Astrology is the science of Timing. If you know when the window of opportunity is going to open for you, you can time your efforts to maximize your potential for success. There are specific factors within the birth chart that indicate opportunity. Using the techniques of prediction, the astrologer can determine when these opportunity factors are “turned on.” The knowledge of the timing, coordinated with your efforts, increases your chances of obtaining the desired result.

The two main techniques of timing in Vedic Astrology are the Vimshottari Dasha, commonly known as the Planetary Period System, and the Gochara, or Transiting Positions. In the planetary period system, the astrologer first analyzes the birth chart to find the factors that can promote opportunity. Using the predictive formula of this system, we find out when a particular potential will be activated. The opportunity factor may be activated directly by the period of the planet itself, or indirectly, through the period of another planet that has a connection to the concerned planet’s position.

The transit system looks at the present and future positions of the planets as they travel along in the zodiac. By transferring those positions to your birth chart, another set of factors is generated that have influence on your life. Specific planets in specific positions are known to bring opportunity. The astrologer watches for and makes note of the dates when those “opportunity transits” will occur.

Jupiter is the main planet of opportunity. Jupiter’s signification of being the “great benefic,” plus its natural expansive nature, opens the window of opportunity wherever it resides in the birth chart. The house that your natal Jupiter resides in becomes the venue for opportunity. But any natal position is mostly a latent potential, which has to wait until an appropriate planetary period is turned on in order to fully manifest. For example, suppose your natal Jupiter is in your 12th house, the house of “the unknown.” Your birth chart karma indicates the potential to gain from 12th house people: i.e., those who are from places unknown to you. Therefore, during your Jupiter major period, or a Jupiter sub-period, you should cultivate contacts with foreigners because they could be a source of opportunity.

The transiting position of Jupiter also brings opportunity, especially when it contacts natal planets. Jupiter is always somewhere in the Heavens, and by extension, transiting somewhere in your natal chart. Knowing the location of transiting Jupiter is an important clue to finding where the opportunities are going to show up in your life. The significations of the house of your chart where Jupiter is transiting will tell you where to look for the opportunity. One often hears the question “is this a good time to look for a new job?” The best situation would be when Jupiter is transiting either in your 6th house of employment, or your 10th house of career. If that isn’t happening now, there are still other options, but these two would be the most favorable transit positions. Similarly, the transit of Jupiter in the 5th house of romance, or 7th house of partnership, answers the question of “when will I meet someone for intimacy?”

When transiting Jupiter contacts a natal planet, either by conjunction or through aspect, the significations of that planet prosper. Thus, Jupiter transiting over or opposite to your natal Saturn indicates opportunity with an older or experienced person. Jupiter transiting over or opposite to your natal Sun gives opportunity with authority figures, the government, your boss, etc. Jupiter also has special “trine” aspects, i.e., 120 and 240 degrees from itself, which similarly carry Jupiter’s signification of opportunity.

Rahu, the north node of the Moon (one of the eclipse points), is another significator of opportunity because it is an indicator of Material Success, and the Future. But Rahu, being an eclipse point, can obscure things and create confusion; it cannot always be counted on. Still, when in good combinations with other planets, Rahu can deliver an opportunity for you. This is especially true if Rahu is positioned in, or transiting through, one of the so-called upachaya houses of the chart: the 3rd, 6th, 10th, or 11th houses, where it functions well.

Venus, being another naturally “good” planet, can also bestow opportunity, or more correctly, Benefits. Knowing where Venus is in your chart, and what it combines with through association or aspect, helps to guide your actions for reaping benefits. For instance, Venus in the 10th house indicates “good conduct in society,” i.e., you have the karma that makes you likeable to others. This will give you career opportunities for dealing with the public, such as a career in public service or customer relations.

When Venus influences a natal planet in your birth chart by transiting over it or opposite to it, there is the potential to benefit from the person that natal planet represents. Venus transiting over your natal Saturn = potential benefit from a “Saturn person,” i.e., someone older, like an elderly relation. Venus moves swiftly through the zodiac, so the window of opportunity may only be a couple of days. If you keep track of Venus’s movement, you will be ready to make that call to your uncle at precisely the right time when he may be disposed to help you out.

Any house of the chart can be a venue for Opportunity to manifest, particularly when influenced by good planets, either through natal placement, or transit. But some houses have the natural quality of opportunity as one of their significations. Chief amongst these is the 11th house, the house of Rewards. In Vedic Astrology, the saying goes that any planet is good when transiting in the 11th house. Basically, the significations of that planet become a source of opportunity. Thus, Mars transiting through your 11th house brings opportunity through your actions, or from a brother. Mercury would bring opportunity through communications, like writing. Venus would bring opportunity through the arts, or by way of young females.

The 9th house is another potential venue for opportunity, because it is the house of Good Fortune. Planets located here in the natal chart, or transiting through this sector of your chart, present opportunity by way of their natural significations. Another venue is the 1st house, the rising sign. Being the house of Self, this sector is especially sensitive to any planetary position, transit, or aspect. Jupiter in or influencing this part of the chart gives opportunity across the board. Sometimes this turns out to be not such a good thing: too many opportunities at once can make you spread yourself too thin, and nothing gets accomplished.

Astrology helps us find out where in our lives opportunity will present itself. Through astrology’s timing mechanisms, we find out the “when.” By coordinating your efforts with the details of your birth chart and the timing provided by the cosmic clock, you can increase your chances for success in your life.