Er P L Khushu
Commonly enough fear is created about the ‘Vakri Grehas’, ‘Retrograde Planets’, by immature astrologers, when the situation is not so. To obviate such fears a detailed analogy of the ‘Vakri-Grehas’ is given below about it, so that a common person shuns such fears whish are only man made. Astrology and its postulates need always to be taken liberally and not literally. No doubt Astrology is a super science, analyzing the situation of the stars in heavens, which govern our destiny, yet this destiny of ours is our own creation as per our own ‘Karmic’ actions. These ‘Karmic’ actions of ours are linked to our day-to-day deeds and actions both past and present. Thus we can improve our state of destiny to a better state of being, with the performance of good and pious day to day deeds. It does not cost anything, but a strong will to perform such good deeds, abandoning the lure for the lust of amassing and shunning of desires to the extent of just our basic requirements only. Desires are to be restricted to the need base only and not to the desire base. If it is done with devotion, one can conquer ‘Time’ the ‘Kaal’, which inflicts miseries of sorts. ‘Kaal Hi Baghwan Hai’. It is the ‘Time’ only which needs to be worshiped.
Mechanics of Retrogression: Planets move along the zodiac from West to East, around the Sun and when seen from Earth, their motion sometimes seems or appears to be occurring in a reverse direction. This is called as retrogression of planets. This phenomenon of retrogression has special significance in the predictive Astrology in various manners. Retrogression period of a planet is the period of time during which a planet in our solar system appears to be moving backwards, as we see it against the fixed back drop of the stars. This phenomenon is entirely due to our Earth based perspective only.
In our solar system, the planets are classified as Inferior & Superior planets. Inferior planets are those planets whose Orbit is between Sun & Earth. These planets cannot go far away from the Sun. Mercury & Venus fall in this category and these are also called as inner planets. Superior planets are those planets whose Orbits lie outside the Orbit of Earth, and are also known as outer planets. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn fall in this category of planets. The superior planets only appear to turn retrograde, when they are about to oppose the Sun. Earth is then posited between the Sun and the planet. The inferior planets only appear to turn retrograde when they are about to conjoin the Sun. The planet is posited between the Earth & the Sun at that time. The point in common between all these planets is that they are closest to Earth, when retrograde. As far as inferior planets are concerned, Mercury goes away from Sun by a maximum of 27 degrees and Venus goes away from Sun by a maximum of 47 degrees. Due to shorter sidereal period available to these planets, these planets race past the Sun & after going ahead they become retrograde. Mercury becomes retrograde when it is between 15 degrees to 27 degrees ahead of Sun. Venus becomes retrogrades, when it is between 27 degrees to 47 degrees ahead of Sun and becomes direct when it is approximately equivalent in degrees behind the Sun. Thus generally, Mercury becomes retrograde, when it is in 2nd house from Sun & becomes direct when it is in 12th house from Sun. Similarly, Venus in 2nd/3rd house from Sun becomes retrograde & in 11th/12th house from Sun becomes direct. Superior planets, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn the outer planets, become retrograde when they are generally 120 degrees to 240 degrees away from Sun, or when they are almost in 5,6,7 or 8th houses, away from Sun.
- Behavior of retrograde planets (General Observations): Erin Sullivan in his Book ‘Retrograde planets’ writes that ‘If we substitute for ‘introvert’ the ‘retrograde planet’ and for ‘extrovert’ the ‘direct planet’, we come closer to an understanding as to how a retrograde planet operates as an individual within its society. Thinking in terms of planets as individuals in a family or social system, a retrograde planet operates as an introvert. Where as a direct planet, interacts with the other planets, demanding recognition, expecting and delivering challenges, relating & accommodating, adjusting & compromising, and the retrograde planet operates in a sphere of its own, either so alienated from (in the case of the superior planets), or so fused, with (in the case of inferior planets) the solar agent, that it has no perspective beyond its own integrity. It requires greater conscious efforts to prevent the dilution of its energies, with the undifferentiated cosmic, rather than personal meaning. A retrograde planet develops according to some mysterious inner Principles, completely disregarding the social rules, established by the other members of the Solar system’. The learned author further mentions ‘the interior world of retrograde planets is neither good nor bad, healthy nor unhealthy, sane nor neurotic. It is a way of seeing life in an intensely personal and self creative way’. ‘Its ego finds a way to support the planet, rather than the other way round, protecting it from invasion or attack and because of this, a great deal of the un-conscious energy, is invested in defense, rather than development’. Thus a retrograde planet’s contribution to the whole personality might not be as assertive, as the direct planet, but, this does not mean that it is not as authoritative or influential, as it should have been. It creates and resists as well, because it has an obsession and ego as well, and thus becomes strong as well, on several occasions depending upon other astrological circumstances of its placements etc. Various learned scholarly astrologers of classic books of astrology have mentioned different results of such ‘Vakiri-Grehas’. Because of shortage of space here, these cannot be detailed here. However the following will be the results of retrograde planets during their Dasha periods mostly:-
Mars: There will be great fear from thief, fire, serpents. The person may reside in forests and also face repulsion (fall from position).
Mercury: The person gets wife, children and wealth. He listens to Puranas and bathe in the sea. He engages himself in charities and ritual sacrifices.
Jupiter: The native becomes financially comfortable, gets wife and son or gains from them, victory in war, close friendship with king and possesses decent goods and clothes and is saintly. He enjoys interesting talks.
Venus: The native gets respect and gains from rulers. He gets royal power and a good post in cabinet of the king, while moving accompanied by drums. He moves with conveyances and paraphernalia of rank and position. He wears colourful clothes. He own ornaments, political powers and influences.
Saturn: The person gets disappointments and failures in work. He suffers loss of power. He gets sorrow from brothers and money. It can thus be inferred that a retrograde planet is not always weak or more repressed. What a retrograde planet needs is a good obsession. It is further observed that anger is another feature of retrogression. Erin Sullivan mentions in his Book that, ‘There is a natural rage inherent in the retrograde planet, which needs to become outrage’. This concept of outrage makes the retrograde planet to work better at times for its own efficacy and defense. - When a planet is retrograde, it possesses strength provided it is not malefic.
- Benefic planets in retrogression bestow good honor like kingdom (the present day political power) but the malefic planets as retrogrades, bring sorrow & pain.
- Retrograde planet if debilitated or in inimical sign in the main birth chart, or in Navamsha , will produce good results in its Dasha & Antardasha.
- A retrograde planet in 6, 8 & 12 houses shall produce bad results.
- A planet retrograde in its own sign shall produce good results.
- Retrograde planet if exalted will produce the results of debilitated planets & reverse shall be the case with debilitated planets if retrograde.
(The author is Jyotish Acharya
from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi).
