Introduction
A System of Astrological Variables in the Systems Approach
One of the very significant features of the Systems Approach lies in its drawing our attention time and again, to the situation of many Hs, coming together as a group or system, in determining whether a certain question in life has sufficient grace of Isvara or not, for the fructification of those pertinent events, during suitable sub-periods.
(i) Stability of Marriage decided by ‘The Mansion of Marriage’ in the Systems Approach:
We shall illustrate this principle, taking an example or two. If one were to take up the whole question of marriage and marital harmony in the SA, this is decided by the ‘system’ of as many as five ‘marriage Hs’; the Navamsa chart and in addition either the planet Venus in a man’s chart; or the planets Venus & Jupiter in a woman’s chart. Thus the ‘halls’ and the ‘pillars’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’, which determine how successful married life will be, are: the various ‘Marriage Hs’: VII, II, IV, VIII & XII; and their respective Lords, etc..
As mentioned, the Navamsa chart must also be examined, as a strong Navamsa chart has the power to give stability to marital relationship even when the ‘mansion of marriage’ may be proving to be otherwise somewhat rickety. In addition, Ve & Ju will also have to be considered, as they will also serve as ‘additional pillars’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’. The stability, durability and fruitfulness of a marriage is decided by all these ‘system’ of factors, taken comprehensively, in a single sweeping glance.
The Seventh House: The VIIH, one of the ‘halls’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’, covers one aspect of marital harmony, namely the nature of the relationship between the marriage partners – whether in the natal chart, this is seen to be strong and favourable or weak/afflicted and unfavourable etc. If the VIIH and the Lord of the VIIH are strong in the natal chart, then there will be grace of Isvara for just this one aspect of – a happy and amicable relationship. If the VIIH and its Lord are weak/afflicted, this would mean ‘karmic-obstacles’ impeding and coming in the way of a happy and harmonious marital relationship. As Ve is the significator of the VIIH in the SA, one must also examine the strength of Ve in the Birth-Chart, especially when the VIIH has no MTS.
The Second House: The IIH, one of the ‘halls’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’, covers another aspect of marital life, an aspect which falls outside the domain of the VIIH. This is the aspect of family cohesion and the family being bonded together and remaining as a healthy whole unit. If the IIH and the IIH Lord are strong, then there will be grace of Isvara, in just that one sphere of family cohesion and family unity, which will hold the family together; without there being the risk of the family members breaking up and without the possibility of the family members being separated from one another, either through death, temporary separation due to education of children, or even due to the profession snatching away one partner to a far – off place from the rest of the family, etc.
Due to intemperate speech as well, family cohesion may be ripped apart. Thus, for many reasons, family cohesion may be threatened in principle. The significators of the IIH are the Su and Ju, the latter being specifically the significator for male-progeny. So, the strength of these Lords must also be examined, in order to decide on the nature of the fruits, this House can give us.
The Fourth House: The IVH, another ‘hall’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’, covers the third aspect of marital life, namely happiness and peace of mind in the home-environment and concurrently also inner happiness within our own being. If one is either emotionally disturbed within oneself, or the outer home atmosphere is marred by conflict and quarrels, then obviously one is not going to be in a position to enjoy this kind of happiness in married life, namely inner emotional security & well-being as well as peace at home; for both these aspects are covered by the self-same IVH. Thus, a strong IVH and IVH Lord will mean enough grace of Isvara for a stable and happy home life and also for inner peace within our own heart.
In my experience, I have found that whenever the IVH is strong, not only does the individual have good character and some spiritual inclination, but he/she is also very hospitable to guests who come to his/her home. We must remember that the IVH is also the House of the mother. Hospitality is an essential trait of good & loving mothers. The Mo is the significator of the IVH, in so far as our emotional well-being and hospitality is concerned, but if we are looking into the magnitude of our comforts and luxuries in our home life, then in the SA, we will have to examine the strength of Ve, in case the IVH has no MTS.
The Eighth House: The VIIIH, another of the ‘halls’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’, covers the question of durability and longevity of marriage. Some marriages last long – through the whole course of our life, whereas others may break up in a matter of years or even months. A strong VIIIH and VIII Lord would mean that there is sufficient grace of Isvara, for prolonging the marital-bond and making it an enduring one. A weak VIIIH and VIII Lord would show the denial of Isvara’s grace for a long and enduring marriage. Here we must remember that the longevity of a marriage may be cut short, not only through a break up or divorce; but even death of one of the partners may be a causative factor. In VA as well as in SA, Sa is the significator of the VIIIH. So, one will have to fix attention on Sa, in case the VIIIH has no MTS.
The Twelfth House: Likewise, the XIIH, which is another ‘hall’ in the ‘mansion of marriage’, covers another important aspect of marital life, namely that of sexual compatibility and satisfaction, as well as comforts and luxuries – which in modern times, also seems to be becoming an important factor in sustaining the structure of marriage. A weak XIIH and XII Lord would mean that the private life of the marital partners is not a fulfilling and happy one, prone to breakage, because the customary marital pleasures, comforts & luxuries, may not bring satisfactory fulfilment. As the XIIH is also the House of rest, relaxation and sleep, those with a weak and afflicted XIIH may need either very little sleep, or they may suffer from chronic insomnia. And just because they do not sleep like logs, like the other people, it does not mean that they will be tired the next morning ‘when they wake up’. Paradoxically, they will be just as fresh as the ones who had sound sleep for eight good Hrs!
Venus, Significator of Marriage: In VA, in the context of a Hindu society, Venus signifies the wife & Jupiter signifies the husband in the charts of the man and the woman respectively. In addition, Venus is also the significator of marriage. A strong Venus will always be a source of grace in holding the ‘mansion of marriage’ together, even when the other ‘pillars’ of the ‘mansion’, namely the ‘Lords of the Marriage Hs’ are weak and not so strong.
Lastly, and quite importantly, one must also examine the Navamsa chart, which is the most important of all the divisional charts and which is a detailed picture of the potentials of the IXH of fortune and the grace of Isvara. If there are deficiencies in the marriage Hs in a natal chart, but the Navamasa div chart is strong and favourable, this must be seen as a promise of there being sufficient grace of Isvara, for overcoming the obstacles to marriage seen in the Birth-Chart. One must examine the strengths of all the marriage Lords in the Navamsa chart and see if they are strong and well placed therein. In this way, we see how the fate of any particular issue in life is covered not merely by a single H but in fact by a collective set of variables or a ‘system’ of them.
Remedial Measures: It may not be out of place here to make a mention of the fact that whenever these marital Hs are weak – and problems in adjustment and relationship had erupted to testify to this weakness – not all is wholly lost. When we resort to Remedial Measures – both the Kavach for the FBs as well as the Propitiatory Charities for the afflicting FMs, these odds against a stable marriage are greatly reduced to the extent of some 80%; but the important thing to note is that Remedial Measures may not be resorted to in a purely ‘heartless’ and mechanical way, for then, much success cannot be had. Far greater success, as a result of Remedial Measures will however come our way, the moment there is a change of heart and devotion and sincerity, are realised to be the most essential virtues in life. All in all, the Remedial Measures do have it within their power to overcome ‘karmic-obstacles’ in the sphere of marriage as well.
(ii) The Phenomenon of ‘Delay & Denial’, arising from Weak & Afflicted Planets of the Marital Hs:
Using the astrological skill of ‘simultaneous seeing’, the SA astrologer will be able to decide the quantum of Isvara’s grace for marital life as a whole. When the Lords of these marriage Hs are weak or their significators are weak, then the phenomenon of ‘delay & denial’ comes into play. This might manifest in different ways.
If the planets are not only ‘weak’ but are also ‘afflicted’, then the parents may not even make any efforts in the direction of getting their son or daughter married. Alternatively, the weaknesses of the planets ruling the marriage Hs may manifest as the individual not having any desire to marry at all, or he may have a weak desire, which does not meet with fulfilment. Or, the weaknesses of the marriage Lords may also manifest as efforts going up to a certain extent, but getting aborted, thereafter. When any of these patterns are discerned, the marriage of the individual goes on getting delayed and it is then that we surmise the operation of ‘a certain conspiracy of fate’, coming in the way of fulfilment.
When an SA astrologer examines the chart, he will be able to say definitely, which of the marriage Lords are weak, and then the whole question of strengthening the ‘weak’ marriage Lords springs to the fore with a certain urgency. Weak FBs are naturally strengthened by means of a Kavach, while the afflictions from the FMs are nullified in the course of time through disciplined & daily performance of Propitiatory Charities.
Although we have considered just one illustrative example of how ‘weak’ planets in the sphere of marriage create the phenomenon of ‘delay and denial’, the same phenomenon will also naturally comes to pass in other spheres of life – be it health, education, profession, public-standing, litigation and enmity, etc. Thus, the question arises as to what Vedic astrology and the SA have got to say, by way of prescription of the Remedial Measures, for the alleviation of these sufferings arising from the phenomenon of ‘delay and denial’ of fulfilment in the sphere of life in question.
(iii) Another example of ‘System of Variables’ in the Systems Approach :
To grasp more fully the concept of ‘a system of variables’ used in the SA, we may turn to consider the sphere of profession. Here, professional life is determined by the II and X Hs primarily as also by the Navamsa and Dasamsa div charts and sometimes even by the strength of the IIIH as well as the VH and the XIH. In the SA, the significators of the professional Hs must also be considered, for even when the Lords of the professional Hs are weak, if the significators of the professional Hs are strong, then the setbacks in the profession can be more easily averted and professional downswings will also not be so grievous. The Sun and Mercury are the significators of the XH, whereas Jupiter and the Su are the significators of the IIH, while Mars is the significator of executive authority [all in the SA].
If the Lord of a H has the role of a father figure, then the significator’s role is that of a ‘Godfather’ [SA Sutra]. Thus, always in assessing the strength of a given H, one must examine not only the strength of that H as well as the strength of the Lord of that H, but one must go on to consider the strength of the significator of that H as well.
(iv) Isvara’s Grace coming through the ‘Third Line’:
The strange thing is that even when both the House Lord as well as the significator of the H are found to be weak, the SA maintains that there is always a third line of support on which we may fall-back, through which ‘third line’, the grace from the Remedial Measures can reverse the set-back which had come to pass in life. The Asdt Lord, the Su and the Mo, constitute such a ‘third line’. If one or two of these ‘third line’ planets are strong in the Natal chart; there is still hope for success, through the pressing into service the Remedial Measures of the Systems Approach.
There are many other fascinating aspects of the SA, but we do not have the time here to go into those areas. Thus, we shall continue to concentrate upon our present objective, which we had indicated already in Sec. 9 of Part I of this website.
Prof. V.K. Choudhry, the founder of the Systems Approach to Vedic Astrology, seen along with other SA Astrologers, at the International Conference on the Systems Approach held in Gurgaon, India on April 8th, 9th 2006. Dr. Sankara Bhagavadpada presented several spiritual charts in the spheres of Dharma & Moksha, using the Systems Approach.
