ASTROLOGY AND CHESS (a game or a divine thing)

According to Vedic Astrology there are some obviousconnections between the game of chess and the astrology which tells us that the Chess is a game encouraged by the Universal Laws, maybe by the planetary movement.

We can say that Chess is another kind of Astrology.

• Like in Chess we have a board divided in 8 columns and 8 rows, same as in Astrology we use the zodiacal circle divided in 12 signs.

• In Chess we have 6 symbols, the pieces (King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and Pawn), in Astrology we have 7 symbols, the 7 traditional planets, (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn).

• There are rules for the movement of these symbols and each has a specific value or clarification.

• The Art of the Player of Chess is to thoroughly study and understand the network of influences and forces on the chessboard, then to elaborate a strategy that will lead him/her to the defeat of the opponent.

• Astrologer is an art tostudy carefully and understand the network of impacts in the astrological chart, then to elaborate an overall conclusion of it.

• So far we seem to have only some general rules that apply to most board games. There are some strong pieces-planets correlations.

• The King is considered as it isconnected with the Sun. When the King is overwhelmed and captured (checkmate) the ready is over.

• The Queen is correlated with the Moon in astrology. The Moon moves fastest of all planets, so does the Queen on the chessboard. In horary and traditional astrology the Moon is the most important planet as the Queen in Chess.

• Pawns are like children, which are usually ruled by the Moon. When they grow old, that is, when they reach the other end of the chessboard, they become Queens. Thus the Pawns are also correlated with Moon.

• Bishops areconnected with Jupiter, as Jupiter rules the religion and the religious persons. Though, as the Bishops move always diagonally and there is the planet Mars whose glyph or symbol is a circle with an arrow coming out of it inslanting direction, thus the Bishops can also be connected functionally with Mars. So, the Bishops' nature is Jupiter or Mars.

• The Rooks are also named Castles, therefore are related with Saturn. Since they move only horizontally or vertically. As the ideogram of Venus is a formed of a circle with a cross below it, we may say that the Rooks are functionally related with Venus. So, the Rooks' nature is just like Saturn or Venus.

• The Knights are like Horses, and they move abnormally by jumping over other pieces, much like flying. Therefore, the Knights may be related with Mercury, the Roman name of Hermes, the messenger god, with winged sandals.

ASTROLOGICAL GROWTH OF CHESS

Now we see the connections between the twelve astrological houses of an astrology chart and the growth of a game of chess.

Traditional "Happiness of the planets" are particularly helpful concept here. It refers to the house where a planet enjoys itself, its energy being really suitable and useful there. The astrological tradition says that Mercury has its joy in the 1st house, the Moon in the 3rd house, Venus in the 5th house, Mars in the 6th house, the Sun in the 9th house, Jupiter in the 11th house and Saturn in the 12th house.

• 1st house is related with the start of the game. The players move the first pieces. At this stage, the Knights are very important as they jump over the Pawns and can attack the opponent's Pawns. Mercury (the Knights) has its joy in the 1st house.

• 2nd house is associated with the next stage of the game, the development of the pieces, the building of a structure of defence.

• 3rd house is related with the building of a line of advanced Pawns (associated with the Moon), cooperating and defending one another. At this stage the Pawns are really important. The Moon has its joy in the 3rd house.

• 4th house is related with the castling. The King is put behind a wall of Pawns, in a safe place. The first part of a regular chess game is over.

• 5th house is related with thinking of a strategy of action; here the creativity of the player is put to trial. The main issue now is to strengthen one's position in order to impress the adversary. The Rook (Venus) enters the game for the first time, as it got out of the chessboard corner through the castling. Venus has its joy in the 5th house.

• 6th house is related with a stage of preparations. Once the overall strategy has been established in the previous stage, it is now the time to put it into practice, first by apparently innocent moves. In the same time, one must be alert to speculate any bad move of the opponent, while trying to fix any weak points in the defence. The Knights (Mars) should be used to control the diagonals. Mars has its joy in the 6th house.

• 7th house is related with the attack, with the overt challenge. It is the first house over the horizon and from now on the game can be played openly.The 8th house is related with traps and pitfalls, the most risky stage of the game, when the attack may fail and this would lead to a keyattack. If the attack is successful, the opponent's defence line can be broken and some of his pieces taken: the 8th house is the turned 2nd house (pieces) from the 7th house (opponent).

• 9th house is related with important steps toward victory. Once the defence line of the opponent has been broken, at this stage the King (Sun) may be vulnerable, by check. The Sun has its joy in the 9th house.

• 10th house is the stage when the player is already leading and now has to plan the next steps to make toward victory.

• 11th house is related with the final stage of the game, when the final plan is put into practice. After both sides have captured many pieces, the Knights (Jupiter) have now plenty of space to run across the chessboard. Jupiter has its joy in the 11th house.

• 12th house is related with the end of the game. The Rooks (Saturn) are related from behind the Pawns to advance and transform into Queens, which can checkmate the adversary's King and bring the victory. Saturn has its joy in the 12th house.

AN ASTROLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF CHESS

• Consider the 1st house to represent the player that makes the first move in the game, the one with the white pieces, while the opponent, the player with the black pieces, will be represented in the 7th house.