In my article about navamsha I’ve shown four examples of bhakti-yogis and how a particular navamsha yoga for bhakti and liberation can be seen nicely in their navamsha charts. Since I enjoy looking at charts of spiritualists this made me curious and I wanted to check this simple technique on 16 more charts. While doing this I thought that this might be a good way to compare the tropical and sidereal zodiacs and also see which zodiac did Maharishi Jaimini, who wrote down these techniques used as it is natural that if his technique works better in one of the two zodiacs, that that’s the one he was using when he constructed these techniques.
Below are 20 navamsha charts (both, tropical and sidereal) of 20 bhakti-yogis who have been practicing the yoga of devotion for many years. Before we start examining them we first need to get familiar with Jaimini’s technique we’re using here.
- Our first building block is the atmakaraka. This is the planet that is the highest in degrees in a sign. This becomes the significator of self.
- Our second building block is the navamsha chart. Nowadays any Vedic astrology software can calculate it, but even the better Western astrology programs have an option to draw harmonic charts of which the navamsha is the 9th harmonic. Alternatively you can calculate it by hand. See my article.
- We need to draw the navamsha using the so called South Indian square chart, because this chart enables us to see Jaimini’s rashi aspects most clearly.
- Our third building block is Venus.
- Our fourth building block is Ketu.
The procedure is as follows:
- Locate the atmakaraka in the navamsha chart. The sign it falls in is from now on called svamshsa. This becomes an alternative ascendant.
- Count 12 signs from svamsha to arrive at the place where devotion and liberation can take place under certain conditions. If the svamsha sign is even, count in the reverse order.
- See if Venus and Ketu are conjunct in this 12th place. If yes, then this is a textbook example.
- If they are not in the 12th place from svamsha, see if they are conjunct in any other place and are aspecting the 12th.
- If they are not conjunct, see if they are aspecting eachother and one of them or both of them are aspecting the 12th.
- Less than this is more loosely showing what we are searching for, but we should keep in mind that things like the lord of the 12th from svamsha in the svamsha is also important as well as the svamsha lord in the 12th from it. Venus and Ketu involved can affirm this.
Jaimini says that when Venus and Ketu sit in this 12th place together that the person has faith in Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. More important than this is the spiritual process Laksmi Devi represents and this is the path of devotion or bhakti-yoga. Why are Venus and Ketu important for this? Venus represents our desires, worldly pleasures, sense enjoyment and sexuality. Ketu represents detachment, inward orientation and spiritualization. Thus when the two join or are influencing each other a yoga of spiritualization of senses and desires takes place and this is what bhakti yogis do. They are spiritualizing their senses and desires by engaging them in devotional service to their chosen Deity, they are putting desires of their Beloved first. Jaimini also tells us that Ketu in the svamsha itself already denotes liberation. Here are the sutras from Jamini Upadesha Sutra where Jaimini gives results from the svamsha’s 12th place:
»A benefic, or an exalted, in the 12th – a blissful realm.« (1.2.68)
»Ketu therein – liberation.« (1.2.69)
»In Pisces and Cancer particularly.« (1.2.70)
»Venus (with Ketu) – in Lakshmi.« (1.2.71)
Here we’re not so much concerned with liberation as with the path of devotion, thus while Pisces and Cancer might be preferred, I won’t consider them as crucial. In order to make this little research a bit more systematic I’ve organized the charts by gradation so we begin with charts that are textbook examples and proceed with the ones that demand looking at aspects.
I’ve only given navamsha charts because this technique is seen from the navamsha chart itself and is very isolated from the main chart apart from the atmakaraka being determined from the degrees in the main chart. If there are specific engagements of Venus and Ketu in the main chart I’m writing this in the chart itself.
This took more time than I thought and I hope it will be of value to those exploring Jaimini as to those who are wondering about the two zodiacs. Of course, basic knowledge of Jaimini is required for a smooth sail here, but since rashi aspects are simple one can quickly learn them and my video interview about them could be helpful.
Here is some help for reading the charts and text:
Red square – Atmakaraka / Svamsha
Red circles – Venus and Ketu
Red arrows – important rashi aspects
Navamsha lagna = ascendant in the navamsha, marked with two diagonal lines in a corner of a sign.
Left chart is TROPICAL, right chart is SIDEREAL with Lahiri ayanamsha, the standardized ayanamsha in India.
THE EXAMPLES:
TROPICAL:
Taurus svamsha, its 12th is Gemini.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Gemini, the 12th from svamsha. They are aspecting the navamsha lagna, which is in Pisces.
SIDEREAL:
Gemini svamsha, its 12th is Taurus.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Scorpio, but are not in the 12th from svamsha. They are not aspecting it, but are aspecting Mercury, the svamsha ruler.
TROPICAL:
Cancer svamsha, its 12th is Leo.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Leo, the 12th from svamsha. Lord of Leo, the Sun is exalted and aspects Leo. Venus is also the navamsha lagna lord.
SIDEREAL:
Saggitarius svamsha, its 12th is Scorpio.
Venus and Ketu are not in the 12th from svamsha, but in the 2nd, aspecting the 12th. Mars, the 12th lord and atmakaraka is in the svamsha.
TROPICAL:
Aquarius svamsha, its 12th is Capricorn.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Capricorn, the 12th from svamsha. Mercury, the navamsha lagna lord is aspecting Capricorn.
SIDEREAL:
Pisces svamsha, its 12th is Aries.
Venus and Ketu are not in the 12th from it nor aspecting it, but are aspecting the svamsha.
TROPICAL:
Libra svamsha, its 12th is Virgo.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Virgo, the 12th from svamsha. Venus is also the svamsha and the navamsha lagna lord.
SIDEREAL:
Pisces svamsha, its 12th is Aries.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Aquarius, so they are not in the 12th from svamsha, but are aspecting it.
These were the four charts which have textbook placements of Venus and Ketu in relation to the svamsha. We will continue with charts that still have Venus and Ketu conjunct, but not in the 12th from svamsha. Instead they are aspecting this place.
TROPICAL:
Saggitarius svamsha, its 12th is Scorpio.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Cancer. They are not in the 12th from svamsha, but are aspecting it from the 8th. They are also aspecting the navamsha ascendant Saturn. Jupiter, the svamsha lord is aspecting Venus and Ketu from Taurus.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Saggitarius, they are not in the 12th from svamsha, they are not aspecting it, but are aspecting the svamsha instead.
TROPICAL:
Taurus svamsha, its 12th is Gemini.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Pisces and are aspecting Gemini, the 12th from svamsha.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Leo and are aspecting Libra, the 12th from svamsha.
Here both give similar results, but in tropical we have Venus and Ketu in Pisces and the svamsha is Taurus which is preferable and we can see it showing up frequently.
Now we will continue with three charts that don’t have Venus and Ketu conjunct in the navamsha chart, but have them in the rashi chart in proper places, but still some indications in the navamsha. Please note that Venus-Ketu conjunction in the rashi chart can in itself be sufficient to put a person on the path of bhakti if a proper house is involved.
TROPICAL:
Saggitarius svamsha, its 12th is Scorpio.
Venus is in the svamsha, Ketu is with navamsha ascendant.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Cancer, 9th house in the main chart which in itself is sufficient to indicate bhakti.
SIDEREAL:
Leo svamsha, its 12th is Cancer.
Ketu is in Cancer, the 12th from svamsha and Venus is aspecting it. Cancer also holds navamsha ascendant and its lord, the Moon. These navamsha indications might be stronger, but we have to take into the account that there is no conjunction of Venus and Ketu in the main chart as it is in the tropical horoscope.
TROPICAL:
Saggitarius svamsha. Its 12th is Scorpio.
Venus is in Scorpio, the 12th from svamsha. Ketu is not aspecting Venus, but is conjunct Mars, the lord of Scorpio. Mercury, the navamsha ascendant lord is being aspected by both Venus and Ketu.
Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Cancer, 8th house in the main chart.
SIDEREAL:
Leo svamsha. Its 12th is Cancer.
Ketu is in Cancer, the 12th from svamsha. Venus is not aspecting Ketu, but is aspecting the svamsha and the navamsha ascendant instead. Venus and Ketu are not conjunct in the main chart as is the case in the tropical horoscope.
TROPICAL:
Virgo svamsha. Its 12th is Libra.
Venus is the atmakaraka and thus in the svamsha. She rules Libra, the 12th from it. Ketu is not aspecting Libra, nor Virgo, but is aspecting the navamsha lagna in Aquarius and Mercury in there, who is the lord of the svamsha. Venus and Ketu are conjunct in Capricorn, 1st house in the main chart.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha. Its 12th is Libra.
Venus is aspecting Libra, the 12th from svamsha from Aquarius. Ketu is not aspecting the 12th, nor Venus, but is aspecting the svamsha instead. Venus and Ketu are not conjunct in the main chart like in the tropical horoscope.
Next we will look at navamsha charts that don’t have Venus and Ketu conjunct, but they indicate bhakti-yoga we’re looking for in a not so direct, textbook manner.
TROPICAL:
Gemini svamsha, its 12th is Taurus.
Ketu is aspecting Venus, Venus is aspecting Taurus, the 12th from svamsha.
SIDEREAL:
Gemini svamsha, its 12th is Taurus.
Venus is the atmakaraka, thus in the svamsha and it rules its 12th, Taurus. Ketu is not aspecting the 12th, nor the svamsha. Mercury, the svamsha lord is aspecting the 12th from svamsha.
TROPICAL:
Pisces svamsha, its 12th is Aries.
Ketu is in Aries, the 12th from svamsha. Venus is in the svamsha, exalted, with Jupiter. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna. Mars, the navamsha lagna lord is aspecting Ketu from Scorpio.
SIDEREAL:
Saggitarius svamsha, its 12th is Scorpio.
Nor Venus nor Ketu is aspecting the 12th from svamsha. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna and is aspecting the svamsha. Mars, the 12th lord is aspecting Venus from Aries.
TROPICAL:
Gemini svamsha, its 12th is Taurus.
Ketu is in Taurus, the 12th from svamsha and Venus is in the svamsha, being the lord of Taurus, thus the lord of Ketu. Mercury, the svamsha lord is in aspect with Ketu.
SIDEREAL:
Gemini svamsha, its 12th is Taurus.
Ketu is aspecting Taurus, the 12th from svamsha from Libra. Venus is not aspecting either Ketu or the 12th.
TROPICAL:
Taurus svamsha, its 12th is Gemini.
Venus is exalted in Pisces and is aspecting Gemini, the 12th from svamsha and navamsha lagna. Ketu is not aspecting Venus, nor the Gemini, but is aspecting the svamsha instead and of course Mercury, the atmakaraka and the navamsha lagna lord who is in the 12th from it.
SIDEREAL:
Leo svamsha, its 12th is Cancer.
Venus is the atmakaraka, thus in the svamsha. Ketu is aspecting the Moon who is the lord of Cancer, the 12th from svamsha.
TROPICAL:
Taurus svamsha, its 12th is Gemini.
Venus is in the svamsha in her own sign, Ketu is aspecting it. Mercury, the lord of Gemini, the 12th from svamsha is also in aspect. Jupiter, the navamsha lagna lord is with Ketu and is aspecting Venus.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is in Libra, the 12th from svamsha, Ketu is not aspecting Venus or the 12th, but is aspecting the svamsha instead.
TROPICAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is in her own sign, with the navamsha lagna, aspecting Libra, the 12th from svamsha. Ketu is not aspecting Venus, but is aspecting the 12th from svamsha and also Mercury, the svamsha lord.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is in Libra, the 12th from svamsha in her own sign, with the navamsha lagna. Ketu is not engaged with Venus or the 12th or the svamsha in any way.
TROPICAL:
Taurus svamsha, its 12th is Gemini.
Venus is aspecting Gemini from Saggitarius. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna and with the svamsha lord, aspecting the svamsha.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is aspecting Libra from her sign Taurus. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna and with the svamsha lord, aspecting the svamsha.
In this case we have an almost identical scenario, but in tropical, the svamsha itself is Taurus, which we keep seeing and it is more powerful if the svamsha lord, Venus is aspecting the 12th, because we’re concerned with Venus and if she happens to rule the svamsha it is better. The 12th from Taurus being influenced by Ketu itself is important, because it’s undoing or spiritualizing the senses engaging quality of Taurus.
TROPICAL:
Aquarius svamsha, its 12th is Capricorn.
Venus is the atmakaraka, thus in the svamsha. Ketu is aspecting Capricorn, the 12th from svamsha and is with Saturn, the svamsha and 12th from svamsha Lord.
SIDEREAL:
Saggitarius svamsha, its 12th is Scorpio.
Venus is aspecting Scorpio from Cancer and Ketu is aspecting it from Aries. Mars, the atmakaraka rules its 12th.
This is the first case where sidereal gives a more clear result at first glance, but it could be argued that since in the tropical chart the 12th from Venus/svamsha is aspected by Ketu and Saturn which are in the 10th from it, that it shows the actions related to Venus being spiritualized and can show some asceticism, too.
TROPICAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is the atmakaraka, thus in the svamsha. It rules the 12th from svamsha. Its lord Mercury is aspecting Libra, the 12th from svamsha from Taurus, thus they have a mutual reception by navamsha. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna and is aspecting the svamsha and thus Venus.
SIDEREAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is aspecting Libra from Aquarius. Libra also holds Mercury, the svamsha lord. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna and Mars, the ruler is in the 12th from it.
TROPICAL:
Aquarius svamsha, its 12th is Capricorn.
Venus is aspecting Capricorn from Leo. Ketu is in Libra, the sign of Venus and is aspecting Venus and the svamsha.
SIDEREAL:
Saggitarius svamsha, its 12th is Scorpio.
Venus is aspecting Scorpio from Capricorn, Ketu is in Pisces and is aspecting the svamsha.
TROPICAL:
Virgo svamsha, its 12th is Libra.
Venus is aspecting Libra from her own sign Taurus. Ketu is aspecting Libra and is with navamsha lagna.
SIDEREAL:
Libra svamsha, its 12th is Virgo.
Venus is the atmakaraka, thus in the svamsha. Ketu is with the navamsha lagna, but is not aspecting Venus nor the 12th from svamsha.
LET’S SUM IT UP!
This simple technique, that is performed almost in isolation from the main chart seems to be pretty reliable. Out of 20 examples four are textbook perfect and there is no additional work needed. Two of them are almost textbook perfect, the only difference is that Venus and Ketu are aspecting the 12th from svamsha, which is almost as powerful. Other 12 examples require a bit more attention and could be considered less powerful at first glance, but when we look closer some of them are actually very strong.
In terms of tropical vs sidereal I am quite convinced that Jaimini must have used the tropical zodiac, because the four textbook examples that we have here are seen in the tropical horoscope and sidereal didn’t show any textbook example. Overall, the tropical gave clearer bhakti indications even in the examples that required some more work with aspects, etc. Of course, I must confess that I am biased when it comes to tropical vs sidereal debate, but I’m also always open for a different view, otherwise I wouldn’t even create this comparison. It is important to take into consideration that the conjunctions of Venus and Ketu are there in the sidereal, too, because the longitudal distance between them remains the same no matter which zodiac or ayanamsha we use and there is a great chance that they will fall in the same navamsha in sidereal, too.
I leave it up to you, the reader to form your opinion and I congratulate you for making it all the way to the end!
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this is a VERY well-done article!
excellent!
Thank you!
Really inspired now to consider wider comparative charts…..thank you
Great article! Mine is another tropical text book example you can add if you like. Been practicing bhakti since 1981. Love Jaimini and tropical zodiac. Svamsha Sagittarius, venus and ketu in 12th (scorpio)
Thank you, Kalindipriya! It’s good to hear about another textbook example.
This is excellent!
Excellent article! I have Ketu in Scorpio aspecting Venus in cancer which aspects the 12th from Swamsha (Saturn Atmakaraka in Gemini). I have been on the spiritual path since 2010 and into astrology since 2012. Interestingly, my path is more detachment or self inquiry than Bakti. Maybe its because I have Jupiter, Sun, and Rahu in the 12th from Swamsha and Mercury aspecting it from the Navamsha lagna in Libra. Maybe Bakti is coming and I just dont know it yet,
Nevertheless, very good research and interesting findings!
Thank you!
Unless there are some bhakti factors in the main chart a yoga for bhakti in the navamsha doesn’t have much weight.
I really enjoyed this and other articles on Jaimini and spirituality!
Please, I don’t understand what this phrase means: “If the sign is even, count in the reverse order.”
Can you explain in other words/graphic example? I am not English speaking.
In the my D9 Saturn/Atmakaraka it is joined to Venus, and Ketu sits in 12th house from svamsa. But I’m not sure for 12 position!!!! I counted signs clockwise from atmakaraka/svamsa.
In rashi I have Venus joined with Ketu at 3 degree distance, in Cancer, with the Moon also, in Ashlesha nakshatra. These three planets are in Jaimini’s aspect to Saturn, my Atmakaraka.
Can you also tell me if you use real nodes or mean nodes calculation? I have my rahu-ketu at the border of a sign and the calculation makes a big difference.
Thank you
Thank you.
Even signs are signs of negative polarity, or plainly put, they are female signs. These are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces.
If the Atmakaraka in the Navamsha falls in one of these signs, then the counting goes in reverse order.
I used interpolated nodes when I was doing this research.
Ok, I got it even/odd signs, thanks!
I’ll have to do more research because it’s the first time I’ve known the interpolated nodes. Now I found them mentioned only in one “Kala” software page, using google search.
Up until now I knew only true or false nodes calculation methods. The best calculation method is important to me, because I have lunar nodes on the border signs. In my case it means Ketu in 12th from Saturn conjunct Venus in swamsa Leo, or in 11th, depending if I use true or mean node (Jagannatha Hora software) I can’t decide which one is right.
Thank you again for the reply.
This is one of the things one simply has to test in practice. The difference is small, though, up to a degree and a half or so. Kala has the interpolated nodes option. The software I use now doesn’t, so I use mean nodes. But I haven’t experimented with this much.
Yes the difference between true and mean is about 2 degrees.
Mean: 29 Ge 59′ 51.92″
True: 1 Cn 43′ 55.04″
It would come to say that it is more cancer than gemini, but I’m not expert.
However I’ll try to calculate the interpolated node too, I didn’t know this method, Thanks again!