1 Role of Retrograde Planets in Prediction: A Call for Research and Research Frameworks Dr. Andrew DuttaThe phenomenon of retrogression of planets has always been a tricky and a sticky issue to all those who practice astrology sincerely. Predictions have gone haywire due to both consideration and non- consideration of retrograde planets. It still remains one of the most discussed yet hardly researched topic in the field of modern astrology. This article calls for research frameworks for methodically analyzing the predictive outcomes of astrological analysis by taking into consideration the discrepancy between prediction and actual outcome in the light of retrograde planets in a large pool of data set. The article will also discuss two horary case studies wherein retrograde planets played their necessary roles and created the usual confusion. Considerable amount of literature has been spent in the field of Vedic astrology about the role of retrograde planets, their effects and their capacity to alter results in nativities. Various rules on the effects of retrograde planets have been discussed in ancient texts as well as in modern discourses. But the quality of prediction has not improved. In the last century, with the advent of the Krishnamurti Paddhati technique of astrological delineation much clarity has been brought to the fore. Our Guruji, late Sri K. S. Krishnamurti used retrogression of planets with much clarity and simplicity for predictions and timing of outcomes. It was only with Krishnamurti Paddhati that retrograde planets received their due status in prediction and the astrological fraternity understood how to use retrogression of planets for prediction. Sri KSK in his six readers formulated a number of rules for accurate predictions, the fundamental premise of which is based on retrogression. In order to offer prediction for specific queries in the horary chart, our Guruji gave a number of golden rules, which when summarized can be stated as follows 1 : 1. For every query, find out the most important (main) house, its cuspal sublord and the star lord of this cuspal sublord. 2. Next, find out the houses related to this main house, their cuspal sub lords and the star lords of these cuspal sub lord. 3. The most important house cusp (main) sub lord should not itself be retrograde at the time of judgment.4. This sub lord should not occupy a star whose lord is retrograde at the time of judgment. 1 Refer Readers I to VI authored by Sri K. S. Krishnamurti
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5. The main house cuspal sub lord should be related with other house pertaining to the
question.
6. Finally, Rules 3, 4, and 5 should be SIMULTANEOUSLY satisfied to denote a positive
answer. If any one of the Rules 3, 4 or 5 is not satisfied, it shows a negative result for the
querist. Results will not fructify.
It is therefore, clear that the inventor of this system of astrological prediction placed a lot of
emphasis on retrogression of planets and its practical utility in prediction. Later authors such as Sri C.
R. Bhatt, Sri J. Hasbe, Sri M. P. Shanmugam, Sri V. Ramamurthy have equally emphasized in their
writing about retrograde planet’s capacity to alter prediction. Today in the KP fraternity there appears
to be opinion divided upon the role of retrograde planets in the light of the above rules. There is one
school of thought that considers the above rules given by Guruji to be true with respect to both natal
and horary horoscopy. The second school of thought makes a clear distinction that the above rules of
retrogression apply only to horary and not to natal horoscopy. Whereas, the third school of thought take
a detour and believes that the rules of retrogression as propounded by KSK applies to horary only if the
main cuspal sublord is in the star of a retrograde planet. They do not take exceptions to the cuspal
sublords being retrograde. However, no systematic research has yet been published to test these issues.
In the year 1996, late Dr. (Pandit) Kesav Ranjan Kar published an article on retrograde planets
in KP & Astrology Yearbook. Subsequently another article appeared in the 1997 issue of the same
magazine. Both these articles were a landmark paper in the theory of retrogression of planets for two
reasons: firstly, the paper was based on his personal research, and secondly, he was able to provide
certain pre-tested rules that were amenable to further hypotheses testing. Experimentation, testing and
inference are the hallmark of a natural science and Dr. Kar paved the way for modern practitioners of
astrology to take up a new research agenda. However, though Dr. Kar’s papers have immense merit in
their own respect, today we need research output in astrology that would stand the test of rigor and
statistical validity. In this respect it is noteworthy that Sri. A. R. Raichur and Sri. Kanak Bosmia
are doing very commendable, statistically rigorous and valid research in KP astrology. In theApril issue of KP E-Zine Sri Bosmia has beautifully summarized the research contribution of Dr. Kar
with respect to retrogression of planets.
In this article I suggest a research framework that may assist in operationalizing research in
retrogression. The purpose of this framework is exploratory in nature and the exact model would be
determined by the research questions and the hypotheses to be tested in deductive approaches.
While researching on retrogression of planets in KP, one would need to clearly articulate
Since the question is put by a lady, the main cusp that was considered was the 5th cusp. The 5th
cuspal sublord is Mercury. It is not retrograde. Moreover, Mercury is an A grade significator of 5 and
cuspal significator of 5 and 11. At the stellar level, Mercury is also a good significator of 5. Mercury is
in Meena rashi—a fruitful sign, and Mercury’s starlord Saturn is also in a fruitful sign—Cancer. This
analysis tempts us to pronounce that the lady is pregnant. However, I pronounced that the lady is
NOT PREGNANT for a simple reason. The reason is also related with retrogression and is part
of our 3rd
question discussed above. Even though main cusp sublord, Mercury, is direct, Mercury is
in the star of Saturn which is retrograde at the time of judgment.
This case is a classic example for research questions 1 and 3 discussed above. But one needs to
be careful in classifying this case. If we consider only Question 1 then this case falls in Type A,
whereas if we view it as an anomaly with respect to question 1, then this case becomes classified as
Type D. What we need is a very good number of such case examples where the results can be put to
tests for classical KP rules. On 20th April 2007 this lady informed me that on this date she had her
normal menses, which meant that she was indeed not pregnant!
The second case is about a MBA graduate, Ms. Mittal, who asked me the question when will I
get a job? She gave me the KP horary number 57 and I analyzed the query on 22nd March 2007 at 1:53
pm (IST) in Hyderabad. The lady was working with a multinational but gave up her job due to health
reasons and was seeking a job in a better position and pay package. The chart is provided below.
Moon, the significator of mind, signified 11 and 2 along with 10 at the stellar level. Thus, the
query was clearly reflected. The main cusp considered for the analysis was the 6th
cusp. This is
because she was curious to know about the timing of the job. It was a case of timing service and
therefore, I considered 6th cusp to be more appropriate than 10 th. Here the 6th cuspal sublord was Sun
signifying only 9 and 3. Sun’s sublord Saturn, though signified one of the auxiliary houses—namely
the 2nd house— it was retrograde.
NOW THIS WAS A CRITICAL SITUATION. If we consider the first case study to be
true and reflecting a correct retrogression rule in KP then we should also say that this lady is not
destined to get a job since the starlord of the main house cuspal sublord is retrograde. This is atypical example of dilemma that any astrologer would face. In the first case, the retro starlord of the
main cuspal sublord did not deliver the result. So, by virtue of scientific logic, the same should hold
true in this case also and we should declare negative result.
But previous research on retrogression rules by Dr. Kar points out a rule that if Sun is related
with retrograde main cuspal sublord or its retro starlord or both then there is no effect of retrogression.
Note, that in this second case, the main cuspal sublord’s starlord--retro Saturn--was the planetary
starlord of Sun. This direct one-to-one connection of Sun with retro Saturn rendered it powerless to