Swine Flu, Drought and Solar Eclipse

Mundane astrology is a difficult subject and precise prediction requires a lot of efforts. I generally do not write very often on national and international affairs. Though recently on July 11th, I had written an article on Solar eclipse and its possible impacts. In the article I had made some observations on impact of solar eclipse. Today's Times of India newspaper top stories - 1. "(Swine) Flue kills 3 more, toll 10" and 2. "161 districts are draught-prone but don't panic" reminded me about my recent article on solar eclipse. The introductory paragraph of the article goes as follows -

"Cancer is a watery sign. If the eclipse falls in Cancer sign, sedition, diseases, epidemics, extreme changes in weather leading to drying up of rivers and canals etc. are indicated."

It is unfortunate that we are seeing almost everything that is written in this paragraph. We have already seen drought in many parts of India and now swine flu has already given indication of severity of current problem. I am not sure whether Swine Flu can be called epidemics or not at this point of time, but I hope that it will be controlled at this point itself and will not spread further.

I also made certain observations on the possiblity of regions going to be affected and was also very close. The original article can be found at http://www.astrocamp.com/vedicastrology/2009/07/solar-eclipse-on-22-july-2009-india-and.html

The reason for writing current article is two-fold. One, I want to communicate the importance of Mundane astrology. Just imagine how useful it can be, if it is used by government as a serious governance tool? Government spends million of rupees on meteorological department, so why they can not spend money on astrology and use it in a systematic way?

Anyways, second, I also wanted to remind astrology community that solar eclipses are important predictive tools and should not be ignored (especailly, eclipses of higer magnitude). In fact, it requires serious systematic research on solar eclispe and I am sure we will be able to obtain higher precision in predictions (location, nature, timing etc.).

Third (I know I earlier mentioned two-fold), no harm in little bit self-promotion ;-)

Mercury enters Leo, Jupiter enters Capricorn

Today on 30th July 2009, we have seen two significant astrological events. First, Mercury left Cancer sign and entered Leo sign and Magha star. Cancer/ Leo junction has special meaning in Vedic astrology because it marks change in both sign as well as star.

In Vedic Astrology, Leo sign is owned by Sun and Magha star (Nakshatra) is owned by Ketu. So generally saying Mercury will be influenced by Sun and Ketu. How it will affect you? Generally zodiac sign horoscopes are not good to get accurate predictions so I am not interpreting it from the zodiacal sign perspective. Though, to help you interpreting this combination, I would like to make one important point. As stated earlier, this change is influenced by Sun and Ketu and if these planets are affected in your birth chart, you can see some problems for you. There are various steps to judge affliction of a planet, but to keep it simple I would suggest is check their placement in 6th, 8th or 12th house from ascendant. Also see if Sun is in Libra sign where it gets debilitated. If these are the cases, this combination can affect you in a negative way. If you are not sure about the placement of Sun and Ketu in your birth chart, your can use http://www.mykundali.com/ or http://www.astrosage.com/ to find it out. By the way, Mercury is going to be in Leo till 20th of August.

Other major event is about retrograde Jupiter entering in Capricorn Sign (Makar). Previously it was in Saturns’s another sign Aquarius (Kumbha Rashi) and now being retrograde entered back to Makar which also means that it got debilitate again. Jupiter is going to be in this sign till 19th December and then it will head back to Aquarius (Kumbha). During this period Jupiter is going to be in Mars’ Dhanishta star which again means that good or bad results will depend upon the placement of Mars in your birth chart. If your Mars is well placed, you will enjoy all benefits of this combination. On the contrary, if Mars is afflicted by being 6th, 8th or 12th house from ascendant, being debilitated (in Cancer sign), this combination can affect you adversely.

On the Mundane astrology side, it is generally said that if a planet is badly placed, the price of the metal related to that planet will increase. Jupiter in Capricorn will be debilitated and hence the price of gold should go up. This should especially happen after 13th / 14th October when Jupiter becomes direct.

Solar Eclipse on 22 July 2009 - India and World Forecasts

[Update January 15th, 2010]: for information on Surya Grahan on 15th January 2010, please go here.

There will be a complete Solar Eclipse on 22nd July 2009. According to Hindu date it will be on Shravan month Krishna paksha (dark half) 30, Wednesday, Samvat 2066. This eclipse will be visible throughout India. According to Indian Standard Time, Solar Eclipse will be seen between 5:31 AM to 7:25 AM. This eclipse will be on Pushya Nakshatra and Cancer Sign (Karka Rashi).

Eclipses are of four types - total, annular, hybrid and partial (see the box). Interestingly among 224 solar eclipses in 21st century, this solar eclipse on 22nd July will have longest duration of totality. As a side note, the longest annular eclipse of 21st century will be on January 15, 2010. So we are going to observe some of the rarest eclipses of this century.

There are four types of solar eclipses:

1. A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon.
2. An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun. Hence the Sun appears as a very bright ring, surrounding the outline of the Moon.
3. A hybrid eclipse (also called annular/total eclipse) transitions between a total and annular eclipse. At some points on the surface of the Earth it is visible as a total eclipse, whereas at others it is annular. Hybrid eclipses are comparatively rare.
4. A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly in line and the Moon only partially obscures the Sun. This phenomenon can usually be seen from a large part of the Earth outside of the track of an annular or total eclipse.
   (Source: Wikipedia)

Different sources give slightly different time for start, mid and end time for eclipses. For the upcoming Solar Eclipse on 22nd July, I am getting following details for New Delhi -

NASA Solar Eclipse Calculator
Start: 5:39, Max: 6:26:35, End: 7:24:36

Shri Brajbhoomi Panchang
Start: 5:34, Max: 6:27, End: 7:25

Chintaharan Panchang
Start: Grastodit (eclipsed while rising), Max: 6:27, End: 7:25

From this we can see that there is slight difference in calculation for eclipses. Though for all practical purpose all three times should be good enough. Above eclipse times are for New Delhi, India. Exact start, max and end time for solar eclipse vary slightly for each city. If you want to find out exact time for the solar eclipse for your city, please use NASA Solar Eclipse calculator.

Max effect time for 22nd July solar eclipse is somewhere between 6:20 (Salem, Trivendrum, Mysore, Maduri, Tiruchirapalli, Cochin, Coimbatore etc.) to 6:30 (Imphal, Srinanagar). Overall eclipse time is somewhere between 5:31 IST to 7:25 IST.

We should also note that eclipse at the time of sun-rise (grastodit) is considered worst astrologically and it is happening in Allahabad, Indore, Guwahati, Jabalpur, Patana, Bhopal, Badodara, Varanasi, Siliguri, and Surat cities to name a few. Please see the eclipse google map and the eclipse chart for India for knowing the cities where sun will rise eclipsed.

Sign-wise astrological forecast for Solar Eclipse on 22nd July 2009
As I mentioned earlier, eclipse doesn’t have any significant effect on individuals and are more related to Mundane astrology (branch of astrology used to predict world affairs and world events, as opposed to individual's events). In my opinion, the eclipse predictions for each sign that we are seeing everywhere do not have much astrological value and hence I am not writing any predictions here.

For the readers who are here only for the astrological predictions for their sign, I do not want to disappoint them. Hence, I am borrowing short predictions from Chintaharan Panchang as follows -

1. Aries - Agony
2. Taurus - Financial Gain
3. Gemini - Physical Problems
4. Cancer - Hurt
5. Leo - Financial Loss
6. Virgo - Gain
7. Libra - Happiness
8. Scorpio - Defamation
9. Sagittarius - Fatal Pain
10. Capricorn - Pain to/ due to Female
11. Aquarius - Happiness
12. Pisces - Worry

(These predictions are based on Moon sign and NOT Sun sign. If you do not know your moon sign, please check our moon sign calculator here.)

Mundane Predictions for Solar Eclipse on 22nd July 2009 (India)
According to late J. C. Luthara, "the eclipse of Sun are usually followed by events which mainly concern the ruler of the country, the government of the country, high government officials, ministers, administrators, nobility, top political personages, judiciary, bureaucracy, top business magnates, high religious persons etc. but normally, it is the ruler of the country who is mainly affected. Other personals mentioned may or may not be affected."

For New Delhi, Max Time for this solar eclipse is 6:27 AM. During this time, Ascendant will be Cancer 15 degree 8 minutes. Both ascendant and Sun will be passing through Pushya Nakshatra. Sun will be in first decandate (drekkana) of Cancer and Ascendant will be in 2nd decandate of Cancer.

Cancer is a watery sign. If the eclipse falls in Cancer sign, sedition, diseases, epidemics, extreme changes in weather leading to drying up of rivers and canals etc. are indicated. More specifically, extreme change in weather is associated with the first decandate (first part) of Cancer where as "increase in prostitution, rivers and canals dry up" are results associated with second decandate (second part) of Cancer. The ascendant is rising at the time of max eclipse in New Delhi, so no wonder we are already seeing drought like situation in India. Some of these results may be applicable to the whole world, but will affect India because total eclipse will be seen in India.

According to Varahamihira, if Sun rises eclipsed there will be danger to autumnal crops as well as to the king. So the rulers (Prime minister, President, Ministers of Ruling parties) can be hit by this eclipse and they should be careful this year. As the Patna and Bhopal are two state capitals where total eclipse can be seen, rulers, top officials and ministers of these states can be affected as well. Beware Manmohan Singh, Nitish Kumar and Shivraj Singh.

Astrologically Eastern India - Bihar, Jharkhand, Bangadesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura etc. are some of the regions that are governed by Ardra, Punarvasu and Pusya Nakshatra. As we know that the eclipse is on Pushya Nakshatra, we can observe some problems related to Eastern India. As Bihar is a part of Eastern India as well, it gives doubly indication of problems in Bihar in upcoming period.

Independence chart of India has Taurus ascendant. This eclipse is falling in Cancer sign which is the third house in the chart of India. Third house signifies communication, transportation, neighbors, and railway ministry. Eclipse in 3rd house indicates that India will not be having good relations with neighbours. We can also expect some serious border crashes this year. Mamta Banerjee’s newly formed railway ministry can also face some hardship. There can be some rail, road, air, and water accidents in general.

Mundane Predictions for Solar Eclipse on 22nd July 2009 (International)
According to Western astrology Scotland, Holland, New Zealand, North and West Africa, Isle of Mauritius, Paraguay are some of the countries related to the sign Cancer. These places, and more specifically the places which are close to sea (due to eclipse in Cancer sing) may be affected by this eclipse. Same results that are ascribed for India can also be mentioned for these countries like danger to crops and rulers, drying up of water sources etc.

Routine to be followed During Solar Eclipse
Solar Eclipse has given a lot of importance in Hinduism. At the time of the eclipse, people are suggested to observe fast, bathe in the sacred rivers. They should do charitable acts. They should donate cows, money and gold. One is suggested not not to take food during the eclipse. One should take food only after seeing the sun free from the eclipse. Pregnant women are advised not to see the eclipse otherwise the child born may have some kind of defect. Householders are forbidden from sexual intercourse on the day of the eclipse, for the same reason. Eclipse time is also considered very auspicious for sadhana (spiritual practice).

Related Articles

• Three Eclipse in a Row - Good or Bad

References

• Eclipses in 21st century
• NASA Google Eclipse map for 22nd July
• NASA Eclipse World Map
• NASA Eclipse Map for India

Hindu New Year 2066 Forecasts (Vikram Samvat 2066)

The Hindu New Year starts from the next day after Amavasya (No moon) in the Chaitra month i.e. Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. This calendar in more popular in Northern part of India like Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himanchal Prdesh, and Maharashtra etc. In Maharashtra, starting of new year is celebrated as Gudi-Padwa. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh this day is celebrated as Ugadi. Sindhis celebrate this day as their New Year day Cheti Chand.

This calendar is based on luni-solor system and generally followed for all religious purpose. According to English date, in this year 2009, Hindu Nav Samvat (New Year) started on March 27th. This embarks year 2066 according to this calendar.

Starting of Hindu New Year is an important astrological event. Starting time of the new year is considered important to get overall idea of the upcoming year. Astrologers calculate planetary cabinet of the coming year and read upcoming year from that. Astrological planetary cabinet consists of king of the year, prime minister of the year, lord of the paddy crops, lord of fruits and vegetation, lord of mineral kingdom, lord of clouds, lord of corns and lord of fluids etc. Each planet is responsible for telling us about the respective aspect as suggested by its name.

The name of this year which started from 27th March 2009 is "Shubha." the King of this year is Venus and the Prime Minister is Moon. Venus is exalted in the varsha pravesh chart and well placed. A well placed Venus kinf of a year suggests good rains and crops, prosperity and power to women, progress of arts, victory of virtue over vices, new treaties and agreements signed. Looks like finally some soother after recession. As the year is Shubha, which is generally considered good and the kind is Venus, we can expect some good results. Last year we have seen terrorist attacks, increase in military tension, economic slowdown and recession, crash of the share market etc. I hope it will improve from now onwards.

Moon as the prime minister suggests good rainfall, growth in luxury, improvement in health, general well being and prosperity, contentment to the people etc. As both the king and the prime minster and female planets, we can expect more women gaining power and position.

Wish you all a very very happy new year.

A note of caution is required here. Mundane predictions like this requires analysis of various aspects and charts. For example, this prediction based on only "planetary cabinet of Hindu year" should be supplemented by various other anlysis e.g. charts of the nation under consideration, solar ingress charts, lunation charts, annual horoscope of nation etc., before more conclusive forecasts can be made. Hence this forecast must be taken just as an indicative prediction and should be treated that way only.

Sankranti/ Lohri/ Pongal Greetings and Forecasts

This is my first post in year 2009. So would like to wish happy new year to all my readers. As we are also close to Makar Sankranti, I would also like to wish Happy Sankranti, Happy Pongal and Happy Lohri. Wish all these festivals bring joy and prosperity to you.

On the 14th January 2009, Sun will leave Sagittarius (Dhanu) and enter Capricorn (Makara). This transition of Sun from 'Dhanu' Rasi (Sagittarius) to 'Makara' Rasi (Capricorn) marks the starting of Uttarayana and celebrated in India by different names like Pongal, Lohri and Makar Sankranti.

Here is my general thinking on the planetary positions. Sun will be joining Jupiter, Rahu and Mercury in the sign Capricorn. Mars will also joining this combination on 27/28. So this is going to be an interesting combination of 5 planets in a sign. According to some mundane astrologers this period will mark start of political difficulties and disputes. There will be disagreements and difference of opinion which will lead to division.

Fiery Sun, Mars and Jupiter in watery sign may also indicate severe earth quake, fire incidents and blasts. As Rahu will have to face Jupiter, Mars and Sun, there will be incidents against lower castes and minorities.

Jupiter is also significator of moeny and finance. Jupiter is in its neecha rashi Capricorn and Sun is also joining enemy's sign. It shows that the economy will continue facing difficulties and volatility will still there in the share markets.

These are just general observations and I hope Sun's transition to northern hemisphere will bring prosperity and good luck to all of us.

Note about AstroSage.com - Horoscope Matching
There was a bug in AstroSage, due to which Horoscope Matching was producing some error on the final page. This error has been fixed now. If you still find some problem, please email to info at astrosage dot com.

Bomb Blasts in India: When is the Next One?

While analyzing Indian Varshpravesh chart for share market yesterday, few more important points came into my mind. One question I had was related to bomb blasts in India and is it going to end? Faizabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, Delhi .. when it is going to end?



To answer this question, let us have a look at the chart. Currently Rahu dasa is running from 14th August to 8th October. Rahu is in 2nd house aspected by Sun from 8th. The 2nd and 7th house are called maraka in astrology, so the placement of Rahu cannot be regarded good. Further Sun is 12th from its own house and conjoined by Ketu making it weak. 8th house is the mortality, death and suicide in Mundane astrology. Placement of Sun and Ketu is also weakening the 8th house. Our sages described Ketu's nature similar to Mars. Mars and Sun both are fiery, violent, and aggresive planets. In my opinion, if malefic and associated with 8th house, this combination signifies the bomb attacks, suicide bombing and terrorist attacks. Famous Mundane astrologers late Shri J. C. Luthara writes in his book "Practical Mundane Astrology" for Ketu in 8th as follows –

"People will be afflicted and large number of them will die through violent crime including murder, dacoity, self-immolation, epidemics of very virulent nature, venomous reptiles, intrigues, deception, assassinations, accidents, sudden mishaps, poisoning, fire, plague etc."

The time this book was written, I believe, terrorism was not that major a problem otherwise we would definitely have found terrorism in the above list. Though seeing the description above, we can easily conclude that terrorist attacks are one of the significations for malefic Ketu in 8th. Fiery Sun is also adding the heat to it.

As we can see above, the planetary positions are not telling us any good story and India has to face terrorism for the whole year till 15th August 2009. Only ray of hope is strong Lagna which gives India courage and resources to fight against terrorism. Also I think placement of 8th lord Moon in Lagna with Jupiter is slightly positive. According to the classical astrology Moon with Jupiter in Lagna constitute Gaja Kesari yoga. We can also see some instant relief as Rahu dasa is ending on 8th October and Jupiter dasa is starting which will end on 26th November. Jupiter is very well placed in the chart and we may see more terrorist arrests in this dasa. Jupiter dasa will not only challenge terrorists but also take them behind the bar.


Will there be more bomb blasts/ terrorist attacks?
As you can see from the above analysis for 2008-2009, it is bound to happen. There are more challenges for India going forward. Ketu and Sun dasa are yet to come and this is the period we should be most cautious. Ketu dasa will be from 15th March 2009 to 05th April 2009. Sun’s dasa will be from 5th June 2009 to 23rd June 2009. This is the period where Indian government and Indians should be most cautious and careful.

Socio-Political Predictions for India for the Year 2008 - 2009

This is the third and the last post on the annual prediction for India using Varshpravesh chart of this year.

In mundane astrology, 9th house governs over religion, ideological issues and the clergy; law courts, legal matters, shipping, colonial affairs, foreign affairs, diplomacy, trade, science, inventions, etc.

9th lord in varshpravesh chart is Sun who has gone to 8th house. 8th house in country chart refers to death, and mortality etc. So we can see the increase in death due to religious fanaticism and ideological disputes. Also Sun’s involvement here may also mean the death in higher/ royal circle.

Saturn, Venus and Mercury are there in 9th house in Leo. Leo is inimical sign for these planets and it also shows conflicts and problems in the country to the matters related to 9th house.

Mercury is creating partial rajyoga in 9th house by being lord of 10th in 9th. Generally it is good for the affairs of 9th house especially commercial and legal affairs. We will also see the improvement in scientific research and inventions. The trade and commerce will eventually improve, though we will see ups and downs during this year.

Though there are two good points to note here –
1. 9th house is aspected by well places Jupiter from lagna by 9th aspect. 9th aspect is a beneficial aspect and this is a ray of hope.
2. Saturn, Venus and Mercury are all friendly planets and that is also good for the chart.

So, it looks like that eventually the religious and law-and-order problem will be sorted out. One point is very clear that this year is going to throw lots of violence, politics, diplomacy and law and related challenges for India.

Related Posts:
1. Indian Sports in Year 2008 - 2009
2. Indian Share Market Forecast For Year 2008 - 2009

Indian Share Market Forecast For Year 2008 - 2009

During my analysis of varshpravesh chart for sports, I mentioned that the 3rd house is strong due to following reasons –
1. Saturn the lord of 3rd house is in Trine (9th house) with Mercury & Venus, lords of 7, 10 and 11.
2. It is accompanied by friendly planets Mercury and Venus
3. 3rd lord is aspecting 3rd house which makes 3rd house very powerful.

I concluded in the last post that 3rd house is for sports and that is the reason, India will perform well in sports in year 2008 - 2009. In Mundane astrology, other than sports, 3rd house signifies railways, postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and Internet services, stocks and shares, locomotion, transport, books, newspapers, literary undertakings etc. So it must improve if there are supporting factors. In this post, I just want to concentrate on share market.

Jupiter rules over share market. Jupiter is its own sign Sagittarius which makes Jupiter powerful. Jupiter is also with a friendly planet Moon which is another positive factor for moon. Though Jupiter I also lord of 8th house.

As per KP System (Krishnamurti Paddhati), cuspal sub lord for 3rd house is also Jupiter which is in first house owning 1st and 4th house. Jupiter is in the Nakshatra of Venus, lord of 6th and 11th in 9th. In KP, 6th and 11th are considered good for finance and hence should be good for share market.

2nd house represents overall reserves of a country in mundane chart. 2nd lord is Saturn with Venus lord of 6 & 11 and Mercury, lord of 7 and 10. In terms of finances and reserves 6th and 11th house are considered good. All this conjunction is happening in 9th house which is good for the national reserves. Presence of Rahu in 2nd though will make share market a little unstable and demonstrate unexpected ups and downs.

As per KP, 2nd house sub lord is Saturn in 9th lord of 2nd and 3rd. We already have seen that 2nd and 3rd are considered good for share market and reserves. Saturn is in the Nakshatra of Venus lord of 6 and 11 in 9th. Overall 2nd cuspal sub lord has all good things to say.

To conclude, 2nd and 3rd house seems good and we will see that the share market will flourish this year. The association of Moon with Jupiter may bring some unexpected down-trends but overall market should improve till August 2009. Jupiter and Venus together are the planets of finance, money and prosperity and association of these planets with 3rd house is definitely a positive sign for the share market.

Related Posts:
1. India Commodity Forecast for August - September 2008
2. Indian Sports in Year 2008 - 2009

Indian Sports in Year 2008 - 2009

Indian has done fairly well in present Olympics. India has already won three medals - one in shooting, one in wrestling, and another one in boxing. This is the highest number of medals ever won by India in Olympics. 3 medals with a country having more than a billion people is like a dew in the ocean. Nevertheless, people started calling present time a new era in Indian sports. I was just wondering what are the planetary combinations that are helping sports in India and what is the future of Indian sports.

To understand the scenario of sports in a country we need to look into the chart of the time of Independence. India got Independence on the night of 14/15th at 12:00 night. But we have to see the sports in year 2008. There are multiple options that can be used in such a situation. We can either use Vimshottari Dasa, we can use Transit/ Ashtakvarga or we can use Tajik Varshpravesh charts (Annual Horoscope). Varshpravesh charts are very popular in India for mundane predictions and used the same in this article.

62nd year of Indian Independence will start on 14th August 2008 at 15:18:58. Sagittarius (Dhanu) will be rising at that time. You can use any astrology software or AstroSage.com for casting Varshphal/ Varshpravesh charts. Here is the charts for 62nd year -

For sports, we need to judge the 3rd house. In the present chart, Saturn is the lord of 3rd house situated in a trine and aspecting 3rd house. According to Vedic astrology, a bhava becomes very strong if it is aspected by the bhava lord. Saturn is in inimical sign (Leo) which is reducing its power. Though being with two friendly planets Mercury and Venus is helping Saturn and 3rd house in return. We can see from the Varshpravesh chart that India is going to do well in sports in year 2008.

Now let us have a look at this chart from KP System (Krishnamurti Paddhati) perspective. According to KP System, 1, 6 and 11 houses are good for sports. 1st house is generally for self confidence and self efforts. 6th house is for defeating opponent (by being 12th from 7th - the opponent) and 11th is for fulfilment of desire. 3rd house sub lord in KP cuspal chart is Jupiter. Jupiter is in lagna and also the lord of lagna which is very good for sports. As KP System is stellar astrology (Nakshatra based system) we see in which Nakshatra (constellation), Jupiter is situated. Jupiter will also influenced by the Nakshatra lord. Jupiter is in the Nakshatra of Venus. Venus is lord of 6th and 11th in 9th. As mentioned above 6th and 11th both are good houses for sports.

In general we can conclude that this year will see significant improvement in Indian sports.

I can understand that this post doesn't have much predictive value because even by common sense we can tell that Indian sports is going to improve because of the success in the current Olympics. Also. in astrology .postmortems are always easy and telling it after the happening of event doesn't make this post any valuable from prediction perspective. The only benefit that I can see form this post is that this post may have some astrological learning value. This post shows that we can use Varshpravesh charts for assessing individual years for a country. Also using these charts with KP System simplify the predictive astrology process. I have used it for prediting sports, but its utility if not limited to sports and this charts can be used in predicting any affair related to a country.