Article by Vic DiCara, USA

Initial Data

Wikipedia lists the timing of the event as: “On April 26, 1986, the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded at 01:23 AM local time.”

* Date: Apr 26, 1986 (Sat)
* Time: 1:23
* Place: Ukraine (current), Chernobyl
* Coordinates: 30° E 14′ x 51° N 16′
* Time Zone: -3 from Greenwich (DST in effect)

Horror in the 1st House

The first house (the constellation rising in the East) is almost always the first focal point for any astrological reading. The first house for the Chernobyl Disaster is horrifying.

Crossing the Galactic Rift with no Bridge

At the moment of the explosion, and in time directly leading up to and following that event, the eastern horizon crossed the most dangerous and powerful area of the entire zodiac: The galactic center itself – a vast black hole.

This galactic center is made even more difficult as an astrological entity because it lies at what Vedic Astrology calls “gandanta:” the border between a fire-element constellation and a water-element constellation. These borders are naturally challenging since fire and water do not blend, but the real kicker is that the Occult
Zodiac (“navamsha”) repeats this fire/water border at the same spot, and the Lunar Zodiac border also coincides at this point. Thus it is a “difficult crossing with no bridges.”

Charts

The eastern horizon crosses the galactic center gandanta once per day, so it is not on that basis alone that you should predict a disaster! But whenever the horizon crosses this point the potential for great difficulty becomes very high. If, with the eastern horizon in this position, you have some other significantly bad indications in a chart, then you can predict negative outcomes with confidence.

So let’s look at the rest of the “significantly bad indications” in the Chernobyl chart.

Bad Scissors

In addition to the above, the Chernobyl disaster chart also has a classic combination (“yoga”) called Bad Scissors (“Papa-kartari”), because both neighbors of the first house are “bad” or “malefic” planets. Above the 1st House sits fiery, destructive and implosive Ketu in the 12th House of Loss. Below the 1st House lies fiery, destructive, and explosive Mars in the 2nd House of Gains.

The effect is that loss is exacerbated and gains are destroyed. The first house itself becomes influenced by its nasty neighbors and takes on their destructive, fiery and implosive/explosive characteristics.

We are talking about a nuclear disaster here, and this is not just any Bad Scissors combination we are looking at – but a Bad Scissors formed by the most destructive and violent forces in the sky: Mars and Ketu.

Deeply Fallen Moon

The Moon is normally a source of tremendous blessing. But in the chart of the Chernobyl disaster she is devastated. Just two days previous to this event she suffered an Eclipse during her transit of Ketu. This weakens her tremendously.

On top of that, trying to escape the eclipse she found herself running headlong into the very worst portion of the sky for her: the first few degrees of Scorpio. This position always knocks out her ability to bless and help a chart – and coming right on the heels of a lunar eclipse it is safe to say that the moon is completely void of any beneficial power whatsoever.

Wickedly Strong Saturn

Saturn is almost always a source of grief. Putting him in Scorpio makes his ability to inflict grief even stronger because violent Mars owns this constellation. In the case of the Chernobyl disaster, Saturn is in Scorpio in both the normal solar zodiac and in the occult zodiac (“navamsha”). On top of that he is strengthened by being within his own Lunar Zodiac: Anuradha. What’s more, he is retrograde and thus made even stronger still!

Thus Saturn, in the case of Chernobyl is extremely powerful – he brings this power straight to the all important 1st House.

‘We are talking about a nuclear disaster here, and this is not just any Bad Scissors combination we are looking at – but a Bad Scissors formed by the most destructive and violent forces in the sky: Mars and Ketu.’

Since Saturn is naturally malefic, when he becomes powerful it means that his badness increases. The exception would be if there were strong beneficial influences on him, but in this chart there most certainly is not. In fact there is just the opposite – very significant negative influences make Saturn more cruel and wicked than ever:

* Mars and Ketu are his violent neighbors.
* A completely destitute Moon is his house mate.
* Violent Ketu is his house mate in occult house of Scorpio.
* Violent Mars is the owner of his house in both the natural and occult zodiac.

Conclusion on the 1st House

As stated at the outset, the 1st House for the Chernobyl disaster is horrifically bad.

1. It is in gandanta in the galactic center
2. It is flanked on both sides by nasty and violent Mars and Ketu
3. It is occupied by a completely wrecked and destitute planet: the Moon
4. It is occupied by an extremely powerful and wickedly disposed malefic: Saturn.

Nodes Attacking Luminaries

Ketu sits in the 12th House of Loss. In that house he occupies the Lunar Zodiac called Chitra, which is owned by Mars. This creates yet another connection between the violently implosive Ketu and the violently explosive Mars.

Now Rahu… Rahu is within 5 degrees of the Sun. Essentially he has his mouth wide open to devour the luminous Sun. Thus both sources of light and hope (Sun and Moon) are being attacked and devoured by both the sources of wild extremes (Rahu and Ketu). The Moon is devastated and running into a ditch trying to escape her eclipse by Ketu, while the Sun is about to be swallowed by the devouring mouth of Rahu.

Fallen Mercury

Mercury, the planet of intellect, is in the 5th House of intellect. So far it sounds good. But in the case of Chernobyl it is the constellation Pisces which builds the 5th House. This constellation puts Mercury into debilitation or “fall.” Being in a very important house, we can’t overlook this. It must have been that the essential catalyst which caused this disaster to actually take place was a lack of intelligent communication between important people.

It also can’t be ignored that Mercury receives the aspect of Mars – who, with Ketu, is the explosive instigator in this whole disaster.

Jupiter’s Impotence

Jupiter is an important “benefic” or positive influence in Astrology. He was not really able to influence any of the negative players in this chart – and instead found himself strongly affected by them.

First of all, Jupiter sits in Aquarius. Since Saturn owns Aquarius this gives Saturn control over Jupiter’s “soul” or his source of energy. In the Navamsha or “occult zodiac” Jupiter sits in Aries – making Mars the source of his energy. Thus is it Mars and Saturn who dominate Jupiter and not visa-versa. Jupiter’s Lunar Mansion (Nakshatra) is Purvabhadrapada, symbolized by a deathbed, fire, heat, hot-tempers, depravity, etc. How appropriate that Jupiter’s expansive energy is associated with fire, heat, and deathbeds in the case of a nuclear meltdown!

Jupiter aspects Ketu, that is true, but with a dark soul created by Mars and Saturn, and with the deathly mood of Purvabhadrapada. Thus Jupiter’s natural expanding effect only increases the malefic capabilities and power of Ketu.

Note that Jupiter’s Navamsha position is weak and arguably very close to the occult position of the Gandanta border between Aries and Pisces.

The net effect: Jupiter is impotent at best in this chart.

Summary to This Point

The rising sign was crossing the galactic rift. The instability of this position was exploited to the maximum by Ketu and Mars who flanked the 1st House on both sides and who had their hands in every important consideration pertaining to the 1st house – especially the occupants of that house: the broken down Moon and the wickedly empowered Saturn.

The end result: Ketu and Mars dominated everywhere and thus created a violent explosion and implosion through the hands of wicked Saturn. Any planets who would have tried to intervene were put out of commission.

Thus far I’ve shown the accuracy and power of techniques that are essentially very “basic.” Now let’s look briefly at a few more obscure or “advanced” considerations.

The Navamsha

Jupiter rules the Navamsha but, sitting in Aries, finds himself commanded by Mars. This gives yet more power to Mars – making him the “soul” (jiva) for Jupiter’s body (deha) and thus the soul of the entire Navamsha. Mars himself dominates the house of the young and weak Prince Mercury’s Virgo – the 7th house of the Navamsha. From this vantage point again Mars glares dominantly over the 1st House and Jupiter in the 2nd – while keeping his eye controlling Mercury in the 10th. Jupiter may own the Navamsha – but it is clearly Mars who has hijacked it and taken full control.

Mars also owns the 9th House of the Navamsha. His guests there are none other than Ketu and Saturn – who we already know are his co-conspirators in this disaster.

Beneficent Venus is weak in the 12th house of this chart. The Moon is new and empty though in cancer in the 5th. In my opinion an empty or otherwise negative Moon in strong position generates strong negative effects.

Clearly the Navamsha is dominated entirely by Mars, Saturn and Ketu – who we already know dominate the main chart as well.

Ketu in Sripati Bhava

Here is the Chernobyl disaster with its Sripati Mc and Ic (Midheaven and “Netherworld”). The smaller North Indian style chart shows the Sripati Bhava house placements.

The Midheaven as a location is rivaled in importance only by the Ascendant. Whoever sits closest to the Midheaven will be the highest planet in the solar sky and will thus dominate all others. To get an accurate Midheaven point, especially in more Northern or Southern locations like Chernobyl, it is very important to use the Sripati method of house calculation.

Vedic Sripati Bhava Horoscope of Chernobyl Disaster

In the case of Chernobyl none other than Ketu, the planet of upheaval and mass destruction, sits just about 3° from the Sripati Midheaven. Her co-conspirator, Mars sits in the 1st House of the Sripati system. So, if you had any doubt about the absolute dominance of Ketu and Mars in this disaster (which you really shouldn’t have by this point), those doubts should now be gone.

It is also interesting to note that the Sripati Bhava chart shows an increased power to Malefics as well as decreased power to benefics. Jupiter is in the weak 3rd House. Venus is in the weak 6th House. Mercury is conjunct with two Malefics. The Moon, however, is slightly better off in the Sripati than she is in the fixed house chart. In this case it only means that she got a Band-Aid for one or two bruises she got from falling into the ditch of extreme debilitation.

Raja Yoga?

You could argue that Saturn and the Moon form an auspicious combination in the 1st house, which goes by the name “Kingly Combination” (Raja Yoga) or “Harmony of Purpose and Action”. But Saturn and the Moon are thoroughly wicked and demolished in this chart (respectively). To think that they could bestow a miraculous beneficial effect while in a state such as this is… well, “silly.”

It is a fact that Saturn and Moon constitute a union between the 4th & 9th Houses. All of which are powerful and important houses. And that is the keyword here: “powerful.” For when the union of powerful houses occurs through the agency of planets as ruined and wicked as the Moon and Saturn are in the case of the Chernobyl horoscope – the net result is powerful ruination and grief.

That is the true effect of the yoga formed by Saturn and the Moon on the first house: Disaster to on an uncommonly influential level.

Venus Tried to Help

Up till this point we have left Venus out of the discussion for the most part. Naturally she is most benefic, and appears to be strongly placed in her own Taurus and in her own 7th House – forming a “Refinement” combination called “Malavya Yoga.”

Why then was she unable to avert this disaster? Well, first of all she did try her best. If the Chernobyl disaster was not as bad as it possibly could have been, it was only due to the influence of Venus. But to ask one planet, however strong she may be, to save the day entirely against 3 powerful and vehement malefics dominating a chart from half a dozen angles is similar to asking prince charming to wake you up from your daydream. It’s just too much to ask.

Additionally, the strength of Venus is not entirely unmarred. She is in Saturn’s Aquarius in the occult zodiac (navamsha), which is the weak 12th House of that chart. In the Sripati Bhava we’ve noted that her position is not the 7th but the weak 6th House. She is in the lunar mansion (Nakshatra) called “Krittika” – which is a razor sharp place. She is no more than a newborn baby at 5° of Taurus. And she is under heavy aspect from a tormented Moon, as well as in the glance of the wicked Saturn.

To venture into somewhat “uncharted” waters for Vedic Astrology, Venus is tightly conjunct a fixed star called Algol – the “Ghoul” of the heavens – Medusa’s head in the constellation of Perseus, Satan’s Head in Jewish Astrology, and the Pile of Corpses in the Chinese System. This very unfortunate star has a fixed zodiac position of just about 3° Taurus (when corrected with Lahiri Ayanamsha). We know and love this degree of Taurus as the place of the Moon’s greatest exaltation, and thus it is not impossible for Algol to be used for good – especially because she is a focal point for basic female power. But with the exception of the Moon, planets near this degree should beware, especially if the rest of the chart is already ominous – for Algol represents beheading, violence, murder and mass destruction.

Thus Venus did her best to mitigate the disaster, but under the circumstances was incapable of significant success.

Conclusion

In the end, the conclusion is identical to what we already knew at the summary halfway through the article:

The end result: Ketu and Mars dominated everywhere and thus created a violent explosion and implosion through the hands of Saturn. Any planets who would have tried to intervene were put out of commission.

The only difference is that by now we are 100% sure of it, and can clearly understand that there is no help to be had from any benefic except perhaps weakly from Venus – who is always worthy of devotion and respect.

About Author: Vic DiCara has actively participated in Vedic culture since 1991. He began practicing Jyotisha professionally in April of 2008. He received mantra-diksha into the Rupa Goswami sampradaya of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and has translated and taught courses on many subjects of Vedic Philosophy and Rasa Theology. Additionally, Vic is a professional musician who has toured the world and published records extensively since 1988. His ability to bridge the conceptual gaps between East and West and to simplify complexities without losing subtlety has gained him renown already in Astrology and in all his pursuits. He currently offers private readings and personal instructions and can be reached via his website: www.vicdicara.com or email: vicdicara@gmail.com