The ACVA Comet, June 2024

American College of Vedic Astrology

Note from the President of ACVA

By Professor Charlotte Benson (Jyoti Devi) President, ACVA

June 2024

Hello dear Friends of ACVA –

We hope this finds you and your families doing well during this Solstice season.

ACVA students and faculty are keeping each other especially busy this quarter! The Board and Faculty of ACVA are proud to present to you the two most recent graduates of the Jyotisha Ratna courses: Ms. Giulia Avvenzini and Mr. Jeffery Hutchens. Congratulations! Both graduates passed the courses and the examinations with distinction. It was a joy to observe their progress.

ACVA Faculty Emerita, Komilla Sutton was recently presented with a Lifetime Achievement award through AVG. Congratulations to one of my beloved teachers – very well deserved dear Komilla-ji!

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Professor Charlotte Benson (Jyoti Devi)

President, American College of Vedic Astrology

Gola – Summer 2024

By Julene Louis,

Jyotish Ratna, Jyotish Visharada, ISAR-CAP

ACVA Curriculum Coordinator

Gola is the observational astronomy limb of Jyotish. This summer Mangala, Guru and Shani are visible in the morning sky. Shukra becomes an evening graha in mid-July and remains visible throughout the rest of summer. Budha is visible in the evening sky at the beginning of summer, invisible during mid-summer and visible in the morning sky at the end of summer.

Go out and observe the grahas as they travel through the rashis and pass the primary stars of nakshatras. Commune with them in the heavens and experience a level of seeing, beyond a computer screen, that deepens your understanding and practice of Jyotish. Chandra passes the grahas during its 27.5-day cycle through the zodiac, providing opportunities to witness their conjunctions and locate the grahas in the night sky.

As summer begins, locate Shani, Mangala and Guru in the morning sky. Shani is travelling through the space between the constellations of Kumbha and Mina rashis. Look below Scheat and Markab of Pegasus to locate Shani in Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra. Mangala, travelling through Mesha rashi, will be east of Shani. Observe Mangala passing between Menkar of Cetus (below) and Almach of Andromeda (above) marking Bharani nakshatra. Guru will rise in the east-northeast shortly before dawn in Vrishabha rashi, slightly above and west of Aldebaran marking Rohini nakshatra.

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The Observatory - June 2024 Solstice Edition

By Dr. Lynn Bootes, MD

ACVA Dean of Students and Registrar

registrar@acvaonline.org

Dear Readers,

Astronomical summer has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, while our Southern Hemisphere friends enter winter. The most dramatic event of the season will be the exact conjunction/occultation of Mars and Jupiter on August 14 at 22 degrees Taurus. Please refer to Julene’s excellent analysis of how they will appear in the sky in her GOLA article in this journal.

Please note that the exact longitudinal “conjunction” by degree is at a slightly different time of day. Jupiter and Mars will be at 22deg27 Taurus in Rohini. In the USA, that will place it in the early afternoon (9^th house) in the eastern USA, while in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East it will take place near sunset (7^th house), and in India around midnight (4^th house). Since Mercury and Venus are in Leo, Saturn in Aquarius, and the Moon in Scorpio on that day, we may expect there will be actions and events, hopefully for the ultimate karmic good of all. With planets inhabiting all the fixed signs, one can suppose actions taken will have lasting results. Please note there are many traditional Vedic aspects active at this time.

This occultation is known as Planetary War in the Jyotish tradition, and different gurus give different outcomes for “who wins.” Some say the brighter, some say the one which is at a more northern latitude. All agree that the outcome is not good for either. Even if we suppose that the brighter Jupiter wins, it pays the price for war, and even if Mars loses, it causes damage. As we have many other favorable conditions, we can do our part to create and accept outcomes in the highest good in the world.

My Jyotish guru Dennis Harness called the combination of Jupiter and Mars (Guru Mangala Yoga) the “conference planning yoga,” and said that if auspiciously placed and strong in a horoscope, this signifies a person who can plan and accomplish a major project. Here is a shout out to you, Dennis, and a reminder to our readers that Dennis organized many great ACVA conferences for decades before his retirement. Personally, I am holding out hope for auspicious results of world-wide events such as the Paris Olympics, various other social events, elections, and diplomatic summits. August may also be an auspicious time to begin planning big events for future years, while the cautious will keep an eye out for less auspicious events.

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Three famous astrologers with Parivartana Yoga

By Alan Annand

ACVA Editor-in-Chief of Publications

Introduction

Parivartana yoga, in which two planets occupy each other’s sign, is a common phenomenon in astrology, occurring in 43% of all charts, whether natal, horary or electional. And yet, common as it is, Parivartana yoga merits careful consideration. By noting the houses occupied and ruled, and by judiciously blending their respective meanings in light of this planetary relationship, the astrologer will be rewarded with interpretations that are both specific and meaningful to the client.

Some western astrologers occasionally suggest that planets in mutual reception act as if conjoined. So, if it’s Mercury and Saturn, they declare the native is deeply studious, mathematical, a weighty thinker, a realist or a pessimist, an historian or antiquarian, a philosopher or scientific researcher. Regardless of ascendant, it’s implied.

In practical interpretation, however, planets in Parivartana yoga do much more than merge their generic attributes. Parivartana yoga ultimately connects the specific significations of the two houses simultaneously owned and occupied. The planets themselves are not the focus, but simply the agents who connect the two houses, like ambassadors forging a treaty between two countries with different agenda.

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SIMONE BILES AT THE OLYMPICS – VENUS RISING

By Dr. Lynn Bootes, MD

ACVA Dean of Students and Registrar

registrar@acvaonline.org

On June 3, 2024, the phenomenal Simone Biles clinched her place on the USA women’s gymnastics team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. At age 27, Ms. Biles already has status in sports history, with a record number of Olympic Gold medals and other records too numerous to count. Two of her previous signature moves bear her name in the Code of Gymnastics, and she just performed a third, even more complex, move never before successfully attempted in competition. Here are some of the words which describe Ms. Biles: Persistence – a long career overcoming pain. Courage – after withdrawing from the 2021 Summer Olympics in Japan due to a mental block called “the twisties,” she became an advocate for the mental health needs of athletes. Speaking up - for herself and others about the sexual abuse scandals in the USA Olympics Team and the sport in general. Image – she put women’s gymnastics on the map for aspiring young women of color in the United States. She is unusually small – 4 feet 6 inches in height – and married to a professional football player. What will we see in her birth chart? And what do the stars show about her Olympic summer ahead?

Venus is spectacular in Aquarius in the Lagna - grace and beauty combined with detachment and fixed purpose. As a planetary friend to the sign ruler of Aquarius, Saturn, and the Yogakaraka planet for Aquarius Lagna (ruler of 4^th and 9^th houses), Venus gains greater strength and auspiciousness. Biles and her sister were adopted by the grandfather, and he became the excellent father she needed. Aquarius has associations with the ankles, critical to the skill of a gymnast. Next, we see the glorious, exalted Moon in Taurus in her 4^th house, and we note that the sign ruler of the Moon in Taurus is that very same Venus. Biles received nurturing and a stable home from her adoptive mother and has shown a steady advocacy for her own Manas – emotional stability. Then we turn to the Lagna Lord Saturn, tightly conjoined with the Sun, Mercury, and Ketu in her Pisces 2^nd house, which has an association with speech, the neck, and the balance of inner ear. Another important association with the 2^nd house is extended family – she was adopted by relatives. Although we often associate Pisces with fluid motion and lack of boundaries, the presence of the Lagna lord Saturn in this group brings an unusual mix of the fluid moves of rotation and twisting with the solid posture and balance of the mounts and dismounts. Pisces is also associated with the gymnast’s all-important feet.

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Coming Attractions at ACVA

1. Saturday, 6/22/24 @ 10 AM Pacific, 1 PM Eastern time. 1.5 Hours. “Ask Jyoti Devi” (Registration Link)

Please join in – it’s complimentary. We’ll take a look at your charts if you like. I will have some ideas about the recent ingress of Uranus into Taurus for you to consider. And I hope it will be fun and worthwhile for you – it is for me! We had a very lively session last month.

2. Saptarishi’s Guru Purnima Conference: Online.

Starts 7/1/24 and runs the entire month of July. Celebrating the Full Moon of 7/21/24. For details and registration: garygomesg@gmail.com or 508-525-0001 or http://saptarishisastrology.com. ACVA Faculty will be presenting.

3. Thursday, 11/21/24 – Monday 11/25/24 Maharishi Parasara Conference: Online.

Faculty for this event include ACVA’s Dr. Dennis Harness, Alan Annand and Charlotte Benson. Friends of ACVA scheduled to appear: Sarbani and Pandit Sanjay Rath, Komilla Sutton, Dr. Andrew Foss, Ronnie Dreyer, Sam Geppi, and Simon Chokoisky – among many other luminaries.

REGISTER: https://www.parasharaconference.com Use Discount Code: ‘ACVA108’ for a substantial discount for ACVA friends and alumni.

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In gratitude,

The Leadership Team

American College of Vedic Astrology