Basics of Vedic Astrology
This article is intended to help people who are new to astrology to begin researching their own chart on-line.
The main things we can find thru Google about our chart are:
1. Information about the planets in the signs and houses. Including moon nakshatra. I will show you how to determine what sign and house your planets are in.
2. Information about conjunctions of the planets.
3. Information about the house owner position in the chart. This is a bit more complicated but once you know what signs each planet owns it will become second nature.
This article will teach the north Indian chart since that’s what I learned with and what I use.
The North Indian chart looks like this.
The first house is always the rising sign in the top middle. We count the rest of the houses counter-clockwise like this.
It doesn’t matter what number is in the space, the houses are always counted this way.
The number signifies the sign: Aries to Pisces; 1 to 12.
Take the chart below, for example, we find Scorpio, the 8th sign in the first house. This, of course, sets the scene for the rest of the chart: Sagittarius in the second house, Capricorn in the 3rd and so on until we get to Libra, the 7th sign as the scene of the 12th house.
The order of the signs is like this:
- Aries
- Taurus
- Gemini
- Cancer
- Leo
- Virgo
- Libra
- Scorpio
- Sagittarius
- Capricorn
- Aquarius
- Pisces
At this point, you should be able to identify what sign is in what house.
I will give a list of the planets which will make the abbreviations plain.
- Sun
- Moon
- Mars
- Mercury
- Venus
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Rahu
- Ketu
With this information,on, you should be able to identify the sign and house that each planet in your chart is in.
The next step in reading your chart involves a little deeper knowledge of the signs and planetary rulers.
- Sun rules Leo, the 5th sign.
- Moon rules Cancer, the 4th sign.
- Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, the 1st & 8th signs.
- Mercury rules Gemini & Virgo, the 3rd and 6th signs.
- Venus rules Taurus & Libra, the 2nd and 7th signs.
- Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces, the 9th and 12th signs.
- Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius, the 10th and 11th signs.
- Rahu is usually said to be part owner of Aquarius.
- Katu is usually said to be part owner of Scorpio.
Now we can say, using the example above, that the owner of the first house is in the 1st house. The owner of the second house is in the 7th house; the owner of the third and fourth house is in the 9th house going all around.
The rising sign (first house) sets the whole tone of life and the rest of the chart. You will want to study about your rising sign, any planets that are placed or aspecting there. You will want to know who the owner of the first house is and in which house that owner in placed and which planets are affecting the first house owner. Eventually, we will want to study every house and house owner in a similar fashion.
How can we tell if a planet is well placed or not?
This has a lot to do with relationships between the planets. Some planets are friends with each other, some are neutral and other planets are enemies.
Some of the planets of our chart are naturally beneficial energies in this world, while others may only be functioning as benefits in our chart.
The same can be said for the ability of a planet to bring difficulties in our lives.
Natural benefics: Waxing Moon, Jupiter & Venus are beneficial planets for us. Where they sit and what they influence in the chart will typically be comfortable, expansive, and beautiful. Mercury can be included in this list when one of these planets offers its influence. The Sun is also considered a benefic planet, thou he can be cruel, hot and burning.
Natural Malefic: Mars, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu
Learn the basics of Ayurvedic Astrology
Study the Foundational Philosophy for Vedic Astrologers
Vedic Astrology for Self-Improvement
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