I am happy to be presenting an online workshop on the dasas for Astrology Toronto on September 18th from 1-4pm.  Vedic astrology employs the vimshottari dasha system as the main predictive tool to shed light on the dominant themes, trends and karmas that arise during different periods of the human life cycle. Each planet in the birth chart carries with it a karmic promise which will come to fruition during the time that it runs as the Mahadasha (main) or Bhukti (secondary) planet. The planets have a fixed sequence that they run based on the position of your natal moon's nakshatra. The results experienced are highly complex and an accurate understanding of the karma is dependent on a holistic synthesis of various factors lending strength and weakness to the planet such as its sign, nakshatra, house, planetary aspects, yogas it participates in, and its positions in the divisional charts among others. Through this workshop, we will learn in greater depth why the planets give the results that they do, and how this manifests in real life via a study of celebrity charts.

         The current mercury retrograde is from May 29th to June 22nd, with a 2-3 week shadow period on either side. People don't always give it enough importance because it takes 9 weeks without the shadow and up to 18 weeks with the shadow periods. Not all mercury retrogrades have the same power. It really depends on the astrological climate that is happening during the time. Retrogrades that occur at the same time of eclipses always have a lot more power, and capacity to cause bigger issues. Traditionally mercury when retrograding will cause misunderstandings in communications, ensure trouble later when you sign a contract or begin a new venture, or cause delays in things working out as expected. It is not a good time for buying electronics, or other purchases related to communications.  Things get lost or delayed in the mail more often, and people have different expectations when signing contracts. For example, terms were unclear, not addressed in writing or not discussed at all, and assumptions made without asking specific questions.  Retrogrades are best for revising and revisiting things from the past rather than starting anything new. Oral and written communication when published during a retrograde often has to be edited again, and sent out in revised form. It is not auspicious to start a new job or launch a business on Mercury retrograde.

    Communications related purchases should never be placed during mercury retrograde because they will usually run into serious unexpected issues.  Though my computer is not working, I won’t be getting it fixed or getting a new one till this current mercury retrograde is over, including the 3 week shadow. 

      I want to share with you a story about mercury retrograde to illustrate how powerful some of these effects can be. The last time I had to buy a new computer was summer of 2018, and there was a mercury retrograde from July 26th to August 19th that was also the same as eclipse season that year. I didn’t pay attention to the timing because I was eager to get a computer as I was heavily reliant on it at that time. In fact I didn’t even realize it was a retrograde due to being distracted with multiple projects.

      I recall during this time I ordered 5 computers,  3 MacBook, a Lenovo, and 1 Dell, that all had various problems. My order was July 22nd, then July 28th, then August 14th, for MacBooks. All were returned due to the pinwheel repetitively occurring, flickering screens, internet connection problems, I couldn’t get the equivalent Microsoft programs to download my astrology software and if you download Microsoft to an apple computer neither apple or Microsoft will help you if you have tech issues, each saying it’s not their domain. I hadn’t even thought of the Microsoft parallel programs for astrology being an issue with the first 2 computers, but I realized how hard it was to do by the 3rd one. On June 21st, I placed the order for a Dell computer. I had to return that too because the internet connection was unacceptably slow, the webcam very poor and the facial recognition software didn’t work reliably. I received it by July 6th or 7th during the shadow but requested a return during the official retrograde period, around July 18th. On August 22nd, I placed an order for a Lenovo carbon Thinkpad but within a week there was a big price drop promotion of over $500 so I had to return that too, as the customer service team wouldn’t honour it and let me keep the current computer that was already shipped. I then had to buy it again at the new price. So I sent back the computer and had a new one shipped. That order was placed Aug 27th 2018. This was the one I ended up keeping. This was a very high end computer, almost $2000 before tax  and was planning to keep at least 5 years. I got it by mid September 2018. However after just 2 years, automatic updates started ruining the system. As of Nov 2020, I had ongoing issues till January 2021 with updates getting into the system and Microsoft not loading properly.  I would end up calling the support line every week or biweekly to try to fix it. Hours would go by with each rep, and I had to call multiple times usually to get someone who was actually reliable. I tried to use my warranty that I bought at Lenovo but the tech guy wouldn’t troubleshoot and just wanted to wipe and reinstall windows and then all my apps would be deleted. I could have done that myself if I wanted. Some phone reps from Microsoft  would just hang up, or put me on hold forever. A lot of the reps were unhelpful and my friend ended up solving a few problems for me. Finally a representative at Microsoft taught me how to shut off automatic updates and the computer was fine from Feb to late May this year. But the last week of May, an update somehow got in, nevertheless I restored the system and it was fine for a few more days when again Microsoft didn’t load, and despite a lot of troubleshooting nothing worked. Somehow I still can’t access the support line as it keeps saying there is an issue and they are working on fixing it. I tried several times to get the number to display but it never does. These issues started occurring during mercury’s current shadow phase. This is a link to read more about this retrograde.

        It’s a lot more powerful than usual due to occurring same time as eclipse season. So never buy any electronics during this period of mercury retrograde because things don’t go as planned, with unexpected trouble popping up. My last Lenovo purchase, despite working great for 2 years, it wasn’t as long lasting as I expected and not worth the price tag. I could have never anticipated the seriousness of issues I ended up having. I wish I had just held off till the shadow period was over to buy this important purchase. Even if you order before the shadow starts, like I did in June 2018,  if you receive the computer in the shadow, there is a strong chance of problems. This has never happened with a computer purchase in the past. I’ve always kept the first computer I ordered every time. 

As a result of all these complications the last retrograde, I’ll be without a regular computer till August of this year, which is the longest ever in my adult life and is certainly quite challenging already.

Have you had trouble with this current Mercury retrograde? Let me know in the comments below!

Excerpt from Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi- 643: 

"M: The Gita starts saying that you are not the body, that you are not
therefore the karta.
D: What is the significance?
M: That one should act without thinking that oneself is the actor.
The actions go on despite his egolessness. The person has come
into manifestation for a certain purpose. That purpose will be
accomplished whether he considers himself the actor or not.
D: What is Karma yoga? Is it non-attachment to Karma or its fruit?
M: Karma yoga is that yoga in which the person does not arrogate
to himself the function of being the actor. The actions go on
automatically.
D: Is it the non-attachment to the fruits of actions?
M: The question arises only if there is the actor. It is being all along
said that you should not consider yourself the actor.
D: So Karma yoga is kartrtva buddhi rahita karma - action without
the sense of doership.
M: Yes. Quite so."

Excerpt from I Am That, Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, chapter 63, pp.297-298:

"M: There is only life. There is nobody who lives a life.
Q: That we understand, yet constantly we make attempts to live our lives instead of just living. Making plans for the future seems to be an inveterate habit with us.
M:  Whether you plan or you don't, life goes on. But in life itself a little whorl arises in the mind, which indulges in fantasies and imagines itself dominating and controlling life. Life itself is desireless. But the false self wants to continue--pleasantly. Therefore it is always engaged in ensuring one's continuity. Life is unafraid and free. As long as you have the idea of influencing events, liberation is not for you: The very notion of doership, of being a cause, is bondage."

   
     The secret to awakening from the dream of life to recognize in your heart that you are not the doer and to act accordingly. Surrendering to God's will for your life rather than clinging to your personal wishes, desires and goals is the only way you will escape from the wheel of reincarnation. It is also the way to lasting happiness, when we accept the conditions of our life with grace rather than having our happiness dependent on whether life meets our expectations for how we want it to look.

     Through astrology we realize that all the major events in life have already been predetermined, and will go on as scheduled regardless of whether you would like it to or not. This is what is meant by the opening quotes suggesting that the purpose of a life will be accomplished regardless of one considers himself the actor or not, and that doership is bondage. Just as gravity does not require personal belief in order to operate, cosmic laws do not either. The planets are symbolic of the divine intelligence and timing of the universe. They are also symbolic of your karma; they do not cause events to happen to you. Their movement in the sky in relation to your chart signals the timing of different energies and themes that will arise in various periods of life. 

     It has always been you and only you who has created your karma up to this point. You are not a victim of the planets. The conditions we are born into in life are perfect for the lessons we most need to learn.  Always try your best but letting go of the attachment to controlling outcomes brings peace. We don't have nearly as much control over events as we think we do, and what appears to be choices have already been predetermined. Sometimes the outcome we want is not the outcome that is best for us. The reasons behind some experiences we have in life may never be fully understood with our limited perspective, and trust is needed to deal with these challenges to our faith.

    Your birth chart is a snapshot of the karma you are destined to experience in this particular lifetime.  You can control your reactions to your karmic unfolding and therefore create easier karma the next time around- that is your free will. Make an effort to understand the messages behind the planetary cycles you are experiencing, cultivate self-compassion, and keep a good attitude of faith. This way you will purify the old patterns of thought and behaviour (samskaras) that are keeping you bound to the world.

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         I am thrilled and inspired that Kamala Harris will soon become vice president. My parents grew up in Chennai where her mother is from. Representation is vital for meaningful global change and having a woman of colour in the highest office in the world sends a powerful message to all women of colour out there about what they can aspire to and achieve. We need a diversity of philosophies, talents, life experiences, spiritual/religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds to show us different ways of looking at the world, and to be tolerant and accepting of those who are different from us. It changes your whole outlook on the world when as a child you see people who look like you in powerful and important positions, who are making things happen on the world's stage. There is wisdom in every life story, yet only a narrow sample of people get into the positions where they can share their knowledge and skills on the world's stage. For far too long, what is "normal" has been dictated by straight, middle and upper middle class, non-disabled white men. They held most of the world's power for far too long. This leaves other people in the shadows to follow the rules and regulations they set, with little regard or accountability for those different from them who suffer as a result of their policies and laws. As comedian Wanda Sykes mentioned on the Ellen Degeneres show a few days ago, if you are a straight white man, you will be okay regardless of who takes power, so think about who won't be okay and vote for them.

      Kamala is poised for the pinnacle of her career because it is only a matter of time before the election is declared and her and Joe Biden are declared the winners. Looking at her chart, the transiting nodes are within 3 degrees of her ascendant- descendant axis and her 4 degrees of her natal nodes. People who have north node on the ascendant tend to be well-liked, respected, honoured and achieve elevated positions in life because they stand out and their talents highly appreciated. There is an eclipse on Dec 14th 2020 at 23 sagittarius  and there is a solar eclipse on June 10th 2021 which falls at 19 gemini which both closely activates the nodal axis and asc-dsc. These have the effect of throwing her into the spotlight and bringing her to her destiny (the nodes are a point of fate). Natally uranus makes a 11 degree opposition to the MC so it is her karma to be a trailblazer at some pont in her life. Triggering that potential is transiting uranus which is making a 1 degree semisquare to the ascendant and sesquiquadrate to the descendant which usually gives a huge change in status and how one is perceived in society.

       Her MC is 2 degrees pisces and the ruler is neptune which is closely conjunct the vertex. Neptune and the vertex make a conjunction to mercury which is the 1st house ruler. Mercury conjunct the vertex and 10th house ruler, and making a 1 degree trine to the MC gives Kamala the feeling she has a compelling message to share with the world and the inner knowing that she will get the chance to have a sizeable audience to hear it because it is her destiny. It is also a great combination for creativity, compassion, and non-linear thinking. Connections between the 1st and 10th houses are an indicator that the person becomes well-known and well-respected in their field. She has the part of fortune exact on her descendant giving her the ability to attract high profile, powerful partners who choose to help her personally and professionally. Being born with the moon as bright as it can be (it is completely full, applying to the sun by 9 minutes) gives her fortune, blessings, the ability to have her talents shine and to shine the light on issues of personal importance to her. I find that people born on the full moon (poornima) tend to have an easier time attracting positive attention and being respected for their contributions to society. Combining this with the nodes so close to her asc-dsc axis gives rise to being a public figure with immense power. Saturn is conjunct the MC (out of sign) byt 4 degrees, and gives her a reputation for being tough, disciplined, hardworking, dedicated, responsible and willing to serve the public. She has a natural aura of authority; she is firm but fair. Justice is extremely important to her.

      Comparing her chart to Biden, there are numerous aspects involving the vertex and nodes. We can see her vertex is conjunct his mars and mercury which often happens in fated encounters. The vertex is conjunct the composite descendant by 2 degrees. To add to this, her saturn is closely conjunct his south node which confirms they have a karmic connection, though saturn on the south node is a challenging aspect in interpersonal relations as hard work and dedication can lead to burnout if not careful. The composite moon, venus and neptune are square the composite nodal axis. Her neptune opposes his natal venus, sun, mars and mercury, her sun is in the same sign as his neptune, her moon is in the opposite sign to his neptune and her mercury semisextiles his neptune exact which suggests that they both have a glamourized view of the other and choose not to see their flaws as much. They both see each other through rose colored glasses due to the composite neptune conjunct venus and opposing the moon. The effects are felt more strongly for Biden (in terms of how he views Harris) because his personal planets are in tighter conjunction to her neptune than her personal planets are to his neptune. The moon-saturn conjunction adds a necessary dose of practicality and realism so that when they see different sides to each other, they are better poised to handle it. He sees her as a trusted wise advisor as her jupiter opposes his sun, venus and mercury. In the composite, jupiter is at 24 degrees which falls directly on her ascendant, activating bountiful blessings. Her ascendant falls in his 7th house which is a great indicator of compatibility.  They think similarly, as both of their mercurys fall in scorpio. Their moons are conjunct (out of sign) so they are in tune emotionally. Her venus, pluto and uranus conjunct his MC, so he views her as powerful (pluto), charming and beautiful (venus) and a trailblazer (uranus) which he feels will add a lot of strength to the productivity of his presidency term(s). Her uranus, pluto and venus conjunction falls in the composite 7th house and conjuncts the composite vertex. It is especially beneficial for status, power and wealth to have your business partner activating your 1st, 7th and/or 10th houses (including rulers and dispositors). Biden's nodal axis conjuncts Harris' MC-IC axis by 3 degrees (out of sign). Biden and Harris mutually activate these houses for each other. The composite sun-mercury conjunction at 11-12 degrees scorpio falls on Biden's mars which means that the relationship activates his ambition, drive and determination to get things done. The composite uranus is closely conjunct the nodal axis which means that they will be viewed as progressive, making a lot of "firsts". Jupiter at 24 gemini is the ruler of their composite MC and is being activated by the eclipse in December 2020 at 23 sagittarius, signalling it is time for this pair to go public and have all eyes on them.

    Looking at her vedic chart, her chandra lagna is aries which means the 10th house is capricorn. Her yogi point is 12 capricorn so during her time at the White House, both jupiter and saturn will make their conjunctions to this point, giving her a boost of fortune when they do. Her 10th house gets a boost in general with both saturn and jupiter casting their double transit on it from December 2020 to April 2021 and pluto would be there too for a very long time. She just entered the mercury sub dasha on Oct 21st and mercury receives the second highest dominance score of all the planets. Significant career events happen when you run the dasha of planets that are connected in the dashamsha (career) chart, for example aspecting each other, in each other's nakshatra or one planet is the dispositor of another. In the dashamsha chart, mercury is conjunct the nodal axis and the nodal axis is conjunct the asc-dsc by one degree. This emphasizes the power of her written and spoken word to influence the country.  However, mercury is not as auspicious as the other planets, for example mercury is the ava yogi (planet causing obstruction) and it is having the lowest shad bala strength of all her planets, which may make her messages prone to a lot of criticism (whether deserved or not). People may either not understand her reasoning and/or feel that she is not making the right or morallt correct decisions. Her belief systems may come under fire. This tendency is also suggested by jupiter which sits at its lowest debilitation degree in navamsha (5 capricorn), people may question her judgement and definition of justice and fairness. At the same time, there are some vedic astrologers who believe a planet that is both debilitated and retrograde behaves like an exalted planet. Her jupiter is debilitated and retrograde in the navamsha and dashamsha charts.  Although in the dashamsha chart, jupiter and saturn are in each other's signs (saturn is in pisces and jupiter is in capricorn), allowing both planets to function as if they were in their own signs. My experience is that the retrograde debilitated planet does not give results as if it is exalted but it does seem to reverse the negative potential of having a direct motion debilitated planet and offers more protection from harm. You may experience more of the good side of this planet than usual.

      Kamala's moon is strong in the navamsha (5 degrees from its extreme exaltation at 3 taurus) and dashamsha (8 degrees from its extreme exaltation at 3 taurus). The moon represents your ability to nurture and be nurtured, to give others a sense of comfort and security, and to be content. The moon represents the mind in vedic astrology so it being so close to its exact exaltation point indicates a smart and emotionally intelligent individual. 

​      Rahu is in in its own sign or exalted in 7/16 of the divisional charts (this is very high for any planet). There are 12 signs and normally a planet has two of their own signs and one exaltation sign which means there is only a 25% (3/12) chance that in any given subdivisional chart a planet will be in its own sign or exalted. Rahu and ketu each only own one sign and are exalted in one sign making the percentage about 17% (2/12).  In January 2023 while in office, she will enter rahu-ketu in the dasha sequence where her natal potential of the nodes exactly on the axis will thrust her into even more spotlight. Entering rahu-ketu is the most fated period of your life, for better or for worse but especially if the nodes are emphasized in your chart such as on the angles of the chart, on the luminaries or in association with the vertex. She has rahu-ketu just 1 degree from the asc-dsc axis both in the rasi and navamsha charts. Some speculate that she might take on increased levels of responsibility and influence due to Joe's advancing age, though it is not clear whether she will become president during her tenure. Joe has an immense amount of respect and admiration for Kamala by studying their charts, so I wouldn't be surprised if he lets her take the lead down the road on important issues, either behind the scenes or on the world's stage.

      I won't be discussing the chart of Mike Pence in detail as there is no birth time given. However, we know the date of birth and see the sun is at 16 gemini, moon at 29 gemini and mercury at 21 gemini.  Thus, the transiting nodes are making an exact conjunction to his mercury currently (suggesting to me that he will have greatly reduced national and international influence in communications) and rahu will be crossing over his sun in Feb 2021, shortly after he steps down as VP. The eclipse next June conjuncts his sun by 3 degrees and this indicates a complete turning point in life, your life as a whole completely changes. He will be on a new path.

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       ​The next president of the United States will be Joe Biden. While polling has not always been accurate in previous elections, there are reliable indicators one can look to in the heavens to predict the winner. Let's look at the western and vedic charts for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, along with the transits on November 3rd 2020, the day of the election. I have picked a city from New York for convenience as the location for the election chart, though the location is not relevant for the timing. Almost all states close the polls by midnight eastern time on Nov 3rd and that is why the time was set for 11:59pm on the election day chart. There are some conflicting birth times for Trump, however I agree with the 9:51am time as it is a better fit than the 10:54am time on his birth certificate in terms of his other significant life experiences (marriage, the birth of his kids, parents' death, the start of his TV show for example).
​

          
     For changes in career and public standing, the 10th house needs to be examined. Starting with Biden's western chart, we see the MC degree is 19 virgo, the 10th ruler mercury is at 21 scorpio, and the 10th dispositor is pluto at 7 leo. Transiting uranus which is symbolic of dramatic changes that forever alter one's life, and are sometimes out of the blue, shocking, unexpected and revolutionary is currently at 8 taurus and today (Oct 31st) there is a blue moon (second full moon in a calendar month) occurring exactly at 8 taurus, supercharging the degree.  It’s associated with revelations, aha moments and secrets coming out into the open. Sometimes things can be done a certain way for years and then all of a sudden people can’t stand to do it that way anymore. Or sometimes you feel trapped or held down by your circumstances and Uranus gives the courage to break free and start fresh. Tr. Uranus is widely opposing mercury, widely trining the MC, and making a 1 degree square to pluto. Biden's moon is at 0 taurus so Uranus is making a wide conjunction to it and this blue moon activates it too. Though Uranus will bring unexpected significant changes to anyone's life when activating key chart indicators, it is pronounced in Biden as natally uranus is making many important aspects. For example, it makes an exact opposition to his ascendant, is square the nodes (points of fate) by 3 degrees, opposes the sun by 5 degrees, opposes venus by 4 degrees, and conjuncts saturn by 7 degrees. On May 26th 2021, there is an eclipse at 5 sagittarius which opposes his natal uranus by 3 degrees, so the energy of his uranus is being activated in multiple ways. The transiting uranus brings the fruits of his natal karma at this moment in time.

      Transiting neptune at 18 degrees pisces is making a close opposition to the MC and conjunction to the IC and given that neptune is in the 10th natally, the energy is much enhanced. His presidency will elevate the underdog; he will give a voice to people who have been discriminated against and silenced.  I think he will become known for bringing empathy and compassion back into the White House. Recently he has pledged to reunite children with their parents who were separated at the U. S. - Mexico border. With Kamala as VP, I have a feeling that race relations will become a priority. People will become more aware of how devastating white privilege combined with unconscious and implicit racial bias really is for minorities and how severely it holds back the country from progressing in every arena.
  
​      The eclipse that happened on July 5th 2020 at 13 capricorn was opposing his natal vertex at 17 cancer, a major point of destiny. The vertex gets activated at times when you meet your destiny, regardless of how hard you try, this is a force that is impossible to avoid. The eclipse that happened on January 10th 2020 at 20 cancer activates his natal exalted Jupiter at 25 cancer and vertex. This will be triggered in January 2021 when Biden gets sworn into office. Inauguration Day occurs every four years on January 20th or 21st if the 20th is a Sunday.

     Uranus makes an exact conjunction to his descendant which gives a tendency to select partners who are very different from him and that people wouldn't necessarily expect him to be with. I think this relates to his pioneering nature when it came to selecting a visible minority woman as a VP, something that has never happened in history. Interestingly, Kamala selected pioneer as her secret service code name. It could also relate to him being a VP to Barack Obama who was also a pioneer as the United States first Black president. Another way he breaks the mould is that he will be the oldest man to assume office, at 78 years old. The moon is exalted which is excellent for popularity and making other people feel comforted and secure. It is at 0 degrees taurus and planets at 0 degrees give the purest energy of the sign they are in. Mercury is at critical degree 21 scorpio which denotes a very bright and articulate man with excellent communication skills. He thinks three steps ahead and anticipates the opponent's possible reactions to his moves, and that is why he wins in the end. Mars is strong in its own sign scorpio giving a warrior nature. The sun and venus so close to the ascendant give him the ability to thrive in the spotlight and present a charming and sophisticated, yet strong and capable demeanour. The scorpio stellium  along with mars square pluto give a gritty strength and lasting endurance. It can be observed that still waters run deep. There is a lot of determination and fight within him, with immense resilience, ambition and persistence. Because it falls in the 12th house, people may not always give him the credit he is due and may underestimate his talents and abilities. I have heard people comment that his mental sharpness is going down (maybe due to his age and stereotypes about the elderly) but this is not at all true. Mars conjunct the 12th house cusp denotes secret enemies (in contrast to the 7th house which is open enemies). Saturn in the 7th gives plenty of open enemies as well!

       Turning to the vedic chart, Biden is currently in the dasha jupiter-rahu until September 2022. Natally, Jupiter is very close to being at it's exact degree of exaltation (5 degrees cancer) so this is a huge blessing, and denotes an ability to always have protection when it's needed the most. This Jupiter gives a generous, charitable and benevolent disposition. Running the mahadasha of jupiter will bring him the pinnacle of his career. Transiting saturn and jupiter will be making a double transit (when they both aspect the same sign) on capricorn as of November 20th 2020 and will still be there by the time he is sworn into office. They will both be closing opposing his natal jupiter at the time of election. From the chandra lagna (moon as rising sign), capricorn is the 10th house of career so the double transit brings a career enhancing opportunity. His natal saturn is being activated by the eclipse on November 8th by just 1 degree and this is significant as saturn rules the 10th house from chandra lagna. Saturn is also the 4th house from the ascendant, so it reflects a change in his residence to the white house. The ruler of his vedic chart is mars. The transiting sun on Nov 3rd is making an exact conjunction to his mars, throwing him into the spotlight. This full moon happening today is closely making an opposition to his mars too.

     Interestingly, Barack Obama's natal ascendant- descendant  (asc-dsc) axis is 17 aquarius-17 leo, Trump's natal asc-dsc is 17 leo-17 aquarius, George Bush's natal asc-dsc is 7 leo- 7 aquarius, his father George H. W. Bush's natal asc-dsc is 26 leo- 26 aquarius, Clinton's converse secondary progressed (CSP) asc-dsc was 25 leo-25 aqu when he was first elected to office and Biden's secondary progressed (SP) asc-dsc currently is 22 aqu-22 leo. I believe that the president of a country is representative of the collective consciousness of that country at that time and that is why there are these similarities. In studying the president’s charts, I discovered there are several themes that tie these men from diverse backgrounds, life experiences, philosophies and belief systems together. 
    
     Moving to Trump's western 10th house indicators, we see his MC at 8 taurus, 10th house ruler venus at 25 cancer and the 10th house dispositor moon at 20 degrees sagittarius. Transiting uranus and this blue moon today fall exactly on his MC. For him this will manifest in the form of a tremendous loss of status as he wanted a second term just like all the U. S. presidents have been having since 1992. Transits are reflective of the individual's psychological state and the energy dominating at various time points in their life cycle. Transiting uranus on the election chart at 8 degrees 32 minutes taurus is literally 1 minute applying to Trump's MC at 8 degrees 31 minutes taurus! I believe this is compelling evidence of the 9:51am birth time. Characteristic of uranus bringing the unexpected, the loss will come as a big surprise to him. During his television debates and personal appearances on the campaign trail, I can tell he feels genuinely confident that he will win. This is despite him being aware that the early voting polls show he is trailing Biden by increasing margins in the electoral college votes needed to win in the key swing states. Trump had only won in 2016 because of the electoral college in those states, losing the popular vote by 3 million.  The double transit of jupiter and saturn are closely opposing his venus and transiting pluto is giving venus a tight opposition which is signalling a change in his professional status and is indicative of him pursuing other business opportunities.
   
      Transiting Uranus squares his pluto and as pluto is the ruler of his 4th house; this is indicative of him moving out of the White House (4th represents home). Pluto is symbolic of power and this represents the sudden loss of power he will soon have to deal with. With pluto in the 12th house this will bring him grief, sadness and a sense of isolation. Transiting north node will conjunct his sun as the chart ruler (leo is the ascendant) and this will push him to find ways he can re-invent himself as he re-enters the business world and seeks to gain back the popularity he had as a business man and TV show host.
     
     Uranus is always prominent in the charts of presidents as they are in charge of the future of a particular country for a given time period and they have strongly developed vision—for better or for worse. In Trump’s chart, the overall chart shape is a bowl with lead planet Uranus at 17 degrees Gemini in the 11th house. Uranus is conjunct the sun and the north node, opposing the moon and making an exact sextile to the ascendant. Critical degrees are points of added power within a sign and in this case accentuate the intellectual prowess, persuasive communication skills and sharp wit of Gemini. Uranus is accidentally dignified in the 11th house, it therefore functions very strongly, being able to think outside the box and see future oriented potentials. In my opinion, his Uranus was put to very good use in the business sphere where he was a trailblazer in many respects. He was an excellent business man but as a political leader, he lacked empathy. He pushed forward unusual, eccentric and imbalanced ideas and policies which hurt many people.
  
      Looking at the vedic chart, the transiting nodes are within a degree of his sun-moon opposition. This is a turning point for him, both professionally and personally, as the nodes bring highly fated events to pass (he was born with the sun-moon opposition closely conjunct the nodes). He has a kala sarpa yoga which means that all 7 planets are between the nodes. This gives less free will than average to a person as more of their life events are dictated by past karma. When the person experiences a nodal return (which Trump is now having) it will often signal a fall from grace which is a result of negative karma from past lives.  With this yoga, sometimes the nodal return will bring a huge boost to social status but more often it seems to bring a reversal of fortune. It can also bring a blessing disguised as a curse or vice versa. I find that the moon conjunct the nodal axis aspected by one or more malefics (mars throws its forward square onto the moon-ketu) brings a tendency toward mental  instability throughout life but is triggered more seriously when the nodes transit the moon (as they are currently for Trump). On the evening of the election day, the transiting moon will be in taurus closely conjunct his sun and opposing his moon. Fortunately, he was born on poornima, the brightest phase of the waxing full moon and has no dagdha (burnt) rashis. These rashis and their corresponding houses would otherwise suffer by being burnt. The bright moon balances out the fact that the moon is in its fall in scorpio. Poornima is the luckiest phase of the moon to be born under, it bestows fame, wealth and high position.
   
      Not much happens without the effects of the eclipses activating a particular planet or house that is relevant to the area of life where major change happens. In 2016-2017 the eclipses ran along Trump’s natal asc-dsc axis thrusting him into the spotlight. For instance, on February 10th 2017 there was an eclipse at 22 leo, just 5 degrees away from his ascendant. There is a total solar eclipse on Dec 14th 2020 at 23 sagittarius and this is closely conjunct Trump’s moon and it makes a close opposition to his sun, it also runs along the nodal axis. Total lunar or solar eclipses have more power than partial eclipses. Eclipses are sometimes felt immediately during the week of the eclipse but sometimes they are felt a month or two before or after the date, sometime that year, and sometimes they get triggered by the transiting planets for up to 5 years after they occur (depends on the strength of the eclipse and how prominently in features in your chart). They can also be reflective of events that happen one calendar year before it. There is a solar eclipse on June 10th 2021 which falls at 19 gemini activating this configuration and his natal Uranus, and the same applies for the eclipse that happened on June 5th 2020 which was at 15 sagittarius. The eclipse that happened on January 10th 2020 was at 20 cancer and this activated his venus and saturn, both connected with the 10th house. This will be triggered around the time he leaves the White House in January 2021 when Biden is inaugurated. Trump is most definitely having to deal with the effects of his past karma for the next year, in which he will feel very little control over his life, and will be watching events happen that he doesn’t want to happen. This is a very fixed karma that is nearly impossible to change in terms of the external sequencing of events. But his emotional reactions and trying to cultivate an attitude of equanimity and grace will go a long way in terms of balancing this out and making things better for future lifetimes.
    
     Trump was elected in November 2016 in rahu-mars, his last sub period of the rahu mahadasha. Mars is a very good planet for him. Jupiter is also a good planet for Trump and in July 2017, shortly after being sworn into office, he entered his Jupiter mahadasha. Jupiter was stationary when he was born and stationary planets become very powerful and auspicious. However, he is now in Jupiter-saturn and saturn is the weakest planet in his chart. You may refer to the figures below for information on the strength and auspiciousness of all the planets. Mars and jupiter have good overall scores. Saturn is the ava yogi, which is the planet that obstructs prosperity. It has the lowest vimshopaka score of all the planets at 5.3. Saturn has .74 in shad bala which is again the lowest score of all his planets. You can see looking at the auspiciousness graph, dominance graph and the vargavimshopaka chart that it is in the worst overall position of all the planets. In the vedasthana, saturn is in the second worst position. Biden is in Jupiter-rahu, we can’t measure the auspiciousness of rahu or ketu, though his Jupiter is one of his best planets on several of these measures. Rahu is his yogi planet (planet promoting prosperity).

        Congratulations goes to Joe Biden as his hard work, determination, intelligence and strength is finally being rewarded. I am sure he will make a difference in many lives and use his powerful vision to guide the country to prosperity. 

      The composite chart is the midpoint of your planets and angles with another person. For example, if your sun is at 25 degrees gemini and your partner's sun is at 25 degrees cancer, the composite chart sun would be at 10 degrees cancer. This is because there is a 30 degree separation between the suns, so you must divide this in two to get 15 degrees, and then you add 15 degrees to the sun which is earlier in the zodiac, 25 degrees gemini. The result is 10 degrees cancer. Fortunately, there is software to calculate the composite chart, and you may create a free chart on www.astro.com. We think of the composite chart as useful for learning about the karma, strengths, weaknesses, personality and overall flavour of a relationship. This is the energy projected onto the world by the couple, and how they are viewed in society when they are together.

     You can compare your natal planets and angles to the planets and angles of the composite to see how the relationship affects you. For instance, if your natal north and south nodes are the same as the composite's ascendant- descendant axis, this relationship will have a profound impact on you, and feel very fated, regardless of how long you stay together. If your moon is conjunct the IC of the composite, you will feel naturally at home with the person and may feel you get into deep conversations, sharing things you normally don't share with others so quickly, or at all. The relationship has an unusual comfort that develops at a fast pace, and you can find yourself pouring out your soul to this person.

​     We can see one-sided relationships through the composite, when one person's natal chart is highly activated and the other person's is not. For instance, if my natal sun-moon opposition falls close to the asc-dsc axis or MC-IC axis of the relationship chart, it will play an important role in my self-concept and self-development. I may have a high attachment to the relationship. For the relationship to be a long term, mutually engaging one, both people's natal charts must be activated by the composite. The synastry chart must be studied along with composite to get a comprehensive analysis.

     I find that the composite is an invaluable tool for gaining insight into the themes and trends affecting a relationship at any given time period so I use it in my predictive readings. The transiting planets and eclipses affect a composite chart in the same way they affect a natal chart. The retrograde and direct motion of outer planets are relevant in the timing of energetic shifts. To help you to see how this operates, I will use an example of a couple who briefly dated. From the woman's perspective, she had met a man in the past few weeks whom she connected with immediately; she was thinking about him often and was able to share her innermost feelings. They spent hours talking on the phone every night and when they met in person it would be sweet and romantic. It felt to her that it was just the two of them regardless of how many people were there. He said the right things at the right times and she felt special with him. 

     Looking at their composite, the asc-dsc axis at 17 virgo-17 pisces was just one degree away from her sun-moon midpoint at 18 degrees virgo and was closely conjunct her solar arc directed asc-dsc axis. This is significant as it shows the degree of investment and hopes projected onto the relationship, at least from the woman's side. I could see the intensity of connection she felt in quite a few ways. To name some of the most important:

1. the composite vertex was 8 degrees away from the composite descendant,
2. his converse progressed asc-dsc axis was 4 degrees away from the composite asc-dsc axis,
3. his converse progressed vertex was exactly conjunct the composite vertex,
4. the composite nodes were 8 degrees from the composite asc-dsc axis,
5.his natal nodes were just 4 degrees away from the composite asc-dsc axis,
6.his progressed vertex made an exact conjunction to her natal sun,
7.the composite moon was 3 degrees away from the composite IC,
8. both of their natal moons were conjunct the composite chart IC, hers by 3 degrees and his by 8 degrees. Her converse progressed vertex made a one degree conjunction to the composite IC.
9. his secondary progressed venus was just 1 degree away from the composite asc-dsc axis, and was just 2 degrees away from her natal sun-moon midpoint.
10. his secondary progressed asc-dsc was 3 degrees away from her natal IC-MC and his secondary progressed MC-IC was just 2 degrees away from her natal asc-dsc axis.
11. his solar arc directed venus made an exact conjunction to her secondary progressed ascendant
12. her natal nodes were conjunct his natal asc-dsc axis by 8 degrees

    Intensity and excitement do not necessarily translate into longevity and I wasn't  optimistic regarding the long term potential. Looking at the aspects, it would be fair to conclude that they had a strong genuine mutual attraction with the potential for great emotional depth. At the same time, it was not real love nor the type of enduring karmic bond you would see in couples who marry or stay together for a long period. The main issues were caused by hard aspects to neptune. Neptune was of greater significance to her because her natal neptune made an exact conjunction to her natal vertex and squared her natal nodes by just 1 degree. Hard neptune aspects cause unrealistic expectations, putting the other on a pedestal, and being disappointed when the partner can't live up to those expectations. It can also cause people to be less than honest, vague, sometimes deliberately lying, confusing and gaslighting the other for their own purposes. With hard neptune aspects, we ignore red flags despite the advice of those closest to us. We can go to great lengths to justify what should not be justified, and to accept treatment we would not put up with from other people. We hope in vain the other person will change when there is no reasonable basis for it. We ignore objective information about their past and present to arrive at the conclusions we desire.

These are some of the most problematic neptune aspects:

1. There was an opposition between venus and neptune (I call this the heartbreak aspect) in the composite. Her progressed venus was opposed to their natal neptune, his natal venus made a quincunx (minor hard aspect) to their natal neptune and his converse progressed venus was oppose their natal neptune, all within 2-3 degrees. Her converse progressed venus was square their natal neptunes (widely).
2. Though the composite showed a trine between mercury and neptune, her secondary progressed neptune made an exact opposition to his natal neptune and his natal mercury squared her natal neptune which made miscommunication and both concious and unconscious deceit prominent. They both heard what they want to hear from the other.
3. His solar arc directed moon made a one degree conjunction to her natal neptune. This is a highly idealistic and sensitive aspect. At the same time, people try to shape the relationship into something it can't be and get disappointed when the other's human flaws become more apparent.
4. Her natal mars was opposite his natal neptune. His mars (which was his 7th house ruler) squared his own and her natal neptune. His neptune squared his asc-dsc axis. Because of his natal aspects, he had a strong natural tendency to see partners not as who they were but who he wanted them to be. This would stay with him all his life and affect all his partners.

    In addition to this, looking at the chart for the day they had their first date, transiting venus, sun, and mars were widely square their natal neptune and the asc-dsc axis of the first date chart. The transiting moon, saturn, north node and pluto were widely conjunct their natal neptune. The ascendant of the first date chart was 15 degrees capricorn, meaning that it made a conjunction to their natal neptune and had transiting saturn, north node and pluto within 5 degrees of the ascendant.

     There was good reason to believe that her feelings would abruptly change with the direct motion of neptune, when the rose colored glasses came off. This was set to happen about 7 weeks from the date they met. 

     Transiting neptune on the day they met was at 16 degrees pisces and it was retrograde. For saturn, uranus, neptune and pluto, we can feel the energetic shift for a week before they go direct and before they go retrograde. Six days before neptune turned direct, she had a change of heart and informed him she didn't see a future for them romantically. There was an eclipse at 4 degrees capricorn that made a conjunction to both of their natal neptunes at 7 degrees capricorn. This eclipse occurred a month after she broke up with him. ​Keep in mind each person must have their own personal transits signalling a break up, the transiting neptune and the eclipse are just a few triggers.

​    Eclipses can have their effects retroactively for up to a year or can be triggered by transits for up to 5 years after they occur (depending on the power of that particular eclipse). The eclipse can show its effects around the actual day/week of the eclipse, or perhaps the preceeding or following month, if this is so it does not need a planetary transit for its effects. This is in contrast to new and full moons in which the strongest effects are always felt within the month, if it does activate an important point in your chart. The new and full moons always fall in a house where its possible you feel some effect but you may not notice anything significant unless it makes a hard aspect (including a conjunction) to a planet, angle, vertex or node.

     As relayed to me, it was a shock to him. She felt she was being fair because a few weeks prior, she clearly communicated the issues she saw in the relationship, along with suggestions on how to make things better. He listened and said he would try to change the behaviour that most upset her, and then never made any effort to change. She was willing to adjust her expectations but he was not meeting her halfway. The fact that he did not try at all was the last straw, because this showed he didn't value her. His sun and south node fell in her natal 2nd house, and his converse progressed mercury right on the cusp of her natal 2nd house, so he had a greater effect on her sense of self-worth than usual. She kept in touch with him for a couple months after that via phone and text, to see whether they may function better as friends. It was difficult because she felt he wasn't making an effort to stay in touch with her and was distant during their conversations, despite verbally saying he wanted to stay friends. Finally, as neptune crossed the composite descendant, 4-5 months after they met, her feelings for him changed permanently as she reflected on his behaviour and felt he was not at the man he pretended to be in the beginning. It was clear to her she did not want him in her life as either a friend or a lover. With the direct motion of neptune, she was able to think clearly and let him out of her heart and mind.