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Running With Scissors |
By Simon Chokoisky |
| In June 2014, having watched a particularly entertaining World Cup match that saw underdog Holland come from behind to trump a favored Spanish team, a thought sparked in my head. �You should pull the chart.� Casting the horoscope for the moment the match began might give me insight into why the game played out in such a dramatic fashion -- with the underdog winning 5 to 1 against the defending world champion- a mighty blowout by any standard! But how could I read it? Nah, too much work� �You should pull the chart.� C�mon, I just enjoyed the game, why go spoiling it racking my brain with Jyotisha analysis� �You should pull the chart� Okay, fine. I trust that inner voice, particularly when it�s so insistent, since it usually knows something I don�t. In this case, it knew that casting that horoscope would forever change my life. So I did -- easy since I had watched the game from the beginning and knew exactly when it started and where it was played. There was one problem, however -- there was no home team. Without a home team, how could I determine whether Holland or Spain should be assigned to the ascendant? Everyday Jyotisha logic says that the home team should be represented by the ascendant, but what about when both teams are �visitors�, as is the case in tournaments like the World Cup where many nations play, but only one country is host? The same place from which the first thought sparked, lit up again: �The Favorite gets the lagna.� Well, okay, I could go along with that -- after all, the favorite team is the one most people think will triumph; it gets first billing and therefore the seat of honor -- the lagna. But how to find the favored team? A Google search revealed the answer, and a link took me to one of the great modern hubs of sports traffic, an online betting site. There, I was smacked in the face by an intimidating barrage of decimal figures and terms like moneyline, pick, over/under, spread �a vernacular I hadn�t heard since my last trip to Las Vegas� (I should have payed more attention). Undeterred from my mission (to find the favorite team, remember?) I googled these terms and figured out that for the game I had watched, Holland was about a 4 to 1 underdog against the reigning world champions. In American odds it looked like this: Spain -118 Holland +408 The minus in front of Spain�s number indicates that they�re the favorite, and that you had to wager $118 to win $100 on top of that, BUT� a $100 wager on Holland would garner you $408 in addition to your $100 bet, if they won. Pretty good stuff. In European odds lingo it looked like this: Spain 1.85 Holland 5.08 Which means that for every dollar you wagered on Spain you would get .85 back in addition to your dollar if they won. For Holland, your dollar returned $4.08 in addition to your dollar wagered. Finally, in Indian odds, which are similar to US notation save for the decimal point, the bet looked like this: These are the actual odds for the game as reprented by www.oddsportal.com (About half a dozen methods for representing odds are used in sports investing circles. Among them, being a Yank, I have opted for the American method throughout this article. ) Spain -1.18 Holland 4.08 Where the team is in minus (-1.18) is is ALWAYS the favorite and the team with nothing or a + (4.08) is the underdog. So, why is this important to show, particularly if you�re not interested in gambling? Because it illustrates that, every day for practically every professional sport, a lot of thinking goes into deciding who is going to win a particular game, and by how much. Around the world, experts vested in understanding the outcome of matches give their opinion, and out of that comes a consensus on who is the favored team. That consensus, I have found, is the most important factor in determining the lagna of a game chart. Home Team vs. Favorite: Tying Down the Lagna In horary charts for questions like, Will I find my ring? the person asking the question (the querent) is usually represented by the lagna. The same is true in questions like Will the Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl? where the Pittsburgh Steelers are assigned to the ascendant, and their chances of winning are evaluated in the chart. That is because Pittsburg is the subject of the question, and regardless of whether they�re favored or not, there is shakti- energy and the desire to know- specifically referencing Pittsburgh and not the other team. This energy and interest are vital for discovering the outcome, as discussed earlier. The querent could have worded it otherwise, but they didn�t. Therefore Pittsburgh gets the lagna, regardless of whether they�re home or away, favorite or underdog. Now, if the question were: Who will win tonight�s game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland? you have two choices: 1. Cast a prashna (horary chart) for the question, OR 2. Erect an event chart for the moment the match begins. The second is the method followed in my book. This method, like looking at the birth horoscope of a person, allows us to examine the natal chart for a particular game without need for horaries. We can still supplement our analysis with prashna and read it separately from the game�s birth chart to give us a clearer picture of the outcome, but it is not absolutely necessary. The advantage of this method is that games with no clear home team pose no problem astrologically. Also, doing horary charts requires a strong desire to know, either on the part of a team supporter or on your part as an astrologer. But for the natal method, no such energy is required (which means you don�t need to hang around tailgates and parking lots anymore to find those rabid fans.) The disadvantage is that you have to know who is favored in every match in order to assign the lagna. This may entail visiting sports information sites like www.sportsinsights.com or www.oddsportal.com. It also means you have to become familiar with basic gambling notation to understand who is the favorite in a given matchup, and by how much. [Editor�s note: this article is an excerpt from Simon�s upcoming book which will give more information on how to do this.] To summarize, when looking at a matchup between two opponents with the techniques in my upcoming book, always take the favored competitor to be represented by the lagna, and their opponent by the seventh house. If you are still in a quandary after analyzing the chart this way, you can pull a prashna for clarity, as a second resort. A prashna is a chart for the moment a question is considered. A game chart is like a prashna, but it�s pulled for the moment a game begins, which is technically the birth of that event. Like human beings, games have a birth, lifespan, and a termination, and the arc of their existence can be represented by the horoscope just like a human lifespan. Everything that is born, lives and dies is a space time event. Sporting competitions are no exception. The birth chart of an event gives us the summary of its existence; for our purposes, whether the favorite team (represented by the lagna) will triumph or be defeated by the underdog (represented by the seventh house), and what the manner of that victory or defeat may be. �Everything That Is Born, Lives, And Dies Is A Space-Time Event. Sporting Competitions Are No Exception� The Upachaya Method- Judging Physical Strength Now, back to our game. Having assigned teams to the most important houses for outcome prediction (Spain, the favorite got the lagna, and Holland the underdog fell in the kalatra bhava I looked at the chart using the one tried and true method I understood: Malefics in Upachayas. This is the first technique we will consider, which says that the team with the most malefics in upachaya houses wins. Upachaya houses from the ascendant: 3, 6, 10, 11 Upachaya houses from the 7th house: 9, 12, 4, 5 In addition to this, a Jyotishical precept says that a person with malefics in their lagna will generally be �harder, � and more inclined to battle than one without. In fact, a simple rule for judging the outcome of a match is this: the team with the malefic in its lagna wins. Yes, well, don�t put the book down and run to your bookie just yet. This rough and ready method is great for a quick snapshot of a contender�s strength, but it doesn�t guarantee victory. Other prevailing factors like the nakshatra tara on the tenth cusp ,what�s happening in the navamsha , the sublords in , planets on cusps , or even the name of the teams involved ,-- all influence the outcome. which means that you�ll have to read the book to the end when it publishes, before running off to Las Vegas. I know, success isn�t easy. Thus, adding our malefics in the first house nugget to the Upachaya Method, we get: Victory houses from the ascendant: 1, 3, 6, 10, 11 Victory houses from the 7th house: 7, 9, 12, 4, 5 So, let�s now take a look at how this played out in our match. Here�s the chart: Spain (-118) vs. Holland (+408). (The Favorite is underlined*) June 13, 2014 16:00 Salvador, Brazil. *In addition to showing the American odds, the favorite will be underlined throughout this book for extra clarity. Quickly we can see that the Sun, a malefic, resided in the 7th house for the underdog, while the favorite had no such luck. Good news for everyone dressed in orange (Holland�s team colors- though they wore blue on the field that day). A look at the upachaya houses for each team shows that Holland has two (SA, RA in the 12th, which is the 6th from the seventh and therefore an upachaya house for the underdog). Spain also has two (MA and KE), but with the addition of the Sun, Holland wins out with more malefics in victory houses: 3-2. But wait, they won 5-1, didn�t they? How does this paltry margin exlain that? There must be something more. I took out my metaphorical magnifying glass and took a closer look. Nothing. Then my little voice cleared its throat: �Shubbha Sankhya Yoga�� Aha! Having trained to spot this while studying Sheshadri Iyer�s method of divisional chart interpretation, I noted the hemming of the seventh house by benefics (Ketu, though a malefic, doesn�t spoil this yoga since he is a chaya graha - an invisible planet.) Termed by most astrologers �Shubha Kartari Yoga,� (from here on out abbreviated SKY) this combination of natural benefics on either side of a house acts like a pair of guardian angels protecting the goal or basket of their team- a powerful force for good. The opposite, of course is true when two malefics hem a team�s house: in that case, they invite opponents to score and distract the owner of the house. Naughty angels! Here are some examples: Shubbha Kartari Yoga (SKY) for the ascendant. Here the ascendant is Aries, but it could have been any sign. What�s important is that it�s hemmed in by benefics Jupiter and Venus� and what benefics they are, both in their own signs, not only making them angels, but dignified ones - angels with attitude! We�ll see this in action a little bit later. This doesn�t have to be the case though- benefic grahas in ordinary status would work just fine, though debilitated ones, as in the example below, indicate far less support. This is an instance where the angels on your shoulder have their own problems- fighting off a bad cold or maybe even a hangover - to pay any serious attention to you. SKY with debilitated grahas - angels with a hangover And now an example of the opposite, Papa Kartari Yoga (PKY) Papa Kartari Yoga (PKY) of the ascendant formed by Saturn and Mars Note: For the purposes of this book, Rahu and Ketu do not participate in forming a PKY, nor do they seriously mar a SKY, as illustrated in the Holland example above, because they are shadow grahas- mathematical points in the sky- with no real substance. It is possible that, on top of a PKY formed by malefic grahas (any among Saturn, Sun, or Mars) the addition of Rahu/Ketu adds to their negative effect. But for the sake of our predictions and this technique, you can mostly ignore them. Don�t worry though, they�ll be back packing a punch. �Lucy in the SKY with diamonds�� Teams with a Shubbha Kartari Yoga protecting their lagna do better than expected. That doesn�t mean they always win, however. Check out this example: Brazil (-278) vs. Mexico (+810) June 17, 2014, 16:00 Fortaleza, Brazil Here, the favored Brasilians had two malefics in upachaya houses (KE and MA) against Mexico�s SA and RA- an even matchup. However, an even matchup of upachaya planets suggests that both teams will play with the same physical force and toughness, which means the favorite is still likely to win since they are generally considered the better squad. For a Mexico victory, we would like to see a clear dominance of malefics in victory houses. To borrow a phrase from boxing, �To be the champ, you gotta beat the champ�- to triumph against a better opponent, you have to play above your average game. Astrologically speaking, this means that you need convincing evidence for an underdog victory- the bigger the dog, the more evidence required. However, the trick card up Mexico�s sleeve is the beautiful SKY yoga formed by Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus. Wait, you say, what about SU and KE? Don�t they do anything to mar this combination? Good eye. Yes, the presence of SU and even KE in the SKY forming houses mars the yoga, but does not cancel it. Remember, everything in astrology is cumulative -- having both millionaire and pauper combinations doesn�t mean your finances will average out: more likely, you�ll experience very high highs, along with very low lows, both in the same lifetime. Astrology, and the karma it indicates, is cumulative. For this yoga, SU and KE made the job Mexico�s angels had to do much harder, with miraculous saves by Mexico�s goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. It is also why they didn�t win. Even so, one commentator suggested they build statues to Ochoa in Mexico City. A more level-headed appraisal came after the game: �The Estadio Castelao crowd was treated to one of the most entertaining goalless draws in FIFA World Cup� history as Mexican goalkeeper Memo Ochoa put in a performance for the ages.� What made it even more lucky, countering the negative effects of SU and KE, was the presence of Mercury with the SKY, giving the angels some relief and ensuring that no goals came through. Lesson? Your angels may not be enough to win, but they will almost always ensure a �lucky� or better-than-expected performance for the team they protect. By the same token, the little devils in a PK yoga ensure that your team will endure more tough breaks and hardships than expected. What Happened Next At the suggestion of my little voice, I looked at the schedule for the following day�s games. Here�s what I found: Costa Rica (+850) vs. Uruguay (-210) (The favorite is underlined) June 14, 2014. 16;00 Fortaleza, Brazil IF you said it looked a lot like the Holland chart, you�d be right. Granted, the moon has moved about 15 degrees, but it is still in the same rashi and the rest of the planets are right where we left them, more or less. This is amazing, I thought, it�s the same rashi chart, therefore the same result should be expected. With my full faith as a neophyte still not disabused by negative experience, I ventured out on a major limb - to bet on this game and see if I was right. I wagered $75, fifty bucks of my own money, and a $25 bonus from the bookmaker. I swore I�d donate part or all of it to humanity, and didn�t tell a soul. The result? Uruguay scored first on a penalty, just like the Holland-Spain game where champions Spain opened with a penalty of their own. And just like that game, the even bigger dogs Costa Rica (+850) came back to win in a �miraculous� second half that witnessed three unanswered goals from their side. With fingernails chewed to the bone, I emerged with an unambiguous conclusion: Jyotisha works. So why did this underdog win, but only a draw for the Mexico game, played a few days later? Take a look at the Sun. In the Holland chart, SU, a malefic, sits in the underdog�s lagna, a Victory house, boosting their strength and competitiveness. In Mexico�s chart, the SU has moved to the eighth house, where it not only loses its Victory house position, but mars the otherwise brilliant SKY yoga. Thus, instead of shocking the hometown favorite Brazilians with a brilliant victory, the Mexican squad shocked Brasil with a brilliant tie. Make sense? That week followed with further games proving this fact, and the Upachaya technique which shows that teams with malefics in victory houses (1, 3, 6, 10, 11 from the lagna) are physically strong and aggressive. Teams without these lack vigor. Physical strength isn�t the only determinant for victory, but it�s a great start. Simon Chokoisky's Biography:
Simon has written for Namarupa, and is a regular contributor to Ayurveda Today, and Yoga Magazine. Along with his full-time duties at the Ayurvedic Institute, Simon also travels widely giving seminars. Contact Information: He may be reached at [email protected] or 602-574-0248 |
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| Jyotish Star Copyright 2015 C. C. Collins - All Rights Reserved |