An Inconvenient Truth: Why The Democrats CANNOT WIN In '06

An Inconvenient Truth: Why The Democrats CANNOT WIN In '06
mumin_bey@yahoo.com

8:20 AM 09/23/2006 Sat

With less than two months to go before the all-important 2006 Midterm Elections, the Democrats look to be in great shape to take back at least one of the Houses of Congress. Pundits on both sides of the partisan aisle are suggesting that if it'll happen at all, the Dems will retake the House of Representatives, where they need under 20 seats to win (for the Senate, the number is under 10). With the War in Iraq going badly in recent weeks, as well as President Bush's recent infighting he's had with his own Party over the issue of interrogation of terrorist suspects, it looks like no better time for the Dems to get themselves together, and take back at least one of the Houses just in time for the Presidential Elections in 2008. The victory of Ned Lamont over longtime Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in August, seems to, some say, presage the advent of not only the Democrats return to power, but so too of the Hardcore Left's acension to power as well. Certainly, all eyes will be on Connecticut's main election in November, where Lamont, now the Democrtatic Party's nominee for US Senate, will square off against Joe Lieberman, now running as an Independent, abandoned by his own Party after years of staunch support of the Dem's platform, because of the singular issue where he supported President Bush - Iraq.

But can they really do it- can they retake one, or even both US Houses of Congress this Fall?

To answer this question about the probable future, we need to look back into the past, to another midterm election year, where the minority Party re-took control of both Houses of Congress. The year was 1994, and the party out of power was the Republicans.

GOP Jul 6 1854 12PM LMT Jackson MS; Placidus 12 Lib 18, Campion

As we all know, it was Speaker Next Gingrich who led the GOP to an electoral victory that has been since unparalleled by either Party in US History - the GOP won back both Houses of Congress by a landslide (something like 50 seats) - the last time the GOP was in power in this way was some 40 years before that in the earlier part of the 20th century! At the time, in the GOP chart, SA Jupiter=Saturn in Mar 94 (making the case for why the GOP was the better Party than the Dems; organizing efforts); SA Sun=Mars/Pluto in Jun 94, and SA Mars=Uranus in Sep 94 (taking the fight to the Dems, making them go on the defensive); and finally, right before the elections, in Oct 94, the GOP had SA Moon=Asc, an appeal to the public to be sure. Additionally, transit Jupiter was just going over the GOP Moon in Scorpio, which rules the 10th and holds the GOP Sun (party in power).

Note the strong occurance of arcs involving Mars - promotion efforts, "get out the vote", making the case for your party, being "on message". This is crucial here in our survey of the Dems' present situation.

But the GOP victory, astrologically seen of course, is only one part of the picture; the other part lies with the Dems themselves, afterall, how could they loose so badly, after being firmly entrenched in Congressional power for over four decades? Read on, and you will see what the astrology of loss really looks like:

Democratic Party May 13 1792 12PM LMT Philadelphia PA; Placidus 29 Leo 53

There were many "stars against" things happening to and with the Dems in the midterm elections of 1994; first off, we see the SA Mercury=Neptune, which suggests that the Dems were "off message", confused, in a haze, bewildered somehow in that election year; it's a known fact that the GOP has a clear advantage over the Dems in terms of getting its base out to vote, strong financial management and ability to come up with and communicate key ideas and platforms to the American public (a prime example of this in recent times, was the victory of Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, a Repbulican Senator who had voted against the President numerous times. The GOP machine, fearful of that Senatorial seat falling into Democratic hands, put all its muscle behind Chafee to help him win in his Primary fight over his stridently Conservative Republican opponent. Rhode Island is one of the "bluest" States in the Union). This arc alone highlights those areas in the Democratic Party chart where they are truly deficient and in need of correction before any hope of any real political and electoral progress for them can be made (note and keep in mind, please, the key elements of the Democratic Party horoscope: Moon Void of Course, being taken off track, being in a fog; Mercury Rx in conjunction with the Sun, which itself is the Asc ruler - inability to come up with ideas that resonate with the People, being misunderstood, etc.; Saturn in Aries opposed Neptune, ruler of the 8th - bad financial management of campaign funds, poor internal Party administration, potential corruption).

Next, we see two key arcs that are debilitating to any entity or person: SA Neptune=Uranus, Nov 94, and SA Pluto=Saturn, Dec 94. For ANY political entity or person, these are portents that DO NOT SIGNAL VICTORY AT ALL, if anything, they presage defeat, difficulty, even financial ruin and/or scandal. Although Bill Clinton was President and much beloved by the American public, beyond his titular head of leadership in the Democratic Party, the Party itself was in deep trouble in so many ways; keep in mind, that Clintion, along with his Vice-President Al Gore, founded the Democratic Leadership Council, as a means to step AWAY from the Dems as they had been known before.

So, with all this assessed and known, what are the Dems' astrolgical chances for victory in November '06? The astrology, in my judegement, does not look favorable. First of all, back in Jan of this year, the Dems had SA Mercury=Saturn/Pluto; keep in mind the earlier assessment of the Dems' Mercury, and this arc looms large in our considerations here. As you may recall, it was around this time that the Democratic Party, under the leadership of Dr. Howard Dean, announced that they were coming up with "the plan", a blueprint of ideas and initiatives to appeal to the American electorate. That "plan" was finally released to the public only a few days ago, in an op/ed piece written by Dr. Dean on behalf of the Dems. It is a "plan" in name only - in true "Howlin' Howie" style, the piece was nothing but a list of slogans and soundbites, culminating in an ad hoc attack against the Bush administration - hardly an actual plan of leadership and pales in comparison to Speaker Gingrich's "Contract With America" that was so crucial to the GOP victory in 1994. This picture recurred again, this time in the form of SA Saturn=Mercury/Pluto, in Mar 06 - this was about the time when the Dems, aided by a few Republican Senators and Congressmen, adamantly went against the President over the Dubai Ports Deal, sunk it, and then went on to rail against the President over the War in Iraq, etc. In fact, it was around this time that Congressman Jack Murtha, himself a former Marine and decorated Vietnam veteran, suggested strongly that the USA "redeploy" the forces based in Iraq to the outlying areas around Iraq (at first the idea was to "redeploy" to one of the island bases off the Japanese mainland!), and essentially let Iraq devolve into the civil war that the Dems had been complaining about in the first place!

Again, keep in mind the key Mercurial placement in the Democratic Party chart; AND, please note that its Saturn-Neptune opposition, falls in the 3-9 House axis (Saturn in the 9th, Neptune in the 3rd). Hmm.

Continuing with the analysis, we also see that the Dems' had SA MC=Jupiter/Pluto and SA MC=Sun/Jupiter, both in Apr - the Dems were in the afterglow of their victory over the President regarding the ports deal, and were on a roll. SA Venus=Asc in Jul makes the Dems look like a real contender, as at that time, gas prices were soaring, well above $3/gal, and the body count of Iraqi dead mounted. In fact, this latter arc, has a great deal to do with the victory of Lamont over Lieberman in Aug. But it won't be enough to pull it out in Nov.

I say that because, coming up next month, the Dems have SA Neptune=Asc/MC, almost always a time of mass confusion, bewilderment, even scandal for politicians; this, coming at a time when the elections accross the country are "down the stretch" will greatly harm the Party's chances for retaking the Congress. In early Nov, transit Saturn will be at 24 Leo - just ONE DEGREE SHY of opposition to the Dems' Pluto, itself at 23 Aquarius. This transit of Saturn will move on to oppose the Dems' Moon as well, and at all together, does not augur well for a victory party at the Capitol building.

Meanwhile, in the GOP horoscope, we see the SA Sun=Saturn/Neptune in Apr, which, as we noted earlier, was the time when the Democrats were aided by some Repbulican lawmakers and went against the President on the Dubai Ports Deal (note the Sun here, i.e., GWB, as head of the GOP, in the 10th). This was followed by SA Venus=Mars/Saturn, exact in Jun, and by this time, as again noted earlier, gas prices were going through the roof and fighting in Iraq had reached a fever pitch (Venus Asc ruler). However, note that gas prices have significantly fallen, and that the fighting in Iraq, while still vicious, is nowhere near the record breaking numbers it had been. SA Venus=Asc/MC saw a bump in President Bush's poll numbers, as he had been going on an offensive, in a series of speeches in the run up to the 5 year anniversary of the Sep 11 Terror Attacks. Additionally, the row with his own party over terrorist suspects has been worked out, and the economy is humming along, keeping well above the 11K-point mark on the Dow Jones, and while national unemployment figures stay well below 5%. These are welcome signs to see, as the races around the country will remain close.

But the breakout time for the GOP comes at the beginning of Nov, when SA Sun=Jupiter/Pluto, a grand signal of success and victory; expect to see news reports and television news stories about this at that time. The GOP will pull things out for an electoral victory, retaining both Houses of Congress, with only minimal wins on the Democratic side, if any at all. The American public, and this would include the GOP faithful, may have its problems with the White House and Congress, but will not want to change horses in midstream, especially as gas prices, among other things, continue to improve. We can expect a victory for the GOP in the 2006 Midterm Elections.

A final note - at the time of Lieberman's defeat at the hands of his own Party, he had SA Pluto=Saturn, exact Jun 06. Coming up in the Nov elections, Lamont will have transit Saturn, in EXACT CONJUNCTION to his Pluto! Already, his poll numbers look bad, with something like only 38% of the voting public up there in support of him. Look for a Lieberman win in Connecticut, a close one, but a win nonetheless.

Salaam,
Mu

Pope Benedict's Great Islamic Debate

Pope Benedict's Great Islamic Debate
mumin_bey@yahoo.com

10:37 AM 09/23/2006 Sat


The controversey surrounding Pope Benedict XVI's comments involving Islam, gives us astrologers pause to consider the question - is there something to be said for certain key elements of any religion (in this case, is there something inherent within the Islamic faith that is more violent-prone, than other faiths?), and if so, can this be seen astrologically? These are the questions that ran through my own mind, as the events in the aftermath of the Pope's speech in Southern Germany recently manifest itself to the world.

To recap briefly, the Pope was attempting to make the point that, Europe - and by that he meant specifically, Western Europe, of which his native Germany is a part - should not be seduced into the notion that Reason and Religion cannot go hand in hand. To illustrate this point, the Pope mentioned a 14th century text wherein lies a debate between Manuel II, a Byzantine (Eastern Orthodox) Emperor, and a Persian (Iranian) Muslim. At some point in the dialogue, King Manuel is said to have said something along the lines that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) had brought nothing but inhumanity and evil, and that his command to his faithful was to bring Islam to the world by way of the sword - the point being, that the idea of violence and religion going together is inherently incompatible.

Unfortunately, to no one's surprise, the response from the Islamic World, and the Arab World in particular, was swift and sure - several churches in the Palestinian territories were burned, a nun in Somalia was shot dead along with her bodyguard, and the entire Pakistani Parliament demanded an unequivocal apology from the Pope regarding his remarks. The Pope did give a statement, saying that he was very sorry for the pain his comments caused in the Islamic World, but did not give a full apology, as he maintained that the comments mentioned were not his own, nor did he agree with such notions.

It is hard for anyone with any sense of irony to miss the significance of these events - on the one hand, the Islamic World (at least the militants who are the dominant voices therein) reacts to the claim that Islam is inherently violent, with violent response; that the Pope went ahead with such potentially explosive comments in his speech, seemingly not aware of the fact that he is the head of the Christian World, as well as a Head of State; that the Catholic Church is hardly free from blemish, still reeling from the decades, even possibly centuries, old issue of Pedophilia on the part of its priests; and the fact that this whole thing conjures up memories in the Arab World, of the Crusades.

With these facts in mind, it is highly useful and instructive, to consider the charts of both the Christian and Islamic worlds, and to see if the questions posed above, can be seen at work:

Saudi Arabia Sep 21 1932 12PM LMT, Riyadh; Placidus 19 Sag 41

Vatican Jun 7 1929 11AM CET, Rome; Placidus 4 Vir 50

Sources for both sets of data: Campion

These are the horoscopic representations of the Islamic and Catholic worlds, respectively, and the charts do indeed give glaring witness to the facts laid out above.

Note in the Saudi Arabian chart, the Sagittarian Asc, with chart ruling Jupiter in Virgo, in conjunction with Neptune, and placed in the 9th House, along with the Sun and Mercury - THIS is not only a strong, strong religious worldview at work here, but here is also the very strong hold that Wahhabism, a strain of fundamentalist Islam, has on the whole of the Islamic World. A Virgo/Sagittarius combination, suggests arch-dogamitism, a highly reactionary and pendantic, anal-retentive expression that leads into fanaticism, militancy. We have to note that the funding of most of the Islamic World's Madrassas (religious schools) as well as religious literature, comes from Saudi sources, often those connected to the House of Saud, the Royal Family.

We can note also, that the Saudi chart has Uranus in the 4th, opposed the Saturn-Pluto axis, itself running from the 2nd to the 8th, highlighting a massive struggle of the Saudi leadership against the militants and radicals, over national values, and of course, money. Uranus=Saturn/Pluto, says Tyl, is a "brutal effort to start a new order". Indeed - now, the Saudi government, which had funded the madrassas in the first place, are in the fight of their lives to combat the very radicals that they created. Similar occurances are obtaining in Egypt and Pakistan.

Mars, planet par excellence of violence, is opposed Saturn, which means that there is now a Martian element in the Uranus-Saturn/Pluto mix - there can be no doubt about it, Islam does indeed have a violent side, in the modern context, in the form of militants who wish to forcibly bring back the worldwide Caliphate.

The hope for the "Islamic Reformation" lay in the aforementioned Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, a signal of spirituality, temperance, and tolerance, in square to the Moon - women will play a large role here. The recent transit of Uranus in opposition to this conjunction (and square to the Moon) brought about intense debate within the Islamic World on the role of women in public life, which includes being able to vie for public office. Note that the Saudi/Islamic World Moon is in Gemini, education, divserified interests, in the 6th House of Work and sextile Venus, the ruler of the 10th House of Career and Public Life.

For the Vatican, the issues are just as clear-cut, as being representative of the Christian World. A strong emphasis is on yet again, the Signs of Mercury, as Virgo rises, and its Asc ruler is the final dispositor of the chart in Gemini. However, it is also Rx, suggesting a contradiction between what it says and what it actually does, and this leads us into the issue of pedophilia.

The Sun, Moon and Mercury are all in Gemini, a Sign known for its bi and homosexuality; Virgo rises, the Sign most associated with "purity" i.e., children; and the 5th House of the Vatican is highly challenged, with Saturn, ruling the 5th, placed in Sagittarius, being Rx. Additionally, note that Saturn is in exact trine to Neptune, placed in the 12th, while also trine Venus in Taurus, in the 9th - within all of the dogma concerning one's own celibacy to serve to Church, there is much turmoil, confusion and secrecy involving sexuality - leading to outlets that are at the least, controversial, at worst, that are downright immoral.

We have to keep in mind that, in the Western World, Pedophilia has become more and more an issue to be dealt with.

The recent transit of Pluto in opposition to the Gemini cluster brought with it the uncovering of the pedophilia scandals, worldwide and in particular, the USA. This transit also saw the death of one of the Papacy's most popular Popes, Pope John Paul II, who nonetheless was criticized in some quarters for not being more aggressive in addressing the pedophilia issue.

It is also interesting to note that, in the entire history of the world, there have only been two religions who have laid claim to the whole of Humanity - Christianity and Islam. And the two have been in fierce competition for at least the past 1000 years.

The synastry between the two charts is striking - note first of all, the strong Mercurial emphasis in both charts, suggesting that conversation, dialogue, debate, can take place between the two. Additionally, note that the Saudi Jupiter-Neptune conjunction is conjunct the Vatican Asc, while the former's Mercury in Virgo rises in the latter's Asc as well; they both share the Moon in Gemini, Uranus in Aries, and Pluto in Cancer; Saudi Arabia's Venus is conjunct the Vatican Mars (while BOTH having Mars in Leo - "getting away with murder" as Tyl would say), and more. But the potential fly in the ointment is the Vatican Saturn square the Saudi Sun, which to my mind manifested itself in the recent comments made by the Pope. The square is exact, again, highlighting I think, the intense competition between the two.

There can be no doubt that the Islamic World has reached a crossroads; it must decide whether it wants to join the rest of the world, on the path to moderation, tolerance, and the persuasion of others through example and debate, rather than intimidation and violence, or, if it will allow Islam's good name over the years to be dragged down into the moral and spiritual abyss by those who do their foul deeds in the name of Allah. This situation is likely to increase as transit Pluto inches closer to square with the Saudi Sun, and while transit Uranus moves to square the Saudi Asc. We know, from astrological study, that whenever we see a chart where both Uranus and Pluto are operating, we have to expect some massive seachange, often radical, often violent, often ugly. The radical elements in the Islamic World have taken generations to get to this point - it will take some time to root them out.

As for the Christian World, and in particular the Pope, with transit Uranus moving to square the Sun, Moon & Mercury in Gemini from the 7th, we have to take the recent death threats made on Pope Benedict's life by Islamic radicals very seriously. His coming trip to Turkey in Nov willl no doubt have the tightest security available, and even then the Pope will have to be carefully watched. Here again, one cannot escape the irony here - the last Pope, John Paul II, was nearly killed by a Turkish man, now the present Pope prepares to go to Turkey amidst a sea of controversey. Aside from this, the Vatican still has to mop up the issues surrounding the pedophilia scandals, which threaten to financially ruin the world's oldest religious institution - transit Pluto will conjunct the all-important Vatican Saturn position very, very soon (Feb, Jun & Dec 2007). Hmm.

Salaam,
Mu

JonBenet Ramsey: A Case Study In The True Meaning Of Kuja Dosha

JonBenet Ramsey: A Case Study In The True Meaning Of Kuja Dosha
mumin_bey@yahoo.com

9:12 PM 08/19/2006 Sat

With the news of the potential killer of JonBenet Ramsey coming forward to confess his crimes sweeping the nation, we astrologers are yet again confronted with the ugly truths of both our Society and our work within it - there are many, many women and in this case, young girls who are sexually assaulted, brutalized, even killed. Every year passes with at least one such noterized case, such as Natalie Holloway last Summer, and before that Laci Peterson. Here in my native Philly, the tragic end of Latoya Figueroa brought even the most hardened homie on the block to tears.

Nevertheless, there is some valuable things to be learned from the JonBenet case, by way of her Vedic horoscope; it's chock-full of clues and signs of why she became so famous even in her death, why she died at such an early age, and perhaps most importantly, exactly what in her chart points to being sexually assaulted at such an early age.

JonBenet Ramsey Aug 6 1990 1.36AM EDT Atlanta GA; Lahiri 6 Tau 49, Rodden

First, we look for the fame in her chart - JonBenet was born with several highly significant yogas: Gaja-Kesari, Hamsa and Ruchaka Yogas from the Moon, Mahabhagya for a female birth, and finally, a variant of Dharma Karma Adipati Yoga, in the form of Lagnesh Venus in exact mutual aspect to Saturn, itself lord of the 9th and 10th Houses, giving it Yogakaraka status to begin with.

All of these yogas are important when one considers the fact that JonBenet was born both at night AND on a Full Moon; in Jyotish, the Full Moon is highly valued, for it is an indication of a strong horoscope, especially if it belongs to a female - it has more "juice" if you will, and will lift the overall qualities of the chart for the native. I have seen over and over again in my studies and work with Vedic Astrology, that the strength or weakness of the Moon can literally make or break a horoscope, regardless of the yogas and other significations therein. Because so many yogas are based on both the Udaya Lagna and the Moon, it is important that to get the full results of Chandra Yogas, the native should be born at night and during a Waxing Moon. All of these factors contributed to JonBenet's early success, even though she died at such an early age.

However, her early death can also be easily seen, in noting the fact that for starters, Lagnesh Venus is placed in a Maraka, or Killer House, while Mars, the other lord of a Maraka, is placed in a Trik House and in its own Sign - in other words, it's very strong to bring difficulties, illness, sickness and even death to JonBenet. Note also the fact that 8th lord Jupiter is exalted, and recall my earlier comments about Jim Morrison - anytime you see a strong imbalance between the rulers of the Asc and 8th House, usually with the 8th lord being stronger, you can be certain that the native has a shorter than usual lifespan. I've seen this principle working over and over and over and over and over and over again over the years of my study of hundreds of charts of early deaths.

It should be pointed out here that both the Moon and Venus in JonBenet's chart are highly emphasized - Venus is Lagnesh and placed in the 2nd House, which represents the face, and the Moon is bright and Full, with JonBenet being born on a Monday night. The Moon also represents the face, and these two planets are key when assessing a woman's or in this case, a girl's beauty. These planets account for JonBenet being a child beauty queen.

But the kicker in JonBenet's chart is the very, very strong case of Kuja Dosha she has, and her chart gives me the chance to address one of the most misunderstood and misapplied principles in all of Jyotisha:

In just about every classical text on Vedic Astrology, there is a section or chapter devoted to what is known as "Stri Jataka" or simply put, "Women's Astrology". The Vedic Sages have long recognized that the Grahas seize everyone differently, and that includes along gender lines as well. Kuja Dosha, which is discussed in most such classical texts to varying degrees (the most detailed explanations, and exceptions and modifications regarding Kuja Dosha are to be found in the South Indian Jyotisha works, which are usually rendered in Tamil or Kerala languages) was originally intended for determining what combinations brought about the early widowhood of a woman. This was what was originally intended by the term "Kuja Dosha" which means "The Blemish of Mars" or put more simply, "Mars Affliction". Over the years, Kuja Dosha has been expanded to suggest not only early widowhood, but also the potential for an inharmonious domestic life and combative marital life. Some jyotishis even go so far as to take Kuja Dosha's meanings to include the charts of males, saying that it can bring as much marital strife and misery in a man's life and chart as it can in a woman's. While I concede that I have seen such male cases of Kuja Doshas play themselves out, I would like to suggest that we keep as close as possible to the original intent of Kuja Dosha, which was a way of actually protecting women from marital harm - and in this case, from the prospect of young women and even girls, from being sexually assaulted, raped, even killed. Mars is a first rate Malefic, and when it comes into contact with either the 7th or 8th Houses, brings way too much intense energy for those Houses to deal with safely, so to speak.

Therefore, Kuja Dosha cannot be applied in a blanket sort of way, on both male and female horoscopes; rather, they have to be applied according to the gender of the chart in question - for a female chart, when Mars occupies the 1st, 4th, 8th, or 12th Houses, while also not being modified by occupying certain mitigating Signs, then and only then, can we say that the chart has Kuja Dosha.

In the case of JonBenet Ramsey, Kuja Dosha exists in a big way, with Mars in the 12th in the Sign of Aries. Mars is the 7th lord, which in a sense heightens the KD, because Mars aspects this, its own House (since Scorpio resides here), and brings in themes of sexual acts done in secret, hidden from the view of others. Note also that Kuja Dosha recurs from the Chandra Lagna, by sitting in the 4th House, which represents the home of course, and this was where JonBenet was killed. Finally, we can go to the Navamsa chart, where Kuja Dosha recurs yet again, this time sitting in the 8th House and in conjunction with Ketu. In other words, Kuja Dosha's stamp is just all over JonBenet's chart - a stamp that proved fatal for the child beauty queen.

NOTHING IN JYOTISH WORKS IN ISOLATION, and the principles of Kuja Dosha are no different. Even in the case of such a powerful Kuja Dosha, as we can see here with JonBenet, the 7th House needs to be "damaged" significantly for Kuja Dosha to really take its toll, for it inflates & inflames the problems of one's 7th House and all it represents, rather than merely doing all of the dirty work on its own. Going back to JonBenet's chart, we can easily see that her 7th House is highly challenged:

1. Note that Mars and Ketu aspect the 7th House

2. Note that according to Brighu Nadi principles, Saturn is also aspecting the 7th House, due to it being in the 8th and being Rx

3. From the Moon, note that Mars aspects the 7th, while Sun, Jupiter and Ketu are all in the 7th, with the 7th lord Moon tightly conjunct Rahu

4. Again, from the Moon, note that Jupiter is, according to the Jaimini system, the Darakaraka for JonBenet; it is also the universal planet of the husband in a female chart. It's placement in the 7th gives rise to a variant of what is known as Karako Bhavo Nashto, "The Significator Destroys the House"

5. From the point of view of Jaimini Darakaraka Jupiter, note that the Moon and most importantly, Rahu, sits in the 7th from Jupiter

6. From Venus, the universal planet of relationships, sex, romance and marriage, Saturn sits in the 7th and is also Rx

7. And finally, note that in JonBenet's Navamsa, note that the 7th lord Mercury is placed in the 6th along with the Asc lord and both aspected by Rahu (suggesting an illicit contact, such as sexual molestation or worse)

With all these highly negative factors at play in JonBenet's chart, along with the fact that her Moon and Venus were so very active, there can be little doubt that, sooner or later, JonBenet would be confronted with a less than pleasant experience in the area of sexuality and relationships.

As we all know, JonBenet Ramsey met a grisly end around Christmas, 1996 in the basement of her Denver CO home; among other things, she was vaginally violated, strangled and had her skull bashed in. According to Vimshottari Dasa, she died during Moon-Saturn*, which began in Apr 1996 and would end Nov 1997. Now, note how the Moon activates Jupiter, the powerful 8th lord, and itself sits in Saturn's Sign, who is the 9th lord and sits in the 8th House. The Moon's tight conjunction with Rahu suggests that something illicit could have happened; with both the Moon and Rahu being in the 9th, a 9th House figure such as a father or TEACHER could have been involved; keep in mind, that Saturn is involved here, the 9th lord. Finally, note that transit Mars passed thru Virgo, aspecting the 8th; transit Saturn, passing thru Pisces, also aspected the 8th (and restimulating its natal position - Saturn running its sub-period); and transit Rahu, also passing thru Virgo, was aspecting the Moon and Rahu (another restimulation factor at work). These are all indications of at the least, a difficult time for the native, if not death.

Could the man who recently came forward actually be the killer of JonBenet? Pundits are already poking holes in his testimonial confession, raising doubt. But perhaps the Dasas in operation at the time of JonBenet's death can give us a few clues...

First, note that both the major and sub period rulers are connected to the 9th House, the House of the father and teaching figures; classically, the Moon is inimical to Venus, which is JonBenet's Asc lord. The Moon, being associated with young children, is also connected to teaching. And the role of Rahu cannot be overstated - this combination of the Moon and Rahu here in the 9th greatly distorts the 9th House for JonBenet, and suggests that the authority figures in her life will prove to be less than honorable in some way, perhaps even in a sexually inappropriate way toward her. So, even if this man who recently came forward isn't the killer, it's certain that whoever in fact killed JonBenet Ramsey was someone who was responsible for being a perceptor to her.

Finally, we can turn to Prasnashastra (Horary Astrology) for some clues as to whether the man under investigation is indeed the killer. I got the word by way of a breaking news radio announcement at 4.30PM EDT, on Wed Aug 16 2006. At that moment, Sagittarius rises on the Asc, with Jupiter being placed in Venus' Sign Libra; neither are under affliction in the least, and keep in mind, that both Sag and Jupiter are associated with teaching. I think the man could indeed be telling the truth. Finally, note that no less than 4 planets lie in the 8th House, the House of Scandal, Infamous Actions, & Deviant Sexual Behavior. Among the planets, Venus is there in the 8th at the time of the radio announcement of the coming forward of the man who claims to have killed JonBenet. Time will tell, as the man in question will soon arrive in the United States to be arrested and arraigned, where the investigation will truly begin.

In closing, it cannot be stated enough, that charts that are strongly "sexual" in nature have to be carefully watched, especially when their owners are in their childhood years; the chances of their being sexually assaulted is very, very high, sad to say. For a young girl, who has a powerful case of Kuja Dosha, the same can be said. Just take a look at JonBenet Ramsey - her chart, and unfortunately her death, says it all.

Salaam,
Mu

*While I use Vimshottari Dasa for the bulk of my predictive work with Jyotisha, it must be pointed out that I do so from the perspective of the Asc, NOT the Moon as per classical calculations; I've found that calculating Dasa from the Lagna point gives far more accurate results. I hope to discuss this in greater detail in a future article.

AUTHOR'S NOTE, SAT SEP 2 2006: As we all know by now, the man who had confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey, John Mark Karr, was released on all charges, following DNA testing. Once again, it seems, that JonBenet's real killer, has evaded capture.