Here is Brad Pitt’s
Yogas indicate the opportunities given in life. The strength of the
General Scorpio traits – Brad Pitt has a Scorpio
Lagna/Yoga Vichara – Lord of the
Other Yogas – In addition, Brad Pitt has Budha Aditya and Kesari yogas, giving him intelligence and prosperity.
Best Periods – Brad Pitt has a very powerful Mars, so his Mars
Here is Alexander Zverev’s vedic chart. Alexander Zverev was born on Apr 20th 1997 at 03:00 in Hamburg, Germany. There is another time given for birth, 23:00, which would make his lagna Scorpio. I think he fits a Sagittarius lagna better than a Scorpio lagna.
Yogas indicate the opportunities given in life. The strength of the lagna indicates the individual’s potential to use those opportunities. Yogas that are tied to the lagna or the lagna lord bring fame to the individual.
General Sagittarius traits – Alexander Zverev (Sasha) has a Sagittarius lagna. Sagittarians aim high and are very competitive. They actively win over their enemies. They are intellectual and can have dual careers. Sagittarians are spiritually inclined and can derive happiness from their spiritual pursuits. Sagittarians are generally lucky.
Lagna/Yoga Vichara – Lord of the lagna is Jupiter and it is in a parivartana yoga with Saturn. Given that the houses (2nd and 4th) involved in the parivartana yoga are good, Jupiter would perform like it would if it were in Pisces. Jupiter would then be in its own house forming a panch-maha purusha yoga – Hamsa yoga. Jupiter is also involved in Saraswati yoga giving Sasha intelligence and Susubha yoga giving prosperity.
Other Yogas – Sasha has a strong lagnesh (Jupiter), however, his 5th house involving Sun, Venus, and Mercury is even stronger. Sun and Mercury produce budha-aditya yoga blessing Sasha with intelligence. He has the most powerful dharma-karmadhpati yoga formed by Sun and Mercury, lords of the 9th and 10th houses. Sun and Mercury form another dharma-karmadhipati yoga as the lords of the 9th and 7th houses. Sasha has a dhana yoga formed by Venus and Sun, lords of the 11th and 9th houses. He also has a parivartana yoga between Mars and Sun.
Best Periods – Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter are associated with powerful yogas. Sasha started life in his Sun dasha (1996-1999), which would have been very good. He would be 72 years old when he starts his Mercury dasha and would never run his Venus dasha. Jupiter’s dasha from 2034-2050 would be good and can bring him fame, but would be well past his playing years. That brings us to Rahu and Ketu. Rahu would play the role of Jupiter (lord of the house) and Sun (Nakshatra lord). This would bring the yogas associated with the lagna and the yogas associated with the 5th house together. Rahu dasha (2016 – 2034) could be the best period of Sasha. Subperiods of Rahu/Ju (2020-2021), Rahu/Me (2025-2026), Rahu/Ve (2028-2031), and Rahu/Su (2031-2031) could be very good.
Sasha started his Rahu dasha in 2016 and Rahu will cover the rest of his playing career. Sasha’s chart has a lot of similarities to Novak‘s chart. Sasha will capitalize on the vacuum created when Rafa and Novak retire.
Here is Novak Djokovic’s vedic chart. Novak Djokovic was born on May 22nd 1987 at 23:25 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Yogas indicate the opportunities given in life. The strength of the lagna indicates the individual’s potential to use those opportunities. Yogas that connect to the lagna or the lagna lord bring fame to the individual.
General Sagittarius traits – Novak Djokovic has a Sagittarius lagna. Sagittarians aim high and are very competitive. They actively win over their enemies. They are intellectual and can have dual careers. Sagittarians are spiritual and can derive happiness from their spiritual pursuits. Sagittarians are generally lucky.
Lagna/Yoga Vichara – Lord of the lagna is Jupiter and it is in its own house in Pisces forming a panch-maha purusha yoga – Hamsa yoga. Hamsa yoga repeats from the Moon sign as well making it even more powerful. Jupiter also forms a Kesari yoga with the Moon.
Other Yogas – Novak has a strong lagnesh (Jupiter), however, his 6-12 axis involving Sun, Saturn, and Mercury is even stronger. Sun and Mercury produce budha-aditya yoga blessing Novak with intelligence. He also has the most powerful dharma-karmadhpati yoga formed by Sun and Mercury, lords of the 9th and 10th houses. Sun and Mercury form another dharma-karmadhipati yoga as the lords of the 9th and 7th houses. Sun and Saturn form a dhana yoga linking the lords of the 2nd and 9th houses.
Best Periods – Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn are associated with powerful yogas. Out of these, his Mercury (1994-2011) and Sun (2038-2044) dashas would be strong, but do not involve his lagnesh (Jupiter). Rahu and Ketu play the role of the lord of the house they are in. So, Ketu plays the role of Mercury. Ketu is also associated with Jupiter, his lagnesh, making his Ketu period (2011-2018) his best time.
Novak started his Venus dasha in 2018. Venus, however, is not associated with any yoga. The period from 2038-2044 under Sun would again be good for Novak. There is a real opportunity for a newcomer in tennis with Novak and Rafa running dashas that are not their best.
Here is Rafael Nadal’s vedic chart. Rafael Nadal was born on June 3rd 1986 at 18:20 in Manacor, Spain.
Yogas indicate the opportunities given in life. The strength of the lagna indicates the individual’s potential to use those opportunities. Yogas that are tied to the lagna or the lagna lord bring fame to the individual.
General Libra traits – Rafa has a libra lagna. Libra is a mercantile sign indicating materialistic qualities. Librans like public professions and have an interest in politics. Friends and clubs are important and Librans are fashion conscious.
Lagna/Yoga Vichara – The lord of the lagna (Venus) is in the 9th house (trikona) with Mercury, who is the lord of the 9th house sitting in his own house. This gives Rafa Parvata yoga, giving strength to his lagna lord, Venus. Mercury and Venus also form a strong dharma-karmadhipati yoga (lords of 1st and 9th houses). Further, Mars mutually aspecting Venus and Mercury adds two more dharma-karmadhipati yogas (lord of 1st and 7th houses and lord of 7th and 9th houses) and two dhana yogas (lord of 1st and 2nd houses and lord of 2nd and 9th houses). The three planets are also well placed – Mercury is in his own house and Venus and Mars are in the house of friends. Venus is also involved in Saraswati yoga with all the natural benefics (Ju, Me, and Ve) in trikona houses gifting Rafa with intelligence.
All of these make Rafa’s chart very powerful. He has a strong lagnesh (Ve) and the lagnesh is involved in tons of powerful yogas.
Other Yogas – Rafa also has another dhana yoga because the lord of 11th house (Sun) mutually aspects the lord of the 5th house (Saturn), bringing Rafa a total of 3 dhana yogas, a very rare occurrence.
Best Periods – The planets associated with the most yogas are Venus, Mercury, and Mars. So, dashas of Venus (1990-2010), Mercury, and Mars (2026-2033) would be good. In particular dasha and antardasha periods of Venus/Mercury (2006-2008), Venus/Mars (1996), Mercury/Venus, Mercury/Mars, Mars/Venus (2031), and Mars/Mercury (2029/2030) would be very good. The “Vimshottari” chart shows the start and end dates for the main and sub dasha planets.
Rafa was lucky because he was able to run the dasha of his lagnesh (Venus) from 1990 to 2010 and the dasha of Sun from (2010 – 2016). He started his Moon dasha in 2016. Moon is not very strong because it is afflicted by Rahu and Ketu and does not have support from benefic planets. Also, Moon is close to becoming a new Moon, making it weaker. He will have another great run, in his second career, from 2026 to 2050 when he runs Mars and Rahu dashas. He will do well in business and may try his hand at politics.
Today is Ganesh Chaturthi and it got me thinking about why we call Lord Ganesha the remover of obstacles. Lord Ganesha’s life is full of examples in which a difficult problem is solved by a seemingly impossible solution. Here are some examples from the life of Lord Ganesha.
Conception – the story goes that Parvati, Shiva’s wife, wanted some privacy when she was taking a bath. So, she asked Nandi, the Bull, to stand guard. Nandi did a great job of preventing anyone from entering while the goddess was taking bath. However, when Shiva returned, Nandi was in a conundrum. He owed his loyalty, first, to Lord Shiva. How could he prevent his lord from entering his own house? Nandi, being a dutiful follower of Lord Shiva, allowed Shiva to enter while Parvati was still taking her bath. Parvati was irritated, but realized it wasn’t Nandi’s fault. It dawned on her that she did not have anyone who would only listen to her. All her attendants were loyal to Shiva. She created a boy (Ganesha) using her own energy. Ganesha was not born to a man and a woman!
Death of the boy – the story continues… Parvati, now has the boy standing guard while she takes a bath. Shiva returns, and the boy stops him from entering the house. Shiva is furious and wages a tough battle with the boy. The boy wins and Shiva is forced to retreat. Shiva then consults with Vishnu and together they attack the boy. While the boy is facing Shiva and fighting, Vishnu attacks from behind (not allowed in ethical warfare) and cuts the boy’s head using his discus. This story shows what it takes to stop someone who is determined in their goals.
Resurrection as Ganesha – Parvati is now furious, especially because unethical behavior was used to kill her son. She lets loose Kali and Durga and the two forms of Shakti cause devastation in the Universe. Shiva and Vishnu, now consult with Brahma and ask for a solution to the problem. Brahma asks the gods to find the head of the first dead creature they see. The gods find a dead baby elephant and bring the head of the elephant. Brahma fixes the head on the boy’s body and gives life to the boy. This is another example of an unnatural solution to an impossible problem.
Image of Ganesha – In a world where people with deformities are laughed at, Ganesha, with a body of a boy and the head of an elephant, is loved and adored. Even, Ganesha’s vehicle, a mouse, shows that the improbable is possible – further illustrating why Ganesha is truly the remover of obstacles.
Vedic astrology uses dasas and transits to determine good and bad periods in a person’s life. In the dasa system we look at grahas at three levels – maha dasa, antar dasa, and pratyantar dasa. Among these, the graha running the maha dasa is the most important. The dasa analysis is done from the individual’s lagna or ascendant. In transits we mainly look at the transits of Saturn, Rahu/Ketu, and Jupiter. Transit analysis is done from the Moon sign.
To create a mathematical model, we can give the following weights to each of these grahas
30% – maha dasa graha
20% – antar dasa graha
10% – pratyantar dasa graha
Saturn transit – 10%
Jupiter transit – 10%
Rahu/Ketu transit – 10%
Transits of the other grahas or transit of the maha dasa graha – 10%
So, the transits can account for 30 – 40% of the influence on a person.
In 2018, people with Kumbha rasi benefited the most from the transits getting the full 30% benefit from Saturn, Jupiter, and Rahu/Ketu transits. If their maha dasa lord and antar dasa lord where also strong, they would have had a spectacular year.
Jupiter will transit on Oct 11th 2018 from Libra to Scorpio. Rahu/Ketu will transit on Mar 7th 2019. Let us look at the rasis that benefit the most from these transits.
| Graha | Good Houses | Neutral Houses | Bad Houses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jupiter | 2,5,7,9,11 | 1,4,10 | 3,6,8,12 |
| Saturn | 3,6,11 | 5,7,9,10 | 1,2,4,8,12 |
| Rahu/Ketu | 3,6,10,11 | 1,4,7 | 2,5,8,9,12 |
| Oct 11 2018 to Mar 7 2019 | Mar 8 2019 to Nov 4th 2019 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasi | Jupiter Transit | Rahu Transit | Ketu Transit | Saturn Transit | Overall | Rasi | Jupiter Transit | Rahu Transit | Ketu Transit | Saturn Transit | Overall | |
| Aries | -5% | Aries | -5% | |||||||||
| Taurus | 5% | Taurus | -10% | |||||||||
| Gemini | -20% | Gemini | -10% | |||||||||
| Cancer | 20% | Cancer | 20% | |||||||||
| Leo | 0% | Leo | 0% | |||||||||
| Virgo | -20% | Virgo | -15% | |||||||||
| Libra | 25% | Libra | 20% | |||||||||
| Scorpio | -10% | Scorpio | -20% | |||||||||
| Sagittarius | -30% | Sagittarius | -20% | |||||||||
| Capricorn | 0% | Capricorn | 0% | |||||||||
| Aquarius | 10% | Aquarius | 15% | |||||||||
| Pisces | 10% | Pisces | 15% | |||||||||
Total is calculated giving +10% for Saturn and Jupiter in “green”, -10% for Saturn and Jupiter in “red”, +5% for Rahu/Ketu in “green”, -5% for Rahu/Ketu in “red”, and 0% for cells in “grey”.
Clearly, Cancer and Libra Moon signs benefit the most. It would be tough year for Sagittarius Moon signs.
As you look at many vedic charts, a natural questions that comes to mind is – is there a perfect horoscope? The chart of Lord Rama is one such chart.
Let us consider the chart below. It is the chart of Lord Rama’s. The chart below is an astronomically possible chart and can be dated to 10 Jan 5114 BC. Obviously, the combination would repeat and so should have occurred many thousands of year before 5114 BC as well.
“Graha Vichara” – we will start by examining the grahas to determine their strengths and whether they are benefic or malefic. The benefic and malefic conclusion would consider the natural and functional nature of the grahas in the chart.
“Lagna Vichara” – the lagna defines a person. We look at the strength of the lagna to make the overall prediction for a chart.
Moon, Jupiter, and Mars positively influence Lord Rama’s chart. These are friendly grahas to each other, lord of the trines (1,5,9) in this chart, and manually aspect each other. This is a unique feature of this chart, making the chart divinely blessed. The strength of the trinal lords in a chart show god’s grace in a chart.
The words that come to mind when one thinks of Lord Rama are compassionate (Moon), righteous (Jupiter), and courageous (Mars) – qualities that make him the ideal ruler.
“Yoga Vichara” – the next step is to see the yogas in the chart. The yogas become very strong because almost all the planets are individually strong. Here are some of the key ones.
Lord Rama’s chart is obviously a dream chart. Rama, however, had his share of problems. His father exiled him for 14 years. He had a very powerful enemy who defined his life. Ravana, his enemy, abducted his wife. He did not have relationship with his sons. Can we see these play out in Rama’s chart?
“Negatives” – the culprit is mostly Saturn. Saturn is a strong malefic planet that influences the 4th house (home, mother, property and vehicles), 6th house (enemies and health), 10th house (career), and 1st house (self).
Mercury is average in the chart and “intelligent/crafty”, “witty”, or “entrepreneur” are not first words that come to mind when you think of Rama.
The ultimate goal for a vedic mystic is moksha or liberation. This is harder than becoming the CEO of the largest corporation, becoming the President of the richest country, or becoming the most famous celebrity in the world. If we look back at human history you will probably find less than ten universally accepted liberated souls. The odds clearly indicate liberation is the hardest goal any person can achieve. A seeker needs the four fold qualifications to be successful.
Why is the quest for moksha so hard? The Upanishads mandate a four fold qualifications for students interested in the pursuit of liberation. When expanded, these four fold qualifications become nine qualifications. This is the bar to even start the journey towards the ultimate goal!
The next qualification is about discipline. This can expand into 6 qualifications.
Finally,
At first glance, the ask seems impossible. However, we have all experienced moments when we have had the four fold qualification, except the yearning has been for something material. For example, the musician discerns the right note from the wrong and he/she has dispassion towards and turns away from other things while playing the instrument. To deliver a great performance, the musician maintains control over his/her mind and sense organs and focuses on the task on hand. He/she endurance pain while performing the act and has faith in his/her teacher. Finally, the musician yearns to play to the best of his/her ability.
Continuing our discussion from the previous post about the Navagraha family, let us, now, look at the nature of the grahas. Grahas are natural benefics or natural malefics. Natural benefic grahas bring out growth and natural malefic grahas restrict growth.
In keeping with the vedic tradition, the Ministers (teachers) are benefic. In fact, Jupiter and Venus, the Deva guru and the Asura guru, are the only grahas that are always benefic. Rahu and Ketu, the head and body of an Asura, are always malefic. Saturn and Mars are also always malefic.
The Sun is cruel, because of its heat, but not truly malefic.
The Moon and Mercury are sometimes benefic and sometimes malefic.
The Moon is malefic if it is within 72 degrees on either side of the Sun. Otherwise, the Moon is benefic. So, the Moon is 40% of the time malefic and 60% of the time benefic.
Mercury, is an impressionable Prince. If Mercury is alone he is benefic, indicating that the natural nature of Mercury is benefic. If Mercury is conjunct the Sun or only the Sun aspects it, he is still benefic. The influence of the father on the Prince is benefic. If only malefics (Rahu, Ketu, Saturn, or Mars) aspect Mercury, he turns malefic. The malefic influence of the bad grahas influence the young Prince, who becomes malefic. An influence of Jupiter, however, can reverse the negative influence. Under the guidance of a good teacher, the Prince remains benefic; even if he has bad friends.
Interestingly, the nature of the navagrahas, as a whole, is more malefic. Let us assume Mercury is half the time benefic and half the time malefic. Then, the total for the benefic grahas is 3.1 (Jupiter + Venus + 0.6 Moon + 0.5 Mercury) and the total of the malefic grahas is 4.9 (Rahu + Ketu + Saturn + Mars + 0.4 Moon + 0.5 Mercury). Sun is also considered malefic in most vedic astrology texts, further skewing the malefic total to 5.9/9 or 65%.
It is important to understand the nature of the grahas and the role they play in the navagraha family to infer the results of many things in vedic astrology, like strengths, combinations, aspects…
We will exclude Rahu and Ketu in the navagraha family because they are not real entities. Analysis of Rahu and Ketu is complex and they, normally, take the nature and role of one or more of the seven real grahas.
Let us start with the role the seven grahas play in the navagraha family. Sun is the King, Moon is the Queen, Jupiter is the Minister (adviser), Mars is the Commander in Chief, Mercury is the Prince, and Saturn is the Servant. We left out Venus. Venus is also a Minister. While Jupiter advises the good team, the Devas, Venus advises the bad team, the Asuras. In some sense, if the kingdom is good, Jupiter is more important as an adviser and if the kingdom is bad, Venus is more important as an adviser.
The King (Sun) is powerful and authoritative. The Queen (Moon) is compassionate and caring. Jupiter, the Minister, is wise and advises the King on the path of Dharma. Venus, the other minister, is a Machiavellian; smart but in a cunning way. Mars is strong, determined, and fiery. The Prince (Mercury) is a rebel and is easily influenced. Finally, Saturn is industrious and hardworking.
Saturn is the son of the Sun, but is not given the status of a Prince. Saturn can be considered an illegitimate son of Sun. Sun and Saturn do not like each other.
The seven grahas can be grouped into two teams – Team A consists of Sun, Moon, Jupiter, and Mars and Team B consists of Saturn, Venus, and Mercury. Team A is essentially the governing body of the kingdom. It has the King, Queen, Minister, and Commander in Chief and is considered the good team. Team B has the rebellious Prince and the Servant advised by the Machiavellian Minister.
The table below shows the friends and enemies of each graha. The ones not mentioned are neutral. So, Sun likes Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. Sun dislikes Venus and Saturn. Sun is neutral to Mercury.
| Graha | Friends | Enemies |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Moon Mars Jupiter | Venus Saturn |
| Moon | Sun Mercury | |
| Mars | Sun Moon Jupiter | Mercury |
| Jupiter | Sun Moon Mars | Mercury Venus |
| Mercury | Sun Venus | Moon |
| Venus | Mercury Saturn | Sun Moon |
| Saturn | Mercury Venus | Sun Moon Mars |
The table is hard to memorize and so, we will try to use what we have learnt about the family to see if this table makes sense.
Let us start with the friendship column. This follows the team dynamics for the most part. Sun, Mars, and Jupiter like the others in Team A. Venus and Saturn like the others in Team B. The exceptions are Moon and Mercury.
Moon is compassionate and so likes one graha in each team. From Team A, Moon picks the Sun (Queen picking the King). From Team B, Moon picks her son, the Prince (Mercury). So, the Moon picks her husband and son.
Mercury is a rebel and also picks one graha from each team. He dislikes his mother, the Moon and cannot stand the advises and drills from Jupiter and Mars. So, Mercury picks Sun from Team A. The Machiavellian, Venus is always trying to influence the Prince and so is always friendly to the Prince. Mercury picks Venus from Team B.
The enemy column also follows the team dynamic, but not all grahas in the other team are enemies to a given graha.
Sun, the King, does not like the scheming Venus and dislikes his illegitimate son, Saturn. He is neutral to the Prince, Mercury. Moon is compassionate, and so does not dislike anyone.
Mars does not like the rebellious Prince, Mercury. He is neutral to the industrious Saturn and the scheming Venus, both qualities that are needed for a Commander in Chief.
Jupiter, also has problems with the Prince, Mercury. He also dislikes his peer, Venus, who is constantly trying to undermine him. Jupiter is neutral to the hardworking and law abiding Saturn.
Mercury does not like his mother, the Moon. Mercury is neutral to the authoritative figures in his life; Sun, Jupiter, and Mars.
Venus always wants the position of Jupiter and dislikes the King (Sun) and Queen (Moon) for not giving him the position. He is neutral to the benevolent Jupiter.
Saturn, being an illegitimate son, dislikes most of the members of Team A (Sun, Moon, and Mars). He, however, is also law abiding and is neutral towards Jupiter.