First Lord in the First House by Sign
First Lord in the First House by Sign
[00:00:00] Introduction and Context
[00:00:00] Fiona Marques: um Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Vedic Astrology Podcast. My name is Fiona Marques. I'm looking forward to our episode today and the chance to be with you. I've been thinking this week about Bhava Yogas and I wanted to explore them a little bit more deeply. So Bhava Yogas are a technique that's in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. They're in chapter 24. And they basically take the Ruler of the House and they look at where that Ruler goes in the chart. And by combining those two numerical energies it can provide insights for us about the person's life and how they're going to interact with, with reality and with their karma.
I use them a lot. And I find them really reliable. I would say that they are the bread and butter of what I do. And this last week. I was researching for our Mars mythology podcast, which is coming up. We're just waiting for months to just move out of Cancer because probably it's not a great time for us to record that Podcast right now.
But as I was looking around at the research I was listening to the "Myth and Magic of Vedic Astrology", which is one of Ryan Kurczak's downloadable courses. And if you are lucky enough to be on the teachable.com Apprenticeship with Asheville Vedic Astrology it's one of your bonus materials.
So I was listening to the Mars mythology. And right at the end of that series. It's five or six audios, all with little stories about Mars and the names and the avatars. So it's great research. But right at the end, Ryan just drops in an observation that he had made at the time about using the Bhava Yogas and how to make them more effective. And this is something that he talked about all the time on the Apprenticeship, he talks about on the Q & A, when we see him each month. So it's not like this is a new idea to me. But something about it sat with me. I'll play it for you now.
[00:02:17] Ryan Kurczak: And one last thing I want to share with you that's been on my mind that might be really helpful to unlock your chart interpretations. So first of all, you need to think about confluence, I knew this intuitively, but it wasn't unlocked until I started thinking about these Brihat Parashara Bhava Lords and how we can interpret those, especially using the Ishta and Kashta.
So whenever you're looking at Yogas or combinations of things, if something indicates a particular experience in life and that Planet is causing that thing also is just a natural Karaka or a natural ruler of that, then that makes it more applicable to the person. So think about that when you're considering Yogas, when you're considering Planetary placements. Let's pretend that we were looking at Jupiter in the 10th house. And let's say that we were looking through some of our books and it said, "okay the Ruler of the 1st in the 10th that will give a person lots of status and that will give a person lots of visibility within their career".
Now, let's pretend that the ruler of the 1st was Jupiter. It will give that status because it's the 1st in the 10th, but Jupiter's not really about status. So it's weaker.
However, if we would've had a Leo ascendant and we would've had the Sun in the 10th, the ruler of the 1st in the 10th being the Sun. When you saw that, you could say this is gonna be a very prominent individual and authority within their career. Because number one, the 1st was in the 10th, which means status and career, and it's the Sun, which is the Planet of status.
Okay. And how do you know if it's good or bad? Again? Is the Planet in good dignity or bad dignity? Do you see how that works?
This is why that sheet that I gave you is so important because it tells you what the Planets represent, which means that when you go and you see something like this, now you can get a sense of how do I interpret this in such a way? Did it make sense now? So keep that in mind if you just take that one little bit in, into your chart interpretations, and you already know what the Planets represent, you're gonna be leaps and bounds above other people.
[00:04:12] Fiona Marques: Now that you've heard that you can hear that he's basically suggesting that Planets are Karakas for things. Like Jupiter's a Karaka for children or Sun is a Karaka for status. Each of the Planets have their own things that they represent.
And this makes each Planet naturally have an affinity for some of the Bhava Yogas more than others. That's the point that he's making. And I'm aware of that. And I try to do that when I'm doing my research with clients. But it got me thinking about, I wonder how important the Sign energy is. Because the Sign is like the field. It's like the soil that our karma grows in. Plants, maybe are the karma, but depending on whether the soil is fertile or not are supported or not, whether that good or bad thing can really, get better or worse or really bring itself into manifestation. So the Signs we know are really important.
I've always wanted to take the Bhava Yogas and, and put them by Planet. But something about this made me think about putting the Bhava Yogas by Sign. What would it be like when the First Lord is in the First House, but it's in Aries. And what's it like when the First Lord is in the First House, but it's in Capricorn.
So off I went and had a little play around and had one of those. The, I guess they're the opposite of aha moments. I guess it's an aha moment, but it's where you realize how naive you are or how little you understand, because of course, as soon as we put the Bhava Yogas at the House level, then we actually identify the Planet. So by doing. The House Lord's by Sign, we automatically also lock in which Planet it is.
Then I really felt like I was getting some very tangible sense of what these Bhava Yogas might be like. So I really wanted to keep digging into my research.
Now obviously, this is a bit of a mega project, so, you know, it's not something I might even complete in a lifetime, but there are 144 Bhava Yoga combinations. That is to say that the First Lord can be in 12 different Houses. The 2nd Lord can be in 12 different Houses. All the way through to the 12th Lord can be in 12 different Houses. So that's how we get 144.
But if we were to look at. The. Bhava Yogas by Sign then, of course, there's actually 12 Signs where the First Lord can be in the First House. So we are turning the Bhava Yogas from two-dimensional into three-dimensional. And really increasing the number of combinations.
So whether this is a table that I will ever finish completing. I at least wanted to have a play with First Lord in the First House. And what does that look like when it's in Aries? When it's in Taurus, when it's in Gemini all the way through to when it's in Pisces?
So one of the things that I love about the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program is that it's really teaching us how to read a chart by coming down to the fundamental building blocks that are making up the chart. And each of these components has its own qualities and rules and techniques and ways that it acts.
And in the Apprenticeship we I'm gonna say painstakingly focus on one component at a time. And the idea is that a student understands that component as fully as possible, as a standalone component, which of course nothing in life is ever standalone, but as perfectly as we could make it stand alone, and gets their understanding, checked through assessment before they would move on to learning about the next component.
And the Apprenticeship is set up in such a way that takes nine semesters. So nine distinct components. And doing the teaching that way means that the students are not learning by rote, some kind of combinations or Yogas or platitudes that we say, oh, "Leo Ascendants are like this", or "People with the Sun in the 10th House are like this".
It's that we want to understand what are the qualities of the Sun? What are the qualities of the 10th House? What are the qualities of the Sign that it's in? And all of the other components that are making up the chart. Which we will go on to talk about Shadbala and the Vargas and the Avasthas that are taking place and the Nodes. You can see that there's lots of components.
However, once a student has completed the first three semesters, which are about Rasis and Bhavas and Grahas, once you're signed off for those three, you're really empowered to use the Bhava Yogas because the enormous component of using them is those three things. The Sign, the House and the Planet.
So. I had this idea of doing what is the 1st Lord like when it's in the First House in a particular Sign. And I wanted to take that methodology of looking at the Bhava Yoga and taking those words from Brihat Parashara that perhaps are a little harder for us to access because they're written in a more symbolic language and from a time quite some time ago. So taking our foundation from the text Brihat Parashara, but thinking about how does that show up in the modern world? My methodology was having some dot points about what the First Lord looks in like in the First House. Some generic dot points. And then, step-by-step having a look at, what does that look like in Aries? What does it look like in Taurus? What does it look like in Gemini? So I created myself a very big table. With these dot points on the left and the 12 Rasis across the top of the page and then went through filling in all of the boxes to see, for example, the first quality was the First Lord in the First House is someone who makes effort towards self-improvement. So, what does that look like if it's Mercury? What does that look like if it's Jupiter? Trying to come up with wording. For that concept, "Self-improvement" but for each of the different Planets in their Sign.
So I have a very large table. I love having my Patreon group because, for my "Mad Scientists" and above I drop in my work that I'm, thinking about that I'm working on and I can get some feedback. So if you want to have a look at this enormous table, and give me some feedback I would really welcome that's up on Patreon.
[00:11:34] What you tell from the 1st House by Sign Placement
[00:11:34] Fiona Marques: But as I was doing that, I realized that doing the House Lord combinations by Sign, not only does it lock in the Planet but it actually tells us quite a lot about the state of that Planet. For example all First Lords in the First House, are going to be Jagrat in terms of their state of wakefulness. They will all be alert and able to see and interact with their karma. And in fact, even, maybe get ahead of it. So I thought that was really interesting.
Then of course we have some combinations that make a lot of sense at the Element level. So if we go to our favorite first place to start everything, which is Aries, we know that we've got a Fire combination because the First Lord of Aries is Mars. And it's a Fire Planet and we know that Aries is a Fire Sign. So we've got this kind of match in the Elements. Whereas in other combinations that's not the case. So for example we could have a look at Mercury. We might consider to be like an Earth Planet, but in Gemini, it's an Air Sign. We could consider Venus to be a Water Planet. In Taurus, it's an Earth Sign. So we can get either a match or a clash with those Elements. And I thought that was a very interesting. Because of what we think about with the First House, taking the initiative. Fire seems to be the really correct Element for that. Right. It's a very starting and changing, transformative, detoxifying kind of energy. And isn't it interesting that those 1, 5, 9, so Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, they're our Fire Signs and they all have Fire Planets associated with them. So Aries has Mars, which is Fire. Leo has Sun, which is Fire and Sagittarius has Jupiter, which is Fire Ether kind of combination. It's interesting where the Elements match up and where they don't.
Then of course we can tell also if it's Masculine or Feminine, match. Because the Signs have a gender and the Planets, some of them have a gender.
And we also know whether it's a Cardinal Sign, a Fixed Sign or Mutable Sign. And once again, those combinations are all different. So if we go to our Fire combinations, Aries, which we associate so strongly with taking the initiative, is Fire Fire. So that matches. It's Masculine. That kind of matches too. And it's Cardinal, meaning it, it wants to move. It's ready to make changes. So no wonder we consider Aries to be such a place of starting things and beginning. Whereas if we follow that Fire energy, the next place is Leo. And it is Fire Fire. And Masculine, but it's a Fixed Sign. So it's got a different intensity to that wanting to start. And Sagittarius Fire. Masculine. But in a Mutable Sign. So having both of those approaches. So that was really interesting.
And not only that once I really started thinking about it, I realized we can tell about Dig bala too, because Dig bala relates to which House a Planet is in. And some Planets get Dig bala in the First House. Those Planets are Jupiter and Mercury. So there's a really natural match between having Jupiter as the 1st Lord in the First House and with high Dig bala for our two manifesting Planets, Mercury and Jupiter. And it makes you wonder whether they are manifesting Planets because they get high Dig bala in the First House. And the First Lord in the First House has this initiation and start and make things happen.
And we can also tell the Ayana bala as well, because Ayana bala is related to the Sign. And some Planets perform better with Cancer at the top. And some Planets perform better where Capricorn is at the bottom.
So I realized that this approach of doing the House Lord in a particular House by Sign actually gives us a whole lot of information and really begins to take these Bhava Yogas from being something generic into something quite tailored.
[00:16:02] Methodolgy
[00:16:02] Fiona Marques: So at first, this was my approach was to draw a very big table and fill in all of the boxes.
This probably demonstrates my past history as a consultant. There used to be this joke about being a HR consultant that, as long as you could walk into a room with a whiteboard and start drawing a table, you could solve any problem that any group was going through. So I do love my tables.
And one of the reasons is because it helps you make sure that you've asked yourself that to think about that point for each combination. Otherwise, with text you can just only think about the ones that make sense at first. So it's good practice to be stretched, to think about every single box.
And to my surprise in the First Lord in the First House, I actually found that there were applicable phrases for each Planet in these 12 different combinations. I was expecting a little bit, like Ryan said in the snippet that we heard there, that sometimes you're just gonna read a Bhava Yoga and go, "Yeah that just doesn't apply. I can't think of a way that Venus would do that, or I can't think of a way that Saturn would do that".
But in terms of First Lord in the First House, it actually, wasn't difficult to think about how the First Lord would show up in each of these different dot points. And perhaps that is because the First Lord in the First House will always be Jagrat and will always be at least in its Own Home. So really when we are seeing First Lord in the First House by Sign we are in some ways, seeing this Planet at its best or almost best placement. So no wonder it's able to manifest something about itself from that position. And yeah, if my life is long enough and I get to keep filling out these tables, maybe we'll see as we go through that there are places where that's not gonna be the case, and sometimes there will be gaps in my table.
So having done that and created this big table. I then wanted to really test that because as I was saying, the Asheville Vedic Astrology approach is to give you the power to understand the components and build up the big picture from building the components up. And that's what I've done here. However, I think it's nice to check back with reality and see whether that is staying close to what we'd expect to see from someone who has the First Lord in the First House.
So then I went looking for famous people who had these various combinations. So I went looking for 12 celebrities or 12 well known individuals who one of them has Mars as the First Lord in Aries. One of them has Venus as the First Lord in Taurus. One of them has Mercury as the First Lord in Gemini. And just went through. To see whether my large table where I had brainstormed my ideas of how each point might adapt to each Planet, was that relevant and helpful in describing this particular person?
Now, obviously that approach is extremely flawed because I don't actually know these famous people at all. They're not my clients. And I have not had a session with them.
Also we don't know for sure that their birth data is correct. I've tried to use only people from the Kala database or from Astro DataBank with an "A" or above rating. There were some great options that I would've loved to included, but their birth times were not as reliable.
So the problems are that they're not my clients. We don't know if the birth times are correct. We don't actually, I don't know the people personally at all. You're relying on, what's been written about the person.
No one Planet's placement can explain a person's life. So we're really stretching here. How much of a Bhava Yoga you can see. You really want to look at all 12 of the Bhava Yogas. You want to look at where there's confluence between them. You're gonna look at all of the qualities of the Planets through the Avasthas that they're in, how they're doing in the Vargas, all of these things to let you know whether that Yoga is supported.
And then of course, this is just one person out of thousands and thousands of people who have the First Lord in the First House. So it's cherry picking, an example that you can speak to, and maybe there'd be 10 other examples that you couldn't speak to. So it definitely has the bias of looking for someone that you're like, "OK, yep, I can say something about them".
I really want to acknowledge that my process is not foolproof or scientific. But I, as such a young Astrologer, I wanted to bring it back to reality to check that my method was useful or not. If you do go and have a look at this document please keep that in mind. That the sample charts I here to help validate and to give us some grounded richness in thinking about First Lords in the First House. But it's not perfect by any means. The process is not perfect.
The other thing that's interesting is probably as an Astrologer one doesn't get to see people with First Lord in the First House. That's my guess. We probably don't see very many of them because when the First Lord is in the First House, generally it's well placed. So generally it's going to feel pretty good about its direction in life. Pretty clear about what it wants to do with its life. So it's just not going to come to an Astrologer. It just doesn't need our input. Maybe that's different for example, Saturn. It's worst position for Dala is First House. So in some ways, perhaps Saturn Ascendants, either Saturn in Capricorn or Saturn Aquarius, perhaps they are the First Lord in the First House who would approach an Astrologer, perhaps? That's my theory at this point.
So these people. Probably never come to an Astrologer. That's another flaw in our process.
So then I just had a look for these people and I'm cherry picking, so it's not a randomized trial at all. But I did notice that these people really are people that started new trends and started new things and really began a cultural phenomenon. So that was, a really nice way of looking at First Lord in the First House.
And to go down now and have a look at these individual charts we want to maybe start by granting ourselves in the Bhava Yoga for the First Lord in the First House. Now, as I said, these are in Brihat Parashara Hora Sashtra. They are Chapter 24. But I'm taking the quotes here or the translation here I'm taking from Kala software. And for First Lord in the First House, it says in quotes, "Lagna Lord abiding in the lagna, gallant armed and graced with an agreeable body. One is sensible. Moving to and fro. And maintains two spouses. Or also relates to another" end quotes.
So that's a great Bhava Yoga. If we wanted to bring it down to more layperson or secular kind of language, I put some dot points for myself that on if the First Lord is well supported, which by and large, these First Lords are going to be, we are probably gonna see this person, have efforts towards self-improvement. Be independent. Be expressive about their individualism. Be a self-starter. Be healthier in action. We've got that statement moving to and fro. This is someone who takes action. Motivated to make personal efforts to achieve fulfillment. Aligned and integrated life. You're going to feel the First Lord in the First House Person's going to be aligned. Possibly a positive start to life or a positive start to new beginnings. Knows how to start. And has a healthy personality and body. Which I think we had here, "gallant armed and graced with an agreeable body". Okay. So those are some of the well supported generic dot points. On the more challenged side, if the First Lord is more challenged, I was thinking perhaps we might see some selfishness. Or maybe the person becomes isolated / isolates themselves. They might appear arrogant. They might have poor leadership skills. They might be unmanageable or insubordinate. As the First Lord in the First House, they might think that they know what they want to do. They could be too intense about achieving goals and let's put in something about concurrent love interest because we've got this "maintains two spouses".
And I think that's really interesting, isn't it? When the First Lord is in the First House. It's telling us a little bit of something about how far away the First Lord is from the 7th Lord. And therefore what those relationships might be like. And is it easy to have intimate relationships when one's First Lord is 180 degrees away from the 7th House.
Okay. So then I took these dot points, put them in the big table. Tried to personalize them for each Planet. And then brought them over here to have a look at a sample chart. So let's begin.
[00:26:12] Aries
[00:26:12] Fiona Marques: The first place to start is Aries. In Aries, Mars is Jagrat. It's well supported as a Fire Planet and a Fire Sign. It's only really receiving average diga because it likes to actually be in the 10th House, but it does do well for Ayana bala. And in terms of personalizing the dot points. Efforts towards self-improvement to protect and defend what's right. I think that sort of reflects something about Mars' mission. Independent within the boundaries of good leadership, expressive of the courageous self logical self-starter. One's health and welfare require being in action. I think that's, they need to be taking action to be healthy. Motivated to make personal efforts towards righteous goals. Aligned and integrated life, especially when taking action. Positive start to life. although maybe born by cesarean, I'm thinking there might be some Mars knife, surgery, kind of energy there. Knows how to start early. Adventurous personality and body. So that gives you a sense of how I personalize those generic dot points to be a bit more Mars in Aries.
If they're challenged. I was thinking maybe selfish in the context that the ends might justify the means. Isolated like a general in the army, knowing that only the self can take those big decisions. Arrogant with one's logic and intelligence. Poor leadership in delegating perhaps. Unmanageable insubordinate and rebellious. Too intense about achieving goals. That's just direct from the generic, because I think that really does describe it. And maybe concurrent passionate affairs, because we know that Venus is gonna be the 7th Lord for this person.
There's just so much we know. When we put these House Lords by Sign.
So a sample chart for this I picked was Walt Whitman, who was an American poet. Now I was thinking that Aries would be loads and loads of well-known leaders that I would find. But actually there wasn't that many that came up in my search. And maybe that says a lot about Mars when it's well-placed. That it's a really good soldier and a good general. It's a worker and it does what needs to be done, but not for the glory. And maybe that's why we see less celebrities than I expected with this placement. But as we were saying, Walt Whitman he's a famous poet. And actually some of his most famous poems have a military theme, which says a little bit about the time that he was alive, which was during the American Civil War. So one of his famous poems is called. “Beat! “Beat! Drums!”. And it's a call to action, right? And another famous one is “Oh Captain! My Captain!”, which is a homage to his leader, to the president, who had passed away? Now, there were exclamation marks in both of those poem titles. And I think that kind of also has this Mars First Lord in the First House energy. And the poems, talk about supporting the leader, volunteering, when there's a need to be of service, which I think are very Martian themes. In terms of our final dot point, which was concurrent, passionate affairs, his sexuality was actually a bit mysterious. And there's the thought that he was bisexual or was having relationships with men. And it's interesting because Mars is ruling the 8th Sign of Scorpio as well, obviously. We can't say too much about it because his sexuality was kept hidden.
But he was vocal and active about righteous causes such as exposing the extension of slavery and supporting the United States nationalism. And it it is said now that you really cannot understand America without Whitman. That's how much his poetry formed the identity of the United States. So this very powerful First Lord in the First House has really created something, or is a figurehead for America really finding its identity.
So that was an example that I looked at for First Lord in the First House, in the Sign of Aries.
[00:30:27] Taurus
[00:30:27] Fiona Marques: Next, I had a look at Taurus. And in Taurus, Venus is Jagrat. It's somewhat supported because it's a wet Water Planet in an Earth Sign. It's okay placed for Dig bala. It would like to be in the 4th. And it's okay placed for Ayana bala.
And Venus, when I personalize those generic dot points, I thought about efforts towards practical and nurturing self-improvement. Independent leading towards loyal and steadfast as it also rules the 6th House and is a Fixed Sign. Maybe expressive about one sensual individualism. A practical self-starter, but perhaps in a slow, considered way as it is a Fixed Sign. Understands the value of digestion and routine because it also rules the 6th House to counteract the Fixed Earth nature of Taurus. Motivated to make responsible and deliberate personal efforts. It's a Fixed Artha Sign. Solid sensual, integrated life. Nurtured start to life in the Sign of the Moon and the mother's exaltation. Knows how to start, but not in any rush. Grounded personality and body.
If it was challenged, perhaps we're gonna find someone that's so content that they may not see the need from others to dynamize more. Maybe stubborn and isolated in a Fixed Earth Sign with Venus also ruling the 6th House of obstacles. Arrogant that there's no need to change to stress or to move. Doesn't motivate others because sees all the obstacles as Venus rules the 6th. Not going to be hurried as it's a Fixed Earth Sign. Too stubborn about not changing. And maybe concurrent, mysterious, passionate affairs as the 7th Lord is Mars in Scorpio.
And for the sample chart, I chose George Lucas, who was the creator of "Star Wars". And he created a new universe, an entire universe in a new medium, he really pushed special effects, computer generated graphic kind of effects. So he initiated something. He actually had to start up his own company "Industrial Light and Magic". There just wasn't anything that could do what his vision was. Because Venus is an Earth Sign I thought that this perhaps helped materialize this universe, the fantasy universe, in a more grounded way. The sets locations and costumes were Earthy. He made space Earthy. He expressed his individualism through the "Star Wars" franchise. He had to create a whole industry to do it. But he was able to create those material structures. You can imagine many of us maybe have a fantasy world and fantasy ideas, but I wonder how important this First Lord in an Earth Sign is to make that happen.
He apparently lives in a compound. And I thought that this was maybe like he built this retreat away from fame. Away from paparazzi or whatever. I thought this was maybe practical and nurturing self-improvement.
And he is, was a single dad. And maybe that's Venus the First Lord in the First House, in the Sign of the Moon / Mother energy exaltation. Among many other things. I thought George Lucas was a really interesting example of Venus as the First Lord in the First House in Taurus.
[00:34:00] Gemini
[00:34:00] Fiona Marques: Next we have Gemini. Mercury is in Gemini. It's extremely well placed for Dig bala, because it loves to be in the 1st House. It's okay for Ayana bala. It actually does best at the extremes. But Mercury is okay everywhere for Ayana bala. It's an Earth Planet in an Air Sign.
When we look at these well-supported indications I've got here managed effort towards self-improvement, especially in relation to the mind and the heart, because Mercury is ruling 1 and 4. This person's probably an independent thinker. Expressive about their individualized thoughts, feelings and reflections possibly in writing because Mercury is so good at writing. Organized self-starter. Healthier when acting on one's thoughts possibly in writing. Motivated to organize and execute personal efforts to achieve inner peace and know the self. Life is aligned with self and inner contentment. Organized start to new beginnings. Knows how to start and project manage. Healthy personality and thoughts. At its best that's what it would look like.
Perhaps, if it's challenged, maybe the person is gonna be consumed by their own thoughts and their inner world. Isolated in their own thoughts and feelings. They can be worried or disturbed as the mind, the heart, and the self are all in an Air Sign. They can be arrogant in the uniqueness of their thoughts and experience. Poor leadership skills when disappointed by others thoughtlessness. Unmanageable or insubordinate when let down by authorities colleagues, or when inner peace is disturbed. Too intense and disturbed by not keeping to a plan as it's taking place in an Air Sign order is really important to prevent chaos. You can see how I'm changing the personality of those dot points to support more of the Mercury energy.
In terms of the person I selected Edward Snowden. He's famous for taking the initiative to become a whistleblower. He released classified documents relating to the collection of personal information of citizens by governments. And it seems very Mercury Planet that the content of this leak would be information and technology, because that's just so closely associated with Mercury.
I think that we have in this Bhava Yoga, we noticed that the First Lord in the First House is automatically linked to the 4th House because Mercury rules Virgo as well. This emphasizes the need for thoughts and deeds to be in alignment. And we can see why he'd be motivated to execute personal efforts to achieve inner peace. Possibly, he couldn't live with himself if he didn't release this information. We also see that this is above a Yoga for being an independent thinker, and he certainly demonstrated that here. We can also see that he was able to execute a plan to leave the country to avoid arrest. And this ability to plan and act maybe shows Mercury in the First Lord in the First House and with that high Dig bala and being Jagrat,so really alert, really able to plan and execute. What they have in mind. So he's still "on the run", still maintained his freedom, which is so important to Mercury.
Let's have a look at another one.
[00:37:26] Cancer
[00:37:26] Fiona Marques: We've got Cancer. In Cancer Moon is Jagrat. And it's well placed as a Water Planet in a Water Sign. It's not ideal for Dig bala because it prefers to be in the 4th. And it's especially bad for Ayana Bala, actually, because the Moon does better when it's not being idealistic about conflict. When it's being a bit more adaptable. So actually does better on the other side of the chart.
If it's well supported, we're gonna see these dot points more around emotions, emotional intelligence, and perhaps music. Mental health and welfare. Their healthy mind and emotions are gonna be really important.
When it's challenged, we might see that the person perhaps becomes isolated in sensitivity. Becomes emotionally arrogant. Or just can be too intense about the emotional focus.
And the person that I selected for this was another poet, Lord Byron, an English poet who traveled throughout Europe. He's synonymous with a period of time called Romanticism. And the Romantic Period emphasized emotions, imagination, and individualism. And these just seem such great descriptions of the Moon as the First Lord in the First House. In Wikipedia, they say that Lord Byron created a "Byronic Hero". And that sort of hero is "idealised, but has a flawed character whose attributes include: great talent; great passion; a distaste for society and social institutions; a lack of respect for rank and privilege (although possessing both); and being thwarted in love by social constraint or death; rebellion; exile; an unsavory secret past; arrogance; overconfidence or a lack of foresight; and ultimately, a self-destructive manner".
And I just thought that even that, the description of the hero, even had so many of the qualities that we associate with the Moon being the First Lord in the First House. Wikipedia also states that "Lord Byron had a self-awareness about personal promotion that would see him being the very first modern rockstar". And I thought this was very interesting because self awareness is a description of emotional intelligence. And also the Moon is very popular. It represents the public. So I just thought that fit very well. Loads of his poems have been turned into operas. More than 40 of them. He's also inspired classical music, including for composers, such as Beethoven and Schubert. And I think this highlights a natural connection between the Moon and music. He had a strange early family life. Made him close to his mother. And though his childhood was not easy (we had that dot point about "positive start in life"), he was born into a family that would provide him with a title and property. And that's a much more positive start than many of us require. His sexuality was scandalous. And perhaps that represents the Bhava Yoga of concurrent partners.
[00:40:50] Leo
[00:40:50] Fiona Marques: Then we had a look at Leo. When we look at the Sign of Leo's Sun is going to be Jagrat. It's going to be alert and it's extremely well placed for Dig bala and Ayana bala. It's a Fire Planet in a Fire Sign. So this is one of those sort of click moments where it seems that it suits very well to be in this position.
The personalizing of the dot point's strong inspiration towards self-improvement to be able to lead others by example. Expressive about one's individualism, especially the 2nd Lord is involved. A leadership self-starter. Motivated to make personal efforts to achieve goals for the good of all. Healthy body. I think those are all important for Sun as the First Lord in the First House.
Perhaps, if it's challenged, they might be selfish in that context of the ends may justify the means. Isolated in finding no one to share one's journey with. Arrogant in one's position and intelligence, poor leadership skills in leading by example. Unmanageable and insubordinate as the self may be considered to be the only authority. Too intense about achieving goals and maybe some concurrent distant affairs as we have Saturn as the 7th.
And I chose Andy Warhol as the sample chart for this. He was a famous pop artist. He was almost as famous as his art. Maybe he was more famous than his art. Which says a lot because his art was very well regarded. He has a distinctive style and a very independent style that led the way for other artists. He created "The Factory". Which was a kind of studio to promote new artists. And when he died, he left basically all of his wealth. To a foundation with the mission to foster innovative artistic expression. So many of those things really fit with the description of First Lord in the First House.
He was independent and inspiring leader and interested in protecting and promoting those in his care. His sexuality was also ambiguous and there are discrepancies between his own description. And those of his intimate friends. So we do see once again, some theme around this 7th Lord relationship.
[00:43:13] Virgo
[00:43:13] Fiona Marques: In Virgo, we begin now to revisit Planets, but in a different Sign. So in this case, Mercury in Virgo is Jagrat. It's well-placed as an Earth Planet and an Earth Sign. And it's in its best placement for Dig bala, It's okay with Ayana bala. We can see the contrast as we go through this one, between Mercury being in an Air Sign in Gemini and being in an Earth Sign in Virgo.
So some of the dot points, may be famous for their practical efforts towards self-improvement, or it may be their job as Mercury rules, of first and the 10th. Independent, especially in relation to their work. May work for themselves. Famous for written expression of one's individualism. A self-starter may run one's own business or be an entrepreneur. Motivated to organize, manage and execute their personal efforts to achieve fulfillment. Healthy work life balance if it's a very well supported Mercury.
If it's challenged, maybe they're consumed in managing their self and external expression and therefore missing being in the present or being in their relationships that are of the nearby people. Isolated when they're trying to achieve project tasks. Arrogant about their ability to achieve. Poor leadership skills, expecting everyone to be as competent as they are and as good communicators as they are. Unmanageable and insubordinate when let down, perhaps even by the self, because Mercury is ruling the boss as well. Could be too intense about sticking to the project plan.
The person I selected chart was Madonna. She's a famous pop icon. Wikipedia says she's been "widely recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in the music, production, songwriting and visual presentation. She has pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music while continuing to maintain control over every aspect of her career". And I think this is a indicator that we would like to see when we have the First Lord in the First House in Virgo that managing every aspect, controlling every aspect of the career.
Madonna has reinvented herself so many times. And I think that demonstrates the self-starter and being good at starting things, knowing how to start things. We know that Mercury gets high Dig bala in the First House. This is an Earth Sign. So perhaps this allows the person to manifest even more than the Gemini ascendant.
[00:45:49] Libra
[00:45:49] Fiona Marques: Okay. Revisiting Venus now, this time in Libra. It's going to continue to be Jagrat as a Water Planet in an Air Sign. Is not particularly strong in Dig bala as it prefers the 4th House. And it's not in its best position for Ayana bala as that would be Cancer. It's a Feminine Planet in a Masculine Sign. However Libra is the Moolatrikona for Venus. And this kind of shows us that Venus, the diplomat is actually thriving on this balance of Masculine with Feminine, Water with Air. Its own needs with others' needs. So maybe Venus is particularly well suited to this placement.
We've got our personalized dot points again. Efforts towards balanced and pragmatic self-improvement. Independent and changeable as also ruling the 8th House. It's an Air Sign. It's a Cardinal Sign. Diplomatically expressive about one's individualism. Business or transactionally motivated self-starter. Healthier when connecting, networking and transacting. Motivated by pragmatic personal achievements that will be effective. Knows how to start, especially in relationships to partnerships and people. This is a Cardinal Signing wants to take action. And possibly an attractive personality and body.
On the challenge side. Perhaps it's so focused on the transactions that other may feel like they're a commodity and they're not as very important if they're not useful. Isolated when others find this person to be too transactional. Arrogant in the way that it knows how to play people. Fast moving and evasive being two faced when no longer values their superiors. Perhaps having concurrent, heated and combative affairs as Mars is in Aries ruling the 7th.
So I selected bill Clinton as the sample chart for Venus as the First Lord. In Libra in the First House. He was a U.S. President. He, according to Wikipedia "presided over the longest period of peace time, economic expansion in history". And this seems to fit with the goals of Venus in Libra. As Libra is all about trade and Venus is all about harmony. Wikipedia also states that "as a member of the Democratic Party, Clinton became known as a "New Democrat". And many of his policies reflected as centrist 3rd way, political philosophy. So once again, I think this emphasizes Venus's interest in peace and relationship. The 3rd way, I think that's a great description for Venus. And also so many of our first Lords in the First House, we see them associated with something new in this case, "New" Democrat. Finally Wikipedia also states that "Clinton was the first baby boomer president and authors, Martin Walker, and Bob Woodward state that Clinton's personal charisma was a major factor in his high public approval ratings". So we might expect to see that with Venus, the First Lord in the First House being attractive, having an attractive appearance. And finally he was famous for a sex scandal and he has participated in extramarital affairs. Building up our theory that the First Lord in the 1st may have some issues with the 7th and relationships.
[00:49:17] Scorpio
[00:49:17] Fiona Marques: Moving to Scorpio. Scorpio allows Mars to be as a Fire Planet in a Water Sign. It receives Dig bala, although it prefers the 10th. And it has little Ayana bala as Mars works best in Cancer. It is a Fixed, Feminine Sign. We've spoken about Mars here we see it in a Water Sign.
So perhaps all of those dot points we're going to see, for example, efforts towards self-improvement to remove toxins or untruth. Independent and potentially secretive. Expressives of truth, possibly through the filter of individualism. And investigative self-starter. Mental health and welfare are supported by the ability to investigate. Motivated to get to the bottom of secrets. Drive to align and integrate one's life with the hidden. Knows how to start investigating, analyzing, and researching.
In terms of when it's challenged, perhaps the ends justify the means. It could be isolated in that way like the hero being tested, we just have to go through the long dark night of the soul. It might be arrogant with its logic and intelligence. It could have poor leadership skills by withdrawing into the hidden, Scorpio's got that feeling of withdrawing into the caves. Unmanageable, insubordinate and rebellious, perhaps behind the leader's back. Too intense about uncovering the truth. And concurrent sexual interests as we have Venus as the 7th Lord.
And the sample chart I selected was Christian Dior, who was a fashion designer who re- feminized female fashion after the austerity of the World War II period. His style became known as the "New Look". Once again, emphasizing the word new in relation to First Lords in the First House. He was only able to make an impact for 10 years because he died quite suddenly at a young age. But in that time he built a global business, including perfumes and stockings and underwear in his business model. So there were many firsts in the way that he created his business. He worked closely with women at his design house. And he made this statement about his director of the design studio. That "she was to become my second self". This is apparently from his autobiography. "Or to be more accurate. My other half. She is my exact compliment. She plays reason to my fantasy. Order to my imagination. Discipline to my freedom. Foresight to my recklessness and she knows how to introduce peace into an atmosphere of strife". I just felt that this description talked about Mars in Scorpio, Feminine in a Water Sign, "fantasy imagination, freedom, recklessness, strife". Now, obviously there are so many things in any chart that are making life work. And he's got an exalted Venus. There's many reasons why he works well with women. But I thought these were some great descriptions of Mars in a Feminine Water Sign. And according to Wikipedia, he had a number of discrete male lovers. So we are learning a little bit about this concurrent sexual interest of each of our First Lords in the First House.
[00:52:45] Sagittarius
[00:52:45] Fiona Marques: For Sagittarius, we revisit Jupiter who is Jagrat. And extremely well placed for Dig bala in the First House here. It's struggling with Ayana bala because it prefers Cancer. So it's getting really close to its lowest point. It's a Fire Ether Planet in a Fire Sign. A Masculine Planet in a Masculine Sign. However, it is a Mutable Sign.
In terms of personalizing those dot points, perhaps this person is intellectually and philosophically independent, expressive about their individual philosophy that may or may not be aligned with a school of thought. Their life is aligned to their thoughts and philosophies. They might have lucky beginnings. They might know how to muse and contemplate and think as Jupiter has those qualities.
If it's challenge, perhaps they're intellectually selfish. Perhaps more interested in learning than teaching. Or maybe the other way around. Interested in teaching rather than learning. Detached from the value of applying their philosophy, maybe isolated in. The philosophical ideal but not applying it. They might be arrogant intellectually about meaning and purpose of life. Sagittarius has that eye on the lofty goal, but not the feet grounded on the Earth. Intellectually superior and not manageable if they don't believe in the purpose of the work that they're doing. They could be fanatical about their idealism. And possibly concurrent affairs with students maybe as we've got jupiter as the teacher and Mercury's going to be the 7th Lord.
So in this case, I picked Jada Pinkett Smith. She's an actor and talk show host. In her role as a talk show host, she's been able to express her intellectual and philosophical independence. And Wikipedia describes the show as a “no-holds-barred topics”. First Lord in the First House, Jupiter is also going to rule the 4th House for a Sagittarius ascendant. So it's not surprising that she's close to her mother. On Wikipedia she states, "a mother and a daughter's relationship is usually the most honest. And we are so close. She also added my mother, understood what I wanted and never stood in my way". So a real sense of the Jupiter ruling both of these relationships, the one with the self and the one with the mother. It's a Benefic so perhaps it's a very beneficial sort of relationship. And Wikipedia quotes her husband will Smith is saying "that Pinkett Smith never believed in conventional marriage and that both of them have had sexual relationships outside of their marriage". So unconventional views and open about their philosophies, even if they're a bit controversial.
[00:55:34] Capricorn
[00:55:34] Fiona Marques: Okay. So now let's have a look at Capricorn. We're gonna visit our two Saturn ascendants now. We've got Capricorn first, Saturn is Jagrat. Extremely well placed for Ayana bala. It's an Air Planet in an Earth Sign. It's got no gender. It's in a female Cardinal Sign. But of course it's not doing well for Dig bala because it prefers the 7th.
In terms of well supported First Lord in the First House, perhaps you're gonna see practical efforts towards self-improvement through the filter of knowing that the self is flawed. Independent and capable expect to achieve things on their own. Ruggedly individual. A loner self-starter. Healthier when doing hard work. Motivated to do the work. that needs to be done to live a life without pretense or fakery. Acknowledgement that in order for a task to be finished, it has to start. I think that would be the Saturn way of being motivated to start is when we know that the only way it's gonna get finished is if we get started. Maybe there's gonna be some restraint and austerity in relation to their body and personality.
When Saturn is challenged, perhaps we are not expecting help from anyone so does things alone and that inadvertently excludes others. They might have a stamina and persistence beyond the average that may lead the person to isolate themselves from others who are less strong in that area. They can view others as weaker. Poor leadership skills because they're not looking for help from anyone. Disdain for authoritarian or charismatic bosses. Too intense about suffering and doing the hard work.
So we've got Rupert Murdoch as the sample chart. And he gave this interviewer to Esquire magazine. So we've really got some quotes from him here. And they are. "I can honestly say that I look forward to coming to work every day. I find it difficult on the weekends to stay off the phone. I love my wife and children, but I don't want to sit around at home with them. What I am proudest of is that I always had a very strong work ethic. I was a given an opportunity in life and I would like to give my children that opportunity. But if they screw up or they are not capable or prepared to do the work, then that is another matter". And final quote. "People demonize me and think I'm more important than I am. I'm a fairly normal person. I don't lead a wild life or anything. My excitement is day-to-day work". So doesn't that say so much about Saturn in Capricorn. I don't know how many times "work" came up in those quotes. This person really orientating their identity, their own identity around their ability to work hard. And that's how they rate other people as well.
Finally in our ongoing observation of First Lords in the First Houses and their relationship with intimate partners, we have a fact according to Wikipedia that "17 days after divorcing his second wife, Murdoch then age 68, married Wendy Deng". So this suggests to me that there must have been some crossover there in those relationships. We're building up our picture.
[00:58:55] Aquarius
[00:58:55] Fiona Marques: Our second Saturn ascendant is Aquarius. Saturn is Jagrat in Aquarius. It's very well placed for Ayana bala. It's an Air Planet in an Air Sign. It has no gender. And it's in a Masculine Fixed Sign. And it is not doing well with Dig bala as it prefers the 7th House.
In terms of personalizing the well-supported Bhava Yogas we might see someone who's innovative self-improvement for the good of all. Maybe supported through 12 step kind of groups. Independent and innovative. Humbly expressing their uniqueness as part of the collective. A technological self-starter maybe. Healthier when acting on the behalf of the community. Motivated to make personal efforts for the good of all aligned with communal values. Starting leads to action and intuitively knows how to start. They might have a Vata style, personality, and body.
And then if the First Lord is challenged, perhaps they can't understand why others are not engaged in community improvement. They might be arrogant about the best way to innovate. Their big vision or futurize vision can be hard for others to connect with. They can be too unique and big picture to be managed in a conventional way by any boss. Too intense about achieving their egalitarian goals. And they might have concurrent magnetic and charismatic love interests because we've got the Sun of the 7th Lord.
So as the sample chart I chose Carl Jung. He founded analytical psychology. Wikipedia describes him as "highly regarded and one of the most influential psychologists of all time. Among the central concepts of analytical philosophy is individuation. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies". Now in these descriptions, we see once again, the First Lord in the First House starting something new. In this case, analytical psychology. We also see these themes of that branch of psychology of individuation that's for me a good description of the preoccupations of someone with the First Lord in the First House and its Aquarius. Because Aquarius is the 11 Sign of the Zodiac, and it's concerned with how the individual fits into the collective. And this fitting into the collective also accounts for Carl Young's influence on so many different fields of knowledge. And his interest in so many fields he really brought a lot of research from lots and lots of different areas and cultures. According to Wikipedia "during his marriage, Jung allegedly engaged in extramarital relationships".
[01:01:49] Pisces
[01:01:49] Fiona Marques: And finally that brings us to Jupiter in Pisces, which will be Jagrat. Extremely well placed for Dig bala. Fire- Ether Planet in a Water Sign. And that mixing of indicators also continues as it's a Masculine Planet in a female Sign and in Mutable Sign. So a lot of mixing of the different components here.
Perhaps this person will have a transcendent approach to self-improvement. Independent of material world constraints. Expressive about one's transitory nature. Might be a Moksha self-starter. Healthier when pursuing actions towards enlightenment. Motivated to surrender towards enlightenment. Life could be aligned with escapism, which could be spiritual or just non-material. Knows how to contemplate. Healthy, transcendent personality.
If those indicators are challenged, perhaps the Bhava Yogas might show a little bit disconnected from the material needs of others and even from the self sometimes. Withdrawn, retreated, detached. Dismissive of material concerns and responsibilities. Difficulty in practically engaging followers in material actions. Not motivated by practical matters that might be important to a boss or a manager. And could be too intense about escaping. And maybe has concurrent affairs with partners who are actually trying to manage the practical affairs of this person, because it's gonna be a Mercury partner. So maybe they're gonna attract someone to try and keep this ethereal person in a practical alive state.
And I chose R. D. Laing as the subject for the sample chart, who was according to Wikipedia, "a psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illness in particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the cause and treatment of psychopathic phenomena were influenced by his study of existential philosophy and ran counter to the chemical and electric shock methods that had become psychiatric orthodoxy. Though associated in the public mind with the anti psychiatry movement, he rejected the label. Politically, he was regarded as a thinker of the New Left". So all of this Wikipedia description has so many ticks on our Bhava Yogas being an original and existential or philosophical thinker. Not even wanting to be part of the anti psychiatry movement is a good expression of the First Lord in the First House, always walking their own path. And in Pisces, we saw all of those mixed indicators. This is not someone who's going to be boxed into any kind of label. That so much of his work should be founded on his own work in mental institutions, links back to Pisces as being the Sign that's associated with realms of retreat and healing. And finally Wikipedia lets us know that Laing fathered, six sons and four daughters by four women. So perhaps telling us a little something about concurrent affairs.
[01:05:01] Conclusion
[01:05:01] Fiona Marques: We have just run through my initial thoughts about the First Lord in the First House by Sign. I thought it was a really worthwhile practice. I felt like I learned a lot, even though I deal with these Bhava Yogas all the time. I'm quite excited about keeping going. So I'm gonna see if I can do First Lord in the Second House. I'm not going to be too ambitious about finishing the whole thing, but let's see if I can do one more row along that First Lord table.
I hope that you found it interesting and I'd love your thoughts. Once again, you can go to Patreon and have a look. Download this document and give me some feedback. Because obviously these are my draft thoughts. I'm brainstorming them out onto a piece of paper. So I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Thanks for spending your time with me. I love having you here on the Vedic Astrology Podcast. And I look forward to seeing you and listening to you on Patreon and getting together the next time we're on the Vedic Astrology Podcast. Okay. Bye for now. Bye everyone.