The Dasamsa of Richard Simmons by Bronwyn Beatta

Vargas Essay

Oct 17

Are you interested in learning Vedic Astrology from an experienced teacher? Do you want to deepen your understanding of the ancient wisdom of the stars and planets? If so, you might want to check out the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program, a two-year online course that covers all the essential topics of this fascinating discipline.

The Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program is offered on the teachable.com platform, where you can access the lectures, exercises, quizzes, and assignments at your own pace. You will learn about the fundamentals of Vedic Astrology, such as the rasis, the signs, the houses, the planets, the vargas, the dashas, the yogas, and more. You will also learn how to interpret charts, make predictions, and apply remedies.

If you are looking for even more rigour, you can also enrol in the Certification Pathway, a complementary program that allows you to submit your work for assessment at the end of each semester. There are nine semesters in total, and each one has a specific focus and theme. By completing the Certification Pathway, you will demonstrate your mastery of Vedic Astrology and earn an invitation to join the Practicum Year of supervised, applied Vedic Astrology.  Successful completion of the Practicum Year will entitle you to Certification from Asheville Vedic Astrology and its associated benefits.

But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself the quality of the work produced by students on the program. Today’s blog post is a paper written by one of our apprentices at the end of the eighth semester, which explores how a Varga chart links to a Natal chart and enriches its interpretation.

We hope you enjoy reading this paper and find it informative and insightful. If you are inspired by what you see and want to join our program, please visit the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program on teachable.com or contact me for more information. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you on your journey of learning Vedic Astrology.

Dasamsa General Purpose and Overall Purpose of Planets Within the D10

The Dasamsa (D10) reveals what one is known for in their life. It sheds light on one’s capacity for fame, power, status, achievement and livelihood. Planets in good dignity and placement will show where one has strengths for outward success; planets in poor dignity and placement will indicate where one has weaknesses that may get in the way of that success. The most important house to observe within the D10 is the 10th: it shows how one activates their Dasamsa, as well as their karmic impact on the world. The Dasamsa Ascendant is also very important because it sets the “personality” for how one approaches that area of life.

Saturn

The primary karaka for the D10 is Saturn. Saturn relates to one’s capacity to work hard and endure the difficulties that come with obtaining greatness and success. It shows if they have the staying power necessary to keep going even when things get tough. Saturn imparts whether or not someone can undertake the great things they accomplish. In the Dasamsa, it can also show where there may be a fall from position.

Sun

The Sun is the secondary karaka for the Dasamsa. It can inform us as to how much status one gains from doing good work. The Sun in this Varga represents titles, status, power, authority, confidence, achievement, inspiration and government service.

Other Planets

Each planet plays an important role in every Varga, even if they’re not in the primary or secondary position. In the D10, the Moon reflects one’s popularity and visibility to the public. Mars takes on its military-like role as Commander, Overseer or General. Mercury reveals one’s capacity to manage their authority, power and status. Jupiter in the Dasamsa discloses how much one enjoys their authority. Venus is one’s diplomatic capacity. The Nodes have their importance too: Rahu’s dignity and position shows how well one is known for their originality, and whether or not they have authority with foreigners or foreign affairs. Ketu’s dignity and position represents one’s critics.

Richard Simmons at a Glance

Richard Simmons is an American fitness “guru”/instructor, author, talk show host, public speaker and motivator, actor and health club businessman. With his eccentric and upbeat personality, his seemingly inexhaustible energy, and his outrageous exercise outfits, he became famous mostly through his aerobic fitness videos from the 1970s through the early 2010s. Always wanting to motivate people to move their bodies and eat healthily, he was determined to inspire people everywhere to improve their lives.

Highly effeminate and sensitive because of the Moon on his Ascendant in Libra and Venus being his Ascendant Lord, he also had a masculine command by having the Sun in his 10th house. Mars is his Atmakaraka, which makes him shorter in stature, muscular, and have an intense and energetic presence.

Simmons has no problem accruing wealth and fame. His 10th lord is in the 1st. His 1st lord Venus is in good dignity in the 9th house of fortune, dharma and purpose. His Sun, also in good dignity is his 11th lord in the 10th, along with Mercury, his 9th lord. He is self-motivated and overcomes obstacles easily with Jupiter ruling his 3rd and 6th, and being in its Own Home.

His 2nd and 7th lord, Mars, is Neutral in the 12th, which discloses some weakness to wealth, income and partnerships.

Venus is his Ascendant Lord, and does well in Great Friend’s dignity in his 9th house of purpose and dharma. He’s very interested in his own culture and helping it develop and evolve through education of physical wellness. It’s in Gemini, an extremely fun sign; Simmons’ lightheartedness and benevolence shines through with his capacity to teach large populations how to exercise, eat well and make it enjoyable. Venus being in his 9th house, he’s devoted to his dharma. On the Howard Stern Show in 2012, when asked if he’s ever been in love, he replied, “I’m in love with what I do.”

Over the decades, he’s made appearances on talk shows, had his own talk show, spoken at conventions, has been on radio interviews, and ran his own gym as the centerpiece of his career. He always rallied huge audiences, energizing them with his exciting voice and by running around the stage and into the audience aisles. Simmons’ presence filled any room. This behavior displayed his strong Sun in Great Friend’s dignity in his 10th house with extremely high Shad Bala and only positive Lajjitaadi Avashtas.

Once an interview got going, he’d only want to talk about his mission and dharma. Interviews seemed to go well when hosts let him do this. However, whenever an interviewer wanted to get personal, Simmons would sidestep the questions instead of directly say why he didn’t want to talk about them. He’d tear up and get very emotional. This appeared to be his Moon in Enemy dignity showing up on his Ascendant. Saturn, his 4th lord, is also in an enemy’s sign in Leo in Neutral dignity, getting severely starved by the Sun and is Sushupti. He has a hard time admitting to weaknesses and feeling emotionally secure, especially in public.

Mercury is also being thirsted to a large extent in Cancer. He took a lot of things personally, or at least acted like he did, so that he could deflect an uncomfortable personal question back at the interviewer with a sobbing blame of being attacked. This, too, derailed the conversation away from what the interviewer wanted to know; he’d beg to get back to his purpose for being on the show to promote his mission of fitness to the masses.

Lajjitaadi Avasthas of Richard Simmons D1 Natal Chart

In the 1980s, Simmons would be purposefully funny or act comedic for his audience. This good-natured humor went sideways later in the 1990s and 2000s when talk show hosts and others would turn him into the butt of their jokes. They’d play pranks on him and make fun of him. This seemed to be unexpected by Simmons, and his emotional hurt was quite apparent, and not an “act” from him to deflect something uncomfortable. Sometimes he’d get physically hurt by these pranks.

Ketu is in his 2nd house in Scorpio, and Rahu is in his 8th house in Taurus. In general, this may speak to a great amount of self-reliance from past lives. There is confluence of independence from such a powerful Sun in his birth chart; he’s the one to take care of himself. Rahu in the 8th is showing that he may have little to no experience in relying on others’ resources or trusting them with his deeper psychological weaknesses. Rahu’s lord, Venus, has a great deal of support, therefore this may be a challenge that he’s been learning to explore over the years.

Since approximately early 2014, Richard Simmons has been mostly absent from the public eye. He briefly came out of his seclusion in August 2022 for a short video to affirm his well being after rumors were started by a sensationalist entertainment show about him being held captive against his will by his housekeeper.

Mercury, Sun and Moon in Simmons’ Dasamsa

I’m exploring Simmons’ Dasamsa and the planets of Mercury, Sun and Moon in this chart. I’ve specifically picked these three because, in the main birth chart, the Moon is his 10th house lord in his 1st house, and both Sun and Mercury reside in his 10th house—making them very prominent in his activity in the world and how he shows up publicly.

I’ve chosen to focus on his Dasamsa because this is the Varga that has the most planets in Angles for him, so things like career and status have more prominence. I’m also fascinated that, despite certain planets doing well in his birth chart, all of his D10 Angular planets are in poor dignities.

The Dasamsa Ascendant

The Ascendant of a Varga gives the “personality” of the area of life. His career, fame, status and power show up as a Sagittarius Ascendant. He’s tackled his career with Sagittarian qualities: fieriness, power as indicated by thighs and hips… literally “squeezing his buns”, committing to something bigger than himself and doing it in a kshatriya manner.

We must, however, remember Jaimini’s words about Sagittarius: “While proceeding, a fall from a vehicle or height.” With Jupiter as the D10 Ascendant Lord being in Great Enemy dignity and in an Angle within the Dasamsa, this appears to have happened: his decline to be seen in public is noticed, and his abrupt choice to discontinue his motivational career after such a long, passionate run with it.

Mercury

Mercury in Richard Simmons’ birth chart is in Neutral dignity, Mrita Avashta and Sushupti in Cancer. It’s getting agitated by the Sun and thirsted by the Moon. Mercury rules his 9th and 12th houses and lives in the 10th. Jupiter graha aspects Mercury 55/60 points. It has the lowest total Shad Bala score after Lajjitaadi Avashtas, but never goes negative.

By his 9th lord being in the 10th house, Simmons is an inspiring figure. He lives a dharmic and inspired life. He has a strong sense of duty and successfully engages in many responsibilities, maintaining his wealth and successful business enterprises. He is a popular person, not only because of this bhava yoga, but because his Moon—his 10th lord—is in his Ascendant. His Moon is also doing well in the Dasamsa.

As for his 12th lord being in the 10th, he works well managing others’ losses (mostly around losing weight), he has contributed to charities and has a spiritual life that inspires his ability to motivate others. Even though he was fairly ubiquitous on television for decades, his non attachment to his career is evident: he hasn’t been seen in public or done anything to promote

his career since he became mostly reclusive almost 10 years ago. In 1981 he was quoted as saying, “The day I don’t love any of this, I’ll walk away.” It could be that he eventually felt like it took too much energy to make a positive impact on the world (the negative side of this bhava yoga).

Mercury in the Dasamsa tells us how well one manages their status, power and fame. It also indicates how much one enjoys that Varga, or if it's a source of stress. In his D10, Mercury is in the 4th house, Debilitated, Mrita and Sushupti. It gets rasi aspects from Sun and Jupiter. Jupiter aspecting increased his ability to manifest in this Angle of his Dasamsa. The Sun gives a harsh aspect of sacrifice for greatness towards his Mercurial position in his career. The 4th house in the Dasamsa represents how supported one feels in their actions, and the level of contentment one feels from their activities and status.

Mercury is the 10th lord in the Dasamsa in the 4th house. By being Debilitated here, for as much enthusiasm as he put forth publicly, I don’t think he actually found much enjoyment, contentment or support with maintaining his business enterprises. He was certainly motivated, but Mercury in the D1 and in the D10 reveals that it’s his career’s weakest link.

His communication on talk shows was usually all over the place. He couldn’t stay calm in order to fully get his messages across. His excitement or tearful emotion of his communication would get in his own way of expressing his mission.

He had so much daily communication with individuals about their own needs—perhaps as a way of trying to find fulfillment of his own egoic needs through his followers (Moon thirsting Mercury)—and then did so much promotional work, that he eventually burned out. He suddenly withdrew from his outrageous public image without a word in 2014, and shut down his main gym in Beverly Hills, California, in 2016 with no notice.

Sun

Simmons’ Sun is the 11th lord in the 10th in the D1. It’s in Great Friend’s dignity, Kumara and Svapna. There are no negative Lajjitaadi Avashtas to it, and it has the highest Shad Bala by raw score and total score. His Sun gets full help from the Moon by being in Cancer and 45/60 points of graha aspect from Jupiter.

He gets praised for his career success, has fame, multiple streams of income, and has run multiple businesses at once. He was very involved with influential people (more business-wise and less personally), and being wealthy comes naturally to him. He was visionary and made his visions come true.

By Jupiter aspecting, he took proper actions and led well by example. His goals grew and prospered. Moon delighting his Sun gave him an ability to tune into the masses. He’s been sensitive to them, answering emails and taking multiple calls a day from “normal” people, listened to them, encouraged them and validated them while still leading them.

The Sun in the Dasamsa represents how much status one has by doing their work, and how consistently they show up with that work and status. In his D10, the Sun is in the 10th house and rules the 9th. It’s in Enemy’s dignity in Virgo. The 9th house in the Dasamsa deals with one’s beliefs that empower their work in the world.

By the Sun being in poor dignity in the 10th house of the D10, he may feel that his very public work didn’t come with grace and ease. Obesity is (still) on the rise, and—even though he’s helped millions of people lose weight—he may feel like he failed as a leader in this crusade against the obesity epidemic. But it’s the Sun here, and so while he was active, he stayed committed to constantly showing up, day in and day out. I speculate that he may not believe that, even with all of those successes, that he’s made a dent because of the huge industry of

fast food and lack of physical education in schools. The Enemy dignity of his Sun in the D10 may make him feel like his vision for an overall healthier population isn’t coming true. By the Sun being in the 10th house in the 10th Varga, this not only activates his work in the world, but also—by being in Enemy’s dignity—the public can openly see his uphill battle to make his vision become a reality.

However, this 10th house in the D10 is getting rasi aspected by both Jupiter and Mercury. His Sun has a lot of Ishta (42 points) and all friendly Avashtas going towards it. Even though he may feel dismayed at times about the impact he’s had on the world, he’s still been highly successful at manifesting positive leadership through fitness and diet.

Moon

Simmons is a Libra Ascendant, and the Moon is his 10th lord. The Moon brings the ability for Libras to appeal to the masses, and give fame and influence because they have a capacity to emotionally connect with others. This can also get a Libra Ascendant interested in politics— which Simmons is—in the sense that, before his reclusiveness, he was really promoting a bill in Congress for physical education to be required again in public school systems in the United States.

In the Rasi chart, Simmons’ Moon is in the 1st house. It’s in Enemy dignity and Kumara. It gets help from the Sun and Mercury, giving more confluence to his leadership, his innovation in a business that supports others, and that his personality lends itself to being true to higher ideals. Simmons also makes the most of every opportunity to push his fitness agenda.

Because his Moon is in Enemy dignity, he has the capacity to make mistakes in business due to personality issues. He’s used his emotions as a way to publicly derail conversations, either through acting dejected or through heightened excitement and bypassing others’ agendas. He’s expressed an excessive “motherliness” of wanting to hug and kiss his hosts and tell them how much he loved them like a mother would.

Although his Moon is in Enemy dignity in the birth chart, it’s in Friend dignity and Yuva in the Dasamsa. It’s in the 2nd house of the D10. The Moon in the Dasamsa shows one’s popularity and visibility to the public. The Moon also relates to how one can nurture their status and actions in the world, and how adaptable they are in their fame and status. He was sensitive to his fans’ need for personal communication and inspiration. Being nurturing towards his devotees certainly helped his status grow.

Being in good dignity in the Dasamsa, his Moon qualities are what he’s known for: his career as a fitness instructor and motivator, helping others lose weight and stay fit by leading by example, and being emotionally available to his followers’ successes in weight loss. He also used “real people” who were overweight in his workout videos, a huge departure from other famous fitness instructors, and this brought further mass appeal to him and his goals.

In the D10, his Moon is not in an Angle or a Trine, but in the 2nd house with no rasi aspects. This shows that, throughout his career, he had extra responsibility to develop his Moon’s qualities of bringing comfort to others and becoming more of a mother archetype to those who needed his encouragement, sensitivity and emotional support. With the Moon as his 10th lord going into his Ascendant, people immediately saw him as a nurturer who was able to also lead them with his dominant Sun in the 10th house.

Conclusion

In this essay, we have seen how the Dasamsa chart of Richard Simmons reveals his extraordinary career, personality, and spiritual journey. We have also compared his Dasamsa with his Natal Chart, and noticed some similarities and differences. The Dasamsa is a powerful tool to understand the 10th house of profession, fame, and karma. It can also show us the hidden aspects of our soul’s purpose and evolution. By studying the Dasamsa of Richard Simmons, we can learn from his example and apply his wisdom to our own lives.

References

Kurzcak, Ryan & Fish, Richard. The Art and Science of Vedic Astrology, Volume 2. Asheville: Asheville Vedic Astrology, 2014.

Richard Simmons. (2023, Oct 4). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:00, October 4, 2023, from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Simmons

Stern Demand. “Richard Simmons Returns Back After 3 Year Hiatus.” November 26, 2020. 59:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyLdT9lksz8

Vargas Coursework, Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship, Ryan Kurczak, Autumn 2023.

D10MercurySunMoon

Fiona Marques