The Victorious Coach: How Abhijit Nakshatra Led Curt Cignetti to National Championship Glory

A Bloomington Astrologer’s Journey to Uncover the Stars Behind IU’s Historic Win

by Katya Faris, MA, MA (IU Alumnus)

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A Note on this article: This is a generalized Vedic Astrology research article based on Curt Cignetti’s birth chart (time unknown), and the chart of the NCAA 2026 game in Miami.

Once upon a time, in the heart of Bloomington, Indiana, a Viking-warlord of a football coach arrived with a scowl, a stack of résumés, and a promise that sounded more like a threat: “I win.” Nobody believed him. They’d heard it before. But what they didn’t know was that the stars themselves had already written the ending—and it involved a hidden prince, a victorious star, and a date with destiny on January 19th, 2026.

This is the astrological story of Curt Cignetti, the man who brought a national championship to Indiana University, and the mysterious Abhijit nakshatra that made it possible.

As a proud IU alumnus with my Master’s in Ethnomusicology, I’ve spent years studying the cosmic rhythms that underlie our world. And when Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington, something about him felt… different. Written in the stars. Destined.

Now, I must be transparent: I do not have Curt Cignetti’s exact birth time. But when you study astrology long enough, you learn to feel when the math is right. And everything about this man—his unshakeable confidence, his warlike demeanor, his relentless rise through the ranks, and that historic championship victory on January 19th, 2026—points to one conclusion:

Curt Cignetti was born under the victorious star of Abhijit.

If his birth occurred at around 2:00 PM on his birthday, he would be a Leo lagna, Uttara Phalguni, “The Star of Purpose”, and his Moon falls within the sacred degree of 6°50′, the domain of Abhijit nakshatra—the hidden 28th star that Lord Krishna called his own. And given what transpired on that Miami field, I’d say it’s a very safe bet.

Right Before Kickoff: When the Cards Spoke

Minutes before the game began, with nerves running high and the weight of history hanging in the Miami air, I reached for my Haindl Tarot deck and asked a simple, direct question:

“Who will win—IU or Miami?”

In my reading method, an upright card means “yes” for the team in question, while a reversed card means “no” —then the card’s meaning reveals the deeper story.

I pulled two cards.

First card (IU Hoosiers):
8 of Wands — Upright

In the Haindl deck, this card is called “Swiftness.” It depicts arrows in flight, rushing toward their target with unstoppable momentum. It represents rapid movement, quick thinking, and positive energy arriving at lightning speed. Because it was upright, this was a “YES” for IU.

The message was clear: victory would come through swift action, split-second decisions, and momentum that could not be halted.

Second card (Miami Hurricanes):
4 of Wands — Reversed

The 4 of Wands in this deck is called “Perfection”, and typically represents celebration, homecoming, stability, and foundation. But reversed, it speaks of errors, instability, and uncharacteristic mistakes. This was a “NO” for Miami.

The message: Miami would lose because they would make errors they don’t normally make—and IU would capitalize on every single one.

I set the cards down, turned on the game, and watched.

Three hours later, I watched exactly that unfold on the field. IU’s swiftness. Miami’s uncharacteristic mistakes. The victory no one saw coming—except the cards, and the stars.

The Chart of a Champion: A Leo Rising Hypothesis

Let me walk you through what I believe is Curt Cignetti’s birth chart. Every piece fits like a championship puzzle.

The Ascendant: Leo, Uttara Phalguni

Cignetti comes off as arrogant—there’s no other word for it. That stern grimace, those unblinking eyes, the way he tells interviewers he doesn’t care what they think. It’s pure Leo rising energy.

But here’s the key: Leo is ruled by the Sun, and one of it’s nakshatra’s is Uttara Phalguni, whose deity is Aryaman—the god of contracts, partnerships, and community obligation.

This is the essential paradox of Cignetti: he appears arrogant, but it’s all for his community. Aryaman energy doesn’t seek glory for itself; it seeks glory for its people. Every scowl, every bold prediction, every “I win” proclamation—it wasn’t for Curt Cignetti. It was for Bloomington. For the players. For the fans who’d waited generations for this moment.

With Leo rising, this places:

• Rahu and Pluto on the ascendant—and boy, does it show! That intense, penetrating gaze. That otherworldly confidence. The way he seems to see through people. Rahu on the ascendant gives a magnetic, almost hypnotic presence, and brings fame. Pluto adds the dark warlord intensity. Put them together, and you get a man who looks at you like he’s already conquered you.

The Moon: Abhijit Nakshatra in the 6th House

If Cignetti was born around 2:00 PM, his Moon falls in Capricorn, Uttara Ashada, but within the narrow 4°13′ span of Abhijit nakshatra—the victorious star.

And where is this Moon placed? The 6th house—the house of enemies, obstacles, hard work, and daily struggles.

This single placement tells the entire story of his journey:

• He worked HARD for this victory. The 6th house is not the house of easy wins. It’s the house of sweat, grit, and grinding opposition.

• He had MANY enemies. The 6th house rules open adversaries. Throughout his career, doubters questioned his methods, his confidence, his résumé-stacking approach. He collected enemies like footballs.

• Abhijit in the 6th house means victory through overcoming. Not victory handed to you—victory earned by defeating every opponent placed in your path.

The Conjunction: Moon, Saturn Retrograde, and Jupiter Retrograde

Here’s where it gets truly fascinating.

Cignetti’s Moon in Abhijit is conjunct two other major players:

• Saturn Retrograde at 6°04′ in Uttara Ashada (not Abhijit, but close)

• Jupiter Retrograde at 13°44′ in Shravana (also not Abhijit)

This creates an extraordinary dynamic:

• Jupiter is debilitated in Capricorn. Normally, this would weaken its benefic influence.

• But because Saturn (the lord of Capricorn) is in its own sign and conjunct Jupiter, it creates a Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga—a cancellation of debilitation that transforms a weakness into a royal combination.

• It also creates a powerful Gaja Kesari Yoga (Moon-Jupiter conjunction), bestowing immense wisdom, leadership ability, and the protective grace of a guru—explaining his ability to command loyalty and make split-second decisions that lead to victory.

Translation: What should have been a disadvantage became his greatest strength. Every obstacle, every doubt, every moment people counted him out—it all fed into the fire of his success.

The Sun: Taurus, Rohini, in the 10th House

With Leo rising, the Sun rules the ascendant and sits in the 10th house of career, profession, and public standing. It’s in Taurus, in the nakshatra of Rohini—the “red one,” associated with creativity, growth, and material manifestation.

This placement is perfect for a football coach:

• Sun in the 10th house: A natural leader in his profession

• Taurus: Steady, patient, building something that lasts

• Rohini: Nourishing growth, bringing things to fruition, also “the darling”

He didn’t just want to win. He wanted to build something. And Rohini energy builds slowly, steadily, until one day everyone looks up and realizes a giant stands before them, and everyone’s favorite.

Mars: Debilitated in Cancer, 12th House, Conjunct Uranus

This is a fascinating and challenging placement.

Mars is debilitated in Cancer—its weakest sign. It sits in the 12th house of loss, expenditure, and hidden things, conjunct Uranus (sudden, unpredictable energy).

What does this mean?

• Many enemies behind his back that he cannot see. The 12th house rules hidden adversaries. People scheming in the shadows, whispering doubts, working against him where he couldn’t see.

• His response: “I don’t care.” This is classic Cignetti. When asked about critics, he shrugs them off. The Mars/Uranus conjunction gives him the ability to simply… not engage. To move forward while others waste energy scheming.

And here’s the kicker: Mars in the 12th house opposes his Moon/Saturn/Jupiter conjunction. This creates an intense, almost supernatural drive to defend the “little guy” —the overlooked players, the ones everyone else gave up on.

Look at his team. Look at the players who made that championship run. They weren’t all five-star recruits. They were his players—the ones he believed in when nobody else did. That’s the Mars opposition playing out in real time.

Mercury: Gemini, Ardra, in the 11th House

Mercury rules Gemini, so this is a strong placement. But the nakshatra is Ardra, ruled by Rudra—the storm god, the howling one.

And howl he does.

Anyone who’s watched Cignetti on the sidelines knows what I’m talking about. He doesn’t coach quietly. He commands. He roars. Ardra energy is tempestuous, powerful, and impossible to ignore.

In the 11th house of communities and large groups, this manifests as:

• Vocal support for local businesses (his well-documented relationship with Upland Brewery in Bloomington)

• Building community through fierce loyalty

• Using his voice to unite people around a common cause

Ketu: Aquarius, Shatabishak, in the 7th House

Ketu in the 7th house of partnerships is always interesting. It suggests:

• A long, stable marriage (he’s been married for decades—Ketu gives detachment, but in a good way, a lack of drama)

• Loss in business partnerships before finding the right fit (his journey from school to school until landing at IU)

• Shatabishak nakshatra—the “hundred healers,” associated with medicine and mystery—suggests possible health considerations for his spouse, or simply that their partnership has a karmic, healing quality

Venus: Aries, Ashwini, in the 9th House

Venus in Aries in the 9th house of philosophy, higher education, luck, and higher purpose is a beautiful placement for a coach:

• His philosophy is like a military general’s. Clear. Direct. Uncompromising.

• Venus rules values, and Aries defends values. He’s all about fairness, integrity, and bringing honor back to the sport.

• Ashwini nakshatra—the horse-headed twins, the swift ones—represents speed, healing, and beginnings. This manifests in his team’s quickness, but also in his own path to glory: swift, decisive, unstoppable.

Venus opposes Neptune retrograde in the 3rd house of siblings, communication, and effort. This suggests:

• Players who study with him are unusual, different, overlooked

• Many may have had learning challenges growing up

• He himself may have faced these challenges, or witnessed them in siblings, giving him deep empathy for others like him

The Vipareet Raja Yoga: When Adversity Becomes Alchemy

There’s a hidden gem in Cignetti’s chart that deserves its own spotlight—a Vipareet Raja Yoga, and it’s operating at full power.

In Vedic astrology, a Vipareet Raja Yoga occurs when the lord of a dusthana house (6th, 8th, or 12th) is placed in another dusthana house. Far from being negative, this yoga transforms adversity into prosperity. The harder the fall, the higher the rise. The more enemies, the greater the victory.

Now look at Cignetti’s chart:

All three dusthana lords—Saturn, Jupiter, and Moon—are sitting in the 6th house.

This is extraordinarily rare. It means:

🔥 Every enemy becomes a teacher. The people who doubted him, the critics who mocked his résumé-stacking approach—they fueled his fire.

🔥 Every loss becomes a setup for a comeback. The years of grinding through smaller schools weren’t setbacks; they were necessary chapters in the victory story.

🔥 The more obstacles placed in his path, the stronger he became. This is the essence of Vipareet Raja Yoga—adversity doesn’t break him; it builds him.

Think about his journey:

• Critics said he was arrogant. He won a championship.

• Doubters said his methods wouldn’t work at this level. He built a champion.

• Enemies schemed behind his back (Mars in the 12th). He shrugged and kept winning.

This is the alchemy of Vipareet Raja Yoga. It takes the basest metals—criticism, struggle, opposition—and transmutes them into gold.

Curt Cignetti doesn’t win despite the obstacles. He wins because of them.

That’s not just coaching. That’s cosmic architecture.

The Mahadasha: Saturn/Moon

If this chart is correct, Cignetti is currently running his Saturn/Moon mahadasha.

• Saturn: the lord of hard work, discipline, and karmic reward

• Moon: the victorious star of Abhijit, placed in the 6th house of enemies

This is the dasha of a man destined to overcome every obstacle and claim his victory through sheer, relentless effort. It’s not a dasha that hands you success. It’s a dasha that puts you through the fire and lets you emerge as gold.

The Championship Game: January 19th, 2026, 7:30pm EST

Now let’s talk about that night in Miami.

I cast the chart for January 19th, 2026, at 7:30 PM EST in Miami, Florida—the moment the Indiana Hoosiers faced the Miami Hurricanes for the national championship.

Here’s what I saw.

The Setup

The lagna (ascendant) was Cancer, Ashlesha nakshatra. I made the lagna (ascendant) the Miami Hurricanes—they were playing in their home state, their city, their turf. This made the 7th house the IU Hoosiers—the opponents, the challengers, the ones coming to take what “belonged” to Miami.

The Stellium

This made IU the 7th house (the opponent in mundane astrology). The moment was extraordinary. In the 7th house (IU’s side), I saw:

Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars (exalted in Capricorn!), and Pluto—ALL in a stellium in Capricorn.

A six-planet stellium. In the 7th house. For the visiting team. Conjunct Cignetti’s Capricorn stellium with Abhijit Moon.

I knew immediately. I knew.

The Translation

By the end of the game, the lagna had moved into Leo conjunct Transit Ketu and in opposition to Rahu in Aquarius—and if Cignetti is indeed a Leo ascendant, this placed his natal Rahu with transit Ketu in the championship chart. This also made Miami, who is the 1st house, have Ketu on their ascendant, indicating a loss, and Rahu in the 7th, indicating a fated or destined event for the opponent.

In Vedic astrology, Rahu/Ketu conjunctions don’t always mean loss. They can mean fated events. Destiny unfolding. The karmic moment arriving exactly when it’s supposed to.

And that Capricorn stellium? By the end of the game, it had moved into the 6th house for Miami—the house of enemies, obstacles, and defeat.

The math was undeniable. The stars had spoken. And Curt Cignetti, the man with the hidden victorious star in his chart, walked away with a national championship.

What Abhijit Taught Us Through Curt Cignetti

Cignetti’s journey—from small schools, through years of grinding, past countless enemies and doubters, to the pinnacle of college football—is the living embodiment of Abhijit energy.

This is not the star of easy victory.
This is the star of earned victory.
This is the star that hides in the peacock feather of Lord Krishna, waiting for the precise moment to reveal itself.
This is the star that says: “You will struggle. You will suffer. You will face enemies on all sides. And then—then—you will win.”

For those of us in Bloomington, watching this unfold, it felt like magic. But it wasn’t magic. It was Abhijit—the victorious one, finally stepping out of the shadows and into the light.

A Personal Note

As an IU alumnus, as someone who studied the rhythms of culture and music in this very community, watching Curt Cignetti bring a national championship to Indiana University has been one of the most profound experiences of my life.

I’ve spent years studying the stars. I’ve written about Abhijit, about its mysteries, about its power. But to see it manifest so clearly, so undeniably, in a man who walks among us—who scowls at press conferences and drinks at Upland Brewery and builds champions from overlooked players—is something I will never forget.

And to have the cards confirm it right before kickoff —the 8 of Wands’ swiftness, the 4 of Wands reversed’s uncharacteristic errors—was the universe winking at me, saying: “Yes. You’re seeing it right. Now watch.”

Curt Cignetti may not know he carries Abhijit in his chart. But we know. Bloomington knows. And now, the stars have confirmed what we always suspected:

The victorious one was here all along.

Are you curious about your own Nakshatra placement? Would you like to discover if the victorious energy of Abhijit plays a role in your life? Book a personalized consultation with me, and let’s explore the cosmic blueprint written in your stars.

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Go Hoosiers. And thank you, Coach Cignetti, for showing us what victory looks like when the stars align.