I have mentioned Shakata yog in some of my earlier posts and there was a question on it, so writing a full fledged post. The Shakata yog is caused when the Moon and the Jupiter is at a the 6/8 axis. (Some astrologers consider the 2/12 axis to be problematic, but it is not much of a problem unless both are adversely afflicted by even more malefics).

The Moon travels around the zodiac in 28days so it will be in the 6/8 axis from Jupiter for about 5days in this. So about 18% people will have this, which is illogical. So the effects of Shakata yog are greatly reduced and rendered ineffectual if,

• Either Jupiter or Moon or both are exalted or in his mooltrikon or own sign. ie if Jupiter is in Cancer, Sagittarius or Pisces or Moon is in Taurus or Cancer.
• If either is placed in the  kendra houses, 1^st, 4^th, 7^th, 10^th.

This is then not a very common combination. There will be very limited number of people who will show the complete effect of this combination.

So let’s analyse this. The vitality of the person/ his environment will be affected. Sometimes he will face very adverse situations which will drain his mind, emotions and health. And after this hopeless despair, he will rise and gain. But he falls followed by the subsequent rise. This cycle continues for a life time.

Jupiter and Moon are two very important forces in the horoscope.

• Moon is the agent of the mind, the sum of all your selves through time/space, the illusion of creation, emotions, mental processes, comforts, security, nurture, nourishment, your needs. The Moon controls your body’s power and also your minds strength. He is the agent in charge of the sookshma sharir or the subtle/ astral body. He is located at the Ajnya chakra ie your third eye.
• Jupiter is the deep wisdom, hope, auspicious benefits from your past lives, blessings from the divine, your spiritual practices, the grace of the Guru, benevolence, expansion, philosophy and understanding, conducive environment for development of the higher faculties, refinement, support of your peers/patrons. He represents that part of your past lives positive karma which you have chosen to activate in this life as ‘luck’. He is located at the Swadhisthan chakra.

Moon and Jupiter together can be understood as the – karmic seeds of past lives and the possible actions of the current life coupled with the ‘luck’ you have chosen for yourself in this life. If these things work favourably with each other you will have a reasonably easy life on the material, emotional, mental, subtle etc levels.

The 6/8 axis is the most traumatic axis possible (post here). The planets caught in this axis are adversarial to each other and give uncomfortable results. Whatever is represented by them individually will give disturbing results when taken together.

• The 6^th is the karma you have chosen to resolve in this life, a burden consciously chosen at the moment of birth. Awareness of the burden does not make it less easier to bear. 6^th is the house of karmic service and sufferings, karmic payback so as to say.
• The 8^th is fundamental changes in the self-identity/environment etc caused by sudden shocking traumatic events. If you use these opportunities to grow you can very fast but these events are very trying that it is difficult.

So Shakata yog can be summarised like this. The quality of the karmic seeds of past lives is a burden. The possible options for actions available to you in the current life are all traumatic. ‘Luck’ is often adverse and fails you just as you need it. This combination of Jupiter-Moon will bring blockages in progress on all levels. Check the houses and signs occupied by them to know which part of your life will be affected the most. And you have chosen this for yourself in this life. The thinking process and creative ability is dimmed as luck is often not in favour. The mind is churning away thinking and evaluating possibilities, you feel the strain. But Moon and Jupiter are both high level benefics. So whatever they do, ultimately they do not harm. The trauma that they will inflict will also have a positive effect. You might not think this to be positive at the time, but when you look back, every adversity has been like a springboard pushing you onwards.

It is the Moon, so rhythm is built-in. With each fall, there is innate potential to rise. The more deeply you fall, the higher you rise. There is a brief moment of utter despair but then you know it is over and a new cycle has begun. This combination invariably brings in spirituality. When the material life kicks you in the ass a few times, you realise that you need to find strength within. So as you rise you try to find your own self inside you, you become more self-sufficient and self reliant.

Your brothers, your uncles/aunts, your own parents, husband/wife, children all give you intense shocks from time to time which can sever your emotional or even physical connection from them. There may be episodes in life when you are completely alone, isolated from your family or the people whom you love (they may not even think about you). Just when you are at your lowest point and desperatly need help, there will be no one. There is intense mental anguish as your emotional supports are jerked away from under your feet. If you try to anchor yourself to another person, in the next cycle he will kick you away. The one whom you love the most will give you the deepest sorrow. You are forced by the rejections around you to seek new directions for your personal evolution. Your sorrow will eventually make you stop relying on others and you will try to develop your own abilities and self reliance.

You are forced to protect your own emotions and your own mind, as the jolts are very heavy. So you think very seriously, from different perspectives and often take radical steps for self-preservation. This might be thought of as head-strong, aggressive, over-reaction, negative etc behaviour by others. This behaviour will ultimately push people away, you might not be very popular in society; no social butterfly you!

Thankfully this yog gives material assets, you will be well off, considered an eminent personality in some field, you are not an ordinary person. If the house/ sign of the Moon and Jupiter are powerful in themselves, the person will do immense good for the society and wield real power over others. But there will be periodic humiliations, deprivations, obstacles and persistent personal loneliness. These trials purify the spirit and it ultimately is for a noble cause. And this combination often gives abilities of the spiritual, psychic, occult kind. The ability to control the subtler forces around you. It is latent to begin with, it takes a few cycles to become aware of them. (Shivaji Maharaj, perhaps the greatest Hindu ruler had this combination, we all learn about his life in school. A recent example is Yogi Aurobindo)

There is a possibility of disease to the eyes. The astral body can get affected, crack and aura can leak. (There is one very strange thing, if the person intensely wants his desired or loved one to come near him again, the aura becomes thinner in places and can crack/leak from there). The cyclic intense emotional drama can cause other repercussions on the physical levels depending on the individual horoscope. The person might lose control on his eating habits/ body weight. The 6^th house is also of disease, debts, servitude and suffering. So all these things can be triggered from time to time. 8^th also represents catastrophic changes including diseases, surgeries etc. So keep the physical health in mind and get a regular yearly check-up etc.

Most importantly do some regular spiritual practice. There is no other way of making sense of all this. The 8^th is going deep within yourself, tantra, awareness, occult, the highest spiritual, coming face to face with your own secrets, getting rid of the skeletons in the closet. You have a rare opportunity here, perhaps you chose it because you were inwardly ready for a spiritual transformation. And you gain the spiritual when you sacrifice the material. And the illusions of the material are torn away rather harshly. You are the pure intellect and the impurities are being hammered out of you. Two top benefics, Moon and Jupiter will help you now. You might meet a real Sat-guru to guide you. There will be cyclic falls and rises in your spiritual practice too.  Sometimes you might feel that it is all a waste, but do not stop doing it. It is the only thing which will help direct the energies of this Shakata yog in the best possible manner.

Shakata शकट means a car or a carriage. Yog means union.

The mind is forced to leave all external things that give it support. Till it finds the support it needs within itself. It is a deeply painful process but ultimately worth it. This is the true result of the Shakata yog.

(There is someone very close to me who has this combination. It gives results in its full form as the two Jupiter and Moon occupy the 6th and the 11th house counted from the ascendant. Obviously they in the 6/8 axis among themselves.)