by Liz Houle

Published in April-May 2002 NCGR Memberletter

Well he never shut up. George had a lot to say. Boy, did he have a lot to say. That's hysterical to me, you know, that he was known as the quiet one. I assume he got that name because the other ones were so much louder. l mean, they were very loud people [laughs]. One time he told me, "Me and Olivia had Paul and Linda over the other night, and you would have thought there were a hundred people in the house, it was so loud. Tom Petty1

In the 1960s George Harrison soared to super stardom by being a member of the Beatles-the most famous and richest rock group in the world. He was labeled by the press The Quiet One. He wrote many hit songs including: Here Comes The Sun, My Sweet Lord, and Something, and besides being a great musician he was also known for his spirituality.

George Harrison was born on February 24. 1943 at 11:42 PM in Liverpool, England. Looking at his Vedic chart there are two planets in the Kendra, or angular houses (1, 4, 7, and 10). The Kendra houses show how an individual asserts himself in the world. He has the Moon (emotions, public, mother) in Libra in the 1st house, and Mercury (poetry, speech, words) in Capricorn in the 4th house describing what he is best known for—writing songs that touched on people's emotions.

Planets in Kendra houses are strengthened, as are the houses they rule. Harrison's Moon in the 1st house, extremely close to the ascendant, rules s 10th house of career, thereby strengthening that area of his life, and the fact that it is in Libra makes his connection with the public both endearing and likeable. It also literally means that his career (10th house) was his destiny (1st house). The Moon is bright (waxing) and therefore auspicious, and also receives a beneficial 5th house aspect (trine) from Jupiter. Its dispositor, Venus (ruler of Libra) is well-placed in its exaltation sign of Pisces. The Moon also considered well-placed in Libra since it is exalted in the other Venus- ruled sign of Taurus. His Moon is in the nakshatra (lunar mansion) of Swati which spans 6° - 20° Libra. According to Komilla Sutton:

Under Swati, the impulse is material gain. Venus rules the earthly needs in an individual, combining it with Rahu [the ruler of Swati] adds further to the desire for success, wealth and finance. Many millionaires are born with their Moon in Swati (The Essentials of Vedic Astrology, p. 193).

This powerful Moon conjunct the lagna (ascendant) in Libra, and exalted Venus in Pisces, blessed him with extraordinary musical talent, fortune, and fame.

Besides fame, the benefic Moon in the 1st house provides a close and significant relationship with the mother. Not only did Harrison's mother teach him to play the guitar, staying up with him night after night until he learned to pick the notes of his favorite songs, but Harrison was accepted into the Beatles, early in their career, because his mother would tolerate their loud band practicing in her house. His mother was a huge influence on his future success as a musician.

But as famous as he became, he did not captivate as much attention as the other Beatles, in part due to the Kemadruma Yoga—a planetary combination formed when there are no planets in the 1st, 2nd, or 12th house from the Moon, and it means that the person may feel isolated, lonely, and out of touch with their emotions. This yoga made his demeanor more subdued as compared to the other Beatles and earned him the label of The Quiet One.

In addition to the Libra Ascendant and exalted Venus in Pisces, another indication that Harrison would have a musical career is the placement of Mars, ruler of his 2nd house of income, placed in the 3rd house of the fine arts, indicating that this was the medium through which he would earn his money. The fact that he would earn huge sums of money is indicated by the 7th house aspect Mars receives from its friend, abundant Jupiter, and the fact that Mars is Vargottama, which gives Mars exalted status. (Vargottama means that a planet is in the same sign in both the Rasi (natal) and the Navamsa (9th harmonic chart.) In this case, Mars is in Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius, and the Jupiter aspect on Mars is even stronger since it aspects the sign it rules.

Besides the arts, the third house represents courage, excitement, constant activity and adventure,2 and Harrison's life was certainly one of constant activity. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Tom Petty said:

I'll tell you, nobody I've encountered ever lived his life more every day than George did. He crammed in a lot of living and didn't waste his time.3

As driven and successful as he was as a Beatle, Harrison's contributions were stifled due to the prolific writings of his band mates, which dominated the Beatles albums, and this contributed to the arguments that led to their break-up in 1970. Difficulty with colleagues can be attributed to Harrison's first house ruler, Venus, which is placed in his 6th house of open enemies. According to Ronnie Gale Dreyer, the 6th house:

describes 'open enemies', which may encompass disagreements (usually on a professional level) with competitors, opposing parties in a lawsuit, and even a spouse or friend with whom one does not see eye to eye (Vedic Astrology: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Jyotish, p.88).

Having the ruler of the 1st in the 6th house meant his destiny would be affected by the concerns of the 6th house which, in addition to the above, signifies obstacles, health issues, and work situations. It also means that his personality would be more hidden, since the 6th, 8th and 12th are considered the hidden houses. Harrison suffered from the issues of this house including arguments with fellow Beatles, being sued for copyright infringement for his song My Sweet Lord (resulting from his business manager's betrayal), and losing his first wife, Patti Boyd, who left him and married his friend Eric Clapton. His Venus is exalted and is aspected by Mars in the 3rd house, which resulted in a mixture of very positive and very negative experiences pertaining to 6th house issues.

While the end of his marriage to Patti Boyd was troublesome, Harrison viewed it positively, and in an interview recalled that the marriage was already over. He was actually gratified that she was able to find someone else who could give her the same lifestyle that she was used to. According to James Braha:

If benefics occupy the sixth house, the person rarely encounters enemies and is rather unaware that competitors exist, even as he or she effortlessly overcomes them. (How to Predict Your Future, p. 298)

George Harrison was unaffected by his competitor Eric Clapton and due to the exalted Venus (love) in his 6th house (open enemies), he was still Clapton's friend, colleague, and collaborator.

Jupiter's Blessings

What allowed him to keep his sense of humor through the adversity was probably his deep commitment to his spiritual beliefs. While still a Beatle, Harrison discovered a yogi from India named Maharishi Mahesh and organized a trip to India to study transcendental meditation with him. While the other Beatles ended up rejecting his teachings, Harrison continued on with his Eastern spirituality, studying under different spiritual teachers until the end of his life. With Jupiter placed in the 9th house, which along with the 1st and 5th constitute auspicious trikona houses, he was famous, rich, and spiritually inclined. The ninth house is the most auspicious of all, and rules general good fortune, opportunity, teachers, and gurus. Obviously Harrison had exceptional luck in acquiring beneficial spiritual mentors. His extraordinary good fortune was most evident in the Jupiter dasa, or major period (1960-1976), which accentuated Jupiter's position in the natal chart, bringing him fame, fortune, marriage, and spirituality. In 1971 he organized the first superstar charity concert for Bangladesh, and he became known as a humanitarian and organizer of charitable events.

Jupiter dasa will often be a period of excess. If it is well-placed, one will attract people and generally fortuitous circumstances. There will be luck and harmony marriage, the births of children, and success in one 's chosen profession... If well aspected, there will be unlimited success and prosperity in this period (Vedic Astrology, p. 253).

He indulged in drugs since Jupiter rules excess, but did not have children during those years. He has two malefics- the Sun and Ketu (South Node) in his 5th house of children which would cause problems with children or having children.

His first marriage ended as Jupiter's Dasa ended, and the divorce was finalized as his Saturn dasa (1976-1995) began. Harrison's Saturn is in the 8th house of death and sorrow, and after John Lennon's murder in December 1980, Harrison lived a more reclusive lifestyle where he meditated, played music, and gardened.

Fortunately he did not remain in seclusion. Since Saturn, as the ruler of the 4th Kendra house and 5th trikona house, is the most auspicious planet (yogakaraka) for Libra rising, Saturn gave very good results, bringing him marriage and a child. Saturn rules his 5th house of children and Mars rules the 7th house of marriage, and in the Saturn-Saturn-Mars period, his first and only child (his son Dhani) was born on August 1, 1978, and he married his second wife Olivia Arias on September 2, 1978. Harrison gained responsibilities during his Saturn dasa and it required him to work harder, but the achievements of this time period would be significant. In 1987 Harrison produced a number one record Got My Mind Set on You, and in 1988 he became a part of a super group called Traveling Wilburys, which won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal, Duo or Group with Vocal in 1989.

After his Saturn dasa ended, he entered a Mercury dasa in 1995 which proved to be his most difficult time period. Mercury in the 4th house is surrounded by two malefics, Mars in the third house and Ketu in the 5th house, weakening both Mercury and the 4th house it occupies. The 4th house signifies end of life, and the 12th house, which Mercury rules, also covers end of life, hospitals, sorrows and secret enemies. On December 30, 1999, while being treated for cancer (he was diagnosed in 1997), an intruder broke into his home near London and stabbed him 10 times. Harrison was in Mercury-Venus-Rahu Dasa at the time of the attack, and amazingly survived. Mercury is placed in the 4th house of the home, Venus in the 6th house of overcoming obstacles rules the 8th house of chronic illness, and Rahu, ruler of sudden violence, is in the 8th house from Mercury. This indicates that he would deal with illness and violence in his home. He survived the attack because Venus rules his first house of physical well-being, and it is exalted in the 6th of overcoming obstacles, but his cancer battle continued.

As he received treatment for the cancer it became apparent that his vargottama Mars gave him the extra strength to face his own mortality with dignity and humor. Dr. Gil Lederman, Director. of the Radiation Oncology program at Staten Island University Hospital, treated Harrison. According to Lederman

He faced the end with great humor and courage. He believed that death is part of life and had no fear of death. Sometimes it made those around him uncomfortable. But he was totally fearless about it.4

He lost his battle with cancer during his Mercury-Sun-Moon dasa. Again, Mercury is hemmed in by malefics, and rules the 4th house of end of life. The Sun is weakened by conjoining Ketu, and the Moon in the 1st house means his physical well being was affected. Surrounded by loved ones, he died peacefully on November 29, 2001 at 1:30 PM in Los Angeles CA. His ashes were flown to India and dispersed over the Ganges River in accordance with Krishna tradition.

Birth Data

George Harrison, February 24, 1943, 11:42 PM, Liverpool, England, 53N25, 2W55. Source: From George Harrison's Memory. Lois Rodden's Astrodatabank.

References

1. Remembering George. Mim Udovitch and David Wild, Rolling Stone Magazine. January 17, 2002. pp. 27-8

2. Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Wes tern Astrologer, p. 1 01

3. Remembering George,

Mim Udovitch and David Wild. Rolling Stone Magazine. January 17. 2002. pp. 28

4. And in the End.... Fred Goodman, Rolling Stone Magazine, January 17, 2002, p. 15

Bibliography

Braha. James, Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Western Astrologer, Hermetician Press, Hollywood FL. 1986.

Braha, James. How to Predict Your Future, Hermetician Press, Hollywood FL, 1994.

Dreyer, Ronnie Gale, Vedic Astrology: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Jyotish, Samuel Weiser Inc., York Beach ME, 1997

Sutton. Komilla. The Essentials of Vedic Astrology The Wessex Astrologer Ltd., Bournemouth, England, 1999.