Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter December / January 2009

[Guest guest]

I offer you this newsletter to enhance and deepen your experience of Vedic

Astrology. In these newsletters, expect to find a combination of helpful

articles, book reviews, Jyotish links and more. The purpose of this newsletter

is to educate and titillate the Jyotish-loving public. The opinions given within

are solely those of the author.

 

In this issue, we are getting a start on the new year by addressing the " A " of

the " ABC " of astrology: the First House. Several of our leading authors explore

the width, height and depth of the first house -- that most important of

 

houses. In addition, we have a scintillating book review of a new/old book that

has just been released, and an amusing astrological look at our favorite fat man

in a red suit.

 

Please visit my website, www.Jyotish.ws at your convenience. The best articles

from these newsletters are archived on this site. I offer access to an excellent

yagya program.

 

- Michael Laughrin (michael)

 

 

The First House: Part I

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Michael Laughrin

 

First of all, as far as I am concerned, the first house and its ruler account

for at least 50% of the " juice " of a Jyotish chart. In other words, the first

house is as important as all the other 11 houses put together.

 

Why does the first house get so much attention? Well, let us examine it more

carefully. The first house rules the body, mind, personality, self-confidence,

and general chances of name and fame.

 

Here are some common astrological issues:

 

1. Health is ruled primarily by the first house and not by the 6th house

(Western astrologers, in particular, have this difficulty). The 6th house rules

sickness.

2. Everyone thinks that career is ruled by the 10th house. Well, all angles --

houses 1, 4, 7 and 10 stand for action (Lord Vishnu) and the most important of

the angles is, you guessed it, house Number 1. Therefore, career can also be

determined by the planets in the first house and/or the lord of the first house

(especially if it is strong) or planets aspecting the first house if they are

strong.

3. Marriage is ruled by the 7th house and Venus but the tendency to get married

and how one acts while married is ruled, at least according to me, primarily by

the first house.

4. No matter how weak the first house or its ruler is, the first house is YOU.

The first house shows your personal style -- how you dress, how you walk, talk,

carry yourself and act. Embrace it. Enjoy it.

5. When the dasha running in your chart is the dasha of the lord of the 1st,

that is the time for Yourself

a. Dasha of the 7th house - one tends to be dominated by the spouse, or fame,

or the concerns of others

b. Dasha of the 5th house - dominated by children or creativity or mantras

c. Dasha of the 9th house - dominated by the guru or one's teachers, one's

father or one's religious preceptors

d. Dasha of the 11th house - one is dominated by concerns for friends, social

groups or the strong desire for money.

6. One may have all kinds of glorious yogas in one's chart, but if the first

house is not strong, those combinations for power or wealth or fame will not

much manifest.

 

I mentioned several times in the paragraphs above, " if the first house is

strong. " How do we decide if the first house is strong or not?

 

Here are some possible signs of a strong first house:

 

1. Lagna lord in the lagna.

2. Lagna lord in a friendly sign.

3. Lagna lord in house 4, 5, 7, 9 or 10 (usually indicates great strength).

4. Lagna lord in house 2 or 11 indicates moderate strength.

5. Lagna lord is vargottama.

6. The exact ascendant degree is vargottama.

7. Natural benefics (one or more) are in the first house. The natural benefics

are the Moon (but it must be at least 60 degrees away from the Sun), Mercury,

Venus and Jupiter.

8. Natural benefics aspect the first house.

9. The lord of the 1st is conjunct one or more natural benefics.

10. The lord of the 1st is aspected by one or more natural benefics.

11. Subhakartari Yoga means " hemmed in by benefics. " In other words, if there

are natural benefics in the 12th house and the 2nd house, that is a great sign

of strength for the 1st house.

12. The closer the rising degree is to the exact middle of the rising sign (15

degrees is the best degree), the stronger the 1st house is.

 

Conversely, here are some signs of weakness for the first house:

 

1. The rising degree is sandhi (either 29 degrees, 0 degrees or 1 degree of a

sign).

2. The lagna lord is combust. Narendra Desai, one of my Jyotish gurus, did not

much worry about combustion unless the planet and the Sun were also in the same

Navamsha - in other words, the two planets have to be 3 and 1/3 degrees apart or

less.

3. The lagna lord is sandhi.

4. The lagna lord is in house 6, 8, or 12.

5. The lagna lord is conjunct 1 or more natural malefics (Sun, Mars, Saturn,

Rahu and Ketu).

6. The lagna lord is aspected by one or more natural malefics.

7. Natural malefics (one or more) are in the first house.

8. Natural malefics aspect the first house.

9. Papakartari Yoga is when the first house is ' " hemmed in by malefics. " ' in

other words, the 12th house and the 2nd house each has a natural malefic in it.

 

Confused? Just add up the strong qualities of the first house, then subtract

the weak qualities and see what sort of number you get.

 

I sometimes think that you could do a pretty good Jyotish reading simply by a

deep, thorough analysis of the first house (and maybe the Sun and the Moon, if

you have extra time).

 

My conclusion? Know the first house and you will know the chart (and the

person).

 

 

The First House: Part II

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Alison Berker (premavratini)

 

The first house represents the horoscope owner. Its planetary and rashi

qualities reverberate throughout every aspect of life. It is an individualized

" midas touch. " Whatever the owner of the horoscope comes in contact with will be

colored by the impress of the first house. It represents physical and mental

strength and practical intelligence. When it is weak, the horoscope owner is

weak and will be unable to fully utilize the opportunities presented in the

horoscope. When it is strong, the owner can make the most of his karmic

potential.

 

Here are examples charts of strong first houses.

 

The charts are at this link:

http://jyotish.ws/materials/chartt.html

 

Angelina Jolie

AJ has a strong and well placed first house and lord. Her ascendant lord Moon is

in the sign of a natural benefic who is a friend and that benefic, Jupiter, is

in its own sign with the Moon. The Moon is in the lucky ninth house. It is also

conjoined with Mars who is a natural malefic but is the rajayoga karaka for

Cancer ascendant and is also a friend of Jupiter and the Moon. This combination

makes multiple raja and dhana yogas. Saturn does aspect this combination,

forming a mutual Saturn-Mars aspect. This combination accounts for her renowned

edginess and history of tattoos and self mutilation; however it does not

dominate the scene. She also has the natural benefic Venus in her ascendant

aspected by the swa Jupiter. She is renowned for beauty (Venus) and philanthropy

(Jupiter). We can conclude she is also extremely strong since she has chosen to

raise eight children, another indication of Jupiter.

 

Barack Obama

Our first African American president also has an extremely strong first house.

The lagna lord is in the first house and it is retrograde. It is aspected by a

mostly benefic Mercury and is conjunct a retrograde Jupiter. Jupiter is also

debilitated but Jupiter and Saturn conjunct in Capricorn ascendant is a rajayoga

in its own right. This does not mean Jupiter may not eventually hurt his public

image in some way, but Jupiter is mostly good. Obama is clearly a man of the

people, an indication of both Saturn and Capricorn. He embodies many of the good

qualities of Saturn. He is patient, thoughtful and hardworking and cares about

humanity. He is supposed to be frugal, owning only two pairs of shoes. He is

also tall, another Saturn indication.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte's first house is ruled by Venus who sits in the ninth house

disposited by Mercury in the tenth. His first house contains the natural benefic

Jupiter who aspects Venus. Jupiter is not really a great planet for Libra

ascendant, but it is still a natural benefic and is probably the reason for the

Napoleonic code. Napoleon is renowned to this day for his ability to strategize.

Mercury and Saturn together is a premier strategy combination. Bonaparte's is

especially relevant because Mercury disposit's his lagna lord and forms multiple

raja yogas with Saturn and Moon. He has the lords of 4, 5, 9 and 10 conjoined on

the 4/10 axis. The fourth house is the place of the throne and the tenth is the

place of authority, and Napoleon was able to avail himself fully of the potency

of these combinations. His one great weakness was not knowing when to quit.

Librans often lack wisdom because Jupiter rules only dussthanas in such an

ascendant.

 

Below are some examples of weak first houses.

 

The charts are at this link:

http://jyotish.ws/materials/chartt.html

 

Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe was once a very popular actor but, due to scandal, he has had quite a

fall in life. His first lord, Mercury, is debilitated and combust in the tenth

house. His ascendant contains the malefic Rahu. It is clear that Rob Lowe

sometimes did not make the best choices in life, so despite having some worthy

yogas, his lack of practical intelligence (Mercury) and penchant for scandal

(Rahu) have diminished his status.

 

River Phoenix

River Phoenix's lagna lord is debilitated in the twelfth house. It is conjunct

its dispositor, the benefic Mercury, which probably partially accounted for his

fame. However his first house is aspected by a debilitated Mars AND a

debilitated Saturn. It does contain Jupiter, but as mentioned before, Jupiter is

not the best planet for Libra lagna. His lack of practical intelligence was

fatal: he died of a drug overdose at age 23.

 

Most first houses are not this dramatic. Most contain a mix of influences, some

that strengthen and some that weaken. Undertaking a thorough study of one's own

first house can reveal potential pitfalls of karma and personality, as well as

perhaps unnoticed strengths that can be called upon in times of need.

 

 

Why Santa Clause Is:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Alison Berker (premavratini)

 

Why Santa Claus is an:

 

Aries - He wears red. He has a super fast vehicle and he doesn't wear a helmet.

Taurus - He's fat. He loves milk and cookies.

Gemini - He is playful. He loves toys.

Cancer - He stays at home 364 days a year.

Leo - He is the boss.

Virgo - He is extremely organized.

Libra - He keeps tabs on who is naughty and who is nice.

Scorpio - No one has ever seen him or been to his house.

Sagittarius - He accomplishes the impossible.

Capricorn - He is never broke.

Aquarius - He gives to everyone regardless of race, caste or creed.

Pisces - He is a totally impractical visionary.

 

 

Book Review: " 108 Discourses of Guru Dev " by Paul Mason

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review by Michael Laughrin (michael)

 

Guru Dev book108 Discourses of Guru Dev by Paul Mason is, in my opinion, the

most important and BEST spiritual book written in the last 100 years. Swami

Brahmananda Saraswati was affectionately known as Guru Dev.

 

Guru Dev was the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, the northernmost of the 4 seats

of the Shankaracharyas established by Shankara between 1500 and 2000 years ago.

This northernmost seat was vacant for many years until Guru Dev, who had been

 

leading the life of a solitary saint living in the forest and mountains, finally

agreed to take the seat.

 

These little 'sermons' (none is longer than 4 pages) are exceedingly clear,

uplifting, and to the point. This volume has the discourses in the original

Hindi and also in English (thank God, as my Hindi is not what is used to be). Of

all the modern spiritual books that I have read, this one cuts through the junk

like a sword and reveals the diamond truth that is at the core of the Vedic

teachings. Most of the important topics are mentioned, such as Enlightenment

 

(moksha), meditation, karma, the caste system, possessions, obstacles on the

Path, Maya, dharma, and many, many others.

 

In my opinion, you must buy this book.

 

21st Century Books in Fairfield, Iowa will have this book in stock on

approximately December 24.

http://www.21stbooks.com/page/21stbooks/prod/tm0905

 

 

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to Everyone.

 

 

 

Website: Jyotish.ws

 

Michael Laughrin, Michael, business phone: (440) 582-9848; cell

phone: (440) 263-2159

 

To , send an email to: jyotish_ws-

 

Articles from past issues of this newsletter are archived at the jyotish.ws

website.

 

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