Neil Armstrong, became the first human to set foot on the Moon on 21st July 1969. Today we will discuss the combination in his Birth-chart which were a contributing factor to his life, journey and specially this remarkable achievement.
In Vedic Astrology, there are certain positions which are considered special. While there are multiple combinations/yogas that can potentially be present in any horoscope most of them are rather insignificant from the perspective of achieving outstanding results in life. Moreover, it is not just the yogas and combinations that help us achieve success or have a good life, but also the supportive planets and the right time periods of such planets at the right time in our life. For example, Mercury can give us intelligence, or we can even find some brilliant ideas, but there needs to be the presence of a strong Mars for carrying our the proper execution of those ideas or implement one's intelligence into developing something for real or actualizing those ideas in real life.
Lets us talk now about Gandanta then. These are very strong destiny points that carry very potent transformational energies. These points are found at the very last degrees of water signs and very first degrees of the fire signs (that come right after them). They are the last 3'20 degrees of water signs and the first 3'20 degrees of fire signs. So, the following are the Gandanta positions:
Cancer: 26'40 - 30'00 in Ashlesha Nakshatra
Leo: 00'00 - 3'20 in Magha Nakshatra
Scorpio: 26'40 - 30'00 in Jyeshta Nakshatra
Sagittarius: 00'00 - 3'20 in Moola Nakshatra
Pisces: 26'40 - 30'00 in Revati Naskshatra
Aries: 00'00 - 3'20 in Ashwini Nakshatra
These positions are often regarded as challenging placements for planets and are said to bring hardships and struggles in the native's life during their time periods. However, the opposite can most often be true. This is because, these positions are strong destiny points, and they can be of a very special significance in the life of the native. While not always, but, even if they do bring certain hardships in the life of the native, if the chart is otherwise is strong, it is sure to bring out the native to be on top of things achieve something extraordinary as a result of even those hardships. This is especially true if the planets are placed in the fiery Gandanta positions of Leo (Magha), Sagittarius (Moola) or Aries (Ashwini). Even in general, planets placed around the 0' degree should be considered as special.
In the case of Neil Armstrong, the first man on Moon, it is very interesting to notice that his Moon itself is in a Gandanta position at 2' in the sign of Sagittarius and Nakshatra of Moola. What is also interesting is that, it was during the Maha-Dasha (Main-period) of the Moon and the Sub-period of Ketu (South-node of the moon) that he landed and set his foot on Moon on the 21st July 2021. Notice how the Moon is placed in the 8th house of discovering hidden secrets and sudden events with the 10th lord (house of career) and 9th lord (house of long-distance travels) - Saturn, which aspects its own (10th house) of Aquarius from its 3rd aspect from the 8th house. Ketu and Saturn are both aspected by Jupiter, which is a very benefic aspect as Jupiter aspects his own house of Sagittarius and protects and expands it.
If you notice here in the image above, he ran the time period of Moon since April 1962. If you look at the following excerpt of NASA's announcement for application process for its space missions (mainly moon at the time) was exactly in April 1962 when Neil Armstrong started his Moon time-period. ""In April 1962, NASA announced that applications were being sought for the second group of NASA astronauts for Project Gemini, a proposed two-man spacecraft. This time, selection was open to qualified civilian test pilots."" Neil Armstrong was a civilian test pilot at the time and had not been eligible to apply to work on space missions before. But If you notice the last sentence, it was exactly that month that he became elgible to apply, and was obviously selected and his journey started. So, the only planet in his Gandanta position, became the most powerful in his "literally astronomical rise" to becoming the commander of the Apollo 11 mission which was successful and resulted in him being the first man on the Moon.
I find this to be a remarkable example to depict the power and significance of the Gandanta placement of planets in one's birth-chart. While these positions are important, however, as mentioned earlier, the whole strength of the birth-chart (like his Mars placed in the ascendant being one of the most important factors in his career in the navy and flying in the first place, besides giving him the engineering prowess as well as the courage). Also, other possible events and planetary time-periods leading up to the particular planet's period, influence of surroundings, time of life, and other positive yoga's in the chart all matter and contribute to the final positive result. So, a chart must analyzed holistically by an experienced professional to come to a final conclusion. But, these are all clues to how a relatively seemingly insignificant placement can actually be the most powerful placement!!
May God bless us all.