Role of Retrograde Planets in Prediction: A Call for Research and

Research Frameworks
Dr. Andrew Dutta
The 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 nonconsideration 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 follows1:
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.

Refer Readers I to VI authored by Sri K. S. Krishnamurti

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 planets 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. Kars 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 the
April 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
the research question to be addressed.
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This is important both from an ontological as well as methodological point of view. Clear
articulation of the research question would set the backdrop of the research and the researcher would be
better equipped to handle data collection, data sorting, data cleaning and subsequent data analysis. To
give a few examples, it may be worth the time and resource to look into research questions such as:
1. Does retrogression of main house cuspal sublord deny results?
2. Does retrogression of auxiliary house cuspal sublord deny results?
3. Does retrogression of main house cuspal sublords starlord deny results?
Many such valid research questions can be formulated to test various rules and arrive at
conclusions. Once the research questions have been identified, then a researcher would need to start
collecting data related to his or her research questions. For example, with respect to the first question
above, one may collect 200 horary and 200 natal charts related to a particular issue, say, child birth
wherein the main cuspal sublord is retrograde. Once this data has been collected, a researcher would
then require categorizing this data in appropriate matrices. I provide below an operational design to sort
the data for easiness of analysis for natal as well as for horary datasets.

R
e
s
u
lt
s

Yes

No
Yes

No

Main cuspal sublord retrograde

In the above 2X2 matrix we find four types of data situations that beckon analysis for testing
rules of retrogression in KP astrology. The first type is A type wherein the main cuspal sublord is
retrograde but results were achieved. (An unexpected outcome according to the dictums of classical
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KP astrology). In B type data situations, the main cuspal sublord was NOT retrograde and results
were achieved. (A normal outcome according to classical astrology). In C type of situation the main
cuspal sublord is retrograde and no results were achieved. (Another normal outcome according to
classical KP rules). Finally, in D type of situations, the main cuspal sublord was not retrograde BUT
no results were achieved. (A situation of anomaly requiring inductive research designs). Such
situations may arise due to a multitude of factors such as effects of other rules, astrologers mistakes,
etc. Type D data situations are perhaps the most complex wherein the researcher needs to be careful
about and control for extraneous effects such as astrologers mistakes. One practical solution to such
data situations would be to recast and reanalyze these datasets by two additional astrologers. This
would help in bringing inter-rater reliability and the much needed data validity in the process of
scientific inquiry. Once the various types of data situations are analyzed, one may then proceed in
systematic data analysis with manual tabulation followed by software driven statistical analysis. The
results obtained would be much more reliable in understanding the efficacy of various rules of
retrogression found in classical KP texts.
The above matrix a simplistic form of data sorting with two parameters. However, in situations
requiring more than two parameters, suitable modifications in the research design is possible with the
guidance of an able research supervisor. The design of multi-parametric model should not be viewed as
a challenge but rather a necessity borne out of practical consideration. Sri Rangarajan Krishnamurtys
research on a couple of KP topics is based on such multi-parametric research designs.
I now provide two case examples to justify the importance of research in retrogression rules in
KP astrology. The first example is that of a lady whose query was: My monthly menses has stopped.
Am I pregnant? She gave the KP horary number 248 and I analyzed on the same day15th April
2007at 7:16 pm (IST) in my residence at Hyderabad. The chart is provided below.
Moon, the reflector of mind and the bearer of the radicality of a horary chart, signifies 5 and 11.
So, the question of child birth is reflected in the chart. Moreover, Moons strong signification of 12th
shows the tension and worries at the back of the ladys mind.

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 rashia fruitful sign, and Mercurys starlord Saturn is also in a fruitful signCancer. 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 10th. Here the 6th cuspal sublord was Sun
signifying only 9 and 3. Suns sublord Saturn, though signified one of the auxiliary housesnamely
the 2nd houseit 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 a
typical 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 sublords starlord--retro Saturn--was the planetary
starlord of Sun. This direct one-to-one connection of Sun with retro Saturn rendered it powerless to
deny results.
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Upon working out the Dasa, Bhukti and Anthara and emphasizing on the Ascendant Starlord of
the RP on my date and time of judgment, I declared to Ms. Mittal that she would be getting the job and
gave her two time periods of one week each. The first time period was 22nd to 28th April 2007 and the
other was 11th to 16th June 2007. On 8th April 2007 she informed me that she has got an appointment
letter from American Express Bank for the post of Business Analyst and her joining date was 23rd April
2007. Retrograde planet delivered result.
To conclude therefore, I would like to emphasize on the development of proper research design
in executing research on various dictums of astrology in general and KP astrology in particular. We
need clearly focused research questions followed by testable hypotheses for deductive frameworks,
rigorous analytic techniques with high inter-rater reliability and constant ex-post data testing with the
research findings. Research in astrology should also conform to norms of scientific testing for greater
validity of rules. Only then we can predict safely without the attendant danger of making mistakes and
drawing the flak of our clients. Sri Kanak Bosmia has done a yeoman service to the KP field by
publishing KP E-Zine and I would be more than glad to offer my guidance for any person who would
like to do some serious and systematic research in astrology. They may contact me without hesitation.