James Watson

James Watson, along with Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin, revolutionized modern biology with the discovery of the DNA strand in 1953. Unfortunately, Watson has just added a black mark to an otherwise illustrious scientific career. In a published interview, he made several shockingly racist statements.

According to Wikipedia, Watson

…was quoted in an article for the Sunday Times Magazine published on October 14, 2007, that he is "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really." He stated that he hopes that everyone is equal, but "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true."

Sadly, these views were not new. He had expressed similar ideas in the past, but they were overlooked. Although he apologized, these recent statements led to Watson’s resignation from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he had spent most of his career.

A look at Watson's Vedic horoscope is helpful in understanding the timing of this abrupt career about-face. A little over two years ago, Watson began his Venus mahadasha, signifying a new major life period. These mahadashas—planetary periods—take up major chunks of life and one can usually find life themes particular to each mahadasha and its planet (or lunar node). In Watson's Vedic horoscope, benefic Venus is exalted in Pisces, meaning that it takes on extra power. It conjoins both Jupiter and the Sun (in Vedic astrology, planets occupying the same house/sign are said to be conjunct, no matter how many degrees apart they might be, although the closer they are the more powerful their influence becomes). Venus is strong in other ways, too, in Watson’s Vedic horoscope. A Venus mahadasha would thus seem to portend an auspicious astrological period for James Watson.

So where’s the astrology behind a career-ending humiliation and the revelation of views—Watson’s private face— antithetical to social progress from a man who with his public face contributed greatly to scientific progress and the mapping of the human genome? Although there are several astrological influences at work in Watson's Vedic chart to answer this question, one seems particularly relevant: Watson’s Venus is in the nakshatra (one of the 27 lunar mansions) called Purva Bhadrapada. When a new mahadasha begins, it is associated with a planet (or node of the Moon), and the nakshatra or lunar mansion where that planet resides assumes much greater importance in life. Normally, a benefic planet like Venus would bring out the best in a nakshatra. However, that is often not the case with Purva Bhadrapada. It is associated with a funeral cot (where bodies are placed to be burned).

Another commonly used symbol for Watson’s Venus nakshatra? A man with two faces.

James Watson was born April 6, 1928; 1:23 a.m.; Chicago, Illinois; source: NCGR Memberletter article on DNA’s Golden Anniversary, by Anne Ortelee, April/May issue, 2003; not sure what the Rodden rating is.