Reverse Predictions
The concept of reverse prediction is something that I've advocated for quite sometime now as the only provable means for ensuring the accuracy of a given chart. I primarily developed this technique when rectifying the USA Chart to March 1st, 1781 at 3:19pm, Philadelphia. In my view, there are two steps to ensuring the accuracy of a chart: first, is an 80% or better accuracy rating when making reverse predictions, second is the making of future predictions to prove conclusively the accuracy of the chart you are confronted with or are proposing.
Reverse prediction is simply this. When you make a normal prediction, you state what event will occur under a given planetary period and transits at some point in the future. With a reverse prediction, you already know the event and you now must state which configurations (natal triggers) must exist within the chart in order for such an event to have occurred in the past. You can approach this from three levels when making reverse predictions:
1) Which natal triggers or natal configurations must exist within the rasi in order for a known given event to have occurred.
2) Which configurations are acceptable within appropriate D-charts in order for an event to have occurred during a given planetary period.
3) Which transits would have to be in place at the time of the given event.
Let me give an example. I'll use my own chart since I have it memorized:
Reverse prediction is simply this. When you make a normal prediction, you state what event will occur under a given planetary period and transits at some point in the future. With a reverse prediction, you already know the event and you now must state which configurations (natal triggers) must exist within the chart in order for such an event to have occurred in the past. You can approach this from three levels when making reverse predictions:
1) Which natal triggers or natal configurations must exist within the rasi in order for a known given event to have occurred.
2) Which configurations are acceptable within appropriate D-charts in order for an event to have occurred during a given planetary period.
3) Which transits would have to be in place at the time of the given event.
Let me give an example. I'll use my own chart since I have it memorized:
Ron Grimes
Sept 27, 1957
10:12am
Dixon, Illinois
89W29
41N50
Time Zone: CDT (5:00)
Vedic Lahiri ascendant: 19 LIB 20
Sept 27, 1957
10:12am
Dixon, Illinois
89W29
41N50
Time Zone: CDT (5:00)
Vedic Lahiri ascendant: 19 LIB 20
Natal Northern Style Natal Southern Style
Let's take the onset of my Bell's Palsy on Dec 4th, 1996. Let me make a side comment here. First thing you have to do with any event is figure out what the event is. I can't tell you the number of astrologers who go off and try to analyze something having only a cursory understanding of the nature of the event. So, first thing an astrologer should do when asked about a medical condition as an event is to actually do some research to understand the nature of the problem. Bell's Palsy is an inflammation of the 7th cranial nerve that controls the facial muscles. The inflammation causes facial paralysis on one side - usually. So, given that, our understanding tells us that nerves = Mercury, muscles = Mars and head/face = 1st lord, Sun or Mars. Now, we can intelligently state what natal triggers must exist in the rasi as stated in Step 1.
STEP 1:
There will be an affliction to the ruler of the 1st house, Sun or Mars. It is likely to include Mars as there is a muscular involvement. Likewise, it is likely to involve Mercury or a Mercury ruled sign as the nerves are involved. We can leave it at that - especially if we are stating things as reverse predictions when we have not yet pinpointed the ascendant.
STEP 2:
This event would most likely occur during the MD and bhukti of planets in Shashtamsha, governing sickness, or in Trimshamsha, governing misfortune and miseries, where they (the MD and bhukti lords) are in trinal or kendra relationship to one another and either a) form a Papa Sankhya Yoga or b) the sub-period lord is aspected by his sole enemy or c) they are natural malefics and occupy/aspect the lagna.
STEP 3:
This event would most like occur during a slow moving malefic transit across the 1st house MEP or weak 1st house lord or a weak Sun or Mars.
As you can see, I've tried to be both specific as well as to narrow things down as much as possible, while being general enough to be able to compare these statements under any ascendant (if that is unknown and I'm rectifying the chart).
So, what actually happened? I have a weak Mars in the Mercury ruled sign of Virgo, where he is severely combust. There's the natal trigger for Step 1. Next, I was in the period of Ketu-Rahu, which both occupy the lagna of Shasthamsha, highly activating that D-Charts's significations. And, both Rahu and Ketu cast an opposition aspect on the lagna of the Trimshamsha. There's the fulfillment of Step 2. Finally, the transit nodal axis was virtually stationary over the top of both natal Sun AND Mars. There's the fulfillment of Step 3.
So, that's the process of a reverse prediction for a single event. In my view, this is the ONLY way to properly rectify a chart and I would not trust any rectification where the astrologer simply isn't proficient enough to do it this way.
- Ron Grimes