Over the past couple of articles, we’ve explored the basics of Astrology, its basis, the principle it is working upon. (If you haven’t read those, you can find them here.)
We’ve discussed how a birth chart is drawn and what tools are used to draw a horoscope.
Now, let’s look into the technical details. How does one begin to make sense of the 12 houses and 9 planets? How do you read the horoscope? To answer those questions, we need to learn what about the significations, meanings of each house, planet, their relationships with the zodiac, etc.
What can Astrology tell?
The Rashis, Grahas, Nakshatras can tell you everything you need to know in excruciating detail. Whether a person will choose Cornflakes or Chocos? Even that can be answered with the help of Nakshatras.
But mind well, just like carving a beautiful sculpture, to mark the tiniest of details, you need a very sound understanding of the tools themselves and a proportionate amount of practice too. You cannot expect to read a few facts and go on to predict the colour of the car someone possesses.
It takes practice and dedication.
Why should I know all this?
So, let me get this clear. I am not trying to teach you predictions. I am showing you my perspective, the way I use Astrology to better myself and how you can use it too without actually becoming an Astrologer.
Through the study of Astrology, you can develop a deeper understanding of yourself, your surroundings, the different situations arising in your life.
In my exploration of this ancient science, I’ve come to the conclusion that this a very powerful tool that our ancestors discovered and made readily available. We must make use of this knowledge for the betterment of ourselves and the others around us, as this was its original purpose.
To show you the same, I am telling all the important technical details. The most basic things. While leaving out some that I don’t consider necessary for you to know right from the get-go.
Let’s explore.
The Relationship between the Rashis and the Grahas
The 12 signs and the 9 planets have a connection and are not independent of each other.
All the 9 Grahas have rulership over the signs they own. Imagine this same as owning a property or a ‘house’. Just like you have your own house and even in your house, you have your favourite room or a favourite spot, the planet does too. The planet’s favourite spot in its own house is called its ‘Mooltrikona’.
All the 9 Grahas have an exaltation sign, their proudest position. This can be thought of as your favourite place to go to, where you find yourself the most comfortable and proud. In this position, the planet finds itself completely resonating with the position it is in. It is its most powerful position to be in, a place where it is properly equipped to deliver results.
All the 9 Grahas have a debilitation sign, their most uncomfortable spot. I think you already have guessed what this means. This position is to be imagined as a situation you do not like, a situation that does not match what you are at all. A situation where you find yourself heavily restricted. This is exactly at 180 degrees from the exaltation point.
The degrees for each of these special places have been defined.
The degrees point to the deepest exaltation point and debilitation point. Sun will still be exalted wherever he is in Aries but he will be considered most powerful at 10º of Aries. Similarly, Jupiter’s biggest fall or debilitation will be at 5º of Capricorn but he will be considered debilitated for the rest of the Capricorn sign.
What’s the need for all this?
The need for these parameters is to understand how comfortable a planet is in your horoscope. This is the first step in determining the strength of the planet, though this is not all.
There are several elaborate systems to identify and determine the true strength of a planet in your horoscopes like Shadvarga, Ashatakvarga, Shodashavarga and other methods to draw the best conclusion. These will be explained at the appropriate time.
Why determine the strength at all? To decide how comfortably, easily and powerfully the significations of those planets will manifest in your life. It is the biggest clue in determining whether the Raja Yoga in your chart will make you the king of the land or the Regional Manager of a firm or just the monitor of your class.
The Curious Case of Rahu and Ketu
You may have noticed that Rahu and Ketu are missing from the above table.
Rahu and Ketu are shadow planets. Which means they actually do not exist as material planets but are mathematical points. There is a big debate as to where Rahu and Ketu behave the best, feel at home. Some say Rahu is exalted in Taurus, some say Virgo or some say Gemini.
What is not debated is that Rahu is co-lord of Aquarius (along with Saturn) and Ketu is the co-lord of Scorpio (along with Mars). When we read about their description, significations, you’ll see why this is so.
In Summary
Planets and Rashis are closely related. Every planet has been known to have a favourite spot and a least favourite spot in the zodiac. The logic behind is them is just like our logic to have favourite places to go.
Some things just resonate with us better and hence we are drawn to them. The same way the sign matching the planet’s own characteristics makes him comfortable. Keep this logic in your mind, this will help us understand the relationships between the planets themselves better.
Again, you don’t need to learn all these technical things. I am just equipping you for a later series where I explain how these mechanics are working and are so closely related to the experiences we have in our life. It’ll greatly help you remember if you know what exaltation, debilitation mean and where each planet gets exalted or debilitated.
As always, I hope you learned something new today and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or share them on any of our social handles. Link to them is given below.
Thank You!
The previous articles can be found here -
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