Rahu, Mars, and Saturn the Villain Stars

&
the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

Matthew Kosuta

Abstract
In Thai astrology and cosmology, which has its origins in Vedic
astrology and cosmology, the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn are villain stars
and they act in villainous and cruel ways. Depending on their position in a
person’s astrological chart and when they orbit into certain houses on a
persons chart, they can cause injuries, failures, and disputes, among other
sufferings. At the same time, Rahu and Mars can influence people to be
villains and to act in villainous and cruel ways.
Mars makes a person brave and daring, but along with this comes
violence, cruelty and matters of blood. But these traits are also found in
soldiers, butchers and surgeons; thus, Mars is necessary for the making of a
true villain, but Mars alone is not sufficient to make a villain.
Rahu, the unseen star, the demon which causes eclipses of the sun
and moon, provides all the basic qualities of a villain. Clever thinking and
addictive behavior, whether for alcohol, women or a diabolical goal, lead
Rahu forward. Angry and vengeful, he has a natural sexual charm and can
turn good to bad and bad to good. Rahu is a natural gambler, rogue or
straight out villain.
The manner in which human characteristics and emotions are
assigned to the influence of certain stars allows for an interesting look into
exactly what constitutes a villain. According to Thai astrology, should we be
able to make the chart for any given villain, in fact or fiction, a strong Rahu
and Mars are predicted in the chart. This paper presents how the stars Rahu,
Mars and Saturn of Thai astrology are themselves villains and how the
influence of Rahu and Mars creates human villains.

Key Words
astrology, Thai, Rahu, Mars, criminal, criminality, villain, stars

Introductory Note on Thai Astrology

Thai astrology has its origins in Vedic astrology by way of the
Khmer civilization. All traditional astrology used from Europe to SEA has its
origins in ancient Mesopotamian astrology and thus the basics of the systems
are similar. The characteristics of the signs of the zodiac and the stars or
planets are fundamentally the same and the names of each are transliterations,
2 Rahu, Mars, and Saturn the Villain Stars
&
the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

translations or exchanges for cultural equivalents. Western and Vedic

Astrology differ in how the star positions are plotted and traditional western
astrology had 7 stars (no Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) while Vedic had nine
stars, the same seven stars with Rahu and Kethu being the additional two
(these are the north and south ‘nodes’ or points where the orbit of the sun
crosses that of the moon.). Thai astrology thus had nine stars and like all
astrology there is still some debate on what to do with the “new” planets. For
simplicity’s sake, when dealing with Thai astrology one can simply think of
either the western astrological descriptions of signs and stars or the
Greek/Roman gods and goddesses associated with the stars. In Thai
astrology, and similarly in Vedic astrology, the astrological birth chart is said
to be determined by past karma of the individual.

Final Note: this paper is on the theory of Thai astrology and not on its
validity.

The announcement for the Villains & Villainy conference made me

think immediately of the dao rai (ดาว ร้ าย), the wicked, cruel or villain stars of
Thai astrology. According to Thai astrological theory, any of the types of
Villains listed in the call for papers would have in his or her chart prominent
villain stars with strong relationships between them. In Thai astrology and
cosmology the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn are cruel and villainous stars and
they act in cruel and villainous ways. Depending on their position in a
person’s astrological chart and when they orbit into certain Zodiacs, houses,
and interact with stars in a persons chart, they can cause a variety of
sufferings. At the same time, Rahu and Mars can influence people to be
villains and to act in cruel and villainous ways (although currently some
astrologers speak in terms of the stars reflecting the traits and behavior rather
than influencing them. The manner in which human characteristics and
emotions are assigned to the influence of certain stars allows for an
interesting look into exactly what constitutes a villain. This paper presents
how the stars Rahu, Mars and Saturn of Thai astrology are themselves
villains and how the influence of Rahu and Mars creates human villains.

Saturn, Mars & Rahu as Villain Stars

These stars are villainous, cruel or malefic because of the suffering
they cause when badly located in a person’s natal chart and as they orbit
through the astrological chart of a person. In a natal chart all three stars can
have neutral effects like influencing a person’s career choice and even
beneficial effects, though to a lesser extent than the benefic stars. The
suffering these stars cause depends on their position in relation to specific
 Matthew Kosuta 3

stars and houses. Saturn stands first in rank of the three villain stars. But with
Saturn the idea of a cruel, malefic star is a better fit than a villain star for as
the Thai astrological saying goes “predicting suffering, predicting
punishment that’s what Saturn predicts” (Singtho 97, my trans). In Thai
astrology Saturn is the main influence for the ripening of bad karmic effects,
such as, substantial loss of money, divorce, separation from children, and
mental stress from depression to suicide. Mars does the same but on a smaller
scale and generally causes suffering related to blood like wounds, accidents,
and surgical operations. On the more mental side, Mars causes a person to be
hot headed, increases the likelihood for arguments and fights. Rahu is a dark
point or blind spot among the stars and thus the eclipse star and as Rahu
orbits through each sign in the zodiac, house and aspects each star in the natal
chart, Rahu eclipses these stars, not in the sense of becoming greater than
them, but in the astronomical sense of covering them up, the result being that
benefic stars and houses become malefic and malefic stars and houses
become benefic. Rahu turns good to bad and bad to good; unfortunately, the
majority of the time Rahu is turning good to bad and so causing suffering.
While Saturn causes suffering and punishment it does not overly
influence people to cause suffering, thus, Saturn plays a minor role in
creating a villain. In fact (if I can say that in regards to astrology), Saturn acts
to alleviate Rahu’s natural villainy and as a pair they predict wealth, and so
Saturn will not be our concern below. Mars on the other hand does influence
malevolent behavior and, unlike Saturn, exacerbates the villainy of Rahu. In
the making of a villain in Thai astrology Rahu is both a necessary and
sufficient condition, but if we want a true arch-villain then Mars must be in
the mix for we want the anger and bloody violence that only Mars can bring.

The Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

Rahu is natural villain, and why not since in Thai cosmology he is
one of the kings of the asuras (demons or titans). He is the most powerful,
strongest, and bravest of those asura kings (Reynods 108). In Thai astrology
Rahu is unique because he is the only star that orbits clockwise through the
natal chart; all other stars orbit counter clockwise. Rahu is dark, misty and
cloudy with a color of deep purple and wearing ornaments of bronze. He is
wind element with the character of a storm. Not the overwhelming wind of a
hurricane or tornado, but the powerful wind of a tropical thunderstorm.
Rahu’s first and foremost character trait is addiction and obsession.
The stanza for Rahu reads “Predicting obsession, predicting addiction that’s
what Rahu predicts” (Singtho 97, my trans). This applies to all the things
people normally considered addictive like alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and more
recently recognized addictions like work and sex. Thus Rahu people are
drinkers and often smokers and/or drug users, they like to spend time in bars
and such as they like dark places. Obviously addiction to alcohol and drugs
4 Rahu, Mars, and Saturn the Villain Stars
&
the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

can cause criminal and/or villainous behavior but what sets the true villains
apart is their obsession with bringing to fruition a criminal or diabolical plan
at any cost. Rahu people can be addictive to the point that it is impossible to
pull them out of the addiction or pull them back from the brink of
destruction.
This is not necessarily a passive addictive trait which leads to being
lost in a stupor for Rahu is bold and daring by nature and more than willing
to take a dangerous risk. And perhaps the key to Rahu as a villain is that he
simply enjoys starting trouble, taking pleasure in all things that lead to ruin.
Rahu people cannot leave well enough alone, whether it be learning a lesson
from a failed plot or resting on the laurels of a successful scheme, they will
always devise and try some new scheme.
While Rahu is not wise or intelligent, he is very sly, as in ‘a sly fox’
rather than a clever like a fox to make a fine but appropriate distinction. To
go with this is a natural attractiveness and sexual charm which is not directly
related to physical good looks. These two traits allow a Rahu person to attract
people to their cause, to finesse and charm their way into gain and out of
trouble. No surprise that Rahu gets anger very easily after all what would a
villain be without a temper.
Rahu is also an economic star and thus a strong Rahu means money,
the inverse is true too as a weak Rahu can mean economic trouble and even
poverty. There are other stars influencing economics so a weak Rahu does
not mandate poverty, but big money usually requires a strong Rahu and a
strong Rahu means a penchant for villainous behavior. No coincidence then
that corruption and wealth so often go together. What career path does Rahu
push a person towards, an illegal one of course. Rahu people make great
cheats and gangsters doing business in smuggling, contraband, counterfeit
items, and dealing drugs while they can be the proprietors of liquor and
tobacco stores, gambling dens and brothels.
One key to a great villain or lowly criminal lies outside Rahu
himself. A true villain must have a comparatively weak Jupiter, the star of
wisdom and morality. Jupiter size and power matches the other big stars of
Saturn and Rahu and when in a favorable position it can go head to head with
all three villain stars attenuating and even controlling their influence.
However, weak Jupiter in combination with strong a Rahu leads to a lack of
morality and a lack of wisdom to stay out of the trouble Rahu so enjoys
stirring up.
Virtually all on his own Rahu can make a person criminal, whether
it be a bookie or drug dealer, pimp or prostitute, corrupt businessperson or
politician. But as I read the call for papers this is not exactly what is being
looked for. In order to lend a hand to this all too common criminal and make
 Matthew Kosuta 5

him or her a true villain we must pair Rahu with his planetary partner in
crime - Mars.
Mars’ three main influences concern us here: courage, anger and
violence. Rahu has his own boldness and willingness to sacrifice himself, this
is strengthened by Mars’ courage to volunteer to do difficult and dangerous
things for others. While villains are generally thought of as selfish, think for a
moment how often they do something selfless for another. This explains the
villain’s sidekick and lackeys and their willingness to fight and die their
leader. Mars also brings impetuosity, anger, and even ferocity and most vital
of all he likes to fight or literally from the manual, Mars “likes to hit and
stab” (Singtho 120). Kept under control by other benefic stars the qualities of
Mars can influence a person to be a butcher, barber, soldier, police officer,
surgeon or dentist, that is, helpful but violent or “bloody” careers. Mars, like
Rahu though with less likelihood, can be an outlaw only this time a violent
one. When Rahu and Mars are strong and have a strong relationship and
mitigating stars are weak – a true villain is born.
Of course a true villain must have a flamboyant and raucous love
life; we want lady killers and man eaters and for this we have to turn to other
stars. Rahu has a certain charisma as noted above which is so important for
those villains at the head of a large criminal organization and this charisma
makes him sexual attractive while Mars has a raw sexuality; but for charm,
sexiness, sweetness and of course beauty or handsomeness our two villain
stars need help from the Moon, Mercury, and Venus. With the proper
combination of these stars a villain will be sexually seductive and can charm
his or her way into the hearts and beds of the object of his or her desire and
since we are dealing with villains just as easily break those hearts. Combined
with Rahu’s own charisma, in public and private this good-looking and
charming villain can more easily enchant his or her way into success and out
of trouble.
As a final note, it might be nice to know that though Rahu is “the
lord of destruction” he is conservative and prefers traditional ways.

Thai Astrology and the Character Breakdown of Villains

In studying Thai Astrology I have found it intriguing how human
personality and behavioral traits have been grouped and categorized
according to individual stars and their mutual relationships. Not because this
is claimed to predict a person’s personality or future, but because the
constructors of astrology, in some way, observed human behavior in
combination with existing religio-cultural norms and produced a theory of
personality. In researching gender relations in Thai astrology, I noticed that
the categories of feminine and masculine are each contained in their own star
and then their relationships with several other different stars adds detail and
finesse comparable to modern gender studies models; though the astrological
6 Rahu, Mars, and Saturn the Villain Stars
&
the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

paradigm is much more ridged and stereotyped than any women’s studies
paradigms.
During that research I found an article by Bernard Sellato article
which directly related to my thoughts just noted above, the title asks
“L’astrologie, premiere science sociale? » He asks this question in his title
because he observes, and I am in agreement, that “L’astrologie, d’abord,
parle de l’homme et de la société” (1991, 113). But is astrology really a
social-science or discipline of the humanities, and if so what kind of social
science is it? To begin with we have a problematic application of the
astrological model in that it is applied according to the position of the sun at
the date and time of birth for each individual. The application is not based on
actual observation of the individual, in fact the reading can be blind (meeting
the client aids in the accuracy of the prediction). Astrology is not designed to
study humans and the human condition; rather it is used primarily as
predictive tool to find auspicious times, when certain events will happen,
how benefic or malefic these events will be, and how long they will last.
Nevertheless in the end, an astrological system, here the Thai system,
provides a paradigm for assessing human personality and behavior.
Narida Cook and those she cites state that astrologers and clients do
not hold astrology as deterministic, so that merit, good behavior, and rituals
can alter or prevent unwanted occurrences (p.198-204). While I have found
this true among clients, my person guru states astrology as very deterministic
and rather than really changing anything, knowing of a future event allows
one to simply accept it. This determinism seems even stronger in the case of
individual personality and the nature versus nurture argument or we might
say the karma verses nurture argument. The weight in Thai astrology is on
nature, people are born with certain moral, behavioral, intellectual etc
characteristics. A loving family, good social environment etc can help a child
control and possibly alleviate inborn criminal tendencies, but the basic
disposition to crime and antisocial behavior remains. The reverse is true for a
moral, kind, and sweet person who grows up in a violent, tough environment.
This adverse environment can cause them to develop a certain aggressiveness
and perhaps even deviousness, but this will be minimal and this person would
not become a criminal or villain.
Thai astrology does recognize the role of environment in forming an
individual personality, but it definitely claims nature as the primary
mechanism in the formation of individual personality and behavior. And so
there are natural born criminals and natural born killers. This contradicts
theories, such as Michal Foucault’s, which state that recidivism is produced
by the prison system. Recidivism in Thai astrology is in the nature of the
individual and has little to do with the prison system; thought of course the
 Matthew Kosuta 7

system could exacerbate the problem. However, we could posit that the
prison system is shaped by the criminal and not be the other way around.
Rahu people are addicts; they are natural drinkers and/or drug users,
while the depth of the addiction and other types of addictions will depend on
star combinations and positions. The most frequent addiction is alcohol
and/or drugs, though work, sex etc are other possible. Rahu people are at the
same time criminal. For Thai astrology Rahu’s two essential behavioral traits
criminality and addiction are inseparable. Indeed, modern studies on crime
show a direct link to between crime and alcohol. A quick search on the
internet for ‘crime and alcohol’ will pull up statistics like these from the
Canyon Rehab Center which give the percentage of violent crimes committed
while the attacker is intoxicated: 37% of assaults, 57% of domestic violence
incidents, 60% of sexual crimes (Canyon Research Center).
It is intriguing that in Thai astrology all the traits of criminality (the
quality, state, or fact of being criminal) are contained in a single star. This
posits criminality as an integral whole rather than a combination of elements
or a coming together of two or more influences which generate such
behavior. Some human personality and behavioral traits can only be broken
down only so far. With 9 stars interacting from various positions in the 12
Zodiac signs the statistical possibilities for combinations to create personality
and behavior traits are great, so a trait does not necessarily have to be
confined to one star. For example sexual promiscuity is show by any of three
different pairs of star combinations, while studiousness and thrift are caused
by anther pair; these traits are not located in a single star. On the other hand,
femininity for a woman, defined in all its stereotypic splendor, is determined
solely by the strength or weakness of the moon in the natal chart. Since the
moon is necessarily in every chart, a woman will always have some degree of
femininity. There are other integral behavioral wholes such as violence from
Mars and love of and talent for the sensuous and arts from Venus. These
behavioral wholes posit specific behavioral essences, thus a gangster, thief,
bootlegger, smuggler, drug dealer, and con-artist are all criminal careers that
differ in material expression but remain the same in criminal essence. The
exact material expression will be created by star placement and combinations
in the natal chart. For example a con-artist will certainly have the star pairs
and positions for lying. All these behavioral essences can be strengthened or
weakened by star combinations and location in the chart but they cannot be
broken down or created by combinations. Since Rahu is necessarily in every
person’s birth chart criminality and addiction are essences we are all born
with, what separates us individually is to what degree these traits are
heightened or diminished.
Even the best of us have some amount of Rahu nature. Haven’t you
ever found yourself thinking at one time or another “just take it no one will
notice”, “in this situation I have to lie”, “go ahead have one more beer”, “just
8 Rahu, Mars, and Saturn the Villain Stars
&
the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

do it everybody else does it”? No wonder, it’s your inner Rahu speaking,
which shows you that all of us are at least a little bit villainous.
 Matthew Kosuta 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cook, Nerida. 1989. Astrology in Thailand: The Future and Recollection of

the Past. Unpublished PhD thesis. The Australian National University.

Culver, Robert B. and Philip A Ianna. (1988). Astrology: True or False?: A

Scientific Evaluation. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Dreyer, Ronnie Gale. (1997). Vedic Astrology: A Guide to the Fundamentals

of Jyotish. Boston, MA: Samuel Weiser, Inc.

Klausner, William J. 1997, 4th edition 2002. Thai Culture in Transition:

Collected Writings of William J. Klausner. Bangkok: The Siam Society.

Midgley, Mary. 1984. Wickedness. London & New York: Routledge.

Morton, Adam. 2004. On Evil. London & New York: Routledge.

Mottier, Véronique. 2008. Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK:

Oxford University Press.

Reynolds, Frank and Mani B. Reynolds. 1982. The Three Worlds According
to King Ruang: Thai Buddhist Cosmology. Berkley, CA: U of California
Press.

Ruth, Sheila. 1980, 4th edition 1998. Issues in Feminism: An Introduction to

Women’s Studies. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co.

Sellato, Bernard. 1991. « L’Astrologie : une science humaine ? ». In

L’Homme. 1991 juillet-septembre, vol.31, no.119, pp. 113-118.
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/hom_0439-
4216_1991_num_31_119_369406

Thai References
(Tongjeua Aagaew. Astrologers Diary 2552) ทองเจือ อา่แก้ ว ๒๕๕๑. ไดอารี โหร พ.ศ.
๒๕๕๒. กรุงเทพๆ เขษมบรรณกิจ”

(Singtho Suriyarak. Thai Astrology: Complete Self-Study Book)

สิงห์โต สรุิยาอารักษ์ . โหราศาสตร์ ไทย เรี ยนด้ วยตนเองเล่มเดียวจบ. กรุงเทพๆ เกษมบรรณกิจ.

Internet Sites
10 Rahu, Mars, and Saturn the Villain Stars
&
the Making of a Villain in Thai Astrology

Canyon Rehab Center http://www.thecyn.com/blog/the-effect-of-alcohol-on-

violent-crime/ 24 July 2009