full Chart Assessment: Ram Dass
Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Practicum: Full Chart Assessment
Submitted by Craig E. Hoyle
Subject: Ram Dass (Richard Alpert)
Birth Information: 4/6/1931 ~ 10:40:00 ~ Boston, MA.
Ram Dass was a psychologist and spiritual teacher. Dass began life as Richard Dass. He taught psychology at Harvard University where he became famous for his research into the exploration of consciousness through the use of psychedelics with his fellow researcher, Timothy Leary. The controversial nature of their research ultimately resulted in their removal from their respective positions in 1963.
Afterward, Dass continued to explore higher states of consciousness, focusing on spiritual and meditative practices over the use of psychedelics. This led him to India where he met Neem Karoli Baba, a Hindu saint who would become Dass’s guru and give him the name Ram Dass. Alpert wrote the extremely popular book, Be Here Now, This presented his experiences and insights he gained while in India.
For the remainder of his life, Dass created and worked in several humanitarian and service-related nonprofits that promoted spiritual well-being and education. He continued to write and conduct speaking tours, sharing his insights and experiences while developing a concept of what he called the loving awareness of the Self as the Soul.
The 1st House
Dass was a Cancer Ascendant. Cancer is the 4th Sign of our subjective experience; it is about our feelings, memories, and the nurturing we received or didn’t receive as a child. Therefore, Cancer deals a lot with one’s family of origin. Cancer being the 1st House indicates Dass’s personality and self-projection was colored by these qualities of Cancer.
We have Jupiter placed in the 1st House and Mercury is rasi aspecting it from Taurus.
Mercury is a manifesting planet that will help the individual manifest the affairs of the 1st House through the intelligent use of one’s skills and abilities. Mercury will bring fairness, management and communication skills, rational intelligence, and a sense of play to the 1st. As ruler of the 12th and 3rd Houses, Mercury will add institutions, ashrams, liberation, expenses, personal desires, courage, siblings, and peers to its influence of the individual’s 1st House of self-expression.
Jupiter is placed in the 1st House and is exalted. Jupiter in the 1st brings happiness, opportunities, obtainment of knowledge, and a philosophical nature to the 1st. Jupiter, the lord of the 6th and 9th Houses, indicates Karma, material well-being, health, self-improvement, and battles will be a strong part of the person’s self-expression.
Jupiter’s placement in the 1st is going to make the person wise, cheerful, generous, educated, wealthy, and conversant with all forms of knowledge. It will also create opportunities and lucky breaks.
The Lagna Lord
Moon is the Lagna lord. Moon is in the 6th House of service. Much of Ram Dass’s life centered on service. Moon is in an enemy’s dignity in the 6th, which will negatively affect its ability to execute its agenda thereby generating a miserable state around them. Moon is not suffering from any negative Lajjitaadi Avashtas but it is waning. This will propel the person towards seeking more inner fulfillment as more and more of their external world wanes away.
Moon has the second-highest Shadbala score at 412.7, but it has a significantly negative yoga judgment score of +2.4/-7.7 and its Dig Bala is 88.1%. This means that the Bhava Yogas being formed by having the ruler of the 1st in the 6th will lean towards the negative. This is going to create an emotional imbalance to Sagittarius, the sign of ideals and fairness, which will play out as one encounters the setbacks and delays that are so much a part of the 6th House and reinforce the pull towards inner fulfillment in service over material accomplishment.
Moon is in a Kumara state and is Svapna. This tells us the Karmas associated with Moon are nearing full strength and are starting to become a part of his conscious awareness. A deeper look into Moon’s Shadbala reveals that while he had trouble standing and directing his Moon, he could hear it well most of the time and through focus and effort, could utilize and work with it. Having Moon as the Lagna lord indicates a focus on improving one’s skills to become a more useful and better person.
Sun will help with this. Sun is giving 317.5 points of Delight Moon. This instills within it a sense of commitment to supporting others and inspiring it towards feelings and efforts that are in the direction of its higher ideals. Dass was always motivated towards a greater capacity for work and service. Whether as a psychologist, a spiritual teacher, or a philanthropist.
Mercury is going to give 354.2 points of support to this by surrounding Dass with the right friends and by helping him to manifest his skills and rational intelligence. There will be adaptability and a sense of play in one’s approach to the day-to-day activities of life, creating the potential for one to make the most of opportunities. This is true of Dass. He seemed to live a charmed life where opportunities and partnerships led to ever higher fulfillment.
Venus is the only planet Rasi aspecting the Lagna lord. Venus will give diplomacy and the capacity to make well-rounded decisions to the Lagna lord. This will ensure that the daily material world of battles, service, and obstacles associated with the 6th House will be influenced by an ability to make decisions that will lead to higher fulfillment.
The life and well-being of a Cancer Ascendant is very much dependent upon their mental attitude. Having Mercury aspecting can create some potential for issues because it rules the 3rd and 12th Houses, making it generally inauspicious. A waning Moon indicates that outer fulfillment will recede, sparking a search for more inner gratification. However, the aspect from Mercury is also generating a delighted avashta toward the Moon. Because of this positive influence, 3rd House areas of siblings, peers, communication, and mental intelligence will support Moon’s agenda. 12th House themes of hospitals, monasteries, and our inner psyche will work well for Dass’s life trajectory as well.
Jupiter’s exalted position will give a sense of purpose behind this, a greater Dharma. Jupiter’s dignity is going to go a long way towards lifting up not only the 1st House; but all the Houses that it aspects. Overall, Jupiter is the strongest planet in Shadbala for Dass. This all tells us that this will go a long way not only for energizing the benefits of this 1st House but also for the overall consideration of the chart as well.
Parivartana Yoga: Moon and Jupiter
As we look at the 1st, we see Moon and Jupiter are in each other’s Houses. This forms Parivartana Yoga, a yoga of mutual exchange. This yoga binds the two Houses together tightly. Unfortunately, this yoga involves the 6th, a “Dusthana” or suffering House. This will lessen its value as beneficial Yoga as there will be a level of suffering associated with it. However, we can’t discount Jupiter’s exalted capacity to more than makes up for any suffering that might result from this mutual exchange.
Jupiter will help to lift up Moon by framing things in a broader perspective that will carry the person through their life with greater optimism and purpose.
The 2nd House
The 2nd House is in Leo. Leo is the 5th Sign and represents one’s kingdom. This tells us that 5th Sign themes of creativity, self-expression, education, spiritual techniques, and mantras will be influential qualities of their 2nd House of early childhood, family, resources, and responsibilities.
Mars is placed in the 2nd House. Saturn Rasi aspects the 2nd as does Sun, the 2nd House lord.
Sun is exalted and is going to strengthen and fortify its House by bringing vitality, power, and authority to the 2nd House of values and self-worth.
Sun, through its aspect, will cause the 2nd to manifest well and with strength. However, Rahu is also with Sun and is coloring its impact through their mutual aspect to the 2nd. This tells us that beneath the confident exterior there is a deeper insecurity that needs to be sorted out, indicating that Dass’s external efforts of power and authority are, to some extent, driven by trying to compensate for a lack of inner insecurity.
Mars is placed in the 2nd House. Mercury is graha aspecting Mars, This will cloud the instinct of Mars, negatively impacting its ability to fulfill its agenda smoothly. When it comes to the 10th of material achievement and the 5th House of mental discrimination there will be difficulty in following one’s instinct because there will be too much overthinking around the right and wrongs of spiritual liberation and personal desires. This will play out in the 2nd House and cause frustration with its healthy development. Dass did fall prey to so-called spiritual individuals after his experience in India who were interested in using his name and fame for their gain. He also struggled to conform to the family values that he had been born into and stood in contrast to his desires and interests. [1]
Saturn will bring a strong work ethic, ambition, practicality, a sense of organization, and an ability to overcome obstacles to the House of early childhood, material well-being, education, and the need for security.
Saturn Rasi aspecting the 2nd House brings 7th and 8th House themes to the 2nd. This is going to make relationships, sex, the public, esoteric studies, chronic disease, and one’s inner transformation part of the agendas of the 2nd House, Mars, and the Houses that Mars rules. This will cause added insecurity but also perseverance to the agendas of the 2nd House as well as the 5th and 10th Houses.
Saturn is the great separator, separating us from those things that are no longer needed as part of our soul’s journey. Dass was born into wealth but over the course of his life, his attachment to that wealth and his material possessions subsided until he renounced his family fortune completely. In his final years, poor health made him an invalid and he relied totally upon the generosity of peers and associates for support.
The 2nd lord
Sun is the lord of the 2nd House. It is exalted in the 10th House of Aries. Sun does well in the 10th House. Its total Shadbala score is 556.3. Its yoga judgment score is overwhelmingly positive (+19.3/-0.6) and its Dig Bala is at 156.9%. This tells us that only good will come from the Bhava Yoga of the 2nd lord being in the 10th House. Through initiative and ambition, Sun in Aries will bring consistency and authority to Leo, blending together nicely one’s aspirations and one’s actions into the House of values and self-worth.
Sun is a Yuva state and is Jagrat. This indicates that the Karmas associated with the Sun are fully conscious and strong in the individual’s life. Sun is conjunct with Rahu. Rahu is going to eclipse Sun’s efforts with confusion and insecurity, triggering an identity crisis around one’s insecurities in regards to their role in life because of a role being placed on them.
In both his family life and his public life, roles were placed on Dass he didn’t invite. Sun and Rahu together can create feelings of self-centeredness where there is a sense that everyone is there for them. The goal is to gain confidence in expressing oneself in the role one plays. A role that is just as good and important as every other person around them.
Venus is impacting Sun, causing starvation. Venus is going to confuse the individual through the advice of others. This advice will get in the way of the individual making the right decisions toward their higher ideals and aspirations. Venus is only hitting Sun at 30.3 points, which means this was more of an annoyance than a serious issue in Dass’s life.
Saturn is also hitting Sun, causing a serious 361.0 points of both starvation and agitation. Saturn is going to generate feelings of a lack of confidence and despondency as a person’s self-esteem will feel challenged by others. This can cause them to make the wrong decision or overcompensate by becoming bossy, pushy, and ego-driven.
But these Avashtas aren’t going to completely derail Sun’s proud Avashta. This will help the individual to keep their focus on what they want out of life and take the proper initiative towards the achievement of their goals.
Moon will help towards this by giving 148.0 points of delight, making Dass receptive to good advice that will help him not lose sight of his goals.
Mars, the 10th lord, will also give 334.6 points of delight to Sun. This will give Dass the capacity for courage, power, logic, and proper initiative to keep the focus of his activity in the world working towards his goals.
Parivartana Yoga: Sun and Mars
We now come to the second Parivartana Yoga in Dass’s chart. In this instance, the 2nd and 10th Houses are being joined together tightly. This unites the agendas of these two Houses by joining them together solidly. In this case, there are more positive influences going towards the 2nd lord than negative, indicating the agendas of the 2nd will manifest well.
Trilocana "Three-eyed" Yoga
There is a Trilocana "Three-eyed" Yoga being formed because we have the Sun, Moon, and Mars all in Trines to each other in Dass’s chart. This Yoga unifies the Self (Sun), Mind (Moon), and mental concepts (Mars) in mutual harmony. This Yoga is highly favorable and will bring harmony to one’s life, bestowing high intelligence, great wealth, and long life to the recipient. Having Sun and Mars already in a Parivartana Yoga with one another is going to strengthen this Yoga and reinforce it.
It is the exalted Sun that powers both of these Yogas, strengthening each with vitality and consistency. The presence of Rahu with the Sun is of concern as its presence reveals inherit Karmic weaknesses that will bring confusion and uncertainty. Rahu likes to throw curve balls into our lives. Added to this is its aspect with Mars, This can make these curve balls very abrupt and damaging when these planets are being activated at the same time.
But the strength of Sun should be able to keep Dass consistently on his path and be able to manage intelligently whatever life throws at him.[2]
The Hora
When we look at the Hora we see that Sun is debilitated, Moon is in an enemy’s dignity, and Jupiter is exalted and is Vargottama. This tells us that there were times when Dass struggled with feeling consistent in meeting his responsibilities and struggled with feeling fulfilled from it, but Jupiter was able to lift him out of it.
Jupiter is the saving grace. Jupiter in the Hora represents other people’s money. Dass came from a wealthy family. They were a source of support that helped him meet those responsibilities early in life even though there might be some difficulty in feeling fulfilled emotionally from that.
Saturn is the lord of the 1st and 2nd in the Hora. It is in neutral dignity, giving average results towards responsibilities and managing resources. The negative Avashtas that Saturn is experiencing in the Rasi will generate a hyper-focus on their weakness and a need for validation that will prevent the individual from feeling good about their wealth and meeting their responsibilities. But again, Jupiter comes to the rescue through its being conjunct with Saturn in the D2, making them feel fulfilled in the end by framing such weaknesses in a greater context of grace, optimism, and higher philosophy.
The 3rd House
The 3rd House is in Virgo. Virgo is the 6th Sign and represents service, analytical and practical thinking towards solving problems. In terms of the 3rd, there will be an emphasis on developing skills and intelligence towards service and making things better, communication, writing (especially of a technical nature), correspondence, siblings, and one’s peers and associates.
Both Venus and Moon are Rasi aspecting the 3rd House.
Moon through its aspect indicates that mental intelligence will be associated with the 1st House of the self, personality, and individuality. Due to the nature of the Moon being in an enemy’s dignity, there will be some emotionally painful qualities to its influence. This will involve one’s emotional and mental impressions, especially around one’s immediate emotional environment. The strength of this aspect is a little over ¼ of full. So, while it won’t derail the individual completely, it will be a pain that will be noticeably felt.
Venus through its aspect will bring diplomacy, sociability, luxuries, a love of the arts, comfort, sex, and charisma to the 3rd of fine arts, excitement, curiosity, and one’s personal desires.
Venus will also bring 4th House themes of one’s emotional environment and one’s inner foundation and 11th House themes of degrees, titles, love, and validation to the 3rd and help to maintain poise and balance of their personal desires with their higher aspirations for contentment.
Having Moon and Venus both Rasi aspecting the 3rd is going to color this house specifically. Both planets help the person to seek greater contentment in their life by encouraging a drive towards making decisions that lead towards higher fulfillment.
The 3rd lord
Mercury is the lord of the 3rd House. Mercury is in the 11th House of Taurus. Mercury is in a great friend’s dignity and is aspecting at 28 points. Mercury will strengthen the 3rd, its Moolatrikona Sign, helping to manifest intellectual confidence, communication, and personal desires with healthy boundaries and rationality.
The total Shadbala score for Mercury is 488.0. Its yoga judgment score for Mercury is more negative than positive (+4.5/-8.9) and its Dig Bala is good at 111.5%. This will give mixed results for the yoga of the ruler of the 3rd in the 11th House. This could cause problems where one can get a little too caught up in thinking about one’s philosophies, causing them to have difficulty in managing their gains rationally.
Mercury is in a Mrita state and also Svapna. This means that the Karmas involving Mercury are fading and the individual is somewhat aware of them.
Moon is impacting Mercury, causing starvation and agitation. This will cause the individual to take things too personally, cause a lack of exchange in friendships, and make one seek validation in their research. But Moon is only hitting Mercury at 19.9 points, so this will be only a minor irritation for the individual and represents the only negative impact towards Mercury.
Venus is delighting Mercury, giving 405.7 points to Mercury. Venus will make the individual’s speech more effective, charming, and soothing. Venus will ensure that friendships are formed on higher values, adding graciousness and respect for others that will be reciprocated.
Later in life, Dass experienced a stroke that left him an invalid. Lifelong friends came together and supported Dass during this time. We find here in the 3rd House that the influence of Venus insured support and soothing love through this time.
Mercury is getting a very strong boost from its friend, Venus, and is only suffering slightly from the negative influence of the Moon in comparison, indicating that when it comes to the 3rd House, there won’t be any serious impacts in its agendas being met.
The Drekkana
Jupiter resides in the 1st of the D3 in a great friend’s dignity. This tells us that a sense of enjoyment will be felt overall with the 3rd. Mercury is in a great friend’s dignity and Mars is in neutral dignity. Mercury in the D3 tells us that travel, vitality, and initiative bring positive results for this person. Dass traveled regularly throughout his life giving lectures and serving in different communities. This was something he felt very good about doing. He got a lot of fulfillment out of doing it.
The neutral dignity of Mars and the 3rd lord Saturn in the D3 indicates one’s siblings and one’s peers were average in their impact. The significant impact of starvation from Mercury being felt by Mars in the Rasi is going to get in the way of feeling good about their siblings and teammates. Dass eventually had a falling out with Leary when Leary’s rule-breaking persona caused too much friction and dysfunction in their research partnership. He also became estranged from his two older brothers who didn’t quite understand his path in life. Mars is conjunct with Sun in the D3, This will help Dass feel fulfilled by keeping his focus on his higher aspirations.
Sun is in its Moolatrikona Sign of the 10th in the D3. This means that Dass had the capacity to activate this Varga in his life. However, the presence of Rahu will cause feelings of confusion around their activity in regards to the 3rd for both Sun and Mars. There will be an aspect to their activity that is going to feel inexplicably unsatisfying. But the influence of Jupiter in the 1st will make the person see such difficulties within a greater context that paints one’s feelings in a more optimistic tone.
Saturn rules the 3rd in the D3 and is in neutral dignity. It is rasi aspected by Venus and Moon. Venus is exalted in the D3 and is Vargottama, so its influence on Saturn will be stronger and help bring love and comfort to these difficult relationships.
The 4th House
The 4th House is in Libra. Libra is the Sign of exchange, balance, and harmony. In regards to the 4th, there will be an emphasis on finding harmony with one’s emotional environment and making proper exchanges for one’s happiness.
Ketu is placed in the House. Mercury and Mars are Rasi aspecting the 4th House.
Mars through its aspect will color the 4th with 5th House themes of creativity, and children, as well as 10th House themes of status and activity in the world.
Mars will give courage, initiative, and motivation toward finding balance. However, Mars also brings impulsiveness and frustration. Because Mars is in neutral dignity, this influence towards the 4th will be a mix of these qualities. This means the aspect of Mars will have an element of scarcity to its impact.
Mercury is one of the karakas of the 4th House. Mercury brings joy, play, and humor to the House of happiness and emotional security.
Mercury through its aspect brings 12th and 3rd House themes to the individual’s 4th House. The dominant influences of love and support from friends, especially in times of difficulty, can be sources of emotional security for Dass.
The placement of Ketu in the 4th indicates a past life focus on stabilizing one’s emotions in order to create security. This is going to give a great capacity to be able to go inward and control their emotions effectively, but this comes at the expense of exerting control over their external world. Therefore in this life, chaotic situations will push them out of their emotional regulation.
Being in control isn’t necessarily being in balance. The placement of Rahu and Ketu is going to pull the individual into a greater balance by pulling them into interests and activities that are external so that the agendas of Rahu will be addressed.
The 4th lord
The lord of the 4th House is Venus. Venus is in the 9th House of Pisces. Venus is exalted but has a strongly negative yoga judgment score (+3.1/-6.6). Its Dig Bala is very low at 14.9%. This tells us that the Yogas for the ruler of the 4th in the 9th House will be mostly negative. This can bring difficulty in striking a balance between their personal happiness and their spiritual aspirations. It can also bring difficulty in having harmonious relationships with one’s parents as one’s vision for happiness might be differing from the vision their parents have for them.
Venus is suffering a significant thirst from Moon, taking Venus down from 405.7 to 99.4 points with its 306.3 points of impact. This will make the individual demand their needs be met through their relationships. Generating a codependent quality on the part of the individual towards their partnerships.
Added to this is the presence of Ketu in the 4th House. Ketu is going to make Dass want to control his feelings, which can limit his capacity for expressing those feelings. Rahu in the 10th will eventually bring about chaotic external situations in the hope that such situations will propel Dass into striking a balance between their outer activities and their inner life.
Saturn will help with this by delighting Venus, adding 212.0 points of delight to help them find fulfillment on their life path. Saturn will help the individual to let go of unrealistic expectations, finding delight in whatever life brings to them.
But the delight from Saturn isn’t strong enough to overcome the hurt coming from the Moon, which tells us that the 4th House will struggle in its fulfillment and make things difficult for the expression of one’s Ketu.
The Chaturthamsa
Saturn is the lord of the 1st in the D4. Saturn is exalted. This means that Dass had the capacity to do the work required of his 4th House and would feel good working it. Ketu is in the 1st of the D4. This tells us that this individual in past lives really developed their well-being and their wealth and has come to identify with such things and must now let go of those things.
Mercury is in a great friend’s dignity, which tells us that Dass felt he was getting his fair share out of life. The lord of the 4th in the D4 is Mars and it is in neutral dignity so wealth from real estate is of average impact. Venus is giving a lot of delight to Mercury in the Rasi. Venus is exalted and Vargottama. Venus in the D4 represents pools, lakes, and bodies of water. In his final years, poor health confined Dass to a friend’s home in Maui overlooking the ocean. The placement of Venus in a water Sign in both the D1 and the D4 indicates one can also have a deeper meaning of the water of one’s emotions becoming one with the flow of life.
Rahu is in the 7th of the D4. Moon is an enemy’s dignity in the D4 and is the lord of Rahu. This placement tells us Dass had trouble accepting the fortune from his relationships. There was confusion and loss and waste through mismanagement of it. Moon’s lord, Jupiter, is in a great enemy’s dignity, indicating trouble in handling one’s expenses.
Dass disinherited himself from his family’s fortune in an effort towards non-attachment. Sun is the lord of the 8th and is debilitated in the 10th, giving difficulty with consistency and breaks in activity.
When compared to the D2, we see a pattern of weakness and difficulty in Dass’s capacity for accepting and working with the wealth and responsibilities of his family above and beyond one’s needs. Mercury Rasi aspecting from the 5th will also cause difficulty in managing finances astutely, adding further confluence to this.
The 5th House
The 5th House is in Scorpio. The Sign of Scorpio will bring intuition, investigation, occult studies, and emotional security to the House of creative intelligence, children, spiritual techniques, creativity, mantras, and creative self-expression.
Saturn, Sun, and Rahu are Rasi aspecting the 5th House.
Sun is going to give self-reliance, strength of character, and confidence to the House of creative self-expression, kingship, and security through trust in one’s self.
Sun, through its aspect, is going to bring 2nd House themes of wealth, finances, and responsibility to their 5th House experience, making those themes a part of their 5th House of self-development, children, and creativity.
Rahu is also aspecting the 5th. The separative and confusing influence of Rahu will cause difficulty in using their will appropriately. The person will be prone to aggressiveness because the challenges that come their way are part of a developmental goal of learning how and when to use their will in a positive, constructive, and creative way.
Saturn through its aspect will bring perfection, spiritual growth, asceticism, and detachment to the 5th of spiritual techniques, mantras, discrimination, self-development, and investments.
Saturn through its aspect will make 7th and 8th House themes a part of the individual’s 5th House experience. Relationships, occult studies, conjugal bonds, and the public will all be part of the 5th House experience of creative intelligence and one’s soul nature. Saturn’s aspect will bring delays to children. Dass fathered a child in his twenties but did not learn of the child’s existence until he was seventy-eight.
Having Sun and Saturn in great dignity and aspecting a Trinal House is going to really help make this 5th House manifest strongly.
The 5th lord
Mars is the lord of the 5th House. Mars is in neutral dignity in the 2nd House of Leo. Mars is aspecting the 5th to 52 points. Mars is in a Bala state and is Svapna. This means that the Karmas associated with it are just starting. Mars has a Shadbala score of 334.6. Its yoga judgment score is decisively negative (+1.5/-18.7) and its Dig Bala is at 82%. This means the Bhava Yogas for the ruler of the 5th in the 2nd will be difficult ones, which will bring difficulty in approaching their responsibilities in a logical fashion because there will be impulsiveness to their financial speculations.
Mars is suffering significant starvation from its single enemy, Mercury. Mercury is hitting Mars at 344.8 points. Taking Mars down to -10.2. This is going to cause the individual to become too focused on the rules instead of doing what is right. They will get too caught up in trying to make sense of things instead of acting instinctively to handle a situation.
What is going to save Mars is the delight it is receiving from the Sun who is giving 556.3 points of support. This will give the individual a sense of purpose and stability to remain committed in pursuit of their goals. Moon is giving 225.2 points of delight that will help by nurturing the individual and making them feel like their goals are achievable. Empowering them to do what is needed in order to reach those goals.
The Saptamsa
Venus rules the 1st in the D7. It is in its Own House and Rasi aspects the 1st. This will bring harmony to one’s creative capacity and children. Mars is in neutral dignity and Jupiter is in its Own House. This tells us that while Dass felt his ability to apply his principles in a creative fashion was average, he was very pleased with his contributions to the greater good and to his life path overall.
The lord of the 5th in the D7, Mercury, is a friend’s dignity and tells us that he felt good about his capacity to manage his creative energy. But Mercury is in the 8th in the D7 and is with the lord of the 9th and 10th, Saturn. This will cause delays and obstacles to their capacity to have children and be responsible for them.
Jupiter is in its Own House in the D7. Jupiter is being Rasi aspected by Saturn and Mercury. Saturn will also cause delays to children and the management of their children.
Dass fathered a child while in college in his 20she did not find out he was a father until much later in his life when his son was an adult.
The 6th House
The 6th House is in Sagittarius. The Sign of Sagittarius will bring fairness, ethics, aspiration, and idealism to the 6th House of work environments, routine, and service. The 6th House is one’s duties in life and one’s level of service to others. The Lagna lord is placed in the 6th House, which means this House will be very much tied to Dass’s path in life and their identity as a person.
Because the Lagna lord is placed in the 6th House, 6th House affairs will be the focus of Dass’s life. Service and duty will be a focus, but so will disease and health.
Moon occupies the 6th. Venus Rasi aspects the 6th House.
Moon in the 6th will make the person want to provide good service in order to feel emotionally fulfilled. As we covered in our assessment of the 1st, Moon in the 6th is going to create an emotional imbalance through its placement. The person is going to have trouble adapting their self-projection to the day-to-day environment of their existence.
Venus is exalted and is aspecting to 14 points. Venus will bring diplomacy, balance, and kindness to the House of routines, health, healing, and working relationships.
Venus, through its aspect, will make 4th and 11th House themes of one’s inner security, one’s mother, home, happiness, gains, income, and protections received a part of the 6th House of themes of work, duty, and everyday routine. Ketu is placed in the 4th House, which means the energies of Ketu will also be involved in 6th House agendas.
The 6th lord
Jupiter is the lord of the 6th House. Jupiter is exalted in the 1st House of Cancer. Jupiter is in a Vriddha state and is Jagrat. Indicating the Karmas associated with it are active but on their way out of Dass’s life. Jupiter’s Shadbala is exceptionally positive (+23.1/-0.3) and its Dig Bala is at 164.0%. Jupiter is only aspecting the 6th House at 7 points. Jupiter is Dass’s strongest planet in Shadbala at 570.4 points. So even this small influence can have an impact due to Jupiter’s strength and impressive Shadbala score. This tells us that the Yogas of the ruler of the 6th going into the 1st are going to be positive. This will give one a greater sense of purpose and optimism around one’s sense of self and one’s emotional availability to weather the obstacles and delays life brings.
Jupiter is getting hurt by two negative Avashtas. The first is from Mercury. Mercury is a cause of thirst to Jupiter at 182.1 points. This won’t take Jupiter down, but it will cause a noticeable sting. This can cause one to get too caught up in overthinking things, creating a situation where an individual has trouble managing and enjoying their wealth because they are too focused on thinking about how they’re going to manage and enjoy it.
Venus is hitting Jupiter to 169.1 points, causing a thirst Avashta. Venus will generate too much focus on finding happiness, particularly through external things or events. Because this is occurring in the 1st House, the placement of Jupiter, this will play out in seeking fulfillment of personal or body-focused desires.
Both of these negative Avashtas will get the individual’s attention, but they won’t take away too much from the agendas of Jupiter. Jupiter is exalted and, therefore, in a proud Avashta. Jupiter proud will excel at giving fulfillment to those areas of life it indicates. Jupiter is going to give a sense of pride in serving. The person will feel charitable and in giving help where it is needed.
Sun and Moon are giving Jupiter delight and will help Dass overcome starvation. Sun will add 380.3 points to Jupiter’s agenda, adding intelligence, vitality, and a sense of nobility to their Jupiterian goals. Moon is adding 412.7 points of delight that will support and empower Jupiter toward that purpose.
The Trimsamsa
Mars is the lord of the 1st in the D30. Mars is in an enemy’s dignity. This tells us that there will be difficulty in their capacity to be healthy. Mars suffers greatly from a negative Avashta from Mercury in the Rasi, impacting one’s ability to take the proper steps to avoid illness.
Sun is in neutral dignity, which tells us their levels of health and sense of self were average. Sun is being hit by Saturn pretty hard in the Rasi. Saturn is going to bring lameness, chronic disease, muscular issues, and peripheral nerve misfortunes to the individual’s health.
Mercury rules the 6th in the D30 and is in an enemy’s dignity. Jupiter is in the 6th but it is in an enemy’s dignity as well. Rahu and Ketu are both Rasi aspecting the 6th House in the D30. The presence of both nodes indicates an area of hyper-focus. We have already seen a primary focus on the 6th House in the Rasi. The 6th in the D30 represents health and adversities.
Mercury is aspecting Sun in the D30. Mars is Rasi aspecting both of these planets and is going to hurt them through its negative dignity. Mars represents accidents, one’s nervous system, muscles, brain stem, and bladder. This combination can create a negative impact on the body and vitality, represented by Sun in the D30, as well as blood vessels and cognition, represented by Mercury in the D30, through these things that Mars represents.
Mars rasi aspects Ketu. The aspect of Mars and Ketu can result in breaks and injuries as the result of the completion of a Karma. Dass suffered a debilitating stroke in February 1997. The stroke was near fatal and resulted in expressive aphasia and paralysis on the right side.
Venus is in the 1st House of the D30. It is in an enemy’s dignity. Venus rules vitality in the D30. Venus also rules Ketu in the Rasi. Ketu represents bacteria. Ketu resides in Libra in the D30. Libra rules the kidneys. Dass contracted a urinary tract infection in October 2004 during a trip to India. Returning from India, he was hospitalized in Maui as the infection had become septic and spread to his kidneys. The infection further weakened his body which had been afflicted by a stroke in 1997 and resulted in his remaining in Maui for the remainder of his life.
The 7th House
The 7th House is in Capricorn. Capricorn will color the 7th House of relationships, the public, sex, and foreign residence qualities of practicality, formality, seclusion, and caution. Saturn is the lord of the 7th and is placed in its own House.
Saturn is placed in the 7th House. Mars and Mercury are Rasi aspecting the 7th House.
Mars is in neutral dignity and is aspecting at 33 points. Mars will bring competitiveness and sexual potency to the 7th House of sex, spouse, sexual passions, and desires.
Mars rasi aspecting the 7th House indicates 5th and 10th House themes of creativity, love affairs, romance, public prominence, pleasures, one’s relationships with authority figures, and play, and this will be part of the individual’s 7th House experience.
Mercury will give communication, humor, analytical intellect, trade, advising, and counseling skills to the 7th house of exchange, trade, professional partnerships, and relationships with the public. Mercury will also add 3rd and 12th House themes of siblings, fantasies, sex, hidden desires, personal desires, commerce, and communication to color the experiences of the 7th House.
Saturn resides in its Own Home of the 7th. Saturn will bring detachment to one’s personal relationships and also bring benefits from foreign connections. This will help reinforce a practical and realistic approach to one’s partnerships that will be perceived in the context of the long term.
The 7th lord
The lord of the 7th House is Saturn. Saturn is placed in the 7th House, its Own House. Saturn is in a Kumara state and is Jagrat, indicating the karmas associated with Saturn are young and part of their conscious experience. Saturn has a Shadbala score of 447.5. Its yoga judgment score is also strong (+8.9/-0.7) and its Dig Bala is a fantastic 193.5%, which tells us that the indications for the ruler of the 7th in the 7th will be overwhelmingly positive, making the person feel very patient and realistic about one’s partnerships.
Saturn’s placement forms a “Sasa Yoga”. Sasa is Sanskrit for hare or rabbit. This Yoga indicates an individual is largely acting out of fear, which is due in large part to early childhood traumas or difficulty. This makes the person very controlling and uncomfortable to be around, which in turn, makes them feel isolated and uncomfortable. There is also a strong attachment to one’s mother with this yoga. This seems at odds with the Bhava Yogas associated of the 7th in the 7th.
However, we must remember that Saturn is the great separator who detaches us from our desires. The key to the success of this yoga is perseverance.[3] Saturn brings the quality of endurance to the chart. Saturn also causes us to focus on our insecurities when afflicted. Very often the pains of our lives are simply meant to be endured. Success comes not through some great transformational insight, but simply through the process of living with and through the pain life brings us. It is the quality of acceptance and endurance of the pains of life that is really the true strength Saturn gives us.
Sun is hitting Mercury to 107.5 points, making the person hyper-aware of their weaknesses. The person will have trouble overcoming them because they will identify too much with them. Suffering leads to the person seeking validation of those hurts. This will lead to defensiveness and aggression that can make the person hard to be around.
Moon is hitting Saturn to 52.7 points. Moon will also create a focus on one’s weaknesses, which will lead to identification with it and validation of it. The frustration that comes from this will be difficult to overcome as any validation received will seemingly not be enough to get the person out of feeling depressed about it.
Moon’s impact is not as strong as Sun. In fact, both will not take Saturn out completely. But will cause the individual to lose their focus from time to time, and get a little stuck focusing on those weaknesses and liabilities. Combined, they do have the power to get in the way of healthy, long-term relationships.
Mars is the most serious of the negative impacts that Saturn is experiencing. Mars is hitting Saturn to 231.9 points of starvation and agitation. Mars is going to create feelings of disconnect with their partners. Mars is going to generate high expectations and a rushed feeling around their relationships. The person feels there is never enough time but that is because they are generally very busy in the world and they don’t want to take the time to let the relationship grow naturally into something meaningful. They just want it to go straight into whatever expectation they have for it right away.
The negative Avashtas of the Sun, Moon, and Mars pose a serious problem for individuals in regard to their relationships, making for a very difficult person to be in a relationship with. Dass never had a successful long-term partnership.
Mercury will help to counter the negative Avashtas of the Sun and the Moon. Mercury is giving 170.0 points of delight that will bring help in the form of a community and friends who have similar liabilities. Over the course of his life, Dass often struggled with personal liabilities and weaknesses. One comfort for him was the group of people who were with him during his experiences in India at his guru’s ashram. This group of people Dass saw as his “spiritual family” who would come together from time to time for mutual support, forever linked to their shared experience of being with Neem Karoli Baba.
Dass traveled for much of adult his life, making long-term relationships extremely difficult. Again, one thing that did help with this was his Mercury by giving him a supportive community of friends from his time in India who helped to lessen the sting of Mars and provided comfort to his Saturn from both Mars and the negative Avashtas of the Sun and Moon.
The Saptamsa
Venus rules the 1st House of the D7. It also rules the 6th House, where it is placed. Venus is in its Own House. Its great dignity in both the Rasi and the D7 tells us that Dass had a strong and healthy sexuality. Mars is Rasi aspecting from the 5th, indicating creativity and passion in sexual partnerships and relationships. The neutral dignity of Mars will generate some scarcity in the passion side of their sexual relationships. But Moon and Ketu are Rasi aspecting Mars in the D7, so there will be past life creative experience and emotional nurturing going towards sustaining that passionate expression.
Saturn is in an enemy’s dignity in the 9th, indicating delays and obstacles in committed relationships. Saturn also rules the 9th and also the 10th in the D7, so there will be difficulties with success in marriage and/or long-term relationships.
Moon is in the 9th House in a friend’s dignity. It is with Ketu. In terms of long-term partnerships, Moon and Ketu indicate a capacity to receive creative inspiration as a spiritual experience but also it could also create experiences of frustration.
Sun is neutral dignity, which reinforces a lack of consistency in relationships.
The 8th House
The 8th House is in Aquarius. Aquarius will give a foundation of idealism, innovation, unselfishness, and a desire to study human character and behavior to the 8th House of breaks, changes, transformation, sex, death, occult studies, inheritance, and wealth from others, and the hidden side of life.
Sun, Rahu, Jupiter, and Ketu are Rasi aspecting the 8th House.
Jupiter gives optimism, good fortune, wisdom, and philosophy to the House of occult and esoteric studies, inner transformation, unexpected happenings, and breaks in life.
Jupiter is going to bring 6th and 9th House affairs into the 8th through its aspect, indicating that their everyday routine, debts, health, occult studies, and private and intimate relationships with others will be the source of many of their breaks and changes in life. But, the exalted dignity of Jupiter will make Dass feel optimistic about these changes as they will result in greater wisdom for him.
Sun and Rahu are Rasi aspecting the 8th House. Sun is the lord of the 2nd, so 2nd House things will be a part of their 8th House experience. Rahu with Sun is going to generate an identity crisis because one’s outer expression of their individuality, confidence, and creative will is being fueled by an inner insecurity attempting to overcompensate for the doubts one is feeling around what Sun represents.
Ketu is Rasi aspecting the 8th House. The shared energies of Ketu and Mars going towards the 8th indicate past security in the use of their will and logic towards things and events. In the present, the individual will lack confidence in the use of their will and logic and, consequently, be humbled by this lack as they are forced to step outside of their comfort zone.
The 8th lord
The lord of the 8th House is Saturn. Saturn is placed in the 7th House, its Own House. As we discovered in our look of the 7th lord, Saturn has some good indications in his Shadbala and yoga judgments scores that led us to conclude that the indications for the Bhava Yogas of the ruler of the 7th being in the 7th House would be strongly positive. We can draw the same conclusions when it comes to the indications for the Bhava Yogas of the ruler of the 8th being in the 7th. This will give important relationships a deeper and more intimate quality that will help to endure the breaks and changes they experience on the spiritual path
As we saw in our exploration of Saturn as the lord of the 7th House, Saturn is suffering from three negative Avashtas from the Sun, Moon, and Mars that are causing it starvation and agitation, resulting in struggles with aggression, frustration, and disconnection that is going to interfere with Saturn’s running of the 8th House. This will create issues around occult studies, intimacy, and deep psychological intuition. There will be a drive to go straight into intimate relationships quickly out of a need for validation. Intimate relationships will suffer from a hyper-focus on one’s weaknesses, causing one to seek external validation. Dass will have trouble with developing his 8th House because of these negative Avashtas impacting it. There will be emotional anxiety and unresolved emotional issues.
Again, Mercury will help to counter these negative Avashtas by providing Dass with a support group of friends from India who have similar liabilities. This will help him to find peace with his liabilities by putting them into perspective.
The Vimsamsa
Mars is the lord of the 1st and 8th Houses in the D20. Mars is exalted in the 10th House. But, Mars is with both Rahu and Ketu. This indicates a hyper-focus on one’s activities related to one’s spiritual pursuits, devotion, and spiritual progress. But, this focus is rooted in confusion because the person really wants to make progress but is distracted and led astray by desires and cravings.
What will help is the presence of someone who has been there and done that, such as a guru or a teacher. Jupiter rules the 9th House in both the Rasi, where it is exalted, and the D20, where it is in a great friend’s dignity. Jupiter also Rasi aspects the 10th House in the D20. This indicates one will be successful in receiving direct perception and knowledge from one’s guru. However, the Rasi aspects of Rahu and Ketu to Jupiter, while bringing success in foreign and strange liberation practices, will also bring its share of confusion, obsessions, and distractions.
Saturn is in neutral dignity in the D20. So, when it comes to consistency and discipline, there is going to be some difficulty. Moon is Vargottama in the D20. Like in the Rasi, it is in an enemy’s dignity and is not getting any support there from any Rasi aspects, which means that the person will have trouble being spiritually receptive. Venus is with Moon and is also in an enemy’s dignity in the D20, further reinforcing difficulty in remaining devoted to the spiritual path.
The 9th House
The 9th House is in Pisces. Pisces brings intuition, contemplation, liberation, generosity, and mysticism to the House of Dharma, philosophy, guru, pilgrimages, and long-distance travels.
Venus is placed in the 9th. Moon is Rasi aspecting the 9th House.
Moon will bring self-expression, feelings, memory, and attachment to the 9th of deeper understanding, philosophy, convictions, and father.
Moon, through its aspect, will make the 1st House of self and self-projection a part of the 9th House experience.
Venus is placed in the 9th House. The placement of Venus tells us that the insights one will gain over life and their attitude towards their spirituality will be one of balance and harmony. 4th and 11th House themes will color the 9th House. Mother, emotional security, happiness, major goals, love, validation, and support will all be facets of this individual’s 9th House experience.
The 9th lord
Jupiter is the lord of the 9th House. Jupiter is exalted in the 1st House of Cancer. Jupiter is also the lord of the 6th. Referring back to the assessment of Jupiter as the 6th lord, we can conclude that the Bhava Yogas of the ruler of the 9th going into the 1st House will be likewise positive. This gives a deeper understanding of one’s path in life that is optimistic and philosophical by framing one’s life experience in righteousness and purpose.
As we covered in our exploration of the 6th House, Jupiter is getting hurt by two negative Avashtas from Mercury and Venus that are causing an Avashta of thirst. Both of these Avashtas will bring over analysis and over focus respectively to one’s search for happiness and success along their path towards finding meaning in life.
We also saw that, while these negative Avashtas will get the individual’s attention, they won’t take away too much from the agendas of Jupiter. Jupiter is exalted and, therefore, a proud Avashta. Jupiter proud will excel at giving fulfillment to those areas of life it indicates. Jupiter is going to give a sense of pride in their purpose. The person will feel a strong faith in their guru and their religion and follow that path without any hesitation.
Sun and Moon are giving Jupiter delight and will help to overcome this thirst. As with the 6th, Sun will give consistency on one’s path. Moon will empower Jupiter with greater emotional centeredness towards that goal, ensuring that Venus and Mercury will not permanently derail the trajectory of Jupiter’s agendas.
The Navamsa
Jupiter is the lord of the 1st House in the D9. Jupiter is in a great enemy’s sign. This tells us that the person isn’t going to feel that their ambitions towards their life purpose and long-term relationships are being met, they aren’t going to feel joy from it.
Venus is the primary karaka for the D9 and it is debilitated in the 10th, indicating that the person is going to have difficulty making decisions that lead to higher fulfillment in their long-term relationships because they aren’t able to derive any sense of comfort from their actions. Venus is being Rasi aspected by Moon in the D9. Moon is hitting Venus with a severe thirst Avashta in the Rasi. This will make the person very demanding in their relationships.
Saturn is Dass’s Atmakaraka. When we look at Saturn in the D9, we see that it is in neutral dignity in the 8th House. Saturn is being Rasi aspected by Mercury and Mars in the D9. Mars is starving and agitating Saturn in the Rasi and will make them feel that the compromises in their relationships aren’t worth it in the long run. They don’t feel validated. Mercury is sending delight to Saturn in the Rasi, which helps to lessen this feeling with more friendliness and play to lighten the burden of their relationships and their path.
The 10th lord, Mercury, is in an enemy’s dignity. It is Rasi aspected by Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. Ketu is placed with Mercury in the 10th of the D9. Ketu is going to create rigidity in being able to see beyond their current understanding and intellect. Saturn is going to give a lack in being able to bear the burdens of one’s path and endure troubles. But, Mars will help the person to make good judgments and stand in them with courage and initiative.
Dass never married and he had great difficulty in maintaining long-term relationships.
Sun is the lord of the 9th House and is placed in that House in the D9. Sun is also with Rahu. This indicates one will make sacrifices towards their higher purpose but there will be confusion associated with those sacrifices because behind one’s confident projections is an underlying insecurity that will bring about inconsistency in managing their relationships, leaving them ultimately unsatisfied with those sacrifices. Rahu is going to make the person feel their efforts are wasted in this regard.
Mars and Jupiter are Rasi aspecting Sun and Rahu. This will help to give the capacity for compromise, feel a higher sense of purpose, and make good judgments towards their relationships. Also, it will help them in their capacity to get into and out of relationships through the use of their logic and a feeling of a greater sense of purpose behind those decisions. Their failure in having successful long-term relationships will be viewed through a bigger-picture perspective.
The Lagna lord of the Rasi Moon is in the 7th of the D9 and is in a great enemy’s dignity. This tells us that one is going to have difficulty being adaptable in their role in their relationships. Moon is being Rasi aspected by Venus. Venus is debilitated in the D9 so it will increase one’s feelings of discomfort around one’s ability to nurture relationships.
The 10th House
The 10th House is in Aries. The Sign of Aries gives initiative, courage, ambition, pioneering energies, and self-assertiveness to the House of career, status, and activity in the world.
Sun and Rahu are placed in the House. Mars Rasi aspects the 10th House.
Mars will give its Moolatrikona house of professional activities, ambition, and professional drive the energies of will, initiative, and courage.
Mars Rasi aspecting its Own House of the 10th will strengthen its capacity for manifesting these qualities and tie in 5th House themes of creative intelligence to the 10th House.
Sun and Rahu are in the 10th House. This means that 2nd House themes will be part of their 10th House experience. Sun in the 10th is a great placement generally. The Sun is exalted in the 10th House, which will strengthen its capacity to give its effects to this House. But Sun and Rahu are separative planets. For Sun, the separation is for a higher ideal. For Rahu, the separation is due to the confusion of being somewhere new and strange.
Rahu in the 10th indicates that in past lifetimes, one has found security within themselves through stabilizing and controlling their emotions. Rahu’s placement means that in this life they must learn to control and stabilize their external environment through activities that reflect this inner stability. An interesting facet of Dass’s career has been the sharing of many of his personal and private experiences on a global stage. Sun’s influence of higher ideals, sacrifice, strength of character, and the ability to inspire others was manifested by making his entire life a teaching tool for those seeking greater fulfillment.
The stroke Dass suffered limited his career, status, and activity in the world. This strange and new situation impacted his 10th House career on one level but transformed it on another. This became another opportunity for Dass to take a life experience and make it inspirational.
The 10th lord
Mars is the lord of the 10th House. Mars is in neutral dignity in the 2nd House of Leo. As with our exploration of the 5th, the yoga judgments score of Mars indicates the Yogas for the ruler of the 10th in the 2nd will likewise be difficult, which will bring trouble in using one’s logic towards taking the right actions in regards to their responsibilities and creating indecisiveness and timidity around one’s self-worth and status.
As we found with the 5th House, Mars is suffering very significant starvation from its single enemy, Mercury. They will get too caught up in trying to make sense of things instead of acting instinctively to handle a situation. Part of this will involve one’s father or authority figures. This will be a source of frustration. The psychedelic research Dass conducted with Leary created friction and frustration with their bosses at Harvard and Cambridge, who imposed rules and restrictions in an effort to limit the research. Ultimately forcing Dass and Leary to move their research off campus where they could conduct experiments more freely. [4]
Sun is Rasi aspecting the 2nd House, which is going to strengthen Mars and lift it up. Sun rules the 2nd of early childhood and family. Dass was born into wealth created through his father’s work and career. Some of the negative impacts of Rahu can entail difficulty with the paternal and familial expectations one was born into. The aspect of Rahu to Mars indicates that the ideals in one’s mind must be had at all costs. This can make Dass’s intentions to not fulfill those familial expectations seem illogical and aggressive to both his father and his family.
Mars is receiving delight from Sun and Moon. Sun is giving 556.3 points of support that will give Mars a greater sense of purpose based on pure ideals to work towards. Moon is giving 225.2 points of delight that will help make Mars feel like they have the willpower to achieve its goals.
Ketu rasi aspects Mars. Ketu represents those things upon which we have a solid foundation in. But that solidity leads to discontentment, triggering us to deeper self-exploration. The aspect of Mars and Ketu can indicate that injuries are due to the fulfillment of karma from a past life. Dass suffered a near-fatal stroke on February 19, 1997. The stroke caused expressive aphasia and paralysis on the right side. Dass would later say that the stroke was the result of the liberating grace of his Guru.[5]
The Dasamsa
Mercury rules both the 1st and 10th Houses of the D10. It is in a friend’s dignity. Mercury is in the 4th House with Jupiter who is in its Own House. This tells us that there is a good foundation for Dass to feel happiness and contentment with his career, status, and achievements in the world.
Sun and Venus are both in the 1st House of the D10. Sun is going to make one feel confident in their activity and the benefits from their status personally. However, Venus is debilitated in the D10, which tells us the person is going to create unhealthy boundaries in their relationships because the individual will make demands for validation in the relationship.
Mars is in neutral dignity in the 12th House in the D10. It is with Rahu and isn’t receiving any Rasi aspects. Mars rules the 10th in the Rasi and its placement in the D10 tells us that Dass felt a certain amount of detachment from his status and career due to his focus on moksha. Mars rules the 3rd and the 8th in the D10. This indicates one is going to oversee their liberation through their curiosity, research, occult studies, and long-term illness and interests in death and near-death states. Dass created the Dying Project, an outreach program for counseling people who suffered from late-stage terminal illnesses.[6]
Saturn is the primary karaka of the D10. Saturn is the 6th House and is in Moolatrikona in the D10 and is with Moon and Ketu. This is yet another indication of a 6th House focus with Saturnine perseverance and ambition towards the hard work of everyday life. The influence of Moon adds the capacity to listen to one’s critics in a nurturing and adaptable fashion. He was able to appreciate the work he did and the things he accomplished.
The 11th House
The 11th House is in Taurus. Taurus is the Sign of material resources, family, and our responsibilities in this world. The 11th is supplemental income, gains through profession, social connections, and group involvement.
Mercury is placed in the 11th House. Jupiter and Ketu are Rasi aspecting the 11th House.
Jupiter is the karaka of the 11th and its rasi aspect is going to bring opportunities, wealth, good fortune, wisdom, and philosophy to the House of gains, success, degrees, and income. Jupiter Rasi aspecting the 11th is going to help manifest the 11th House with wealth, knowledge, and opportunities that will bring gains and fulfill ambitions for success.
Ketu is also rasi aspecting the 11th. Ketu’s aspect of Mercury indicates that in past lifetimes the person has found security through their intellect to the point of rigidity. These influences will force the person to recognize that there are things that lie outside of their rational intellect and understanding. This is so the person can grow beyond the rigid viewpoint that has kept them from embracing any new ideas.
The 11th lord
The lord of the 11th House is Venus. Venus is in the 9th House of Pisces. As we learned when we explored the 4th House, Venus is exalted but has a strongly negative yoga judgment score and its Dig Bala is very low. This tells us that the Yogas for the ruler of the 11th in the 9th House will be mostly negative. This can make it difficult for the person to find a balance between their personal goals with the higher ambitions of their path in life.
From our exploration of the 4th, we know Venus is suffering a significant thirst from Moon. This will make the individual demand their needs be met through their relationships. The 11th rules elder brothers, social connections, and social groups. So the negative Avashta of Moon will create some unhealthy boundaries to these relationships.
As we also found in the 4th, Saturn is going to help the individual to let go of any unrealistic expectations around this, helping them to find delight in whatever gains these relationships bring.
The 12th House
The 12th House is in Gemini. Gemini is the 3rd Sign and represents quick-mindedness, impressive speaking, inventiveness, and communication skills. In regards to the 12th House, the emphasis will be on speaking about topics of health (mental), liberation, things of foreign origin, research, and laboratories, but it also deals with sickness, isolation, restriction, imprisonment, and hospitals.
Venus and Moon are Rasi aspecting the 12th House.
Because of Moon’s dignity, there will be some painful and unavailable qualities to this influence due to the nature of Moon’s dignity. It will impact the 12th House matters of hidden desires, sex, renunciation, spiritual liberation, and incapacitation.
Moon is rasi aspecting the 12th House indicates that the 1st House themes of the self and one’s individuality are going to be a part of this person’s 12th House experience of liberation, research, experimentation, incapacitation, and imprisonment.
Venus will bring a capacity for decision-making, diplomacy, and passion to the 12th House of sex, renunciation, spiritual liberation, and completion.
Venus is Rasi aspecting the 12th House, bringing 4th House themes of one’s emotional environment and one’s inner foundation as well as 11th House themes of protection received, support, love, and validation to the 12th.
The 12th lord
Mercury is the lord of the 12th House. Mercury is also the ruler of the 3rd House. Referring back to our assessment of the 3rd lord, Mercury has some mixed indications in his Shadbala and yoga judgments scores that led us to conclude that the indications for the Bhava Yogas of the ruler of the 3rd being in the 11th House would be more negative. We can draw the same conclusions when it comes to the indications for the Bhava Yogas of the ruler of the 12th being in the 11th.
This will have an impact on the sign of liberation with the House of expected gains and social involvement as Mercury can make one get a little caught up in thinking about one’s philosophies than in managing their gains rationally because there is a sense of play around them.
Mercury is in a Mrita state and also Svapna. This means that the Karmas involving Mercury are fading and the individual is somewhat aware of them.
Moon is impacting Mercury, causing starvation and agitation. This will cause the individual to take things too personally and seek validation in their research. But Moon is only hitting Mercury at 19.9 points so this will be only a minor irritation for the individual.
Venus is giving 405.7 points of delight to Mercury. Venus will make the individual’s speech more effective, charming, and soothing. Venus will ensure that friendships are formed on higher values and add a quality of tact and respect for others that will be reciprocated.
Later in life, Dass experienced a stroke that left him an invalid. Lifelong friends came together and supported Dass during this time. We find here in the 12th House that the influence of Venus came forward during the completion stage of his life with love support and protection.
The Dwadasamsha
We look at the Dwadasamsha for a person’s past life Karmas and one’s parents. Saturn is exalted and is the Lagna lord in the D12. But he is with Sun and is being Rasi aspected by both Mars and Venus. Venus is not aspecting Saturn in the Rasi. This is going to bring trouble in being able to fulfill one’s family obligations because of difficulty in relating to paternal and maternal influences.
Mercury is the lord of the 12th in the Rasi. Mercury is in his Own Sign in the D12, which tells us that one’s maternal aunts and uncles will be more supportive of their inner world and efforts at liberation.
The position of Ketu in the 2nd of the D12 shows a paternal ancestry focused on wealth, finances, resources, and responsibilities. Rahu’s position in the 8th of the D12 indicates a maternal ancestry focused on hidden emotions, wealth from partners, and wealth through inheritances.
Conclusion
When exploring the chart of Ram Dass, a complex picture emerges. Astrology is both a study of the events of a person’s life and they meet those events. For Dass, the main themes in his life revolved around service, personal relationships, and breaking with the legacy of his family of origin. These themes played out in Dass’s life and in the public sphere as he made them a part of his career and activity in the world as a spiritual teacher.
In 1985 Dass wrote a book titled, How Can I Help? After his stroke he said that he should write another book titled, How Can You Help Me? This comment highlights a key developmental aspect of his chart. Dass sought out external validation in many areas of life like speaking, career, traveling, interacting with the public, and through partnerships. When the stroke took away his capacity to seek out validation in those areas of life, it opened him up to receive it. The stroke impaired Dass’s ability to speak. Dass said the silence gave him a greater capacity to listen to and feel the pain of others.
Service is just as much about being served as it is serving. To fully understand something we have to know it from both sides. Sometimes, the best way one can know what it means to help others is by truly knowing what it means to be helped by others, only then we can know the deeper meaning of service to others.
“I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion--and where it isn't, that's where my work lies.”
― Ram Dass
References
Dass, R., Das, R., (2021). Being Ram Dass. Boulder, CO: Sounds True.
Fish, R., Kurczak, R., (2012). The Art and Science of Vedic Astrology: The Foundational Course. Asheville, NC: Asheville Vedic Astrology.
Fish, R., Kurczak, R., (2012). The Art and Science of Vedic Astrology Volume 2: Intermediate Principles of Astrology. Asheville, NC: Asheville Vedic Astrology.
Levacy, W.R., (1999). Beneath a Vedic Sky: A Beginner’s Guide to the Astrology of Ancient India. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.
Wilhelm, E., (2002). Core Yogas. Käla Occult Publishers. Middletown, DE.
Footnotes
[1] Dass, R., Das, R., (2021). Being Ram Dass. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Pages 271 - 278.
[2] Wilhelm, E., (2002). Core Yogas. Käla Occult Publishers. Middletown, DE. Page 150.
[3] Wilhelm, E., (2002). Core Yogas. Käla Occult Publishers. Middletown, DE. Page 45.
[4] Dass, R., Das, R., (2021). Being Ram Dass. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Page 93.
[5] Ibid. pages. 335-343.
[6] Dass, R., Das, R., (2021). Being Ram Dass. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. Pages 279-284.
