Using Vedic Astrology Principles to Analyze Relationship Compatibility
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement last month, and I was happy to see how the Royal family is becoming more accepting of diversity. This is a momentous time in history and I am proud of Meghan and Harry for being the trailblazers who broke the mold. The couple seems to be very much in love and I wanted to see what the stars had to say about the happiness of their marriage, they will get married in May 2018. The Vedic principles I am going to use in this analysis have been thoroughly researched and some of them have been around for centuries, they definitely work!
Four Cornerstones
An excellent resource for those wishing to assess compatibility between couples in Vedic Astrology is Light on Relationships by Hart de Fouw and Robert Svoboda. The authors explain the four cornerstones in great detail, and explain that this system measures to what extent the couple consciously and unconsciously is able to contribute to or hinder the other’s personal growth and emotional security. People stay together for all sorts of reasons whether they still love each other or not, so this is not a measure of how long they will stay together. Rather this method can give insight into how cooperative or contentious their relationship is overall.
The four primary connections are seen from assessing Sun-Sun, Moon-Moon, Asc-Asc, and Venus-Venus, these are most important because they are mutual connections.
The secondary connections are less important than the primary connections but are still worth assessing to understand the overall strength and favourability of the relationship. They are not as powerful because the link may not be mutual and just be unidirectional. For example, Meghan’s Venus and Harry’s Sun are both in Virgo and are associates but Meghan’s Sun in Cancer and Harry’s Venus in Virgo are secret supporters.
The relationship of the grahas will fall into seven types of categories:
Associates are defined as two grahas in the same rashi, also known as conjunction
Opposites are two grahas in opposite rashis, also known as opposition
Active supporters are two grahas that are in a five-nine, also known as the trine
Secret supporters are grahas that are in three-eleven, also known as the sextile
Contrasts are two grahas in rahsis that are four-ten, also known as the square
Active adversaries are two grahas in rashis that are six-eight, also known as the quincunx
Secret adversaries are two grahas that are two-twelve, also known as the semi-sextile
Opposites and associates are most powerful and auspicious, they will exert full influence over the other planet. Active supporter planets exert ¾ of their potential influence on each other and are only slightly less powerful and auspicious than opposites and associates. Secret supporter planets are auspicious but only mildly strong because the planet in three exerts 2/5 of its potential influence on the graha in eleven, and in turn the planet in 11 exerts just 1/10th of its potential on the planet in 3. Contrasts can be harmful because it denotes ongoing stresses, a question over who is right and who is wrong. Active adversaries represent a contentious interaction, fosters arguments openly. Secret adversaries are contentious but are more hidden. In light of this information, it is preferable for the primary connections to be auspicious and powerful and it can signal trouble when 3 or 4 of the primary connections are contrasts, active adversaries or secret adversaries.
Analyzing the primary cornerstones, we see that Harry and Meghan have 4/4 of their grahas in harmful relationships, namely 2 active adversaries and 2 secret adversaries. Analyzing the secondary cornerstones, we see that Harry and Meghan have 7/12 of their grahas in helpful relationships. However, only two of these, Venus-Sun and Moon-Venus are in in the most powerful and auspicious category of associates. Two of these, Venus-Moon and Venus-Asc are in active supporters which is nearly as powerful and auspicious as associates. The remaining three helpful relationships are secret supporters which is still auspicious but much less powerful than active supporters or associates.
Another factor to consider is the degrees; graha relationships within a 7 and a half degrees relationship will be more powerful regardless of the specific relationship. To illustrate, consider that Meghan’s Sun is at 18 degrees Cancer and her Venus is at 19 degrees Leo. Her Sun is within 1 degree of Harry’s 17 degree Sagittarius ascendant which makes this active adversary relationship much stronger than usual. Her Venus at 19 degrees Leo is within 2 degrees of his 17 degree Sagittarius ascendant which makes this active supporter relationship much stronger than usual. As the degrees get wider, the relationship loses potency. This can be seen in the case of Meghan’s ascendant at 0 degrees Cancer and Harry’s Sun at 29 degrees Leo. This would make the secret adversary relationship between these planets much weaker than usual.
These graha relationships show that their communication will be strained and their goals could be in conflict with one another. Their natural dispositions are inharmonious to each other, and they could find themselves feeling frustrated at the inability of the other to see things from their point of view. There is tension caused by the feelings that the other is working against their best interests, and they can’t be fully trusted. This can lead to the keeping of secrets that can undermine the relationship when they finally surface. This doesn’t mean that Harry and Meghan’s relationship is not functioning well all the time, because the helpful relationships are still working and the harmful relationships won’t cancel them out. However, in a cumulative sense, there are more harmful graha relationships and this will take a toll on both of them.
Sama Dasha
De Fouw and Svoboda discuss the principle of sama dasha as influencing compatibility. This occurs when people are running the same mahadasha at the same time, and is considered to strengthen attraction. It increases their common ground because they are experiencing situations that relate to a particular planet. This does occur for Harry and Meghan from March 2025 to August 2031 when they both run a Jupiter mahadasha, from March 2041 to August 2050 when they both run a Saturn mahadasha and from March 2060 to August 2067 when they both run a Mercury mahadasha.
The Ten Porutthams
This method is one of the oldest systems and most popular in India to assess compatibility between a couple. Traditionally the Moon in each person’s chart is considered but De Fouw and Svoboda recommend assessing from the ascendant as well. The five most important porutthams are Nakshatra, Gana, Yoni, Rashi and Rajju.
1.Nakshatra, “health and longevity of partners with reference to one another.” (Excellent, good, average, misalignment).
Moon
Excellent: Harry’s krittika moon is in the 9th group of nakshatras from Meghan’s hasta moon
Ascendant
Average: This is a special exception because normally if the man’s nakshatra is 14th from the woman’s, it would be a misalignment due to being in the 5th group of nakshatras from the woman’s moon. Harry’s Purva Ashadha ascendant is the 14th nakshatra from Meghan’s Punarvarsu ascendant but because it is in the 2nd pada of purva ashadha, the disharmony is converted to average harmony. “The exception is created if the man’s moon is in any of the first 3 padas of the 14th nakshatra as counted from the woman’s moon.”
2. Gana, sense of natural rapport, ease of ability to adapt to one another. (Excellent, good, average, incompatible)
Moon
Incompatible: Meghan’s hasta moon is deva and Harry’s krittika moon is rakshasa
Ascendant
Average: Meghan’s purnavasu ascendant is deva and Harry’s purva ashadha ascendant is manushya
3. Mahendra, “ability to have children, and happiness they will derive from children. Provides general indications for health, prosperity and longevity of offspring.” This is a difficult one to qualify for because the criteria are extremely specific, will only exist if the male’s moon or ascendant is 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 19th, 22nd, or 25th from the Moon. Therefore, this is evaluated along with rashyadhipati poruttham to determine overall results with children.
Moon
Does not exist: Harry’s moon nakshatra is 18th from Meghan’s moon nakshatra
Ascendant
Does not exist: Harry’s ascendant nakshatra is 14th from Meghan’s ascendant nakshatra
4. Stri Dirgha, “partner’s prosperity, of which wealth is the main, but not the sole, criterion. When stri dirgha matches, both members tend to contribute directly to the couple’s financial prosperity.” (Excellent, good, poor).
Moon
Good: Harry’s moon nakshatra is 18 away from Meghan’s moon nakshatra
Ascendant
Good: Harry’s ascendant nakshatra is 14 away from Meghan’s ascendant nakshatra
5. Yoni, “fundamental nature and degree of satisfaction and bonding that sexual contact will bring a couple.” (Excellent, good, average, incompatible)
Moon
Good: Harry is female sheep and Meghan is female buffalo
Ascendant
Incompatible: Harry is a male monkey and Meghan is a female cat. Meghan’s Punarvasu ascendant’s incompatible yoni is the monkey. In the case of misalignment on this poruttham, the authors note that although the couple may enjoy ‘good’ sex, it is not as pleasurable as it should be for one or both of them.
6. Rashi, “couple’s impact on the prosperity of extended families and in laws, and even society.” How much does the couple fit in to the public and personal society in which they live? (Excellent, good, average, no compatibility)
Moon
Excellent: Harry’s Aries moon is 8th from Meghan’s Virgo moon. This is said to be good for children
Ascendant
No compatibility: Harry’s Sagittarian ascendant is 6th from Meghan’s Cancer ascendant. This is said to create difficulty with children.
In this case, because factors do not cancel each other out and all must co-exist, Harry and Meghan will have both great joy and pain from children. Recall that Harry and Meghan were not aligned on mahendra, so having children leans a bit more to the painful side.
7. Rashyadhipati, “evaluates ability to have strong children and prospects for prosperity in the lives of their children.” (Excellent, average, misalignment)
Moon
Average: Mars is the ruler of Harry’s Moon and Mercury is the ruler of Meghan’s Moon. Mars considers Mercury to be an enemy but Mercury is neutral to Mars. Therefore, there is average agreement.
Ascendant
Average: Jupiter is the ruler of Harry’s ascendant and Moon is the ruler of Meghan’s ascendant. Jupiter considers Moon to be a friend while Moon is neutral to Jupiter
Recall that Harry and Meghan were not aligned on mahendra. The authors suggest that “moderate agreement, which occurs when one of these porutthams agrees and the other does not, indicates that the couple’s experience with children will sometimes veer toward the problematical.”
8. Vashya, “evaluates the couple’s mutual attraction and respect, contributes to the relationship’s overall prospects, even though it is not of primary importance in this tenfold system. (Excellent, average, misaligned)
Moon
Misaligned: Meghan’s Virgo Moon is attracted by Gemini and Pisces while Harry’s Aries Moon is attracted by Leo and Scorpio.
Ascendant
Excellent: Harry’s Sagittarian ascendant is attracted to Meghan’s Cancer ascendant. Excellent alignment will only occur if the rashi that contains the male’s ascendant is attracted to the rashi that contains the female’s ascendant.
9. Raiju, “evaluates longevity, both of the spouse and of the relationship.” (Excellent, very good, average, barely acceptable, misaligned)
Moon
Very good: Meghan is Aroha Kantha Rajju and Harry is Aroha Nabhi Rajju
Ascendant
Average: Meghan is Avaroha Nahbhi Rajju and Harry is Aroha Uru Rajju
Vedha and Nadi can both be used for the tenth poruttham although many Vedic astrologers will use Nadi instead of Vedha
10. Vedha, “evaluates couple’s resilience, ability to ensure long-term happiness by driving away misfortunes”. Most couples qualify for this poruttham because misalignment is rare. (Qualify or not)
Harry and Meghan qualify
10. Nadi, “diversity of dosha is more likely to promote diverse behaviour that will encourage each other’s limitations to be minimized.” (Qualify or not)
Moon
Qualifies because Meghan is vata and Harry is kapha
Ascendant
Qualifies because Meghan is vata and Harry is pitta
From both the Moon and Ascendant perspective, 7/10 of the porutthams are aligned suggesting fair compatibility. In considering the 5 most important porutthams mentioned earlier, 4/5 of them from the Moon perspective are aligned and 3/5 of them from the Ascendant are aligned.
Kuja Dosha
According to De Fouw and Svoboda, Kuja dosha occurs whenever “Mars occupies houses 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 or 12 as counted from the perspective of the ascendant, Venus or Moon.” Kuja dosha is not favourable for the happiness within marriage if one person has it and the other doesn’t. These parameters are very broad, and the majority of people will have it from at least one perspective. Given that, it is important to assess the strength of it in each person’s horoscope from each perspective, and then to match with someone who has it in equal strength from those perspectives in order to cancel out.
The rule of 7 and a half is in operation here, that is Kuja dosha is stronger if it is within 7 and a half degrees of the ascendant, venus and moon. The wider the orb, the less powerful it becomes. Kuja dosha tends to become much less strong after age 30, and it is not recommended for people who have it to marry before 28, especially if their partner’s chart doesn’t cancel out their own kuja dosha.
Harry will be 33 when he marries and Meghan will be 36, which means their kuja doshas have lost quite a bit of strength. Nevertheless, it is important to study this factor because it never stops playing a role in the healthiness of a marriage. This is because both people need to be able to assert themselves equally, and one shouldn’t always be dominated or made to compromise much more than the other.
Meghan
Has kuja dosha only from the ascendant, in the 12th house in Gemini. It wasn’t as strong as it is 17 degrees from the ascendant. Fortunately, this kuja dosha is modified because if Mars is in the 12th house, it cancels if it is in the signs Taurus, Gemini, Virgo or Libra.
Harry
Has kuja dosha from the ascendant, in the 12th house in Scorpio. This one is particularly strong as it is 6 degrees from the ascendant. Fortunately, it is modified because if Mars is in Aries, Cancer, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn or Pisces it gets cancelled in any house.
Has kuja dosha from the moon, in the 8th house in Scorpio. This one is also particularly strong as it is 4 degrees from the moon. Fortunately it is modified not only because it is in Scorpio which cancels in any house, but also because Mars in the 8th house gets cancelled in male horoscopes.
Luckily for Harry and Meghan they both belong to the category of people with kuja doshas that contain modifications to it. This bodes well for their marital happiness.
Nadi Nakshatras
In Personal Panchanga and Nakshatras, Komilla Sutton analyzes the effects of the nakshatras from one’s moon nakshatra in the rasi chart. Some of them such as the 16th, 23rd, and 25th give particularly bad effects when you engage in relationships with people who have their planets there (particularly the Sun, Asc, and Moon). Others such as the 10th and 18th are helpful professionally and socially. Generally, nakshatras in the 3rd, 5th and 7th groups from your moon nakshatra are detrimental. The other nakshatras in groups 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 are neutral or helpful.
Meghan
Meghan’s moon nakshatra is hasta. Her 18th nakshatra is krittika and Harry has his moon and rahu in krittika which means he is lucky for her, and can help her win battles.
Meghan’s 25th nakshatra is magha and Harry has his Mercury there in his rasi chart and Venus there in his navamsha chart. He can cause her to feel pressured, tense and uncertain about things, second guessing herself. Because this nakshatra relates to the subtle mind, people who activate it can push really deep buttons, sometimes verbalizing truths you would rather not hear and that can cause you pain and anger.
Meghan’s 23rd nakshatra is pushya and Harry has his Mercury in navamsha there. Komilla Sutton in her book Nakshatras, believes that planets placed here cause “ruin, annihilation and destruction”…relationships with people having this nakshatra aren’t always happy or profitable”. It is known that her relationship with Harry has put excessive scrutiny on her, there are people criticizing her every move. The pressure is much more intense being a Royal than a Hollywood actress, and she can never escape the glare of the media. Sadly, Meghan also has her own Mercury in the rasi chart in pushya nakshatra in the first house, moreover Mercury is the dispositor of her 7th house. This exacerbates the problem quite a bit.
Harry has four planets in Meghan’s 3rd, 5th and 7th group of nakshatras and this is slightly above the average. Since there are 27 nakshatras and 9 of them fall into harmful groups, it is about average for someone to have 3 nakshatras in your 3rd, 5th or 7th groups because each person has 9 planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Ketu, Rahu) and their ascendant. It would have been more worrisome if he had the Sun, Asc, Moon or Venus in these groups.
Harry
Harry’s moon nakshatra is krittika. His 10th nakshatra is uttara ushadha and Meghan has her Ketu there. This means she is able to support him professionally and help bring career success.
Meghan does not have any planets in her rasi or navamsha in his 16th, 23rd or 25th nakshatras jyestha, purva bhadrapada and revati. She only has her ascendant and Sun in the 5th and 7th groups which is better than average.
Harry is fortunate to have his ascendant purva ashadha in his 18th nakshatra giving him the ability to overcome enemies and bringing natural blessings to him. On the negative side, his Saturn in the 7th house in his navamsha chart is revati, the 25th nakshatra (which means that his partner can have a disturbing effect on his peace of mind). His rahu in navamsha is purva bhadrapada, the 23rd nakshatra and the effects of this will be felt now as he is running Rahu’s mahadasha.
From nadi nakshatra Harry brings more troubling effects to Meghan than the other way around. Overall Meghan is auspicious to Harry in this regard.
In general, if someone has 5 or more planets including their ascendant in your harmful nakshatras, the association can bring stressful and sometimes even dangerous energies. Even if your relationship seems to be a friendly one, there is an undercurrent of mistrust and deception.
Navamsha
De Fouw and Svoboda utilize the navamsha chart as an additional tool in compatibility analysis. This is done by seeing where the 7th house ruler of the navamsha in one person’s chart falls in the other persons rasi chart.
Harry’s 7th house ruler in navamsha is Jupiter and Jupiter falls in Meghan’s 3rd house of her rasi chart. Meghan’s 7th house ruler in navamsha is Saturn and Saturn falls in the 11th house in Harry’s chart. Therefore, this can be considered in a similar way to the secret supporter relationship discussed earlier.
7th House Individual Analysis
In addition to comparing charts, one must also assess the 7th house indicators as the 7th house represents intimate relationships and marriages.
Harry
In the rasi, Harry’s 7th house is Gemini which is empty. Gemini is one of Harry’s Daghda rashis, which is a burnt rashi. Daghda is thought to bring harm to the significations of the house and/or planets in it, in this case marriage. The partner may not fulfill expectations. At the same time, the 7th house ruler Mercury is placed in the auspicious 9th house in Leo conjunct the 9th house ruler Sun strong in its own sign Leo. The Sun is Harry’s Yogi planet which brings prosperity to whichever house it is in (Yogi and Ava Yogi are explained in more detail later in Harry’s individual analysis.) The 7th house ruler in the 9th house or with the 9th house ruler can indicate a partner with a different racial, social or financial background than you, and/or that you meet them in a foreign country. Since the 7th house ruler is in Leo, it can be expected the partner has Leo well-represented in their chart. Indeed, Meghan does fit that description as she has Venus in Leo, she met Harry in Toronto, she is American, biracial (Black and White), and was not born into the Royal family. Her parents were middle-class, and she struggled professionally before getting her first big break on the television show Suits. She has the most powerful dhana (wealth-creating) yoga of Venus as the 11th ruler being in the 2nd house in her rasi chart. In the dasha of Rahu-Venus, she got her role on Suits and her income skyrocketed to the point that she has a net worth of about $5 million. The only planetary aspect Mercury receives is from Jupiter which is very fortunate and adds to the harmony of married life. Jupiter also throws its full aspect onto the 7th house which is auspicious, its even more special as Jupiter opposes the descendant by only 8 degrees, giving a huge protective influence to the marriage. At the same time, Mars aspects the 7th house with its special 8th aspect which can bring the tendency towards aggression and fighting to the marriage.
Venus represents the wife in men’s charts. In Harry’s rasi chart Venus is debilitated in Virgo (its weakest sign). Moreover, the deepest point of debilitation for Venus is 27 degrees Virgo and Harry’s Venus is at 24 degrees Virgo making it tremendously unfavourable. Virgo is Harry’s other daghda or burnt rashi which adds to Venus’ distress. This can manifest in many different ways; it can indicate that the wife will bring sorrow to the husband, that the wife is lacking in an important way, that the relationship dynamics between husband and wife are poor, that the husband selects a wife who brings out the worse sides of his nature, that the wife causes trouble or disgrace to the husband’s family, that the husband marries far below his social status, or there is a tragedy connected with the wife. This is not an exhaustive list but the important thing to understand is that Venus deeply debilitated is not a good sign at all. In the navamsha, Venus is also weakened by being conjunct Ketu and opposite Rahu, the nodal axis tends to bring extreme experiences to the planets it touches, and usually at least one poisonous and heavily karmic experience.
DeFouw and Svoboda talk about the influence of the nodes on planets in their own signs. They note that when Rahu and Ketu aspect Mars in either Scorpio or Aries, it “encourages the person to seek out a partner with fixed or dogmatic views…the person or partner may also form a false opinion about the other’s courage, which may lead to overcompensation, aggressive stances, and escalating displays of temper…brothers- or sisters-in-law can become a source of problems that are difficult to resolve, or they may be a source of imagined problems that influence the relationship in a very real manner.”
In Harry’s navamsha the 7th house is Pisces and Saturn is in the house. It is not a good thing to have Saturn in the 7th house, and it is more unfavourable as Saturn rules the 6th house, which is a dusthana grief producing house. Harry’s Saturn indicates duty, obligation, a sense of burden and hardship to the marriage. While it can make a marriage last longer than it should last, it doesn’t necessarily make it pleasant. This aspect repeats itself from the Chandra lagna in the rasi chart, where the Moon is in Aries and Saturn is in Libra in the 7th house from it. Although Saturn at 19 degrees Libra is only one degree from its extreme exaltation point (20 degrees Libra), it doesn’t take away the essence of obligation in relationships characteristic of Saturn in the 7th. On the positive side this exaltation, which is also a sasha yoga, can indicate a very hardworking and disciplined spouse, one who has Saturn very prominently connected with their first house. It is true that Meghan was born with the Moon and Saturn closely conjunct, which means that Saturn has a significant impact on her as it influences the Moon in its capacity as ascendant ruler and is in the first house in Chandra lagna.
Harry’s 7th house is unaspected by any planets. The 7th house ruler Jupiter is in the 10th house in Gemini which means his partner will play an important part in his career and he will in hers too. Jupiter receives the aspect of the Sun which is the 12th house ruler, this can indicate a foreign spouse or a spouse indicated in charitable work, but as the 12th house is dusthana house it brings grief and sorrow too. Meghan has quit her role on Suits to engage in charitable work full time, and she will become a citizen of Britain.
The ascendant of the navamsha chart is Hasta meaning Harry is attracted to people with that nakshatra prominent. Meghan has Jupiter, Moon and Saturn all in Hasta in her rasi chart. Hasta is represented by the hand and it is symbolic in the sense that prior to becoming famous, Meghan did freelance calligraphy because her handwriting is so beautiful. The 7th house ruler of the navamsha chart is Jupiter which is in Punarvasu nakshatra. Meghan’s ascendant in the rasi chart is punarvasu. The 7th house dispositor Mercury is in pushya nakshatra and Meghan’s Mercury and Rahu are in Pushya in her rasi chart, and her ascendant in navamsha is pushya as well. These factors all increase the strength of attraction as the personality traits desired by Harry are well-represented in Meghan.
The Yogi and Ava Yogi points are something I consider in compatibility analysis. You can find the Yogi point by adding the longitude of the sun, the longitude of the moon and 93 degrees, 20 minutes. The reference point is 0 degrees Aries, with the last degree being 359 degrees for 29 degrees Pisces. Each sign is 30 degrees so if someone had their Sun at 5 degrees Taurus, this would be 35 degrees for this calculation (30 degrees by the end of Aries plus 5 degrees into the next sign Taurus). If your calculation goes over 360 degrees, you subtract 360 from it. You can find the Ava Yogi nakshatra by counting six nakshatras from the Yogi nakshatra. The Yogi and Ava Yogi planets and nakshatras are also based on the 27 yogas. In an individual’s chart, the Yogi point and the planet ruling the nakshatra it is found in will bring prosperity whereas the Ava Yogi point and the planet ruling the nakshatra it is found in will obstruct prosperity. This can apply to natal planets in the Ava Yogi or Ava Yogi nakshatras and the current transits of planets across them. The natural extension of this principle would be that people who have planets and angles conjunct your Yogi point/nakshatra will bring prosperity and people who have planets and angles conjunct your Ava Yogi nakshatra will obstruct that prosperity. People who have an ascendant that is ruled by your Yogi planet will tend to be favourable for you, whereas the opposite is true for people who have an ascendant that is ruled by your Ava Yogi planet. To illustrate, if my Yoga is sadhya, then my Yogi planet is Venus, and people with Taurus and Libra ascendants will bring luck. However that also means my Ava Yogi planet is Jupiter and people with Sagittarius or Pisces ascendants will tend to block my prosperity or even bring me harm/distress in some cases.
Harry’s Yogi point is 0 degrees Capricorn. His Sun is 29 degrees 18 minutes Leo, so in calculation this is 149 degrees 18 minutes. His Moon is 27 degrees 41 minutes Aries, so in calculation this is 27 degrees 41 minutes. We add the degrees 27 + 149 + 93 = 269, and then accounting for the minutes pushes it to 270 degrees. Capricorn's portion of the zodiac is 270-300, specifically 270 would correspond to 0 degrees Capricorn. Meghan’s descendant axis is 0 degrees Capricorn meaning that Meghan will bring prosperity to Harry. However, Saturn is Harry’s Ava Yogi planet and it is placed in the 7th house from the Moon. This will serve to obstruct prosperity in relationships even though it is helped considerably by being very close to its extreme exaltation point at 19 degrees Libra.
Meghan
In the rasi, Meghan’s 7th house is Capricorn which has Ketu placed in it. Ketu typically causes a sense of lack or disappointment wherever it is placed, and in the 7th can cause one to feel a lack of support or fulfillment from their marriage. Meghan has already been married one time and the marriage was primarily long-distance for the 2 years it lasted. However, because Ketu is her Yogi planet, it tends to bring partners who can assist in her prosperity. Her first husband was well-established in the film industry and she benefitted from his social connections, knowledge and wealth. Marrying Harry will skyrocket her social status and wealth potential, giving her opportunities most people only dream about.
The 7th house is unusual as it is aspected by almost all of the malefics; Sun, Mars, Rahu and Ketu. Rahu-Ketu bring extreme karmic experiences wherever they are found and in Meghan’s case it impacts her marriages. Mercury as ruler of the 12th house opposes the 7th house and while it indicates a foreign partner, can also indicate grief through the marriage. Mercury as dispositor of the 7th house conjunct the Sun can indicate a bossy or controlling partner, but one who is powerful and perhaps wealthy. These factors may cause a sense of burden and indicates a heavy karma in relationships. Fortunately, this load is alleviated a little bit by the trinal aspect of Jupiter. The 7th house ruler is Saturn which is aspected closely by Jupiter and the Moon. Raja yogas bring success and prosperity, and are created with the combination of a trine (1, 5, 9) and angle (1, 4, 7, 10) ruler. This combination of Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon brings together the rulers of the 1st, 7th, and 9th houses which is three raja yogas (1st-9th; 1st-7th; and 7th-9th). Saturn as ruler of the 8th house can also bring unearned wealth from her partner in combination with these raja yogas. Mars as yoga karaka for Cancer ascendants because it rules the auspicious 5th and 10th houses casts a special one-way 4th aspect onto Saturn, Jupiter and Moon. This means that the 5th and 10th house ruler combines with the 1st, 7th and 9th, causing numerous raja yogas! It is quite clear that her partner would be someone very special.
Meghan’s 7th house ruler is Saturn and it placed in Virgo which is one of her daghda or burnt signs. In Personal Panchanga, Komilla Sutton observes that malefic planets like Saturn do better than benefics in daghda signs, and that Jupiter aspecting planets in daghda signs tend to make them lose some of their negativity. This means that Saturn even though it is in a daghda rashi is not as harmful as it could be. Further she notes that “daghda rashi shows underlying weaknesses or the inability to get full profit from these issues, but it does not spoil everything.”
Jupiter represents the husband in Vedic astrology. Jupiter is aspected by 3 malefics; Mars, Saturn, and Ketu, and is placed in the daghda sign of Virgo which is inauspicious. Since the Moon is not too bright, many would consider it to be a malefic and Moon is also conjunct Jupiter. Jupiter does rule the 9th house which is auspicious.
In the navamsha, Meghan’s 7th house ruler is Saturn and Saturn is at its deepest degree of debilitation at 20 degrees Aries. This is extremely unfortunate for the happiness of her marriage, while she can marry powerful and wealthy men, the interpersonal experience she has with them suffers a lot. Saturn is conjunct Moon and Jupiter in the 10th house in Aries. Jupiter as representative of the husband is made more favourable than usual by participating in mutual exchanges with Mars in Pisces (Jupiter’s own sign) and Sun in Sagittarius (Jupiter rules Sagittarius, Sun is exalted in Aries). Moon-Jupiter-Saturn brings together the rulers of the 1st, 7th, 9th, 10th houses similar to the rasi chart which causes numerous raja yogas. In this case however Mercury as ruler of the 12th house opposing these planets causes it to lose some auspiciousness. Nevertheless, it also indicates a special spouse who can benefit Meghan materially and socially in many ways.
Meghan’s 7th house dispositor in navamsha is Mars which is placed in the 9th house in Pisces which is favourable but it also loses some favourability by being with the nodal axis. Mars and Jupiter participate in a mutual exchange; both planets are able to function as if in their own sign. The nodal axis signifies fixed karmas that will cannot be changed. Venus is debilitated in Virgo but throws its opposition aspect to Pisces, the sign of its exaltation which strengthens Mars and the 9th house. Venus is helped out of its debilitation by being in a mutual exchange with Mercury in Libra, it doesn’t negate the debilitation but certainly improves Venus’ condition.
The qualities Meghan desires in a partner are well-represented in Harry. Meghan’s 7th house ruler is Saturn placed in hasta nakshatra. Harry’s ascendant in his navamsha chart is hasta. Harry’s Venus is Virgo makes a conjunction to her Saturn. Mercury is the dispositor of Meghan’s 7th house in rasi and is in pushya nakshatra. Harry’s Mercury in navamsha is pushya.
Second marriages are seen from the 9th house, although the 7th house will never lose its influence on the marriage. In Meghan’s case, the 9th house is also the 7th house from the Moon and has always influenced her relationships. The 9th house ruler is Jupiter which is placed in hasta nakshatra and conjunct Saturn and Moon. The combination of Saturn, Moon and Jupiter for a Virgo ascendant brings together the 5th, 4th and 7th rulers in the 1st house, so that is 5 raja yogas created! 1st-5th, 1st-4th, 1st-7th, 4th-5th, 5th-7th. Mars as ruler of the 8th house casts a special one-way 4th aspect onto this stellium of planets, and gives the possibility of gaining wealth through the partner. The dispositor of the 7th house is Mercury which is weakened by being conjunct Rahu and oppose Ketu. Mercury is further weakened by being combust with the Sun, and especially because the sun is ruler of the 12th house. Fortunately, Mercury is in the most auspicious nakshatra pushya. This suggests that even though Meghan’s partners are likely to bring her prosperity and wealth, she may experience sadness, loneliness and suffering through them.
References
De Fouw, H. & Svoboda, R. (2000). Light on Relationships, The Synastry of Indian Astrology. York
Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser Inc.
Sutton, K. (2007). Personal Panchanga and the Five Sources of Light. Wessex Astrologer
Sutton, K. (2014). The Nakshatras: The Stars Beyond the Zodiac. Wessex Astrologer
Sutton, K. (n.d.). Personal Panchang and Its Influence on the Natal Chart. Retrieved from
from https://www.komilla.com/lib-personal-panchang.html
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