Traditionally, those occupations recognized as “true professions” have been medicine, law, and the clergy. Over a period of time a number of professions and career paths have evolved making career interpretation a difficult task for an Astrologer. Take the case of a web designer. The internet is a concept which has evolved only in the Nineties. Could any Astrologer by reading the chart of a person born in 1975, for instance, have predicted that the chart holder would become a web - designer , when the profession itself was unknown? Can anyone predict what a newborn child, who is born in say,2013 would pursue as a career twenty years down the line? In my view, the Rishis who formulated Astrology gave clean guidelines on what career a person would undertake based on the position of planets. However, the interpretation of the charts should suit current trends.
I remember watching a comic drama in 1978 when a guest comes to a house and narrates various events in their town when a postman comes with a telegram which contains the message that the guest who had come is dead. This leads to a comedy of errors and the story becomes amusing and intriguing till the end. The same play was staged thirty years later but the audience appeared somewhat bemused as telegrams had become redundant and instead we have better communication modes such as “SMS”, “e-mails” and many other ways of communication. Telegrams were the in - thing till the eighties but now it appears as though they belonged to some other civilization. Such is the progress of technology. ( Interestingly enough after writing these words I read in the next day's newspaper telegraphic service stands abolished - Maybe I had this hunch when I wrote the above paragraph)In this article, we shall see how to interpret the birth chart to understand what career a person would pursue in the present day context.
Before we proceed to discuss the various options which present themselves in today's world, I would like to give the case study of an eminent Zoologist, whose career was predicted much in advance by a Nadi Astrologer. The chart holder (in chart 1) is a Zoologist of eminence. He is the author of some of the standard textbooks on Zoology in India. Later in life he diverted his study to entomology and is considered as an authority in his field. When he was very young, his chart was interpreted by a Nadi reader. Coming to his career, the Nadi Astrologer predicted that the native would pursue a career where he would discover insecticides for control of pests. The Nadi reading showed that his career would deal with pest control using modern technology (Nutana Krimi nasana Nirikshanam). Till few decades back, entomology was practically an unknown subject in India. Then, how come a Nadi reader could have predicted the study of entomology in this chart ?
To pursue Zoology one should have the following influences on the Tenth house:-
1. Jeeva planets related to the Tenth
2. Influence of Moon, Rahu or Ketu
3. Influence of watery signs on 5 or 10
In chart 1, Jupiter (as a Jeeva planet denoting living organisms) forms a union with Venus and Ketu aspecting Rahu who is in the 5th in a watery sign. Probably it was this planetary position which guided the Nadi reader to this conclusion or it is possible that the Rishis in their infinite wisdom wrote the destiny of persons to be born in this world on palm leaf manuscripts and the Nadi reader merely read the manuscript in front of him. The Nadi system of Astrology itself is a closely guarded secret and very few people have access to the methodology adopted in making predictions.
One becomes a mathematician if Sun and mercury are conjunct in house 1,4,7,10,5,9, or 11. Generally, Ketu denotes languages and if Ketu is well placed and related to benefics and the 10th house one becomes a linguist.
Physics is a science which deals with matter, energy, space and time. If Sun, Mercury and Saturn are interrelated, one excels in Physics. Here, Saturn deals with technical skills to study the laws of the Universe. Converting base metals to gold or silver is known as Alchemy. It was this science which led to the growth of Chemistry and Medicine. The fifth house should be linked to Scorpio in order to give proficiency in Chemistry. Moon, Mars and watery signs also lead to knowledge of Chemistry. Mars denotes kinetic energy; Sun denotes Physics while Saturn denotes technical skills. Fusion of Sun, Mars and Saturn on the 5th or 10th house leads to career in Mechanical Engineering. Mars denotes immovable property. Saturn denotes construction material, while Mercury denotes computational skills. Mars, Saturn and Mercury in harmony leads to a career in Civil engineering. Chemical engineering is a practical version of chemistry. This is denoted by fusion of Moon, Mars and Saturn in watery signs. Both Sun and Mars are fiery planets. Sun, Mars or Ketu in fiery signs related to 5th or 10th houses leads to a career in Electrical Engineering. If we include Mercury in the above yoga, it leads to a career in electronics rather than electrical engineering.In today's parlance they call it Triple “E” (an acronym for Electronics and Electrical Engineering). Sun, Mars, Mercury, Ketu and Saturn, together make a person proficient in Computer engineering. The role of Jupiter (a Jeeva Planet) in relation to Mars and Saturn leads to a career in biotechnology. Moon, Jupiter and watery signs play a key role in persons who deal with biochemistry. Sun - Mars, Mars - Venus and Venus - Sun are the three Yogas which can give proficiency in Medicine. Venus is the key planet in Hotel Management. If the airy sign Gemini and Mercury (natural karaka of 3rd house in Zodiac, which deals with travel) are prominent one becomes a pilot or has a career in airlines. To become a singer or actor one must have a strong Venus connected to the 10th house. The 3rd house is known as “Swarasthana”. It denotes musical talents. To become an accomplished Carnatic Musician, one must have a good 3rd house preferably aspected by Jupiter. Vedic Astrology can guide us in identifying whether one will be a successful sportsperson. Mars denotes courage. Mercury is the planet of intellect, while Sun rules fame and victories. The third house denotes courage, while the sixth house grants victory over rivals. Mars, Sun and Mercury are sports related planets while houses 3 and 6 are relevant to sports. All these factors grant success in sports. One more factor we need to consider is that whatever be the role of Raja Yogas in relation to charts, the same rules will apply to Sportspersons too.
The horoscope of M.S.Dhoni,( Chart 2) India's cricket captain can be taken up as a case study for understanding these points. Mars as the third lord aspecting its own house is excellent for sports. Mercury as lagna - cum - 10th lord in 10 has catapulted M.S.Dhoni to the pinnacle of glory. An excellent Gaja kesari yoga in Lagna brings name, fame and prosperity. The sixth lord in lagna conjunct Jupiter brings victory over opponents. Rahu in the 11th conjunct 9th Lord Venus is a major asset to the chart. Dhoni`s career blossomed in Rahu Dasa, Jupiter Bhukthi and there was no looking back. In the Ashtakavarga Chart( SAV Chart), Dhoni has 36 Bindus in the 11th (the highest) while the 12th House has 22 bindus( the least ).Thus the maximum number of Bindus goes to the House of Wish Fulfillment and the minimum number to the House of loss. This is a remarkable feature of Dhoni`s horoscope.
The horoscopes of businessmen should indicate a strong Mercury with an inter relationship between houses 2, 10 and 11.Further the 12th house should be unconnected to houses 2 and 11.Jupiter denotes teachers. When Jupiter is well connected to the 10th House one takes to teaching as a career.Both Mercury and Jupiter rule over Chartered Accountants. The 6th house rules over litigation, 2nd speech, and 9th rule over judiciary. If these houses are inter related and Jupiter is related to Saturn one becomes a lawyer.
In the case of TV Anchors and Camera crew, the following astrological principles hold good.
1. Strong Venus influencing Lagna
2. Link between houses 3 ,5 and 10
3. Inter- relationship between the houses 2 and 3
The various roles one perform in the visual media are based on which house the 3rd Lord is related to in natal charts.
Summing up, one can infer from this analysis that Vedic Astrology provides us valuable clues to decide which career path one is destined to pursue in life.It can also suggest which career would yield fruitful results and thus facilitate decision making.Before I conclude I wish to cite an amusing anecdote.A student who had joined Chartered Accountancy was asked,”What is your ambition in life?” He replied: “ My desire is to become a Fake Godman”.Everyone was taken aback as either the student should have said he would wish to become a Chartered Accountant or if he had a genuine desire he could have aspired to become a true Godman. So how come he thought of becoming a “ Fake Godman”?
My view is that everyone wishes to have a lucrative career and in today's world it is quite possible that some would wish to pursue any calling so long as it appears lucrative which in other words means that the rewards associated with that vocation appear disproportionately high compared to the effort involved.