Questions? Send email to: roeland@dirah.org
There are three important branches of Vedic Astrology: Parashari Astrology on which the main part of this course is based, Jaimini Astrology and Tajika Astrology.
For someone with a background in Western Astrology Tajika Astrology is particularly interesting because it makes use of aspects in almost the same way that Western Astrologers do. Only the terminology is different. Instead of ‘aspects’ the Tajika Astrologers speak of ‘yogas’. Tajika Astrology is mainly practised in Northern India. It is a product of the mixture between Arab, Greek and Indian culture. Curiously enough it is almost never used for analysis of the birthchart, but mainly for horary astrology or Varshaphal chart analysis (solar return chart).
Some non-traditional Vedic Astrologers make not only use of Parashari aspects but also of the aspects which are used in Tajika Astrology when analyzing a birthchart. Some people think they are using something out of Western system in Vedic Astrology. However, Tajika Astrology is a truly Indian system. Therefore it is not really that strange to use Western or Tajika aspects in Vedic Astrology.
In Tajika Astrology planets which have a kendra relationship to each other have a hostile relationship. Kendra relationship means they are either in the same sign, four, seven or ten houses from each other.
Planets which are 3 signs or 11 signs from each other have a friendly relationship.
Planets which are 5 or 9 signs from each other have a very friendly relationship.
Planets which are 2/12 or 6/8 signs from each other have a neutral relationship.
However, they only form aspects if they are within a certain orb of influence from each other.
Contrary to modern Western Astrology the orb depends not on the nature of the aspect, but on the planets which are making the aspect. It is interesting to know that this system was also used in Medieval Western Astrology.
This is an overview of the orbs of influence: Sun 15 degrees, Moon 12 degrees, Mars 8 degrees, Mercury 7 degrees, Jupiter 9 degrees, Venus 7 degrees, Saturn 9 degrees.
In traditional Vedic Astrology Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not used. However, if you use them I would advice an orb of 7 degrees.
Now the maximum orb that an aspect between two planets is allowed to have is calculated by adding the two orbs of influence and then dividing it by 2.
An example: for the Sun and the Moon to have an aspect the maximum orb should be (15+12):2= 13.5. For the Sun and Saturn to have an aspect the maximum orb is: (15+7):2=11.
A relationship between two planets is an aspect if the orb between the planets does not exceed the maximum orb.
In that case we can compare the kendra relationship to the conjunction, square and opposition we know in Western astrology.
The 2/11 relationship is comparable to the sextile.
And the 5/9 relationship is comparable to the trine.
Planets which are 1/12 signs or 6/8 signs from each other can never have an aspect. Although there is some difference of opinion between astrologers about this particular matter.
For planets to make a yoga in Tajika astrology they should make an aspect. In addition to that they should meet some criteria which are different for each yoga. Not only the aspects are beneficial or malefic, but so are the yogas. Only when the yoga AND the aspect are beneficial good results can be anticipated. If the yoga is beneficial but the aspect is malefic, then also some results may be anticipated. However, the results will not be reached easily and may be disappointing.
Ithasala yoga: This yoga is made if a faster planet has a lesser longitude than a slower planet. This yoga is beneficial, because the planets approach each other and in the future the aspect will be exact. This is the moment when the promise of the aspect will be fullfilled. In Western astrology this is called an applying aspect.
An example: Let us say we have the Moon at 6 degrees Taurus and Saturn and 10 degrees Capricorn. The Moon is the faster planet, because of this there will come a time when the aspect will be exact (probably when the Moon has reached 10 degrees Taurus). In this case the aspect is a trine (beneficial) and the yoga is beneficial. Yoga and aspect are beneficial, therefore good results may be expected. The results are even better because the two planets are in good shape. The Moon is in its sign of exaltation and Saturn is in its own sign. Therefore the results may be outstanding.
If Saturn would be at 10 degrees in Leo, then we also have an Ithasala yoga. However, the aspect is a square and therefore not beneficial. The results will be reached with more difficulty. It is also notable that Saturn is not in its own sign and therefore in less good shape than in the previous example. Some authors feel that if the aspect would be an opposition results may be even more difficult to obtain, because the opposition is considered by these authors to be the most malefic aspect.
Easarapha yoga: This yoga is formed when a faster moving planet has a greater longitude than a slower moving planet. In this case the planets are seperating (in Western Astrology this is called the seperating aspect). Because the planets are seperating loss is indicated. This is a malefic aspect.
An example: If the Moon is at 6 degrees Taurus and Saturn is at 2 degrees Capricorn we have an Easarapha yoga, because the Moon is seperating from Saturn. Maybe in the past there have been positive developments but not much new developments are indicated. Some authors feel that if the orb is less than 1 degree developments are possible. That means that if the Moon is at 6 degrees Taurus and Saturn at 5 degrees Capricorn good results may be expecte, especially since in this case the aspect is a trine and is beneficial. If the yoga and the aspect are good than outstanding results are possible.
Nakta yoga: Now we come to yogas which are a bit more complicated. It is possible that there is no aspect between two planets but that a faster moving planet, in most cases the Moon aspects them both. Especially if these two aspects are Ithasala Yogas results may be expected.
An example: If we have Saturn and 10 degrees Capricorn and Jupiter at 11 degrees Aquarius then there is no aspect between these planets. However if the Moon is at 7 degrees Taurus the Moon makes a trine to Saturn and then a square to Jupiter.
This particular situation may indicate success but also some struggle and disappointment because of the square which the Moon makes to Jupiter.
In horary astrology the Moon may represent a third party which tries to help. However, the result will not be fully satisfying because of the square aspect.
Yamaya yoga: This is the opposite of the Nakta yoga. In this case a slower moving planet makes aspects to two faster moving planets that do not aspect each other.
Suppose we have Saturn at 10 degrees Capricorn. The Moon is at 5 degrees Taurus and Mars is at 6 degrees Aries. The Moon and Mars do not aspect each other, but they do aspect Saturn. The Moon makes a trine to Saturn and Mars makes a square.
Again in horary astrology Saturn may represent a third party but especially in this case it is doubtful whether he will succeed because the square between a strong Mars and a strong Saturn may suggest a fight.
There are all kind of special cases, which also have their own yogas. However, the principle is always the same. It is auspicious if somehow energies of two planets come together. Especially if this happens by making auspicious aspects. Although the conjunction in Tajika astrology is not regarded as favourable I do think that in the astrology of questions we can consider the conjunction cases as favourable.
I do not intend to pay attention to all the Tajika yogas as this is mentioned to be an introduction only, but pay attention to the following cases:
- Watch whether planets are going retrograde or change direction in the near future. It is possible that because of this an Ithasala yoga develops in an Easarapha yoga or the other way around.
- It may be possible that planets make an auspicious aspect and that this aspect is an Ithasala yoga, but that before this aspect is full a third planet makes inauspicious aspects to both. Especially if that third planet is a malefic the ‘intervention’ of the third planet may cause failure. Maybe you know the experience that you were planning a date with someone but before the date materialized he or she ran off with someone else.
What is important in a horary chart is that the first dasa or bhukti is auspicious. This is not always done when a question is answered, but it is when we have an election chart. It is important that the first dasa or bhukti is not too bad. That means the dasa and bhukti lord should be strong in the chart (not combust, in fall, in dushtana houses or badly aspected) and they should rule good houses, which preferably have something to do with the activity for which the electionchart is made.
Below you can see an example of a horary chart. This is the horary of the attack of Iraq on Kuwait City. It is not the horary of the attack on Kuwait, but a horary of the attack on the capital. The attack on the capital symbolizes the fall of the country.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name: Attack on Kuwait City Prepared By: Roeland De Looff |
| Birth Date: 02-08-1990 Weekday: Thursday |
| Time: 2:00:00 GMT: 2:00:00 |
| Time Zone: 0 West TZ Name: Greenwich Mean Time |
| Latitude: 29 20'00" North Location: Kuwait |
| Longitude: 47 59'00" East Ayanamsa: Lahiri 23 43'46" |
| |
| Rasi Angle and Sign Nakshatra, Lord, Pada, Sound Velocity |
| -------------------------- --------------------------- -------- |
|Ascendant: 13 08'28" Cancer Pushyami Saturn 3 HO 0.86 |
| Sun: 15 49'05" Cancer Pushyami Saturn 4 DA 0.96 |
| Moon: 24 08'23" Scorpio Jeyshta Mercury 3 YE 0.91 |
| Mercury: 11 18'24" Leo Makha Ketu 4 MAY 1.30 |
| Venus: 21 53'35" Gemini Purnavasu Jupiter 1 KAY 1.21 |
| Mars: 19 35'42" Aries Bharini Venus 2 LU 1.15 |
| Jupiter: 2 45'23" Cancer Purnavasu Jupiter 4 HI 2.65 |
| Saturn: 26 57'16" Rx Sagittarius U. Ashada Sun 1 BAY -2.03 |
| Rahu: 13 37'40" Capricorn Sravana Moon 2 JAY 0.16 |
| Ketu: 13 37'40" Cancer Pushyami Saturn 4 DA 0.16 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+------------------+
|9th Pisces |10th Aries |11th Taurus |12th Gemini |
| | Mars 19 36' | | Venus 21 54'|
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------------|-------------------+-------------------|------------------|
|8th Aquarius | | Jupiter 2 45'|
| | | Ascendant 13 08'|
| | | Ketu 13 38'|
| | Rasi Chart | Sun 15 49'|
|-------------------| for |------------------|
|7th Capricorn | Attack on Kuwait City |2nd Leo |
| Rahu 13 38' | | Mercury 11 18'|
| | | |
| | | |
|-------------------|-------------------+-------------------|------------------|
|6th Sagittarius |5th Scorpio |4th Libra |3rd Virgo |
| Saturn Rx 26 57' | Moon 24 08' | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+------------------+
+------------------------ Highlights from the Comments ------------------------+
|Sunrise at 2:12:46, sunset at 15:35:52. |
|Birth occured at 3 ghatis 11 vighatis and 44 paras after sunrise on the |
| previous day. |
|The Moon is waxing and 71% full in the Nakshatra Jeyshta of class Rakshasa. |
|The Moon is in Ekadasi, the 11th Tithi of Shukla Paksha. |
|The Soli-Lunar Yoga is Indra (Chief) -- interest in education and knowledge; |
| helpful, well-off. |
|Sagittarius and Pisces are Dagdha Signs. |
|The Yoga Point is 13 17'27" Gemini, the Yogi is Rahu, the Duplicate Yogi is |
| Mercury, and the Avayogi is Venus. |
|Rahu and Ketu are in forward motion, and thus are unusually benefic. |
|The Moon in Scorpio is 21 08' after its point of deepest Fall. |
|Mercury is in Leo, the sign of a great friend. |
|Venus is in Gemini, the sign of a great friend. |
|Mars is in its best Dik Bala placement. |
|Mars in Aries is in its Moolatrikona sign. |
|Jupiter is in its best Dik Bala placement. |
|Jupiter is in Vargottama -- in Cancer in both the Rasi and Navamsa charts. |
|Jupiter in Cancer is Exalted within 2 15'. |
|Saturn is in Vargottama -- in Sagittarius in both the Rasi and Navamsa charts.|
|Rahu is in Capricorn, the sign of a great friend. |
|Ketu is in Cancer, the sign of a great enemy. |
|Mars creates a Raja Yogakaraka in the Tenth house. |
+------------------ Dasha Periods for Attack on Kuwait City -------------------+
| MERCURY Rahu beginning on 02-08-1990 at birth for 30m 5d |
| MERCURY Jupiter beginning on 07-02-1993 at age 2y 6m 5d for 27m 6d |
| MERCURY Saturn beginning on 13-05-1995 at age 4y 9m 11d for 32m 9d |
| |
| KETU Ketu beginning on 22-01-1998 at age 7y 5m 20d for 4m 27d |
| KETU Venus beginning on 19-06-1998 at age 7y 10m 17d for 14m 0d |
| KETU Sun beginning on 19-08-1999 at age 9y 0m 17d for 4m 6d |
| KETU Moon beginning on 25-12-1999 at age 9y 4m 23d for 7m 0d |
| KETU Mars beginning on 25-07-2000 at age 9y 11m 23d for 4m 27d |
| KETU Rahu beginning on 22-12-2000 at age 10y 4m 20d for 12m 18d |
| KETU Jupiter beginning on 10-01-2002 at age 11y 5m 8d for 11m 6d |
| KETU Saturn beginning on 16-12-2002 at age 12y 4m 14d for 13m 9d |
| KETU Mercury beginning on 25-01-2004 at age 13y 5m 23d for 11m 27d |
In a horary chart the first house symbolizes the person who takes the initiative. It can be the questioner, the person who pays you a visit or in this case the attacker.
The attacker is symbolized by a lot of planets which contain different messages. First we see an exalted Jupiter in the first. This could symbolize the fact that Iraq was stronger than Kuwait and captured the city quickly. However, Iraq is also represented by a Sun/Ketu conjunction. This symbolizes mistakes, deceipt and wrong decisions. Especially since Ketu is close to the ascendant and therefore has the strongest influence of all the planets in the first house. Iraq is also symbolized by the lord of the first house, which is a fallen Moon in Scorpio.
Kuwait is symbolized by Rahu in the seventh house, which is not great either and by Saturn (lord 7) in the sixth, a dushtana house. The country seems to be in a poor condition and was not able to resist the attack. Saturn seems to be an appropiate planet to symbolize a rather conservative country. Saturn is retrograde. Kuwait cannot do anything about the situation.
The first dasa-bhukti is Mercury-Rahu. Mercury is lord of the twelfth (loss) and third (energy and courage). Of course in an attack a lot of energy is being used, but in this case it only led to loss. Mercury, the lord of the twelfth, is in the second. Yes, the attack meaned a waste of resources and money.
Rahu in the seventh is appropiate for a country (Kuwait) which is more or less raped.
If we look at the aspects it is interesting that a strong Mars in the tenth makes an Ithasala trine to Saturn (lord 7). Therefore help is on the way for Kuwait in the form of a strong Mars (maximum orb for aspect made by Mars 8, for aspects made by Saturn 9, therefore the maximum orb is 8.5). The aspect is within orb, but it is also quite wide. Therefore the Allied Forces could not prevent the fall of Kuwait City, but could liberate it later.
It is notable that for Cancer ascendant Mars is the Raja Yoga planet.
I think that Mars represents the Allied forces, because if we see the fourth as representing the soil of Kuwait (the ground on which the battle was fought). The seventh from the fourth which is the tenth represents ‘partners or open enemies’ of the Kuwaiti soil. In this case it is a friend. Mars being a temporary benefic (Raja Yoga planet) might have something to do with this.
The Sun, which is a factor that symbolizes Iraq, will also make an Ithasala Yoga with Mars, but this yoga will be a square and is therefore inauspicious. A square represents ‘a struggle’.
The Sun in the first house makes a trine to the Moon (lord 1). At first sight this seems to be good for Iraq, but this trine is an Easarpa yoga and therefore symbolizes loss. Therefore it is not helpful and symbolizes only losses.
An interesting Ithasala yoga is the Ithasala yoga between Venus (lord of the 4 in the 12) and Saturn (lord of the 7 in the 6). Becaue this is an Ithasala yoga it tells therefore about the future. However, it is not auspicious since it is an opposition. The opposition is the worst aspect.
Venus is lord of the fourth house and symbolizes the soil and environment of Kuwait. We all know that when the Iraqi army retreated they opened the oil wells which created an enormous polution. This seems to be described by this particular aspect. Especially since loss, polution and fluits all have to do with the twelfth house in which Venus is located.
At the end of this lesson I would like to tell you my personal point of view about horary astrology and in particular about elections.
The goal of life is that we will remove our bad karma, learn our lessons so that we can join the source and reach moksha.
To pay our ‘karmic debt’ it may be necessary to undergo unpleasant circumstances. I do not think it is right to try to avoid these circumstances by artificial methods like choosing auspicious times. In fact if we do that karma is not removed, but it is only postponed. Maybe to a later time in this lifetime, maybe to another lifetime. I rather pay off my karmic debts immediately. This may mean uncomfortable situations in the short run, but it may also mean that moksha will be reached earlier, because the bad karma is not postponed. Therefore I will probably be able to finish my task on this earth sooner.
I believe that life will give me spontaneously what is good for me, although most of the time I might not be able to see it. Probably the universe (God) knows best what is right.
I also feel that thinking a lot on whether the time of day is good for a certain activity makes life rather tense. I am one of those persons who wants to live spontaneously. Although I am an astrologer, I believe that there are moments when you also have to relax and forget about astrology. I strongly believe that whatever menu the universe gives to me it is the right menu, even if it is sometimes hard to digest.
The techniques described here are useful, if you use them with care.
When something strange happens I like to look at what was going on in an astrological sense. This enables me to understand the meaning of what happened better and this I think is very useful. As far as analyzing questions I am not looking for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by making use of the above techniques, but they give me valuable insights into a situation. Therefore I use these techniques to gain more insight. I do not use them to plan the future.
We are going to practize ‘a question chart’. Before you proceed, be sure that you have a clock with the right time within reach.
You may ask yourself the following questions: How will my studies of astrology proceed? Immediately when you read these words write down the exact time and make a chart. If you do not have any software send me the details and I will make a chart for you.
Try to make an interpretation. It is useful to know that the YOU in any chart is the first house. Most likely, the study of astrology is a ninth house matter. However, there is a chance that for you it is different depending upon what astrology means for you. Maybe you see it as a hobby in that case it is a fifth house matter. You may also see the system of astrology as a storehouse of traditional knowledge in which case it falls under the second house. If you are mainly interested in this course because it enables you to get a certificate, it may even fall under the fourth house. Moreover, if you see as astrology mainly as being ‘an occult science’ it may fall under the eighth house. Therefore, before you start making the exercise comtemplate on what astrology means for you.
Interprete the chart!
Keep in mind that especially when we are dealing with subjects which have to do with spirituality (for most however not all people astrology is a spiritual discipline) the 8th and 12th houses are not completely inauspicious. Indeed, they are moksha houses and can bring spiritual liberation. They may not be easy houses for daily activities, but in this case if you encounter them during the interpretation do not see them as just inauspicious. For an astrologer these may be very valuable houses.
copyright: Roeland de Looff, nothing on this site is allowed to be reproduced without written permission of the author.
