Combust Saturn in the Birth Chart: Asta Shani, the Servant at the King’s Feet

by

Saturn is combust for about five weeks each year, so roughly one person in eleven is born with it. What asta Shani means when the Sun’s natural enemy stands at its side, why a combust malefic is read differently from a combust benefic, the father-son thread, work and late recognition, Libra and Aries where the two trade places, the ascendant-by-ascendant reading, the houses, Sade Sati, dasha timing, and two charts from practice.

Combust Jupiter in the Birth Chart: Asta Guru, the Minister at the King’s Side

by

Jupiter is combust for about a month each year, so roughly one person in fourteen is born with it. Why that month is the one the panchang marks as Guru asta, what the Sun’s closeness does to Jupiter as minister, teacher and karaka of wealth and children, its dignity and Hamsa yoga, the ascendants where the pair forms a yoga, the house-by-house reading, dasha timing, remedies, and two charts from practice.

Combust Mars in the Birth Chart: Asta Mangal, the Commander at the King’s Court

by

Mars is combust in about one birth chart in seven, and it stays beside the Sun for four months at a time. What asta Mangal means for drive, temper and pride, why it is one of the accepted Mangal dosha cancellations, the Sun and Mars together sign by sign, the ascendants where the pair forms a yoga, careers under command, what medical astrology does and does not say, the houses, dasha timing, and two charts from practice.

Combust Mercury in the Birth Chart: Asta Budha, the Prince Beside the King

by

Mercury is combust in about two birth charts in five, more often than any other planet. The two kinds of combust Mercury, what the Sun’s closeness does to speech, study and work, the orb and the sign boundary, how Budhaditya yoga and combustion are read together, what the pairing gives each ascendant, the houses, when its results arrive, remedies, and two charts from practice.

Retrograde Venus in the Birth Chart: Vakri Shukra in Love, Taste, Money and the Twenty-Year Dasha

by

Venus is retrograde in about one birth chart in fourteen, the rarest of the five retrogrades. How vakri Shukra changes love, taste and the sense of value, why partners and projects come back, what changes when it is combust as well, its dignity and Malavya yoga, whether it delays marriage, art and money, its twenty-year period sub-period by sub-period, the houses where it shows, the transit, and two charts from practice.

Retrograde Mars in the Birth Chart: Vakri Mangal, Anger, Courage and the Second Contest

by

About one person in ten is born with Mars retrograde. How vakri Mangal turns energy inward, what it does to anger and courage, whether it changes Mangal dosha, what it means for property and rivals, what it rules for each ascendant, the houses where it shows, its seven-year period and the transit every two years, with two charts from practice.

Retrograde Mercury in the Birth Chart: How Vakri Budha Thinks, Speaks, Studies and Trades

by

About one person in five is born with Mercury retrograde, and unlike Saturn or Jupiter a retrograde Mercury is usually close to the Sun, often close enough to be combust as well. What that combination means for the mind, speech and writing, the six conditions a retrograde Mercury can be in, study and exams, contracts and trade, the houses where it shows most, its seventeen-year dasha ascendant by ascendant, why the three-times-a-year transit matters less than people fear, a note for parents, and two charts from practice.

Retrograde Jupiter in the Birth Chart: What Vakri Guru Changes in Faith, Children and Fortune

by

Roughly three people in ten are born with Jupiter retrograde, and the first worry is usually that the guru planet has been weakened. Classically the opposite holds: a retrograde Jupiter is strong, and what it changes is the direction its wisdom works in, less received and more worked out. Its astronomy, what happens to each of Jupiter’s significations, dignity and the houses where it shows most, children and marriage read calmly, the ascendants it helps and those it asks more of, its sixteen-year dasha, the twelve-year return, and two worked charts.

Retrograde Saturn in the Birth Chart: What Vakri Shani Changes, and What It Does Not

by

A little over a third of all people are born with Saturn retrograde, and it is one of the most anxiously searched placements in a kundli. The classical view is that a retrograde planet is strong, not weak, and what vakri Shani changes is the route and the pace: results held back toward the planet’s own period, then delivered to last. What it is in the sky, what the texts say, how it shows up in a life, sign by sign and house by house, how its dasha behaves, the five things it does not mean, and two worked charts.