Jyotish Lesson Reflections

[ILanaRea]

Lesson 1: Birth Chart Observations

1. Capricorn Ascendent (1st House), ruled by Saturn
2. Rahu in the 2nd House of Pisces, ruled by Jupiter and Ketu
3. Saturn (debilitated) in 4th House of Aries, ruled by Mars
4. Mars and Jupiter (not in conjunction) in the 8th house of Leo, ruled by Sun
5. Sun, Ketu, and Moon in the 9th House of Virgo, ruled by Mercury and Rahu. Sun and Moon are not conjunct, and Ketu sits almost exactly in the middle (degree-wise)
6. Venus and Mercury in the 10th House of Libra, ruled by Venus
7. Chitra nakshatra features prominently in the chart for Venus, Mercury and Moon. Moon is in pada 2 (influenced by Mercury) and Venus and Mercury are in pada 4 (influenced by Mars)

[ILanaRea]

Lesson 2: The 6th House Ruler

My 6th house is Gemini, ruled by Mercury. Mercury on my chart is in Chitra, pada 4, ruled by Mars. There are no planets in this house. In the body, Mercury governs the respiratory system and speech organs, nervous system and skin. It also governs intellect and cognition, communication and expression, as well as business and finance, including the entrepreneurial mindset, accounting and diplomacy/negotiation. My Mercury is influenced by Mars, which governs the blood, muscles, red blood cells, and liver and is linked to inflammation, energy, and physical drive.

I have observed within myself a sharp and quick intellect, ready creativity, entrepreneurial tendencies, the ability to communicate easily as a writer, and a lifelong pattern of diplomacy and peace-making. I have always felt like my body, especially my nervous system, struggles to keep up with my mind, which can leap ahead without rest to a fully formed plan when I am on a creative streak. There is a drive and energy, like trying to rein in horses. My intellect often goes to the future, which helped me in past roles as an operations manager when I had to mitigate risk and financial stability.

On the physical side, I have seen that if I hold in what I am supposed to communicate, there are immediate effects on my nervous system, and the release happens through my skin as inflammation, eruptions, or nerve pain. There have also been digestive issues. Also, I have had a propensity to overthink, overwork, and overexert myself (physically in sports like triathlon, Tough Mudders, running, gardening, etc. – yeah, sigh, I know – shakes head), which has also affected my nervous system. A daily meditation and mindfulness practice has been the key to keeping me grounded in the present versus the future. These practices and VERY strong boundaries on my time and energy are the guard rails that keep my system in better balance. Less is more is my mantra now.

[BettinaJonsef]

Ilana, you have done such a deep dive into your astrology chart. I have a hard time making all those connections. Mercury is in my birth chart and in my Navamsha chart in Gemini. Thinking learning, and communicating. I feel well represented in my chart, the little i understand.

[JewelGreenberg]

Ilana, these are such great observations. My 6th house is Virgo and holds Mars – looking forward to finding some deeper connections, as you have.

[ILanaRea]

Lesson 3: The D9 Chart

On the D9 chart:

The Lagna lord sits in Taurus, which is ruled by Venus. Ketu is present in this house. On the D9 chart, the lagna lord represents your true identity, inner disposition and who you evolve into as you grow up. On my chart, this placement indicates a life direction and desire for Higher Intelligence/Consciousness, spiritual counseling of self and others, and a regular meditation practice, which follow an evolution over the years to go within to find my loving, safe space (Taurus) vs seeking that shelter outside of me. Ketu brings detachment, as well as desire for spiritual liberation, privacy and quiet away from the ego-validation of my youth.

Moon sits in the 5th house of Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury and Rahu. Having Moon in this house shows how my mind works: creative and intuitive (Mercury) and yet analytical and methodical (Virgo). In the 5th house of intellect, creative expression and past life merit, this placement shows a proclivity to balance reason (logical/analytical) with feeling (creativity, intuition, empathy), along with the ability to see through people’s walls and to break down complex, spiritual concepts into digestible pieces for others to understand…it feels like I have done this before. My biggest weakness can be losing balance from too much drive (Mercury/Rahu) on a creative or intellectual project and letting either reason (overthinking, analysis-paralysis) or feeling (over-empathy, emotional decisions) dominate and pull me off the rails. Because Mercury features strongly on my D1 chart, I have seen/can see where my mind and drive can pull me way out of balance energetically and physically, raising Vata and then Pitta. The lesson here is that my ability to keep balance and boundaries directly affects my health and wellbeing.

Both of these placements fit with what I have experienced in this life. Since childhood, my deepest desire has been jivan mukta (liberation), which I reconnected to during the latter five years of Saturn Mahadasha. The fact that I see myself more as a lifelong spiritual counselor (vs Ayurvedic practitioner, life coach, or any past job/title I have had) is not surprising, and it is the space in which I feel most aligned and in flow. I have also noticed an ability to analyze a situation and to see into another person’s mind, helping them unravel the threads of a problem. I am a very private person and prefer to live a simple life, without too many attachments. Moving a lot as a military kid and losing close family members has taught me compassionate detachment in life. And, kriya yoga is where I feel most at home and has been the best tool for quieting and balancing my mind and helping my overall wellbeing.

[ILanaRea]

Lesson 4: Mahadasha

I am currently in Mercury mahadasha and Ketu antardasha. The qualities of Mercury mahadasha are linear, enhanced communication, analytical, creative and flowing. I see this dasha, when balanced, as the “get stuff done” period. Unbalanced, the dasha feels like a vata imbalance – too much thinking, doing, etc. – which can lead to nervous exhaustion and fatigue. The quality of Ketu is intuitive, psychic, abstract and seeking solitude, reflection, and doing less. I see Ketu as a period of surrendering what no longer serves – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I entered Mercury in spring 2024 and Mercury/Ketu in July 2026. My experience aligns with this dasha/antardasha. Mercury was a welcome relief after coming out of 19 years of Saturn’s karmic lessons. My creativity and ability to express myself flowed again and I no longer felt like I was driving with brakes on. Mercury and Ketu are almost opposites. I feel the key to navigating this antardasha is surrender. I feel Ketu’s influence as I have withdrawn more than usual. I am letting go of attachments that no longer feel important. It is a surrender that also feels like a relief from unnecessary thought and overactivity. And because I have been studying my chart for a while, I entered into this particular season protecting my agni and my nervous system, as well as my mind. Doing so is making this particular period nourishing and healing in the “tear down to the very foundation and rebuilding” sort of way, instead of the period being exhausting, confusing, frustrating or debilitating with the suffering of resistance and attachment.

[ManouBroersma]

ILanarea your chart of lesson one is very interesting. I also have not yet figured out how to edit my text after I have submitted it. I noticed you put Rahu in your 2nd house Pisces ruled by Ketu and you problably ment Rahu in your 3rd house (Capricon rising; whole house system also Ketu in your 9th means Rahu is its opposite) and in Pisces Rahu is probably ruled by Rahu itself (Satabishak). First thing I thought was that you were the shining example of a full blown Virgo in previous life. Utt Phalguni (Sun) and Hasta (moon) and maybe Chitra? (Mars). So naturally you embodied these energies strongly upon birth and possibly still do. Rahu in Pisces urges you forward toward a more spiritual life. I then discovered what you wrote in lesson 3 and this so confirms the very soul dominating Virgo energies your are born with. A good thing that both Virgo and Pisces are flexible energies. I have the same but opposite Rahu-Ketu axis. Overall strong energy is Mercury versus Jupiter.

[ManouBroersma]

ILanarea I liked reading all your lesson reflections. Interesting. Ketu antardasha means to watch for heat in your body (Pitta) since Ketu has a-lot of it and since Vata Mercury is your Mahadasha you know that Vata Mercury can easily enhance distabilizing your Pitta. Luckily most of you all are headed into winter but calming routines is definitely very beneficial.

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