The Ayatollah’s Karmic Contract: An Astrological Deep Dive Into Power, Survival, and Destiny

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s birth chart is insane - it reveals a life engineered for control, conflict, and spiritual authority.

I just ran the astrological chart for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and it’s wild. I believe I’ve got a rough workable birth time with an accurate ascendant.

Data I’m using:

April 19, 1939 Mashhad, Iran. 10:30 Am. We don’t have a confirmed birth time, but I’m almost certain its from 10:30am to 11:59 am. This gives us a cancer ascendant chart.

Cancer ascendants instantly give an image of a ruler of the nation, the home, caring about the tribe, the family, the ethnocentric “us” vs “them”. Consider Pierre Poillevre, Rudolf Hess and Joseph Chamberline amongst this set of politicians with cancer ascendant.

The ruler of the ascendant (moon) in the 10th house conjunct Saturn and Sun in Aries indicating incredibly strong leadership and authority.

Mercury the messenger is also in the 10th house signalling that he is known for his fiery strong communication and sermons. So fiery he’s known for it. “Death to America”, anyone?

I immediately notice the prominence of the planet of religion and philosophy, Jupiter . His Jupiter placement is insane - in the Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra (Jupiters own Nakshatra), in Jupiters own sign of Pisces, in Jupiters own house, the 9th house, which rules worldview, education, religion and philosophy - and it’s perfectly trine to his ascendant. That’s a hell of a Jupiter placement, with an exalted venus ruling the 4th house of home, upbringing, family tradition and heritage conjuncting it to top it off.

This is a deeply philosophically, religiously and spiritual educated man bringing deep wisdom far beyond his years. He truly is the wise old man who is karmically obliged to bring his wisdom and leadership to the nation. It’s also deeply linked with reformation and being a reformist - because the Nakshatra of Purva Bhadrapada represents the duality between the old and the new paradigms. He is karmically tasked with causing reformation and upgrade in terms of spiritual, philosophical or religious matters.

Khamenei’s background is, obviously deeply religious. He began Quranic study at age four and spent his youth in Islamic seminaries. He earned the Holy Quran as a child and studied advanced seminary (“hawza”) courses in Mashhad and Qom under leading scholars like Ayatollah Borujerdi and Ayatollah Khomeini . He later became an Ayatollah (high-ranking cleric), taught Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and Quranic exegesis, and authored books on Islamic theology (the 9th house rules publishing).

Jupiter rules the 9th and 6th houses suggesting a highly philosophical or religious figure who can overcome his enemies, obstacles and challenges and has the firepower to overcome dissent.

But this isn’t just a high priest figure, let’s look at that Mars (god of war) exalted in the 7th House. It indicates formidable fighting energy in dealing with adversaries and a combative stance in public and diplomatic relationships—matching his long-standing confrontational posture toward external powers and internal dissent. He has a combative, warrior like stance. He’s a highly educated scholar and author, but he’s got the firepower in dealing with people. It’s exalted, meaning he uses his powerful fiery speech and disposition at the right time and place, and doesn’t overdo it to the point of losing dignity or respect.

Pluto conjunct the ascendant is a hell of a placement. It indicates deep transformative power, charisma, and an ability to wield immesne influence behind the scenes—fitting for a figure who has survived assassination attempts and consolidated power for decades. Pluto is deep, raw power. It’s an aspect he shares with Donald Trump. He is literally the “Supreme Leader” and it doesn’t get more supreme than Pluto conjunct the ascendant. It’s deep power, leadership, and in the sign of cancer, highly ethnocentric and nationalistic.

Uranus, a planet associated with the ccentric, extreme, unusual and rebellious and Ketu, associated with spirituality, dissolution, loss, detachment in the 11th house of networks is interesting. It suggests eccentric, possibly extremist (Uranus) networks tied to religion or spirituality (Ketu). Khamenei did organize and maintain extensive ideological networks. As a young cleric he ran secret missions and “organized networks of Islamist activism” on behalf of Khomeini . After the revolution, he fostered Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” backing allies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and other Shi‘a militias. For example, he reinforced Iran’s relationship with Hezbollah in the 1990s as part of a strategy against Israel . These groups can be described as religiously extreme proxies, so the Uranus Ketu conjunction in the 11th house of networks really lines up here.

Notice the Neptune nestled in the 3rd house. Most people would miss this. We know that Neptune is illusion, mystique, smoke and mirrors, spirituality, transcendence and confusion. It’s neither benefic or malefic. What does the 3rd house rule? Media. Communication. The Press. If we combine the indications of Neptune and the 3rd house, we get a control of media, broadcasting and national messaging which is illusory, slippery, confused, not quite truthful, and veiled in secrecy, obfuscation or mystique. Indeed, human‐rights groups list this Ayatollah among the “top ten enemies of the press” in Iran . Iran’s strict press laws (enforced under his watch) even ban “spreading rumors and lies” in the media , and dozens of independent newspapers have been shut down. In practice, Khamenei’s regime aggressively controls broadcast and print outlets to protect the Islamic Republic’s interests. That 3rd house is ruled by mercury (the messenger) in his 10th house of reputation- the supreme leader obviously wields immense power over the press and media.

Rahu (obsession, insatiability) in the 5th house (mental activity, creativity, expression, children) in Scorpio (darkness, power, control) suggests a mental obsession with strategic plans to maintain power and his lineage. Especially as the ruler of the 5th, mars, is exalted in the 7th - strategically thinking about and crafting plans and projects that maintain power in relation to his adversaries. With few obvious successors, he appears determined to control the future succession. Reports note that Khamenei is grooming his son Mojtaba (a fellow cleric) as a likely heir (the 5th house rules children and offspring, and in scorpio, his son will likely be a powerful future leader).

Interestingly enough, not only is he Cancer ascendant with an Aries 10th house, so is the chart for the Islamic republic of Iran itself, immediately signalling a karmic alignment to the country and his leadership. Irans midheaven is at 8 Aries, this Ayatollahs is at 12 Aries. The natal chart for the Islamic Republic of Iran, created 1st April 1979 at 12:01 in Tehran, is below.

The Ayatollahs Moon is just at the end of Revati Nakshatra. This is the ‘final’ nakshatra associated with spirituality, nourishment, caring and upbringing. His mind is on the highest of spiritual and religious matters, but in his 10th house he’s not just a mystic or a priest, he’s the commander in Cheif for Iran but rules using a more caring, nourishment based approach, contrary to the propaganda that he is always a violent dictator, he likely has deep care for his people, his nation - he is a nourisher. But only for his ethnocentric tribe.

Complimentary to that, his ascendant is in Punavarsu nakshatra - an auspicious section of the sky associated with cycles, renewal, coming back equally as strong from a weak position. He survived an assasination attempt and still had strength and courage to lead his country. After the 1981 bombing (a personal nadir), he not only recovered but was elected President with 97% of the vote. That’s the renewing cyclic power of Punavarsu.

I don’t often use Chiron - but the mythology of the wounded healer in the 1st house of the body really adds up for a religious and political figure who survived an assassination attempt. How much more of a wounded healer can you get? And let’s not forget that subtle Gemini 12th house. The 12th house is loss, dispersion of energy, loss of resources, generally all things “Negative” such as death, madness, illusion, loss of resources, mental health issues, etc. A fun(?) fact I didn’t know is that in his June 1981 assassination attempt, a bomb seriously injured his right arm, which became paralyzed. Guess which body part is represented by Gemini in medical astrology? The arms.

The transit chart is even crazier. The Saturn Neptune conjunction currently occurring over his 10th house of suggests a reset of his reputation, or a concretization of his ideals, or the solidification of public perception of him as a saviour figure, or perhaps the illusion of his reputation being met with cold hard reality. His identity will not be the same as it was after the conjunction goes exact in February 2026.

Chiron, the wounded healer is currently conjunct his moon - his mind might be focused on assassination attempts, or at least character assassination, he might be being reminded of his assassination attempt he survived earlier in life.

Transiting Venus in its own sign of Taurus in the 11th house suggests his allies, beneficial networks and contacts will be backing him up at this time. The benefic influence of Venus brings peace, stability, peace of mind and general beneficial events connected to his larger networks and allies. I imagine he has more support from his wider political connections in China and Russia than we’re being told in the west.

Of course, the recent move of Jupiter into cancer gives the Ayatollah an exalted Jupiter in the 1st transit. This will protect him and his body from any assassination attempts. He’ll be protected and be viewed as a beneficial wise leader for the time being. Luck will be on his side, and he will step even further into a leadership role once the sun fully enters cancer, his 1st house.

By the time July 20th roles around, Uranus enters the first degree of his 12th house and the transiting moon conjuncts this. His mind is suddenly shocked, scrambled, surprised in 12th house matters (death, loss, the subconscious, loss of resources, dispersion of energy)

I also don’t like the look of the transiting Mars Ketu conjunction in his 3rd house. It could indicate an accident, a surprise issue or injury involving a vehicle of some sort. But Venus is transiting his 12th, while Jupiter transits his first. I doubt any physical injuries he might receive will be fatal.

In terms of profection year, he has just turned 86, entering a 2nd house profection year. Matters of important speeches will occur within this 12 months. The 2nd house is about speech, resources and money. He will be making most likely some religiously fuelled speeches against Israel and the USA. So we can expect more “Death to Israel, Death to the USA”. His 2nd house is Leo, a fire sign ruled by the Sun in his 10th house of Aries, another fire sign. So expect fiery and powerful speeches related to his reputation and Iran as a whole, as expected in the situation he finds himself in.

Looking at the zodiacal releasing he’s in a Sagittarius Level 1 Period and Sagittarius level 2 Period. Whilst this is ruled by a Jupiter in its own sign in the 9th, it highlights his 6th house of obstacles, struggles, enemies, debts, work, barriers to progress, conflict, toil. This will be a period marked by struggle against oppositional forces. This is pretty obvious as we have heightened tension with adversaries, possible stress related health issues, and generally putting in a lot of toil and effort for little reward or glory. But being ruled by an exalted Jupiter I think he can overcome these obstacles. In 2022 and 2023 several credible reports surfaced about his urgent surgeries and frailty. That’s classic 6th house material, and its going to be emphasized even more this year as he gets older.

This is just a guess, but perhaps that Mars Ketu in his 3rd could be a vehicle accident of some sort leading him to some surgery which he ultimately survives, but this is just a guess and I’d have to look at the charts more deeply to make an accurate prediction on this.

So what about his future? In early October, we do see transiting Pluto in the 8th house opposing his natal Pluto. This could indicate some serious hardship in terms of his leadership and position of power.

This isn’t just a chart — it’s a karmic contract. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s life was never meant to be ordinary; it was engineered for power, religion, and legacy. Whether you admire or despise him, the heavens aren’t interested in your approval. Destiny moves on its own terms.

Rowan