Applied Astronomy

Difference between Astronomy and Astrology

Astronomy - This is a science of the celestial objects in the universe. This does not take in to consideration their effects on the living or non living things existing in the universe.

However the astrologically considered  celestial objects (in their existing order) are as follows.SUN--Mercury--Venus--EARTH--Mars--Jupiter--Saturn--Uranus--Neptune--Pluto

Note: The Moon is not plotted above as it revolves around the Earth.

Relative Distances are as follows.The distance between the EARTH and the SUN is 9,30,03,000 miles.Let us consider this as 1 unit.The distances of the other planets from the SUN are as follows.

Mercury ----- 0.42 units Venus ------- 0.7 units Earth ------ 1 unitMars -------- 1.5 units Jupiter ------- 5 units Saturn ----- 9 unitsUranus ------ 19 units Neptune ----- 30 units Pluto ------ 40 units

Astrology - This is Applied Astronomy in Day Today Life.

This takes in to consideration effects of above mentioned celestial objects on the living or the non living things existing in the universe. In a way it is the 'functional' or the 'applied' study of the planets.

In addition to the above mentioned 10 planets two more hypothetical planets namelyRahu and Ketu are also considered.

Rahu and Ketu : -- They are not the real physical celestial objects. The Earth and the Moon have very little angle in their path around the Sun. The two points of the intersections of their path  are known as Rahu and Ketu. Rahu and Ketu are also considered very important in the Hindu Astrology.

 

Basics of the Birth Chart / Janma Kundali

'Houses', 'Bhavas', 'Sthanas'.

The Birth Chart used in the Hindu Vedic Astrology is shown as above. This is the most common way of depicting the Kundali especially in the Northern India.In Southern India the Chart is depicted in a Square format. However I will be using the above mentioned Chart Format.

In any Chart/ Kundali there are 12 compartments which are called 'Houses', 'Bhav', 'Sthan'. The topmost house is counted as the first house. (Number 1 House in the figure.) Then subsequently all the other houses are counted in anti-clockwise direction.

Planets, 'Grahas'

There are total 12 planets, 'grahas' considered in astrology.Ancient Vedic Astrology only 9 planets are considered. The recently discovered 3 planets namely Uranus ('Harshal'), Neptune and Pluto were obviously not considered.However it is wise to consider all 12 planets. 

The 12 Planets are as follows.

Planets English Names Planets Hindu NamesSun Ravi

Moon Chandra

Mercury Budha

Venus Shukra

Mars Mangal, Kuja, Kartikeya

Jupiter Guru

Saturn Shani

North Node Rahu

South Node Ketu

Uranus Harshal

Neptune Neptune

Pluto Pluto

They are revolving around the Sun in their respective orbits. Exception is the Moon, Rahu, Ketu. As you are all aware that the Moon is a satellite of our Earth. Moon is revolving around the Earth and Earth in turn is revolving around the Sun in its orbit.Rahu and Ketu are not the actual planets at all. They are actually only intersection points of the Earth and the Moon. However since these cosmic points have considerable influence on the nature they are considered as planets in the astrology.

Signs, Rashis

There are twelve 12 Signs, Rashis as follows.

Sign No./ Name

Sanskrit Name

Meaning ofSanskrit Name Type Sex Mobility Lord or

Bhavesh1/ Aries Mesha Ram Fire/ Agni M Movable/Chara Mars

2/ Taurus Vrushaba Bull Earth/ Bhumi F Fixed/ Sthir Venus

3/ Gemini Mithun Couple Air/ Vayu M Common/ Dwisabhavi Mercury

4/ Cancer Karka, Kataka Crab Water/ Jal F Movable/ Chara Moon5/ Leo Simha Lion Fire/ Agni M Fixed/ Sthir Sun

6/ Virgo Kanya Virgin Earth/ Bhumi F Common/

Dwisabhavi Mercury

7/ Libra Tula Balance Air/ Vayu M Movable/ Chara Venus8/ Scorpio Vrushchika Scorpion Water/ Jal F Fixed/ Sthir Mars

9/ Sagittarius Dhanu Bow Fire/ Agni M Common/ Dwisabhavi Jupiter

10/ Capricorn Makar Alligator & Shark Earth Bhumi F Movable/ Chara Saturn

11/ Aquarius Kumbha Jug Air/ Vayu M Fixed/ Sthir Saturn

12/ Pisces Meena Fishes Water/ Jal F Common/ Dwisabhavi Jupiter

The Signs or Rashis are imaginary divisions of the Zodiac. 360 degrees of a full circle are divided in 12 equal parts, each of 30 degrees, called a Rashi or Sign.As the Earth is revolving around its own axis and takes 24 hours for that, we see the Signs, Rashis revolving around us.

Ascendant or the LagnaThe Sign, Rashi rising at the Eastern horizon at the time of the birth is the Ascendant or the Lagna. As you must have gathered that at about every 2 hours (Division : 24 hours/12 signs) a new sign is going to rise, and hence the ascendant or the lagna the starting point of the chart is going to change. Same way every 4 minutes the Ascendant or the Lagna degree is going to change.The subsequent Signs, Rashis are written in the next - next houses in the anti-clockwise direction.

Fully Plotted Birth Chart, Janma-Kundali

Lastly all the precise positions of all the 12 planets at the time of the birth are plotted in the chart.Hence the Birth Chart or the Janma Kundali is the diagrammatic representation of all the planets at the precise moment of time of the birth.

Easy Example : Suppose the birth was at about 7:00 A.M. i.e. just after the sunrise. That means the Sun will be plotted in the first house (Eastern Horizon). Further imagine that, the day was Full Moon Day i.e. Sun and Moon are 180 degrees from each other. That means the Moon will be in the 7 th house.

Now finally lets have a look at the following complete birth chart, Janma Kundali where all the planets and the signs are plotted.

As you can see that at the time of the birth Leo, Sinha Sign, Rashi was arising at the eastern horizon and the birth time must have been near about the sunrise as the Sun is in the first house.

A rough idea can be brought out about the time of the birth by looking at the Sun's position in any chart.

I hope you must have got a fair idea about the Birth Chart or the Janma-Kundali layout.

Houses, 'Bhavas', 'Sthanas'

Following is the list of all the 12 Houses, 'Sthanas', 'Bhavas' , their special names and the important things they represent.

House/ Bhav Various Names Things Represented By Each Of The House/ Bhav

First House Lagnasthan, Tanusthan

This house signifies life, longevity, self, health, nature and appearance of native. Complexion, vitality, sorrows, gains and profits to younger brothers and his friends. It governs head and face.

Second House Dhana-sthan, Kutumb-sthan

This house indicates inflow of finances, bank position, right eye, family, early age or boyhood, speech, sanyas, servants and friends. Self earned wealth, loss or damage, worldly possessions, jewellery, grandfather and mother. It also denotes family, eyesight, understanding with family members, inheritance, law suits, throat, right eye, domestic comforts in general.

Third House Bhatru-sthan, Parakram-sthan

It denotes younger brothers and sisters and their relations. It signifies courage, intelligence, education up to Higher Secondary level, taste for writing, ornaments, clothes, short journeys. Signing contracts and documents etc. Body parts are arms, right ear, shoulders etc.

Fourth House Matru-sthan, Sukha-sthan

This house signifies mother, property, conveyance, domestic surroundings and happiness. Old age environments, private affairs, public, inheritance, false allegations, agriculture land and its produce. It represents breasts, chest, lung, stomach, elbow joints

etc.

Fifth House Vidya-sthan, Putra-sthan

Children, speculation, intellectual status and luck are gauged from this house. Pleasure, love affairs, lady love, legal or illegal amusements, kidnap, rape etc. are also checked. Belly, heart, liver, spleen are the body parts covered by this house.

Sixth House Ripu-sthan, Rog-sthan

This house is responsible for enemies, health, service, servants, uncle, aunts and relations on father's side. Food, subordinates, debts, obstacles in life, mental worries, theft and calamity etc. The body parts denoted are kidney, large intestine, uterus and anus.

Seventh House

Bharya-sthan, Maraka-sthan

Matters regarding wife, husband, partnership, external sex organs, conjugal happiness are checked from 7th house. This house also denotes marriage, married life, love contracts, litigations, divorce, honour and reputation in foreign country. Body parts are private parts, uterus, glands etc.

Eighth House Mrutyu-sthan

Diseases, death finances through unfair means, internal sex organs, longevity, mental pain obstacles, dowry of wife, gain from in laws, mode of death, imprisonment, worries and privations are checked from 8th house, It indicates body parts as scrotum, pelvis, seminal vesicles, external genitalia, etc.

Ninth House Bhagya-sthan

This house indicates religion, foreign travel, publicity, preceptor, higher education, learning, writing books, also faith, wisdom, prosperity, powers of foresight, religious institutions, providential help, etc. Hips, thighs are body parts.

Tenth House Karma-sthan, Pitru-sthan

This important house indicates father, profession, status in life, activities outside house, pleasures, honour, power and authority, Government favour, trade, business, command, honour, occupation, adopted son. All questions regarding worldly activities and moral responsibilities. Body parts are knees, joints, bones, hairs and back.

Eleventh House Labha-sthan

It accounts for accumulated wealth, elder brothers and sisters and relations with them. Friends, fluctuating money gains, club or social activities, emotional attachments, love affairs and friends, honour, social success etc. Body parts are legs, left ear, teeth, ankle etc.

Twelfth House Vyaya-sthan

It signifies private enemies, pleasures of beds, law suits, imprisonments, secret works, moksha, hospitalisation, conjugal relations with opposite sex other than legitimate. Sorrows, debts, lost goods etc. are judged. Body parts are feet, left eye, teeth etc.

Planets Details

Sun : Ravi

Sun represents Father, Spirituality, Politics, Governance, Greatness. It represents Husband in charts of females, Superiors when employment issues are involved, Governance of Country.Sun rules : controls Heart, Right Eye in males and left eye in Females, Mouth, Throat and Brain. If in bad aspect with Saturn then Blood Pressure related problems occur, Heat related problems, High Fever, Typhoid, Boils etc.Well placed Sun gives tremendous ambition, Debilitated sun makes a person egoistic and vain, Government employment, On the minimum level employment is guaranteed with security of the same, Inherited Business, The nature of employment or Business is determined in combination with other planets.If Sun relates to Moon-Venus then Business is related to Red or Orange colour Goods, or will be employed in the travel related business.If Sun relates to Mars-Mercury then Military Engineer or Government Press.If Sun relates to Saturn then business related to Woollen Items.Sun also relates to Government Securities, Finance, Gold Bonds, Price and Price Control.

Moon : Chandra

Moon represents Mother, Vegetation, Flowers, Constituents of Blood, Water, and is a Cool Planet. In aPrashna Kundali the moons position indicates the Question or subject in mind. A debilitated Moon relates to Malaria, Moon in10 th house causes continuous change in Jobs or Business or the persons tendency is such. Persons with moon in 10 th houseregularly re-arrange things or articles in the house. Moon Rules : Stomach, Digestive System, Large & Small Intestine.Female genital system, Periods, swings in Mental outlook/Moods, Sadness/Joy, dejection, Bladder,

Mars : Mangal

Mars represents : Murder, violence, Riots, Violent Fires, prominently relates to Brother & Earth, Machinery Mars in positivehouse : Self Confidence, Daring, unusual Activity, Restlessness A well placed Mars gives good relations with Brothers,Agricultural & House / property, If Mars is related to the 10 th house then Authority is bestowed and can be misused. Marsrules : Iron, Steel, Knives, Arms & Ammunition, Political differences, Family disputes. Mars represents : Chicken Pox,Measles, Cuts, Bleeding, Urinary System, Liver etc. Chemist, Druggist Surgeon. Mars in Signs can relate to Occupation : InWater Signs = Navy, Earth = Army, Air = Pilots,

Mercury : Budha

Mercury relates to : Intelligence, Voice, Salesman,Insurance Agent, PR, Orators, Mercury is a dual nature planet. It relates to writing, Literature, It represents allrelatives from the Mothers side. Green is its prominent colour. Education matters and maternal Uncle are ruled. No. 5 isMercury’s number. Persons under mercury look younger than their real age. Mercury rules the Tongue, Nervous System andSpinal Cord. If Mercury is the Sub-Lord of the 7 th house and if is not in the Nakshtra whose planet is retrograde thensuch persons marry more than once. If the money due to you is received in Mercury Dasha - Bhukti then such dues are gotonly in instalments. Mercury is responsible for incidents of Court Cases on more than one occasion. Mercury indicates Eastdirection. If mercury is well placed then the person finds success when he goes east. And if Mercury is badly placed thensuch a person goes to East and gets into difficulties.

Jupiter : Guru

Jupiter relates to : Education, Knowledge, Children.Jupiter is the teacher to the World, A well placed Jupiter gives luck and good fortune to escape from Difficulty orcritical situations. Jupiter looks after Law & Order, relates to Defects in blood and Diabetes.

Venus : Shukra

Venus relates to : Marriage, Happiness in Marriage, Arts, Material gains and inclinations, Good mediators, Rules :Throat,Eyes,all illness due to over eating. Debilitated Venus in Water Sign in the 12 th house gives alcohol addiction createsdoubts in the Character, creates Skin disease. If Sun, Mars & Venus are debilitated the during childbirth is with Surgicalassistance. Conjunction of Venus-Mars relates to Love affair. Debilitated Venus causes Leprosy etc.

Saturn : Shani

Saturn relates to : Delays, Obstruction. In Shani Dasha every thing happens slowly, Dejection. Is Lord of the 8 th house, giveshappiness from Immovable property like Mars but has a second place after Mars. Together if Saturn and Moon are in any housethen it is a very bad aspect. Sat-Mars Conjunction is bad for health. An event is delayed by Saturn but success is notdenied.

Rahu (North Node) Ketu (South Node) :

Rahu Ketu Are Shadow Planets & not Real Planets

Uranus : Harshal

This is a Real Planet. This was not used in old classical vedic literature.However it is used by the recent vedic astrologers.This often represents effects like Mercury (to some extent little more pronounced than Mercury) This often gives sudden startling effects, lightening speed.

Neptune

This is a Real Planet. This was not used in old classical vedic literature.However it is used sometimes by the recent vedic astrologers.

Pluto

This is a Real Planet. This was not used in old classical vedic literature.This is too recent to know its full effects.

Assessment of Planets

Points to be evaluated

1. Rashibal - Swagruha, Uccha, Nicha, Mooltrikona, Mitra, Shatru, Swagruha-sanmukha. If Nicha then look for Neechabhanga yoga. Consider '3 generations' for the assessment of the strength of the planet.

2. Sthanbal - Planets in Kendra (1,4,7,10); Trikonas (5,9) are strong. Planets in 6,8,12 are weak.

3. Drushtibal - Shubhagraha drushta makes stronger and Papgrah drushta makes weaker.

4. Accompaniment / Yuti - 'Shubha' (benefic) graha yukta or 'Pap' (malefic) graha  yukta.

5. Particular lagna wise effects - Also judge as per the ascendant (lagna) e.g. Yogakaraka, Benefic, Malefic.

6. Aspects / Yogas - Good or BadGenerally Bad - Kendra; Shadashtak; PratiyogGenerally Good - Navapancham; Labha

7. Nakshatra effects - Planets in Krura nakshatras (Mula, Kruttika, Ashlesha esp.) are undesired.

All the above points to be considered in Navamsha Kundali also.

Information Of Special Gems

1. Ruby/ Manik (Sun): This is normally red in colour. A hot stone and can be used for the development of soul force, to be used in summer months. It cures peptic ulcer, fever, rheumatism, gout etc. Its constant use may cause' boils, itch and insomnia The use of Ruby should be avoided by ladies as it destroys the body lustre. To be used in gold in third or ring finger of right hand on Sunday. Manik should be of about 3 or 5 grams in weight.

2. Pearl/ Moti (Moon): This is normally shiny white in colour. Pearl or Moti is used to remove the evil effects of Moon and it strengthens the mind force, increases good sleep and cures insomnia. It also gives good memory, cures uterine disorders, heart and eye troubles, also T.B., constipation, hysteria, pleurisy, etc. Pearl is very useful for ladies as it increases their beauty and facial lustre and will keep them ever young. Controls the rash temperament as it is a cold gem. It increases sexual strength and makes the conjugal life happy. Removes melancholy and

increases fortune. Will protect from harm from others, inspires love and faithfulness and overall ensures a happy married life. It should be worn on 4th finger of right hand on Monday with silver. Weight should he 2, 4, 6, 9 grams. Being a cold stone it should be worn during bright nights.

3. Coral/ Povale/ Praval (Mars): This is normally red in colour. Coral ensures material happiness, recovery from diseases indicated by Mars such as fever, cough, bilious complaints, smallpox, chickenpox, headache, loss of vitality, piles, boils, measles, etc. In Hindi, the gem is called Moonga. It should be worn in silver or copper and he of 9, 11, 12 grams on Tuesday on 1st or 4th finger of right hand. It is a hot stone.

4. Emerald/ Pachu (Mercury): This is normally petal green or dark green in colour. Emerald or Panna is a hot gem. It increases intelligence and brain power, removes and cures fickle-mindedness, loss of memory, stammering, fear from souls and spirits, cools the harsh speech but reduces passions and sexual desires. Newly married couples should not use it as it impairs conjugal happiness due to reduction in sexual desires. It is also useful for curing diarrhoea, dysentery, gastritis, peptic ulcer, asthma, insomnia, heart troubles, etc. It should be used in gold of 3, 5, 7 or 10 grams on 4th finger of right hand on Wednesday.

5. Topaz/Pushkaraj (Jupiter): This is normally faint yellow in colour. Topaz or Pushkaraj is a cold gem. It increases the power of penetrating vision, increases wealth, unlimited prosperity, life security, protects ones from poverty, removes adversity, misfortune and melancholy. Topaz cures diarrhoea, gastritis, ulcer, rheumatism, jaundice, insomnia, heart troubles, impotency, gout, arthritis, pain in knee joints, etc. Topaz should be worn in gold, on 1st finger of right hand on Thursday. The weight should be of 7 or 13 grams.

6. Diamond/ Heera (Venus): Diamond or Heera is a hot gem. It creates goodness and removes evil and fearful thoughts in native. It improves financial conditions and blesses the native with comforts and peace of mind. Also cures diabetes, diseases of urine, of private parts, syphilis, skin and uterine diseases. It should he worn on 1st finger of right hand on Friday in gold or platinum. The weight should be 1/4 or 1/2 gram.

7. Blue Sapphire/ Neelmani (Saturn): This is normally faint or dark blue in colour. Sapphire or Neelmani is a very cold gem. They are yellow or blue in colour. Removes evil effects of Saturn. It should be tested before use. It brings wealth, name and fame. Also gives good stamina, longevity and security in life. Can improve fertility in a barren woman. Best suited for joy, love and happiness. It cures fainting, fits, virility, mental disorder, deafness and baldness. It should be used on 2nd finger of right hand in gold or panch dhatu on Saturday and the weight is 5 or 7 grams.

8. Hassonite/ Gomed (Rahu): This is normally reddish-chocolate in colour. Hassonite is the English name for Gomed which is cold in nature. It cures diseases caused by Rahu and Saturn. It also increases appetite, vitality, confers good health, wealth and happiness and all round prosperity. It should be used in silver on Saturday on 2nd finger of right hand. The weight should be 6, 11, 13 grams.

9. Cat's Eye/ Vaidurya/ Lasanya (Ketu): This is normally milky in colour. Cat's Eye or Lasanya is too hot in nature. Useful for eradicating evil influences of Ketu and diseases caused by Mars. Prevents unexpected mishaps of life, cures mania, paralysis etc. Saves from accidents and secret enemies. For businessmen, it is a miraculous result-giver stone. Bestows wealth by secret means like horse racing, gambling, stock and exchange market and speculations. It should he worn in gold on 2nd finger or 3rd finger of right hand. The weight should be 3, 5 or 7 grams.

(K.P.) Krishnamurti Paddhati (KP System) :

This is an excellent system (Paddhati) of astrological predictions conceived, created by The Great Indian Astrology King, late Prof. K.S. Krishnamurti.

As you must have experienced that pin-pointing of the timing of the events is rather difficult (? impossible) when one uses Vedic or any other system.

At the same time in cases of Twin Births the charts of then two persons will remain almost same in Vedic system. However there is always a lot of difference in them.

If you want a precise 'YES' or 'NO' answer astrologically then it is also difficult in conventional astrology.

In conventional horary astrology if two or more people approach to you at the same time then it again becomes very difficult to give accurate predictions as their charts will remain the same.

To overcome the above and similar short-comings of the conventional vedic system, KP comes as saviour.

Major Differences From Vedic :

KP system gives importance to the Constellations / Stars / Nakshatras divisions of the Zodiac which is obviously the most desired for precision.

Further it divides each Constellation / Star / Nakshatra division into further 9 subdivisions called 'SUBS'. These sub divisions are not equal divisions, but are as per the Vimshottari Dashas Divisions System.

K.P. System uses K.P. Ayanamshas as opposed to Lahiri Ayanamshas mostly used in Vedic System. The difference between two is about 6 minutes (Kala).

This system uses Cusps that is house/ bhav beginnings like Western Systems, as opposed to Vedic System which uses House Centres i.e. Bhav Madhyas.

This system uses Placidus House system. The planet in it's dasha gives results as per it's Nakshtra-Swami (Star-Lord) rather than the

planet itself. Whether the above results will be benefic or malefic will be decided by the Planet's SUB. Hence Planet is represents the SOURCE, that Planet's Star-Lord represents the EFFECTS,

RESULTS and that Planet's Sub gives idea of the FINAL DIRECTION of that result. RULING PLANETS : Unique Concept of KP for Powerful Divine Guidance during predictions..

Personally I love this system and it's my sincere advice to give it a try. I am sure once you try you will also fall in love with this system.

The Great Indian Astrology King, late Prof. K.S. Krishnamurti has written SIX READERS which are Classics like 'Geeta' or 'Bible' for the KP Astrology.

Astro-Kundali has excellent support for this KP system. Its fun to study / practice KP with Astro-Kundali!

Entire astrology is based primarily on nine planets, twelve signs, twenty-seven Nakshatras and twelve houses (Bhava). Generally predictions are based on permutations and combinations of these elements. Names of nine planets are as follows:

Planet Sanskrit Name

Sun सूर्य� (Surya)

Moon चंद्र, सोम (Chandra, Som)

Mars मंगल, कुज (Mangal, Kuja)

Mercury बुध (Budha)

Jupiter गुरू, बृहस्पति� (Guru, Brihaspati)

Venus शुक्र (Shukra)

Saturn शति� (Shani)

North Node राहु (Rahu)

South Node के�ु (Ketu)

Sun and Moon are considered to be a star and a satellite respectively according to the modern astronomy. But Indian astrology uses word Graha which is translated to Planet in English and includes Sun and Moon for predictive purpose. Similarly, North Node (Rahu) and South Node (Ketu) are astronomical points, and also called Graha (Planet) for predictive purpose.

Indian astrology is earth-centric. Zodiac is a circular belt and all planets seem to be moving on this belt. If this zodiac is divided into twelve equal parts, each part is known as a zodiac sign. These twelve zodiac signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Similarly, when this zodiac is divided into twenty-

seven equal parts, each part is called a Nakshatra. We will discuss about Nakshatras at length later in this series.

Mathematically a circle is of 360 degrees. Therefore one zodiac sign, which is one-twelfth of zodiac, comprises 30 degrees. Nonetheless, there is no need to go much into the mathematical portion and it is enough to know now that each zodiac sign is of 30 degrees.

Each sign is governed by a planet. Let us have a look at it:

Zodiac Sign Sanskrit Name Governing Planet

Aries Mesha Mars

Taurus Vrishabha Venus

Gemini Mithun Mercury

Cancer Karka or Karkata Moon

Leo Simha Sun

Virgo Kanya Mercury

Libra Tula Venus

Scorpio Vrishchik Mars

Sagittarius Dhanu Jupiter

Capricorn Makar Saturn

Aquarius Kumbha Saturn

Pisces Meena Jupiter

In previous article of this series, we learnt about zodiac signs, planets and their ownership. Those were very important concepts and, if possible, try to memorize those concepts. Now, we are going to know about categorization of planets and signs, which is crucial for learning predictive astrology. If you have not read that article, it is recommended to read Part-1, before proceeding to this part.

Firstly, planets are classified into two groups namely benefic and malefic as follows:

Natural Benefic Planets: Moon, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are considered benefic by nature

Natural Malefic Planets: Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are considered malefic by nature

Generally, Moon and Mercury are not always benefic. Full Moon i.e. the Moon near Purnima is considered benefic, while ‘No Moon’ i.e. Moon near Amavasya is believed not to be benefic. Similarly, if Mercury is placed with benefic planet, it is considered benefic and if placed with

malefic, it is considered malefic. In other words, nature of Mercury depends upon the nature of planet influencing it.

It should be remembered that all natural malefic planets do not always produce negative results. Similarly, all natural benefic planets do not always give positive results. Good or bad effect depends up on several other factors like ownership, placement and aspects etc. We will discuss these factors later.

Let us start with first factor i.e. sign placement. Generally, any planet gives positive results in exalted sign (uchcha rashi), own sign (swa-rashi), and friendly sign (mitra-rashi) in this order. In other words, exalted planets give best results, planets in own sign give second best results and planets in friendly sign gives third best result, if we want to quantify. On the other hand, if a planet is positioned in debilitated sign (neecha-rashi) or enemy’s sign (shatru-rashi), it is not capable of giving good results

This table summarizes exalted, debilitated and own sign of planets -

Serial No. Planet Exalted Sign Debilitated Sign Own Sign

1 Sun Aries Libra Leo

2 Moon Taurus Scorpio Cancer

3 Mars Capricorn Cancer Aries, Scorpio

4 Mercury Virgo Pisces Gemini, Virgo

5 Jupiter Cancer Capricorn Sagittarius, Pisces

6 Venus Pisces Virgo Taurus, Libra

7 Saturn Libra Aries Capricorn, Aquarius

8 Rahu Sagittarius Gemini

9 Ketu Gemini Sagittarius

Some points to be noted from above table:

1. Exalted and debilitated signs of a planet are always seventh from each other, e.g. Sun is exalted in Aries, the first sign of zodiac, and debilitated in Libra, the seventh sign of zodiac.

2. Sun and Moon are lord of just one sign. While Rahu and Ketu are not lord of any of the signs. Other planets are lord of two signs each.

3. Rahu and Ketu don’t have their own signs. Even exalted and debilitated signs of Rahu and Ketu are not well-accepted by all the astrologers.

It is also required to understand friendship and enmity of planets for predictive astrology. Planets are neutral, friendly or inimical to other planets as follows:

Planet Friend Enemy Neutral

Sun Moon, Mars, Jupiter Saturn, Venus Mercury

Moon Sun, Mercury None Rest of the planets

Mars Sun, Moon, Jupiter Mercury Rest of the planets

Mercury Sun, Venus Moon Venus, Saturn

Jupiter Sun, Moon, Mars Venus, Mercury Saturn

Venus Saturn, Mercury Rest of the planets Jupiter, Mars

Saturn Mercury, Venus Rest of the planets Jupiter

Rahu, Ketu Venus, Saturn Sun, Moon, Mars Jupiter, Mercury

This is very important table and should be memorized. If you find it difficult to memorize initially, there is no need to get frightened. Eventually with the time and practice, you would learn it automatically.

I am sharing a simple but rough formula to memorize above table. Roughly we can classify planets into two groups that are inimical to each other:

Group 1: Sun, Moon, Mars and Jupiter

Group 2: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu

As I said earlier, this is just a rough formula and there are some exceptions to it which you can note down from above table.

How to use above table? Those planets, which are placed in the signs of friendly planets or located with friendly planets, produce positive results. Similarly, if a planet is situated in sign of enemy planet or positioned with an enemy planet tends to produce diminished positive results.

Let me take an example. You can see from above table that Saturn and Sun are inimical to each other. So if Sun is posited in sign of Saturn i.e. Capricorn or Aquarius or Sun is situated with Saturn, it will not be able to give its good results. In other words, Sun will be weak in giving its results. On the other side, if Sun is with Moon, Mars or Jupiter who are friendly to Sun or in their signs, it should generally give good results.

A birth-chart (also called Kundli or Horoscope in India) can be called a map of planetary positions at the time of birth. There are several different ways of portraying birth-chart in different parts of India. Mainly horoscope is drawn in three major ways – north Indian style, south Indian style and Bangla (East Indian) style. To keep it simple, we will restrict our discussion to north Indian style only.

A birth chart tells about the position of planets in houses and signs. We have already discussed about the planets and zodiac sings, and we will talk about houses a little bit later. In north Indian diagram of birth chart, ascendant sign is written on very first place and then signs are shown from right to left. It means signs are depicted “anti-clock wise” and the number corresponding to zodiac sign is shown in each box. It can be understood better with following example chart:

Houses (Sanskrit: भाव)To understand what is house, we will have to forget all the numbers and names of planets in above example chart for a while. Above birth chart diagram can be decamped in 12 boxes, out of which eight are triangular and four are rectangular in shape. In these four rectangles, topmost rectangle is considered to be “ascendant” or the “first house”. This It has been depicted in gray background in above example chart. Position of ascendant is always fixed in the birth chart. So when we have to find out ascendant, we look at the position of grayed box above. Anything written in that gray box will be called in “first house.”

When we start counting anti-clock wise from first house, the next position arrived thus is known as second house. The next one from second house is called third house and so on. In Sanskrit, house and ascendant are known as bhaav (भाव) and lagna (लग्�) respectively.

House-lord (Sanskrit: भावेश) As we know, “house” and “sign” are two different concepts. The numbers written in horoscope denote zodiac signs, e.g. “11” can be seen written in first house, which shows that eleventh sign i.e. Aquarius is in ascendant or first house. Similarly, the 12th sign or Pisces is situated in second house. We have studied in previous lesson that lords of Aquarius and Pisces are Saturn and Jupiter respectively. Therefore, in astrological language we will say that lord of first house is Saturn (because ‘11’ is written in first house). In same manner, lord of second house is Jupiter.

The lord of first house is also known as ascendant-lord. Similarly, lord of second house is called second-lord, lord of third house is called third-lord and so on. So in example chart we can say that Saturn is the first house lord, Jupiter is the second house lord and so on.

Position of planets in housesIf we start counting from gray rectangle to the house where Venus and Rahu are placed in example chart, we will count up to 5. Thus, we can say that Rahu and Venus are posited in fifth house. Similarly, Moon and Mars are in sixth, Saturn, Sun and Mercury are in seventh, and Jupiter and Ketu are in eleventh house. This is known as position of planets in different houses.

Position of Planets in signsIt is comparatively easier to determine position of planets in zodiac signs. The number written in the box where planet is posited shows position of the planet in sign. In above illustration, ‘3’ is written in the box where Venus and Rahu are placed, so we can say that these planets are in 3rd sign i.e. Gemini. In similar fashion, Moon and Mars are in Cancer sign because ‘4’ is written in the box where they are posited.

Before finishing this week’s lesson, I would like to repeat it that position of planets in houses and signs are two different concepts. When it comes to houses, the topmost rectangular house is considered the first one irrespective of the number written there. The numbers written are not important for determining the position of planets in houses. These numbers convey zodiac signs and therefore they are used to ascertain the position of planets in different signs.

In astrology, predictions are based on nature and significations of planets, signs, houses, and their inter-relations.

Astrology treats planets as living being; signs and houses are like those areas, where planets travel. Relationships of planets with each other, with zodiac signs and with houses etc. determine the predictions.

Just like living beings, planets have "nature" in astrology. Other than this, planets also have "significations". It is of utmost importance to understand the difference between "nature" and "signification". I have observed several times that even many famous astrologers do not understand this distinction clearly and thus commit mistakes in predictions.

In simple words, "nature" tells about "how" and "signification" answers "what". Let us understand it more clearly with the help of an example. Suppose that Sun is posited in 10th house in Aries. In such situation, what results will Sun give? A table depicting the significations of houses is given below, which tell us that tenth house signifies business and trade. So "what will Sun give?" is answered with "Sun will give business." And how is this business or trade going to be? – It is going to be in accordance with the natures of Sun and Aries. Sun is an aggressive planet and Aries is ruled by Mars that is also aggressive. It shows that the business can be of aggressive nature. In other words, native can either be in defense or in sports, where aggression

is a necessity. Similarly, a prediction is made by combining the nature and signification of planets, signs and houses.

All the living and non-living things are signified by planets and houses. Because all these things cannot be discussed here, therefore we will discuss only some important significations. Let us first have a look at different houses and their significations:

First house: It signifies birth, head, nature, body, organs, age, looks, height and caste etc.

Second house: It shows money, monetary gain, eyes, face, voice, economical condition, family, food, tongue, teeth, death and nose etc.

Third house: It depicts younger siblings, courage, fear, ears, strength and mental balance etc.

Fourth house: It indicates pleasure, education, vehicles, heart, property, house, mother, relatives, domestic animals and buildings etc.

Fifth house: It suggests progeny, intelligence, laudable actions or work, charity, entertainment and gambling etc.

Sixth house: It points at diseases, bodily deformity, troubles caused by foes, tension, wound, litigation, brothers of mother and depression etc.

Seventh house: It stands for marriage, wife, sex, travel, death, business and partners etc.

Eighth house: Age, misfortune, vice, loan, enmity, sudden death, problems, suffering, pleasure or pain in this life as per karmas of previous lives and afterworlds etc.

Ninth house: It tells about father, luck, guru, praise, effective work, religion, donation and virtues of past births.

Tenth house: It describes occupation, business, trade, fame, class, rank, authority, domination and family business.

Eleventh house: It is used to contemplate benefit, elder brothers, profit, jewelry, fulfillment of longing, monetary gain and success etc.

Twelfth house: It denotes spending, agony, moksha, poverty, actions out of enmity, charity, loss in theft, bondage, left eye, bed pleasure and leg etc.

n last lesson, we studies about signification of houses. We also learnt the difference between 'signification' and 'nature'. This week, we are going to learn about planets. The signification and nature of planets are as follows:

Sun

Nature: It is square shaped, short height, dark red color, man, warrior (Kshatriya) caste, vice planet, Satwa guna, fire element and Pitta nature.Signification: It controls king, father, copper, trees with fruits, small trees, wheat, bones, head, eyes, brain and heart.

MoonNature: It is spherical, woman, Vaisya (business-class) caste, Sattva Guna, Vaat-Kapha nature.Signification: It controls white color, mother, mind, art, white tree, silver, sweet, rice, chest, saliva, lungs and eye sight.

MarsNature: It has muscular body, square, cruel, aggressive, man, warrior (Kshatriya) class, Tamo-guni, Fire element, Pitta nature.Signification: It shows red color, siblings, war, arms, thief, wound, daal, Pitta, blood, muscles, operation, ears and nose etc.

MercuryNature: It is thin, impotent, business class (Vaishya), neutral planet, Rajoguni, earth element and consists of all three Vaat, Pitta and Kapha natures. Signification: It indicates green color, grams, mother's brother, mathematics, trade, speech, tongue, voice, sex related diseases, dumbness, laziness and skin diseases.

JupiterNature: heavy fat body, man, Brahmin, pleasant, Sattva Guna, space element and Kapha nature.Signification: It depicts yellow color, Vedas, religion, devotion, gold, wise, guru, fat, Kapha, swelling, home, education, sun, progeny, marriage and kidney etc.

VenusNature: It is beautiful, female, Brahmin, charming, Rajoguni, water element and Kapha nature.Signification: It signifies white color, beautiful clothes, beauty, wife, love affair, sex, nuptial bliss, poetry, singing, eyes and women etc.

SaturnNature: It has black color, strange eyes, thin and tall body, cruel, impotent, Shudra class, vice, Tamoguni, Vaat Kapha nature and air element.Signification: It shows back color, father's brother, jealousy, roguishness, thief, beasts, servants,

age, moles, physical strength, practice of Yoga, luxury, renunciation, service and heart diseases etc.

Rahu & KetuNature: They are Vice planets, Chandaal, Tamoguni, Vaat Pitta nature and impotent.Signification: Dark smoke-like color, grandfather, grandmother, deception, accident, quarrel, theft, snake, abroad, skin diseases, legs, hunger and difficulty in progress etc.

Rahu's nature is like Saturn and Ketu has Mars-like nature.

Let us have a look at the nature of signs after learning nature and signification of planets.

Aries: Odd, Fiery, Movable, Barren, Violent, Quadruped, Short ascension, Male, Bilious, Forest, Hilly Areas, Head, Brain

Taurus: Even, Earthy, Fixed, Semi Fruitful, Quadruped, Short ascension, Female, Windy, Agricultural Land, Face, Eyes

Gemini: Odd, Airy, Dual, Barren, Human, Double-bodied, Voice, Short ascension, Male, Bile, Wind and Phlegm, Bedroom, Throat, Shoulder, Arms, Lungs

Cancer: Even, Watery, Movable, Fruitful, Mute, Long ascension, Female, Phlegm, Chasm with water, Chest

Leo: Odd, Fiery, Fixed, Barren, Human, Long ascension, Male, Bilious, Forest, Heart, Upper Abdomen

Virgo: Even, Earthy, Dual, Barren, Human, Long ascension, Female, Windy, Mountain, Lower Abdomen, Spleen

Libra: Odd, Airy, Movable, Semi Fruitful, Voice, Long ascension, Male, Bile, Wind and Phlegm, Entertainment Places, Genetelia, Kidney.

Scorpio: Even, Watery, Fixed, Fruitful, Mute, Violent, Centipede, Long ascension, Female, Phlegm, Underground, Excretory Organs.

Sagittarius: Odd, Fiery, Dual, Semi Fruitful, Double - bodied, Quadruped (Second Half), Long ascension, Male, Bilious, Military Places, Thighs, Liver.

Capricorn: Even, Earthy, Movable, Semi Fruitful, Quadruped, Short ascension, Female, Windy, Watery, Knee.

Aquarius: Odd, Airy, Fixed, Human, Voice, Short ascension, Male, Bile, Wind and Phlegm, Porter House, Shin.

Pisces: Even, Watery, Dual, Fruitful, Mute, Double- Bodied, Centipede, Short ascension, Female, Phlegm, Sea, Feet

You have gained enough astrological knowledge by now. Now you are ready for making predictions. We will learn next how this information is used to make future forecasts.

Now, we have studied about houses, planets and signs. Let us have a look at our illustrative birth-chart again.

Suppose that we want to know about the looks of native. We are aware that ascendant or the first house determines one's looks. Here, ascendant lord is Saturn because '11' is written in 1st house indicating the sign Aquarius and it is ruled by Saturn. It shows that the Saturn is affecting native's looks. Saturn is posited in seventh house along with Sun and Mercury in Leo sign. Sun is the lord of Leo too, thus Sun will also affect native's looks. Saturn's nature is black, strange eyes, thin and tall body, cruel, impotent, Shudra class, vice, Tamoguni, Vaat Kapha nature and air element. And Sun's nature is square shape, short height, dark red color, man, warrior class, vice, Sattva Guna, fire element and Pitta nature. So, the native has influences from both these planets.