ASTROLOGY IN RELATION TO INHERITANCE

ASTROLOGY IN RELATION TO INHERITANCE By Dr. E. S. Neelakantan

The word “Inheritance” in today's world mostly refers to legacy obtained through parents in the form of property and investments. But to understand this in such a way is to give a restricted meaning to the term. In the case of a prince or a princess, what they inherit is a kingdom. Musicians and Artists pass on their legacy to children. Doctors, Lawyers and Sportsmen pass on their professional skills to children. Most Astrologers believe that legacy is what is passed on the next generation at the time of death, which is why the 8th house is often referred to as the house of legacy. But is this cent percent true? Of course, not. A settlement deed can be written instead of a will; a king can step down anointing the crown prince as a successor. A legacy can get transmitted during the lifetime of a person itself. With these opening remarks, let us now look at “Inheritance” at length and the causative factors in astrology which either bestow or deprive one of a possible legacy.

There is a discussion on inheritance in Kautilya's Arthasastra. The rituals connected with funeral and the annual Shradda ceremonies have to be performed by the eldest son. In ancient times, the eldest son was entitled to a special share of the ancestral property. The eldest son had an added responsibility to look after younger brothers, unmarried sisters and the widowed mother. Here inheritance had a direct relationship with the obligation towards funeral rituals and the necessity to look after the family.

Karl Marx advocated the abolition of private property as a key element to end inequality and exploitation. The abolition of private property naturally meant the abolition of the right to inheritance because there no longer would exist any private property which could be bequeathed to the successor. On 27th April 1918, a decree abolishing inheritance was passed in what later came to be known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After the death of the owner, the properties which belonged to the owner, whether movable or immovable would become the property of Russian Socialist Soviet Federative Republic. This view based on socialistic economic principles were in direct contrast to the Hindu Scriptures which proclaim that the father becomes the son in accordance with the Vedic dictum “ Atmavai Putra namasi “.Over a period of time, this Socialistic theory has faded away. This proves the fact that Astrological laws prevail over Manmade laws and eventually events happen only according to the planetary position prevailing at the time of birth.

EXISTENCE OF WEALTH

Before I get into a discussion on inheritance, I would like to borrow an analogy from the operations of oil drilling companies. Initially the drilling companies are engaged to ascertain the existence of oil, depth at which it is available and the quantity of reserves available to know whether it is worthwhile setting up the machinery to drill for oil at the particular region. Similarly, before we proceed to analyse a chart for the prospects for inheritance one has to ascertain, whether the person who is supposed to bequeath wealth is rich or not. One may have great ties with parents but if they were to be poor, what is there to inherit? In such cases, sons or daughters end up looking after their parents in old age.

PATERNAL RICHES:

To know whether the father of a person is rich, one has to apply the following rules and verify the existence of paternal wealth.

• The Sun as Pitr - Karaka should be strong.
• Venus in the 9th house.
• One's father is highly fortunate if Jupiter occupies a quadrant.

The following rules are contra indications for the prosperity of father,

• Mars in 4 or 10.
• 9th lord in debilitation in the navamsa chart.

A few more rules, I will quote here,

• If 9th lord in the 10th and 10th lord is in 9 aspected by benefics, the native's father will be famous and rich.
• If the 9th lord is debilitated and therefrom if the 2nd or 4th, is occupied by Mars, then the father will be poor. (For example, if Libra rises and Mercury is in Pisces and Mars is in Aries or Gemini, the above rule is fulfilled)

RULES FOR INHERITANCE:

The houses which denote inheritance are the 2nd, the 4th and the 8th. The planet which denotes inheritance is Jupiter. A harmonious connection between 2, 4, 8, 9 and 11 ensures that material possessions are gainfully inherited by the chart holder. Troubles and litigation are indicated if the 6th lord is connected with either the 8th lord or the 8th house.

If the 4th lord is connected to the 8th house, then inheritance of land or immovable property is indicated. Alternatively, it can also mean, the mother's wealth, movable or immovable, would be inherited.

Relationship between the lords of 2 and 8 would indicate that Money and Jewellery would be inherited.

Inheritance of wealth is indicated when there is a relationship between lords of 8 and 11.

If the lord of 7 is connected to the 8th house then inheritance of business is indicated. Alternatively, it can also mean that the Wealth of Spouse would be inherited.

We have heard of people getting buried treasure, unexpected wealth or a sudden influx of wealth. This can also happen through inheritance. For this to happen;

• 11th lord should occupy the 4th in a friendly sign aspected by a benefic.
• Mars should be strong and
• The 8th lord and the 8th house should be strong.

If the 8th lord is strong and occupies the 11th house, one gains through insurance or inheritance.

PLANETS, LORDS AND INHERITANCE:

Which are the planets and the house lords and what role they play in inheritance we will see next

ASCENDANT:

Denotes a person's personality and his traits. It also shows whether he will be lucky enough to get an inheritance.

2ND HOUSE / LORD:

This is the house of wealth. Even if a person's father is rich, one becomes eligible to inherit only if he is blessed with a strong 2nd lord and a strong second house. There are cases where parents were rich but no sooner the son was born, they lost all their wealth and the son inherited nothing. So parental inheritance is also dependent on the karma of children.

2ND HOUSE:

This is the house of wealth. So, if a person were to become rich through inheritance, then the 2nd house should be strong. It should also favour inheritance.

8TH HOUSE:

As discussed, this is the house of legacies, gifts, unearned wealth, secret wealth and hidden treasures. Being the 2nd house to the 7th, it is also a indicative of the wealth of spouse.

9TH HOUSE:

9th house denotes luck and fortune. Anything which a person gets without effort comes under the purview of the 9th house. Besides the 9th house denotes father. A harmonious link between houses 8 and 9 favours paternal inheritance.

11TH HOUSE:

What a person earns comes under the purview of the 11th house. It can be what he gets, gains or what comes to a person profitably. It is also the house which denotes profits or gains. Inheritance being an accretion to wealth, is also enhanced by the 11th when it is in harmony with the 8th house.

JUPITER:

Jupiter is the planet denoting inheritance. It is representative of wealth and treasury. It is the planet of expansion and abundance. It also denotes inheritance. Needless to say, a well placed Jupiter is the sine qua non for obtaining a legacy.

MATERNAL INHERITANCE:

Maternal inheritance is to be inferred from a combined study of the houses 2, 4 and 5 and the karaka for mother, namely, the Moon.

• Unexpected gains from mother can be expected when the lords of 2 and 4 conjoin and occupy the Ascendant.
• For Leo Ascendant, Vipareetha Raja can occur partially when Moon occupies the 8th. In this Yoga, maternal inheritance is also possible.

What does 8th house signify?

We need to look into textbooks on Astrology to come to a definite conclusion that the 8th house is the House of inheritance. According to Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, the 8th house signifies longevity, battle, enemies, sorts, wealth of the dead (inheritance) and things that are to happen (BPHS, Chapter 11, Verse 9).

If we analyse books like Jataka Tattva, we find that most of the rules, they discuss pertain to the chart holder's longevity. Over a period of time analysis of the 8th house revolves mainly around the question of death or longevity. What we need to realise here is that the wealth of a dead person should be analysed with reference to the 8th house of the survivor. Hence a query on inheritance can be answered primarily by looking into the prospects of the 8th house.

TYPE OF LEGACY:

The moment we utter the world “Legacy” everyone jumps to the conclusion it is property - either movable or immovable. Is this perception true? In my opinion, No. Not everyone is blessed with a rich father. Nor does every rich man, want his children to enjoy his wealth - hard earned or ancestral. There are several instances where children who are at loggerheads with parents being deprived of their share of ancestral property. Further children inherit many of their parental assets - some in the form of wealth and some in the form of inborn talents. Here I would like to spell out some of the popular ways of inheritance.

• Political legacy
• Professional legacy
• Inheritance of a Business or Brand
• Inheritance of Financial Assets
• Inheritance of Goodwill
• Inheritance of Artistic Talents
• Inheritance of a legacy in Sports
• Spiritual legacy
• Inheritance of a Kingdom and Colonial legacy

I have tried to cover the term “Legacy” in all possible ways to the best of my knowledge, but if I have left out something, you may add on to it.

With these words I would like to move over to a discussion on charts where there are astrological indications of inheritance.

In the case of Ms J. Jayalalitha, the mantle of Chief Minister, fell on her upon the demise of matinee idol and former Chief Minister Shri M. G. Ramachandran. She inherited his political legacy and was the incumbent chief minister at the time of her demise on 5th December 2016.

In her chart a powerful wealth yoga is generated by the conjunction of Moon (as lord of 2) with Mars (lord of 11) in what is technically known as Sasi Mangala Yoga. What gives strength to the yoga is the fact that Jayalalitha was born on a Full Moon day.

The yoga is fully beneficial as it is aspected by Jupiter. In her horoscope the 8th lord is strong in own navamsa while the 8th house is rendered strong by being aspected by its lord. From the Moon, the 10th lord Venus is exalted in the 8th. This makes her chart one that paves the way for inheritance of a political legacy, as Jupiter is lord of 10 and Venus is lord of 10 in 8 reckoned from Moon. While taking over the reins of power, she had to face a tough fight from Mrs. Janaki Ramachandran, leading to the party getting split into two before getting unified again. As discussed, conjunction of the 6th lord with either Jupiter or the 8th lord can lead to troubles in inheritance. Here in the D - 9 Chart, Jupiter is conjunct the 6th lord Mars.

The second chart I propose to discuss, where there is political legacy is that of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In her Chart, the lord of 8, Moon, denoting inheritance is involved in a mutual interchange of houses with the 10th lord Mercury and the 10th house is aspected by Jupiter. If we do our analysis from the Moon, the lord of 8 is in 10, with the Pitr - Karaka, Sun, denoting a paternal political legacy.

On the topic of political legacy, the final chart I propose to discuss is that of Smt. Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India and daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In her chart, the lord of 8, Saturn is in lagna aspecting the 10th, which is the house of political power. The Sun as karaka of 9 (political power) forms a powerful exchange of houses with Yogakaraka Mars and gets aspected by the lord of 9th and the planet of inheritance, Jupiter.

So if we look into the salient features of a political legacy, we see the involvement of the 8th lord, 8th house and Jupiter - all denoting inheritance and their inter-relationship with the planets of power viz., Mars and Sun.

Mackenzie Scott (formerly Mackenzie Bezos) is an American Novelist and Philanthropist. She was born on 7th April 1970 in San Francisco, USA. From 1953 to 2019, she was married to Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Her divorce left her with a fortune which made her one of the wealthiest persons in the world. In her chart there is a conjunction between lords of 2 and 11 in lagna along with lagna lord Mars, forming a five - planet yoga. The planet of inheritance Jupiter is in the 7th, aspected by the 8th lord Mars. Incidentally Mars is not only the 8th lord but also the lagna lord. It aspects the 7th house and the 8th house. One can read this chart very carefully as an example of inheritance from spouse.

Chart 5 belongs to a person who should have been in the billionaire club but for his father, who squandered away all his ancestral wealth mainly on account of vices. The lord of wealth is relegated to the 12th afflicted by Rahu. The planet of inheritance Jupiter is afflicted by the aspect of 8th lord Mars and conjunction with 6th lord Saturn, adding to the dosha attributable to quadrangular ownership (Kendradipathya dosha). The 8th house is afflicted by the Waning Moon. The 11th house is afflicted by the 8th lord Mars, whose aspect is an added affliction to the 2nd lord Venus. While paternal legacy is totally ruled out, a glimmer of hope is there for maternal legacy as Moon in the 8th is aspected by Jupiter. It is only after the native's birth, the ancestral riches were squandered away, thereby proving that Astrology is a correct science.

Shri Ratan Tata requires no introduction to the business community in India. The Tatas is a household name not only for their business but also for their ethics in business. Ratan Tata is a scion of the Tata family. The Tata group is a business conglomerate founded in 1868 by Jamshedji Tata. It was in 1991, Ratan Tata became Chairman of the Tata group.

In his chart the lord of 9, who is also the Pitr - Karaka Sun joins the 10th lord Mercury and the 11th lord Venus in a three planet conjunction in lagna. The planet denoting inheritance Jupiter is in the 2nd forming an interchange of houses with the 2nd lord, Saturn in the 4th. From the 2nd , Jupiter aspects the 10th, being the planet of inheritance, while Saturn (as Karaka of 8th) aspects the 10th. This chart is an indicator of inheritance of a business legacy.

Shashi Kapoor (1938 - 2017) is considered as one of the legends of Bollywood. He is the son of Prithiviraj Kapoor and his siblings include Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, both well known Bollywood icons. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Indian cinema. In his chart, there is a mutual interchange of houses between Saturn (as Karaka planet of 8th house) and Jupiter, planet of inheritance. The 8th lord Sun, joins the exalted 10th lord Venus and this is further fortified by the 9th lord Mercury and the lagna lord Saturn. As the 8th lord joins the 7th lord in navamsa, the profession of the family, namely, Acting was inherited by Shashi Kapoor, making him a legend in his lifetime. It is also worth noting that the 8th from the Moon is occupied by Mars, lord of the house rendering it strong.