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Paramount Considerations in Chart

Interpretation
by Hank Friedman
Recently, a close friend reported to me that her Vedic chart reading by
another prominent jyotishi was completely inaccurate in its predictions.
Since I knew her chart well, I reviewed the analysis and could see where
the other astrologer "went wrong".

This encounter inspired me to write this article, because in both Western

and Vedic astrologies, there are factors that predominate over other chart
factors, and if an astrologer doesn't know how to assign relative weight to
each element in a chart, their readings will often fail to meet the mark.

Because I am one of the very few astrologers proficient in both Western

and Vedic astrological approaches, I will apply both approaches at
different times in this article (and clearly indicate which method I'm
using in each case).

[Before I start, I would like to reiterate that without the priceless

teachings from my Vedic guru, Hart de Fouw, I would have "lost my
way" in the thicket of Vedic astrology. I thank him again for his superb
guidance.]

Let me repeat: specific chart elements can control the horoscope or over-
rule other chart factors, and it is therefore vital that charts be evaluated
with these pre-eminent factors in mind.

Principle One: The Ascendant Rules Supreme.

[Note: readers of my website will be familiar with some of what I'm
presenting below because of other articles on this website, such as The
Ascendant: The Most Important Point in The Horoscope, which you can
read -- if you haven't already -- by clicking here].

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In Western astrology, the Ascendant is the gatekeeper: it controls how

much each planet in the chart gets to express itself. A chart with a Fire
sign rising, for example, will find the expression of planets in Fire signs
augmented, but the expression of planets in Air signs diminished (and
vice versa).*

Example One: Steve Martin has many planets in introverted signs, but
his Leo rising enhances the expression of his Leo Sun and Pluto, making
him more outgoing than he otherwise would be.

Example Two: A close friend has Sun in Leo and Moon in Aries, and we
might expect him to be a real fireball and to "make an entrance" when
he shows up. Not true. His Libra rising keeps him much more
understated and cooperative, and his Fire expresses itself only after his
Libra has "put up with too much".

Example Three: Bette Midler is known for her bawdiness, "out there"
intensity, and loudness. She would literally have to have a Fire sign rising
to come across this powerfully, and she has Aries rising (the most
conspicuous of all of the rising signs) with Sun and Mercury in
Sagittarius and Mars and Pluto in Leo. (Therefore she has both a Fire
sign rising and a predominance in Fire.) Note: if you think that it's her
predominance and not her Ascendant that is the deciding factor, look at
Muhammad Ali, who has only one planet in Fire -- Pluto -- but again has
a Fire sign (Leo) rising, and he too acted with fiery intensity, in fact like a
king.

Example Four: Does Woody Allen come across as confident, optimistic,

dominant, fiery, and spontaneous? Of course not. And yet those who give
too much emphasis to the Sun sign and ignore the Ascendant would
expect just that. Woody has (the often insecure) Virgo rising, which
represses the expression of the Sun, Jupiter, and Mercury in Sagittarius
quite significantly. Without applying this principle, the astrologer would
give Mr. Allen a very incompetent reading. (Note too that Saturn aspects
the Ascendant and the fire planets, also dampening them and increasing
his insecurity.)

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By the way, I use the Equal House system for all of my Western
astrological work because after extensive testing, I found it to be, by far,
the most accurate house system for Western astrology.

In Vedic astrology, the Ascendant, and the First House Ruler, and planets
in the First House, are preeminent in several ways. (The ruler of the
Ascendant and other house rulers are used much more extensively in
Vedic astrology than in Western astrology, probably because sign and
house rulers work better with the Sidereal Zodiac.)

For example, one of the central features in Vedic astrology is the use of
Yogas. A Yoga is formed when specific conditions are met, e.g. two house
lords in mutual relationship. There are literally thousands of
combinations, but less than a hundred are most commonly applied. These
major yogas can be either positive or negative, but in both cases, they
raise (or lower) the person's "lot in life" significantly above (or below)
the norm. (Note: In general in Vedic astrology, and in this article, when
yogas are mentioned, they are assumed to be positive yogas unless

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otherwise specified.)

E.g., the chart of Arnold Schwarzenegger is full of major yogas. His

Mercury in Gemini in the First House fulfills the conditions for many
different yogas. Just to mention a couple: he has a Bhadra Maha Purusha
yoga because he has Mercury in its own sign in an angle (the effect is like
having a "super-Mercury"). He also has a Chamara yoga because the
First House and its Lord (who happens to occupy the First House) are
only influenced by benefics. These yogas reflect his noted fame, wealth,
and overall success in life.

However, an essential rule -- which is why yogas were introduced in this

section of the article -- is that unless a positive yoga has some relationship
with the First House or its lord, it is unlikely to amount to much. The
First House is the self, and if a yoga does not connect to oneself, then one
doesn't have access to its gifts.

I had a very striking example of this when a client came to me with a

chart full of yogas, none of which had any relationship with the First
House or its lord. I knew he had already consulted with many Vedic
astrologers, and told him with confidence, "I'll bet each of them told you
that you had a great chart, and that you would have amazing successes,
yes?" He agreed. And then I said, "And you haven't had great successes,
have you?" and he again agreed with me, and in fact, this was a burning
question in his mind. He wondered how I knew both of these statements

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were true when he hadn't yet told me anything about his life. I pointed
out the lack of contact between the many yogas and the Ascendant. The
other astrologers had missed this vital point.

The strength or weakness of the First House and its lord is also a major
consideration. If the lord of the Ascendant is combust, in a planetary war,
in its weakest sign, or in a trik house (houses 6, 8, or 12) without much
strength, and if the First House itself is occupied by or aspected by
malefics (the Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu, or Ketu) that don't rule the First
House, then the Ascendant is weak.

A person with a very weak Ascendant (and lord) also cannot reap the
fruits of the yogas in the chart, simply because their "vessel" cannot
sustain such success. I tried searching for the chart of a famous person
with a weak Ascendant and lord, and could not find one (which is to be
expected, since they did achieve fame!) In fact, the only charts that came
close either had an Ascendant Lord with some strength (own sign,
exalted, dig bala, retrograde, etc.) or that participated in a major yoga, or
had a strong benefic in the First House (or influencing the lord of the
First).

If, on the other hand, the Ascendant lord is in a good house, reasonably
strong, and unaspected by malefics, and the First House is occupied by
and/or aspected only by benefics (Jupiter, Venus, a fairly bright or bright
Moon, and/or a Mercury not associated with a malefic), then the
Ascendant is strong. It is further strengthened if the First House planets
are yoga-forming and/or the lord of the First participates in yogas.

A strong Ascendant and lord generally indicates a successful person with

significant resilience (ability to handle the challenges of life), popularity,
vitality, physicality, and achievement.

Principle Two: The Strongest Factors Dominate

the Chart
In Western astrology, there is the concept of "focal planets", i.e. planets
that have greater strength and emphasis in a person's chart. This concept
cannot be understated: if one or more planets are focal, their themes will
over-rule the themes of other planets in the chart.

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What makes a planet focal? Please click here to read my lengthy article
on how to determine the strongest planets, but by way of a short
summary:

A planet within 5 degrees of conjunct, square, or opposed to the

Ascendant. (But please note that of these, a planet conjunct the
Ascendant is much more powerful because the gatekeeper, as mentioned
above, gives the planet full expression.)

A planet alone in half the sky or with two empty houses (or more) on
either side of it (called a bucket handle).

And to a lesser degree:

A planet (or planets) with partile aspects to it. (Partile = one degree orb.)

A planet in trine to the Ascendant within 2 degrees.

A planet conjunct the M.C. or I.C.

Please remember that each planet reflects a large number of themes. For
example, a person with Saturn rising can be crippled (Milton Erickson),
hardworking and professional (Sean Connery), strongly disciplined by
parents and shy (Kim Novak), low-key and modest (Joanne Woodward),
self-isolating and self-destructive (Robert Altman), experience early life
poverty (Hank Aaron), or have any other of Saturn's themes, magnified.

[An important insight: while a planet usually takes on the qualities of the
sign it occupies, when a planet is very close to an angle, its own nature
often prevails over the modifications by sign. E.g. a recent client with
Jupiter in Capricorn right at the Descendant displayed a very strong
Jupiterian nature without much Capricornian flavor.]

Example One: Wilt Chamberlain, the famous basketball player, has the
Sun in Leo (both Tropically and Vedically) at the very bottom of his
chart. His Sun is therefore focal and indicative of his incredible vitality
and reputedly huge ego.

Example Two: Kurt Cobain, the famous creator of the band Nirvana,
exemplifies the principles of the focal/strongest planet(s) well: he was an
intensely individualistic and rebellious person (with Uranus and Pluto
rising in Virgo), with a life marked by divorce and alienation (Uranus),

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intense sexual and narcotic experiences (Pluto), and radical ideas and
creations (Uranus rising opposite Mercury in Pisces -- setting and so also
focal).

Example Three: Diana Ross, one of the most successful female singers of
all time. The planet Jupiter -- the lucky star -- is focal at the top of her
chart (in Leo Tropically and exalted in Cancer Sidereally). And her life
was blessed from an early age. She was born into a very tight-knit family
that created a safe haven for her, and she met the other members of her
musical group in high school, and they were signed up as soon as they
graduated. (If both Jupiter and the ninth house represent mentors, then
the fact that she met her manager when she was so young -- as a high
school student -- becomes very relevant.)

In Vedic Astrology, a vitally important principle must be taken into

account or predictions will go awry. (As I mentioned at the beginning of
this article, that's what inspired me to write about these principles.)

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As my Vedic guru Hart de Fouw teaches, there are many different levels
of analysis one must do in order to interpret a Vedic chart accurately.
The types of analysis -- called Vicara in Jyotish --include evaluating the
Ascendant (as mentioned above) -- which is called Lagna Vicara,
assessing the conditions of the houses and house lords -- which is called
Bhava Vicara, finding the yogas in the chart -- Yoga Vicara, and
understanding of the timing (and unfolding) of the chart via the dasas --
Dasa Vicara.

Mistakes in prediction are often made if one does not understand the
relative impact of these different levels. To make it simple: Yoga Vicara is
pre-eminent and its results take clear precedence over both house
analysis and sub-chart (Varga) analysis. If an astrologer focuses too much
on natural and temporal benefics and malefics (i.e. planets ruling good
and bad houses) and on house placement, and not on yogas, they will fail
to correctly delineate charts.

For example, the chart of Joni Mitchell, at first glance, looks pretty
challenged. The First House occupied by Saturn, hemmed in by malefics,
and its lord is totally combust and has no other strength. And at first
glance, none of the other planets look particularly strong, either. How
could she have ever become so successful and even famous?

The minute we employ Yoga Vicara, however, the answer becomes

obvious. One of the best Raja Yogas (combinations for success) occurs
when the lord of the 4th house is in mutual relationship with the lord of
the 5th house. In Joni's chart, the 4th lord is in the sign ruled by the 5th
lord, and vice versa (the 5th lord is in the sign ruled by the 4th lord). This
is called a Parivartana Yoga in Vedic astrology (or a mutual reception in
Western astrology). But, one might ask, how can this yoga be of any
importance when one of the two planets is in its weakest sign, and the
other is totally combust? The answer is simple: Venus in the 4th house
has dig bala (directional strength) and this elevates the yoga to great
potency (despite the fact that Venus is in Virgo**).

Those facile with yogas will see another major Raja Yoga too between
these planets: one is the lord of the First and the other the lord of the
Fifth, which again increases her likelihood of fame and success.*** (As I
mention in my article on Qualifying Yogas, when planets participate in
multiple yogas, their effects are significantly magnified.)

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In sum, when examining a Western or Vedic chart, its interpretation will

only be accurate if your attention is on the right factors. Focusing on the
strongest and most significant themes will launch you on your way to a
stellar understanding of the chart.

* Note the section on predominances, and how a chart predominance by

element, for example, can -- to some degree -- compensate for the muting
effects of a disparate Ascendant. For example, while Madonna has Virgo
rising, her four planets in Fire signs are strong enough to express
themselves in spite of the inhibiting effects of the Ascendant.

** In my article on the AND principle (which you can read by clicking

here and going to the end, i.e. to the second article) I point out that if a
planet is strong and weak, both its strength and weakness will play out in
the person's life, as opposed to nullifying each other.

*** One other yoga, which I'm mentioning only in this footnote, so as to
not overwhelm beginners, significantly ameliorates Venus' weakness by
sign (this is called a Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga).

Postscript: Temporal Amplification of Chart

Factors
In my Western astrological essay on The Temporary Amplification of

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Individual Planets, which you can read by clicking here, I introduced the
idea that while a static evaluation of a person's chart can be very
effective, depending upon the cycles going on in the person's life, specific
elements of the chart may be temporarily amplified in their expression.

The Vedic counterpart to this is that a planet whose dasa or bhukti is

running is very likely to be much more active in the person's life than at
other times.

In fact, just last week I had a client who was running Moon dasa and
Mercury bhukti, and in their Western chart these two planets were in an
exact trine in fire signs with Mercury at the descendant. His partner had
just mentioned that he just seemed to want to socialize and party and
play all the time lately!

In other words, the planets whose dasa and bhukti are running are very
likely to be strongly expressing the themes shown not only in their Vedic
chart, but in their Western chart too!

So always take into account the major transits to natal points (especially
transits by Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and conjunctions most of all,
followed by oppositions and squares), when assessing which planets in a
chart are likely to be expressing themselves "loudest".

And if you practice Vedic astrology, note the themes activated by the
current dasa and bhukti lords, and pay attention to any major transits to
them.

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