Richard Branson Spaceman (Sidereal)

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Wasn't quite sure where to post this but since it was international in scope I decided it was more mundane than personal. I apologize ahead for the rambling format.

Anyway, Richard Branson has announced he is planning on going into space on the 50th anniversary of the landing on the Moon, July 20th. https://www.thedailybeast.com/richard-b ... y?ref=home

Thought it would be interesting to look at his chart since this is a risky thing to attempt in your forties let alone when you are soon to celebrate your 69th birthday.

Branson's chart has a Rodden rating of A and is shown in sidereal Lahiri ayanamsa below. Whole sign houses kiddos.
https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Branson,_Richard
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It would be interesting to see the viewpoint on this event from the western school as well. A western chart is posted at the end.

Branson's 22° Cancer rising chart has the eighth lord Saturn conjunct the bhava madhya of the second house showing easy gains of wealth also aspects the 4th of property, eighth house of speculation, 11th house of income and money from side ventures. Note also that Saturn is also the lord of death and obstacles.

10th lord Mars conjunct the third house gives tremendous drives to his plans and initiatives and to the other houses it aspects, sixth, ninth and tenth.

Current dasha is Jupiter/Mercury. In the natal chart, Mercury is afflicted aspected by Rahu from the ninth house. This also explains his phenomenal wealth and interest in technology, but though Rahu can give great materialistic gains they are also fickle. Mercury in the first house links and connects to his life and vitality. Rahu's aspect is dangerous in this respect.

Branson has made and lost many fortunes but Saturn, Sun, and Moon (all in royal houses) have always kept him ahead. Jupiter in the 8th aspecting the 2nd has helped too.

His risk-taking is due to the influence of 8th lord Saturn and daring Mars in the heart of the third house.

The transits on that date (7.20.2019) are not promising for a routine outcome into space. In fact, I would deem them perilous.
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6th lord of accidents Jupiter is exactly aspecting the equal bhava madhya (EBM) of the 8th, 2nd, 4th houses (4th house is conveyances). Retrograding 8th Lord of death and death like situations Saturn is applying very close conjunction to the EBM of the 6th house of accidents and the 12th house of losses. Saturn is also closely afflicting the 8th and 3rd houses too. Sudden, explosive accidents/obstructions to the whole endeavor are seen. Transiting Saturn is afflicted by transiting Ketu and the Nodal axis is laying across the 6th and 12th house axis. Transiting Ketu is closely afflicting the 6th, 10th, 12th, and 2nd houses too.

Natal Mars is exactly aspecting transiting Saturn/Ketu. Transiting Moon is even opposing his natal Moon from the 8th house on that day and afflicted by natal Jupiter.

Perhaps this means he won't get off the ground, or if he does the mission is in great peril. A lot of sudden and unforeseen accidents are predicted. If he were my client I would counsel not to do it for I think he is in mortal danger attempting this venture at this time. It's almost as if Death were tempting him. Recalling the dasha/bhukti, Rahu's cloudy influence on Mercury exacerbates Branson's precarious behavior during this period.

Good Luck Richard.

Here is the transit data of the planets.

Transits Rashi
As 21Cn33/As 21Cn33
Su 3Cn36/Su 1Cn52
Mo 16Aq05/Mo 8Le26
Ma 17Cn47/Ma 23Vi30
Me 4Cn52/Me 9Cn57
Ju 21Sc06/Ju 13Aq33
Ve 26Ge51/Ve 1Ge27
Sa 22Sg16/Sa 22Le39
Ra 23Ge28/Ra 7Pi11
Ke 23Sg28/Ke 7Vi11
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Transits Natal
As 14Le43/As 14Le43
Su 27Cn01/Su 25Cn02
Mo 1Pi19/Mo 1Vi36
Ma 11Le27/Ma 16Li40
Me 29Cn31/Me 3Le07
Ju 15Sg16/Ju 6Pi43
Ve 20Cn03/Ve 24Ge37
Sa 16Cp27/Sa 15Vi49
Ra 17Cn36/Ra 0Ar21
Ke 17Cp36/Ke 0Li21

[Edited to add more data/charts and correct some grammatical errors.]
Wish the posting editor would allow tables.

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WooWoo's post made me notice that the July 16th lunar eclipse at sidereal 29Ge56 will highly activate Richard's natal Sun.

This eclipse is an odd one and very unsettled because at least sidereally (Lahiri ayanamsa), it is right on the junction of two signs.

The eclipse is within 2 degrees of Richard Branson's natal Sun at 1Ca52, but out of sign. Not sure how to interpret the out of sign aspect of the configuration with his Sun other than it would further diffuse or confuse the energy.

Any thoughts?

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hi aj,

thanks for bringing up this... the 7am time is from his memory.. i suspect it is not an accurate time.. however, it might be close... it is always challenging working with rounded off times which is how i see this chart - 7am...

lets say it is close and proceed from their... i am only looking at his chart in sidereal..

you mention saturn/mars are working in his favour - saturn via its connection to the 2nd house, with aspects to the 4th and 11th... funny enough that argala concept revolves around planets in the 2nd, 4th and 11th as having great bearing on the resources at ones disposal in order that one might reach the goals they set out for themselves.. it is an interesting concept tying a few houses together to suggest they provide the necessary foundation for furthering ones ambitions... i can't remember where i read it, but it was recent and regarding the 3rd house having the 10th house ruler in it.. it is considered favourable for ones career though...

anyway... it turns out saturn and mars midpoint is 8 virgo/pisces - right where the nodal axis is... as it happens the solar arc direction of sun for this moment in time is exactly on this midpoint.. the sa sun is presently at 8 virgo 32, so essentially on ketu and on this saturn/mars midpoint... sun rules the 2nd in the 7am chart.. that was probably the most interesting solar arc direction, but there are more.. i am leery to lean on the angles too much here given the 7am time, but sa jupiter at 20 and change aries would be an immediate connection from the 6th/9th lord to the cancer ascendant degree.. sa pluto is a little over a degree out of a direct square to his natal sun as well.. there is more if you want to look on your own.. jupiter/mercury dasa is in play at this time..

i looked at the solar return upcoming.. this upcoming birthday is an aries/mars profection year...this puts emphasis on the aries ruler - mars which as you pointed out, is in the 3rd and a key to his chart.. looking in the solar return i see mars is on his ascendant @16 cancer and in an opposition to natal moon at 24 cap - both straddling this 21 cancer ascendant - close to the midpoint of 16/24 degrees.. the solar return ascendant is 10 pisces, on rahu, while the midheaven is at 7 sag, at the midpoint of venus/uranus... that certainly speaks of flying into outer space.. the solar return chart also emphasizes ketu-saturn on the 6th house cusp which doesn't sound favourable from a health point of view...

maybe i will stop here... i am not sure what to make of it all... i seem to recall the 3rd house in indian astrology is the 8th to the 8th... seeing as mars is in the 3rd, i seem to remember it plays a role as a possible death indicator planet.. having mars on the ascendant in opposition to the ascendant ruler in the solar return chart makes me wonder what happens here... the sa sun on the saturn-mars midpoint and ketu also make me wonder...

thanks for bringing it up... i wish him well, now that he has moved on from the stupid publicity stunt he pulled with the rock concert on the columbia - venezuala border from a few months ago... the guy seems very self serving, if nothing else.. i guess some others will see it differently..

https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Branson,_Richard

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james_m wrote:the 7am time is from his memory.. i suspect it is not an accurate time.. however, it might be close... it is always challenging working with rounded off times which is how i see this chart - 7am...
Hi James. Thanks for contributing. I think you are right, without doing a full rectification just off the cuff Branson was plausibly born some minutes earlier than 7am. I am not so interested in this case to do a full rectification, but I think the given time is close enough with your caution about the angles kept in mind.

Interesting about the midpoints. I don't use them particularly but in my limited experience the technique is valid. Case in point if there is a planet caught in the T-square of the Nodes I pay attention even though it is not a considered a "full aspect" in Indian astrology.
he has moved on from the stupid publicity stunt he pulled with the rock concert on the columbia - venezuala border from a few months ago... the guy seems very self serving, if nothing else.. i guess some others will see it differently..
He's definitely a grandstander but the private man remains mysterious as his bio points out. Combust Mercury with Rahus aspect to boot placed in the first with Cancer rising and the early Moon accounts a lot for the "secret man" I think.

One would expect the 8th Lord and Saturn to be prominent for something as risky as space flight and this does bear out as I recall it being a feature of some of the Apollo astronauts charts I looked at years ago. Transiting Saturn conjunct Ketu close to the center of the 6th house is appropriate but given the other factors we've mentioned it looks rather dire for a successful launch and completion.

Tertiary progressions on July 20th have natal Ketu aspecting P3Mercury = sudden and unexpected changes in intiatives and communications at the least. Mercury rules the 12th of foreign travel too. If we back up the BT by 7 to 10 minutes the natal Nodes are afflicting the 1/7 axis and 6th lord Jupiter is afflicting the 10th, 2nd, 4th and 6th houses.
I'm not the first to notice, but tertiary progressions have an uncanny timing reflection to Vimshotarri dasha in many cases. Note that Branson is in the Jupiter/Mercury period. I guess because tertiaries are based on the lunar month but the origins of the length and order of the planetary periods are obscure.

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thanks aj,

it is fun to know about a lot of astro techniques.. at the same time it is overwhelming unless one chooses which ones to put the greatest emphasis on... i generally find solar arc directions one of the more valuable predictive tools... sa sun on the nodal axis here seems significant to me especially given the closeness of the eclipse cycle data to his natal sun... and, i think saturn by transit is clearly having a direct impact on his chart.. it is transiting exact trine to his saturn, 150 his ascendant, give or take a degree or two and also shows up at the sun-uranus midpoint too fwiw.. and, of course saturn by sextile - (aspect in indian astro) is aspecting his 8th house here too.. so, all in all i would say saturn is making its presence felt, although he might not be paying as close attention to it as you and i! saturn by transit is also directly square his mars at this point too so lots of saturn transit data here..

that is really interesting your comment ''the tertiary progressions have an uncanny timing reflection to Vimshotarri dasha in many cases''.. just for fun, i am looking at them right in here...an overlay on his natal chart with the tertiary progs looks like this...

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in this chart the tp ascendant is at 8 sag ( and the 7am time rears its ugly head again) - square the sa sun, and both hitting exactly on the nodal axis....i seem to recall hearing an exact aspect involving the nodal axis is not considered favourable in indian astrology, although they probably don't factor in the square from a tp ascendant.. i don't know...

i mostly look for close - 1 degree or less - orbs when using solar arc data, and even transit data... i like using midpoints, but it is a 2ndary consideration even here... lets see how all this flies on july 20th or sooner... ps - tp saturn at 4 libra opposes the midheaven degree too for july 20th date and his 7am chart time... cheers james

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james_m wrote: ps - tp saturn at 4 libra opposes the midheaven degree too for july 20th date and his 7am chart time... cheers james
Yes. Thanks for pointing that out. Saturn afflicting the IC/MC is telling. Lord Shani is certainly taking an interest in him this month.

I work with whole sign houses so much I miss contacts to the IC/MC axis many times mostly due to the fact my primary software only shows the MC if a quadrant system is selected and I am too lazy or busy to switch. It's always pestered me that the developer hasn't implemented it in the software even though I have asked repeatedly, but overall its a minor thing as the software is indispensable for what I do. Most "whole sign'ers" at least doing Indian astrology don't use the meridian so am probably the only one who asked for it.

Hoping for the best for RB.

Be well.

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With 20 events I rectified his chart to 7.12.28 BST Asc 16Leo55’.
Asc exactly conjunct Pluto and sextile Mars. MC trine Moon. Very impressive are the heliocentric positions: helio Mercury in exact opposition to helio Jupiter forming T-Square with helio Mars. MC is sextile helio Jupiter and trine helio Mercury. Helio Venus conjunct MC.
His perspective for 20 July 2019 are very negative. In current transit Saturn is quincunx to Asc and square Mars. The main indications are in converse transits, calculating for 15 July 1881:
Converse Neptune and converse Mars are square the Asc with very tight orbs.
On 22 August 2011 his house, located on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, was destroyed, along with "thousands of photographs and notebooks.". Converse transit Saturn was exactly on his Asc.
His primary directions are very negative when one is taking into consideration his Epoch, casting for 29 October 1949 15.41.52 GMT Asc 7Ari27’ Moon 16Aqu50’.
In his solar return for 17 July 2019 Venus in opposition to Saturn and Pluto right on Asc-Desc axis when casing for Necker Island (death of his mother?)
Last edited by Isaac Starkman on Tue Jul 02, 2019 11:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

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His perspective for 20 July 2019 are very negative. In current transit Saturn is quincunx to Asc and square Mars. The main indications are in converse transits, calculating for 15 July 1881:
Converse Neptune and converse Mars are square the Asc with very tight orbs.
Funny, I have studied the chart some for a couple of days for fun. Thanks AJ for posting this interesting example btw !

I have zeroed in on mars neptune as well but in different ways. Mars neptune is the aspect that perhaps is most associated with "failed proper action" as nepune is clouding the martian energy of ambition and success. So often aspects between these bodies are present when people seems to act on wrong impulses causing a sense of failure.

The natal mars neptune conjunction is activated very negatively too in the secondary progressions. There is the progressed semisquare by progressed mars to neptune. P MA-45-NE
And then the transit of saturn to natal mars neptune on top of it.
Quite negative...

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As for the burning down of his home in 2011 I find with the rectified time 7:12 that Tertiary progressed MC (solar arc in RA) is activing the natal mars semisquare moon which is telling for a fire in the home.
TP MC-90-MA

also tertiary progressed mc is square saturn.


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7:12 time...

At the 2014 crash of his space plane the tertiary progressed mars is squaring the MC/IC axis ( and semisquaring saturn)

Seems like a promising rectification.


AJ,

I use also the tertiary progressions quite often, and also find them tallying the dasha periods quite fascinating. This is inspired by the prominent vedic astrologer Richard Houck who used them quite frequently in his work. He was famous for his accurate mundane predictions on his site in the 90'ies.

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Also this....
On 25 September 2004, Branson announced the signing of a deal under which a new space tourism company, Virgin Galactic,
With the 7:12 time transiting Rahu (north node) is within a degree of conjunction to his MC.(true node).

Rahu is the vedic karaka (significator) of space travel. Aeronautics.

With the 7:00 time the exact transit conjunction is a few degrees off.

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.
Branson in 1972 launched the record label Virgin Records
Mike Oldfield, whose debut album Tubular Bells (1973) was the first release for Virgin Records and became a chart-topping best-seller.[22]

Virgin signed such controversial bands as the Sex Pistols, which other companies were reluctant to sign. Virgin Records would go on to sign other artists including the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Japan, UB40, Steve Winwood and Paula Abdul, and to become the world's largest independent record label.[23] It also won praise for exposing the public to such obscure avant-garde music as Faust and Can. Virgin Records also introduced Culture Club to the music world.

So this was during his 6 year sun major period and his
10 year Moon Major period

This is interesting imo as the sun and moon is forming a good combination for wealth. A mutual reception (Parivartana yoga) between sun and moon his first and 2nd house ruler. So he basically built his wealth during the timing of this combination in his chart.

(This is relevant in use of Whole sign house system)


Sidereal Lahiri chart:


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Issac and Stephan: Very interesting perspectives and like James said:
it is fun to know about a lot of astro techniques..
[Keep your eye on James, he is eclectic at times but has a very sound to profound insight on many things astrological.]

Thanks for sharing your findings and insights. I wish I had more time to devote to Branson's chart but I still favor a time that is earlier rather than later for the 0700 chart, but I am open to other more learned attempts at rectifying his chart.

[I still have an obligation to the royals thread in the sidereal forum and clients are greatly disturbed energy during this multiple Saturn/Ketu conjunction this summer and is taking a lot of extra time.]

I've never worked in any depth with converse directions or converse anything for that matter, but in physics, the maths works just the same backward in time as they do forward. Topocentric houses I experimented with many, many years ago but not with primary directions. I leave that to the younger astrologers out there to flush out.

I always find it engaging to have other practitioners describe their methodologies. It is a good reminder that there is more than one road to reach the same destination and we can always learn something new.

Stefan: Tertiaries are about the only western technique I still use on a regular basis, and as you know their uncanny synchronicity a dasha in many instances makes them almost essential IMO. [I wonder if this might be the link to the unknown timing to the dasha periods of the Grahas that has been lost from ancient times?] Once in awhile I will look at secondary progressions when nothing is apparent elsewhere, but mostly for the progressed Moon. 2P just don't move fast enough and then mostly the inner planets unless your subject is quite mature in age. The progressed Sun is worth keeping an eye on especially if it is intercepted. When it comes out of interception by secondary progression it often shows when young adults become less shy and introverted; depending on the sign and houses involved of course. I dabble with primaries once in a great while. Like James I used and found solar arc progressions reliable and quick ages ago when I did western astrology, but for the most part I find dasha and transits more than satisfactory in their stead.

It might be fun to start a topic on everyones primary methodology for prediction in descending order. Thoughts?

Like the late Jack Horkheimer, executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium used to say on his old PBS astronomy bit, "Keep looking up."

Practice patience and fulfill promised obligations during this summers difficult transits to prosper.

Be Well.

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aj,

thanks.. check your pms when you have some time...

ordinarily the idea of 2 planets in trine ( using most of the predictive tools - transits and etc. etc.) in modern astrology is seen as a positive... my experience has been it depends on their relationship and position in the natal chart.. i think the natal relationship is brought forth when they connect via the different systems astrologers have to use.. with that in mind, the primary directions for richard branson in this window of time show sun directed to a trine to saturn.. this is another way that saturn is engaged here..

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