Rahu, Mars and Saturn

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the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

Matthew Kosuta Abstract

In Thai astrology and cosmology, which has its origins in Vedic astrology and cosmology, the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn are villain stars and they act in villainous and cruel ways. Depending on their position in a person’s astrological chart and when they orbit into certain houses on a persons chart, they can cause injuries, failures, and disputes, among other sufferings. At the same time, Rahu and Mars can influence people to be villains and to act in villainous and cruel ways.

Mars makes a person brave and daring, but along with this comes violence, cruelty and matters of blood. But these traits are also found in soldiers, butchers and surgeons; thus, Mars is necessary for the making of a true villain, but Mars alone is not sufficient to make a villain.

Rahu, the unseen star, the demon which causes eclipses of the sun and moon, provides all the basic qualities of a villain. Clever thinking and addictive behavior, whether for alcohol, women or a diabolical goal, lead Rahu forward. Angry and vengeful, he has a natural sexual charm and can turn good to bad and bad to good. Rahu is a natural gambler, rogue or straight out villain.

The manner in which human characteristics and emotions are assigned to the influence of certain stars allows for an interesting look into exactly what constitutes a villain. According to Thai astrology, should we be able to make the chart for any given villain, in fact or fiction, a strong Rahu and Mars are predicted in the chart. This paper presents how the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn of Thai astrology are themselves villains and how the influence of Rahu and Mars creates human villains.

Key Words

astrology, Thai, Rahu, Mars, criminal, criminality, villain, stars Introductory Note on Thai Astrology

Thai astrology has its origins in Vedic astrology by way of the Khmer civilization. All traditional astrology used from Europe to SEA has its origins in ancient Mesopotamian astrology and thus the basics of the systems are similar. The characteristics of the signs of the zodiac and the stars or planets are fundamentally the same and the names of each are transliterations,

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translations or exchanges for cultural equivalents. Western and Vedic Astrology differ in how the star positions are plotted and traditional western astrology had 7 stars (no Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) while Vedic had nine stars, the same seven stars with Rahu and Kethu being the additional two (these are the north and south ‘nodes’ or points where the orbit of the sun crosses that of the moon.). Thai astrology thus had nine stars and like all astrology there is still some debate on what to do with the “new” planets. For simplicity’s sake, when dealing with Thai astrology one can simply think of either the western astrological descriptions of signs and stars or the Greek/Roman gods and goddesses associated with the stars. In Thai astrology, and similarly in Vedic astrology, the astrological birth chart is said to be determined by past karma of the individual.

Final Note: this paper is on the theory of Thai astrology and not on its validity.

The announcement for the Villains & Villainy conference made me think immediately of the dao rai (ดาว ร้าย), the wicked, cruel or villain stars of Thai astrology. According to Thai astrological theory, any of the types of Villains listed in the call for papers would have in his or her chart prominent villain stars with strong relationships between them. In Thai astrology and cosmology the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn are cruel and villainous stars and they act in cruel and villainous ways. Depending on their position in a person’s astrological chart and when they orbit into certain Zodiacs, houses, and interact with stars in a persons chart, they can cause a variety of sufferings. At the same time, Rahu and Mars can influence people to be villains and to act in cruel and villainous ways (although currently some astrologers speak in terms of the stars reflecting the traits and behavior rather than influencing them. The manner in which human characteristics and emotions are assigned to the influence of certain stars allows for an interesting look into exactly what constitutes a villain. This paper presents how the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn of Thai astrology are themselves villains and how the influence of Rahu and Mars creates human villains. Saturn, Mars & Rahu as Villain Stars

These stars are villainous, cruel or malefic because of the suffering they cause when badly located in a person’s natal chart and as they orbit through the astrological chart of a person. In a natal chart all three stars can have neutral effects like influencing a person’s career choice and even beneficial effects, though to a lesser extent than the benefic stars. The suffering these stars cause depends on their position in relation to specific

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Saturn the idea of a cruel, malefic star is a better fit than a villain star for as the Thai astrological saying goes “predicting suffering, predicting punishment that’s what Saturn predicts” (Singtho 97, my trans). In Thai astrology Saturn is the main influence for the ripening of bad karmic effects, such as, substantial loss of money, divorce, separation from children, and mental stress from depression to suicide. Mars does the same but on a smaller scale and generally causes suffering related to blood like wounds, accidents, and surgical operations. On the more mental side, Mars causes a person to be hot headed, increases the likelihood for arguments and fights. Rahu is a dark point or blind spot among the stars and thus the eclipse star and as Rahu orbits through each sign in the zodiac, house and aspects each star in the natal chart, Rahu eclipses these stars, not in the sense of becoming greater than them, but in the astronomical sense of covering them up, the result being that benefic stars and houses become malefic and malefic stars and houses become benefic. Rahu turns good to bad and bad to good; unfortunately, the majority of the time Rahu is turning good to bad and so causing suffering.

While Saturn causes suffering and punishment it does not overly influence people to cause suffering, thus, Saturn plays a minor role in creating a villain. In fact (if I can say that in regards to astrology), Saturn acts to alleviate Rahu’s natural villainy and as a pair they predict wealth, and so Saturn will not be our concern below. Mars on the other hand does influence malevolent behavior and, unlike Saturn, exacerbates the villainy of Rahu. In the making of a villain in Thai astrology Rahu is both a necessary and sufficient condition, but if we want a true arch-villain then Mars must be in the mix for we want the anger and bloody violence that only Mars can bring. The Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

Rahu is natural villain, and why not since in Thai cosmology he is one of the kings of the asuras (demons or titans). He is the most powerful, strongest, and bravest of those asura kings (Reynods 108). In Thai astrology Rahu is unique because he is the only star that orbits clockwise through the natal chart; all other stars orbit counter clockwise. Rahu is dark, misty and cloudy with a color of deep purple and wearing ornaments of bronze. He is wind element with the character of a storm. Not the overwhelming wind of a hurricane or tornado, but the powerful wind of a tropical thunderstorm.

Rahu’s first and foremost character trait is addiction and obsession. The stanza for Rahu reads “Predicting obsession, predicting addiction that’s what Rahu predicts” (Singtho 97, my trans). This applies to all the things people normally considered addictive like alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and more recently recognized addictions like work and sex. Thus Rahu people are drinkers and often smokers and/or drug users, they like to spend time in bars and such as they like dark places. Obviously addiction to alcohol and drugs

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can cause criminal and/or villainous behavior but what sets the true villains apart is their obsession with bringing to fruition a criminal or diabolical plan at any cost. Rahu people can be addictive to the point that it is impossible to pull them out of the addiction or pull them back from the brink of destruction.

This is not necessarily a passive addictive trait which leads to being lost in a stupor for Rahu is bold and daring by nature and more than willing to take a dangerous risk. And perhaps the key to Rahu as a villain is that he simply enjoys starting trouble, taking pleasure in all things that lead to ruin. Rahu people cannot leave well enough alone, whether it be learning a lesson from a failed plot or resting on the laurels of a successful scheme, they will always devise and try some new scheme.

While Rahu is not wise or intelligent, he is very sly, as in ‘a sly fox’ rather than a clever like a fox to make a fine but appropriate distinction. To go with this is a natural attractiveness and sexual charm which is not directly related to physical good looks. These two traits allow a Rahu person to attract people to their cause, to finesse and charm their way into gain and out of trouble. No surprise that Rahu gets anger very easily after all what would a villain be without a temper.

Rahu is also an economic star and thus a strong Rahu means money, the inverse is true too as a weak Rahu can mean economic trouble and even poverty. There are other stars influencing economics so a weak Rahu does not mandate poverty, but big money usually requires a strong Rahu and a strong Rahu means a penchant for villainous behavior. No coincidence then that corruption and wealth so often go together. What career path does Rahu push a person towards, an illegal one of course. Rahu people make great cheats and gangsters doing business in smuggling, contraband, counterfeit items, and dealing drugs while they can be the proprietors of liquor and tobacco stores, gambling dens and brothels.

One key to a great villain or lowly criminal lies outside Rahu himself. A true villain must have a comparatively weak Jupiter, the star of wisdom and morality. Jupiter size and power matches the other big stars of Saturn and Rahu and when in a favorable position it can go head to head with all three villain stars attenuating and even controlling their influence. However, weak Jupiter in combination with strong a Rahu leads to a lack of morality and a lack of wisdom to stay out of the trouble Rahu so enjoys stirring up.

Virtually all on his own Rahu can make a person criminal, whether it be a bookie or drug dealer, pimp or prostitute, corrupt businessperson or politician. But as I read the call for papers this is not exactly what is being looked for. In order to lend a hand to this all too common criminal and make

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crime - Mars.

Mars’ three main influences concern us here: courage, anger and violence. Rahu has his own boldness and willingness to sacrifice himself, this is strengthened by Mars’ courage to volunteer to do difficult and dangerous things for others. While villains are generally thought of as selfish, think for a moment how often they do something selfless for another. This explains the villain’s sidekick and lackeys and their willingness to fight and die their leader. Mars also brings impetuosity, anger, and even ferocity and most vital of all he likes to fight or literally from the manual, Mars “likes to hit and stab” (Singtho 120). Kept under control by other benefic stars the qualities of Mars can influence a person to be a butcher, barber, soldier, police officer, surgeon or dentist, that is, helpful but violent or “bloody” careers. Mars, like Rahu though with less likelihood, can be an outlaw only this time a violent one. When Rahu and Mars are strong and have a strong relationship and mitigating stars are weak – a true villain is born.

Of course a true villain must have a flamboyant and raucous love life; we want lady killers and man eaters and for this we have to turn to other stars. Rahu has a certain charisma as noted above which is so important for those villains at the head of a large criminal organization and this charisma makes him sexual attractive while Mars has a raw sexuality; but for charm, sexiness, sweetness and of course beauty or handsomeness our two villain stars need help from the Moon, Mercury, and Venus. With the proper combination of these stars a villain will be sexually seductive and can charm his or her way into the hearts and beds of the object of his or her desire and since we are dealing with villains just as easily break those hearts. Combined with Rahu’s own charisma, in public and private this good-looking and charming villain can more easily enchant his or her way into success and out of trouble.

As a final note, it might be nice to know that though Rahu is “the lord of destruction” he is conservative and prefers traditional ways.

Thai Astrology and the Character Breakdown of Villains

In studying Thai Astrology I have found it intriguing how human personality and behavioral traits have been grouped and categorized according to individual stars and their mutual relationships. Not because this is claimed to predict a person’s personality or future, but because the constructors of astrology, in some way, observed human behavior in combination with existing religio-cultural norms and produced a theory of personality. In researching gender relations in Thai astrology, I noticed that the categories of feminine and masculine are each contained in their own star and then their relationships with several other different stars adds detail and finesse comparable to modern gender studies models; though the astrological

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paradigm is much more ridged and stereotyped than any women’s studies paradigms.

During that research I found an article by Bernard Sellato article which directly related to my thoughts just noted above, the title asks “L’astrologie, premiere science sociale? » He asks this question in his title because he observes, and I am in agreement, that “L’astrologie, d’abord, parle de l’homme et de la société” (1991, 113). But is astrology really a social-science or discipline of the humanities, and if so what kind of social science is it? To begin with we have a problematic application of the astrological model in that it is applied according to the position of the sun at the date and time of birth for each individual. The application is not based on actual observation of the individual, in fact the reading can be blind (meeting the client aids in the accuracy of the prediction). Astrology is not designed to study humans and the human condition; rather it is used primarily as predictive tool to find auspicious times, when certain events will happen, how benefic or malefic these events will be, and how long they will last. Nevertheless in the end, an astrological system, here the Thai system, provides a paradigm for assessing human personality and behavior.

Narida Cook and those she cites state that astrologers and clients do not hold astrology as deterministic, so that merit, good behavior, and rituals can alter or prevent unwanted occurrences (p.198-204). While I have found this true among clients, my person guru states astrology as very deterministic and rather than really changing anything, knowing of a future event allows one to simply accept it. This determinism seems even stronger in the case of individual personality and the nature versus nurture argument or we might say the karma verses nurture argument. The weight in Thai astrology is on nature, people are born with certain moral, behavioral, intellectual etc characteristics. A loving family, good social environment etc can help a child control and possibly alleviate inborn criminal tendencies, but the basic disposition to crime and antisocial behavior remains. The reverse is true for a moral, kind, and sweet person who grows up in a violent, tough environment. This adverse environment can cause them to develop a certain aggressiveness and perhaps even deviousness, but this will be minimal and this person would not become a criminal or villain.

Thai astrology does recognize the role of environment in forming an individual personality, but it definitely claims nature as the primary mechanism in the formation of individual personality and behavior. And so there are natural born criminals and natural born killers. This contradicts theories, such as Michal Foucault’s, which state that recidivism is produced by the prison system. Recidivism in Thai astrology is in the nature of the individual and has little to do with the prison system; thought of course the

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prison system is shaped by the criminal and not be the other way around. Rahu people are addicts; they are natural drinkers and/or drug users, while the depth of the addiction and other types of addictions will depend on star combinations and positions. The most frequent addiction is alcohol and/or drugs, though work, sex etc are other possible. Rahu people are at the same time criminal. For Thai astrology Rahu’s two essential behavioral traits criminality and addiction are inseparable. Indeed, modern studies on crime show a direct link to between crime and alcohol. A quick search on the internet for ‘crime and alcohol’ will pull up statistics like these from the Canyon Rehab Center which give the percentage of violent crimes committed while the attacker is intoxicated: 37% of assaults, 57% of domestic violence incidents, 60% of sexual crimes (Canyon Research Center).

It is intriguing that in Thai astrology all the traits of criminality (the quality, state, or fact of being criminal) are contained in a single star. This posits criminality as an integral whole rather than a combination of elements or a coming together of two or more influences which generate such behavior. Some human personality and behavioral traits can only be broken down only so far. With 9 stars interacting from various positions in the 12 Zodiac signs the statistical possibilities for combinations to create personality and behavior traits are great, so a trait does not necessarily have to be confined to one star. For example sexual promiscuity is show by any of three different pairs of star combinations, while studiousness and thrift are caused by anther pair; these traits are not located in a single star. On the other hand, femininity for a woman, defined in all its stereotypic splendor, is determined solely by the strength or weakness of the moon in the natal chart. Since the moon is necessarily in every chart, a woman will always have some degree of femininity. There are other integral behavioral wholes such as violence from Mars and love of and talent for the sensuous and arts from Venus. These behavioral wholes posit specific behavioral essences, thus a gangster, thief, bootlegger, smuggler, drug dealer, and con-artist are all criminal careers that differ in material expression but remain the same in criminal essence. The exact material expression will be created by star placement and combinations in the natal chart. For example a con-artist will certainly have the star pairs and positions for lying. All these behavioral essences can be strengthened or weakened by star combinations and location in the chart but they cannot be broken down or created by combinations. Since Rahu is necessarily in every person’s birth chart criminality and addiction are essences we are all born with, what separates us individually is to what degree these traits are heightened or diminished.

Even the best of us have some amount of Rahu nature. Haven’t you ever found yourself thinking at one time or another “just take it no one will notice”, “in this situation I have to lie”, “go ahead have one more beer”, “just

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do it everybody else does it”? No wonder, it’s your inner Rahu speaking, which shows you that all of us are at least a little bit villainous.

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Cook, Nerida. 1989. Astrology in Thailand: The Future and Recollection of the Past. Unpublished PhD thesis. The Australian National University. Culver, Robert B. and Philip A Ianna. (1988). Astrology: True or False?: A Scientific Evaluation. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Dreyer, Ronnie Gale. (1997). Vedic Astrology: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Jyotish. Boston, MA: Samuel Weiser, Inc.

Klausner, William J. 1997, 4th_{edition 2002. Thai Culture in Transition:} Collected Writings of William J. Klausner. Bangkok: The Siam Society. Midgley, Mary. 1984. Wickedness. London & New York: Routledge. Morton, Adam. 2004. On Evil. London & New York: Routledge.

Mottier, Véronique. 2008. Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Reynolds, Frank and Mani B. Reynolds. 1982. The Three Worlds According to King Ruang: Thai Buddhist Cosmology. Berkley, CA: U of California Press.

Ruth, Sheila. 1980, 4th_{edition 1998. Issues in Feminism: An Introduction to} Women’s Studies. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co.

Sellato, Bernard. 1991. « L’Astrologie : une science humaine ? ». In L’Homme. 1991 juillet-septembre, vol.31, no.119, pp. 113-118.

http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/hom_0439-4216_1991_num_31_119_369406

Thai References

(Tongjeua Aagaew. Astrologers Diary 2552) ทองเจือ อา่แก้ว ๒๕๕๑. ไดอารีโหร พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๒. กรุงเทพๆ เขษมบรรณกิจ”

(Singtho Suriyarak. Thai Astrology: Complete Self-Study Book) สิงห์โต สรุิยาอารักษ์. โหราศาสตร์ไทย เรียนด้วยตนเองเล่มเดียวจบ. กรุงเทพๆ เกษมบรรณกิจ. Internet Sites

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Canyon Rehab Center