We have a question from Sunita
I have a question on Indian astrology. Can you tell me why the planets are aligned in the astrological system in a particular way? What is the logic of such an orientation? What is the theory behind the distribution of planets in each houses, why a specific planet will bring good result in one house and bad results in another? It would be great if you can explain a real birth chart and the significance of planets in that chart, so we understand how this works.
This is a very difficult thing to explain and unless you have studied Indian vedic astrology to detail, you will have troubles understanding the “reasons”. That said, I will try to make it as simple as possible, taking the example of a court room. Later in the post, I will take a case study.
This is how an Astrological chart looks like
There are 12 houses and there are planets which rule each house, there are planets which enjoys great power in one house and there are planets which suffers humility in a particular house. Each planet also has a specific role to play
Planets who rule these houses are as follows
- Sun – The King.
- Moon – The Queen.
- Mars – Commander in Chief.
- Jupiter – Teacher or Advisor.
- Mercury – Finance department.
- Venus – Mistress.
- Saturn – Servant.
There are two other planets – Rahu and Ketu but they are excluded since they are not real planets in the solar system.
Now I will explain which planet is the owner of which house. Every house has a guardian and every house has a specific planet which gives good results in that house and another planet which gives poor results in that house. Also, each planet owns two houses except Sun and Moon who own one house each. Every planet, except Sun and Moon has one Primary house and One secondary house.
Here is an example.
Aries – The Owner of this house is Mars. Sun gives optimum results when placed in Aries. Saturn gives worst results when placed in Aries. Aries is the primary house of Mars while Scorpio is his secondary house.
Libra – The Owner of this house is Venus. Saturn gives optimum results when placed in Libra whereas Sun gives worst results when placed in Libra. Libra is the primary house of Venus while Taurus is the secondary house.
Given below is a chart which shows
- Which planets are the owners of which house (shown in blue)
- Which planets are powerful in which house (shown in Green)
- Which planets are weak in which house (shown in Red)
Now let’s dive deep into the politics behind each planet and the houses.
Any planet which enjoys power in one house (exalted) will automatically lose its power in the house opposite to it or the 7th house. So Sun is Exalted in Aries but will lose its power in the 7th house – Libra. Saturn is powerful in Libra but will lose its power in Aries (7th house from Libra). Moon is powerful in Taurus but will lose its power in the 7th house from Taurus – Scorpio.Jupiter is powerful in Cancer but will lose its power in the 7th house from Cancer – Capricorn. Mars is powerful in Capricorn but will lose its power in the 7th house from Capricorn – Cancer.
There are three fierce enemy pairs here
- Sun (King) and Saturn (Servant)
- Jupiter (Advisor) and Mars (Commander)
- Mercury (Finance) and Venus (Courtesan, damsel)
Only Moon (Queen) is not the enemy of anyone.
Aries
The mightiest planet in the solar system is Sun. Sun is the King. Hence, the first and the topmost seat is given to Sun, which is Aries.
Sun gives best results (exalted) in Aries. Aries is ruled my Mars, the house of the commander in Chief (minister). So Sun is able to have its best impact when it is present in the house of commander in chief which is well guarded.
Note that the commander in chief has another house – 8th one in Scorpio. But this is the subordinate house of Commander and Sun does not enjoy its power there. Sun Enjoys power in the main house of commander, hence Sun is exalted in Aries.
Carefully look at the houses where each planet is powerful and gives optimum results (shown in Green). The King is accompanied by his Queen on one side (Moon) and his Mistress on another side (Venus). The servant (Saturn) is the one which is farthest from the Sun while the Advisor (Jupiter) and the commander (Mars) are equidistant. Finance minister is kept farthest from the mistress and closest to the primary advisor, Jupiter.
Taurus
After the King (Sun), the Queen has the highest position in the courtroom. So right after Sun (Aries), Moon is exalted in the house of Taurus, the house is although ruled by Venus (Mistress). The Queen enjoys her position in the secondary room of the mistress where the King secretly comes to seek romance and other carnal desires.
However, the queen loses her power and dignity when she visits the secondary house of commander – Scorpio. Why so? It is because the secondary house of commander is right adjacent to the primary house of the servant – Libra. In the primary house of the servant, the King is humbled. Hence the house right adjacent to that is the house where the Moon will be humbled or debilitated.
Gemini
The King (Sun) hasn’t given permission to anybody who can sit next to the Queen and Mistress and have the pleasure to keep the company of ladies. Hence the houses right next to the Queen and Mistress are vacant.
No planet is powerful in Gemini (the seat next to where Moon is powerful – Taurus) and no planet is powerful in Aquarius (the seat next to where Venus is powerful – Pisces).
And because of this very reason, the 7th house from Gemini and Aquarius and are also vacant – Sagittarius and Leo. So there are four houses where no planet is powerful or weak and they are – Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius and Aquarius. This is because of the position of Queen (Moon) and the Mistress (Venus)
Cancer
After the King and Queen, the Advisor or the teacher is given the third seat in the courtroom. Hence, Jupiter is powerful in Cancer and weak in the 7th house from cancer – Capricorn.
Jupiter is powerful in the house which is ruled by the Queen. So in retrospect, the advisor passes all the good advice to the queen first, before she whispers it to the King (Sun).
The Queen is humbled in the secondary house of the Commander (Mars) in Scorpio. Also, the Advisor is the enemy of commander. Hence, the commander is humbled in Cancer because it is the house where Advisor is powerful and the presence of Queen accelerates that part, since the Queen is herself humbled in the secondary house of commander (in Scorpio)
Leo
This is the house which is ruled by the Sun.
No planet is powerful or weak here because of the reasons mentioned in Gemini.
Virgo
This house is ruled by Mercury, the finance minister. So after the King, Queen and Advisor, the finance minister has the priority.
Only finance minister is powerful in his own house and he cannot let anyone else be powerful in that house, because he cannot let anyone else control the flow of money, not even the King. He is accountable for all business deals and cannot even let the King interfere with business, hence only Finance minister is powerful in his own house.This is the only exception where a planet which rules a house is also powerful in that very house.
Mercury, the finance minister wants to live close to the house where the Servant is powerful. Because he knows that the Servant is the enemy of the King and hence the Servant may become a useful ally if the King goes out of control and seizes the finance minister for money. The mistress is humbled in this house because she is naturally weak to the person who manages lot of money, property.
Libra
Libra is the primary room of Mistress (Venus), the secondary one is Taurus where the Queen is powerful.
Since Libra is the primary room owned by Mistress, the Servant is powerful here and the King loses his power. Imagine if a King has to visit a Brothel house, he has no power in that house and people of the Servant class rule the house where a Brothel lives. Hence, Saturn is powerful in Libra, Sun is humbled.
Scorpio
This house is owned by Commander – Mars. This is the secondary house of commander, the primary one is Aries where Sun is powerful. No planet is powerful in the secondary house of commander. Why? The reason is connected with the 7th house from Scorpio – read the description in Taurus.
Sagittarius
No planet is powerful or weak here because of the reasons mentioned in Gemini. This is also the primary house of the Advisor or Guru, where everyone is treated equally.
Capricorn
Capricorn is the Primary house of the Servant (Saturn) where the Commander enjoys Power. Why? Because Capricorn is the 7th house from Cancer where the Commander loses Power and the Advisor Gains power. So in Capricorn, the Commander gains power and the Advisor becomes humble.
The commander enjoys his position in the primary house of Servant,
Aquarius
Aquarius is the secondary house of Servant (Saturn) where no planet either enjoys power or is humble. Why? Because Capricorn is the 7th house of Leo, where no planet is powerful or humble, because of the reasons mentioned in Gemini.
Pisces
Pisces is the secondary house of the Advisor, Jupiter. Here, the Mistress is powerful since she is closer to the King (Sun) and sits right next to him. Since the mistress is powerful here, her enemy, the finance minister (mercury) is humble in this house. This is also the 7th house from Virgo, where the enemy of mistress – the Finance minister is powerful.
So this was a brief explanation on which planets enjoy power and position in which house and how the responsibilities are divided among planets.
The Role of Ascendant in a Birth Chart – Real Case Study
The behavior of a planet will depend greatly on how it is aligned in a chart with respect to the “Ascendant”. The lord of the Ascendant is the “Chief Minister” of the chart and the relationship and position of other planets with the ascendant will determine their individual behavior.
This is where it gets complex and you will understand when I explain a real birth chart and how the planets will play their role in that specific chart.
First thing we determine here is the “Ascendant”. The topmost house indicates who is the ascendant – the one marked in Yellow. Here, you see the number 6. This indicates that the Sixth Sign is the Ascendant of this chart.
Let’s count the sixth sign – Aries (1), Taurus(2), Gemini (3), Cancer (4), Leo (5), Virgo (6).
So Virgo is the ascendant of this chart. Who is the ruler of the house Virgo? Mercury. Hence, in this birth chart, Mercury is the Chief Minister, the supreme power and it is this Mercury which will control other planets and everyone will obey the command of Mercury. Mercury will also distribute various responsibilities to other planets. In short, Mercury is the “King” of this Chart.
Now let’s see where Moon is sitting. Moon is sitting in the house marked as “2”. The second house is “Taurus”. Hence this person belong to “Taurus” sign and the Ascendant is “Virgo”. The ascendant is also called “Lagna” and Moon sign is called “Rashi”
Notice that “Moon” is sitting in Taurus and we have already seen that Moon (Queen) enjoys power in Taurus. Hence, moon is Exalted in this birth chart and will give good results (marked in Green).
Notice that “Sun” is sitting in “Aries” and we have already seen that Sun (King) enjoys power in Aries. Hence, Sun is Exalted in this birth chart and will give good results (marked in Green).
Notice that “Mercury” is sitting in Pisces and we have already seen that Mercury loses power in Pisces. Hence, Mercury is Debilitated in this birth chart and will give poor results.
But wait, who is the supreme commander in this chart? Mercury, right. Because mercury is the owner of the Ascendant – Virgo. However, that same mercury is debilitated in Pisces. Hence, by definition, the “King” of this chart is “Suffering” and a “Weakling”, so this person’s court room is not a strong one.
The other planets in this chart are not sitting in the house of enemies and hence are Neutral in nature.
Now let’s examine the consequences of each planet in the chart. The position of each planet is counted from the Ascendant, so Ketu is present in the second house, Saturn in the third house, Mars in the fourth house, Jupiter in the sixth house, a debilitated mercury in the seventh house, an Exalted Sun in the Eight house and Neutral Venus and Rahu accompanying the Sun, an Exalted Moon in the 9th house
1st house – Tan Bhav – The first house represents the person, his personality, looks, interests and other characteristics. Since the subject is Virgo ascendant whose Lord is Mercury which in turn is sitting Debilitated in Pisces, the person will not be very healthy. He will be lean, thin, will have a round face, beady eyes and long shoulders. He will be business minded since Mercury, his lagna lord is sitting in the seventh house (the house of business). Mercury also signifies Mathematics, so this person will be inclined towards numbers. Mercury also means Music, so he will have great interests in Music but since Mercury is not powerful, he will not be able to carry forward his interests in Mathematics or Music for long. However, Mercury sitting in the 7th house, although debilitated means he will be successful in business, although not to an extreme extent.
2nd House – Dhana Bhava – The Second house represents three things – Dhana(wealth), Vani (Speech) and Kutumb (family life). Ketu is sitting in the second house which is a negative planet. This means the subject will be rude, harsh and speak ill of people very often. His family life won’t be that peaceful and he will be fickle in terms of wealth. He will spend unnecessarily and will not be able to hold on to wealth for long. But since the second house is aspected by it’s seventh one where “Sun” is sitting in a powerful position, that “Sun” will negate some of the bad effects of Ketu.
3rd House – Bharata Bhava – The Third house is the house of smaller brothers and close family members. Saturn is sitting in the third house in a neutral position and is aspected by Moon from its 7th house, so there is no need to worry here. Things are good. Third house also indicates courage, hard work, bravery and effort and the presence of Saturn indicates that the subject has to work very hard and will see success in the later stages of life through stupendous self effort.
4th House – Mata Bhava – Fourth house indicates Mother, Land, Car, Material Wealth, Middle education, emotions, mental peace, luxuries et cetra. Here Mars is sitting in a Neutral position but please note that Mars is sitting in the house of Sagittarius, which is ruled by Jupiter, the enemy of Mars. Mars, although not debilitated but sitting in the house of an enemy will show diverting results. The subject will not have good relationship with his mother, his mother’s health will be affected. He will inherit luxuries in life like land, house, cars but these luxuries will give him lot of mental unhappiness. He will also have problems achieving middle education (Graduate degree) and the results will not be acording to expectations. He will suffer from mental anxiety every other time.
5th House – Santan Bhav – Fifth house indicates Children, love affairs, investments, destiny. No planet is sitting in the 5th house which means, none of the ministers in the court room controls that department. The fifth house is – Capricorn, whose Ruler is Saturn, who in turn is sitting in the third house in a neutral position. This signifies that the subject will not be very successful with financial investments or love affairs since the ruler of this house (Saturn) is not very powerful. The 5th house is also not aspected by any other planet so no other form of influence is observed.
6th House – Satru Bhav – Sixth house indicates enemies, diseases, debts. Jupiter is sitting in the sixth house, the sign of Aquarius, whose ruler is Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn are enemies. This means, the subject will have many hidden enemies, will suffer from debt and hidden diseases, will have knowledge of rare subjects and will keep the company of very subjective people.
7th House – Kalatra Bhav – Seventh house indicates wife, spouse, marital relationships, business, trade, sexual power and foreign dealings. Mercury, the chief minister is sitting in this house but is debilitated. This means, this person’s spouse will be very childish in nature. This person will be successful in small businesses and will be business minded. He will visit foreign countries multiple times and will enjoy a high libido.
8th House – Ayu Bhav – Eigth house indicates Age, health, accidents, misfortune, spirituality. An exalted “Sun” in this house indicates long age, so this person will live long. But the presence of Rahu indicates that this person may suffer from chronic diseases every now and then but will recover and live. The presence of Sun and Venus indicates that this person will become very poor at some point in life (the King and the mistress are living together). But he will recover since the King is powerful in Aries. He will also get a government job but will quit it since the Rahu will not let Sun enjoy his power for long. The Exalted Sun will guard him from accidents, misfortunes but Rahu will make him fickle, absent minded, spiritually inclined.
9th House – Bhagya Bhava – Ninth house indicates good luck, fortune, writing abilities, career performance, viguour, and progress. Moon is sitting Exalted in this house, so the entire light of moon will fall on the fortune of this subject. His career stints will be short termed and he will hop from one job to another, one business to another business very often. This is because Moon moves the fastest, and hence the career of this person will move at a huge speed. He will live in different cities, will change houses very often. He will visit foreign country for work but will not live there for long. He will succeed in Literature, Art, Dance, Music or anything creative.
10th House – Karma Bhava – The 10th house indicates work to a greater detail but since there is no planet in that house, we have no clue.The 10th house is aspected by the 4th house and Mars is keeping an eye on its 7th house, so we can see the influence of Mars in this person’s career. This person will become a good administrator, manager, supervisor and may join Armed forces, government organizations.
11th house – Labha Bhav – The 11th house indicates Gains, property, lottery, ambitions. No planet is present in the 11th house and neither is any planet aspecting this house from its 7th, so we can not comment here as well.
12th house – Vyaya Bhava – The 12th house indicates expenses, sex life, long journeys, bad habits etc. No planets in this house but this house is aspected by Jupiter from the 6th house.Jupiter is eyeing this house of Leo which is ruled by Sun. Sun is exalted in Aries and Jupiter and Sun are friends, so it can be concluded that this person will have high expenses, will enjoy a good sex life, will be fond of travel and will have a range of bad habits such as Drinking, having extra marital affairs, smoking, gambling etc.
There are lot of other things that comes into consideration which expert astrologers can read. Also, current Dasha, Antardasha plays another major factor on deciding which planet will show results and which planet will not. But prima facie, this is how a chart is read in vedic astrology and the basic attributes of an individual’s life is determined.