The Vedic Horoscope of George Harrison
BY: DHARMAPAD DAS (DEAN DOMINIC DE LUCIA)
Nov 18, 2011 — BRAZIL (SUN) [Revised] — An Excerpt from The Beatles Through Vedic Astrology.
George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943, at ten minutes after twelve. This gives us a rising degree of 29* Virgo.
Some astrologers suggest that George's rising sign was just entering Libra, but the Libra chart would not have anywhere near the strength necessary to give the type of results which corresponded to George's life. Under Libra, the ascendant lord Venus would occupy the sixth house, an evil house and a house of debts- not an appropriate placement for a famous, millionaire musician. Libra rising would put the lord of the house of properties in Aries, i.e.,
one of the most evil placements of the zodiac- yet George lived in a wonderful mansion with some of the nicest grounds in all of Britain. Finally, Libra rising would mean that the Beatle karma of the Jupiter years would have taken place under the aegis of the lord of the third and sixth houses, evil lordships for sure.
Virgo rising would put the ascendant lord in the wonderful fifth house, with the exalted ninth lord Venus in the seventh, aspecting the ascendant. This is the type of planetary disposition which corresponds to a world-famous, millionaire musician. And George had no younger siblings. This is possible in the Virgo chart because the house of younger siblings receives the aspect of Saturn, a negative planet and a planet of denial.
From the perspective of the Libra chart, Mars would sit in the very house of younger siblings in a positive sign. Additionally, the house of younger siblings would be quite fortified by an aspect from the lord of that house, Jupiter. It must be kept in mind that Jupiter is a positive, expansive planet. But there were no younger siblings. Therefore, the rising sign could not be Libra- it would have to be Virgo.
And Virgo does seem to correspond well to George's personality. The maternal, caring, and charitable instincts of Virgo have always been out front with George. The way he helped the Hare Krishna movement during the late sixties and early seventies, what to speak of the huge altruistic effort he made to orchestrate charity for the hungry in Bangladesh, certainly bears this out. Even on a smaller, everyday level, stories about his giving nature abound; he is known for giving $50 bills to beggars, big tips to cab drivers, and once, for example, he gave the ring off his finger to a waitress, just as an act of kindness.
The artistic and musical skills of the Virgo-born found expression in his horoscope, too. But not every person with Virgo rising has George's abilities- these are due, more than anything, to exalted Venus in the seventh, wherefrom Venus aspects the ascendant. It is mainly this placement which conferred a high level of musical skill and technical ability on George. This placement goes by the name of Malayva Yoga. In 300 Important Combinations, B.V. Raman comments: "Consistent with the nature of Venus, Malavya Yoga will make one resolute, immensely rich, give him happiness from wife and children, name and fame. Venus is the indicator of conveyances, sensual pleasures, music, dancing, fine arts, luxury and material comforts."
Also of note is the placement of Jupiter, a very benefic planet, in the house of actions and profession in a musical sign, Gemini, part of whose symbol is a stringed instrument. And what about the Moon in a Venusian sign, Libra? A bright Moon in Libra suggests some very natural enthusiasm for music- inspiration from the astral plane. It is this Moon, as well as the central placement of the emotional Venus, which has seen George follow his feelings into the world of music, as opposed to his musical career being the result of some logical or calculated conclusion. Another thing suggested by the Moon in a sign related to music is that some of his compositions may have been awarded to him from a subtle, astral level.
George's intense religious involvement is indicated in several ways, but mainly by exalted Venus in a quadrant. Venus is a pious planet in the first place, being the preceptor of the materialists, specifically of the Daitya race/clan. In this chart, Venus becomes the lord of the house of dharma, something which enhances the spiritual nature of Venus. The exaltation of Venus takes place in the brahminical and religious sign of Pisces, something that further enhances the religious significance of Venus. It is this Venus which aspects the ascendant directly.
In addition, Jupiter, the karaka (indicator) of spiritual understanding and guru of the pious beings (devas), occupies the tenth house, the most expressive house of a horoscope for a planet, after the ascendant. From there, Jupiter aspects the Moon as well as the Sun, indicating a pious birth on an emotional as well as a soulful level.
Events
Let us now see how well the planetary periods corresponded to this Beatle's life events. When George was 13 years old, his mother bought him his first guitar, a rather simple one, and George began to develop his musical skills. This corresponded to the major planetary period of Rahu, sub period of Venus. Venus being the planet of art and music, this makes sense.
When George was 15, he joined the Quarrymen, a rock and roll group which was a forerunner of the Beatles. During the remainder of the major Rahu period, he played music with the Beatles in relative obscurity and without much success, results which might be expected of Rahu, an evil planet placed in an evil house.
In the sub period of Rahu-Mars, George traveled to Germany to perform with the Beatles. Mars is a malefic, even in terms of the houses which he owns, and Mars occupies the fourth house, which rules ones homeland and residence. A malefic planet with evil lordship typically separates one from ones homeland when it occupies the fourth house, and this is how Mars acted during its planetary sub period.
Mars is indicative of the police, obviously. George ran into trouble with the police during the Martian sub period because he was working as a minor and had no work visa. The police even deported him, something which really created an interruption because it stopped his music for a while.
The major period of Jupiter began in December of 1960. Of course his karma improved because he left the major period of Rahu, an evil planet in an evil house. Jupiter is a benefic planet occupying a quadrant house, a house in which benefics give positive results. The sign which Jupiter occupied was Gemini, a musical sign. Little wonder then, that George's guitar playing notably improved, the Beatles coalesced very much as a group, and their popularity increased so much that they became one of their regions most well-known groups. Not only had George's karma improved, but the natural buoyancy of George's chart had begun to manifest itself, now free of the effects of the major planetary period of Rahu, in whose grips George had been since his very birth.
The Saturnian sub period of Jupiter operated from February of 1963 until August of 1965. During this time, the full-blown Beatle karma manifested. From the ascendant, Saturn is the lord of a good house; and occupies the house of fortune and luck, the ninth, the most benefic house in any horoscope; from the ninth he aspects his own sign in the sixth, helping George to overcome obstacles and opponents But from the Moon, Saturn enjoys a unique position. The planet is the unsullied owner of purely positive houses, the raj-yoga karaka, and occupies the tenth house, also a great house for Saturn. For these reasons, Saturn was strong enough to express raj yoga results.
George was also exposed to marijuana and psychedelic drugs during this sub period, which is not a surprise from Saturn in Taurus. Taurus is a sensual sign belonging to Venus, the planet of intoxication.
From August of 1965 until November of 1967, the sub period of Mercury was in vogue. Mercury is a benefic planet in a trinal house, so the strong Beatle karma continued. That Mercury's results were decidedly musical are due in large part to the fact that Mercury occupies his own navamsha (zodiacal sub division) of Gemini, a musical sign. Otherwise, Mercury in the serious sign of Capricorn in a pious house involved George in meditation and exposed him to Vedic philosophical thought.
Jupiter-Ketu ran from November of 1967 until October of 1968. This sub period was rather uneventful, not a surprise as Ketu occupies an evil house. Specifically, the sixth house is the house of obstacles and debts. The film Magical Mystery Tour, for example, released in December of 1967, was a financial flop.
The Jupiter-Venus years, from October of 1968 until July of 1971, were extremely strong years for George in terms of musical karma. George became recognized as a top guitar player in the world of rock and roll during this Venus period. Some of the best Beatle material of all time was released during this period. As soon as it started, the White Album was released, which is often considered the best Beatle album of all time, and one of the best rock and roll efforts of all time. Abbey Road and Let It Be were two other huge successes of which he was a part, and George personally composed the song Something in 1969. Frank Sinatra called it the most beautiful love song ever written. In the latter part of 1970, George recorded the solo effort All Things Must Pass, which was a gigantic success and maybe the best material of the post Beatles period.
During this same Venusian sub period, George became a convert to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, in other words, a devotee of Krishna. He recorded some material with chanting on it, and his album All Things Must Pass had a tremendous amount of philosophical content in it, along the lines of chanting and reincarnation. This was due to the influence of the sub lord Venus in a pious sign, which we mentioned earlier.
In spite of all the positive gifts of Venus, the reader may note that Venus occupies a marakasthan, a death-inflicting house, and that Venus is the dispositor of the Moon, i.e., that Venus contains the maternal Moon in its sign. George's mother passed away during July of 1970, in the middle of the Venusian sub period.
And Paul Mc Cartney filed suit against the other Beatles in December of that year, thus bringing about the break up of the Beatles. During both of these unfortunate events, Saturn was transiting the seventh house from Harrison's Moon in its debilitation sign of Aries. Saturn is by nature an evil planet, indicative of sorrows and frustrations. From the seventh house Saturn aspects the house of mothers, the fourth, and the seventh itself is the house of partnerships. Granted that Venus owns the evil eighth from the Moon, but the transit of Saturn goes a long way towards explaining how such unfortunate events could come to pass during such a positive sub period as the Venusian one.
The Jupiter-Sun (July of 71 April of 72) period saw George organize the concert tour for the starving masses in Bangladesh. The Sun is the lord of the house of expenses, the twelfth, made altruistic and religious in nature thanks to Jupiter's benefic and pious aspect on it.
During the lunar sub period of Jupiter (April of ‘71 - August of ‘73 ), the album Living in the Material World was released. Its feature single, Give Me Love, (Give Me Peace), was a number one song. The Moon is strong in brightness in Harrison's chart, occupies the musical sign Libra, and owns the eleventh house, a financial one. Needless to say the album was a financial success. The Beatle karma had been continuing unabated.
Jupiter-Mars saw marital strife, culminating in estrangement by the end of the sub period, as George's wife Patty left him permanently. Notice that Mars, as a natural malefic planet and a lord of evil houses, occupies the house of hearth and home, and aspects the house of marriage as well. This sub period lasted from August of 1973 until July of 1974.
The last sub period of the Jupiter major belonged to Rahu, from July of 1974 until December of 1976. Rahu has already been seen to be a rather negative planet, none of the powerful results of the chart having manifest until the Rahu period was over. And the results given in Rahu's sub period, even though the lord of the major period was still Jupiter, seems to confirm this. Starting in November of ‘74 and continuing on until Early ‘75, George went on a world tour called Harrison and Friends. It was a financial flop and not very well received by the critics. Even among the fans George lost popularity; one of the main problems seemed to be George's involvement with Indian (Hindu) music. His refined tastes just weren't popular with the masses, and it was perceived that he was forcing his tastes and even his philosophical outlook on the public. The albums Dark Horse, Extra Texture, and 33 1/3, all released during the Rahu sub period, were not successful at all.
George was sued for plagiary during the sub period, and the legal hassles were a source of irritation for him. George also experienced serum hepatitis. Both of these results are directly indicated by Rahu's aspect on the sixth house, the house of litigation and disease. Depression reared its ugly head during this sub period, which that is also a typical result of an evil Rahu.
After sixteen years of superstar-millionaire karma, the major planetary period of Jupiter came to an end. True to Jupiter's form, the period had been expansive. Although George's Saturn isn't as powerful as Jupiter-the-benefic in a quadrant, the natural strength of the horoscope basically continued to manifest through Saturn.
In the sub period of Saturn itself (December of 1976 – December of 1979), George's only son, Dhani, was born to him. This is easily explained as Saturn is the lord of the house of children from both the ascendant and the Moon. Saturn's influence is overwhelming in this regard because Saturn also aspects the house from the Moon. Because Saturn is the planet of time and delay, the boy was born to George rather late in life. And as Saturn is a planet of limitation, George was blessed in life with one issue only.
Saturn in the musical and artistic sign Taurus continued to see George involved along artistic lines. For example, an album was released, George Harrison, which was deemed to be well done. And George became involved in films- he founded a production company called Hand-Made Films.
But in spite of many positive developments, Saturn is still a malefic planet; he owns an evil house and sits in the house of father. George's father passed away under the influence of Saturn-Saturn.
The Saturn-Mercury period extended from December of 1979 until September of 1982. During the first year of the sub period, George worked on an album called Somewhere in England. It had a very popular song on it called All Those Years Ago which rose to number two on the charts.
Right as the sub period of Ketu began (September of 1982 till October of 1983), George released a disaster of an album called Gone Troppo. It was released in October of 1982. During the same sub period, a movie was released, Bullshot, which flopped. We have already mentioned that Ketu occupies the house of debts and obstacles, an evil one.
George was said to be rather depressed during 1983. This makes sense as Ketu occupies the sign of Saturn and Saturn was the lord of the major period, too. Saturn is the planet of sadness and melancholy.
The sub period of Saturn-Venus continued from October of 1983 until December of 1986. George continued his involvement in film-making, most notable working with Madonna in his movie Shanghai Surprise. In October of 1985 he appeared in a television special called Blue Suede Shoes, which was a tribute to and with his boyhood rock Idol Carl Perkins, who penned some classic rock tunes in the 1950s. These positive artistic results are par for the course for someone with exalted Venus in a quadrant.
Once again, George was involved with charity concerts in June of 1987 because, once again, George came under the influence of a Solar sub period (December of 1986 – November of 1987). The reader will recall that the Sun is the lord of the house of charities and aspects it as well.
The sub period of Saturn-Moon (November of 1987 - June of 1989) did not fail George musically. George came out with a hit CD, Cloud Nine, as soon as it started. The CD contained a re-make of an old standard called Got My Mind Set on You. It became a number one song for George. Shortly afterwards, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Then, in October of 1988, he had another hit CD as a member of the group The Traveling Wilburys. It contained the original hit song Handle with Care. It was a really big success. So the lunar sub period saw George successfully involved in music with one thing after the other.
The major planetary period of Mercury dawned on December 19, 1995. Right at that time, George and the remaining Beatles had gotten together and released a lot of old material which had never been made public. Much of it was alternate versions of different songs which were already known. But an old John Lennon song which had been saved for a rainy day was recorded by the three, with a touch up on the lyrics by Paul. The effort was a huge, huge musical success. Mercury, as a benefic in a trine and the lord of the ascendant as well, saw George right on top of the music world once again. It was rumored that the effort also provided a much needed cash infusion for George.
A cancerous lump was removed from George's throat in August of 1997, still in the Mercury-Mercury period. Saturn is the planet connected with cancer and Saturn aspects the third house, the house of the throat. Astrologically, we want to see this mainly as a Saturnian indication which manifested in Mercury's period because Mercury occupies a sign of Saturn. Thus, the cancerous lump in Mercury's period is justified. Since we cannot have exact assurance as to the birth time, the sub period of Ketu might have started by the time the cancer was found and removed. Ketu also sits in a sign of Saturn, he does so in the house of illness, and aspects the second house, which rules the area of the mouth right above the throat.
In the Mercury-Venus sub period George was stabbed by an intruder. His wife helped him to overcome the assailant. Even though Venus is a well-positioned, natural benefic, this should not surprise us. Venus acquires death-inflicting powers due to its ownership of the second, a maraka house, the maraka eighth from the Moon, and due to the fact that Venus sits in the seventh, another maraka house. In addition, Venus receives an aspect from Mars, a planet corresponding to sharp-pointed weapons. Mars sits in the fourth house, the house representing one's home, where the attack took place.
In the ultimate issue, though, the very beneficence of Venus indicated the final outcome, i.e., that George survived. Why? Well, Venus is a tremendous benefic in George's chart; Venus sits in the house which stands for his wife and is the very karaka of wife, too. It was principally his wife's role in his defense which turned the tide and beat off the assailant.
George Harrison passed away on November 29, 2001, in the planetary period (vimshottari) of Mercury-Sun. The Sun owns the last house of the horoscope, representing the end of life, and sits in the house of disease with the evil Ketu.
That his life was so short seems surprising, given the apparent strength of the ascendant, the house of longevity (eighth) and the indicator of duration of life, Saturn (Ayushkaraka). But the ascendant lord is hemmed in between malefics, these being Mars on one side, and the Sun and Ketu on the other. This malefic yoga goes by the name of papakartari yoga. And Mars as the lord of two death-inflicting, maraka places occupies a quadrant. Jupiter is blemished in terms of sign and ownership, so Jupiter's ameliorating aspect could only go so far.
The Beatles through Vedic Astrology!
