Books

In this second volume on the graha yogas of Jyotisha, master astrologer, Marc Boney first gives a detailed exposition on the many planetary combinations named after Vedic deities, such as Lakshmi and Saraswati Yoga, and then goes on to explain and illustrate the oftentimes misunderstood vipareeta raja yogas. Also included are specialty combinations like those that incline a person toward spiritual renunciation, and on the other end of the spectrum, those that can indicate imprisonment. The special combinations for extreme wealth from Parashara Hora, and all 24 favorable and unfavorable bhava yogas from Phaladeepika are included in this work. All these planetary combinations with their variations are profusely illustrated, using birth charts from hundreds of well-known personalities. Most importantly, the method for qualifying any yoga to determine which will bear fruit and to what degree, is clearly explained and demonstrated. A must read for any serious student of Jyotisha!

The most brilliant aspect of India's astrological science is the many graha yogas given in the ancient Sanskrit texts. These planetary combinations in a birth chart reveal a person's karma. They form the essence of Jyotisha, and are what make it so unique and superior to all other forms of astrology.
In this first volume on Graha Yogas, master jyotishi, Marc Boney, initiates students into planetary combinations that form the foundation of any birth chart. Included in these are ones involving the lagna and lagna lord, as well as the solar, and many lunar yogas of Jyotisha. Also included in this volume is an extensive exposition on the so-called Pancha Mahapurusha Yoga, or five combinations that can indicate a "Great Being," along with a proven methodology for qualifying these and any yoga in a birth chart. Profusely illustrated with over a hundred charts of well-known personalities, this book shines a bright light on graha yogas, the essence, and glory of the astrology of ancient India.

I am pleased to present to students of the divine science of Indian astrology another volume of my collected articles. K.N. Rao, my jyotisha-guru, always emphasized and encouraged research, beginning with what he called a "micro-research" in which the sample size was 10 to 20 birth charts. Several of the articles in this volume fall into that category.
 
Babel's Tower, for example, is a study of the charts of people who are inclined to acquire language skills, so much so that they become "polyglots," defined as individuals fluent in five or more languages. Here I identify the common features in their birth charts, which then become predictive parameters.
 
In an article on the astrology of space exploration, Where No Man Has Gone Before, I examine the chart of those adventuresome men who first went into space in rocket ships, including the astronauts that had the unique destiny of walking on the Moon. I wanted to discover those astrological factors that gave rise to such a special form of travel, and I share my findings in this article.
 
By The Numbers Benign is a different kind of research article. Here I am presenting and illustrating a unique interpretive concept, the application of shubha sankhya yogas in the divisional charts, particularly D-10. I illustrate how natural benefics falling in dusshtana houses get redeemed by such yogas and produce very good results in their periods and sub-periods.     
 
Udu's Clue is not a research article per se, but a presentation and illustration of the critical importance of the nakshatra dispositor for accurately assessing the inherent potentials of any mahadasha lord.  I show how certain events that a period brought can only be understood in the light of this interpretive principle  
 
This volume concludes with Graha Bala, an article on the important concept of planetary strength and the two quantitative approaches that exist within Jyotisha for measuring this. I demonstrate how vitally important it is to apply these measures when assessing the kind of results any yoga in a birth chart may bring.
 
I hope readers find these articles interesting, but also valuable in further developing their own interpretative abilities.

Unlike previous compilations, this sixth volume of my collected works has no particular unifying theme but is rather a miscellany of topics.
The 1st house/1st lord are among the most important factors in a birth chart and are the "pillar" upon which it stands. Many favorable yogas given in the ancient texts require that these two factors be "strong" in order for other planetary combinations to give their beneficial effects. The Pillar of Life provides a thorough, systematic methodology for assessing the strength and overall condition of the lagna/lagna lord, and teaches students a number of yogas that add power to the ascendant and its ruler.
The proper use of the Vimshottari Dasha for timing events in a person's life involves a process of seeing the overall condition and disposition of the dasha lord not just from the birth lagna, but also from alternative perspectives such as from the Moon (Chandra lagna) as well as dasha lagna. The latter means using the position of the major period lord as if it were the lagna and reading the patterning of the chart from there. In The Kaleidoscope of Time, I share my original research on this important principle of interpretation as applied to both the birth chart and key divisional charts, such as the navamsha, saptamsha, and dashamsha. The article concludes by initiating readers into a systematic methodology for the advanced use of the Vimshottari dasha for making predictions.
The essence of Jyotisha is yogas and dashas. Yogas, or planetary combinations, show the potential for different life experiences resulting from the soul's karma, or the fruits of their past actions in previous lives, while dashas, or planetary periods, show when in their lifetime an individual will experience these fruits. From this standpoint, the analysis of a birth chart in this system of astrology is largely a matter of identifying the yogas. In these modern times, this is not difficult since there are computer programs that will do this. However, the real skill in Jyotisha lies much more in the ability to assess both the magnitude and the quality of effect that a planetary combination will give, or whether it will even give any result at all. Using the well-known Gaja Kesari Yoga, or Elephant-Lion combination, Light on Yogas initiates students into a step-by-step methodology for assessing yogas in a birth chart and then illustrates this method with 12 sample birth charts.
To thoroughly assess an individual's karmic potential with regards to career success, achievements, and status in life, and to time significant related events, the ancient classics of Jyotisha recommend the use of the dashamsha, or the tenth division. The Tenth Part of Glory demonstrates how planets that appear in the lagna, or first house of this division, can give particularly spectacular results in their major periods when strong and configured in good yogas. This article also sheds light on the methodology for identifying which sub-periods will time the major events, as well as how this divisional chart can be used to rectify birth times.
In a previous article published in the first volume of my collected works, I demonstrated how Venus-Rahu or Rahu-Venus periods oftentimes bring significant developments in a person's relationship life, independent of their position or lordship in the birth chart or navamsha. Included in this were many examples of successful predictions of marriages made on this basis. In this follow-on article, I share my researches on how these periods can also mark momentous and even life-defining times in a person's professional life, but only under certain conditions.

My teacher, K.N. Rao, always emphasizes the importance of research in order to discover what astrological factors give rise to particular destinies and inclinations in life. A number of articles in this fifth volume of my collected works are my researches into such questions. Others included here are "astro-profiles," or in-depth discussions of the chart of individuals with extraordinary destinies, and the astrological factors at birth which gave rise to these.
Talent, and "Dramatic Arts" are among the lesser known meanings of the 3rd house as given in the ancient classics of Jyotisha. In Hollywood Nights I explore the hypotheses that this house and its lord will be significant and prominent in the charts of famous Hollywood movie stars, and that they will obtain fame in planetary periods associated with the 3rd house/3rd lord.
Using five charts of some of the greatest chess champions of all time, Checkmate explores the astrological factors that made Jose Capablana, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, and Magnus Carlsen legends of the game.
A Night at the Grammy Awards explores the astrology of sudden fame in the life of Bonnie Raitt and that of other recording artists, Aretha Franklin, Kim Carnes, Sheena Easton, and Whitney Houston.
Few people have ever dominated a sport like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did basketball for a period of 27 years. He will forever be a legend of the game, and the extraordinary Gaja Kesari Yoga or "Elephant-Lion Combination" in his birth chart tells the story. What makes it special, and how it clearly indicated that he was destined for athletic glory is the subject Of Elephants, Lions, and Skyhooks, an astrological look at the career of one of sports towering giants.
In our celebrity-obsessed society, few people draw more media attention than Angelina Jolie. Her life has long been the source of fascination for the general public, and her birth chart is no less fascinating, revealing her unique destiny as an Oscar-winning actress, femme fatale, mother to six and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. In Tattoos and Tomb Raiders her chart is used to illustrate all the major interpretive principles of the ancient astrological science of India, making it an instructive lesson both for beginning and intermediate students alike.
In Jyotisha when Jupiter falls in the 8th from the position of the Moon, it is generally said to be an unfavorable patterning that can give rise to very fluctuating fortunes in life. However, there is a special exception to this interpretive principle that "crowned" actress Gwyneth Paltrow with an Oscar. See why in this interesting account of Mukuta Yoga or "The Crown Combination."
It Could Happen To You explores the astrology of sudden wealth and illustrates the predictive parameters for this event using the charts of numerous lottery winners and other people who became wealthy overnight.
Gocharaphala demonstrates how the transits of Jupiter and Saturn can be used to "clinch" predictions about such important life events as career rise, marriage, and birth of children. It also discusses the sade sati, or the seven and a half year period of Saturn's transiting influence on the signs before, of, and after the position of the natal Moon, and how to accurately assess its effects. Other potentially dangerous periods such as natural malefics transiting the 22nd drekkana are featured as well.

The Jaimini system of Jyotisha is a specialty of my teacher, K.N. Rao, and so it has become for me. Events can oftentimes be seen in a very simple and straightforward way using the special karakas and sign-based dashas of this system, something which I have referred to as "Elegant Simplicity." All the articles in this fourth volume of my collected works deal with the Jaimini approach to birth chart analysis, beginning with a lengthy exposition of Chara Dasha, the primary predictive tool.
A seven-step process for interpreting any Jaimini sign-based dasha, as well as proven methods for predicting such major life events as career rise, marriage and childbirth are given here. These are profusely illustrated using the charts of world-famous personalities, as well charts from my own case files of successful predictions.
Questions about relationship and marriage are among the most frequently asked in an astrological consultation. The Mighty Mouse of Matchmakers demonstrates how the planet with the lowest degrees, known as the dara karaka in the Jaimini system, or the indicator of spouse, can be used to time when relationships/marriage come into a persons life. It has been among the most popular of my articles.
The next most frequently asked question is about career life. In Courtesy of a King's Courtier, students learn how to identify periods of career rise using the planet with the second highest degrees in a birth chart. This planet becomes the amatya karaka in the Jaimini system, which literally means a minister in a king's court, or in other words, a very important person. Using this karaka, along with Jaimini raja yogas, one can predict when a person's status will increase.
There are a number of references in Maharishi Jaimini's Upadesha Sutras to the Moon-Venus combination, and the effect it can have in both raising a person up in life and giving financial gains. A Sweet Lunar Love Affair instructs readers how to qualify this combination and to predict when it will give these results and when it will be more of a "little or no fruit yoga."
One primary technique for using Jaimini's sign-based dashas is to use the current sign period as a lagna and then interpret the planetary patterning from there. The Guru's Clue refers to a passing remark K.N. Rao made when discussing from the Jaimini angle the period when Indira Gandhi first became Prime Minister of India. It clued me into the importance of seeing when planets form favorable house lord exchanges from a particular dasha lagna. This article instructs students how this principle can be used to predict, and also gives some combinations from the Jaimini Sutras for elevating a person in life when these appear from the karakamsha lagna.
My jyotisha-guru is fond of saying that it is a poor astrologer who only has one dasha with which to predict. The last article in this volume, The Frog Leap, teaches students a unique dasha in the Jaimini system that can only be applied to charts containing four planets in the angle houses, excluding Rahu and Ketu. It progresses in a unique way as well, making a "frog's leap" four signs ahead each time, which is why is it called Mandook Dasha.
Once my students have mastered the basic principles of the more commonly known and utilized Parashari system of astrology, I strongly encourage them to learn the Jaimini system. Being able to apply the two systems together when examining the potentials of a time period can greatly increase predictive accuracy.

The theme of this third volume of my collected articles is how planets in certain conditions in a birth chart give quite the opposite effect to what might be expected based on some standard interpretive principle of Jyotisha. When a planet is in its debilitation sign, like Venus in Virgo, it is said to be "neecha" or "fallen," and therefore incapable of giving good results in its period and sub-periods. All of what it signifies, such as love relationships, suffer, as well as the significations of the houses of the birth chart that it rules. However, there are certain conditions that change this status and enable such planets to give good, even spectacular results. This is subject of the first article, An Enigma Wrapped in a Mystery.
 
The next article explores the particularly paradoxical condition of a planet when it is debilitated in both the birth chart and the navamsha, but then also vargottama, a condition of strength. Does such a planet become doubly weak, or does it get redeemed? Double Trouble or Saving Grace? answers this question and provides guidelines for the interpretation of these enigmatic planets.
 
Combustion and planetary war are two other conditions of planets that are considered highly unfavorable. The first occurs when planets are too close in longitude to the Sun, and the latter is when two planets are within less than an degree of longitude of each other. All the natural significations of these planets, as well as those of the houses they rule, are said to suffer. Any good yogas formed by planets in such conditions will not bear fruit according to the theory. But is it always so? The Icarus Factor explores this important question using the charts of 20 world famous personalities. The results may surprise you.
 
The effect ascribed to a debilitated planet in the classical text of Vedic astrology is that it is “weak” and therefore cannot give good and favorable results. However, there are many conditions also given in the ancient texts that modify and even reverse this indication. This article deals with one such special condition in which the debilitated planet not only doesn't give unfavorable results, it brings great success and fame to the individual. The charts of former President Gerald Ford, artist Pablo Picasso, supermodel Lauren Hutton, author Stephen King, actress Demi Moore, TV journalist Tom Brokow, along with others are used to illustrate this Great Parashara Exception.
 
In the astrology of ancient India, Rahu, the North Node of the Moon, and Saturn are designated as two dire natural malefics. As such, when these two run as a planetary period and sub-period, it can bring a very challenging time in a person's life. In Iron and Steel students learn the conditions under which this will be especially true, as well as exceptions when these periods can actually produce very favorable results. Profusely illustrated, this article will enable students to accurately interpret what are often paradoxical times in a person's life.
 
What makes Jyotisha rather complicated is that for every interpretative principle there is an exception. These must be learned as well in order to accurately interpret birth charts.  Hopefully the articles in this volume will help students to do so.

This second volume of compiled articles by Marc Boney on Jyotisha, the astrology of ancient India, is focused on spirituality as reflected in a person's birth chart. The first article, entitled Astrology, Karma and Reincarnation, explains the interrelatedness of these concepts, and how a person's birth chart reflects a portion of their soul's karma due to be experienced in this lifetime, created by their thoughts, words and actions in previous births. Articulated also are the different kinds of karma as recognized in the Indian philosophical tradition and their degrees of intensity. This essay further elaborates upon the microcosmic/macrocosmic relationship between the subtle body of man and our solar system, and how this relationship forms the very basis of astrology. The second article, Ketu and Kaivalya, is about what factors in a birth chart show the potential for achieving spiritual enlightenment, and when this can occur. The astrological sages of the Vedic civilization perceived that Ketu (the south node of the Moon) was the graha or planetary entity that signified kaivalya or spiritual liberation. This article explores the astrological combinations given in two authoritative ancient texts, the Bhrhat Parashara Hora Shastra and Jaimini's Upadesha Sutras, for achieving this state. These combinations are then illustrated using the birth chart of Shri Ramana Maharishi. Some souls when they incarnate are already quite spiritually developed. Maharishi Jaimini in his Upadesha Sutras states that the degree of bondage or spiritual liberation of the soul can be assessed by seeing the over-all condition and disposition of the atmakaraka, the planet with the highest degrees in a birth chart. The Soul Quality of Saints tests this hypothesis by examining the birth charts of 15 great spiritual luminaries such a Paramahansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharishi, and Ramakrishna Paramahansa. Many more methods for assessing spiritual potentials in a birth chart are discussed along with yogas given in the ancient texts that incline a person to choose the path of spiritual renunciation. In the spiritual tradition of ancient India the guru is a central figure and is considered essential for making progress towards the goal of God-Realization. The fourth article in this compilation, entitled Jai Guru Dev, explores the astrology of when spiritual teachers and other important mentors come into a person's life using the charts of famous guru-disciple meetings such as Yogananda with his teacher, Sri Yukteshwar, Swami Vivekananda and his guru, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and many more. It concludes with a short story by a contemporary yoga master, Baba Hari Das, about true and false gurus and the importance of uncovering the guru within. In Kundalini Awakening, I share the predictive parameters taught to me by K.N. Rao regards when a person can experience the spiritual ecstasy resulting from kundalini shakti emerging from the root chakra as the base of the spine and flowing in and up the central nadi, the sushumna. These are illustrated using my own experience of this and that of others. Next comes a shorter article, Mr. and Mrs. Swami-Ji, about those factors in a birth chart that indicate the karma of having a long, happy and spiritually-based marriage. Using the horoscopes of a couple who are also ordained Swamis in the lineage of Kriya Yoga, these are detailed as well as methods for seeing spiritual inclinations in general using important divisional charts such as the navamsha, (D-9) and especially the vimshamsha (D-20). 260 pages of interesting instructional material in total.