THE POWER AND THE PUNCH OF THE RUCHAKA YOGA
RUCHAKA YOGA : In classic Vedic literature great importance is given to the five Panchamahapurusha Yogas. They refer to five classes of extraordinary persons born under particular configurations. These yogas are “Rushaka Yoga”, formed by Mars, “Bhadra Yoga”, formed by Mercury, “Hamsa Yoga”, formed by Jupiter, “Malavya Yoga”, formed by Venus, and “Shasya Yoga”, formed by Saturn. The primary rule for the creation of these Yogas is as follows:
- The planet forming the yoga must be in it’s own, or exaltation sign, and in an angle from the Lagna or the Moon.
It goes without saying that such a planet will be very powerful and all too apparent in the life and character of the native. In fact, the classical text Phaladeepika (sloka VI.4) tells us these yogas make one “fortunate; a king or equal to a king; an emperor or superior to an emperor.” Powerful stuff indeed! It must be borne in mind however, that the text from which these illustrious descriptions arise was written centuries ago and should be adapted to fit modern times.
Today, a “King” or an “Emperor” might be describing someone who gains a position of great authority and status in the community, whether that be in the theatre of politics, sport, the arts or business etc. If the planet forming the yoga also enjoys other beneficial yogas, especially from planets in, or ruling the kona ( 1-5-9-) or kendra (1-4-7-10) houses then it becomes even more auspicious. In this article I want to focus on the powerful Ruchaka Yoga, formed when Mangala/Mars is found angular in either Aries or Scorpio, the signs of his dignity, or Capricorn, his exaltation sign. Remember, it can also be in an angle from the Moon. (Chandra Lagna). From “300 Combinations” by B.V.Raman we are told that this Yoga:
“…is caused by the strong disposition of Mars in a Kendra identical with his own or exalted sign. Ruchaka Yoga makes one martial, a leader of men, a great Commander, and an aggressive but patriotic ruler or an equal. “
In order to illustrate the effects of Ruchaka Yoga let us look at the horoscope of a man who rose to the very pinnacle of his profession, a profession moreover, that epitomises the power and the punch of such a strong Mars. Notice first that Mars is the Yogakaraka for his Cancer ascendant, being the owner of both a kendra (house 10) and a kona (house 5). This alone would tend to give the potential for success and achievement. Now look further and you will see that Mars creates a beautiful Ruchaka Yoga by virtue of his being in his own sign of Aries and in an angular house, not just from the lagna (ascendant) but from the Sun and Moon as well! Add to this that Mars throws his 4th aspect to the ascendant itself and we can immediately understand the forceful, aggressive, warrior nature of the man.
He might indeed, have made a great soldier but he chose to be an athlete. Why? In Jyotish the 3rd house has to do with courage, fitness, valour, adventurousness, and so on, while the 6th house represents enemies, competition, fierce activities, etc – all qualities necessary to a great athlete and a great soldier. Both Lord 3, Mercury and Lord 6, Jupiter aspect the Lagna lord, the Moon, endowing Ali with courage, the desire to defeat enemies and great physical fitness. However it is my belief that it is the contact between Mercury, Jupiter and Venus that endowed him with grace, a love of beauty, poetry and harmonious movement, as these are all qualities ascribed to Venus.
From the Moon (Chandra Lagna), Venus is the yogakaraka planet, being lord of the 5th and 10th house. This in itself makes Venus potentially very fortunate and strong. Not only that but from Chandra Lagna Venus is involved in some highly auspicious Raja Yogas: He is the 5th and 10th lord conjoined to the 1st lord (Moon) and 9th lord (Mercury) in the Ascendant. This makes the influence of Venus very strong in terms of success, good fortune and fame.
It is the “Butterfly” half of “Float like a Butterfly, sting like a Bee”. I feel that it was the grace, love of peace and appreciation for beauty that steered him away from the kind of Martial profession that involved taking the life of another human being. Indeed, in 1967 Ali refused to be conscripted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and his opposition to the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Note the wonderful trine from Jupiter, lord of the 9th house, to the four planets in the 7th, which include lord 1, the Moon, and lord 4, Venus. More Raja Yogas there! Such a strong moral outlook is what one would expect from Jupiter aspects involving the 9th house. Turning one more time to his yogakaraka and Ruchaka Yoga Mars, notice it’s conjunction with Saturn in the 10th. At first blush this would appear to be a very difficult placement, especially since Saturn is debilitated in Aries. However, Saturn is in a kendra and conjoined to his lord, Mars, thereby cancelling the debility of Saturn and creating Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga.
This allows Saturn to operate more favourably and adds discipline and endurance to the raw aggression of Mars. Saturn in Aries brings control and self-command to the fighting instincts endowed by such a splendid Mars. Heavyweight Champion. Ali won the first of his three heavyweight titles when he defeated Sonny Liston on February 25th 1964 in Miami. At that time he was in his Rahu-Venus period.
In order to judge career success one must always check the dashamsha, or 10th division of the birthchart. This chart is identical to the 10th harmonic chart in western astrology and gives very accurate information regarding the extent of one’s power and status in the world, providing that the birth time is accurately known. In Ali’s dashamsha chart Rahu falls in Pisces and so takes on the qualities of his lord, Jupiter. Rahu is placed in the auspicious 5th house, conjoined to two benefics, the Moon and Mercury, and throws a mutual trine to Jupiter, who is exalted in Cancer and conjoined with Mars, the ascendant lord.
And what of Venus? In the dashamsha, Venus is in the 4th house from Rahu, and the 4th house is known as simhasana, the “seat of power”. This is exactly what Ali attained when he defeated Liston. Notice how Ali’s Ruchaka Yoga Mars is associated with Rahu in the dashamsha chart by being conjoined to the powerful 5th lord, Jupiter, who in turn is Rahu’s lord!
Second Title. In 1970, Ali’s conviction for draft evasion was overturned and he returned to the ring having previously converted to the Muslim faith. His Jupiter period began in January of that year.Recall that Jupiter is the planet that is the exalted 5th lord occupying the 9th house of his dashamsha. Also, in this division of his horoscope Jupiter forms a highly beneficial 1-5 Raja Yoga with Mars, and a beautiful 5-9 sign exchange with the Moon. Things could only get better! In October 1974 he regained the title by defeating George Foreman in the never-to-be-forgotten “Rumble In the Jungle”.
He was in his Jupiter-Mercury period and in his dashamsha chart Mercury occupies the 5th house and is conjoined to the Moon, thereby taking part in the beneficial Parivartamsha yoga with Jupiter. Additionally, Mercury receives the trine of Jupiter, marking this period to be one of incredible success and renown for him. Three Times World Champion! In February 1978, Ali faced Leon Spinks at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. At the time, Spinks had only seven professional fights to his credit, and had recently fought a draw with journeyman Scott LeDoux.
Ali sparred less than two dozen rounds in preparation for the fight, and was seriously out of shape by the opening bell. He lost the title by unanimous decision. A rematch followed on September 15th in New Orleans, which broke attendance records. Ali won a unanimous decision in an uninspiring fight, making him the first heavyweight champion to win the belt three times. On the day of the fight, Ali was running his Jupiter-Venus planetary period. Jupiter’s highly auspicious association with his amazing Ruchaka Yoga Mars in thedashamsha has already been noted, but what is less obvious is the effect of Venus.
In the dashamsha Venus is the 7th lord falling in the 8th house, not exactly spectacular, and moreover Venus has no connection to Jupiter or Mars. While it is true that Venus receives the trine of Jupiter in the radix chart, forming a strong 4-9 Raja Yoga, I wanted to see some strong hint from Venus in the dashamsha that Ali would regain his title for a record breaking third time. Then I remembered that from the Moon, Venus is in the 4th house, also known as simhasana, the “seat of power”. The planetary indications this time were not as strong and sure enough, he lost his last two professional fights, against Larry Holmes on October 2nd 1980 and Trevor Berbick in December 1981.
He was so badly beaten by Holmes that many believe it contributed to the onset of his Parkinson’s Disease in 1984, a disease that is common to the kind of head trauma that is suffered in boxing. Astrologically this is shown clearly by Saturn in Aries (head) conjunct Mars and throwing it’s 10th aspect to the Lagna lord, Moon.
In Conclusion.
To sum up, the immensely powerful Ruchaka Yoga in Ali’s chart, formed by his dignified Mars in the 10th house and contributing to many other auspicious Raja Yogas in the radix and dashamsha, helped to make Muhammad Ali “a King, or equal to a King”, “a leader of men” and an “aggressive but patriotic ruler” It is indisputable that he was one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century and arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer who ever lived.
In his heyday he was a great showman, a strong anti-war activist and a devout Muslim, inspiring thousands with his message of peace, service and brotherly love. But it is as three-times heavyweight Champion of the World that he will always and best be remembered; a man with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, a block of iron in his fists, and a roaring mouth that proclaimed loudly and often: “I AM THE GREATEST!” To this day, millions of people around the world still believe it to be true. Source: petephoenix
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