An astrological perspective on the race to the White House - A tussle to the finish line

The US elections are literally days away and it's really getting heated up. The Republicans look to seize and win back the majority whereas the Democrats who are fielding their replaced candidate are looking to go all the way once again. It's a battle which has started to intensify and there is no two ways about it that history is going to beckon irrespective of the eventual outcome.

Donald Trump is looking to win a second term in 3 successive elections that he is contesting whereas Kamala Harris is vying to become the first lady president of the United States. This is the first time ever that a candidate has been part of the front running for 3 terms in a row and it's the second time that he would actually be taking on a women after successful quelling the challenge of Hillary Clinton back in 2016. Trump also could become the oldest elected President at the ripe old age of 78, a few months older than when Biden became President in 2020. Kamala on the other hand could end up becoming only the second black person to ever hold the prestigious post and perhaps become the only women president the nation has ever seen since the advent of Presidential elections which began way back in 1788 during the time George Washington was elected.

Let us look at it astrologically to dissect insights as to who has an edge in this race for President ship. Though there are multiple factors at fray worth considering, the first major affirmative happens to be that accurate birth times are available of both the competing candidates.

Donald Trump
Date of Birth: 14th June 1946
Place of Birth: Jamaica, New York
Time of Birth: 10:54 (10:54 AM)
Timezone: 4 Hrs West of GMT Day Light Saving

Kamala Harris
Date of Birth: 20th October 1964
Place of Birth: Oakland, California
Time of Birth: 21:28 (9.28 PM)
Timezone: 7 Hrs West of GMT Day Light Saving

We shall now look at their horoscopes from various dimensions be it the potential of the birth chart, the dasha timing of the planetary sequence, transits that will hold fort near to the election outcome date, running year success quotient, the impact of Panchang and so on and so forth.

First up taking a look at Trump's chart, it clearly depicts someone who is power hungry and craving for supremacy. He is a Leo rising Ascendant with the Yogakaraka planet Mars right at the tip of the Ascendant. Mars is a fiery and red hot planet which clearly personifies his character. Since it's also the most beneficial planet for this Lagna, it clearly is a terrific placement to hold. Also his Lagna Lord Sun goes into the most powerful house of the horoscope viz 10th place. 10th is all about power, position, fame and authority. The Sun though being placed in an unfriendly house it gets maximum strength in the 10th and being in a Venusian house, it clearly showcases his focus on reaching the summit. The Lagna is more of the inherent characteristic and with Mars being placed there shows his brash abrasive nature and the Lagna Lord placement indicates one's desires. The chart placements of Donald Trump clearly indicates fire in his belly. It should however be noted that his Sun is very closely associated with Rahu though it has crossed it in the zodiac belt. Rahu by itself also tends to show one's interest in the house which it is placed and in the 10th it again depicts wanting to be at the top and ruling. The planet of money & finance Jupiter is also very placed in the chart in 2nd place from Ascendant, 11th from Moon and 5th from Ascendant Lord Sun. The fact that it's also retrograde adds to the strength. The 2nd and 11th Lord Mercury being placed in it's own 11th house of Gemini gives that additional angle for craze of wealth. On the whole the outline of Trumps chart screams power and wealth in every way you look at it and what's greater in attaining this than being the President of the United States.

As per his planetary sequence he is running Jupiter Dasa currently as per the Vimshottari scheme. He started off his initial presidentship at the start of Jupiter Dasa, then suffered a setback and now again is competing for the post for a third time. At the time of result declaration, he would be running the sub period of Venus within Jupiter. Venus is placed in 12th in an uncomfortable sign for it but is 11th from the Dasa Lord Jupiter. This could indicate desires being fulfilled. Also a Venus sign Taurus happens to hold his Ascendant Lord and Rahu which in a way gains indirect strength. At the time of result announcement, the Dasa Lord Jupiter happens to be on the 10th from Ascendant and 7th from Moon which again showcases a strong factual indication of rise in power. As per Bhrigu Paddhati sequence, Trump will be running his 79th year which equates to 7 in the 12 year cycle. The 7th in general is a strong kendra house and indicates success. The house of Kumbha is also being seen by Mars from Lagna and is also placed 10th from original Lagna Lord placement of Sun. All these kind of shows that time is falling in place and seems to be on his side.

Coming to Kamala Harris horoscope, it's really tricky and quite a pitfall to decode. She is a Gemini rising Ascendant and has Rahu placed right there as a tail wind. The nodes are extremely hard to disseminate and any amount of analysis may prove futile as they can tend to be a mirage than can hoodwink in the opposite direction. Rahu can give enormous amount of success and at the same time is also completely capable of derailing. Rahu's dichotomy is hard to assess but Gemini which is a sign that's said to be favorable for Rahu can be said to be more positive than negative. Her Lagna Lord is well placed in the 5th house but is however combust by a debilitated Sun. 5th house shows one's creativity and inclination but not necessarily power driven. Also the Government related planet placed in a sign of fall does not bode well for the highest placement of power. The 10th Lord of power & hierarchy Jupiter going to the 12th also doesn't give much to write home about. Her 11th Lord of desires though being well placed in the 2nd indicates gains in wealth but again being debilitated gives a tinge that something that she's working tirelessly may end up being snatched at the last moment. The Moon is quite strong placed in the 11th house in Ashwini Nakshatra indicating someone swift and always on the move.

As per planetary sequence Kamala Harris is running the Dasa of Rahu at the moment. She did attain the post of Vice Presidency during it's tenure but whether it can go a step further and give her the ultimate hegemony of President ship has to be wait and seen. One can never discount Rahu and if it gives it can just shower unenviable level of success and power. She would also be running Venus sub period within Rahu and this certainly is a positive because Venus happens to be the most beneficial planet for a Gemini rising. As per transit, her natal 10th Lord Jupiter would be in the 12th sign of Taurus but however from Moon it would be in the 2nd which is beneficial. The roles get reversed with regard to her running Dasa Lord Rahu. It would be in 10th from Ascendant but 12th from Moon at time of announcement of winner. As per chakra sequence, Kamala will be in her 61st year marking 1st year into operation. She has her Ascendant and Rahu both within the 1st degree and at the time of results which is virtually within a fortnight of her birthdate they will be extremely active. Rahu can usurp her to greatness or can end up giving her a steep slide downwards. The Lord of the house Gemini however though placed in 5th is combust with a fallen Sun and may not connote positivity.

Looking at things from the Panchanga elements, there is a similarity between the two candidates as both of them are born in the full moon Tithi of Pournami and also in the same Karana of Bava. Many successful personalities are known to have a full moon birth and also the Karana is indicative of leadership trait. Their Nakshatra's are an anatomy of each other with Trump's Jyeshta being placed in 8th from Kamala's Ashwini. Also these 2 Nakshatra's are said to oppose each other and definitely not a good combination for working together. Kamala is born on a Tuesday whereas Trump took birth on a Friday and coincidentally both the rulers of these days viz Mars & Venus sit in Cancer in their respective charts. With regard to Yoga, Trump is born in Shubha Yoga where Sun attains prominence whereas Kamala is born in Vajra Yoga which makes Moon the planet of importance. Both Sun and Moon happen to be well placed in Trumps and Kamalas chart being housed in 10th and 11th place respectively.

Thus seeing at things from various angles:

Horoscope Potential: Trump seems to ace it here

Dasa Sequence: Advantage to Trump 

Transit in Operation: Better for Trump on the whole

Running Year: A mild fillip to Trump mostly because 7th house is stronger than 1st house

Panchanga Element: Quite neck to neck and evenly matched

Thus, from the outset it looks like Trump holds fort on most cards but however the underlying factor of Rahu can change things drastically. Rahu if it does turn in the affirmative for Kamala can see her horoscope potential getting a huge boost especially with it also being the current Dasa Lord and also the fact that it will be 10th from natal Lagna in transit plus also the fact that Rahu will get activated as 1st year will be running at the time of results. Now whether it works in the positive sense or negative sense we just cannot but have to wait with bated breath and see the eventual outcome. However since most of the factors seem to favour Trump and also the fact that in regular astrological parlance Rahu is generally perceived as more of an illusion and soaked in cynicism, one can expect that Donald Trump will just about be able to pip Kamala Harris to the post of US President in the race to the White House.

Navatara Chakra Usage in Vedic Astrology!

The Navatara Chakra forms an important predictive part within the ambit of Vedic Astrology. The word 'Navatara' can be split as 'Nava' meaning Nine and 'Tara' denoting star. In a nutshell, it can be said to be the bifurcation of the 27 Nakshatras into 3 equal parts of 9 stars each. The categorization of the 3 parts are grouped as under:
Janma - First 9 stars beginning from Janma Nakshatra (1 to 9)
Anujanma - Next 9 stars beginning from the 10th Tara from Janma Nakshatra (10 to 18)
Trijanma - Final 9 stars beginning from the 19th Tara from Janma Nakshatra (19 to 27)

The foundation of the whole Navatara Chakra scheme is originated on the basis of the Nakshatra in which Moon is placed in one's birth chart. That particular Nakshatra is termed as the 'Janma Nakshatra'. For instance if one's Moon falls in the Nakshatra of Punarvasu, that happens to be the birth Nakshatra and the 9 stars from Punarvasu upto Swati falls under Janma Group, next 9 stars from Vishakha until Satabisha forms part of Anujanma Group and final 9 stars from Poorva Bhadrapada to Arudra gets classified under Trijanma Group. These groups also come under the tripod of body, mind and soul with the Janma group said to indicate Body Level, Anujanma Group the Mind Level and Trijanma Group Soul Level. Alternatively the Janma group is said to indicate the present, the Anujanma Group the future and the Trijanma Group the past.

The 9 stars in each group have a relevance of it's own having it's own meaning and also ruled by a particular planet viz each of the Navagrahas. Listing below list of the 9 Tara's and it's planet rulership.

1) Janma Tara : Ruled by Sun, Animal - Peacock

2) Sampat Tara : Ruled by Mercury, Animal - Horse

3) Vipat Tara : Ruled by Rahu, Animal - Goat

4) Kshema Tara : Ruled by Jupiter, Animal - Elephant

5) Pratyek Tara : Ruled by Ketu, Animal - Crow

6) Sadhak Tara : Ruled by Moon, Animal - Fox

7) Vadha Tara : Ruled by Saturn, Animal - Lion

8) Mitra Tara : Ruled by Venus, Animal - Eagle

9) Parama Mitra Tara : Ruled by Mars, Animal - Swan

In general, certain Taras are said to be favorable and some unfavorable whereas a couple are of middling variety. The 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th Taras are said to be auspicious whereas the 3rd, 5th and 7th Taras are considered inauspicious. The 1st and 9th Taras are said to be neutral. The order of sequence is the same whether followed from Janma, Anujanma or Trijanma Group. Let's look at the meaning of each of these 9 kind of Taras and what they all indicate.

Janma Tara:
This in essence is the birth Nakshatra and establishes one's individuality. The Nakshatra in which Moon is placed in the horoscope happens to be the most important of all Nakshatras. Each of the Nakshatras has an energy manifested within it and the individual is said to strongly connote the significations of these resources based on the moon star one has attained birth. The Janma Tara however is not always favorable and said to denote fickleness of the mind and cause tensions. The mind always tends to be unsteady during days of Janma Nakshatras and it can be related to the prevailing environment when a child is about to take birth which is associated with a lot of difficulty and stress. The default ruler of Janma Tara happens to be Sun.

Sampat Tara:
This denotes all things related with wealth. It is a very favorable Tara and is said to be auspicious for all money related events. It can be loosely related to the 2nd and 11th house of a horoscope which speaks largely about income and profits. The ruler of Sampat Tara is Mercury.

Vipat Tara:
As the name suggests, this translates to all sorts of dangers. It can be with regard to getting hurt, embroiled into issues and all such kind. Vipat Tara is ruled by Rahu.

Kshema Tara:
The word 'Kshemam' as such endorses about being in good health and a comfortable state of mind. Hence this is about the well being of the individual concerned by possessing the requisite vitality and being in good spirits. Kshema Tara is ruled by Jupiter.

Pratyek Tara : (Also called Pratyahari Tara)
This is a negative Tara and denotes all sorts of obstacles. It is said to cause plenty of confusions onto the mind in addition to being a stumbling block with regard to completion of tasks and activities. The ruler of this Tara is Ketu.

Sadhak Tara : (Also called Sadhana Tara)
This talks about all achievements and benefits which one is entitled to. This Tara is also said to be the one in which God's blessings are said to arise. Hence worshiping and offering prayers with respect to the deities and articles denoted by the 6th Tara from Janma Nakshatra is essential to have the Almighty's support. This Tara is ruled by Moon.

Vadha Tara : (Also called Naidhana Tara)
This is an inauspicious Tara and is of a killing nature. It is strewn with negativity and denotes all sorts of denials, ill-luck and misfortune. The ruler of this Tara is Saturn.

Mitra Tara :
This is supposed to be one of the most auspicious Tara in the Navatara sequence, All prosperous things in life in general are associated with this Tara. This Tara is said to showcase the way and provide good clarity to the mind. The 2nd, 4th and 6th Tara confers specific success in related areas but the 8th Tara is said to be a combination of all the favorable instruments and hence following the energies related to the 8th Nakshatra from one's Janma Nakshatra can be extremely fruitful. Mitra Tara is ruled by Venus.

Parama Mitra Tara : (Also called Adi Mitra Tara)
This is said to be an average Tara. Though the meaning is translated as very friendly, it tends to take colors and can be good or bad according to situation. Too much of anything is not said to be beneficial and that is the reason for this Tara attaining a mild negative presence however if used in the right manner can also end up being very beneficial. It is more in line towards community living and social surroundings. Also one thing to note is that since we are dealing with sets of 9, when a particular Tara is favorable from one end, it happens to be unfavorable from the other end. For instance Sadhak Tara is favorable to Janma Nakshatra but the vice versa doesn't hold true as the Janma Tara will end up being 5th from the Sadhaka Tara. This does not happen for Parama Mitra Tara as from it's placement, the Janma Tara always happens to be the 2nd Tara and hence favorable. Parama Mitra Tara is ruled by Mars.

Important Information to Keep in Mind:
Apart from these Nava Taras, there are also certain other Taras from the Janma Nakshatras which have their own meanings and indications. Sometimes they tend to over rule the status of Navatara scheme and supersede them. A good example of the same is this concept of 'Vedha' Nakshatra not to be confused with 'Vadha' which is said to repel a particular Nakshatra and vice versa. In such a scenario, the Navatara sequence will get pushed to the back end. For eg. Magha and Revathi form Vedha with each other. For Revathi, Magha happens to be the 11th Nakshatra indicating Sampat Tara (1+1=2) but since they repel each other, the concept of it being Sampat Tara and conferring wealth will not work as they are enemies by nature. Also, the 17th Nakshatra from Janma Nakshatra indicates 'Chandrashtama' which is when Moon goes into the 8th rasi from itself and said to denote a troubled mind. Now the 17th star happens to be Mitra Tara and in such a case being Chandrashtama and being in 8th rasi, it may not be all that auspicious. Also for instance the 22nd Nakshatra from Janma Nakshatra denotes 'Vainasika' and indicates destruction. The 22nd when added up 2+2 becomes 4 which correlates to Kshema Tara but with regard to 22nd Tara, it is anything but related to good health and only has negative attributes. Hence it's important to factor these special Taras also into play before analyzing the results of the Navataras. In general, the following Taras from the Janma Nakshatra are said to be relatively auspicious as compared to the rest. These are the 2nd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 26th and 27th Taras beginning from the Janma Nakshatra.

Analysis of Navatara in Horoscope:
These Navataras can be used effectively in both Dasas and Transits. We shall look at some examples to understand the concept better.

Dasa Illustration:
Illustration 1:
Let's say a native is born with Rohini Nakshatra being the star of the Moon and currently Jupiter Dasa is running for the native which is placed in it's exaltation Nakshatra of Pushya. It may be believed that Jupiter will confer highly auspicious results as it's sitting in peak exaltation but it should not be forgotten that Pushya happens to the 5th Tara from Janma Nakshatra Rohini and will hence be Pratyek Tara which is said to indicate obstacles in work and causing confusions to the mind. It will compound further if the ruler of the star Pushya which is Saturn is placed in a negative house from Lagna and also in a bad axis like 6/8 from the ruler of Pratyek Tara which is Ketu. However there may be cases when the Bukthi Lords are in favorable Taras from the Janma Nakshatra and hence these specific periods can help ease the relief.

Illustration 2:
Let's say a native is born in Rishaba Lagna in the Janma Nakshatra of Vishaka and is presently running the Dasa of Mercury which is let's say placed in Shravana Nakshatra. Now Shravana happens to be Vadha Tara for Vishaka as it's 7th from it. We need to next see how the lord of Shravana Nakshatra that is Moon is placed with respect to the Lagna. Let's say this Moon is placed in the 6th house in sign of Libra which also happens to be in the 7th sign from Kalapurusha Lagna Mesha. We know 6th house denotes fights and issues whereas 7th house denotes partner or spouse. Thus it can be inferred by blending the two that there could be lots of fights and issues with respective partner. Also Vadha Tara ruler is Saturn and the Vada Tara in this case happens to be Moon (ruler of Shravana Nakshatra). If these two are also negatively placed from each other, say for instance Moon is in 6,8,12 from Saturn, the problems will only accentuate further. Hence best remedy is to appease the Tara in question which is Shravana and donate items related to it in order to reduce the maleficence.

Illustration 3:
Let's say a native is born in Janma Nakshatra of Poorva Bhadrapada and a Dasa of a planet is running now which is sitting in Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra. For Poorva Bhadrapada, Uttara Phalguni happens to be the 15th Nakshatra denoting Sadhak Tara (1+5=6). But there is a catch here as these two Nakshatras are vedha and hence repel each other. So in this case the Nava Tara auspiciousness of the 6th Tara Sadhak won't work and hence the way forward is to avoid all the energies pertaining to Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra and donating 'Puliyogara' rice which is a prasad symbolising Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra.

Transit Illustration:
With regards to transits especially, the lords of the respective Navataras play a crucial role. For instance let's say when Rahu is transiting a Nakshatra which is Vipat to Janma Tara or a Ketu is transiting a Nakshatra which is Pratyek to Janma Tara or a Saturn is transiting a Nakshatra which is Vadha to Janma Tara, lots of troubles can be said to be encountered by the native. Let's say for eg. birth Nakshatra is Hastha and say Rahu is over Swati (3rd Tara) it can cause dangers to native. It doesn't matter even if Swati Nakshatra as such is ruled by Rahu. Likewise let's say if Ketu is transiting over Anuradha or Uttara Bhadra or Pushya which is the 5th Tara from Hastha can cause phenomenal mind confusions. On similar vein Saturn over the 7th stars from Janma Nakshatra be it Janma, Anujanma or Trijanma viz Moola, Ashwini or Magha can cause great strife to the native.

Basic Rules and Clues for interpretation of Navatara:
- Check the Nakshatra where planet placed is operating it's Dasa or Transit.
- See which of the 9 Tara's the particular Nakshatra falls into when counted from Janma Nakshatra.
- If it happens to be 2,4,6,8 positive results can be expected, if in 3,5,7 negative results and if in 1,9 results will be neutral.
- Next check the lordship of the particular Nakshatra which sign it is placed with respect to both Lagna and also the default ruler of the Tara.
- If it is in houses 6,8,12, results can be inauspicious and may need additional measures. If in Kendra or Kona it can said to be auspicious and if in other houses can said to be average.

Explanation: Let's say a person is born in Gemini Ascendant with Moon being placed in the star of Swati. Let's say Mars which is placed in Anuradha in the horoscope is running it's Dasa currently. When counted from Swati, Anuradha happens to be the 3rd star and hence under Vipat Tara. Next we need to check the lord of the star of Anuradha which is Saturn and how it is placed with respect to Lagna and also Rahu which is ruler of Vipat Tara. If Saturn is let's say placed in 10th house of Pisces in Kendra, then from Lagna it doesn't become all that negative but however let's say Rahu is placed in Libra, then this Saturn gets associated in 6/8 axis with the rulership lord of Vipat Tara Rahu and hence problems can be accentuated. The major point of check is however to see which of the Tara's the particular Nakshatra falls into as that's how results get directed. Additional checking of the house position of the lord of the star with respect to the Ascendant and the owner of the particular Tara helps in providing additional respite.