Double Trouble Or Saving Grace?

The Results Of Vargottama, Debilitated Planets

By Marc Boney M.A.

Copyright: All Rights Reserved 2016

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 Dedicated to Shri K.N. Rao

Who ignited in me the light of Jyotisha

“Jyotisha is the art of seeing light, of guiding, of counseling based on the

truth called the horoscope. Jyotisha is the pathway to God through the
mazes of intuitions and the brilliance of an organized science, like any other
science. Jyotisha is the fusion of the divine with the mundane, the
metaphysical with the scientific methodology, a divine chorus of the music of
the heavens and the dance of the stars. It is that divine ballet, Jyotisha,
which is at once both a divinity and science that we are presenting.”

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Classroom Hijacker

In the spring of 2014 I was invited to teach in Russia for the second time in a lovely
resort town on the Black Sea named Anapa. I was sharing the podium with another close
associate of K.N. Rao's, and a good-sized group of over 50 students attended. Those who
have seen me teach know that I prefer a lively, interactive classroom and that I teach in
the Socratic style, displaying charts and posing questions with different learning points in
mind.

As I began to do this in my first presentation in Anapa, a young man seated towards the
front raised his hand frequently and when I called on him he would answer my question,
but then he would make many unsolicited comments about the chart in question. After
about the third time this happened, it made me wonder if he was trying to impress me
with his knowledge of Jyotisha. When this continued it dawned on me that he was
actually trying to impress the other students; I later learned he was also a teacher and had
recently been intent on making a name for himself.

Unsolicited comments later turned into his taking exception with points about charts that
I was making, which he would then want to debate. I don't mind being challenged in a
classroom and recognize that a healthy dialogue about the many controversies and gray
areas in Jyotisha can be quite productive at times, however, in this case it began to be
quite disruptive and distracting from the main topic upon which I was presenting. It felt
like my classroom was being "high jacked" and I simply stopped responding to his raised
hand. Subsequently, he stopped attending my presentations, confirming my suspicions
that he had not really been there to learn.

Vargottama, Debilitated Planets

Why do I mention this story? One of the issues he wanted to debate is the behavior of
debilitated planets who are also vargottama, something that is a source of controversy in
the world of Jyotisha. In retrospect, I now feel a debt of gratitude to this contentious
person because this incident prompted me to make a deeper, more systematic study of
such planets. Until then, my view was based on just a few charts I had studied of famous
people who had such planets and what had happened in their life when they ran its major
period. I decided I wanted to be better prepared the next time this question came up in a
classroom setting, with many examples on hand to support my point of view. It is an
important question, and one that any student eventually encounters. Such planets present
one of the many paradoxical situations within Jyotisha in which a planet is in a strong
and/or favorable condition, yet at the same time a weak and/or unfavorable one. How
then to judge and make an accurate interpretation?

I don't recall my own teacher, K.N, Rao, ever expressing his view on this issue, either in
a classroom or in his voluminous writings. Nor can I recall ever seeing anything about it
in the Sanskrit classics of Jyotisha. My approach then has been entirely empirical.

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However, in attempting to study the question objectively, one immediately encounters a
problem known in the statistical sciences as "confounding variables." This means that
when trying to determine cause and effect, the cause of an effect you are trying to isolate
and evaluate can get "confounded" or muddled by other factors or variables.

The effect of debilitation is to make a planet weak and therefore incapable of giving good
results. All its significations are said to suffer as well as the indications of the houses that
it rules. Yogas in which such planets are configured will not yield their fruit according to
this concept. Yet every first-year student of Jyotisha learns that there are many
conditions that bring about a cancellation of the debility and greatly modify the results
such a planet gives. (For a detailed exposition of these, see my article An Enigma
Wrapped in a Mystery.) It is only truly debilitated planets that behave so unfavorably, as
Venus in the chart below.

Normally, the 10th lord placed in the 9th house forms a very good raja yoga. However,
in the case of Capricorn lagna, this puts the 10th lord Venus in its debilitation sign.
There is really no major factor for neecha bhanga here, and without revealing details, it
suffices to say that all the significations of Venus have suffered in her life.

Vargottama planets, on the other hand, are said to gain great strength as a result of being
in the same sign in both the birth chart and the navamsha, meaning "the best division."
Yogas containing such planets should get empowered as in the case of former U.S.
President Bill Clinton's vargottama Jupiter, forming Kesari Yoga. He became President
in his Jupiter period. This planet is also the 7th lord of his birth chart and it is well
known what a high-powered wife he has.

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In the case of planets that are both debilitated and vargottama the question then becomes:

 Are planets that are debilitated in both the birth chart and the navamsha twice
debilitated, making them worse or "double trouble?

 Or does the fact that they are vargottama become something of a "saving grace"
enabling such planets to have some strength and to give better results? In other
words, does it become something like neecha bhanga?

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Confounding variables would be any other special condition such planets might be in that
could modify these two conditions and also account for the kind of results it gives.

Before exploring this question we must first comprehend at what degrees and minutes of
the Zodiac each planet is in this paradoxical condition of simultaneous debilitation and
vargottama.

Planet Debilitation Sign Vargottama

Sun Libra 0⁰ to 3⁰20’
Moon Scorpio 13⁰20’ to 16⁰40’
Mars Cancer 0⁰ to 3⁰20’
Mercury Pisces 26⁰40’ to 30⁰
Jupiter Capricorn 0⁰ to 3⁰20’
Venus Virgo 26⁰40’ to 30⁰
Saturn Aries 0⁰ to 3⁰20’

If you take Taurus and Scorpio as the exaltation signs of Rahu and Ketu respectively, as I
do, then when they are in the opposite signs between 13-20 and 16-40, they are in this
debilitated but vargottama condition.

Vargottama, Debilitated Sun

The chart of the famous Irish playwright Oscar Wilde has this feature, and he ran the
Sun's mahadasha at the very prime of life between ages 35 and 41.

His is an especially good example to assess since the Sun is also his lagna lord. It
participates in two significant yogas, a true Budhaditya Yoga giving "splendor of the

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intellect" and an Ubhayachari Yoga, in which all the planets involved have sources of
strength. Note the exchange between Mercury and Venus. This latter yoga, brought
about when grahas, other than the Moon or the Nodes, appear on both sides of the Sun
can make one very prominent. The focal point of both these yogas involving a
debilitated, vargottama Sun is the 3rd house of "quick writing" which would include
articles, short stories, movie scripts and plays.

The known fact of his life is that during his Sun period Oscar Wilde experienced the peak
of his celebrity and great fame as a playwright and produced the works for which he is
most known, including The Importance of Being Earnest. What is also true is that in the
last sub-period, that of Sun-Venus, with both in their debilitation signs and with Venus
falling in the 12th from the Sun (dasha lagna), he was imprisoned for engaging in
homosexual acts, which at the time was a crime in England. In other words, his Sun
period was truly paradoxical in that it brought about a great rise but also a great fall.

Vargottama, Debilitated Moon

Hollywood leading man Rock Hudson had his greatest success as a movie star in his
Venus major period, but continued to star in TV dramas and appear in movies in the
following mahadashas of the Sun and the Moon. These luminaries are together in his 3rd
house of the dramatic arts, along with Mercury the 1st and 10th lord.

They are flanked by two natural benefics on one side and two natural malefics on the
other, giving both Ubhayachari Yoga and Durudhara Yoga. At 15-28 of Scorpio his
Moon is both in its debilitation sign and vargottama, in addition to being a very dark,
New Moon (amavasya).

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The Moon major period brought about something of a revival of his career, for example,
when he became a guest star on the very popular primetime TV soap opera, Dynasty, in
the Moon-Venus period. Yet six months later he died from AIDS-related complications
in Moon-Venus-Sun. Again, we see a vargottama, debilitated planet giving quite
paradoxical results.

Parenthetically, the role of primary marakas in his death can also be seen. As the 2nd
lord, Venus is a maraka for his Virgo lagna conjunct another one, the 7th lord Jupiter,
and Venus falls in the 2nd from dasha lagna with the 2nd lord.

Vargottama, Debilitated Mars

A vargottama, debilitated Mars also gave best-selling author Stephen King quite
paradoxical results.

Mars is the yogakaraka planet for his Cancer lagna involved in a dramatic Maharaja
Yoga brought about by a 1-5 exchange with the Moon, which gets further enhanced by
the involvement of the 9th lord Jupiter. These combinations give equally dramatic dhana
yogas. During his Moon and Mars major periods he reigned supreme among authors of
popular fiction in the U.S.

However, Mars is also a natural malefic in the lagna with the 7th and 8th lord Saturn,
forming arishta yoga. The very first part of his Mars period found him dealing with
severe injuries from having been struck by a car while hiking on the side of a road in June
of 1999. The accident nearly killed him.

From Wikipedia:

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"King was conscious enough to give the deputy phone numbers to contact his family, but
was in considerable pain. The author was first transported to Northern Cumberland
Hospital in Bridgton and then flown by helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center
(CMMC) in Lewiston, Maine. His injuries — a collapsed right lung, multiple fractures of
his right leg, scalp laceration and a broken hip — kept him at CMMC until July 9. His
leg bones were so shattered that doctors initially considered amputating his leg, but
stabilized the bones in the leg with an external fixator. After five operations in ten days
and physical therapy, King resumed work on “On Writing” in July, though his hip was
still shattered and he could sit for only about forty minutes before the pain became
unbearable."

Do you see how his debilitated, vargottama Mars is giving both very good results as far
as fame and fortune, but also very bad results regarding his health? However, it must be
stated in his case that the strong raja and dhana yoga results that his Mars gave could be
attributable to another factor. An exchange is the strongest way in my experience that
debilitation gets cancelled and since Mars is in an angle, it gives neecha bhanga raja
yoga. This could be one of those "confounding variables" mentioned earlier.

Vargottama, Debilitated Mercury

Hollywood movie star Michelle Pfeiffer has her Mercury at 26-44 of its debilitation sign,
Pisces, which makes it vargottama as well.

It is with Venus in its exaltation sign, a major factor for cancelling Mercury's debility,
and they form both raja and dhana yoga. She has not yet run her Mercury major period
and won't until she is in her 80's, but in Mars-Mercury and Rahu-Mercury she appeared
in lead roles in major motion pictures, so Mercury does not appear to be giving too weak
a result. She's earned millions through her cinematic career, such that Mercury's

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participation in dhana yoga as the 2nd lord of her chart seems to be operating just fine.
She has two children, with Mercury ruling the 5th house as well.

What negative result Mercury in its debilitation sign might be bringing into her life is
difficult to discern. As a maraka 7th lord it may bring her demise, but it becomes eligible
to do that whether debilitated and vargottama or not.

Vargottama, Debilitated Jupiter

In the late 1990's I was asked to work on the birth chart of singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt
and encountered a debilitated, vargottama Jupiter. Her greatest success and resultant
fame and fortune came in her Saturn mahadasha. Shortly after moving into this period
she won five Grammys in one night, something I wrote about in my article A Night at the
Grammy Awards. She is listed as number 50 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100
Greatest Singers of All Time" and number 89 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists
of All Time".

But it was the prior 16-year Jupiter period that most interested me, given this planet's
unique condition. As the 9th lord in the 10th it gives raja yoga, and without a doubt this
period brought her considerable success as well, though not on par with the Saturn dasha.

From Wikipedia:

"1977's Sweet Forgiveness album gave Raitt her first commercial breakthrough when it
yielded a hit single in her Cover of “Runaway.” Recast as a heavy rhythm and blues
recording based on a rhythmic groove inspired by Al Green, Raitt's version of
"Runaway" was disparaged by many critics. However, the song's commercial success
prompted a bidding war for Raitt between Warner Bros. and Columbia Records. "There

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was this big Columbia–Warner war going on at the time", recalled Raitt in a 1990
interview. “James Taylor had just left Warner Bros. and made a big album for
Columbia... And then, Warner signed Paul Simon away from Columbia, and they didn't
want me to have a hit record for Columbia – no matter what! So, I renegotiated my
contract, and they basically matched Columbia's offer. Frankly the deal was a really big
deal."

This coincided with her Jupiter-Mercury period, with Mercury falling in the 10th from
dasha lagna along with the Sun.

Then consider the fact that she had a famous father, Broadway musical star John Raitt.
Jupiter is her 9th lord and falls in the 9th from a strong Chandra lagna.

If this is the kind of doubly weak results that a debilitated planet gives then we should all
wish for them! However, before jumping to any conclusions, it needs to be noted that
neecha bhanga raja yoga could be a confounding variable here again since Jupiter's
dispositor Saturn falls in an angle from a strong Moon. What also should be noted is that
the Jupiter mahadasha brought alcohol and drug addiction into her life, something that
she did not break free of until she moved out of this period.

From Wikepedia:

"Raitt used alcohol and drugs, but began psychotherapy and joined Alcoholics
Anonymous in the late 1980s. She has said "I thought I had to live that partying lifestyle
in order to be authentic, but in fact if you keep it up too long, all you're going to be is
sloppy or dead."

I suspect Jupiter's conjunction with Rahu in her navamsha may have had something to do
with this from the astrological standpoint.

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I mention this substance abuse problem because it raises the question again of a
debilitated, vargottama condition giving strength to a planet and any yoga in which it
participates, yet also potentially being problematic in some other way or giving a "fall" of
some sort.

Vargottama, Debilitated Venus

The television show M.A.S.H, which appeared for 11 season from 1972 to 1983, was one
the most popular and beloved TV shows of all time in the U.S. Actress Loretta Swit
played one of the main characters, nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, for the duration.

This time period encompassed all of her Ketu dasha, with Ketu giving the results of
Venus and the very first part of her Venus mahadasha. Her Venus is in its debilitation
sign, vargottama. It is also involved in an exchange with its sign lord, Mercury.

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To understand how Ketu brought such stardom giving the results of Venus, the chart has
to been seen from dasha lagna Taurus from where the mutual glance between Venus and
Saturn becomes a very superior raja yoga. However, since Venus is karaka of
relationships and also the 7th lord of her chart in its debilitation sign and aspected by
Saturn, one might expect difficult karma in this area of her life. She did not marry until
she was 46 years old and divorced in Venus-Saturn.

Vargottama, Debilitated Saturn

The chart of legendary performer Tina Turner has one of the most intriguing examples of
a debilitated, vargottama Saturn I have yet come across.

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Look at all the differing conditions that it is in:

 Debilitated
 Vargottama
 Gandanta
 Retrograde
 Parivartana yoga with Mars in both the rashi and the navamsha
 Hemmed by two strong and well placed benefics
 Placed in the strongest angle
 Closely connected to the Rahu-Ketu axis and in Ketu's nakshatra.

Naturally, when I first saw this chart I was very curious about the results the Saturn
period and sub-periods produced. I started by researching Rahu-Saturn (roughly age 19
to 22), given that Rahu will give Saturn's results to some extent. I found that it was
indeed a fateful period and sub-period.

She was born Anna Mae Bullock and in Rahu-Saturn she and her sister began frequenting
a nightclub in East St. Louis that featured a band, The Kings of Rhythms, led by Ike
Tuner. From Wikipedia:

"One night, 18-year-old Anna was given a microphone by Kings of Rhythm drummer
Gene Washington during an intermission. Upon hearing her sing, Ike asked her if she
knew more songs, she was allowed to sing that night, becoming a guest vocalist from then
on. Through this period, Ike taught her the points of voice control and performance. Her
first studio recording was in 1958, singing background under the name "Little Ann" on
the Ike Turner song, "Box Top", alongside singer Carlson Oliver."

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Not long afterwards she got personally involved with the older Ike who had her change
her name to Tina. Note how Saturn is in the 7th house from Rahu. They married in the
subsequent period of Rahu-Mercury (two grahas are together in the D-9) and became the
famous Ike and Tina Turner show.

The paradox of Rahu-Saturn can best be understood by seeing the chart from dasha
lagna, Libra. On the one hand this period launched her career and this happened through
the agency of the relationship with Ike Turner, as Saturn is the 7th lord of her birth chart
and falls 7th from dasha lagna. For Libra, Saturn becomes the yogakaraka planet placed
in the 7th house, so very favorably hemmed by natural benefics. The exchange with
Mars now becomes a 5-7 raja yoga. With its debility strongly cancelled in both the rashi
and navamsha and given its vargottama status, Saturn as a sub-period lord gave very
strong results with regards to the yogas in which it participates. The Rahu major period,
giving the results of Saturn, made her a world famous recording artist and performer.
This is the positive side. The sinister side is the fact that it was an emotionally and
physically abusive relationship in which Ike hit her. In her autobiography:

"She recalled the first time Ike physically abused her began after she told him she was
considering leaving Ike's group due to financial disputes and their own confusing
relationship. Tina said Ike grabbed a shoe stretcher and hit her in the head with it.
Afterwards, Tina said, Ike asked her to have sex with him. Tina wrote in her memoirs,” I,
Tina,” that the incident was the first time Ike had "instilled fear" in her."

She goes on to recount that during rehearsals Ike routinely slapped her when she hit a
wrong singing note. Before a show in Los Angeles in 1968, Tina tried to commit suicide
by swallowing 50 Valiums after a fight with Ike. It was her Rahu-Sun period, with the
Sun falling in the 2nd house from Rahu. Shortly thereafter she filed for divorce, but in

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order to get away from this abusive relationship she eventually had to run and hide from
him. Note again the strong influence of Mars on her 7th lord Saturn given the exchange.

As a major period lord, it is quite clear that Saturn gave exceptionally strong results if
you look at what happened in this period, especially considering that Saturn is the
yogakaraka 9th and 10th lord in the 12th house of foreign countries. Though in her 50s,
she recorded a number of very successful albums, with many major hit songs, including
what is considered her signature, “The Best” from her 1989 album Foreign Affair. She
did four world tours during this period and played to sold out audiences, including
180,000 in a stadium in Rio de Janeiro, earning her a place in the Guinness Book of
World Records. By the end of her Saturn period Guinness World Records announced that
Tina Turner had sold more concert tickets than any other solo concert performer in music
history. Of course, all this success made her very wealthy. Using Saturn’s position in
Aries as dasha lagna, see that the exchange with Mars becomes a powerful dhana yoga.

Also during her Saturn mahadasha her life became more and more foreign-based as she
purchased homes in Europe and other locations around the world. She eventually
married the German music executive Erwin Bach, gave up her U.S. citizenship and is
now a Swiss citizen living in that country. Note again the influence of the Rahu-Ketu
axis on her 7th lord Saturn and on her 4th house.

Discussion

I have now shown seven examples in which the Sun, Moon and each of the five planets
are in a vargottama, debilitated state. All but Michelle Pfeiffer's Mercury were those of
major period lords that produced very strong results related to yogas in which they are
configured. Though this is a very small sample size, there is the temptation to quickly
jump to the conclusion that vargottama, debilitated planets certainly do not create a
doubly weakened or doubly unfavorable condition. The problem with such a conclusion
is those "confounding variables." Many of these debilitated planets are in other
conditions that strongly alter this weakened/unfavorable one.

 Stephen King's Mars is in a parivartana yoga

 Michelle Pfeiffer's Mercury is with an exalted planet
 Bonnie Raitt's Jupiter gets some cancellation since it dispositor falls in an angle
from a strong Moon
 Loretta Swit's Venus is in a parivartana yoga
 Tina Turner's Saturn is in a parivartana yoga in both the birth chart and the D-9

Oscar Wilde's Sun and Rock Hudson's Moon are the only ones that appear truly
debilitated. Wilde's Sun, however, is with a planet involved in an exchange which in my
experience also appears to help offset debility. It becomes difficult to gauge then how
much of the strength these planets exhibited comes from being in some other special
condition like parivartana yoga or from being vargottama.

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In all instances but one, these doubly debilitated planets also produced some very
unfavorable results which brought significant suffering, particularly those that did not
have cancellation. Wilde's Sun period brought public humiliation and prison while
Hudson's Moon period brought health complications related to AIDS that killed him. In
the case of Michelle Pfeiffer's Mercury, this could not be judged since she's not yet run
that major period.

Some preliminary conclusions that can be extracted from these seven samples are:

 The strength that a planet receives from a vargottama placement appears to

continue to hold true even if in its debilitation sign. Such a planet apparently still
gives the results strongly of any yoga in which it is configured.

 If such a debilitated planet is also in strong neecha bhanga conditions, such as

parivartana yoga, or being in conjunction with an exalted planet, then it appears
to become rather a "powerhouse" that gives the results of any yogas in which it is
configured very strongly. Stephen King's Mars, Loretta Swit's Venus and Tina
Turner's Saturn all fall in this category and gave spectacular results in terms of
worldly success, fame and fortune.

 Just like with the condition of neecha bhanga, being vargottama does not appear
to override the additional unfavorable results and suffering that debilitated
planets seem to oftentimes bring in their major periods. The person still appears
to take a "fall" in some way at some point.

More Illustrations

I will now show a number of other cases of vargottama, debilitated planets in the charts
of public figures whose life events and timing can be independently verified, but in rapid
succession with a minimum of analysis and commentary.

You won't recognize the name Benita Valente unless you are an opera aficionado. She is
a distinguished American soprano who performed regularly at the Met in New York and
the Times of that city once referred to her as "a gifted a singer as we have today,
worldwide." As you examine her birth chart, keep in mind that voice and speech are
indications of the 2nd house.

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In her birth chart the yogakaraka 10th lord Mars is in the 2nd house of the voice, but see
that her 2nd lord is a vargottama, debilitated Sun. Then note the influence of all the
natural benefics and artistic planets on the Sun. It is with Jupiter and Mercury and is in
Venus's sign, with a parivartana yoga between Mercury and Venus.

In her navamsha, the Sun and Venus exchange signs thereby gaining strength and Jupiter
is in its moolatrikona sign.

Her remarkable career spanned four decades and she performed well into her 60s which
included a portion of her Sun mahadasha.

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From Wikipedia:

"In 1999 she was the recipient of the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, the
highest honor bestowed by Chamber Music America, for her contributions to chamber
music - the first vocalist to be so honored in the 20-year history of the award."

This would have been either Sun-Moon or Sun-Mars.

The Sun is with the Moon in the 9th house of the D-10 and in the sign of Mars.

Earl Thomas Conley is a legendary country western music star.

From Wikipedia:

"In the 1980s and into the 1990s, Conley also charted more than thirty singles on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which eighteen reached Number One. Conley's
eighteen Billboard Number One country singles during the 1980s marked the most
Number One hits by any artist in any genre during that decade except for Alabama and
Ronnie Milsap.

Throughout his career, Conley's music has been referred to as "thinking man's country."
This is because the narrator looks into the heart and soul of his characters in each song"

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All of this great success came after he moved into his Rahu major period in 1981. The
dasha of this chaaya graha is of interest here because, being in Leo, it gives the results of
his lagna lord Sun who is debilitated but vargottama in his 3rd house of the performing
arts.

Its debility gets cancelled since its sign lord Venus is in an angle from both the lagna and
the Moon, but notice that Venus is also vargottama. Initial major success came in Rahu-
Jupiter with this sub-period lord in the 10th and configured in multiple raja yogas.

Gary Puckett is another singer/musician who achieved great success and fame in a Rahu
period giving the results of a vargottama, debilitated Sun. His Rahu gives the results
exclusively of the Sun since there are no other planetary influences on it.

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In early1968 his band, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, released an album which
included a number of songs that reached the top 10, including the title song, Woman,
Woman. It was his Rahu-Venus-Sun period, with the latter two grahas exchanging signs
in the navamsha. From dasha lagna Leo, Venus is the 3rd lord and the Sun is in the 3rd
house of the performing arts.

How his Rahu, giving the results of the Sun, gives raja yoga is an interesting thing to
consider. I see it as another instance of "That Great Parashara Exception" in which a
debilitated planet in the 6th house gives raja yoga according to Parashara Hora.

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Whereas Gary Puckett had a relatively brief period of stardom, Kenny Loggins has had
four decades of great success in the music industry. His chart contains a vargottama,
debilitated Moon.

It is of particular interest to me because for his Taurus lagna the Moon is the 3rd lord of
the performing arts forming Gaja Kesari Yoga in his 7th house Scorpio.

In his navamsha the yoga repeats, with Jupiter now gaining strength from it exchange
with Saturn.

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His initial and most notable success came in his Venus major period, and it is not difficult
to see why. As the 1st lord in the 9th in a mutual glance with his yogakaraka Saturn, it
gives a superior raja yoga. From the dasha lagna Capricorn, this combination continues
to form a superior raja yoga.

One major career highlight came in Venus-Jupiter when he was nominated for an
Academy Award for the song Footloose, which he had written and performed for a
popular movie of that title. As it so often does, his dashamsha tells that story.

Venus is in its own sign and Jupiter falls in the 10th from Venus in Aquarius and in an
exchange with its sign lord Saturn.

However, his success as a musician has continued unabated in both his Sun and Moon
mahadashas and it is interesting to consider why. From the birth lagna, the Sun-Mercury
combination is the conjunction of the 5th and 4th lords giving raja yoga, yet falling in the
8th house. This is part of the explanation. But then consider this planetary duo from
dasha lagna when he runs the Sun major period from 1993 to 1999.

Now, Sun-Mercury becomes the best raja yoga from this perspective and the center piece
of a superior Shubha Ubhayachari Yoga since natural benefics are in houses on both
sides. Mercury additionally gives Subha Sunapha Yoga as a natural benefic falling in the
2nd house from the Moon. Not surprisingly, Sun-Mercury coincided with more musical
accolades. From Wikipedia:

"During recent years Loggins has continued to record and produce adult contemporary
music and scored a No. 1 single on the Billboard AC chart during 1997 with "For The
First Time" (his Oscar-nominated song from One Fine Day)."

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However, it was the Moon major period that most interested me given the topic under
investigation. His Moon is very dark and waning and in its debilitation sign of Scorpio,
yet it is also vargottama. There are multiple factors for cancellation since the dispositor
Mars is in an angle from both the birth lagna and the Moon and aspects the Moon. So
what kind of results did the Moon period give from 1999 to 2009? Judge for yourself
from these Wikipedia notations:

"In 2005, Loggins and Messina performed a successful nationwide tour that resulted in
the CD and DVD Loggins and Messina Sittin' In Again.

During 2007 Loggins joined the new recording company “180 Music” for the release of
his “How About Now” album. That year he was also inducted into Hollywood’s Sunset
Boulevard Rock Walk.

On July 31, 2008, Loggins appeared on the TV program Don't Forget the Lyrics! and
performed "I'm Alright" and "Footloose".

In 2009 Loggins and Messina successfully toured the USA and Canada, reviving their
"Sittin' In Again tour".

Though in his 50s during this period, and no doubt in the twilight of his career, this is
considerable success by any measure. So I ask you, does it appear that his Moon is
giving weak results as his 3rd lord of the performing arts and as a constituent of Gaja
Kesari Yoga?

The birth chart of operatic star Kathleen Battle shows the exact same Gaja Kesari Yoga
for her Taurus lagna in which a vargottama, debilitated Moon becomes the 3rd lord.

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Her Moon is bright and waxing and is involved in a parivartana yoga in the D-9.

Again it does not appear that 3rd house significations are suffering at all, quite the
contrary.

Since my theme here seems to be recording artists, see the chart of country western
musical star Naomi Judd as an example of another vargottama, debilitated Mars.

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Like we saw in the chart of Stephen King her vargottama, debilitated Mars is the
yogakaraka 10th and 5th lord in the 1st house. Hers is also in an exchange with the
lagna lord Moon, but in her case it is a powerful 1-10 raja yoga-giving parivartana yoga.

She was a struggling single mother of three before moving into her Mars major period,
during which time she and her daughter became the singing duo known as The Judds and
became the absolute Queens of Nashville and country western music.

From Wikipedia:

"As country music's most famous mother–daughter team, The Judds scored twenty top-10
hits (including fifteen at number one) and went undefeated for eight consecutive years at
all three major country music awards shows. In addition, the duo won five Grammy
Awards and a vast array of other awards and honors. As a songwriter, Naomi also won
a Grammy for country song of the year with the Judds' hit "Love Can Build a Bridge".

This is what I mean by my observation that a vargottama, debilitated planet under the
right conditions can be become a real "powerhouse."

The initial success came in Mars-Saturn and Mars-Mercury and again the D-10 tells the
story.

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Mars is the yogakaraka planet again with Saturn and Mercury in her dashamsha.

General Norman H. Schwarzkopf is one the most renowned U.S. military men in recent
history. He led allied forces in Operation Desert Storm against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi
army when they invaded and occupied Kuwait.

As can be seen, here is a renowned career soldier with a vargottama, debilitated Mars in
the 1st house as the yogakaraka planet. His also gets some cancellation since it is
aspected by its sign lord Moon.

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He ran his Mars period at a young age, 14 to 21, and it gave him considerable academic
and athletic success as you might expect for that time of life.

From Wikipedia:

"He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy (a high school). He was also a
member of Mensa International. Schwarzkopf graduated valedictorian out of his class of
150, and his IQ was tested at 168".

"Schwarzkopf then attended the United States Military Academy, where he played
football, wrestled, sang and conducted the West Point Chapel choir. His large frame,
6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) in height and weighing 240 pounds (110 kg) was advantageous in
athletics. He graduated 43rd of 480 in the class of 1956 with a Bachelor of Engineering
degree. Norman later earned a Masters of Engineering at the University of Southern
California."

See the chart of another famous military man, this time as an example of a vargottama,
debilitated Mercury.

From Wikipedia:

"Erich Hartmann was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most
successful fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions
and participated in aerial combat on 825 separate occasions. He claimed, and was
credited with, shooting down 352 Allied aircraft—345 Soviet and 7 American—while
serving with the Luftwaffe. During the course of his career, Hartmann was forced to
crash-land his fighter 14 times due to damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he

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had just shot down or mechanical failure. Hartmann was never shot down or forced to
land due to enemy fire.

After reading this account of his aerial combat record during the war, I was struck by
how incredibly lucky this man was, and wondered about the role of the 9th house/lord
and Jupiter in his life for this to be so. I discovered that all of his experiences this way
took place in his Rahu-Rahu and Rahu-Jupiter periods. Rahu is in the 9th house of luck
with the planet of luck, Jupiter, and aspected by the 9th lord Mercury in an exchange with
Jupiter, effectively cancelling its debility.

By their mutual aspect, Mercury and Saturn form a conventional 1-9, angle-trine raja
yoga, and as a debilitated planet in the 3rd house with a well-placed lagna lord, Mercury
also appears to give the result of the unusual raja yoga brought about by debilitated
planets in the 3rd house. Vipareeta raja yoga could apply here as well since Mercury is
the 6th lord in the 3rd. I emphasis the condition of Mercury because
Rahu as a major period lord gives this planets results, along with that of Saturn and
Jupiter.

From dasha lagna, Mercury is also involved in multiple powerful raja yogas with the
aspect of the 8th lord Mars of combat.

Former Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner has made a lot of headlines in recent history
when he decided to become a woman. But it is the time period when he became "the
world's greatest athlete" as the decathlon winner that interests me, since the timing
involves his vargottama, debilitated Jupiter, although indirectly. It happened in the
summer of 1976 in his Rahu-Mercury-Moon period.

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The first thing that should be seen about his chart is that Jupiter is the 3rd lord of sports
and competition for his Libra lagna and is conjunct the 10th lord Moon forming Gaja
Kesari Yoga. The second thing is that Rahu, the major period lord that brought this
athletic glory, is in Jupiter's sign and is both aspected by an exalted Mercury and falls in
Mercury's nakshatra, Revati

In other words, Rahu is giving the results of Jupiter and the Gaja Kesari Yoga that it
forms with the Moon, resulting in lasting fame for an athletic performance. Jupiter's
dispositor is Saturn, his yogakaraka planet in the 11th house of honors and awards with
Mars the karaka of athletic competition.

I have often been asked the question of how to distinguish when a 3rd lord is going to
give an athletic performance versus an artistic one. My observation is that it has to do
with the involvement of natural malefics and their signs and nakshatras for athletes, and
the opposite for artists. In Jenner's case, his 3rd lord Jupiter is in the sign of a malefic,
the nakshatra of a malefic and its dispositor is with the malefic Mars. The only other
influence is the Moon, also under these conditions.

The next chart is that of the notable author James Ramon Jones who used his experiences
as a combatant in World War II to write bestselling novels involving wartime settings.
He is most known for From Here to Eternity which was adopted into a screenplay and
became a famous classic film. This was first published in 1951 and the Modern Library
Board later named it one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

It is easy to see his inclination towards writing since one of the two houses associated
with authorship, the 3rd, has five grahas. These include the 5th lord of authorship and
one of the karakas of authorship, Jupiter.

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My interest in his birth chart, however, stems from the fact that amid this conglomeration
of planets in his 3rd house is a vargottama, debilitated Venus. It is also in parivartana
yoga with Mercury.

From Here to Eternity was first published in 1951 in his Rahu-Mars period but his
second most successful novel, The Thin Red Line, came in 1962 in Jupiter-Venus.

All these planets in Virgo form multiple angle-trine combinations but it comes down to
strength of planets for seeing the magnitude of the result. In my view, each of these
grahas benefits, strength-wise, from being with a planet that is involved in an exchange,
but Venus benefits the most. The fact that it is also vargottama appears to add even more
power, and the results it gave as a sub-period lord in this case support that observation.

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Randy Newman is one of the most successful song writers of the modern era.
From Wikipedia:

"Newman has received twenty Academy Award nominations in the Best Original Score
and Best Original Song categories and has won twice in the latter category. He has also
won three Emmys, six Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording
Academy. Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and as a
Disney Legend in 2007. Newman was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
April 2013."

His chart also contains a vargottama, debilitated Venus in the 4th house. In the Sanskrit
classic of Jyotisha, Bhavartha Ratnakara, there is the statement that Venus in the 4th
house will make the person a musician, I presume because this planet of music and
artistry will then aspect onto the 10th house. It certainly was true in his case, as
Newman's career as a song writer began at age 17 in his Venus mahadasha. Venus also
falls in the 10th house from his Chandra lagna, Sagittarius. By the time this period
ended at age 25 his spectacular career as song writer was well launched and in Venus-
Ketu he even released his own album to critical acclaim. Venus is the 5th lord in the 4th
house forming raja yoga by placement.

This is certainly not Venus giving weak or unfavorable results, and what particularly
interested me about his Venus is that there is really nothing that otherwise cancels its
debility. No "confounding variables" as it were. The only thing that can account for the
strong results it did give that I can see is its vargottama status.

Brenda Vacarro is a notable stage, film and TV actress who had her most notable success
in the 1960s and 70s in her Jupiter and Saturn major periods.

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Since they were born just eight days apart, her birth chart has some remarkably similar
features to that of Tina Turner's. Her Saturn is debilitated and vargottama, but also in an
exchange with Mars and closely conjunct Ketu. Saturn is the yogakaraka planet for her
Taurus lagna, while it was so for Turner's strong Chandra lagna. Jupiter remains strong
in its own sign Pisces.

Like in Tina Turner's case, what interested me here was the result of her Saturn major
period, and like Tina's, Brenda Vacarro's was very successful, at least professionally.
During Saturn-Saturn she won a major award for a performance and was nominated for
an Oscar.

From Wikipedia:

"For her performance in the 1975film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not
Enough, she gained an Academy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe for Best
Supporting Actress."

She continued to appear in films and on TV throughout the Saturn period even though
she was well into her 60s.

Martin Feldstein is a very renowned American economist whose early claim to fame
came about when, from 1982 to 1984, he served as chairman of the Council of Economic
Advisers and as chief economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan, even though he was
only 41.

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Do you recognize his planetary placements by sign? You should because he was born
about 24 hours before Tina Turner. His rashi is only different regarding the lagna.

It was during his Jupiter-Saturn period that he was Chief Economic Advisor to President
Reagan. In his Saturn major period he continuously held any number of very high-level
positions in the financial world. In Saturn-Rahu he was asked to be one President
Obama's advisors on his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. In 2011, in Saturn-Jupiter,
he was included in the 50 Most Influential ranking of Bloomberg Markets Magazine.
Needless to say, Saturn as a sub-period and Saturn as a major period gave spectacular
results.

Discussion

I have now shown 20 examples of vargottama, debilitated planets and the reader may be
feeling that I have "beat my theme to death." Granted, this may have been excessive but I
wanted to conclusively establish that such planets decidedly do not give weak results.
Whether they also give highly favorable results depends on other factors such as yogas in
which they participate. Certainly other variables such as conditions that strongly cancel
debility, like parivartana yoga, no doubt greatly contributed to the very notable
achievements and high status that occurred in the periods of the planets shown in these
illustrations.

And in the last section, I was only highlighting the favorable side. Whatever else these
periods may have brought that was very unpleasant, like in the first seven illustrations, is
something I did not try to ascertain from biographical material online.

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It should also be clearly understood that simply because a planet is vargottama and
debilitated doesn't mean that it is going to give the kind of results seen in these examples,
even if its debility is strongly cancelled. Again, this is going to depend on other factors.

Non-Celebrity Examples

The birth charts of notable individuals are useful for illustrating the interpretive principles
of Jyotisha because they do so more dramatically, the events of their lives with timing
can be independently verified, and generally speaking it is more interesting to read about
the chart of someone you recognize. They are not, however, the kind of charts an
astrologer sees in their day to day practice. We are more likely to work on charts like the
one below of a very good-hearted woman who is both a Western astrologer and a jyotishi,
someone who studied with me back in the mid- 90's and now reads these articles.

I can remember discussing with her way back then the kind of results that a vargottama,
debilitated planet like her Jupiter might give, and now, 20 years later, we have had the
opportunity to see since she has been in this major period for a little over three years now.

Her Jupiter is the lord of the 2nd and 11th houses, poorly placed in the 12th in its
debilitation sign, but vargottama. The only visible cancellation comes from its dispositor
Saturn, falling in an angle from the birth lagna.

It forms Kesari Yoga with the Moon and as the 9th lord in the 10th from Chandra lagna
it is a trine lord in an angle house. To what degree her Jupiter falls, as a debilitated planet
in a dussthana house, under the principle of "That Great Parashara Exception" is an
open question. The shastra does not specifically mention the 12th house for this unusual
raja yoga.

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The fact is, though, she speaks very favorably of her experience thus far in this period.
Contrary to what you might expect, she indicated in a recent conversation that her income
has actually doubled since moving into this period though her expenses have increased as
well. It has also given her a part-time position with some status and income that she did
not have before, and she feels that her over-all faith and optimism about life in general
have improved dramatically.

Her vargottama, debilitated planet is not like those shown earlier that were configured in
multiple substantial yogas and which existed in the context of charts showing the static
potential for great fame and fortune. Yet it is still giving much better results than you
might expect, and my explanation for this is the offsetting strength it derives from being
vargottama.

The chart below is that of a lovely Lithuanian woman, now living in England, who is also
a student of Jyotisha. Her chart shows a vargottama, debilitated Saturn and she moved
into the dasha of this planet in November of 2011. It is with the natural benefic Venus
who is also a functional benefic for her Gemini lagna. As the 9th lord in the 11th house
with the 5th lord, it should give some level of dhana yoga. But will it?

Saturn and Venus are within less than one degree of each other and therefore in graha
yuddha, or planetary war. On the plus side, these grahas are a part of a solar
Ubhayachari Yoga and a lunar Anapha Yoga. Now in Saturn-Mercury as of November
of 2014, Saturn has not brought any dhana yoga-like results thus far, in fact she has
struggled financially.

Yet in a recent conversation she indicated that it has brought some highly favorable and
desirable results in other ways, in keeping with its 9th house lordship. In Saturn-Saturn-

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Venus a spiritual guru came into her life, which she considers a great blessing. Note that
Saturn is the 9th lord from both the birth lagna and a strong Chandra lagna. Since then
she has spent time in his ashram in India doing sadhana, as Venus is the 12th lord from
the lagna and both planets fall in the 12th from the Moon.

Saturn-Mercury, with Mercury in the 9th house, also brought a jyotisha-guru into her life
with whom she is studying. The real test of this combination will be in her upcoming
Saturn-Venus period. I would certainly expect increased prosperity, but would not go
overboard with such a prediction.

Lastly, see the chart of a young Russian man who translates for me when I teach in that
country and also when teaching a Russian audience online. Though only 23 years old, he
has become remarkably proficient in Jyotisha and now teaches and consults.

Notice Mercury, within 4 degrees of his lagna getting directional strength and under the
influence of Rahu-Ketu, for his facility with foreign languages and his skill in translating.

In 2015 when I was teaching in Krasnodar, Russia, he asked me this question about
debilitated, vargottama planets and it is easy to see why. His lagna lord Mars is at 1
degree of Cancer and there are no major factors for cancellation. As the 1st lord in the
9th, Mars gives raja/dhana yoga. From Chandra lagna, it is the 9th lord in the 5th
house, so the dhana yoga repeats.

As the dispositor of Mars, Moon is bright and waxing and is very well-placed in the 5th
house in a mutual glance with the 5th lord, giving dhana yoga and Kesari Yoga.

He will run the Moon period followed by Mars between the ages of 36 to 53. I predict
that these planets will give the good results of the yogas in which they are configured,

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and that he will enjoy a good level of success and prosperity over-all during this
timeframe. Supporting such a prediction is the placement of these two grahas in the
dashamsha .

Conclusions

In summary, let me re-state again my position on vargottama, debilitated planets based

on my research and illustrated in the 22 examples given in this article.

 The strength that a planet receives from a vargottama placement continues to

hold true to some degree even if in its debilitation sign. Such a planet can still
gives the results of any yoga in which it is configured.

 If such a debilitated planet is also in strong neecha bhanga conditions, like

parivartana yoga or being conjunct an exalted planet, then it becomes rather a
"powerhouse" that gives the results of any yogas in which it is configured very
strongly. Stephen King's Mars, Loretta Swit's Venus and Tina Turner's Saturn all
fall in this category and gave spectacular results in terms of worldly success,
fame and fortune.

 Just like with the condition of neecha bhanga, being vargottama does not
override some additional unfavorable results and suffering that debilitated planets
seem to oftentimes bring in their major periods. The person will usually take a
"fall" in some way at some point.

Hopefully the many illustrations given in this article have clarified the question of
whether vargottama, debilitated planets are... Double Trouble Or A Saving Grace.

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All Praise To the Rishis and their Divine Science of Jyotisha

Marc Boney
Cardiff by the Sea, California
Anno Domini
October 2016

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