040 conjunctions. In 2020 Saturn wins but by a tiny margin, even less than in 1901. In 2040, Saturn wins by a much larger margin. We can suggest that the attempts by governments to control the population and the establishment structures themselves will decline, which is to be expected with the run-down of fossil fuel availability. 2020-2040 should see substantial upheavals but, overall, individual initiative will develop. After 2040, a great flowering of democracy should occur.

[Feb. 1, 2011] It should be carefully noted that now we are half way through the current period, the time when governments could suppress the aspirations of the people is passed. The overthrow of the Tunisian regime and the consequences in many other countries is all part of this process.

[May 2018] While we are seeing a new wave of dictators in a few countries and surveillance is increasing, the #MeTo and other such movements shows that freedom and respect are also rising. The Baby Boomers who have ruled for a long time are in their final lap. The younger generation appear more orientated towards democracy and they will soon have their day in power.

Note: I am indebted to Gordon Brennan for the Fucino quote and his scholarship on this subject.

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Warning: Nov 29 to Jan 18 2010, Mars is in Mula with Rahu. This is a dangerous time and everyone should take care.

This combination is capable of terrorist attacks, aircraft accidents and natural disasters but can also effect finances and financial structures especially as, this year, Mercury is heavily involved. Apart from collective calamities which may occur, many small personal challenges can arise. Here are some events associated with past occurrences though not, of course, the same total planetary scenario. The position of Saturn in Virgo this year makes this transit more dangerous. From the 6th December when the Moon reaches Mars and Rahu, which normally would be the most dangerous day, Jupiter reenters Pisces giving some protection. Below, some events are given from the last few occasions when Mars conjuncted or tightly aspected Rahu in Mula. (Note: September 11, 2001 was Mars in Mula and Rahu opposite).

[The transit so far (end 2010): Extreme weather – as in 1881, Southern UK and much of the rest of the country was paralysed by exceptional snow fall, starting Nov. 29. A massive fire blazed in Northern Israel described as a major disaster by the Israeli PM. The worst blizzards in 20 years struck the US Midwest (the second strongest storm ever to hit the Great Lakes area as measured by the barometric pressure at the storm’s center) and even Canada had exceptionally severe weather (according to the CBC). For perhaps the first time in human history many of the world’s top leaders were simultaneously humiliated by the publishing of internal State Department cables by the web site WikiLeaks. The UK were particularly humiliated and at the same time their Alpha leaders were rebuffed by FIFA after an extraordinary effort. The WikiLeaks founder was thrown in jail (apparently coincidentally) and the site came under attack and its access to funds were closed down. The hacker community fought back with DOS attacks on major corporations involved such as MasterCard. The Guardian headline read ‘The first global cyber war has begun, claims hackers’. Ireland issued a particularly severe austerity budget while cutbacks in education was passed in the UK and students rioted, smashing buildings and the Prince of Wales’ car. Rioting occurred in Russia, Greece and Italy. With the involvement of Mercury in the Mula transit, communication and finance factors should figure. A few hours before the exact Mars Rahu conjunction, a terrorist attack took place in Stockholm (11 December 2010). UK gas/petrol prices reached an all-time high, a small intimation of what is to come.]

September 2, 1992. Rahu in Mula, Mars opposite. 7.6 earthquake off Nicaragua producing a 10m tsunami killing 116+ people. September 11, Hurricane Iniki hits the Hawaiian Islands, primarily Kauai, with devastating effect. 16 September, the British Pound was forced out of the European Exchange Rate mechanism, a humiliating event for the UK Government famous as ‘Black Wednesday’. The Italian Lira was also forced out. September 23, a large Provisional IRA bomb explodes in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

June 1955 passed quite peacefully except for a terrible crash at Le Mans which killed 100 people, but Jupiter was close to its greatest exaltation which gives great protection.

June, July 1936. Major heat wave in the USA, thousands die.

November 1936. Rahu in Mula aspected by Mars in exact square. Germany and Italy and Germany and Japan form alliances. The German air force starts bombing Madrid.

Dec. 1917 to March 1918 and briefly in June 1918. Rahu in Mula aspected by Mars in square from Virgo. Appalling slaughter in the battlefields of the 1st World War throughout. The square was most exact in March 1917- Start of the Spanish flu which killed millions. December 6, the Halifax Explosion killing at least 1,963 people, injuring 9,000 and destroying part of the city (until Hiroshima, the biggest manmade explosion in recorded history).

17-18 January 1881. Exceptionally severe snow storm paralyses Southern UK. January 16 to January 24 � Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans.

February 1862. American Civil War, first victories of the USA.

September 3, 1843. Popular uprising in Athens, Greece, including citizens and military captains, to require from King Otto to issue a liberal Constitution to the state, which was governed since independence (1830) by various domestic and foreign centres of profits.

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Sen. Barack Obama – Update

It can be noted that his opponents are characterised by Mercury which shows both Sen. McCain and Sen. Clinton (which doesn’t mean they can’t get along fine as colleagues). Sen Obama has an edge but it is a fine edge. It is very difficult to beat him but he also has to work hard to win. At the time of the election in November he is in a Jupiter Moon period and his Moon is opposite the mid-heaven giving strong support for his status and career. It is also the exalted lord of the 10th from his Arudha indicating high status, albeit indicating the inner and outer struggles he has to endure.

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Vedic Astrology and the 2008 US Presidential Election

This article considers the charts of John McCain, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are fine candidates and we may study their charts later. This was posted before polls closed on Feb. 12th but prepared several days earlier.

The main idea is twofold. First, is the chart strong at the time of the election? Secondly, does it resonate with the national chart? We correctly predicted the last two US Presidential elections using these principles. In 1999, the USA started a major 10 year period of the Moon. The Moon is the weakest planet in the chart and indicates many difficult experiences during its period. In November 2000, two candidates stood for election. Both of them had Ascendants ruled by the Moon. normally, this Ascendant would not be advisable for the US but at that time it was part of the destiny. Looking at the charts at the time of the election, it was obvious that both charts were equally strong but that Gov. George W. Bush’s chart became stronger in December while that of VP Al Gore became weaker. I therefore predicted that it would be settled for Bush in December. It doesn’t matter how this came about, the destiny had to express itself. Even if more people voted for Gore, and even in Florida, as subsequent research appeared to indicate, it was not for him. Looking from a distance, Al Gore has done much better for the world and himself out of politics. Left free of politics he has proved one of the outstanding leaders of our time.

President Bush’s chart remained strong through the 2004 election and weakened noticeably in 2006. His strong planet is Mars, activated through until 2006, and he will be remembered as the self-proclaimed ‘war president’. Pres. Bill Clinton was in power during the major period of the Sun and Pres. Bush was the man in front for the period of the Moon. The quality of the relative periods reflect the destiny set in motion long before.

What now? The USA is about to enter a period of Mars. Mars is much better placed than the Moon. Mars is responsible for many things including the tremendous success in technology and engineering as well as the relationship with military leaders around the world. The next president needs to represent that.

John McCain is strongly Mercury. He has a superb Mercury and this has made him an outstanding leader for the USA. He enters a major period of Mercury next year which will be excellent for him. His soul planet is Venus in royal Leo. With his Sun also in Leo being activated by the Moon, Mercury and Venus, his leadership capacity and destiny is exceptional. However, the problem for him in 2008 appears to be the lack of connection to the upcoming period of Mars. Even if he doesn’t win in November, he will make a great contribution to the destiny of his country in coming years.

Hilary Rodham Clinton is another great person. There is much doubt over her birth time so I have made my own rectification. At around 1:35am she has an exceptional strong Leo Ascendant. It gives a royal yoga activated between 1992 and 1999 brought about by Jupiter, significator of husband. Since then she has been in a period of Venus which rules her own career and shows an independent and strong status. Venus is strong in Libra, its own sign and positively associated with the Sun, chart ruler and indicator of rulership. When I first analyzed her chart with Obama’s in April 2007, I gave him an edge but recognized the great strength in her chart. Since late 2006, she has been in the sub-period of Rahu and Rahu is exalted in the 10th house which is more than capable of giving high position. Both she and Barack have Rahu in the 10th indicating that they represent normally underrepresented classes of people in government. Rahu is also her soul planet making this ‘her time’. However, with all her strength, again one has to ask where is the connection to Mars? Whatever happens, she will continue to make a great contribution to her country and beyond.

Barack Obama is also a great soul. His soul planet is Mars making him the man of the moment. His chart has a Libra Ascendant. Libra is one of the great leadership Ascendants and associated with social reformers. They want fair treatment for all and are ready to fight for it. Being ruled by Venus, and with his Moon exalted in the other sign of Venus, he has tremendous charisma. Venus gives Bill Clinton charisma also. Others have various good qualities but charisma counts for a lot in our world. With the Sun in Cancer, he is a gentle soul at heart but his Moon in Taurus makes him very strong and stable. He is a safe pair of hands for a great nation. His Sun is powerful near the mid heaven and his Mars is strong in royal Leo in the house of gains. It is precisely this that makes him destined for high position. It is interesting that his Mars is exactly conjunct Senator McCain’s Venus. The two soul planets meet in royal Leo where they compete for kingship (as it were). Senator Obama wins because Mars is the planet of the hour. His cycle in November is Jupiter Sun. Jupiter is with Saturn that gives a royal yoga and is powerful because it is retrograde. The Sun in the 10th as lord of the house of gains indicates gain of high position. (Update – new birth time)

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