Yogi and Avayogi

The 'Yoga' happens to be one of the pillars of the Panchang and is used mainly to see the prosperity of a native. It is derived based on the addition of the degrees of the Sun and the Moon. There are a total of 27 Yogas with each spanning 13 degrees 20 minutes (360 degrees of zodiac divided by 13°20').

In essence, there are a total of 27 yogas split into 3 parts of 9 each which are ruled by a particular planet. It is computed based on the total longitude of the Sun and Moon with reference point as 360 which happens to be the total degrees of the zodiac. If the addition of Sun's degree and Moon's degree go beyond 360, then the extra portion above 360 needs to be considered. Each of the Yogas are ruled by a particular star and yogi planet ruler and to oppose the yogi there is an Avayogi which is also ruled by a particular star and contains an avayogi planet ruler.

Concept:
Coming to the concepts, what one needs to understand is that the Yogi ruling planet is said to promote prosperity and the Avayogi ruling planet is supposed to be an obstruction to the prosperity. There is also something called as 'Sahayogi' or Duplicate Yogi which is nothing but the ruler of the rasi in which the Yogi planet is placed. For eg, let's say your Yogi planet is Saturn and it is placed in Taurus. In this case Venus happens to be the Duplicate Yogi since he rules Taurus that happens to be the dispositor of the Yogi planet Saturn. In a nutshell;
Yogi = Planet promoting prosperity
Avayogi = Planet obstructing prosperity
Sahayogi = Planet for helping Yogi to achieve prosperity and lowering obstruction

Pattern:
The pattern is similar to that of the Vimshottari Dasa Nakshatra sequence of planets. Each of the Yogas are ruled by a star with the lord of the star being the same as per the Nakshatra sequence. The Avayogi star happens to be bang opposite to where the Yogi star is seated in the 7th sign and to be more precise it will always be the 15th star from the yogi star. For instance if one is born in 'Shobhana' yoga ruled by Uttara Phalguni star and yogi ruler Sun, the avayogi will be Uttara Bhadrapada star and avayogi ruler is Saturn. The Avayogi ruling planet will always be 6th (1+5=6) from the yogi ruling planet. Taking the same eg, Saturn will be 6th from the Sun in terms of Vimshottari Dasa progression (Sun-Moon-Mars-Rahu-Jupiter-Saturn).

Calculation:
Yoga Degree:
- Add the total longitude of the Sun and Moon.
- If total less than 360°, Yoga Degree is the cumulative total
- If total more than 360°, Yoga degree is the derived total exceeding 360° less 360°

Yogi Degree:
- Add the total longitude of the Sun and Moon plus another 93°20'.
- If total less than 360°, Yogi Degree is the cumulative total
- If total more than 360°, Yogi degree is the derived total exceeding 360° less 360°

Avayogi Degree:
- Add the total longitude of the Sun and Moon plus another 280°. (93°20'+186°40')
- If total less than 360°, Avayogi Degree is the cumulative total
- If total more than 360°, Avayogi degree is the derived total exceeding 360° less 360°

Illustration:
Native's Sun is in Taurus at 27 degrees and Moon in Gemini at 12 degrees. Total degrees of Sun as per 360 degree zodiac is 57 (30*1 sign Aries + 27 degrees in Taurus) and degrees of Moon is 72 (30*2 signs from Aries to Taurus plus 12 degrees in Gemini).

Yoga Degree:
Add the total longitude of the Sun and Moon: 57°+72°=129°
Total is less than 360 degrees, hence Yoga Degree is 129 which will give rise to Ganda Yoga ruled by Saturn.

Yogi Degree:
Add the total longitude of the Sun and Moon plus another 93°20' = 57°+72°+93°20' = 222°20'
Total is less than 360°, hence Yogi Degree is 222°20' which will be Anuradha star ruled by Saturn

Avayogi Degree:
Add the total longitude of the Sun and Moon plus another 280° = 57°+72°+280° = 409°
Total is more than 360°, hence Yogi Degree is 409° less 360°=49° which will be Rohini star ruled by Moon.

Key Note: It is to be noted that the yoga degree alone does not follow the standard Nakshatra order and in fact follows the order assigned to the yogas which begins from Saturn and ends with Jupiter. It can be easily figured out from the example above where the Yoga point falls at 129° which as per the natural zodiac will fall in Leo (Simha) and Magha Nakshatra ruled by Ketu but the Yoga ruler here happens to be Saturn. Thus, if you need to know the ruling planet of the Yoga, you just need to deduct 26°40' (Nakshatra span of 2 constellations) from the total longitude of the Sun and Moon which will be 102°20 falling in Cancer (Kataka) and Pushya Nakshatra ruled by Saturn. It is simply for this reason that we add 93°20' (Nakshatra span of 7 constellations) to the total longitude of the Sun and Moon to find the Yogi point and another further 186°40' (Nakshatra span of 14 constellations) to obtain the Avayogi point. Hence to summarise below:

Yoga Planet:
Yoga Degree obtained less 26°40' = 129°- 26°40' = 102°20 which will fall in Pushya ruled by Saturn (OR) subtract 3 (2+1) constellations from Yoga point star Ketu which will be Ketu - Mercury - Saturn.

Yogi Nakshatra and Yogi Planet:
Yoga Degree obtained plus 93°20' = 129° + 93°20' = 222°20' which will fall in Anuradha ruled by Saturn (OR) add 8 (7+1) constellations from Yoga point star Ketu which will be Ketu - Venus - Sun - Moon - Mars - Rahu - Jupiter - Saturn

Avayogi Nakshatra and Avayogi Planet:
Yoga Degree plus 93°20' plus 186°40' or simply Yogi Degree point plus 186°40' = 222°20' + 186°40' = 409° = 49° (409°-360°) which will fall in Rohini star ruled by Moon. You can also simply add 15 constellations from the Yogi Nakshatra Anuradha which will be end up being Rohini or add 6 planets from Yogi planet as per Nakshtara sequence to arrive at Avayogi planet. In this case 6 planets from Saturn happens to be Saturn - Mercury - Ketu - Venus - Sun - Moon.

Analysis:
This is in fact an area open to plenty of interpretations and the results need to be put forth after considering many factors judiciously. In essence, the yogi nakshatra and more importantly the Yogi ruler is said to be favorable in promoting prosperity. It would be even better if the Yogi planet also happens to be a natural benefic or functional benefic in the chart as it will only enhance the good proceedings. If yogi planet happens to be a natural malefic or functional malefic, it needs to be tread with care. One can still expect it to be beneficial in a certain way with regard to prosperity on account of it being a yogi but however cannot over rule the natural presence of it in a horoscope. Likewise Avayogi planetary ruler if sitting in a negative house or lets say in a Daghda rasi can be better than sitting in a favourable house as it can hamper proceedings. These results need to be looked at only from a holistic view after taking into account the various permutations and combinations.

Tithi Shoonya or Daghda Rasi

'Tithi' constitutes an important element of the Panchang and is calculated based on the angular distance in which the moon moves away from the Sun and every 12 degrees of movement marks a Tithi. There are a total of 30 tithis (360 degrees of zodiac divided by 12). The Tithis are split up into 2 parts of 15 each based on the brighter half (Sukla - Waxing) and darker half (Krishna - Waning) of the moon.

Let's assume the Sun and Moon are both at 0 degree point which is effectively the New Moon when the Moon's light is completely cudgeled by the Sun making the moon appear very small. From here on in, the moon being the faster planet slowly starts glowing brighter and reaches its peak point when it moves 180 degrees from the sun which is effectively the Full Moon. This movement of the moon from 0 to 180 degrees away from the Sun is known as the waxing phase. The moon now slowly starts fading away its light as it again goes back to meet the Sun. The light of the Moon starts diminishing and is completely blanked out when it reaches 360 degrees or in essence when it meets the Sun again at the 0 degree point. This movement of the moon from 180 to 360 degrees (Or back to 0 degree) away from the Sun is known as the waning phase.

The concept of Tithi Shoonya or Daghda Rasi deals with certain rasis getting affected when an individual is born under a certain tithi. The rasis are devoid of light and said to be cursed or burnt and hence believed to be inauspicious for the native. Off the 15 tithis irrespective of whether it is under waxing or waning phase, 2 rasis in each tithi come within the ambit of shoonya rasis. For the 14th Rasi namely Chaturdashi Tithi, 4 of the rasis are said to be burnt and for Ammavasya/Purnima the burnt rasis are excluded from the list. You need to know the running 'tithi' at the time of your birth and check those rasis which are impacted. Sharing below the roster of shoonya rasis for those born in specific Tithis.

Observations:
1) All Rasis affected:
Not a single rasi is spared. All the rasi's come under the scanner of burnt rasis depending on the tithi one is born in right from Mesha to Meena. Simha, the natural 5th house of the Kala Purusha is the one which is most impacted being shoonya in 5 tithis followed by Dhanus the natural 9th house being the shoonya rasi in 4 tithis.

2) Rasi Ratio:
From the above list, you would figure that the Daghda Rasis for each Tithi are mostly in 4-10 axis from each other. For instance those born in Pratipada Tithi (Pratamai), Thula (7th sign) and Makara (10th sign) happen to be the shoonya rasis. From Thula, Makara happens to be the 4th rasi and from Makara, Thula happens to be the 10th rasi. This is in similar lines for most of the Tithis except Tritiya & Saptami which follow a 6-8 axis and Shasti which follows a 5-9 axis with the 1st and 5th signs of the kalapurusha being in daghda. For Chaturdashi Tithi alone, all the dual signs (3-6-9-12) get affected and it is blank for Amma Vasya and Purnima.

3) Similar patterns of Tithi Shoonya / Rasi combination:
Also you will figure out that different combinations of tithis have similar burnt rasis
1st and 12th Tithi - Thula & Makara
2nd, 11th and 14th Tithi - Dhanus & Meena
5th, 8th and 14th Tithi - Mithuna & Kanya
9th and 10th Tithi - Simha & Vrischika

Notes of Information:
1) Out of  the 15 Tithis in the waxing and waning half, 14 Tithi's are supposed to cause shoonya in at least 2 of the rasis. The only exception being the last Tithis of brighter and darker half viz Pournima and Amma Vasya. There is however one view that even these two Tithis have shoonya rasis in Cancer (Karka) and Sagittarius (Dhanus). However this view isn't supported much and just being documented for information purpose.
2) As we know a minimum of 2 Rasis get affected for those born in 14 out of the 15 tithis. There is however a view that the impact of Tithi Shoonya works largely on whether a person was born in Shukla Paksha or Krishna Paksha. If waxing born, the first rasi is said to be mainly Daghda and if birth in waning, then the second rasi is said to be primary Daghda based upon the order of Kalapurusha. For eg. if someone were born in Shukla Paksha in Dasami Tithi, then Simha and it's ruler Sun is the main cause of shoonya whereas if birth was in Krishna Paksha then Vrischika and its ruler Mars is the main planet responsible for shoonya. For Chaturdashi Tithi native born in bright half, Mithuna & Kanya are shoonya rasis and Mercury is the shoonya lord whereas darker half born implies Dhanus & Meena are shoonya rasis and Jupiter becomes the shoonya Lord.

Analysis:
General Rasi Results:

It is generally preferred if the Daghda Rasis end up falling in the 6th, 8th or 12th houses from Ascendant since these houses in general are said to confer negative results. If the Daghda rasis fall in these places it is said to be better than opposed to the kendra or kona houses where you expect beneficial results. Also it is preferable if the Lord of the Shoonya Rasis ends up becoming weak such as being debilitated or in an ill placed sign.

General Planetary Results:
Natural malefics are best suited to be in Daghda rasis whereas natural benefics aren't supposed to be well represented in these burnt rasis. However few fundamental rules should be kept in mind before conferring which planets are good or bad in these shoonya rasis. A tithi is formed based on the interplay between Sun & Moon and rightfully they are termed as luminaries being the sources of light. We must not forget that Shoonya Rasis are those which are devoid of light and basically a dark spot in a chart. A few basic details to keep in mind is that Planets strong in the day include Sun, Venus and Jupiter whereas planets strong in the night include Moon, Mars and Saturn. Mercury is said to be adaptable both in day and night. Likewise Sattvik planets are Sun, Moon and Jupiter, Rajasic planets are Venus & Mercury and Tamasic planets are Mars, Saturn, Rahu & Ketu. With these concepts in the back of the mind let us go delineating about the deliverance of the planets in these shoonya rasis.

1) Sun : Though a natural malefic, it is a luminary known to emit light and said to be Sattvik by nature. Being one of the proponents causing a Tithi, it's said to very unfavorable when placed in a daghda rasi.

2) Moon : Moon is considered both as a natural benefic as well as a natural malefic based on it's waxing or waning state. Moon is the partner to Sun in formation of Tithi and is also a Sattvik graha known to be feminine by nature. Though it is said to be a planet strong in the night, it is also a luminary and hence is very uncomfortable in a shoonya rasi. However it is better off if a natural malefic moon is placed in a shoonya rasi as opposed to a natural benefic moon.

3) Mars : It is a natural malefic, a planet strong in the night and said to be Tamasic by nature. Mars being a natural aggressor when placed in rasis devoid of light end up being well placed.

4) Mercury : Similar to Moon it can be both a natural benefic or malefic based on it's association. It is a planet known for mental processing & intellect and when placed in a shoonya rasi it isn't supposed to be of much benefit. However a natural malefic Mercury is far better than a natural benefic Mercury when placed in a shoonya rasi.

5) Jupiter : It is a natural benefic which is said to be sattvik and strong in the day. Jupiter is known for imparting wisdom and when placed in Daghda rasis isn't expected to shower good results.

6) Venus : It is a full natural benefic like Jupiter and also said to be a day time strong planet. It is known for all propitious offerings in general. Its signification's tend to get affected when placed in burnt rasis.

7) Saturn : It is a full fledged malefic planet, known to be strong in the night and also Tamasic by nature. It is karmic driven and well suited in Daghda rasis.

8) Rahu : It is a natural malefic and Tamasic. It is supposed to be desire oriented known to grow things exponentially and said to be very well placed in the dark rasis.

9) Ketu : It is also a natural malefic and Tamasic. It is also a node like Rahu but said to be little detached and separatist by nature. This enables it to be powerful in these lack of light rasis.

Key Note: The above results are based on normal motion for the 7 main planets and reverse motion for the nodes Rahu and Ketu. If there is a role reversal with regard to the 5 planets - Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn where they happen to be retro grade, the results can go topsy turvy. For instance Jupiter retrograde acts against its usual nature and said to perform admirably in Daghda rasis. Sun and Moon are always in forward motion and the interpretations don't change with respect to them.

Functional Results of Rasis and Planets:
For any ascendant, it's the 3rd, 6th and 11th lords that are supposed to be most malefic and if they sit in Daghda rasis it will be better off. Eg for Thula Lagna, Jupiter happens to be highly malefic as he owns 3rd and 6th house and if it happens to be placed in a Shoonya Rasi, it can actually be a boon. In some ascendants, planets own both good and bad houses. In such a case, results need to be tweaked considering various factors in to account. For instance Virgo Lagna - Saturn owns both benefic 5th and malefic 6th house. However on account of being a natural malefic it's presence in Daghda rasi will still be helpful but whereas if it is a naturally benefic planet owning good and bad houses, results can be otherwise.

Conclusion:
This is a broad overview on Tithi Shoonya or Daghda Rasis. Results need to be factored judiciously and interpretation has to be arrived carefully after considering the nature of different rasis and planets. It is always a good pointer to check this concept additionally when viewing a horoscope as it gives important clues with regard to performance of specific houses.

Inkum Kavale - The chivalrous Kaapi!

Call me late to the party but I got latched on to the song Inkum Kavale pretty behind time to the mix. The inherent Ilaiyaraaja vintage feel of yesteryear was what smeared me in and you get a zany yet vibrant feel that tailspins on you instantaneously. The number is sashayed with good ol aroma fueled degrees of filter coffee.

Kaapi ragam stands out for me because of the subtle up and down curves as well as the judicious use of alternate notes which usually tends to be the hallmark of most Raaja ish kaapi's. This one by the newcomer Gopi Sundar totally re kindled the good ol fashioned charry charm of Kaapi.

Juxtaposing across notes makes you fall flat unless you've got the grip sorted out through practice and my amateur attempt did see me stumbling a bit on those convoluted potholes. It was however more the joy of attempting this refreshing melody that mattered at the end of the day. Not sure how it came out but it has certainly made me admire and fall in love with this chivalrous coffee (kaapi) composition.

Divisional Charts Ayanamsa Distance Factor - A Mathematical Mishmash!

The earlier article on Divisional Charts emphasizes on the fact that the role of time actually does not have such a big bearing when casting of varga charts as there is a sufficient time frame to play around with respect to planets actually changing signs within the zodiac. The biggest deterrent however with respect to Divisional Varga charts easily happens to be with respect to the Ayanamsa.

Ayanamsa is defined as the angular distance between vedic first point and vernal equinox. The sidereal ecliptic of a celestial body is less than the tropical ecliptic longitude. But there was a point in time when the sidereal zodiac and tropical zodiac coincided which is taken as the starting point. Different years are taken in contention viz Lahiri (285 AD), Krishnamurthy (291 AD), Raman (397 AD), Yuktheshwar (499 AD), Vakya Siddhantha (522 AD) etc. All of these happen to be roughly around 20 to 24 degrees away from the tropical zodiac. The sidereal zodiac value or the ayanamsa is deduced by deducting the relevant respective degrees from the tropical zodiac value to arrive at the ayanamsa.

In Vedic Astrology, the most popular ayanamsa in vogue happens to be the Lahiri Chitra Paksha Ayanamsa. KP astrology practitioners use an ayanamsa which is slightly off from Lahiri. Another ayanamsa endorsed by noted astrologer BV Raman happens to be the Raman Ayanamsa which is based on a computation by the great mathematician of yesteryear Bhaskara. In recent times, a new Ayanamsa has been supported by the inventor of the astrology software Jagannatha Hora based on Nakshatra Pushya being the Yoga Tara which is anchoring the zodiac and is termed as the Pushya Paksha Ayanamsa. This apart there are plenty of other Ayanamsas almost touching a half century in number.

Degree and Time Difference between Ayanamsas:
We will look at a comparison between the 4 ayanamsas listed above and see how much away they are from one another. The table listed below would tell how much is the difference in Degree Arc (Degrees-Minutes-Seconds) as well as difference in minutes duration between all these Ayanamsas.

For knowledge purposes, in order to know how these values are derived, I shall narrate it through a small illustration between Lahiri Chitra Paksha and Raman Ayanamsa.
Go to JHora astrology software and input date as Jan 1st 2019, time as 6:00 AM and place as Chennai. Select Lahiri as well as Raman Ayanamsa and note down the degrees of Lagna. Alternatively you can also scroll downwards on the natal chart details and witness a number value in Degrees-Minutes-Seconds known as Ayanamsa. The values obtained are as witnessed:

Lahiri Chitra Paksha:
Lagna : 8° 4' 51
Ayanamsa : 24° 6' 23

Raman:
Lagna : 9° 30' 39
Ayanamsa : 22° 40' 35

Subtract the Lahiri Chitra Paksha Lagna from Raman Lagna or else reduce the Raman Ayanamsa value from Lahiri Chitra Paksha Ayanamsa value and in both cases you get 1° 25' 48. Same way one can compute difference in values between any two ayanamsas.

Impact in Divisional Charts:
Now, we will see the impact or rather distortions the ayanamsas create in the Divisional Varga charts.
Listed below is a table taking into account 5 types of horoscope charts viz Rasi (D1), Navamsa (D9), Dasamsa (D10), Shashtyamsa (D60) and Nadiamsa (D150). The degree arc span for each of these are given along with the time taken to traverse in duration of minutes. (Eg. 1 degree = 60 mins and hence a Navamsa part of 3° 20' will be 3*60+20 = 200). Also mentioned are the comparisons between various Ayanamsas by pointing out the time in minutes span of which they are off from each other and also the % of change of impact that would be seen in the respective divisional charts. For eg as reckoned above taking D9 as illustration, a Navamsa pada spans 200 minutes and the difference of minutes off between Lahiri and Raman is 86 minutes meaning there would be about 43% chance (86 divided by 200) of a planet shifting to the next sign as per Raman and about 57% chance (100%-43%) that they end up within the same sign.

Explanation and Observations:
1) Rasi Chart (D1):
Taking the Rasi chart into account with the assumption that a planet may have an equal likelihood of being located in any of the degrees between 0 to 30, we figure that there is very less difference between Lahiri and KP. In 99.7% of cases both will have the planets posited in the same sign. Only in case of a planet being in 29° 55' or more in a sign in Lahiri will it end up moving to a different sign as per KP system. However comparing Lahiri with Raman, we find that there is about a 5% chance of planets being in different signs. If a planet is in 28° 34' or more in a sign in Lahiri, then it will end up moving to the next sign in Raman. Anything lesser in degrees, they would be stationed in the same zodiac sign. On the whole however, we find that the Rasi chart isn't really sensitive to the impact of ayanamsa as it is observed that there is very minute chance of planets tumbling in to different zodiac signs.

2) Navamsa (D9) and Dasamsa (D10):
It however starts getting trickier when viewing important varga charts such as D9 and D10. Between Lahiri and KP, the difference is only 3% but when comparison is between Lahiri and Raman, there seems to be a probability of close to 50% chance that the planets would involve change of signs. For instance, any planet within the range of  6° 40' to 10° in Aries sign will fall in Gemini Navamsa. If the planet is 8° 34' or more in Aries as per Lahiri, then as per Raman it'll end up being beyond 10° and end up falling in Cancer Navamsa. Thus, there is not a lot to play with and plenty of chances arise that your planetary positions won't be the same when using different ayanamsas.

3) Shashtyamsa (D60) and Nadi Amsa (D150):
Things get far more murkier and out of hand when using intricate divisionals such as D60 or D150. Here by default, the planets will fall in different signs when you take Lahiri or KP and compare it with Raman or Pushya Paksha. The difference between Lahiri and Raman in D60 amounts to a whopping 287% meaning planets will end up being 3 signs away from one other. For instance say a planet is in 1st house or sign in Lahiri, the same planet will be in 4th house or sign in Raman. When taking the minute level Nadiamsa D150, it hits ground breaking level with the difference exceeding 700%. So, in essence a planet will be 7 signs from each other, for eg say if its in 3rd zodiac sign in Lahiri, it'll end up being straight opposite in 9th zodiac sign as per Raman Ayanamsa.

Conclusion:
Thus, it is clearly visible that the playing field gets constricted with too many restrictions when involving Ayanamsa and it becomes an extremely dicey proposition. This issue cannot be bridged or resolved unless there is a uniform ayanamsa. If not, only the Rasi D1 chart would be looked at majorly and only a surface level image of D9/D10 will be used and the employment of more minute charts will end up being virtually obsolete. Those who don't however believe in Ayanamsa and are content with whatever they have been using, it is brought to light that these plaguing issues will always be inevitable and different ayanamsas will surely end up in yielding different predictions especially when more finite divisional charts are being implemented.

Divisional Charts Time Clock Approach - A composite computational cockpit!

Divisional Charts are supremely important with respect to Vedic Astrology. From the term 'division', it could be deciphered that these are divisions of the main rasi chart to see specific areas of one's life or rather take a deep dive or zoom into a particular pigeonholed path in which one would want to vision the journey of life from a microscopic perspective. Divisional or Varga charts aren't looked at in much depth by most and one of the significant reasons for that is because it happens to be extremely time sensitive. There is however another issue as well relating to the Ayanamsa but let's leave that for now and consider it at a different space and time.

I will now focus mainly on the time theory with regard to Divisional Charts and at what frequency of intervals they tend to change signs. It shall not however be about the placement of the planets in the different zodiac signs where various rules are laid out and which need to be followed in arriving at the positions of all the planets. I am listing herewith a small snapshot of how long on an average the Ascendant and 9 planets take to transit from one sign to another in the rasi chart.

Ascendant : 2 hours (1/12 of a day)
Moon : 2 and half days (roughly 1/12 of a month and can span between 54 to 60 hours)
Sun : 1 month (Avg 30 days)
Mercury : 1 month (Can be between 14 to 30 days)
Venus : 1 month (Can range between 23 days to almost 2 months)
Mars : 1 and half months (There are however rare occasions where it stays put for 6 months in a sign)
Jupiter : 12 months (1 year)
Rahu : 18 months (1.5 years)
Ketu : 18 months (1.5 years)
Saturn : 30 months (2.5 years)

Now coming to the zodiac, it is an area of the sky that extends approximately 9 degrees north or south of the ecliptic. The zodiac is shaped like a spherical belt spanning 360 degrees divided into 12 equal parts of 30 degrees each which are named as Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

Thus the 30 degrees constitutes one zodiac sign or bhava or house of your horoscope rasi chart. Each of these signs are further compartmentalized into different fragments to get various divisional charts. There are some mathematical numbers which would be good to understand at this point of time.

Total Zodiac = 360 degrees or 21,600 minutes of arc (1 degree = 60 minutes)
Each Sign = 30 degrees (360 degrees/12 signs) or 1800 minutes of arc (30 degrees*60 minutes)

From the above, it is witnessed that it takes roughly 2 hours for the ascendant to move from one sign to another. The 2 hours is not fixed and can range between 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours depending on the zodiac sign in question. For instance in a long ascension sign like Cancer it takes more than 2 hours but for a short ascending sign like Capricorn it mostly takes much less than 2 hours. However more or less the average time taken to transgress a sign is knocking around the ballpark figure of 2 hours or 120 minutes. In other words, we say that it takes 120 minutes to cross 30 degrees for the ascendant to transit from one sign to another. Simply to outline and have it nailed in the head, refer the below:
Time taken by Ascendant to transit a zodiac sign : 120 mins = 30 degrees = 4 minutes per degree

Once we know this theory, it is about re-engineering of the rasi chart to fit into different pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and analyse part by part the various sub divisional varga charts. Listed below is the various list of Divisional Charts and the range of degrees as well as the time taken by the Ascendant to transit a sign in every one of these sub charts.

Expounding this mathematical computation to the fastest moving planet Moon which is approximately 30 times slower in transiting than the Ascendant sign (Ascendant sign avg 2 hours, Moon sign roughly takes 2 and half days or 60 hours), we find that the the D9 Navamsa of Moon changes every 400 minutes or 6 hours 40 minutes. Looking at a more subtler chart such as the D60 Shashtyamsa, the Moon seems to change every 60 minutes or 1 hour. Going even more intricately to the D150 Nadiamsa chart, it changes only once every 24 minutes.

We shall now stretch to the other end of the horizon and apply the same tactics to the slowest moving planet Saturn and see how much time it takes to transit signs in the Divisional charts. Saturn takes 2 and a half years to cross a sign which makes it 30 months to cross 30 degrees. Taking D9 Navamsa chart when we divide 30 months into 9, it ends up staying for about 3 months 10 days in a Navamsa sign. Going to D60 Shashtyamsa which is 1/2 of a degree, it'll be constant for 15 days (Since 1 degree = 1 month, half a degree = half a month). Applying it at D150 Nadiamsa level, it will be stationed for 6 days since Nadiamsa makes up 5 parts of a degree or 150 parts of 30 degrees.

It is thus easy to figure out that we are dealing with extensive sub components of time. The divisional charts are indeed sensitive to time but the take away is that it is well and truly a level playing field. Even when we dig deep down to the most intricate level of Nadi Amsa, it is clearly seen that at least the Moon sign changes only within a third of an hour. And let's not forget, Moon is also considered an important reference point when charting out horoscopes. Thus it is seen with concrete evidence that impact of time isn't so sensitive after all considering we have a reasonable ground frame of time to play with since most of the planets don't change at a rapid duration as generally envisaged. Hence if one does possess profound knowledge and wisdom in analysing the divisional varga charts, various facets and attributes can be unearthed and brought to light.

Success & Fame in Career/Profession and the correlation with Gita Gopinath being Chief Economist of IMF!

Whenever a native Indian with a humble background ends up climbing to a reputed stature and position in a first world country, it tends to grab eyeballs and the media makes a big meal about it. Regionalism also comes to play with schools and even cities trying to seize attention by claiming that the particular individual happened to be a product of their lineage, spoke the native language etc by sharing snippets about the past and drawing attention to how he or she's career unfolded with simple upbringings from a particular surrounding environment.

The recent case in point happens to be Gita Gopinath who garnered headlines for all the right reasons. Gita has been appointed as the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) chief economist making it a really momentous occasion and a proud achievement for the nation as a whole. She also happens to be the global organisations first ever female chief economist. There is always another side to the coin where critics would point out that such talent needs to be harnessed locally and that it's a big miss for the country. But whatever said and done, there's no denying that her appointment is a huge source of inspiration for youngsters by showcasing especially that any pinnacle can be conquered whether locally or internationally if one puts his heart, mind and soul into it.

To be frank, I haven't heard or read much about her until I unknowingly stumbled across a you tube video of her father paying glowing tributes about her laurels and honors and giving a brief synopsis of her journey right from birth to being elected to the prestigious post of chief economist of IMF. One other thing which lapped me up was he explicitly mentioned her time and place of birth and being an astrology enthusiast, I immediately wanted to cast a glance at her horoscope to see if especially the 10th house of career/fame/achievements/profession concurs on the same lines.

Sharing below her birth details:
DOB : 8th Dec 1971
POB : Kolkata, West Bengal
TOB : 20:00 HRS (Rectified to 7:56 pm)
Ayanamsa : 22-01-08.41

I am focusing here mainly on her academic and professional expertise by taking a peeka-boo in to her rasi chart which by itself gives plenty of pointers in the affirmative. Few concepts of Parashara and Jaimini go hand in hand and complement features beautifully.

First up, she is clearly a Cancer rising with her Moon placed in the Nakshatra of Magha in the 4th pada. Listed below are a few pertinent underlines boosting up the professional front.

- Lagna Lord in 2nd house:
The 2-6-10 trine is the major one to look at with regard to profession and you see here that her Lagna lord Moon is falling in the 2nd house of income. Lagna lord receiving aspect from Yogakaraka is definitely an advantage.

- Node Ketu in Lagna:
The node Ketu is placed in Lagna conferring enormous intelligence. Now, I've seen a number of cases of many brilliant people with Ketu in the first house. In terms of other parameters it may not be great but seldom have I witnessed someone with Ketu in the first house not having knowledge of the highest order. Ketu gives mathematical ability and wisdom and in this case with Jupiter aspecting the Lagna & Ketu through its powerful 9th aspect, it only expands this caliber.

- Yogakaraka effect of Mars:
The Yogakaraka or the most promising planet for Cancer Ascendant happens to be Mars on account of his ownership of both a kendra and trikona house. Mars happens to be 10th lord and is sitting in the 8th house indicating a profession connected with finance/number crunching. Mars aspects Saturn, the natural significator for profession and incidentally also happens to be sitting 10th from Saturn itself. It also aspects Moon which is posited in the second house. Benefic 10th lord's aspect on the second house and Moon which also happens to be the Lagna lord can grant sudden prosperity and wealth to come upon to the native.

- The power of Atmakaraka:
Here is the biggest and most interesting catch. Not only the Yogakaraka but even the Atmakaraka (planet traversing the highest degree in a sign) happens to be Mars which is the 10th lord. Atmakaraka tells about the soul and here it's very clear that the soul focus is towards work and career as exemplified by it's presence of being 10th lord, Yogakaraka and also Atmakaraka.

- Yoga of 9th lord and 2nd lord in a trine:
The best yoga in the chart perhaps happens to be the 9th lord of fortune/blessings Jupiter and 2nd lord of wealth/speech Sun sitting favorably in 5th house in sign of Scorpio. Ironically Jupiter happens to be Amatyakaraka (indicator pigeonholed for profession) and Sun is Bhatrukaraka (indicator for courage and desires - 3rd and 11th house effects)

- Miscellaneous Factors:
You find that the 3rd lord as well as the natural signifier of communication (Mercury) which is definitely an essential in a work of this kind of magnitude forms a Vipareeta Raja Yoga by being in the 6th. Being retrograde, it adds further strength and it is clear that her oratory skills are supreme just by listening to her speak. Saturn the projector of profession is sitting in highest upachaya (growth) house of 11th in it's friend's sign of Venus. Also in the Navamsa, you find Mars and Mercury conjoined in guess what the 10th house along with an exalted Rahu to propel things even further.

Time Period and Dasa with respect to Profession:
As per Vimshottari Dasa time scale, Rahu Dasa has recently begun and it has clearly expanded the horizon for her. Rahu follows her most auspicious Mars Dasa which laid the platform and the Dasa of Rahu has witnessed her being elevated to the pedestal of IMF Chief Economist. It's Rahu MD and Jupiter AD period and as I've already pointed above Rahu is exalted in the 10th in Navamsa and the 9th lord Jupiter is placed in the 5th in the rasi chart which is a fantastic placement.

Looking at it from Jaimini angle, it was towards the end of Aquarius Dasa which saw her capturing the most prized prestigious post of IMF Chief Economist. In fact looking at it, Aquarius is the perfect contender for the throne because the 10th lord Mars is placed there and being a fixed sign, all movable signs except the one adjacent to Aquarius aspects it. And if you see the signs connected it includes Aries which is the 10th lord which is also the Mool Trikona position for Mars. Also taking Mars as Karakamsa, you find Sun and Jupiter being placed 10th from it. The added bonzer being Mars, the auspicious work lord being placed right at the forefront in Aquarius, the running Dasa.

I would also like to pinpoint some factors of her personal life where not much of information is available. But from whatever is known, hers is a love marriage. Rahu in 7th can give rise to a partner of a different caste and it is clearly emphasized here as she is married to a Sikh of Muslim origin. Also 7th lord placed in 11th house shows love blossoming and desires of marriage being fulfilled which is evident. It is believed that she wedded in 1999 and that time the running Dasa was Moon which happens to be Lagna Lord. By all counts if it had happened around the second half of the year, it would be Moon MD and Mars AD both of which are 1-7 from each other again spotlighting things astrologically beautifully.

Thus, if one looks at the set of facts, a basic run down through her horoscope chart signifies exemplary results and success on the professional front. Having great placements is one thing but putting them to use is another and in her case it's fructified in finesse fashion with all factors coming to fruition in a unified manner with her rollicking rise to the top in the world of Economics.

You can watch the video of the proud father via this link below:

Check out her horoscope chart with the planetary positions here:

Ilaiyaraaja 75 Concert Musings!

It was a seductive Sunday soiree (extending to the wee hours of Monday) of one of a kind at the mammoth YMCA grounds as we were all transported musically to a medley of gorgeous love soaking, foot tapping and heart wrenching numbers from yesteryear. The orchestra stole the show with it's mind blowing belting by bringing out the distinguished features of the exquisite layers hidden in plethora of IR compositions.

The carving out of the uncovered elements hidden from the treasured repertoire certainly gave the silver streak sizzle to many a Raaja fan. The singers also did a good job by holding forte and seldom going off track. It was wonderful to witness a full blown concert without any sort of minus one gimmicks and actually feel the spiral caress down the spine in stomping fashion. Few of the talks hindered the progress quite a bit no doubt but eventually it was the music that was in full sway right throughout the evening.

Although one need to recollect events from specific songs to know the exact zenith points, some instant highlights from the show include the mind blowing violin virtuoso in Ananda Ragam, full octane energy of Madai Thirandhu, the string ensemble from Sundari Kannal, the flitting yet fleeting interlude of Poove Sempoove going about in a glorious serenade, the initial hymn of Kadhal Oviyam transporting you to a mystical heaven not to forget the backing chorus, the hard hitting impact of Ram Ram Hey Hey Ram resonating in reverberation. The jive of Rum Bum Bum got the audience enthralled and Kanne Kalaimaane made one starry eyed. The pep of Thanni Thotti got everyone hooked on and Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu's intricately mysterious layers unraveled by the orchestra team left us gasping for breath.

Luminaries with folded hands showered encomiums on the legendary music composer. The funny banter between Rajini and IR that the latter always provided better songs for Kamal made for interesting listening. The reverberation of 'Ram Ram' from Kamal right from the seating arena gave goosebumps. The sounding was as sacrosanct as it could get and the marvel of music mesmerized in a mellifluous manner.

Also on an auspicious note, when the concert got underway the constellation that was rising in the sky poignantly happened to be 'Abhijit' which literally translates to 'Victory or the one who cannot be defeated'. The music that unfolded during this period truly stands testimony by shining like a super star with the melodies delightfully engraving the heart and soul.

List of songs from the event:
- Janani Janani
- Om Shivoham
- Ilamai idho idho
- Ninukori Varnam
- Poove Sempoove
- Vegam Vegam
- Ananda Ragam
- Idhayam Oru Kovil
- Oliyile Thezhivadhu
- Poove Ilaya Poove
- Madai Thirundhu
- Ram Ram Hey Hey Ram
- Ninaivo Oru Paravai
- Unnai Vida
- Raja Raja Chozhan
- En Iniya Pon Nilave
- Naan Porandhu Vandhadhu
- Thendral Vandhu Theendum
- Ennule Ennule
- Kanmani Anbodu
- Vanitha Mani
- Rakkamma kaiya thattu
- Kanmaniye Kadhal
- Margao Margao
- Oh Butterfly
- Kadhal Oviyam
- Hey Unnai Thaane
- Sundari Kannal
- Rum Bum Bum
- Thanni Thotti Thedi
- Kanne Kalaimaane
- En Jodi manja kuruvi
- Kaatu Vazhi
- Thenpandi Cheemayile
- Medley of Singari Sarakku, Adi Yen, Aatha Aathorama

Cafe CakeBee - Luring in time and again!

Cafe CakeBee is another recent cafe which has cropped up in town. Located in a quaint location in a small suburb in Alwarpet, it rings the right noises. The space is quite massive with very nice open seating arrangements in the lower tier on top of a closed air conditioning surrounding at the top. You are also greeted to some lovely looking desserts and bakery products displayed as you enter.

We were here on a weekday evening and just had a couple of stuff. We started our foray with a starter in the form of New way Mac n cheese. These were fried nugget balls comprising inset a swirled up layer of mac n cheese and coming alongside a raunchy tomato dip.

For the mains, tried their Primavera pizza which was aced artistically. It had the cheese, the veggies, the sauces and the crust. All of them intermingled with each other delightfully giving the tongue a soul satisfying taste.

To round up with desserts, we had the brownie with salted caramel ice cream. It was gooey, chocolaty, fudgy, crumby, saucy, salty, icy and all that. It was wonderful to polish this one off.

On the whole it was a satisfying experience. The service was neat and tidy. The rates were little on the upper side. Overall, though Cafe CakeBee passed the test resolutely and if you're the kind looking for a cozy cafe associated with good food, this outlet can definitely be checked out.

P.S : I have been visiting this place time and again and have thoroughly enjoyed some of their crafty creations which I am specially describing below based on my experience.

Saffron Cream Sauce with splash of vodka pasta:
This was done up immaculately and simply watered along the mouth. Swish, swash, swirl - this pasta possessed the firepower to induce the taste buds to have a glorified gala.

Pistachio basil pesto pasta with pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes:
Relished slurping this one up. Deliciously creamy and a hard hitting flavour of pesto to give the requisite smack.

Mezze Platter:
A good old fashioned Mezze platter comprising all the essential Mediterranean goodies to sizzle up a feist!.

New York Cheese Cake with Sorbet Ice cream:
Simply devoured this mouth watering melting new york cheese cake with soft slushy marmalade mellow orange sorbet. Ended up being a dream combination and the mouth just floored delicately with excitement.

Bharat Bistro - Agmark Premium Quality!

There are some restaurants where you don't mind paying a premium and Bharat Bistro right royally falls in that list. Whatever little stuff we had was exceptionally good and that made the experience very pleasing.

We just had 4 items and all of them bowled us over. First the paneer tikka with 2 versions of cheese was simply superlative. It lauded up both on the taste as well as on the presentation side.

On the main course, the Amritsari Dhaba meal comprising of roti herbed rice, hara bara kabab, bhoondi raita, paneer makhni and pindi chole was just out of the world. We relished every single bite of this glorious dhaba styled meal. The picture itself will definitely depict a beautiful tale.

The other one we tried happened to be the Dal Makhni trio. I simply butterly fall for lip smacking Dal Makhni. This lissom lass conjured up in a trio of flavours certainly possessed the lilt to lure me in. It was all sorts of love and we were simply floored.

On the dessert section, we went for the delectable gulab jamun cheesecake. As eclectic and exquisite as it gets, this cake was interspersed with layers of Jamun and coming along side finely cut pieces of jamuns, strawberry and a motley of rose gulkhand ice cream. This dessert was truly mouth inspiring.

On the whole, it totally lived up to its worth. The ambiance is kind of nice with lots of new age interiors and giving itself a bright stark greyish touch. It's more like a crossover Indian restaurant modelled as a cafe. The rates are a little pricy but found it agreeable to the magnanimous spread and taste. The service however could be spruced up a bit. There was waiting time with regard to providing menu cards and refilling of water. However the little nitty gritty accounts for nothing when viewed on the wholesome effect as we left Bharat Bistro having had a delightfully crafty meal that pleased us to punch.

Fab Cafe - Designed for the health conscious!

Fab Cafe is one of the latest cafes to hit townsville and is cropped atop the newly opened Fab India Store in Alwarpet. It's perched on the top floor and gives a very easy yet elegant appearance. The view of the city is quite apparent from the windows.

This is a fully health driven cafe and one of it's kind in the city. They have a variety of cuisines touching across different borders but the underlining factor happens to be that this is dine out exclusively for the health conscious.

We were here on a lazy weekend evening and had a 'Glow Hydration' drink which comprises of coconut water, aloe vera, orange, pineapple and chia seeds. Truth be told it felt quite refreshing and rich on taste. To munch we tried the spinach, onion and water chestnut momos. These were very good coming along with a red and green chive garlic dip. The momos were stuffed and went very well with the immaculate dips.

The service was partly patchy. There was no sight of order being taken place and we had to literally go and call the stewards personally to tell what we wanted to have. The stuff however was served fairly quickly. One big detriment seems to be the price. It feels a bit too hard on the pocket and you feel like you've spent a lot having consumed little. This was the biggest grouse I had but other than that it was actually a lovely place to visit. The health aficionados are surely bound to lap up Fab Cafe.