Ian Fleming's fictional character, James Bond is today considered as an iconic figure, the world over. As a British secret service agent, Bond as 007 has enthralled worldwide audiences with Skyfall, the latest movie marvel grossing up a revenue in excess of one billion dollars. By creating this character, Ian Fleming had become a legend in his lifetime. Only six actors have donned the Bond role in a span of five decades " Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. In this article, we will discuss the planetary influences which shaped the lives of these stalwarts and what we can understand from them in an astrological sense.

Sir Thomas Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland at 6:05 P.M. on 25th August, 1930. He is best known for portraying the character James Bond, starring in seven Bond movies between 1962 and 1983 including the non " canonical œNever say never again (a remake of Thunderball). He is the winner of an Academy award, two BAFTA awards and the Golden Globe award (including the Cecil.B.Demille award). He was knighted in July 2000 and polled as œThe Greatest living Scot and œScotland's Greatest living National Treasure .

The real breakthrough for Sean Connery happened in the dasha of Rahu which operated between 1951 and 1969. As a planet owning the 4th star from birth star, Uttaraphalguni, Rahu was bound to give positive results. Rahu occupying Aries was bound to give the effects of its sign dispositor Mars, who by entering into a conjunction with Lagna lord Jupiter forms a Parasari Raja Yoga, par excellence. That this yoga occurs in Gemini is highly fortuitous as Mercury, owner of Gemini is exalted in Virgo, forming a conjunction with a debilitated Venus giving rise to a splendid Neecha bhanga raja yoga. It is also worth noting that both Mars and Jupiter are strong in the navamsa chart, thereby adding to the strength of the yogas.

Generally, Saturn's placement in Lagna is an unwelcome feature in any chart except for a few signs such as Aquarius, Pisces, Sagittarius and Libra. Here, Saturn as a reterograde planet gives the effects of an exalted planet in Lagna and is also exempt from the evil attributable to a malefic in Lagna.

In this context, I wish to quote from œSaturn: The King maker by Mridula Trivedi and T.P.Trivedi: œ Saturn placed in the first house under Tula (Libra), Dhanu (Sagittarius), Makar (Capricorn), Kumbha (Aquarius) and Meen (Pisces) makes the individual enjoy like an emperor. Under any other sign, Saturn makes the individual sickly, unhappy and lacking in resources (Chapter 2, page 37). The view of the authors finds support from learned scholars in astrology.

The Upachaya Houses as we know are 3,6,10 and 11.Considering the 10th bhava as Lagnabhava to evaluate the state of profession of the native we proceed to study the Upchaya Bhavas from this Lagna and in which Signs (Rashis ) their respective Cusps fall.

The Upachaya Bhavas are the 3rd,6th,10th,11th from a Lagna and these are the Bhavas that reflect the growth a native has in his profession . These Bhavas from 10th house are as under (RL denotes Ruling Lord) :

a)3rdBhava fall in Sign Scorpio ( RL- Mars )
b)6thBhava falls in Sign pisces ( RL- Jupiter )
c)10thBhava falls in Sign Gemini ( RL- Mercury)
d)11thBhava falls in Sign Leo (RL- Sun )

Further we notice Saturn ( retrograde ) falls in 3rdBhava from the Lagna under consideration , Rahu falls in 6thBhava Sun and Jupiter fall in the 10thBhava ,while Mercury,Venus and Moon fall in the 11thBhava from this Deemed Lagna . What one infers from the position of the Upachaya Bhavas from deemed Lagna is that all the said Bhavas are occupied by planets which have some connection (sambandha ) with the 10thBhava .The presence of both Sun and Jupiter in 10th from Deemed lagna Bhava indicates the strength of this Bhava in ensuring a glorious career for the chart holder.

While Sean Connery's success was fully rooted in Rahu dasa, his comeback in 1971 in œDiamonds are forever was due to the operation of the conjoined periods of Jupiter and Saturn while Jupiter and Rahu together accounted for his second comeback in œNever say never again . Again Rahu in his sub period in Saturn dasha conferred Knighthood on Sean Connery. Virtues of Rahu, Jupiter and Saturn in this chart have already been discussed earlier and need no reiteration.

George Lazenby was born in Queenbeyam, New South wales, Australia on Sep 5, 1939. He is remembered for portraying James Bond in the 1969 film, œOn Her Majesty's Secret Service . George got his break in Rahu dasha, Saturn bhukti. Saturn through debilitated is retrograde and the lord of the sign, Mars is exalted in a Kendra from the Moon. Rahu gives the effect of Saturn since they are in opposition and also by virtue of the dictum œSani Vad Rahu . This chart exemplifies the rule from Uttarakalamritam discussed earlier.

Sir Roger George Moore was born in London, UK at 00:45 A.M. on 14th October, 1927.Though Roger Moore made his advent in Bond movies after Sean Connery, he is elder to Sean by about three years and is also the oldest of all the Bond heroes. He is, perhaps, best known for his role as the British Secret service Agent, James Bond, in the movies he acted between 1973 and 1985.

It was only after Sean Connery had declared in 1966 that he would not play Bond any longer that Moore became aware that he might be a contender for the role. Moore played Bond in Live and Let Die (1973); The Man with the Golden Gun (1974); The Spy Who Loved Me (1977); Moonraker (1979); For Your Eyes Only (1981); Octopussy (1983); and A View to a Kill (1985). Moore is the longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent twelve years in the role (from his debut in 1973, to his retirement from the role in 1985), and having made seven official films in a row. Moore is the oldest actor to have played Bond " he was 45 in Live and Let Die (1973), and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985.

Clues to his meteoric rise in movies could be traced in his birth chart. The Lagna lord Moon is exalted forming an opposition with the 7th lord, Saturn. A Parasari Raja Yoga is formed by the mutual aspect between Mars (as lord of 10) and Jupiter (as lord of 9). (Vide Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, chapter 41/28). Retrograde Jupiter as originator of Lakshmi Yoga occupies own house and exalted navamsa. Jupiter is in Lagna in dasamsa. Naturally, it was Jupiter which catapulted Roger Moore to dizzy heights while Moon bhukti was in operation in 1973. There was no looking back. Saturn is also well placed to take over the mantle from Jupiter. Saturn is a Yoga karaka from Chandra Lagna and is in an exalted navamsa. Roger Moore announced his retirement on 3rd December 1985 in Saturn dasha, Venus bhukti. Venus in Leo is in the house of its enemy and is in debilitated navamsa. The aspect of Saturn on Venus and its conjunction with Gulika were not proving to be of help. However, Roger Moore's chart has several redeeming features and is power " packed to lift him to the galaxy of all " time greats. Truly, Roger Moore is a legend in his lifetime and his chart bears ample testimony to this statement.

Timothy Dalton was born in Colwynbay, Wales on 21st march, 1946. He is best known for his portrayal of James Bond in œThe Living Daylights (1987) and œLicence to Kill (1989). Dalton's chart exemplifies the power of debilitated planet to carry a person to stardom while in conjunction with an exalted planet. In Dalton's chart, the debilitation of Mercury is cancelled by an exalted Venus. The fact that Mercury is retrograde is enough to make it give results attributable to an exalted planet.

According to Kalidasa œ When a planet is retrograde in his motion, his strength is similar to that when in his exaltation. If a planet is conjoined with a retrograde planet, his strength is 1,2 a Rupa. If a planet be retrograde in his motion while in his exaltation house, he gets only his Neechabala, i.e. nothing. If a planet be retrograde while in his debilitation house (of ˜Fall), his strength is similar to that when in his exaltation. A planet in conjunction with another planet who is in exaltation gets 1,2 a Rupa. When he is associated with another who is in his debilitation, he gets nothing, a planet if he be in conjunction with malefics who are his friends, or with benefics who happen to be his enemies, gets only 1,2 a Rupa (Vide Uttarakalamritam, Chapter 2, Verse 6).

Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born in Drogheda, Ireland at 00:05 hours on 16th May, 1953) is an Irish actor, film producer and an environmentalist. He got married to Australian actress Cassandra Harris in 1980 and their marriage lasted till Cassandra's demise in 1991. Brosnan first met producer Albert R Broccoli in the sets of œFor your eyes only as he had gone to watch the shooting of the movie, in which Cassandra Harris plays the second heroine. Broccoli said, œPierce Brosnan is my guy to inherit the role of James Bond from Roger Moore. Brosnan was announced as the fifth actor to play James Bond on 7th June, 1994. This took place in Saturn dasha, Venus bhukti, two strong planets in Brosnan's birth chart.

Like Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan was born when Sagittarius was rising. The lord of 11 (denoting wish fulfillment) is exalted in Pisces in exact opposition to Saturn placed vargottama in the 10th. It is this mutual aspect between Saturn (as lord of 2) and Venus (as lord of 11) that creates a Dhana Yoga, par excellence. The conjunction of Jupiter (as lagna lord), Mars (as 5th lord) and Sun (as 9th lord) can only work wonders in Brosnan's life. Deciphering the bhava placement could prove tricky, but I wish to bring to the notice of the discerning student of Astrology, that if we look at the cuspal placement, Venus and Saturn are in opposition in 3/9 houses, Sun and Mercury form a conjunction in 4 while Jupiter forma a conjunction with Mars in the 5th. This may differ from what you infer while preparing Sripati Bhava or equal house bhava. I would prefer to sail with the cuspal house theory as it correlates well with the developments in Brosnan's life. The Parasari yoga in Sean Connery's chart is familiar to the one in Brosnan's chart. It is worth noting that Brosnan's tryst with James Bond came to an end Saturn dasha was in its fag end. While retrograde Saturn took Brosnan to dizzy heights, combust Mercury had nothing great to offer. Mercury is also an enemy of Lagna Lord Jupiter and is badly placed in the house of its enemy, Mars. Brosnan lost his wife Cassandra Harris due to ovarian cancer when he was running Saturn dasha, Mercury bhukti. As discussed, Mercury is the Achilles' heel in Brosnan's chart and the conjunction of Mercury with Ketu in the 6th from Navamsa lagna could only lead to grief and despair.

The outstanding feature of Brosnan's chart is the occurrence of Malavya yoga involving the 4/10 axis. According to Mantreswara, a person born in Malavya yoga will possess a stout body, be resolute, wealthy, blessed with wife, children and good fortune. He will be prosperous, enjoy hearty meals, blessed with all pleasures, possess vehicles, be famous and learned and be of balanced mind (Phaladeepika, Chapter 6, Verse 3).

Lagna is based on time of birth. When time of birth is unknown it is conventional to take noon time as birth time. Please note that in such cases it would be better to resort to analysis from Chandra lagna or Jaimini method as these are insensitive to birth time. It is not possible to discuss a chart accurately when birth time is unknown, but certain broad astrological inferences can be drawn. This is how I propose to discuss the charts of George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig. All these charts assume noon as time of birth as we have no idea of their birth time.

Daniel Wroughton Craig was born in Chester, England on March 2, 1968. He dons the Bond mantle since 2005. The breakthrough for Daniel Craig came in Sun dasha, Mercury bhukti. Sun is blessed with two yogas from Chandra lagna, as lord of 6 in 12, it generates a partial Viparatha raja yoga and since Sun has planets in 2nd and 12th. Ubayahari yoga is also present. Jupiter's aspect on Sun makes it a complete benefic while conjunction with Venus brings out the beneficial side of Mercury. Both Mercury and Sun are strongly placed in the Dasamsa chart of Craig in which three planets (Sun, Moon and Mars) occupy their own houses while Venus is in exaltation.

The character of James Bond bears close resemblance to the Greek hero Ulysses about whom we shall see in this poem from Tennyson.

œThough much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
(Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King and a Selection of Poems)
In my view, Lord Tennyson's portrayal of Ulysses shows the
Greek hero as a tired, disillusioned warrior, whereas, James Bond could
be seen as a modern day Ulysses who looks for spontaneity and freedom
in a world which identifies itself with the British Secret Service agent in
both romance and adventure.

What better way to sum up this article than through this wonderful poem by Poetic Kelz

POEM ON JAMES BOND ( BY POETIC KELZ)

Dr. No is a special guy that came From Russia with Love, He had a Goldfinger and a Thunderball.
Unlike Drake, Yolo was not his motto,
As he believed You Only Live Twice.
He was On Her Majesty's Secret Service,
There he realised Diamonds Are Forever.
He had to Live and Let Die,
Not even The Man with Golden Gun could stop him. The Dr was in love with The Spy Who Loved Me, Until he was pushed off the Moonraker.
He wrote a letter to the spy titled For Your eyes Only, After which he met the beautiful Octopussy.
Dr. No had A View to a Kill in The Living Daylights, A Licence to Kill and a GoldenEye.
To him, Tomorrow Never Dies,
And The World Is Not Enough.
Dr No. can always Die Another Day,
As long as he plays ˜Texas hold'em' at the Casino Royale. The Quantum of Solace gave him the happiness he was after, Until he arrived at Skyfall.

SEAN CONNERY

GEORGE LAZENBY

ROGER MOORE

TIMOTHY DALTON

PIERCE BROSNAN

DANIEL CRAIG