Sixth, eighth and twelfth houses are considered to be inimical because of the traits they represent in a horoscope. Sixth house represents enemies, obstacles, debt, and diseases. Eights house is representative of death and destruction. Twelfth house represents loss, unnecessary expenditure etc.

Owners of such houses are inclined to do evil as much as natural malefics. Any association or yoga with natural and temporal benefics in a chart is not considered to be good. Planets occupying such houses are rendered weak and give bad results in relation to their own houses. When the lords of such houses are rendered powerless through their position within one of these houses itself – along with other debilitating combinations – it is said to constitute opposite of a raja yoga – vipareeta raja yoga and we have Vipareeta raja yoga as “a raja yoga with disclaimers”.

The effects on an individual are the very good – windfall, success in a venture, etc. Success does not come with the grace and fame usually associated with hard work and raja yoga. It comes at cost of others and not by one’s own efforts, i.e., when others lose, the individual gains. It becomes important to have such a yoga in a horoscope wherever competition is involved and people like businessmen, politicians would gain tremendously due to this yoga.

By itself, vipareeta raj yoga gives sudden results and cannot sustain riches for an individual for a long time. Other factors that strengthen the horoscope are necessary to build upon this success. In military parlance, this yoga gives a capability of surgical air strike deep within enemy territory. But if the enemy is still able to retaliate, one’s own defenses should be strong. Vipareeta raja yoga is like the first stage of a missile. It gives the propulsion for first stage, but if the second stage and the guidance system is imperfect, the missile is most likely to miss its intended target.

The following are important conditions for constitution of a vipareeta raj yoga:

1. Lord of one of these houses should be situated within 6th, 8th and 12th house only.
2. They should not associated with lords of 1st, 5th, 10th and 9th house.
3. No association with any natural benefic planet should exist.
4. The lords of these houses should not be located in their own houses.

Specific yogas are:

1. If 6th house is affected by malefic planets and/or if the lord of 6th house is situated in 8th/12th, it is called “Harsha yoga”.
2. If this is the yoga for 8th lord, it constitutes “Sarala yoga”.
3. For 12th house, the corresponding yoga is “Vimala yoga”.

Though the the names of these yogas sound very pleasant, it is seldom the case. Few caveats that ensure that above four points and three yogas are not taken literally:

1. Twelfth house is a little less important here. In case of dual ownership of signs, it is opined that the planet owning twelfth house behaves more like the lord of the other house it is owner of. Therefore, in case of Aries lagna, Vipareeta raj yoga cannot be formed by association with Jupiter, which is a natural benefic and becomes even more beneficial by ownership of 9th house.
2. The location is not 6th/8th/12th from lagna only. Based on principles explained in Uttara Kalamrita, JN Bhasin specifically takes an example of a Cancer lagna horoscope where Mercury is a lord of 12th and 3rd house and its position in 5th house along with aspects from natural malefics causes vipareeta raja yoga. It is interesting to note that 5th house is considered an auspicious house in general. The explanation provided is that Mercury is situated in 3rd from 3rd house and 6th from 12th house, thereby harming the prospects of these houses.
3. Natural benefics should not be involved. They tend to be ineffective in giving results of this yoga. Think about it this way – if you want to hit your enemy hard, then you want the baddest guys working for you. Goodness should not be involved.

This yoga does nothing but extend the logic of a negative of negative being positive. Therefore, an astrologer should consider a vipareeta raja yoga when lords of 6th/8th/12th are powerless not just by virtue of occupancy of such houses, but also by other means viz. debilitation in rashi and navamsha, occupation of enemy rashi, hemming/aspects from natural malefic planets etc.

An astrologer should be very careful while considering vipareeta raja yoga because of parivartana yoga. An parivartana yoga between 6th and 12th lords will end up planets fortifying their own house through full drishti. In case of 8th and 12th, they are 5th/9th to each other and such a location is considered to be advantageous to the planet. That is precisely the reason why Harsha Yoga, Sarala Yoga and Vimala Yoga defined earlier in this article do not fructify and function as expected.

Table: Likely combinations of Vipareeta Raja Yoga for various Lagnas

These are general comments about a lagna. Of course, one has to look at the exact location of each of the planets before arriving to any conclusion.

Timing of events should be seen from Vimshottari dasha periods of the planets involved.

This New York Times article reveals how animals use their relationship with children to improve their social standing. This isn’t very different from humans where we too derive pleasure from our children. We feel happy seeing them play. We put big burden our expectations on their small shoulders and really, like the male Barbary macaques mentioned in the article, we “strengthen our social clout” through our children. Coincidently, I was reminded that it is father’s day today.

After playing with my son with some time, I was tempted to dust off my notes on astrology on how to judge children through horoscopes.

Ideally, this article should have written itself as part II of Progeny in Vedic Astrology and Dattak Putra Yoga. However, life is such that when children come along, they take up majority of the time and energy of their parents. Most importantly, they divert the focus away from all other activities. Even now, when I am trying to concentrate on this article, I am not able to get the tunes of Itsy Bitsy Spider and Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun out of my head.

A relationship between a parent and child is a complex one. Responsibility and expectation does not always balance each other out. Both the parties grow together and as everyone gets older, maintaining the relationship is not necessarily a piece of cake.

To judge such a relationship, we need to look at 5th house in parent’s horoscope and 9th (for father) or 4th house (for mother and emotions) in the child’s horoscope. Due to Bhavat Bhavam, both 5th and 9th become important as 9th is 5th from 5th and 5th is 9th from 9th. In general, we should look at influences on 5th house and its lord to determine how the relationship and association would be in future.

Understanding the influence on parent’s horoscope is through various planets and the above houses in the kundali. Happiness through children is indicated if there is a positive influence through Moon, Venus and Jupiter. Similarly, unhappiness would be caused by Saturn and Rahu. Afflicted Mercury in a kundali causes worries and communication problem, Mars causes danger and Rahu can be the cause of smoke screens, misunderstanding and scandals. Adverse navamsha and saptamsha positions of well placed planets in rashi kundali can further cause misunderstanding. With respect to the child’s kundali, it will be important to look at the Dwadasamsa kundali and issues with 9th and 4th house.

Placement of 5th lord in various houses in a horoscope is important. A good yoga/combination between 1st and 5th house lords predicts a good relationship between the parent and child. A good combination between 5th and 7th or 9th house lord predicts that the parent would benefit from foreign travels of the child. If there are negative influences in these houses in the kundali, the relationship would be estranged by distance. A child will not support the parents in their old age, for example. Similarly, if the 2nd house is involved and there are a lot of negative influences, a parent might not be able to support the child financially.  Afflictions to 4th house in the child’s horoscope will indicate emotional issues and specifically issues with the mother.

The rules explained above are from the perspective of a parent, but can be turned around and looked from the perspective of the child as well. Take an example of 10th house – an unfavourable combination between 5th and 10th house would mean that a person would neglect his/her children for career. A similar combination involving 9th and 10th house would mean that a child will not get enough support from parent because of the parent’s career aspirations.

This is essentially a rehash of my old articles with some mathematics thrown in.

Further to the article on “General Strength of a Bhava”, here is a small technique for calculating the strength of a yogakaraka planet. Dr. B.V. Raman prescribes giving points to each of the parameters mentioned in the above article. When coupled with Shadbala and residential strength, this gives a good way of judging if a planet is indeed capable of giving results of the yoga it is involved in.

Just because a planet is involved in a yoga, it does not mean that all the results of such a yoga will show up during the person’s lifetime. The planet should have the intention as well as the capacity to provide such a result.

The intention of a planet to provide good results is measured by the beneficence associated with it in the horoscope. We can similarly measure the intention of a planet harming the prospects of a horoscope. If we start assigning points to various parameters:

• Give +1 if the planet is a functional benefic for the ascendant, a 0 if it a neutral and –1 if it is a malefic lord. For details, see the article on benefic and malefic planets.
• If it is in its own, moola-trikona, exaltation or friendly sign, add 1. If it is debilitated, combust or in an inimical sign, subtract 1.
• For association with benefic lords (see “rules of combination of planets”) a +1, otherwise –1.
• Count the aspect strength on the planet. For all the aspecting planets throwing a drishti on this planet, add or subtract units if the aspecting planet is beneficial or malefic in the chart. Partial drishi is to be considered here, e.g. usually, 3, 10 is 1/4th dristi, 5, 9 is 1/2 dristi and 4, 8 is 3/4th drishti. 7th house aspect is of course a full dristi for all planets.

If the values are very much on the positive side, the planet is considered to be a benefic. It will be intentionally good for the chart. For values close to zero, it is considered feebly beneficial. It is considered a malefic otherwise.

The capacity of a planet to do good comes from its strength in the chart. For this, Shadbala and residential strength needs to be looked at.

It may happen that a planet is very beneficial for a horoscope based on the parameters mentioned above, but does not have the right Shadbala or residential strength. It will therefore not be able to influence the chart and the effects of the yoga will not be seen. A malefic planet may as well lose its capacity to do harm if this hapens.

This post may please be read alongside two other posts on the same topic: Expenses and Spending Money – 12th and 2nd house and Money Matters.

In a horoscope, 12th house is said to signify the following with respect to money:

• Losses
• Expenditure

Essentially, we are talking about going away of money, either benefiting the

individual (the pleasure of spending) or causing grief (losses). If there are benefic influences, the effect is former, where the individual spends the money on good deeds. If there are malefic or cruel influences, the effect is that either the money is spent in a questionable way or the wealth is frittered away.

The placement of the 12th lord is important. The following houses cannot be considered good for placement of 12th lord:

1. 2nd house and 11th house: lack of money of out of control expenditures
2. 4th and 7th house: no property

In general placement of 12th house lord is considered bad in trines or quadrants. However, according to How to Judge a Horoscope, Volume 2, 9th house is considered excellent placement for 12th house lord provided there is other benefic influence on the house/planet.

Good placement of 12th lord and good placement of planets in 12th lord, make a person generous. Benefics in 12th make a person thrifty.

A placement of afflicted planets will fritter away the wealth. Dr. Raman provides a set of guidelines as to how the money would be spent:

Profession and Downfalls Part III

Author – Bijesh Menon

Part III of a 4 part article. Part I is published here – Profession and Downfalls – Part I (Rahu-Ketu Axis) and Part II is published here – Profession and Downfalls Part II – Sun’s effect in the horoscope. Part 4 will be published VERY SOON.

In a Vedic horoscope, Saturn is feared and has a bad reputation of a planet showering adversities in life. The duties assigned to Saturn are all bad if seen from the materialistic life point of view, but what should we note here is the way Saturn acts in a horoscope.

Every astrologer or jyotishi will tell you that Saturn causes delay not a denial. Being the slowest planet among navagraha, Saturn imposes this trait on whatever he influences. In Vedic Astrology, Saturn is the greatest teacher. Saturn has the responsibility to give troubles to one to make the native understand his/her faults and fall back to the right path. Hence, whenever Saturn is causing a difficulty in one’s life, there is a deeper meaning behind it. There will be a positive outcome in the future, if one can learn from one’s mistakes. Only when Saturn acts with the combined influence of other malefic planets, things take an ugly turn. Otherwise when Saturn alone imposes a struggle on somebody, the situation will lead to successful and fruitful situation in future.

In a horoscope, if Saturn is influencing the 10th house, no matter how much benefic he is in the horoscope, Saturn will give struggles to the native to come up in life. Saturn causes trouble to one’s career when he is either posited in the 10th itself or in the 4th house in the horoscope. For such natives to have an initial breakthrough in career they will have to cross many hurdles. But they will slowly get into the rhythm and will rise to a very strong position in professional life. They will have to put extra efforts  to achieve success. But as stated above the trouble is only in initial stage and that experiences will help the native stand hard as a rock against any odd situations in career in the future. If Saturn is posited in the lagna then his aspect over the 10th also will create problems in the same passion as stated above but such persons will be slightly lucky with lesser amount of struggles.

However, Saturn’s position in the 8th house in a Vedic horsocope and the 3rd aspect/drishti over the 10th house is a bad yoga. In such cases the person will have to go through all adversities in life to get settled in career. Instability in career will be the most worrying factor for the native irrespective of the line of profession. Such natives may be having great abilities in their profession but will have to face frustrations in life because of the lack fortune they may have. Likewise, when Saturn’s dasha is on even though he has no role to do with the 10th house one may face many hardships regarding profession. But if he is a benefic for that horoscope then there will good rewards for the native for his hard work towards the end of the dasha especially in the sub period of Jupiter.

The combined influence of Sun-Saturn in the 10th house is bad for career. Special reference has to be made about the influence of Saturn over Sun who is in the lagna or the 10th house in a horoscope by the means of aspect or yoga. If Saturn is influencing Sun as above, one will have a downfall in career at least once in life adversely affecting the name and respect of the native in the society. Interestingly, such natives will face this downfall most likely when transit Saturn affects the natal Sun. Sun’s or Saturn dasha or sub period is immaterial and just the transit is enough. Other planetary combinations have to strong enough in horoscope, especially the position of the Lagna and 10th lords and this combination will help the native to sustain in the situation and have a recovery from the pitfall.

While considering the transit of Saturn, special reference has to be given about Saturn’s transit over the 10th, 4th and 8th houses in a horoscope. While transiting through 10th and 4th house, Saturn brings in change for the native. Many will have a transfer or change in place at this time. For some, there could an opening to go abroad. The entire period of this transit will cause uneasiness and struggle in profession. Pressures from the superiors, inability to perform well and lack of recognition are the results of these transits. Many will face difficulties to get the deserved promotions and elevations at this time. The transit of Saturn through the 8th house will be causing all the above said problems but with much more intensity and obstacles causing insurmountable situations for the native. If such a transit of Saturn influencing the 10th house is conjoined with transit Rahu or Ketu then the situation will be worse and only the transit Jupiter’s strong influence over this conjunction could help the native to have some reprieve.

To be effectively able to judge if a person can take sanyas and become an ascetic, lets try to define the traits that we associate with a sanyasi. Before we begin, I would like to encourage everyone to watch a movie called OMG: Oh My God! It is a great movie.

Traits of a sanyasi that gives a pravrajya-yoga:

• A sanyasi ought to be learned and someone with a sound logic, deeply philosophical and someone with clear and uncluttered thinking.
• Not necessarily deeply religious, but someone seeking truth
• Detached from family, society and worldly pleasures
• Ability to work hard and have immense discipline.

The combinations that cause these traits to appear in a person are:

• Negative Traits to cause detachment
  • Detachment is caused by malefic influence of Sun, Rahu, Saturn and 12th house lord in a kundali.
  • In a kundali, such an influence is required on 2nd (family) and 7th house (spouse). Influence on 2nd is much more important as an influence on 7th alone will cause separation from spouse, thus resulting in a divorce.
  • Separating influence is required on 4th house (society) and 12th house (worldly pleasures) and on Venus.
  • These influence are a must from the Moon as well – especially the influence of Saturn on the Moon is required should be analyzed very carefully.
• Positive Influence in the horoscope to create higher intellect and provide wisdom
  • Pravrajya yoga is defined by 4 or more strong planets in one house in a kundali, without being combust or debilitated. The nature of the sanyas is governed by the strongest of these set of planets. Such a combination should ideally occur in a kendra to affect the Lagna, otherwise it will not be effective.
  • Jupiter will need to be involved to bring in the philosophical influence on the mind. Jupiter should by itself be a benefic planet in the kundali otherwise instead of a sanyasi, we will see a salesman or marketer, likes of who we see in the OMG movie.
  • Saturn indicates discipline and ability to work hard.
  • Venus is a planet that indicates luxuries in the horoscope. This has to be controlled and channelized in the kundali. One does not become a sanyasi by curbing ones desire. Happiness is obtained in the process and hence has a lasting influence.
  • Ketu is moksha karaka in a horoscope and especially acts that way if the location is in 12th house. Its combination with Venus, especially in 12th house is important. It could also be in 8th house as it is a house of hidden studies, occult and deep meaning of life. Essentially we should look at Saturn and Ketu affecting Venus in one of these two houses.

Both influences are required in a horoscope. If there is just the positive influence, then we see a family man, a grihastha who is a wise learned man. If there are just negative influences in the kundali, then it would be an unfortunate situation for the person and would not guide him/her to higher learning.

If any of the planets are combust, then the person has an inkling and tendency to take sanyasa, but does not really walk on the path. Even if sanyasa is attained, the person is likely come out of it.

According to Brihat-jatakam, if there is a rajayoga also existing in the chart, along with Jupiter in trines, then the chart is of a maharshi and rajarshi. Such a person, who, while have taken a sanyasa, will have a lot of followers and he will be considered a great sage. If this combination of raja-yoga does not exist, then the person will be a simple ascetic.

One of very basic questions of a new student of astrology is determination of how planets act in a chart for a given matter.

A house in the horoscope signifies a matter at hand. Therefore, it is important for us to first determine which house should be studied. E.g. for children, speculation, intelligence, we look at 5th house. This is the relevant domain area. Now for the matters to fructify, it is important to have planets involved; field of activity and domain is determined by the house and actions are determined by the planets. Once the domain/house is determined, the following planets should be identified:

1. Karaka of the domain: E.g. Sun denotes father, Venus denotes wife, etc.. Since this planet is the natural karaka for the domain, it would continue to do it irrespective of the horoscope.
2. Lord of the house by virtue of the sign located in the house: This planet “owns” the trait in the horoscope for all practical purposes. This planet is the biggest influence on the trait .  If you consider the set of planets influencing the trait as a team, then this planet is the de facto team lead. A leader can be powerless and that would hurt the affairs of the house.
3. There are other planets that can be in yoga with the Lord. These planets influence the leader. There are some matters that require contribution from planets influencing multiple houses at the same time.
4. Planets located in the house influence the affair of the house, but work under the shadow of the leader.
5. There is an outside influence of other planets on this house, which should be considered like a nudge from outside:

• Drishti: Planets having drishti on the house fall in this category. The beneficial or malefic influence is on the house. When things are executed by the leader and team members, the good or bad nature of the final outcome is influenced by these planets
• Argala and Badhaka: These work in creating an intervention on the final outcome. Argala can again have a good or bad influence, but badhaka will always create obstacles.

So what does this leader really do? As the lord of a house, a responsibility is entrusted to a planet to take the affairs of the house to fruition. A planet’s agenda in a horoscope will be seen from the house lordship in a horoscope, which is always overriding factor. As a leader, the lord of the house provides the vision and direction, sets the rules and imprints its personality on the trait.

The inherent nature of planet will govern how things are done and how results are achieved, but eventually it is the job of these set of planets a team to see that it is done. That is why it is extremely important to understand the qualities of the planets and how they operate. This should be the first lesson for anyone who wants to learn astrology. In my humble opinion, the best is to go through the chapter of the planets in The Astrology of the Seers in detail.

As a leader, the lord will transform and influence other planets that are situated in its sign/house. This is the basic principle of dispositorship in a horoscope. However, in some cases, if the leader is weak (due to various astrological factors), the team members may in turn may start exerting their influence on it.

If the affairs of a house are controlled and executed by a team (as above), the entire horoscope can be considered horoscope as a hierarchy. A leader could a part of another team for a different affair and house. Its traits may thus be modified by another planet. There is a possibility of one planet becoming the main dispositor of all the planets. Such a planet would exert the biggest influence on the personality of the individual.

Debt, loans and such money matters are seen from sixth house in a horoscope.

6th is a malefic house in a horoscope. Location of a planet in the sixth house is considered a bad placement. Similarly, placement of 6th house lord in any other auspicious house is considered bad for the house. The only good placement for 6th lord is in one of the dusthana houses that cause veepareeta raja yoga. Association of 6th house and its lord with malefics results in Harsha yoga.

As 6th house is a dusthana, it needs to be weaker in the chart for good results. Hence a strong 6th house will lead to debts and loans. An exalted 6th lord, in a good position in horoscope, vargottama, etc. are all such indications of a strong planet.

Such a planet should not be associated with 11th and 2nd house in the kundali at all, because it does not allow for wealth accumulation due to loans. The entire money that a person earns goes in servicing these loans. These are daridra or nirdhana (i.e. poverty) yogas, described in this blog in the appropriate blog post.

The main problem that the current society has is that well earning members of the society take huge loans and are not able to repay the loans. 6th house indicates loans, but then it does not govern other money matters in astrology, especially expenses (governed by 12th house in the horoscope) and the ability to make and accumulate money (11th and 2nd house in the kundali). 6th and 12th house lord in a horoscope should not be stronger than 2nd and 11th houses and should not be associated with them.

Debt/loans by itself are not a problem. The problems we have with not controlling expenses and taking too much loan is the real problem.  If 6th house/lord is strong in the horoscope, and other dhana yoga elements are also strong, then the person is fully capable of paying off the loans. We are just talking about debt in this case, not really bankruptcy that will be linked with the daridra yogas.

This is an example chart where there is a lack of debt as the 6th house, its lord are in check by Saturn and Mars.

Incidentally, 6th house is also is responsible for diseases also. The same combination in the chart that shows absence of debt also shows health problems with diseases in abdomen area.

There are many combinations when there are more than four planets in a house in a horoscope. These are very interesting kundalis and are a challenge to interpret. A lot of care must be taken to apply usual rules of combinations of planets as there are many such combinations to consider. Assuming that all the yogas that are indicated by two or three planets taken at a time will be applicable will be a mistake and an astrologer must not base his/her interpretations on them. This is because when we have mutliple planets in one house, the probability of one of them being natural and functional malefic is quite high and as such it taints any good combination. Similarly, a presense of a benefic may improve the situation when many malefics are around, but then the power of the beneficial planet to do good is also reduced and it then becomes an average horoscope at best.

Since the focus in one house, this house will govern the life and actions of the individual and does not create a very balanced personality. The lord of the house in the kundali that houses many planets together is put in a spotlight. If such a lord is strong, it help the other planets. However, if this lord is weak by association of by virtue of location in an unfriendly house/navamsha or is in debilitation, then it has a negative effect on all the other planets also.

Before we move on to look at various combinations, let’s take a look at the chart on the left. There are five planets, besides Rahu in the second house in the kundali. Hence, the focus area is second house and money. Mars, which is a yogakaraka for Karka lagna is in 12th, not helping with expenses and Jupiter, lord of sixth house of debt/loans is in the house of wealth. The chart is strong with rashi kundali’s lagna lord in 11th in its moolatrikona sign. The lord of 11th and 4th is in 2nd. Although, in an enemy’s house, still it is an average position. The focus of the horoscope is on artha trikona 2nd (money), 6th (debt), 11th (earning capacity) and additionally on 12th (expenses) house. The remedies for such an effort would be strengthen the Moon as the lagna lord and Venus.

Sanyasa-yoga will not come into play as Mercury and Saturn are astangata (combust).

Four Planets
Up to four planets in a chart is common and the combinations can be logically reasoned out. Sun and Moon, along with Mercury do well if the fourth planet is a natural benefic. With a malefic planet, impressionable Mercury becomes benefic and loses the ability to do well, even if it is lord of auspicious houses and in Budhaditya Yoga with Sun. Sun, Moon along with Mars and Saturn is said to be dhana-rahito (without money), gamyah sarvasya in Saravali. Sun, Mercury along with Venus and Jupiter is a great combination to have for wealth, and intelligence. If this happens in a horoscope where all these planets are auspicious, then it is an icing on the cake.

Five & Six planets
Having five and six planets simultaneously is very uncommon. This usually not such a good combination and placement of planets, as you can appreciate from the previous chart. It is better if Sun is not in the same house as the chances of a planet being combust (astangata) is high. Although that is no guarantee as combustion can be across the rashi boundary also, e.g., if Sun in 5° Virgo and Saturn is at 28° Leo, it will still be called combust by some astrologers. Still, absence of Sun from the equation may be taken as a thumb rule as most of the astrologers believe that conjunction of a planet with Sun is a necessary condition for the planet to be combust. Moreover, with all these planets in one house there will be both malefic and beneficial influence mixed up. If benefics are tainted, they will be unable to do good, while the basic tendency of a malefic to do well will not change.

As every rule has exceptions so has this one. This chart on the right is a very special chart. There are 5 planets in the 10th house. Sun is exalted in 10th house. Saturn is in Aries, debilitated, but due to multiple factors gets neechabhanga rajayoga. Rahu/Ketu are exalted. Considering Moon, this is happening on the 7th house which is still a kona. This is a chart of a person who had an illustrious life. Had many followers and was able to shift the course of history by his teachings. His name is Gautama Budhdhha.

In Vedic Astrology, the kendras are 1, 4, 7 and 10 houses in a natal horoscope. These are supposed to be the houses of action and govern some of the major aspects of life. Kendradhipati dosha is the blemish of ownership of these kendras and works to negate the natural characteristic of the planet owning the house. If the lord of such a house in a horoscope is a natural malefic, then the harmful effects come down. Similarly the good effects of the natural benefics comes down a notch.

The ascendant lord is not counted in this equation and continues to be a benefic for the person. An ascendant is never a malefic. It will always define a person and will never harm him/her. The ascendant lord, if if a natural malefic, will do good to the house it gets located in.

Natural Benefics as lord of Kendras in a jamna kundali given inauspicious results – Jupiter and Venus get most blemish due to this dosha. This is a problem because the malefics somehow do not lose all of their maleficence, but a benefic losing its power is a total bummer for a janma kundali. It is like your trusted adviser or guardian angel suddenly lost his mind and isn’t of much help anymore. Even worse, the adviser now starts working against you in its dasha and antardasha. The problem with Jupiter and Venus is accentuated for Gemini and Virgo, and Aries respectively.

The bad results are felt during the dasha/bhukti of the planet in question. The effects that should be foretold are as per the natural characteristic of the planet as well as the characteristics obtained through the lordship of the houses in a horoscope. The following table provides more details:

Kendradhipati dosha is cancelled if the lord is placed in a trine. The planet gets back its own original characteristic.

They do well if placed in dushatanas as well and this shows that they are treated like regular malefics in the chart. They do well too if they are debilitated too. This is counterintuitive for a student of astrology and hence we must pay attention as per the table above.

I must emphasize on one point though – a lot of importance should not be given to this factor. The beneficence comes down, but does not go away altogether. Therefore, unless the other Karakas are afflicted as well, this dosha by itself will not wreck havoc. As I said earlier in the article, this is like your guardian angle going away. So unless there are other afflictions in the chart, this by itself will not cause problems.

I have learnt this from Dr. Suresh Chandra Mishra. As a student, I humbly acknowledge his teachings. He has covered this in multiple places in his other books – for example in Chapter 17 of Brihat Samhita – pages 282 to 291. The books were in क्लिष्ट Hindi and it was a little difficult for me to understand. It is a travesty since Hindi is supposed to be my mother-tongue, but come to think of it, no one has taught us what “latitude” and “longitude” are called in Hindi/Sanskrit. I learnt it from Dr. Mishra that शर is latitude and क्रांति is longitude.

If two planets are extremely close to each other, in terms of both latitude and longitude around the ecliptic, then they are considered to be at war with each other. This is called planetary war and in Hindi books, it is referred to as ग्रहयुद्ध.

In his treatise on Brihat Samhita, Dr. Mishra has considered graha yudh to be of 4 types, which he has also mentioned in his facebook post:

1. Bhed-yuti (भेद युति): Happens when longitudes of two planets and also the latitude in the same direction (N or S) are exactly the same, even to the last second. During this, one planet transits over the other and covers the other exactly.
2. Ullekh-yuti: (उल्लेख युति)  when longitudes are equal and latitudes of both planets, in the same direction are mutually away by 15-20”. here planets moves neck to neck by touching almost their ends.
3. Apsavya-yuti (अपसव्य युति) moving at equal longitude, two planets move within 1° distance in latitude.
4. Anshumard-yuti (अंशु-मर्दन युति) with equal longitudes, the two pass each other with less than 1° difference in latitude.

Apart from this, if the longitude of the two planets is far away, and especially if they are in a different direction, then it is normal conjunction and Dr. Mishra does not consider it to be planetary war. In order to find out the latitude and longitudes of the planets, a reasonable astrology software should be considered. The birthchart application on this site cannot be used for this purpose unfortunately at this time. I am upgrading it to the newer version in order to provide the same.

In the Jagannath Hora application, the longitude and latitude should be considered as above. As you can see, on Nov 13th, 2014, the two planets are extremely close to each other and can be seen in the sky together. They cannot be “seen” since both of them are extremely close to Sun, otherwise it would have been a great spectacle. However, their longitudes are are far apart, about 1.5 degrees. So, they will not touch each other. In the above image, please note that Sun defines the ecliptic, Rahu is always on the ecliptic and other planets move around and also up and down like a wave. Negative values indicate position south of ecliptic and positive values indicate that planets are located north of ecliptic.

In case of grah yudh, the mundane astrology results are indicated as follows:

1. Bhed yuti indicates shortage of rainfall. It also indicates a split in families and empires.
2. Ullekh yuti indicates anxiety/angst within ministers in the government. Armed uprising are indicated if Mars is involved.
3. Anshu-mardan indicates diseases, epidemics, terrorist acts as well as war between kings.
4. Apsavya indicates war between kings.

Planets frequently pass each other and every once in a while, the fast moving planets pass each other and pass Saturn/Jupiter etc. However, the combinations for one of the above is pretty rare.

In Sept 2004, Mars and Jupiter crossed each other with 0° in longitude and 10” in latitude. This was the time when there was news of Ambani family splitting. The split was formally announced in end of June 2005 when Mercury, Venus and Saturn were conjunct. Mercury and Venus were equal in longitude and less than 10” in latitude. Saturn was a little far, but was a part of the overall combination.

Planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn own two signs each in Vedic Astrology where we do not take Uranus, Neptune and Pluto into account. Sun and Moon have ownership of just one sign each. This complicates matters for some new astrologers who aren’t able to judge the true nature of the planet and ascertain the effect of the planet in the chart as benefic or malefic. This article is an extension of the benefic/malefic planet article that I wrote way back in 2009 and should be read along with it. Please refer to the points on who the malefics and benefics are as I will not repeat it here. Based on the points, and the dual sign ownership, a planet can be lord of both a malefic as well as a benefic house in a horoscope. Let’s look at various ascendant signs and dual ownership and ascertain the functional nature of a planet in a given janma kundali.

Also, these should be looked at both from Rashi and Lagna charts. If a planet is malefic from both angles, then the maleficence increases dramatically. If it is benefic from both the points, then it is overall benefic. Otherwise, the benefic/malefic aspect can be seen from whichever of Rashi or Lagna is more powerful. Depending on the mutual positions of Rashi and Lagna signs, it is important to note both. E.g. for Karka rashi and Tula lagna, Venus can play a dual role. From the lagna, it is benefic, but from Rashi, it is tainted by kendradhipati dosha as well as 11th house lordship. Hence, good results will not be observed during Venus dasha. Planet owning Lagna is always beneficial, no matter what the other house lordship is. It is not even listed in the comments below.

Some of the points to be noted are:

• Kendradhipati dosha is very important, especially for Jupiter and Mercury who simultaneously own two kendras for few signs.
• Simultaneous ownership of two houses will give mixed results. It will actually give results for both the houses simultaneously, one may be good and other may be bad.
• If the planet owns one malefic house, then its ability to give rajyoga results is effectively zero.
• Strength and weakness of the planet should guide an astrologer to predict correct results.
• 8th house is usually a malefic and 12th house is neutral. The overall effect should then be ascertained by other house ownership.
• Moolatrikona signs for planets are more important and powerful. They play a big part in modifying the natural characteristics of the planet in a horoscope into functional one.

Aries – Mesha as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mercury: Mercury owns 3rd and 6th house and both are malefic houses.
• Venus: Owns 2nd and 7th house in the horoscope. It is maraka planet. Will give money and good wife if strong. By itself, it has ability to cut short the life of a person.
• Jupiter: Jupiter will give effect of 9th house lord as other house is 12th house in the horoscope. Strength and weakness of Jupiter will determine the extent of 9th house effect on the individual.
• Saturn: Saturn owns 10th and 11th house in horoscope for Aries Lagna or Rashi. Effect of 11th house lordship in the horoscope would be felt more because Aquarius is Saturn’s moolatrikona sign. Hence Saturn is a malefic and will harm the indicators of the house it is located in or the house/planet is is aspecting. Well placed and aspected Saturn will give wealth to the person.

Taurus – Vrishabh as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: It will behave like 7th house lord more as other is 12th house. It is a natural malefic hence the opposite of kendradhipati dosha works here.
• Mercury: Benefic planet as it is lord of 2nd house and 5th house. It will behave like both. Good aspects will ensure good childhood, money and education.
• Jupiter: Overall malefic as both 8th and 11th house lord in the kundali. Will be more like 8th house lord and less like 11th house lord when it comes to providing wealth to the individual.
• Saturn: Saturn owns 9th and 10th house in the horoscope. It will behave like the best benefic. Strong Saturn will be more like 10th house lord and provide professional success, honour and recognition.

Gemini – Mithuna as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Venus: Behaves like a 5th house lord in a horoscope and not 12th house lord. Benefic aspects are good for 5th house indications.
• Mars: Mars is malefic due to 6th and 11th house ownership. Strength of Mars will indicate weak immune system, i.e., tendency to fall ill but will give money at the same time.
• Jupiter: Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha. Strength and weakness will work on both 7th and 10th houses in the horoscope. Since 10th is a stronger house than 7th, Jupiter will be more of 10th house lord indicating professional success rather than 7th house characteristics of marriage, partnerships in a horoscope. This is observed even when Sagittarius is moolatrikona for Jupiter rather than Pisces.
• Saturn: 8th and 9th house lord, but will behave more like 9th house lord. Hence, overall Saturn is considered beneficial for Gemini lagna.

Cancer – Karka as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Mars is 5th and 10th house lord in the horoscope, simultaneously. It is therefore rajayoga Karaka. Highly beneficial.
• Mercury: Mercury owns 3rd and 12th house and both are malefic houses. Behaves like a 3rd house karaka in this case.
• Venus: 4th and 11th house lord. Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha. Not good for the houses where it is located, but gives wealth and money, along with other problems during its dasha/bhukti.
• Jupiter: Jupiter will give effect of 6th house lord and not 9th house lord because Sagittarius is its moolatrikona sign. It works like a malefic planet for Cancer.
• Saturn: 7th and 8th houses belong to Saturn in a Cancer lagna/rashi kundali . Effect of 8th house lordship would be felt more during Saturn dasha/bhukti because Aquarius is Saturn’s moolatrikona sign. Hence Saturn is a malefic and harm the indicators of the house it is located in.

Leo – Simha as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: 4th and 9th houses belong to Mars in a Leo kundali. Rajayoga Karaka. Highly beneficial.
• Mercury: Mercury owns 2nd and 11th house in such a kundali. It is malefic (maraka) and 11th house lord. However, extremely good for money prospects, if it is well placed.
• Venus: 3rd and 10th house lord in the horoscope. Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha.
• Jupiter: 5th and 8th house lordship is for Jupiter in Leo kundali. Jupiter will give effect of 5th house lord because Sagittarius is its moolatrikona. It will help with intelligence, speculation.
• Saturn: Effect of 6th house lordship will be felt. 7th house effect will be seen in partnerships, married life, but Saturn will also cause diseases. Cannot cause raja-yoga, even with combination of other trine/quadrant lord.

Virgo – Kanya as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Overall malefic as it is involved with 3rd and 8th house in Kanya lagna kundali.
• Venus: Benefic, but gives more money as Libra is its moolatrikona sign. Less of 9th house prospects and more of 2nd house prospects in the horoscope.
• Jupiter: Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha. Not good for partnerships.
• Saturn: Effect of 6th house lordship will be felt more. Will cause diseases and other ailments. Not a raja-yoga karaka.

Libra – Tula as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Maraka planet, will behave like a malefic one. 2nd and 7th house ownership in Libra kundali.
• Mercury: Behave like a 9th house lord and not as 12th house.
• Venus: Supposed to be benefic as it is lord of Lagna. However, I have observed in cases of two Tula lagna individuals that Venus mahadasha was a difficult one. In fact, problems in both cases started with the start of Venus mahadasha. Problems may happen also if Venus is a malefic as per Rashi kundali.
• Jupiter: Jupiter is lord of 3rd and 6th and both are malefic houses in a kundali
• Saturn: Rajyoga karaka. Will give results of both 4th and 5th house in a horoscope

Scorpio – Vrishchika as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mercury: Mercury owns 8th and 11th house. It is malefic. However, it would act more like 11th house lord in the horoscope
• Venus: 7th and 12th house lord. Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha. Malefic.
• Jupiter: Jupiter will give effect of 2nd house lord because Sagittarius is its moolatrikona. 5th house ownership will also come into picture. Overall, Jupiter will help with money through speculation and intelligence for Vrishchika lagna.
• Saturn: Effect of 4th house lordship will be felt. But since it also owns 3rd house, it is not a raja-yoga karaka. It has a taint.

Sagittarius – Dhanu as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Acts like the 5th Lord, but not a rajayoga karaka, as the other house ownership is 12th house
• Mercury: Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha, if benefic.
• Venus: Venus is 6th and 11th house lord in Dhanu rashi/lagna kundali. Malefic overall, but good for money prospects as 11th house lord. Will give diseases, along with money.
• Saturn: Saturn is 2nd and 3rd house lord in Sagittarius kundali. Effect of 3rd house lordship will be felt. Malefic and not good for money if it is strong.

Capricorn – Makara as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Mars is 4th and 11th lord in Makara kundali. Good for money, but not a raja-yoga karaka.
• Mercury: Mercury owns 6th and 9th house simultaneously. Will give results of 9th house, which it Mercury’s moolatrikona rashi.
• Venus: 5th and 10th house lord. Does not suffer from Kendradhipati dosha, but instead is a highly beneficial raja-yoga-karaka.
• Jupiter: Malefic overall due to lordship of 3rd and 12th house in the horoscope

Aquarius – Kumbha as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Malefic, will behave like a 3rd house lord. 10th house effects are less.
• Mercury: Mercury owns 5th and 8th house in Kumbha kundali.. It is malefic due to Virgo in 8th.
• Venus: Venus is 3rd and 10th house lord in kumbha kundali. Suffers from Kendradhipati dosha.
• Jupiter: Jupiter will give effect of 11th house lord because Sagittarius is its moolatrikona. It will help with money, but will behave like a malefic lord. Usual problems associated with 11th house ownership in a horoscope will show up.

Pisces – Meen as Janma Lagna or Rashi in birth horoscope

• Mars: Highly beneficial for both money 2nd house and 9th house prospects in Meen horoscope.
• Mercury: Mercury owns 4th and 7th. Malefic due to kendradhipati dosha, if free of other malefic influence.
• Venus: 3rd and 8th house lord. Highly malefic
• Saturn: Effect of 12th house lordship will be felt. Malefic.

Hello Readers,

The followings yogas are being coded in the astrology horoscope section. This is a list of 50 odd yogas that my application is currently capable of coding. This post is supposed to be a comprehensive list for all of you to refer to. This has now been added to the astrology application and the output can now be see in this page –> an example horoscope. You are more then welcome to critique and comment on the content, format and presentation.

Brihat Parashara Hora Shashtra is the first book where these yogas or “special combinations” are defined. Many of the yogas presented below (and other texts too) are copied from there. The other book any astrologer goes through for Yogas is the “Three Hundred Important Combinations” by Dr. B. V. Raman. This is a very old book, preface shows a date of 21st July 1947.  The three hundred yogas explained in the book not only form the basis of horoscope reading, but also help an astrologer learn how the chart is interpreted. It is therefore necessary that the astrologer go through the definition and results of the yogas. It is extremely important that the astrologer go through the remarks to learn the essence of the yoga. One more book that I have referred to is “Important Planetary Yogas”.

Statistically, the yogas can exists in many a horoscope, but that doesn’t guarantee that the yogas will provide their full effect. First of all, the yogas have to be supported in the kundali well, i.e. each of the planets in question below should not be combust or in rashi sandhi or aspected by other malefic planets. They should further be supported by strength of planets in Navamsha and other divisional charts. If they are not well supported, the full effect will not be visible.

The effect of the yogas will be felt in the mahadasha and antardashas of the involved planets. In the planets involved are both dasha/antardasha lords, then the effects are even more pronounced.

In today’s world, a child is born into a rat race. Helicopter parents get to vicariously live their life one more time through their children. Since the very beginning, there is a huge sense of competition, starting from the weight and the height of the baby, to the amount of money charged by the nursing home. The more, the better. The parent himself may be the most average student in everything during his school days, but he wants his child to do well in every sphere. The parent won’t care if the child has an aptitude in a sphere, whether she is good in dance or drama, mathematics or sports, painting or language, as long as the child “tops” in everything. The area of liking does not matter, competition does. The same rat race continues through the life. When the child grows up, ambition, desire, wishes and earning money take over. Family, saving money for the future aren’t important, earning power is. Creativity and compassion take a back seat.

In Kaliyuga, the most important houses in a horoscope are the 11th, 3rd and 6th house. It roughly works out as this – do you have the necessary ambition (11th house), passion to convert the dream into reality (3rd house) and ability to get ahead of competition (6th house)? These three houses provide an answer to the most important question in the corporate life – do you have what it takes?

Interestingly, all of these three houses are considered malefic. If you were to read Brihat Parashara Hora Shashtra, you would come to believe that these are upchhaya houses and are inimical in nature. Even my article on benefic and malefic houses, these are termed as inimical and malefic.

Don’t get me wrong… the trikona houses – 1st, 5th and 9th are still important, but in this day and age their importance has gone down. 1st house indicates self and health. One can always pop a pill if health is affected. 5th house is indicator of buddhi. Hire smart people and surround yourself with them. 9th house stands for religion and spirituality. Who cares about religion anyway?

11th House in the horoscope

The 11th house represents our worldly and material desires. Ambition is represented by this house. This is the house of abundance and will make abundant the natural trait of any planet that occupied it. This is also a house of egoism and egotism. The lord of the house is considered malefic, but in its dasha/antardasha, it will help the person create an aura about himself and market himself well. All planets do well in this house. In a horoscope, we need the 11th house to be occupied by some planet, but it has to be a strong planet. Planets in detriment, debilitation or hemmed by malefics harm the prospects of this house. A malefic planet will indicate that the earnings will be through unfair and unscrupulous means. A benefic will indicate honesty in earning money. Still, the quality of planet does not matter.

3rd House in the horoscope

The 3rd house in the horoscope indicates our peer network. This is the social circle – your friends, relatives. This house can now be extended to your facebook friends and your whatsapp buddies. The strength of this house indicates ones leadership position within the social circle.

3rd house also indicates our motivations in life. Strong 3rd house provides for the inner passion and impulse. It provides the necessary will power and courage to accomplish a task. 11th house gives ambition, but without the support of a strong 3rd house, the ambition is just hollow. 3rd house is also a signifactor of sports. All planets do well here. A strong Mars is a good placement and so is Sun. Again, this house should not be occupied by a weak planet in detriment and debilitation. It is not the benefic or a malefic planet that will take away the passion – it is the weak planet.

6th House in the horoscope

6th house indicates enemies and obstacles. It also indicates the opposition that we face throughout our life.

6th house is a little special. If any planet is placed in 6th house, it harms the prospects of that house. For example, if 2nd house lord is placed in 6th house, the person will not have a happy childhood, family and will not be able to save money. These traits will show up during the dasha and antardasha of the 2nd house lord. Alternatively, presence of 6th house lord in any other house will harm the prospects of that house. Again, taking an example, presence of 6th house lord in 7th will cause obstacles in marriage during dasha/antardasha period of 6th lord.

However, when a planet is placed in 6th house and is a strong malefic, it will show defeat of enemies and will show that we overcome competition. A strong benefic will indicate strong enemies, but at the same time, it will also give the power of negotiation with the enemy. Such a person would do well in a corporate boardroom and even as a lawyer in court. 6th house also bestows strong work ethic and discipline.

This article is related to progeny in Vedic Astrology. To understand the strength of the child bearing factors in both male and female horoscope, there is a method defined in Phaladeepika. It is a simple method and can be followed by anyone.

The purpose of the article is to explain the method in brief and then present some of the data that I have collected over a period of time in order to put the method to test. I am not providing the birth details due to privacy concerns and it is almost impossible for anyone to construct the date of birth, time of birth and place of birth data back from the calculations here. Hence the privacy of my clients is well preserved.

Some of the data is very very old, hence I am not sure of the current situation and if any of these clients indeed became parents through medical help or even adoption.

The edition of Phaladeepika that I have is a Hindi version edited/translated by Dr. Suresh Chandra Mishra and published by Ranjan Publications. There is a version available in English through Motilal Banarasidas too – https://books.google.co.in/books?id=bxGQS_pDgvUC. I have looked at both of them and at least for this chapter on Santaanbhaavaadhyaaya (संतानभावाध्यायः), the shlokas are the same. Hence, you can pick up any of the editions and will be looking at the same base material.

Some of the material on the houses connected to children in these chapters is pretty common sense. The karaka for children in a horoscope is Jupiter and hence is studied as the most important factors along with 5th house lord from Moon and Lagna.

The method of Kshetra and Beeja Sphuta is as follows. If you need details, pick up a copy of Phaladeepika from any of the leading bookstores.

Apart from this, one more value is computed for both male and female. This is called Santaan Tithi or Putra Tithi. This is computed as:

1. Take longitude of Sun and Moon. Multiply by 5 and take the difference. Difference = 5 * (Moon Lon – Sun Lon)
2. Take the remainder while dividing by 360. Remainder = MOD(Difference,360)
3. Compute the Tithi as usual. Date = Remainder/12, Tithi = CEILING(MOD(Date,15),1)
4. If this Tithi is one of the chhidra tithis (4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 14th) or Amavasya, then there is a problem.

However, both of the calculations must be looked at in conjunction with the rest of the effects on the 5th house. I present some of the data based on the charts that I have gathered over the years.

The points that are to be noted are:

• Santaan tithi is very important and must be considered.
• Afflictions to 5th house & Karaka are far more important than Beeja/Kshetra sphuta. Medical science is advanced enough now to take care of basic problems.
• Planets such as Saturn aspecting its own sign in 5th will indeed provide children, but Saturn’s basic nature of causing delays will not go away.
• Rahu’s position in 5th house is different from Rahu’s drishti on the house. Rahu in 5th house can cause bahu-putra yoga. But Rahu as a malefic can afflict 5th house and lord through conjunction/drishti.
• One partner’s horoscope affects the other. Issues with beeja sphuta and santaan tithi in husband’s horoscope affects the wife and vice versa. This is not one of the points discussed while discussing horoscope-compatibility. This is a problem that needs to be solved as a couple.

Of course, Dasha and Transit system is above this. Without favourable dasha/transit, it is not possible to have kids.

Chandra-Mangala yoga, which is a yoga caused by combination of Moon and Mars, is a special yoga for financial prudence. The persons having mutual yoga between Mars and Moon, in exact opposition or close conjunction, are worldly wise as far as money is concerned. This is a euphemism for highly materialistic nature. Such persons can be manipulative if the chart has further malefic aspects. In this article, I am touching upon a special case of Chandra-Mangala yoga where Moon and Mars exchange houses.

Mars and Moon have a special relation in Vedic Astrology. They both get debilitated in each others rashi. Moon is debilitated in Scorpio (owned by Mars) at 3° and Mars is debilitated in Cancer (owned by Moon) at 28°. Both are watery signs and are located at trine (1-5-9) from each other. This makes the combination of both being debilitated in the horoscope very interesting.

It can be argued that this particular combination is not bad always, especially if it forms in some particular houses. In fact, the combination is adverse only when the houses involved are 2-6 and 8-12.

Houses 2 & 6: This combination is considered for Gemini Lagna.Position of Mars in 2nd house in Cancer makes it debilitated. If Moon is located simultaneously in 6th house, it will be debilitated in the sign of Scorpio. The other problem with this combination is the involvement of trik-houses & 2nd house of wealth.

The other sign owned by Mars is Aries and in this case, it falls in 11th house. Location of 11th Lord in debilitation in 2nd house is also a problem that will help in earning money initially, but it will be followed by frittering away of the riches. Hence, the astrological indication is debt, loss of money and bankruptcy. However, a financially astute mind may also engineer the bankruptcy to get out of the mess.

In a mundane astrology chart, this can also indicate mishaps and calamities. One of the example charts from Astro.com indicates a volcano eruption on 4th September 2000 at 3.40 AM in Mexico City when both Mars (Cancer 28°09’) and Moon (Scorpio 3°19’ were at the worst debilitation simultaneously, while one was located in 2nd and other in 6th house. Saturn’s or Rahu’s aspect in such charts will also exacerbate the situation.

Houses 8 & 12: This occurs for Sagittarius Lagna where Moon is 8th Lord and Mars is 12th Lord. This is not as bad a combination as the 2-6 one as there are two dusthana houses involved. This can be viewed as one of the Vipareeta Raja Yoga.

House 3 & 11: There is no Viparita Raj Yoga for trik houses. I have not seen any chart till now with such combination for Virgo Lagna with Mars debilitated in 11th house and Moon debilitated in 3rd. However, this combination will bring in unusual preoccupation with earning money and no satisfaction in the process.

In all other cases, when one of the kendra/trikona houses are involved, this can be viewed as Neecha-bhanga raja yoga. NBRY, in general and specifically in this case, does not bestow saintly qualities on any individual. In this case, with crookedness in mind, it makes the person resourceful and financially astute and successful. In case of Aries Lagna, when houses 4 and 8 are involved, the person will have unusual thought process and difficult to predict/comprehend. As far as relationship is concerned, this will indeed cause Manglik dosha.

The results will be most visible in dasha/antardasha of the planets involved. The strength of the results will be felt the most when both Moon and Mars are close the degree of the debilitation. The results will not be as acute when the planets are far away from the debilitation degrees. E.g. if Moon is in 28° Scorpio and Mars is in 5° Cancer, then much effects will not be felt.

From January 2016 onwards, both Jupiter and Rahu would share the sign of Leo. While Jupiter has been in Leo since mid of 2016, Rahu will transit into Leo towards end of January 2016. This combination will exist till mid-August. Also, since Jupiter will be transiting out of Leo in forward direction and Rahu will be crossing Leo in reverse direction, the difference in degrees between them will be very less.

This combination of Rahu (and Ketu) and Jupiter is called as Guru Chandal yoga (GCY). This is an interesting yoga because the Guru, who is divine wisdom in a planetary form, shares the space with the master of disguise and guile and the demon himself who made a fool out of devas and stole their nector. Many believe this combination to be extremely bad for Jupiter as Rahu could supposedly poison the good and beneficial nature of Jupiter. In this article, I will concentrate more on Rahu & Jupiter combination rather. I will deal with Ketu and Jupiter combination in another article.

Since both Jupiter and Rahu have 5/9 drishtis apart from their usual degrees, Guru-Chandal yoga can be formed not just due to conjunction and position in one house, but by mutual 5/9 position too. The results can be considered similar to exact conjunction. When Rahu and Jupiter are conjunct, the combined influence of 5/9 drishtis of both the planets stimulates the other houses.

Rahu and Guru coming together can be interpreted as lessening the benefic nature of Guru. On the other hand, the association of Rahu with the teacher of devas reduces the malefic nature of Rahu. Rahu as chandal is not antisocial, it is just out of society and social framework. Rahu is unconventional. Its shadowy nature is under check with Jupiter aspects Rahu or influences Rahu in any other respect.

The materialistic nature of Jupiter is amplified when it comes together with Rahu. The person becomes more focused and centered on the aspect denoted by the house they occupy. Again, as mentioned above, unless Jupiter itself is malefic in the chart, please do not automatically predict adverse results. In Vedic Astrology, apart from denoting conventional wisdom, Jupiter is also the significator of material prosperity. This quality is exaggerated when Jupiter associates with Rahu.

In two houses, GCY can actually give very positive results. In Ascendant, free of other malefic aspects, this combination can indicate a successful person, who would be capable of running a large business. There would always be insinuations against this person, but this person would above that criticism and will not allow it to affect his mind. In 11th house, this is a good combination for money and the person will gain by being crafty and imaginative about gaining money. In 2nd house, without other malefic aspects, this would make a person glib talker and a magnificent presenter. In other artha houses, this is a good combination for making money as well.

This becomes a dreaded combination when Jupiter is under other malefic influences:

1. Jupiter itself is malefic in the chart, e.g. for Libra lagna, where it is lord of 3rd and 6th houses.
2. Both Jupiter and Rahu are under influence from other malefic planets, e.g. Saturn and Sun
3. If they are ill placed in the chart, e.g., in dusthana houses
4. If Jupiter is debilitated in the chart.

This is not a good combination to have in 5th house, where it causes problems with children. The reason is that Guru’s placement in 5th house is anyway associated with “karko-bhavo-nashate” and Rahu’s presence intensifies the conflict with children. It is a good combination for intelligence though. This combination stands out in the 5th house in horoscope of Alois Alzheimer who identified the disease/case of dementia that still bears his name. Jawahar Lal Nehru’s horoscope shows Jupiter closely conjunct with Ketu and hence opposite Rahu. This combination in 6th house indicates that Nehru was able to defeat a formidable enemy, the British Raj itself. Nehru was not really a religious person too, unlike his mentor Mahatma Gandhi, who took pride in his Hindu identity. Jude Law, who is a famous British actor, has this combination in 2nd house. Among other Indian figures, Bal Gangadhar Tilak had this combination in 9th house in Jupiter’s own sign Pisces. His Jupiter and Moon are almost conjunct and Rahu is a little away. He was extremely innovative with religion and has been credited with the start of Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav and Ganesh Visarjan traditions.

In the chart of women, this may cause problems in marriage as Jupiter represents husband and Rahu represents confusion. The women with such combinations may either have commitment issues or be confused about their part in the marriage.

As 2016 approaches, GCY will gain importance both in the Hindu New Year chart as well as in the Mesha Sankranti chart for the horoscope cast for New Delhi for these moments. In my humble opinion, the malefic aspects of GCY will be magnified and will affect the country in a negative way. In one horoscope, GCY is in Ascendant and in other it is in 11th house, which are good positions per se. However, the main problem in both the horoscopes where rank malefics Saturn and Mars come together and combination from Scorpio is affecting the Jupiter/Rahu combination in Leo. Although Mars does not have a 10th house aspect, it will still affect Ju/Ra combination through Saturn’s 10th house drishti. Our country is in for some turbulent  times next year. I will shortly be publishing the interpretation of both the charts with exact degrees and lot many details. Short summary – flare-ups and accidents are predicted. Mars + Rahu combination is anyway a dangerous one. As I write this articles, I am haunted by the visuals from Paris after the dreadful terrorist attacks on Nov 13th 2015. As of this week in November 2015, Mars and Rahu are almost conjunct.

Tenth house in a Vedic Astrology horoscope is the karmasthana. All the world’s a stage and men and women play their part as defined by their 10th house. It is therefore a house of performance on the world stage and the respect and recognition that we gain here. These important factors of prestige, rank and dignity in society is judged from the tenth house.

Tenth house has a very interesting relationship with other houses in the horoscope, because of the placement of the houses with respect to its position. It has an auspicious relationship with 6th house of enemies in the horoscope, which is located at 5/9 axis from it. It has an inauspicious 6/8 relationship with 3rd house, which is the house of courage, valour and teamwork. It again as a tough 6/8 relationship with 5th house, which is the house of creativity, quick intelligence and purva punya. As 9th house is located 12th to 10th house, there is undoing of the significations of 10th house whenever a good period of 9th lord is going on.

Third house (sahaj bhava)

Third House in a horoscope is house of courage, friends and brothers. It lies 6th from 10th house, which is considered enemy position for any house. Hence, it is interesting to note how strength of ones own initiatives and brothers and the support levels that they provide are detrimental to significations of 10th house and vice versa. This is because 10th house is the house of individual success. It is not the success of a team, not of a family, but of the individual in his/her own capacity. This house indicates our image that we do not share with the world. If we share it, the image of our brothers, team members goes up at the cost of our own. These people are often left behind when one person rises above all others and in some cases the separation is quite bitter. This is also visible if the relationship with 11th house is also brought in equation here. For getting true name and fame, a person must rise above his/her social circle. This is explained by 10th house being 12th to 11th house of social relationship.

Also, once public image is set, it is very difficult for anyone to change it. A sense of inertia sets in and the public figure cannot take arbitrary actions in order to drastically change their image. In other words, deliberate actions are restricted by the already existing persona, which is nothing but 3rd house significations being restricted by 10th house.

If we are too aggressive, too militant in our approach, the world sees us as a vigilante. While there is respect, fear dominates the expression rather than actual respect.

In the horoscope of Mr. Pramod Mahajan, 3rd house is occupied by Saturn, aspected by Rahu from 11th house, that gave him the steely determination to carry on his tasks by any means necessary. It also ensured that he did not have any enemies with respect to his job. As the main troubleshooter and floor manager in the parliament, he was a head above his peers and was held in high esteem by then PM Vajpayee who called him the Lakshman of BJP.  But then this combination completely ruined his relationship with his brother. He was finally assassinated by a bullet (Saturn, lord of 8th, located 8th from 8th) fired by his brother (3rd house) in circumstances that are very nebulous (Rahu’s exact aspect, within the degree). He was assassinated when he was at the fag end of Saturn/Rahu. Aspect of Jupiter (10th lord) on 3rd house did not help much, especially when Jupiter moves to 6th house in Bhava chart.

Sixth House

Sixth House (house of enemies, ripu bhava) also has a great relationship with the 10th house. On the way to realizing our potential, we cannot progress without fighting our inner demons and enemies outside. As 6th to ascendant, ripu bhava indicates our limitations and gives a way to measure realistic accomplishments against the backdrop of our peers and competitors. 6th House is also an indicator of service. Service is the dharma of the karma we put in this life. A good placement of 10th lord in 6th will solve a lot of problems for the individual, but take the person on the path of serving others and as Barbara Pijan says seva, seva and seva.

Fifth and Ninth houses

Fifth and Ninth house have most enigmatic relationship with 10th house. On the face of it, they look like hampering the significations of 10th house in the worst way possible. But it also tells us the true relationship between creativity, dharma and karma.

Fifth House is the house of education, creativity, purva punya and creative intelligence. It is also the house of our children who help us carry our genes and life forward after we are long gone in the current form from the face of the earth. Human beings are social animals. They learn right from the time they are in the womb and this process of learning never stops. Our creativity is incremental that is over and above the learning that we get from others around us. Only a miniscule portion of us can be compared to Aryabhatta who invented zero and Einstein who had had no references for the papers on relativity that he presented in 1905. Everyone else owes their creativity to others – The folks who invented computer via binary language of 1 and 0 must thank Aryabhatta. The inventors who worked on GPS have to thank Einstein who formulated that speed of light is a universal constant. Our karma is really the debt that we pay back to the society. This is the enigmatic 6th relationship between 5th and 10th house.

Fifth and tenth house relationship also shows the work/life balance that is so much off in today’s society. When kids fall ill, it is the parents’ duty and responsibility to take care of them and is the right karma for them. 5th house is 8th to 10th house, hence indicative of obstacles and impediments. Working women take a break from their work when they are busy creating and nurturing the life within them. People working on creative projects (start-ups of today) get the result/recognition from their work at the end of journey and not during the journey. Creativity happens during 5th house lord period and recognition comes later, only when 10th house period comes into play. However, the journey itself is tough and treacherous and success is never guaranteed.

Too much of 10th house significations are detrimental to our children’s health. If parents get busy with their job and do not pay attention, then it goes against our children.

Mahatma Gandhi’s strong 10th house with Moon in swakshetra and Rahu within was detrimental for his entire 2nd and 3rd generation. Jupiter/Moon square aspect in 7th/10th house is strong Gaja Kesari yoga. Saturn’s position in 5th from Moon further indicates emotionally taxing and distant relationship with children.

Ninth house is the loss of identity house for 10th house. Strong 9th house though increases dharma has adverse implications for individualistic glory bestowed by a strong 10th house. The sages who composed the Vedas and Upnishads are unknown. Their word is the word of Lord Brahma, but no one knows who they were and when did they finish writing these ancient scriptures. They have created and inspired an entire belief system that is the largest unbroken system in our world. Even otherwise, the most leaned gurus are down to earth people who do not like publicity and shun flamboyance. Also, period of a strong 9th lord makes people quit their jobs and work towards betterment of society.

In Vedic Astrology, planets have their own natural significations, karkatva and natural dispositions. Thus, Sun will always denote the father, Moon the mother and so on. The planets also bring in the effect of the house they become lord of in the horoscope. The lord of 1st house will represent the physical body, health and mind. Similarly, lord of 2nd house will represent the affairs of 2nd house, i.e., early childhood, money saved etc.

The natural signification of planets is considered to be of more importance by some learned astrologers, rather than the house lordship. For any affair or activity in life, the planet owning the natural karkatva is the main leader, while the lord of the house representing the karkatva is the project manager.

The lords of the evil houses – 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th are tainted by the malefic nature of the houses and their location in other houses and their association with other planets is considered inauspicious. They also nullify any raja-yogas that they may become part of in the horoscope.

In a horoscope, one planet or the other will have the responsibility of being the lord of 8th house. As this lord of 8th, the planet has responsibility of denoting misfortune, obstacles and delay. The position of this planet in any of the other houses of the horoscope is bad for that house.

The ownership of houses modifies the effect that the planet brings to the horoscope. The results are automatically reflected during the relevant dasha and antardasha. The ownership of difficult houses adds to the malefic nature of the already malefic planets or reduces the beneficence of benefic planets. However, in my observation, the ownership of 8th house by Venus bring about the most unexpected of results. As argued in the rest of the article, Venus’ natural significance does not agree with the nature of the 8th house and 8th sign and hence these results are obtained. I will be unable to provide exact charts as examples as the persons who have come to me for consultation have asked me to keep their information private.

Venus is 8th lord for Libra and Pisces signs. In case of Libra ascendant, Taurus falls in the 8th house and Venus becomes both the 1st and 8th house lord. For Pisces ascendant, Libra falls in the 8th house and hence Venus is the 8th lord. In case of Pisces ascendant, Venus is also the 3rd Lord and is considered malefic.

For both these signs, Venus is a malefic planet and will give unexpected results in its dasha and bhukti. This observation is counter intuitive because for Libra Venus is ascendant lord as well. It is expected to do well for the individual. However, Venus as lord of 8th gives obstacles and does not behave like a Lagna lord. The symptoms of the problems faced by the individuals were commiserate with significations of 8th house.

Why is Venus only affected that badly due to 8th house lordship? Why is the other natural benefic Jupiter not as tainted? This can be understood by closely comparing the significations of Venus, 8th house and the 8th sign Scorpio that is naturally associated with the 8th house.

Venus and its natural significations

Venus is a natural benefic. The significations of Venus are desires and sensual pleasure, luxury, beauty and  comfort. Venus indicates our aspirations towards refinement. Venus is the force in our lives that is behind the craving to look good, to decorate our house and surround ourselves with best comforts money and buy, to buy a fancy car, indulge in entertainment, etc. Venus is important for sexual attraction as it is intricately related to beauty. Venus is also indicative of pure love. Venus indicates art: painting, music, singing and associated talents. Venus also indicates income.

Venus does not indicate depth of knowledge. Venus is shallow as it is about appearances.

The domain of 8th house

Eighth house is about occult, death, disgrace and insult. It is also a house of chronic diseases. The sexual attraction associated with eighth house is not about love and companionship. Eighth house in a horoscope is about disfiguring of body due to amputation. It is also a house of constant struggles and obstacles.

Scorpio sign indications

Scorpio is the negative sign of Mars. The term most often used with Scorpio is mysterious and profound. The persons with Scorpio rashi, which means that Moon is debilitated, are introverts and are not easily trusting. This mistrust indicates skepticism and unwillingness to open up to others. They are often lonely.

Overall comparison

Venus is about joie de vivre, as compared to eighth house which is about obstacles and death. Venus indicates affection and attraction, where as eighth house in horoscope is concerned with perversion. Venus indicates the wife in a chart, whereas eighth house is the maraka sthana for spouse. Venus is shallow whereas Scorpio is profound. Venus governs our charisma and ability to make connections with as many people around us, while Scorpio is about focusing on the inward energy. These are the contradictions that occur when Venus becomes the lord of 8th house.

Results

The results of such a Venus tainted by the lordship of house 8 ceases to be a benefic. During its dasha/antardasha, the results are mainly related to house 8 and not the beneficial significations associated with Venus. Obstacles, setback are observed. Since I have *not* shared any chart as example, it becomes difficult to demonstrate this point, but I will keep a lookout on the public horoscopes that come in the comment fields and if there are any examples to quote from there.

Last but not the least, I humbly invite comments from fellow readers and astrologers to point out mistakes in the logic presented here.

Astrology provides a good way to find out potential and possibility of friction within a family. With the houses in a horoscope signifying a relation, effects on the house can speak volumes about the quality of relationship that can be maintained. To judge the relationship, as always, we need to start with the house, lord of the house and karaka of the relationship, and understand the various aspects on the house. The aspects by the separative planets and by the lord of dusthanas gives us the type of results.

Quality of relationship between people can become bad due to various reasons. Some of them are:

• Feud, litigation, heartburn leading to enmity
• Neglect and indifference
• Acerbic tongue and ego
• Lying and cheating
• Lack of that relationship

Each of the factors is caused by a different planet and can be easily seen in the horoscope.

Litigation Angle and Difference of Opinion

Litigation angle is caused almost all the time by 6th house lord. 6th house signifies enemies, lawsuits, plots and fights. 6th Lord has the power to cut the relationship and the cause such problems. Location of karakas in 6th house has similar but somewhat lesser effect. In first case, the natural qualities of the planets that get the taint of being the 6th lord and their relationship with the house they are aspecting does come into picture, but again to a lesser degree. The malefic nature of the 6th lord will always cause problems.

For example, lets take the 2nd house. 2nd house indicates family. This is the order in which one should judge the malefic nature: at the top is the location of 6th lord in 2nd, followed by 6th lord in 8th (or any other location from where it can throw 100% aspect on 2nd house) and then the location of 2nd lord in 6th. Location of 6th Lord in 2nd almost always indicates family feud. It may also indicate great family wealth, since both are artha houses, but we all know that money can indeed be at the root of family feuds. Similarly location of 2nd lord in 6th is great for wealth, but then family problems come with it. Other malefic influences on 2nd house along with 6th lord’s influence can indicate that wealth is squandered after fights within the family members.

8th house is indicative of obstacles. In this case, the person will have emotional obstacles to connect with the person and hence create distances between them and relations. 8th house in 4th will make a person withdraw from from mother. 8th Lord in 9th creates serious disagreements with father and father figures.

Neglect, Indifference and Don’t Care Attitude

This is little difficult to judge. In my experience, this is mostly caused by Saturn and Ketu. This is also caused, very interestingly, by the karka being located in the same house, i.e., Jupiter in 5th, Sun in 9th etc.

Saturn and Ketu are planets of separation. Ketu especially causes relation to break due to “I don’t care” attitude. The location of these planets in any of the horoscopes will invariably cause the person to neglect the relation and not pay any attention to the relationship. Saturn’s location in 4th house indicates a cold, disciplinarian and tough mother. The mother may create lot of rules and regulations around the house and this may make the individual just “run away” from the relationship when the right time comes. Similarly, Saturn in 3rd indicates cold and restrictive relationship with younger siblings. Ketu causes similar problems and indicates loss of support from the relationship. Ketu in 7th indicates spouse who is absent and is not available to provide any support.

Karka in the house, i.e., dictum of karko bhavo nashate is interesting. In classical sense “nashate” means to kill or destroy. In a simple sense, this can mean that if the the karaka is located in the same house as the relationship both signify, then it can cause death of the relationship. This is simply not true. Death is not that easy to come. For that, the horoscope of that relationship will also need to be seen for strengths and weaknesses. Sun indicates father and so does 9th house and we can cite 1000s of examples where Sun is in 9th house, but the father of the individual is hail and hearty and has long life. In my humble opinion, this is indicative of neglect (and thus death) of relationship. The relation does not devote enough time to nurture the relationship and the relationship dies rather than the person indicated here. E.g., Jupiter in 5th may make a person indifferent towards having kids. It is not that the ability to have kids is hampered, but rather the person has other creative literary pursuits to follow. Even if they do have kids, they will neglect them and just have a superficial relationship with them. Moon in 4th house makes a person run away from the mother because the mother “smothers them with love.”

Acerbic tongue and Ego

This is naturally caused by Mars and Sun. Both are planets of outward aggression. If they affect any relationship, much ego comes between them. That’s why Mars and Sun in 7th house “burn up” the relationship. Sun in 8th will cause problems with wife’s side of family, in 11th will cause problems with spouse of child, and so on. Mars in 3rd will cause problems with younger siblings, etc. Mars in 3rd or in 9th can also indicate problems with spouse’s siblings. The reason is simple. Mars causes too much aggression towards and from the relationship. There is short fuse, you would say something, the person would say something back and the relationship comes to a naught. Sun is silent ego. Sun will essentially say that – “I have a high opinion of myself and a very low opinion of everyone who has a low opinion of me.” This lack of give and take kills the relationship.

Mars’ effect needs to be studied carefully. Mars can kill a relationship also. Mars’ affect on 5th house from within 5th, 10th or 11th house can cause a woman to go through abortions.

Lying and cheating

Rahu is the main karaka of lying, cheating and deceit. It expands and over expands the ego and hence create a cloud of mystery around the relationship. It tweaks the relationship to the extent of being unconventional. Rahu in 4th makes on unfaithful towards family. Rahu in 5th may make kids to be raised by someone else.

Lack or that relationship

One should not predict lack of relationship or “death” of relationship based on just one of the factors. For the non-existence of the relationship, multiple of these factors operating at the same time is required. The natural karaka of the relationship, the lord of the house should be in pap kartari yoga etc., and only then one should predict that the relationship does not exist.