Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lunar Eclipse: Train Crash of January 31st 2018

February 1, 20184th house, aquarius, dainya yoga, eclipse, lunar eclipse, moon, prashna, Uncategorizeddainya yoga, lajjita, mercury ashamed, sun agitated by saturn, venus ashamedCorey

In Vedic Astrology, eclipses are seen as inauspicious events. These are not times to do anything really important, that could be put off for another day. Many of the enlightened Yogis and Masters throughout India have spoken of the importance of prayer and meditation during these times as a way to make the best use of the heightened psychic energy that is present during the times of an eclipse. So while this writing is about an unfortunate event, do not forget that these times can give great breakthroughs in our development as people. As an astrologer, I have plenty of bad transits going over my chart to be aware of as it is, and I know my chart well already, eclipses can just add to that mental chatter. So I choose not to dwell on the negative and worry over that, instead focusing on my self-development during those times. Sometimes a bad thing must occur in order for our greater development as human beings. Eclipse periods usually are harder times, I cannot deny it. But the more effort I put into working out my Rahu and Ketu issues during an eclipse, the more magnified the results are. So in this way, we can look forward to the eclipse periods and not fear them.

With that said, we already have one major accident or tragedy that has occurred on this day of the total Lunar eclipse, January 31st, 2018. My heart goes out to all that have been affected. One person has died and several have been injured, and it really is a tragedy to hear about this.

It seems that while the sign of the Taurus was rising, a train that was taking GOP lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia somehow hit a garbage truck, killing at least one person and injuring others. The lawmakers themselves seem to be safe, but the garbage truck was hit.

It is astrologically significant that this occurred right at the time that the eclipsed Moon was in the 4th house of vehicles, and in the sign of Government, Leo. This Moon was getting the rasi aspect of Saturn and the full eclipse effect of Rahu. When Saturn and Rahu both aspect a place, there is likely to be some trouble there. In this case it was in the 4th house of vehicles.

Here is the chart of the moment of the crash

The lord of the Moon was the Sun, which was quite afflicted also by being in the sign of his enemy, Saturn, and by being with his other enemy Venus, as well as Ketu. With the Sun being afflicted on 3 accounts, we could imagine something inauspicious related to Government could occur on this eclipse. We also saw a lot of unfortunate government related things going on with the last eclipse in August, (Riots in US, N. Korea threats,etc.) but that would be discussed in another article.

Over in the 7th house, the house of the other party in the case of a crash like this, we happen to see the planet Jupiter, which is the 8th lord, the lord of tragedies and death in a chart. That 7th house is rashi aspected by Saturn which happens to be the planet that indisputably rules over garbage men or a garbage truck. Jupiter is ruling Mars and Mars is ruling Jupiter. So what we have here is a dainya yoga, an interchange between the lords of the 8th and 7th houses. This is an unfortunate interchange, and indicates some sort of theme of misery in ones life if found in the birth chart. Here it seems to point to the theme of a death, an 8th house event, while traveling (7th). Another way to put it would be that the 8th lord in the 7th speaks to a dangerous event while traveling, and the 7th lord in 8th speaks to an equally unfortunate event to be experienced with another party, or while traveling or conducting business, so putting those together is not good for travel. Jupiter ruling the 12th cusp of losses and hospitalization and being in the 7th, that does not look good either. Jupiter in the 7th house is a “maraka” or killer for a Taurus lagna as well, but I am not sure if that idea should really be carried over here in this context.

Venus rules vehicles so we have to examine Venus, which is delighted by Saturn. That is good and may help the chances of survival of everyone involved. But Venus is afflicted by Ketu, who is strong at the time of an eclipse. Venus also is agitated by the Sun, and “combust” by the Sun as well. Even further, Venus is “ashamed” by the Sun, as well as Mercury. Quite a lot of bad things going on in this 10th house, and all connecting to the planet of vehicles and lawmakers, Venus. Note also that Venus rules the 6th house of accidents if Taurus is rising, giving even more of a vehicular type of 6th house karma to be experienced. The 3rd house and its Lord are significant for journeys within one’s nation as this is, and notice that it is the eclipsed Moon that is the lord of journeys at this time. The Sun and Venus both deal with politicians, but lawmakers and these sorts are definitely under the Venus category of politicians. It just so happens to be that Venus rules over both the type of people involved (lawmakers) in the accident, and the nature of the accident itself (being in a vehicle.)

Also noteworthy is that the eclipsed Moon was in Asleesha nakshtra, a nakshatra of serpents. The Moon and serpents both have in common a quality of creeping along the ground. For example, The Moon is said to rule the types of plants that creep along, in the context of plants… like vines and English Ivy and such. Trains are definitely the most serpent like form of movement that a person can travel by and I wonder if this had something to do with Aslesha nakshatra.

To conclude, this was not a lucky moment astrologically, and even in this day and age of technology we should not neglect the proper role of Muhurta. Muhurta is called “electional astrology” in the west and is the art of finding the most harmonious and auspicious time to undertake an endeavor such as traveling. This also serves as an example of the use of Prashna techniques to determine details of a situation in the moment.

Also, here is another news clip about the crash, and towards the 5 minute mark they also start to talk about another news story related to the eclipse: Forest Fires. Several Astrologers predicted that the last August eclipse and this eclipse, both occurring in the fire sign of Leo, were likely to cause forest fire problems. Juliana Swanson is one astrologer who definitely mentioned this in writing, and I do think I mentioned this on my facebook page at some point. Forest fires have been a very serious problem over the last six months, and as they mention in this video, over the last several days they had many break out in their region of Texas.

Here is a wikipedia entry on the event:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Crozet,_Virginia_train_crash

Saturn in Sagittarius- Update “Fall from a Height” (Part 3)

December 15, 2017Uncategorizedjoel olsteen astrology, malala, saturn, sri sri ravi shankar, upadesa sutraCorey

Saturn seems to have been very busy in the sign of Sagittarius. When I first wrote about this back in 2016, I never would have guessed we would have seen so many patriarchial male role model figures take so many falls from heights during this 2.5 year period. By the time I put the 2nd one out it was seeming very clear and so I wanted to share. Now there have been many more stories in the media that correlate to this whole transit, so here is a part 3.

I want to begin by saying that these are just my observations, and I do not wish to offend anyone who has followed or learned from a guru, role model, or church leader that I mention. I am not a spiritual authority and I cannot say ultimately about some of these topics since I was not there myself. But after writing part 2, I was told of a number of other incidents that seemed to “fit the bill” of this transit of Saturn in Sagittarius and “a fall from a height”. (I thank all of you readers who shared feedback of other events.) So while I do not seek to condemn anyone myself, I do wish to write about this in order to reiterate the very important point that when Saturn and other cruel planets are transiting and rasi aspecting Sagittarius, there can be accidents or falls from heights. If gentle planets are there or aspecting, this can prevent it. And also with Sagittarius being a sign of teachers, it does seem logical that if a teacher or guru figure was not being genuine, that he would be more likely to face the negative consequences of his karma and take a fall at this time, as opposed to other times. (But in truth, each individuals chart will show the details, and a teacher could take a fall at another time because of other factors, of course. )

Joel Olsteen falling from a height – In short, as the Hurricane Harvey ripped through and laid waste to much of Houston, Texas, a leader of a megachurch in Houston refused to open the church’s doors for the safety of the people. People were outraged because he even claimed the church was flooded and yet people were taking pictures of the massive facility looking completely accessible and safe, posting them to twitter and shaming him into opening the church eventually. This man was a huge Sagittarian/role model/church leader figure for the area, and he was rightfully called out and taken down by the common folk on twitter, pointing out his hypocrisy and blatant lies. (we must remember that Saturn rules the common folk.)

(it is also worth noting as the “Lajjitavastha” aka the “shame” condition, was occurring in the sky. This )Note that the Sun was rasi aspecting with Saturn in Sag, so one more factor pushing for a fall.

This daily mail article below literally says it all in the title, although it is a ridiculously long title for an article : “How social media shamed Houston televangelist Joel Osteen into opening his dry megachurch to Hurricane Harvey evacuees after he claimed it was inaccessible and flooded”

https://www.capitalgrio.com/sites/news/1143026-joel-osteen-fails-to-address-hurricane-harvey-scandal.html

Lars Anderson Rocks the Archery World

Here is a more fun and positive example of Saturn’s transit. Sagittarius is the sign of the Archer. As we know, Saturn is the planet of great changes in life, as he moves the slowest and signifies the greatest increments of change in the flow of time. He has more lasting effects than the rest. In South India, they have a saying: “when Shani (Saturn) decides to give, no other planet can take away”. This man taught himself Archery, by sheer practice and time, and even going back into ancient texts and trying to be as true to them as possible, even if the techniques were not considered to be acceptable in the mainstream archery world. The things he learned and was able to do were not “in vogue” and so he sparked a lot of controversy and negative reactions from people. This is often the case with Shani, he has to do many of the deeds that others would deem unpleasant, and he is often wrongly looked down upon by others. He is the servant amongst the grahas, after all. This video came out within days of Shani first entering into tropical Sagittarius, in January of 2015. The youtube video below was uploaded on January 23rd, 2015. Saturn had just entered Sagittarius on December 23rd, 2014. So this is really a remarkable synchronicity. At the time of this writing, it has 44 Million views! As you will see in the video, his whole approach is “unorthodox” as is the nature of Saturn. But Saturn is the most practical and keeps things from being overly complex. Notice how simple his style is, taken from the ancient archery masters he studied. Even his dress is what I have previously described in my article Astrology and clothing, to be the “uniform of Saturn”; AKA blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Saturn rules simplicity, looking to the past, blue jeans, and the color black.

But Shani also tends to reveal to us our own failures and weaknesses. Perhaps it is this that made the archery world so outraged at this video. There were a few videos made to rebuke this mans claims and undeniable skill. So much that he actually had to make a follow up video where he does even more crazy archery stunts and clarifies his approach.

His skill is obvious. But still it may take time before the archery world shifts and adapts to this newer (but actually older) way of doing things, just as Shani is a necessary force, but is often unwelcome at first. Most people that are in the archery world are not into this guy at all, or try to act unimpressed by him for various reasons. He is very controversial. But no one can deny his authority in this area. But again, this sort of petty human behavior is common when we face someone who is way ahead of our time, as it is much easier to reject one person than to consider that they may be correct and that we have been the one who was not correct for such a long time.

Rockstar Baba with Millions of followers gets sentenced to jail

I will just leave this article here and you can read it if you want to, but it is an unpleasant topic. So dont even read this article if you are sensitive or easily bothered by unpleasanat news stories. This person was first being investigated back in 2002, and it seems during this transit his karma is finally catching up to him.

BBC Article on Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Here is a video of him, he has a large following. One article said there were riots at the court when he got sentenced.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar facing controversy over comments

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a very well known guru around the world, and got a lot of attention for some comments he made. (Again, this is not a judgemental thing here, just watching cause and effect of the planets and people. As above, so below.)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-says-malala-doesnt-deserve-nobel-prize-20160502-story.html

Malala is a powerful Saturnian individual in the world right now, and I do feel she deserves the Nobel Prize. She stood up to terrorists and was shot in the head and still somehow survived, talk about a strong Saturn. She works hard for women's education rights and education all over the world. Also, she first made her debut to most western audiences on one of the nights of Navratri, the 9 nights of the Goddess. — Malala is a powerful Saturnian individual in the world right now, and I do feel she deserves the Nobel Prize. She stood up to terrorists and was shot in the head and still somehow survived, talk about a strong Saturn. She works hard for women’s education rights and education all over the world. Also, she first made her debut to most western audiences on one of the nights of Navratri, the 9 nights of the Goddess.

In this article posted above, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar reportedly said that, when asked if he would accept a Nobel Prize if it was offered to him: “I was in the past offered the Nobel Peace Prize, but I had rejected it as I only believe in working and not in being honored for my work. We should always honor only to those who deserve it, and I am totally against honoring Malala Yousafzai with the prize and it is of no use,” he was quoted as saying in the Deccan Chronicle, a reputed Indian newspaper.

The article points it out very clearly further below: “He went on to say that Yousafzai had done nothing to merit the Nobel and that awards generally were not his concern, especially the Nobel. A quick perusal of the Art of Living Foundation’s website shows that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who is commonly conferred with the double honorific in front of his given name, has been the recipient of countless awards. They include this year’s Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor, and Mongolia’s Order of the Pole Star, that country’s highest recognition. He has earned 15 honorary doctorates, and the list of bestowed titles requires some scrolling to get through.”

I have to say that the writer of the article does make a strong point here, and it seems unnecessary to criticize Malala for her incredible good karmas she has set forth in her life.

So it seems Shani, the lord of Karma, was also displeased by this, as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar faced more bad publicity from this event than most of the publicity of his good efforts he has made, which seem to have been many. And maybe if he had a different name Shani would let it slide, but how can one criticize giving people honorary titles when they themselves have two honorary and excessively repeating titles in their own name? Saturn is not a fan of hypocrisy, or spiritual jingoism. Not in the least.

To be continued…

Saturn in Sagittarius – Update “Fall From a Height” (Part 2)

September 7, 2017astrological synchronicities, eclipse, Sagittarius, saturn, shani, solar eclipse, UncategorizedCorey

The symbol of Sagittarius is an arrow, and it is the sign of an Archer shooting towards a distant target, thus symbolizing our goals and long term purpose.

Now that Saturn has completed most of his course through the tropical rasi of Sagittarius, I felt it would be appropriate to go back and relfect on the statements I made one year hence about this placement. Read the Part 1 of this article to get caught up on what I was saying and predicting for this transit in July of 2016.

My main point was that with Sagittarius actually being the a major sign of accidents when cruel planets are in it, we need to watch out for this transit of Saturn through it. Sagittarius is the sign of our ideals, goals, our culture, philosophy, and how we aim for our goals. It is an archer aiming at a target, afterall. But not all goals and aims that man has had have been healthy or good for the world. When this rasi is afflicted in a birthchart, and no other gentle planets help it, the person can have very unrealistic goals and very unhealthy or unwise ways of approaching them. It is only when Sagittarius rasi is strong and well manifested that one can naturally set healthy and ideal goals and actually go about achieving them relatively easily. Now we can see why Jaimini would warn us about Sagittarius rasi, saying “while proceeding, a fall from a height”. The ninth sign has to do with how we proceed down the path of our life as it unfolds, hence it rule the philosophy we approach life with, as one example of this.

I know that this may seem very unusual and most Astrology teachings do not share this idea about Sagittarius. It is normally a sign that is associated more with jovial, lucky, positive things. But test it out for yourself if you do not believe me. Saturn crossing Sagittarius has been a great example of how easily a “fall from a height” can occur when we do not have healthy and realistic ideals and approach our goals wisely.

Continuing from Part 1:

#6: Doreen Virtue Converts To Christianity, Sparks Debate – A well known New Age teacher named Doreen Virtue who has written over 50 different new age books, made oracle cards, angel cards, tarot cards, etc. She is very well known, I have seen her cards before. She released a video on the day of the solar eclipse (No doubt that this influence was important here too, not just Saturn) publicly denouncing fortune telling and card reading and all of the sort. Read the above article for more information, but many people are lifelong followers of her, and feel very betrayed. She is a Sagittarius/Guru type figure, as it is the sign of teachers, gurus, and guides. This is definitely a fall from a height for many of her followers who do not share her shift in opinion, and now feel abandoned, being told even to burn some of the books that she herself wrote.

#7: Bill Cosby’s fall from a height – read the timeline that clearly shows how it was not until just one or two months of Saturn’s ingress into Sagittarius (September of 2014) that the avalanche of accusations against Bill Cosby resurfaced (Nov 2014) after years of silence. Bill Cosby is an Aries rising, ruled by Mars, and it is worth mentioning that the only enemy of Mars is the planet of the Media, and comedians (Mercury). Note how the article speaks of the “joke heard round the world”, and how it was a comedian that in many ways is responsible for bringing it all back to light. Further note that his lawyer has stated that he is legally blind now and “living in his own perpetual hell”. According to an old book in India about Karma and diseases that result from karma, the disease of blindness can be caused by having looked at other peoples wives too much in past lives. In Many ways Cosby fits this Sagittarius situation well as it is also a sign of the parents, as the parents are major guides in our life and this is the sign of guides. As a role model for America, it seems Saturn could no longer allow for him to hold that position anymore and brought about this fall.

#8 More lawsuits and accusations against a guru – This one is creepy and very similar to the Bikram Yoga lawsuit that was covered in part 1. A swami has had several lawsuits filed against him for sexual misconduct. This article states that he has even been caught on video, but has been able to manage to delay the court hearings for some time. According to this article, he even makes disciples sign non-disclosure agreements about the “tantric” practices that are done. It seems like a pretty strong case has been made. Very creepy.

#9 Pretty much the entire situation with the United States Election of 2016. I mean talk about a fall from a height. I dont really need an article to share, because everyone knows about this. It started with Bernie having the primaries rigged against him and having his nomination stolen away from him. Most people couldn’t really picture him winning though, myself included. No one actually liked Hillary Clinton at all really, but millions rallied to her just because? The whole situation was a mess, yet everyone was so confident that Hillary would win that news sites were giving Trump only 1% (remember, afflicted Sagittarius rasi can translate to over optimism, over confidence, confidence that is unfounded. This is the perfect setup for a fall).

No one expected Trump to win, and so him winning was a major fall from a height for most Americans.

What is the lesson to be learned here? (Not a lucky time for gurus and teachers?)

Probably more than one, but my take away is to always pay attention to the Sagittarius rasi and when cruel planets afflict it, and no gentle planets support it, watch out for an accident or fall from a height. If you have these placements in your chart, be more careful about your goals and ideals and make sure you do not have unhealthy, or fanatical beliefs about a thing. We can get ourselves and others into trouble when we are too sure that we are right. Most of the time it seems fanaticism only occurs when our faith begins to flicker anyway. If you feel you need to prove your beliefs or philosophy to someone, you still are probably not living it enough. Be realistic at least for the remaining transit. Have some detachment if you still have not met your long term goals.

May Ganesha smile upon us as we go towards the goal!

Lady Luck Aka Lady Laxmi (Luckshmi)

July 16, 2017Uncategorized, venus, Venus exaltedlady luck, laxmi, shukraCorey

The readers of this site are already perhaps familiar with the astrological origins of many phrases and words in modern culture, if not, see this previous post on Astrology and etymology.

This is an addendum to that, with respect to the fascinating “Lady Luck” icon of western culture, and how it is essentially another incarnation of Lady Laxmi of Vedic culture, the deity of Venus. If you enjoy this vid, give it a like and subscribe 🙂

What Grahas Get One Involved in Astrology?

May 28, 20178th house, Atmakaraka, deities, grahas, jupiter, Uncategorized, venusketu, shukraCorey

I am often asked what planets get one involved in being an Astrologer themselves. It is an understandable question since most people studying astrology would naturally want to see if it that is indicated in their own horoscopes. When I was reading, for the longest time there was a gap in my understanding when it came to this question. Most of the books available state that Mercury is important for being an astrologer and that you have to have a good Mercury to do astrology and to convey what is shown in the chart to the individual. But there must be more to it than that, since a good Mercury can also make one many other things, like a lawyer, a bookkeeper, or an artisan for example. What else is involved?

First, I want to define an Astrologer not as one who necessarily makes a living off of it, or is super amazing at it, or famous, or whatever, but as one who has devoted a great portion/majority of their life and time to the study and practice of Astrology. A person could be a nurse by trade and in the sense of what pays the bills, but in another sense, they are an Astrologer if they are constantly contemplating astrology all day at the hospital while working, and get home and study and practice it at night. This should be clear first.

And that is the thing with Astrology, it is a very thoughtful craft. So while I do agree that Mercury is very helpful and important for a person to be able to convey the chart to an individual, there is more involved than that. Mercury represents skills and our aptitude overall. In this manner, a great Mercury can really make one great at most things. So naturally that can carry over to studying Jyotish, and Mercury loves to study. But there must be some desire to study the heavens, to contemplate, to find symbolic meaning in life, to be philosophical and so forth. Mercury alone is not really the planet that is going to always do that. Mercury is a vaishya, the Merchant mentality (There are 4 castes or mentalities in human nature according to Vedic philosophy, each one offering unique skills and abilities). To really be a counselor, an advisor, a guide that has the best interest of the individual at heart, one must have other factors going on to indicate that. Mercury alone is a businessman and sometimes even a trickster, it just depends. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be tricked when I go to get advice.

So the main planets you really need to see involved in a person’s makeup are the philosophical and contemplative planets, the Brahmin mentality. Those planets are Venus and Jupiter. They are the Brahmins of the zodiac, which means most devoted to knowledge and spirituality, to learning, educating, etc. These planets suggest a desire for refinement in life as well. Ketu is also involved in making one an Astrologer. So when it comes down to it, having these three planets involved heavily in your chart, and connecting to the self-factors such as Atmakaraka, lagnesh, swamsha, and pada, you often find these people to be involved in Astrology at some point in their life. (Look for these planets in the svamsa or 10th from it, see my previous posts for more info on the svamsa).

Then you often find Mercury connecting to these planets in some way, via conjunction or rasi aspect, or ruling them, especially if they are going to make a business out of it. Mercury rules business as well as curiousity, so they may just talk about it a lot if the business isnt indicated by other factors in the chart. This you will really find happening a lot! Jupiter, Venus, or Ketu in the lagna, or 10th, or with the Lagna lord is very, very common.

Now you have the ingredients as far as planets go. But to be more precise, we need to see the 8th house connected to Ketu to make one an Astrologer, at least if they are going to spend a large portion of life involved in it. One example I can think of is the Lord of Ketu being in the 8th, another is Ketu simply being in the 8th, another is with the 8th Lord and Ketu rasi aspecting each other, and still one more example I can think of has the 8th lord conjunct ketu.

If all these factors come together you will often see an Astrologer or someone who is involved somehow in dealing with the Soul’s journey and its many lives. There is more to determining any career than this but now you have the basic ingredients to find if one is going to be an Astrologer from the birth chart.

Oh and one more thing, a predictive Astrologer is often shown more by Venus. A psychological astrologer or more of a spiritual advisor type of astrologer can be shown by Jupiter. Venus is the Guru to the Asuras, the worldly forces of materialization and the senses. Naturally, Venusians take after this quality and tend to give great guidance to people for worldly matters. Jupiter is the Guru to the Devas, the heavenly forces of consciousness, ideas, and inner life. Therefore, Jupiterian Astrologers will perhaps not be as inclined to predict but will give great spiritual counsel about where you are and the type of person you are, your dharma. The best Astrologers tend to have both planets involved so they can do both of course. But this is worth noting as there are so many types of astrologers and there are many uses for this craft. So go to a venusian astrologer if you need help with getting a new car. Go to a jupiterian astrologer to learn a great mantra to meditate upon. Or hopefully, with the grace of God, you will find one who can do both 😉

Financial Astrology

February 28, 201711th house, 2nd house, 4th house, 8th house, financial astrology, moon, Uncategorized, wealth, yogasCorey

J. P. Morgan had a Jupiter-Mars conjunction in his chart, one of the other classic yogas for wealth and prosperity. (I think the exclamation mark was embelished, most quotes dont have that. But I keep this because it shows his intimidating presence which can also be noticeable when a Jupiter-Mars conjunction occurs, especially in Leo, like he had it.)

Astrology can reveal an amazing amount of detail about our financial karma. It can tell us so much that it actually was very confusing to me for a long time, trying to sort it all out….That is an ongoing process, of course, but here are some basic principles that I have found to work very well in helping one to see money in the chart. There is so much more that could be said here but for brevity’s sake and without wanting to create further confusion, this should be a good lesson or review.

{{{NOTE:::: Do not expect to be able to predict wealth in a chart without years and years of serious and devoted research. This post is for the devoted student of astrology, not for someone who is trying to quickly find a secret way to get money from just a few hours of studying of their own chart. That is what we call “barking up the wrong tree”. That approach usually creates more bad karma. It would save that person much time and money to just hire a professional to assist them with that, just like anything else we are not very experienced with…even more so with a thing that is very difficult to do, or not even believed to be possible, depending on who you ask.}}}

Planets: When it comes to planets, the Moon, Jupiter, and Venus are very important for wealth. I would say the Moon is most important. All planets can give wealth if they are ruling one of the houses mentioned below, however. The Moon represents our ability to have prosperity flow through our lives and that is why it is the most important. When it comes to land, which is also a source of wealth, Mars is the key planet. Mars rules property, and Ketu actually is a secondary factor that can indicate property as well. (Ketu means “flag” in Sanskrit, symbolizing conquered territory, so we can easily see the connection. Mars likewise rules forts and strongholds as well.)

Another useful point is that if cruel planets are occupying the angles, one is more likely to earn through property or working the earth in some way. If gentle planets occupy them, one tends to make money more through goods and services.

Yogas: You have to check for wealth yogas always. There are a lot of lunar yogas that grant prosperity to a person even if other parts of the chart are denying it. If overlooked, much of the chart will not make sense compared to the real life experience of the person. Some of these yogas are Chandra yoga, Gaja Kesari Yoga, Anapha, Sunapha, Durudhara, Adhi yoga, etc.

Vargas: The important vargas are the Rasi, the Hora, the Chaturthamsha, the Khavedamsa, and the Shastiamsa, in my experience.

HOUSES:

The 2nd house: This is the house of wealth, and deals with the immediate resources one has at their disposal. It deals with liquid wealth and cash that we use to provide for ourselves and those we are responsible for.

4th house: This is the house of deposits and fortune. So this is when you have wealth and do not immediately need to spend it on responsibilities and so can deposit it in the bank, or invest it into something more concrete and fixed. This is also the house of property, vehicles, orchards and other fixed assets.

5th house: The 5th is the house of speculation and all kinds of speculative investments. Its the house of predicting the future. As 2nd from the 4th, it shows the growth, and the wealth that comes out of what one just deposited at the 4th house. Hence this is the house of investment gains. This is a major house for playing the stock market or things like that.

6th house: This is the house of service, so it tends to make one have to do more tedious work, more servant like, manual labor type of work. This is the house of debts and obstacles, the opposite of a good win win trade for both parties.

7th house: This is the actual house of business and trade, which is not well known. The seventh house is the buyer if you are trying to sell, or the seller if you are trying to buy.

8th house: Not as important but is the 2nd from the 7th house (others) and so represents other people’s resources and cash. This house is still worthwhile to consider but has more to do with other people’s money than your own. It also can give inheritances, and lottery winnings or surprise windfalls of cash when activated in positive ways.

11th house: This is the house of your actual paycheck. Your income, your gains. So when you get paid your 11th house is activated. Notice that the 2nd house of wealth is the 4th from the 11th. As said above, the 4th rules “deposits”. So the 2nd house is where you deposit or cash your paycheck at the bank and deposit it into your bank account. Then when you pay your bills and get your groceries, what is left over you may decide to invest or transfer to a savings account, or buy a new bike. That would be your 4th house getting activated, causing you to get a fixed asset or deposit the money for something of that sort later on.

12th house: This is the house of expenses of all kinds. Planets in the 12th cause us to spend more money or time on a thing.

With this we can hopefully see that it is not just one area of the chart that shows wealth potential. In my experience, it is again reading and analyzing the entire chart as a whole that must be done before we start to see a picture of what the financial situation will be like.

Jupiter and Pranayam

January 22, 2017Cancer, grahas, jagrat, jiva, jupiter, Uncategorizedbrahmin, Guru, jeeva, Jupiter exalted, karka, pranayamaCorey

It sure is interesting that the planet Jupiter, commonly called “Guru”, is exalted in the sign of Cancer. Guru means “heavy” (read more about this name here). This implies that Jupiter is the planet that is the most heavy with life experience or knowledge. Of all the different yogic practices and paths that are available to take, a competent Guru can discern, one way or the other, what path and practices are best for the particular person in question. Because each person is different, each path will be a little bit different. Just like some people make a better runner than a swimmer, it is the same with spiritual paths.

One of the things that Gurus frequently advise for most serious aspirants are pranayama practices. Pranayama practices are essentially breathing exercises and techniques that are used to expand consciousness and awareness. Everyone knows that states of mind relate to our breathing…but often we leave it at that. The Yogis took it much further and fully explored the relationship between breath, life-force, and awareness. [Fun Fact: The word “Pranayama” itself comes from the Sanskrit “Pran” which means “life-force”. Pran, or Prana, is similar to “Chi”, or “Qi” in Chinese thought, and to “Ka” in Egyptian philosophy. Yama means “restraint” or “suppression”, and many of you may know that Yama is also the name of the God of death. The single letter “a” means “not” in Sanskrit. Now you can fully understand the word Pranayama, as “Life-force Not Restrained”, in other words, “Life-force Expansion”. Does that make sense? ]

Pranayama is, therefore, a practice that slowly infuses the body with tremendous amounts of life force energy, purifying all of the bodies subtle energetic channels and pathways (nadis), in turn leading to more rapid awakening and clarifying of awareness. There is of course much more to it than that, but this should explain the concept sufficiently for now. It really is a great practice. In my opinion, we should learn it from people in person, one on one, and not try to practice it straight from books, which I think are great but should be used more as a reference. (There are different opinions on this, and as I said above, everyone’s path is different. I am not making a blanket rule here.)

So now we are all on the same page about pranayama and why Gurus tend to advise it so often. Now, when we look at the exaltation and debilitation signs for the planets, Jupiter may pop out at us. Notice that Jupiter, the planet of Gurus and wisdom, is exalted (meaning in its strongest possible sign) in the sign of Cancer, the sign of the breath. Cancer is the sign of the rhythm of life, the waxing and waning of the Moon, the inhalation and exhalation of the breath, and the high and low tides that regulate the growth of life on Earth. This clearly shows that the Guru is most “exalted”, or most awakened through the Cancerian environment of the breath. Jupiter is our wisdom, so another way to see this is that our wisdom is most exalted (able to produce fortunate results) through the faculty of breath expansion (aka “ayama”- non-suppression, in other words, expansion).

It should be no wonder now why the Guru so often recommends pranayama, or breath (Cancer) expansion (Jupiter). If you follow me, the very term “breath expansion” is a synonym for a healthy Jupiter in Cancer. This is clear “astro-logic” for why breathing exercises are so important for spiritual awakening. Cancer is a brahmin rashi as well, and a sattvic one at that. Only Pisces and Cancer are both sattvic brahmin signs, which means they are signs most naturally inclined towards spirituality and seeking liberation (moksha). These qualities also show how Cancer is connected to spiritual development. Jupiter will only be in Cancer 1/12th of the time, so most people are not born with this blessing innately. But if we practice pranayama every day, it is like we are exercising the karmic muscle that would make our Jupiter exalted, or at least strengthen it, which is why pranayama is such a great remedial measure as well. When we strengthen Jupiter, we find more grace in life. It is said that a strong Jupiter can remove 100 blemishes from a chart. I do not think this is because of some magical rule, I think it is because a strong Jupiter will use wisdom and knowledge to make life better and to avoid 100 other mistakes that easily happen to a person who is not behaving wisely. And of course, a really strong Jupiter will use Pranayam as well.

Astrology and Clothing

September 17, 2016jataka parijata, saturn, Uncategorized, venusastrology and clothing, BPHS, clothing, saturn and black color, venus styleCorey

Venus is the planet that represents our style and fashion. It is the brightest light in the night sky, and can even be seen at daytime if one knows where to look. This is why it rules things that brightly appeal to us like beauty, luxury, fashion, art, and color.

The clothes that we wear can say a lot about our personality. Perhaps this is why some of the ancient texts on Vedic Astrology discuss and attribute different types of clothing to different planets. This is really interesting because a lot of it I have still found applicable to the way people dress in modern times.

We know that Venus rules clothing and fashion. I would even also say our sense of style as well. Within that context of the Venusian domain of clothing, there are many categories of clothes. Some people like to wear brand new clothes, others like old or used clothes from a goodwill store. Some like colorful stuff, others not so much. Why is that? Astrology gives insights into all kinds of detailed little things, which is what makes it so amazing, in my opinion. Here is a list of some of the connections I have found to hold true, that I have learned from the ancient writings of India.

Sun: Jataka Parijata 2.22, gives “Thick/Coarse” clothes for the Sun. Some solar people (such as Leo lagna/ascendants, those with the Sun exalted, or as the Atmakaraka, or a Leo Swamsha) may like heavier and coarser clothing that is durable and can handle some consistent use. The Sun is the most consistent planet and it likes fabrics and items that are strong and reliable. It needs garments that can be worn day in and day out. The Sun is the King after all, and has a job to do. Life is stressful enough as it is without our pants ripping. One other thing about the Sun and its sign Leo, is Gold. Solar people often love to have some Gold or bright yellow worn in some fashion or another and I have found this to be very true with people I know. Or some type of element to their fashion and dress will have a royal or dignified quality to it, we could say. Also, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS for short) gives “red linens” for the Sun. Red is also a powerful color, and Solar people may wear more red for this reason as well.

Moon: The Moon is associated with white linens in BPHS, and that just makes sense in every way as the Moon is so bright and white in the night sky. This is true in practice, people who have strong moons will look very good in white. They often have a whiter complexion then the rest of their family as well. But what I notice to be even more true, is what Jataka Parijata states about the Moon ruling over “pleasingly new garments”. The Moon seems to love brand new clothes! I find that people in my life who have a strong Moon will be more of the type of person to just want to buy a new pack of white t-shirts; even though they have plenty already that they could wear. They will buy new shoes more frequently than most. This is logical because the Moon travels the fastest, and returns to its natal place every month. So every month the Moon is “new”, and maybe that has to do with its association with new things.

Mars: Jataka Parijata states that Mars rules “singed” or burned clothes. BPHS states that Mars is “of torn form” and we know he is a very active planet. He has the most velocity of any planet in our solar system. Probably due to this, Mars-like people will often have lots of tears and rips in their clothing (especially if Mars rules the 2nd house). They are just going, going, going, and don’t have time to stop and stitch up every little rip in their clothes. I see this quite often. Mars is also said to wear red garments in BPHS and this is logical, because Mars is the red planet. He can also give a reddish hue to the skin, or eyes, or whatever part of the body he aspects or is residing in by sign and house. Mars people usually have a style that is a bit rugged and may have some metal, or chains in their attire. Perhaps they have a tattoo if Rahu also influences their body. Mars rules scorpio, a feminine sign, and the more lusty aspects of sexuality. It is interesting too, because of this, that there is this sort of portrayal in pop culture about a “woman in red” who usually seems overly powerful and sexual. Hollywood movies tend to use that look a lot to portray the super seductive woman character. (Not saying this is a great portrayal at all, just noting the correlation to archetypes of consciousness)

Mercury: Mercury is associated with dark linens and clothes that are washed, but not new. It is similar to the Moon, but not quite. Mercury is the son of the Moon, after all. Mercurial people can be a little more nit picky about washing things, and are not as likely to wear something if it is a little dirty but still wearable. They are the types who might wash a towel just because it fell on the floor for a second, when their other roommate would just use it anyway. Mercury people also are very good about how well clothes fit them, and rarely get caught wearing clothes that are just a bit too big or small, or anything like that. He is said to be “most perfectly formed”, and because of this, he is more of the type of person to have a nice clean and well put together look overall, whatever that look may be. Everything will be in right proportions and in their right place. Mercurial people can look good in blue, and dark colors, as well.

Jupiter: Jupiter is said to dress in yellow linens. Yellow is a color of nobility, and of the pure conscious aspect of Spirit. The Sun, the most perfect symbol of the absolute God that can be found in this creation, is the color yellow, as seen from human eyes. Ayurvedic color theory goes on to say that even seeing the color yellow is very good for us and directs our energy up into the higher chakras more easily. This fits nicely with Jupiter’s M.O. (short for modus operandi, one’s way of going about things, one’s method of working) of being the guide or guru to direct people back to their higher nature. Yellow is also the color of the rasi Leo, the sign of the Lion. Jupiter is “delighted” when in this sign, and does well here. Its also common with people who have Jupiter in the 1st house (the house of the head and hair) to have a little bit of yellow/blonde color in their hair, which goes along nicely with this yellow association. Jataka Parijata states that Jupiter wears “intermediate” garments, meaning average, and not brand new or overly worn out. Jupiter people tend to dress somewhat averagely for their culture, and don’t tend to make a show of their dress. But they will be the types that look good with a normal shirt and khakis type of look. Also, the color orange is related to Sagittarius, which is ruled by Jupiter. So there may be a connection here as well with respect to members of the Swami order wearing dark orange robes. The Swami order is very much a Jupiterian type of organization, being dedicated to dharma. The dark orange makes it more subdued and more average…. not standing out so much, which seems to fit this description as well.

Venus: Venus rules clothing and fashion overall, and so has the most freedom to explore and experiment. Venusian types tend to have more clothes than most people, as an example. They wont just have one pair of shoes, or two, but will have a closet full. Venus loves color and matching and all of that, and takes time for this sort of thing. A Mars type of person just doesnt have time for this sort of thing, which is why he is still wearing those ripped up jeans that look like he has been sliding into first base at a baseball field for hours on end….he should have thrown them away years ago. Venus rules the best quality in all things, and is no different with clothing. These people will pay extra for higher quality fabrics. Venus is said to wear “durable” clothing, again, implying that Venus seeks the higher quality in all things, and doesn’t care for a pair of clothes that wont last more than a few occasions. Venus loves color, but also loves being natural, so unless Venus is afflicted by Rahu, the person will like natural dyes over synthetic, and will like natural types of colors over the more synthetic, bright, or neon types of colors. Truly strong Venus women will not overdo it on makeup, as an example. All well made clothing is suitable for Venus to wear, really. Venus rules Taurus, which is considered to be the color white. Venus is mythologically described as wearing white. Venus also rules Libra, which is thought by many to be the color green. Because of this, Venusian types may also have an affinity for green and white colored clothing.

Saturn: Saturn is said to wear “conspicuous” garments, meaning clothes that stand out and are clearly noticeable and attract attention. Saturn is very much a loner and an outcaste of society. Saturn deals with making the person become a true individual, and as such, tends to make one dress in a way that makes them stand out more as an individual as well. Overly dark, gothic looks are usually symptomatic of an oppressive Saturn influence of some sort. Saturn wears black and black is a very noticeable color. It denotes authority as well, and Saturn (as well as his Father, the Sun) stands for authority. Note how Judges wear black in courtrooms. Courts are ruled by Libra, and what planet is exalted there? Saturn. Wearing all black is like a symbolic gesture that nobody is above the authority of this judge of the courtroom/libra realm. With all this having been said, I also notice people with a strong Saturn may also be inclined to wear super normal clothes, which is not really in line with the “conspicuous” thing, I admit. A strong Saturn person may have a lot of humility, and tends to be more indifferent to their own self, and this may have to do with some Saturnian types just wearing say a black shirt and blue jeans, day in and day out for almost the entirety of their life. Blue jeans are an incredibly Saturnian type of clothing, as the book Light on Life, by Robert Svoboda and Hart deFouw, has already noted. So we could say that with Saturn’s influence dominating your style of dress, you would either dress very conspicuously, or very mundanely, being quite indifferent to your clothing. Another possibility is just wearing clothes that are somewhat outdated to the time, which sort of make one standout as well. (Ex: The grunge music movement and flannel)

Rahu: Rahu is said to wear “conspicuously patched garments”. Rahu is just like Saturn but its garments are more patched together, maybe with different colors, or like how you see people putting patches of musicians and bands they like all over there clothes, which makes them standout more in society, which is Rahu’s goal after all…to be a person on the fringe of society, a pioneer, an outcaste, someone who is not completely fitting into the box of their culture or place and time. Rahu is the most synthetic or unnatural planet and in this case, if its influencing our sense of style by maybe being with our Venus, or in the 1st or 7th, then we will be more likely to want to use lots of makeup, all kinds of crazy chemically based beauty products, or just be more excessive with whatever look we are trying to pull off. Also I would put tattoos under Rahu, as they are basically a “conspicuous patch” that we put on our body in a permanent fashion. You will also notice people get quite addicted to tattoos and never seem to be content with the ones that they already have. It is always “Next month I am gonna get this whole part of my arm done like this”. It is much less likely to hear “I am so happy with the tattoos I got ten years ago, I have no desire for more.”. Rahu shows where we will be excessive usually, so that fits as well.

Ketu: Ketu is said to wear clothes that are “torn and joined”. This means any type of clothing that is torn or ripped but has been sewed back together and made useful again. This is so cool because Ketu rules our past life karmas more than any other planet. So its basically saying Ketu likes the clothes he has already created karmas with from the past, and just wants to fix those and keep them going, rather than seek new clothes. Seeking new clothes is like looking to the future and Ketu is not about the future, but the past. You will notice Ketu people tend to be much more focused on the past than most people. Ketu in our chart is that place where we felt most secure in past lives, and so we seek that security naturally in this life as well, but not always is it so rewarding or quite the same as we thought it would be. Ketu often shows where we need to let go of and not be so attached to, and so its funny that its influence also tends to have a quality of not even wanting to let go of the old clothes we have worn, but wants to sew them back together and keep using them! Also because Ketu acts like Mars, and Mars rules tears and rips, this makes sense from that angle as well.

Conclusion: Is it not very fascinating how the nine grahas have their influence on even something as minute as our fashion sense? If you have any correlations that you have noticed about the planets and their manner of dress, please feel free to comment below.

Saturn in Sagittarius – “A fall from a height”

July 12, 2016Jaimini, Sagittarius, saturn, UncategorizedKrura, Sag, saturn, Saturn in sagittarius, saturn transiting sagittariusCorey

In the Jaimini techniques, having the Atmakaraka fall in Sagitarrius in the navamsa chart gives one a lifelong theme of Sagittarian qualities. Jaimini describes this swamsha in a few short words, “In Sagittarius, while proceeding, a fall from a height”. This conveys the idea that Sag is not just a sign of aiming for the goal, but also the sign of missing the goal too! How can it be both? Well, it simply depends on what is happening to the Sagittarius rasi, whether the person hits the mark they were shooting for, or whether they miss the mark. If cruel planets (Saturn, Mars, Rahu, or Sun particularly) aspect or are in the rasi, then Sagittarius leans towards the falls from heights as described above. But only then is it a sign of falling from heights. If no cruel planets aspect or are in Sag, then the person is more likely to attain the goal they pursue. The worse the dignity of the cruel planet, the worse the fall from the height is. Gentle planets in Sagittarius help the person reach their goals in better ways and more easily. (Often both gentle and cruel planets are aspecting, and the situation is more mixed.)

We can see how true this is by observing the mundane current events and seeing how many “falls from heights” have occurred since the onset of Saturn’s transit through Sagittarius. It’s an especially challenging transit because Rahu and Ketu are also rasi aspecting Sag, and have been since around last November (2015). Of course, falls from heights will occur all the time in a world as big as ours, but there has been a noticeable increase of events that seem symptomatic of an afflicted and overconfident Sagittarius rasi. With Saturn currently transiting this place, it is a time to be cautious and have humility and patience with approaching our goals and with our ideals (the things Sag represents) rather than rashly or impulsively think our ideals and beliefs are correct about a certain matter…only to charge into it and fail miserably, hence the fall from the height.

Sagittarius is the sign of one’s higher ideals and beliefs, even one’s religion or sense of dharma. We can see how currently in mundane affairs, there is quite a lot of strife about how the world should be working, how the law should work (Sag is the sign of Law as well), how kshatriyas should conduct themselves (Sag is a fire sign, fire signs are signs of kshatriyas aka the warrior/leader caste…think about police and government and all the corruption that has come up in that caste/career field.). Everyone seems to know and be so confident that their philosophy is the right one for everyone and for the world. This naturally sets one up for a fall or an accident of some kind when one’s inner ideals meet with the harsh reality of the real world, which is Saturn’s domain. So with this transit, it is not a time to be too pushy with one’s ideals, religious beliefs, or simply with one’s expectations of how the world should be. It is much better to have a sense of detachment from one’s beliefs and ideals at this time. To be cautious and patient with approaching our goals is much wiser.

Here are some examples of “falls from heights” that I have observed since the onset of this 2.5-year transit. I have compiled them on my Eye of the Veda facebook page as well which can be seen here.

NOTE: These are upsetting situations, and I do not mean to make light of them. I only share this information here for the wellbeing of all people, that we may learn from these examples and potentially be able to better guide clients that come to us with this information.

Hot Yoga founder ordered to pay out millions – Many people already knew about this in the yoga community, but it seems that the founder of the Hot Yoga studios, Bikram Chowdury, was ordered to pay millions in compensatory damage over sexual assault/rape cases. It is interesting that allegations had come up about this for a while but the fall didn’t occur until this period.

Tony Robbins hot coal walk injures dozens. – As we know, Sag is also the sign of Gurus and teachers, and as a well-known self-help guru, Tony Robbins would fall under this category. It seems he may have been a bit overoptimistic about the outcome of his students walking on hot coals to overcome their fears.

Woman falls to death while hiking in Grand Canyon – This is a tragic story. This transit can also speak to actual dangerous falls that one has. Sagittarius is a big sign of accidents when cruel planets are in or rasi aspecting. It seems just shortly after posting a beautiful photo to instagram, while hiking down the Grand Canyon, A woman fell and died. This may not have had anything to do with one’s beliefs or being overconfident, but it is rare that this happens for people so I included it here. This was on July 12th.

Man falls to death at Machu Picchu – Another tragic story of a man who recently fell off an edge of Machu Picchu and died. Again, it is rare that anyone ever falls to their death at a park or monument, and so two in the last month is quite a “coincidence”. This was on July 1st. Within 12 days of the aforementioned fall.

China Confirms Its Space Station is Falling Back to Earth – This is something that has been suspected for some time apparently but is official now. The space station is expected to fall somewhere on Earth sometime late in 2017. This is interesting from a mundane astrology perspective, as Saturn in Sagittarius has been having the rasi-aspect of Rahu in Virgo. Rahu represents new and innovative technology, and rasi aspects show things being concretely tied together. So Rahu’s rasi aspect does support the possibility of falls from heights being concretely connected to new and innovative sciences or technologies. This is why this space station falling to Earth seems to fit so nicely from an astrological point of view. In a general sense, I have noticed a trend of many articles coming out in the last year talking about how some scientific ideas may be flawed and may need to be revisited in a new way, and this would also speak to Saturn in Sagittarius. People seem to be more aware of the limits of seeing things from just one viewpoint.

These are just a few examples, hopefully, there won’t be any more to share during this transit, but if I see some more I may add them to this list.

In the meantime, if you are out hiking on a cliff, please be extra careful.

The Atmakaraka and the Navamsa Part 2

July 6, 2016aquarius, astrology, Atmakaraka, Capricorn, capricorn swamsa, dharma, Jaimini, Libra, Pisces, pisces swamsa, Rasi aspects, Sagittarius, Scorpio, UncategorizedAtmakaraka, d9, jaimini, svamsa, swamsa, SwamshaCorey

The Jaimini system is a solar, and rasi based system, emphasizing rasi aspects over planetary aspects, and rasi dasas over planetary dasas. As such it is useful for more objective data such as the career a person will have. The Parashara system works beautifully together with it, but is more Lunar and Nakshatra based and is therefore more subjective. We could then see how one feels about their career and how happy one is with it, from this system. — The Jaimini system is a solar, and rasi based system, emphasizing rasi aspects over planetary aspects, and rasi dasas over planetary dasas. As such it is useful for more objective data such as the career a person will have. The Parashara system works beautifully alongside it, but is for different things. It is more Lunar and Nakshatra based and is therefore more subjective. We could then see how one feels about their career and how satisfied they are from this system.

We now begin where we left off in describing the different effects of the Atmakaraka falling in each of the twelve signs of the navamsa chart. This is called the “Swamsha” and has a large bearing on the nature and dharma of a person as described in part 1.

Libra: With a Libra Swamsha, the native has a life marked by trade and relationships. Libra is the sign of trade, it is symbolized as a balancing scale, which implies balancing as well as decision making and “weighing the options”. Libras can make some of the best businessmen if that is what the rest of the chart is pointing towards. Libra is also the sign of relationships, (which involve a lot of trading) as well as the public. Libra has a keen understanding of society and the social side of life. A strong and healthy Libra swamsha is able to relate to the world in such a way that it may not have much itself, but it trades what it does have so wisely and appropriately that it ends up with much more than most. Afflicted Libra swamshas may have to work harder at this, and diplomacy in general. They may have to work on making better decisions and seeing what others have to offer. Prince, the musician, has Saturn as the Atmakaraka and falling in Libra in the navamsa chart, and is a great example of a strong Libra swamsha. He ended up with a very fulfilled life. (His chart is really strong overall though as well, to be fair, and this is not the only reason for his success.)

Scorpio: Scorpio swamsha is a very fascinating one. They can be very extreme individuals, with whatever they do in life. Scorpio is a fixed rasi after all, so it can be very devoted and fixed on what it focuses on as being worthwhile. Scorpio swamsha is a person who is working on their vulnerabilities essentially. They are without a doubt going to face more emotional issues that bring up their vulnerable places because they are meant to battle through those issues. They often have difficult issues come up in the early family life, or a separation from the mother of some sort is also common. Or the Mother of the native may be there but less comforting than the average mother, etc. They have to learn to fight so much harder for everything that they get than the average individual, and this can lead to both positive and negative extremes. Paramahansa Yogananda is a very positive example of taking this energy and the death of his Mother in his early life to galvanize him to seek the Divine Mother with great ardor. Adolf Hitler is another example of a swamsha in scorpio, on the other more negative end of the spectrum. He suffered in a household where his Father abused his Mother and there was nothing he was able to do about it, likely leading him to have a hateful approach towards life in general. If the rest of the chart also supports it, these swamshas can make great spiritual progress in life, or can have a life that involves the occult or hidden side of life somehow. I have noted that two of the greatest Astrologers I have found in my life are Scorpio Swamshas. They seem to have learned to better deal with the troubles of life from their understanding of the somewhat hidden forces in life, such as the planets.

Sagittarius: Sagittarius swamsha, when aspected by malefics, is actually a sign of accidents and falls from heights. This was surprising to me, when I learned this. Most people paint Sag as this really lucky and joyful sign, and if not blemished than that often is the case. Sagittarius is the sign of the bowman, the archer. It symbolizes seeing the goal and pursuing it. But if there are malefics aspecting (rasi aspecting, we are talking about here) then the Bowman misses his mark, essentially. If all benefic planets are associated with Sagittarius then the person is likely to find grace from accidents and such, but this is rarely the case. In that case, the person may even work around accidents but still end up being okay for the most part, such as being a fireman or something of that sort. If cruel planets are aspecting, these people need to be cautioned to be more realistic with their goals and not expect things to work out easily on the first try. This can often be the case too, because Sagittarius is a sign of being overly optimistic; overconfident.

Capricorn: Capricorn is a very fascinating swamsha. It can make one involved in aquatic animals, particularly crocodiles and alligators. Capricorn itself is the sign of crocodiles and all aquatic beasts. Capricorn swamsha also makes “villages”, as Jaimini puts it, an important karmic factor. Sometimes these people always feel like they have to leave the home town or village that they grew up in to make it in the world and be successful. Often they are right as well. This is because Capricorn is about as far away as it gets from the signs of royalty and success, the prime real estate of the zodiac. That would be Cancer and Leo, the signs of the King and Queen; the summertime when all is plentiful. Capricorn is opposite of those signs and rasi drishtis them (dhristi is the word for aspect in Jyotish, literally meaning “sight” or “glance”. This means that Capricorn literally “sees” the Leo rasi), wishing it could have what they seem to have. This is also part of why Capricorn is a very driven and ambitious sign. They often dont feel very supported in their home towns and therefore move away. Capricorn is also a sign of tumors, and cancer is more likely to be the thing to take out this person, so they need to get themselves checked out more regularly for that sort of thing as they age. Capricorn is also a sign of Kapha, and stagnation, like the swamps and alligators and crocs that it also rules. Jaimini also states for capricorn swamsha, “Things flying in the air”, which is very mysterious and intriguing. One interesting thing is I have noticed people who are pilots or involved in flying to often be having planets in the 10th house of their chart, like the 10th sign Capricorn. I also find Gemini coming up a lot for pilots, but havent done enough research on this to be sure. We may speculate and say that Capricorn would be the sign of flying in planes, and perhaps even UFOs would fall under this sign.

Aquarius: Aquarius is the swamsha of the “maker of tanks and ponds” according to Jaimini. Which is to say that one is involved in providing resources that make life more bearable for everyone. Everyone needs water and to help provide a source of water is to be a real humanitarian, which is what Aquarius is, essentially. This water is also symbolic of psychological wholeness, which is the true goal of Aquarius, to become whole in oneself, and accept and make peace with all of one’s weaknesses and shortcomings, and just be okay with them and love oneself anyway. This is why Aquarius may seem so odd or weird. It is because they are learning to stop doing things to compensate for their inner lack, and instead to just be there with the lack…..and eventually it goes away, but it might seem weird to other people passing by in the meantime. This probably has to do with why they get stereotyped in western astrology as being without charm and aloof. Sometimes Aquarius people will be social workers or people who do a lot of service of some kind, other times they may do more of a pyschological service for people, and sometimes they may actually work around water and provide it in a literal way as well.

Pisces: Pisces swamsha, as the last sign of the zodiac, is the most spiritual sign and the sign of “Kaivalya” or liberation of consciousness, according to Jaimini. He also says of it, “perpetual dharma”, and seems to convey that Pisces is a sign of steady spiritual progress throughout the life of the native. As long as the rest of the chart points mostly in that direction I do find this to be true, but you will also find many cases of Pisces swamshas that live a very negative life and are most definitely not progressing spiritually as well so that is not always the case. Edgar Cayce is an interesting example of a Pisces swamsha, and I hope to do an article on his chart soon. Robin Williams is another example, someone who is most definitely a sensitive soul with spiritual inclinations, but the rest of his chart had many difficult karmas indicated, and so he often could not bear the pain of life on earth and needed to escape or find liberation through more immediate means such as drugs. That is a more mixed example, which is often the case. We could say that this placement makes the person more sattvic and naturally inspired, within the context of the rest of the chart. Roy Eugene Davis, the last living direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, is another example of a positive pisces swamsha. He has written many books and lectured on Self Realization for over 50 years and in countless countries, and is noticeably more realized than the average spiritual author/public figure.

These twelve swamshas are very important signs for the individual, and one will also note that the sign the atmakaraka goes to in the rashi chart will also have some of these significations as well, but not as much as the navamsa chart. For example, Robin Williams is a pisces swamsha, but has scorpio as a rising sign, so this reinforces more of the difficult emotional struggles and battles that he would face on his path in life. Say it was a cancer rising, and no tough aspects from Sun, Saturn, or Rahu, then he may not have had such a painful life and perhaps could have enjoyed more of the positive Pisces qualities in life.

The planet that is falling in the swamsha determines a great more of it, but this is one important part of the puzzle of what ones dharma will involve in this life. With some careful study and application on charts, one should begin to see some clear correlations of the charts examined and the associations described above.