In the Vedic pantheon of deities, Venus is known as the Asuracharya, or guru to the demons. Judging by the invective heaped upon her by Republicans and conservative news media alike, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems nothing short of the anti-Christ. But maybe that’s just the price you pay when you arrive on the battlefield announcing yourself as a Democratic Socialist, and vow to shake up everything that has become so comfortable for the Establishment.

She was born 13 October 1989 at 11:50 AM EDT in the Bronx, New York. (Rodden rating A)

Venus is the only angular planet in AOC’s chart – alone, unsupported and unopposed – and yet no less radiant with hope, nor less resolute in determination to make herself heard. If one were to doubt for a moment her ability to advance her cause, look no further than her Scorpio ascendant and her 11th house, where the Sun, Mars and Mercury form the nucleus of multiple yogas.

Her ascendant lord Mars forms no less than five significant yogas: (1) a Raja yoga via conjunction with 10th lord Sun, (2) a Raja yoga via opposition with 9th lord Moon, (3) a third Raja yoga via mutual special aspects with 4th lord Saturn, (4) a Dhana yoga with 11th lord Mercury, and (5) a Chandra Mangala yoga via opposition with the Moon.

Two more Raja yogas are found through other pairs: (a) the opposition of 9th lord Moon with 10th lord Sun, and (b) the opposition of 4th lord Saturn with 5th lord Jupiter. Note that capacity for government service is typically seen through the engagement of the 5th house (ministry, portfolio), the 9th house (judiciary, law) and the 10th house (administration, execution).

Mercury is the strongest planet in her chart. Despite her opponents’ bashing of her for her “crazy ideas,” the evidence is already there for an acute intelligence coming to bear upon long-neglected issues of socio-political significance. The Sun/Mercury pair is a classic Budhaditya yoga because it fulfills a necessary condition of aspecting the 5th of critical thought. It doesn’t hurt that the Moon/Mercury opposition is also a Dhana yoga of 9th and 11th lords.

The Moon too is strong. Yes, it’s in Pisces. But as John Lennon once sang, “You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” The Moon is full in the 5th house and involved in five yogas – four already noted above – with the last being a Kesari yoga in mutual kendra with Jupiter.

Don’t be lulled into thinking, with Venus rising and a Pisces Moon, that she’s just a starry-eyed girl who knows nothing of the real world. Rotate the chart to view it from the perspective of Chandralagna, and you’ll see Sun, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn are all in the angles. Sun/Mars is a fighter, and her intelligence will guide her to take the pulse of the public and pick her battles. War is coming.

But while we’ve got Chandralagna in view, note as well that she has six out of nine planets in dual signs. So between the idealistic and sometimes-fickle Moon, and the Sun/Mars tendency to shoot first and aim later, she is bound to make mistakes. This is, after all, a consequence of both her youth and her gung-ho attitude. Her motto might well be, I’d rather ask for forgiveness than ask for permission.

She has several strong houses by virtue of being occupied or aspected by their lords. The 2nd house, aspected by its lord Jupiter, gives education, the power of speech, and something meaningful to say. The 4th house, aspected by its lord Saturn, gives her a loyal constituency whose interests she is committed to represent. The 6th house, aspected by its lord Mars, gives her a competitive streak and a take-no-prisoners attitude. Her 7th house, aspected by its lord Venus, gives her relationship-building skills and a charisma that will draw other stakeholders to her side. Last but not least, her 11th house is occupied by its own lord Mercury, whereby she demonstrates her mastery of networking, social media and the power of community to bring change.

Note that AOC has Jyeshta rising. Not all rising nakshatras get activated, but this one does, courtesy the presence of Venus in the 1st house. Some of the principal themes of Jyeshta are: defying and surmounting odds, concerns for conservation and social welfare, issues of power and supremacy, and at the heart of it all, a “don’t fence me in” attitude. Sound familiar?

She was elected during her Ketu-Sun period. Ketu gives results for its sign lord the Moon, which is lord of the 9th in the 5th, two houses that denote governmental involvement. Ketu also gives results for its star lord Mercury, the strongest planet in her chart, which is associated with kshatriya planets the Sun and Mars, significators of both administration and war.

The Sun gives results for its star lord Mars, which from the 11th rules the 1st and the 6th, thus bringing into play her charisma, her courage and her willingness to engage in battle, whether in social media, Congress or other public venues. The Sun also does its own work which, as lord of the 10th, reflects leadership and governance in a social or political setting.

Her Ketu dasha will run until 2023, and thus almost certainly see her re-elected in the 2022 mid-terms. After that, she will be into Venus dasha for 20 years, where her future becomes a little less certain. Venus will give results for its star lord Saturn, which rules the problematic 3rd house. And Venus itself is lord of the 12th, which can spell loss, or withdrawal from the field.

For some resolution of such uncertainties, it’s useful to consult the relevant divisional charts, which in this case are the D9, or navamsha, for general planetary strength, and the D10, or dasamsha, to reflect upon her career. For this exercise, let’s concentrate exclusively on the current dasha lord Ketu, and the next dasha lord Venus.

In the D9, we see Ketu in a dusthana, which typically presents some problems. But it’s associated with two benefics, Mercury and Jupiter, and aspected by another benefic, the Moon. Although association with a debilitated planet (Mercury) can contaminate Ketu, note that Mercury’s debility is relieved by the presence of Jupiter in its own sign, so that becomes a non-issue compared to Jupiter’s strong support.

In the D9, Venus is supreme, forming the amsha version of Malavya yoga in its own sign in a kendra. The sole aspect of Saturn is little cause for worry, since it has little strength in either the rashi or the navamsha.

In the D10, Ketu is in a positive house with Mars. Although a malefic can cause trouble (she’s already been targeted by frightened conservatives as their whipping-girl), Mars and Jupiter are in Parivartana yoga. Under exchange, we can let these planets swap places in our mind’s eye and thus see Ketu accompanied by Jupiter in its own sign. And therein lies the power of this dasha lord to propel her into public service.

In the D10, Venus is in its own sign, this time in a trikona. Admittedly it’s aspected by a debilitated Saturn but that isn’t enough to defeat a strong planet in a positive house.

AOC may be here for a long while, so Republicans might as well roll up their sleeves and develop a strategy to deal with her. As a woman and a visible minority, wielding her intelligence like a sword against some of the most obvious inequities of American society, she is the face of a youthful cohort that may force the GOP to review its policies and platform.

Worthy opponents encourage everyone to up their game.

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Alan Annand studied with Hart de Fouw, and is a graduate of the American College of Vedic Astrology. He’s also a former tutor for the British Faculty of Astrological Studies, and the author of several books.

Kala Sarpa is a first-of-its-kind reference book on a unique pattern in jyotish that is not discussed in shastra yet is part of India’s rich oral tradition.

Stellar Astrology, Volumes 1 & 2, offer a wealth of time-tested techniques in the form of biographical profiles, analyses of world events, and technical essays. Parivartana Yoga is a reference text for one of the most common yet powerful planetary combinations in jyotish. His Mutual Reception is an expanded companion volume written for western practitioners, covering the same subject of planetary exchange through the lens of traditional astrology.

His New Age Noir crime novels (Scorpio Rising, Felonious Monk, Soma County) feature astrologer and palmist Axel Crowe, whom one reviewer has dubbed “Sherlock Holmes with a horoscope.”

Websites: www.navamsa.com, www.sextile.com

You can find his books on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.