The endocrine glands of the human body are extremely complex. Vedic Astrology is only recently beginning to tackle these questions. A cursory look at the available literature in published books and on-line leaves me dissatisfied. Some agreement exists for some glands, but others are still a mystery. The more one tries to match it up with myth, philosophy, ayurveda, the chakras, the elements, medical science, planetary rulerships and even western astrology, the more convoluted it seems to get.

There is agreement in some areas and experience and research shows that some theories are working in practice, but even then one has to ask why?

Take the thyroid gland for example. Everyone knows and agrees that the thyroid is ruled by Mercury and the third house. If these areas are too hot or too wet or too windy it can show a thyroid problem. Moon, Venus and 2^nd house are also likely to be involved.

Diabetes is typically seen thru Jupiter and Venus. When we consider that the pancreas metabolizes sugars with insulin and fat with glucagon then is seem reasonable that these two sweet lovers would be involved with diabetes. I typically like to see the 2^nd house to get a sense of their diet. Jupiter also rules over the liver which is also affected by poor diet: saturated fats and too much heat and toxin like alcohol, coffee, natural and pharmaceutical drugs and tobacco.

Venus rules over male fertility from the testes and Mars rules over female fertility, the ovaries and menstrual cycle. Venus’ popular name in Hindi is Shurkr, which literally means male sperm. It’s common to look to Venus for any erectile dysfunction, inopportune ejaculation, or sperm count issues. And for women it is common knowledge that blemishes to mars will give menstrual problems, red blood cells, bleeding. The angle between mars and moon can also be important for the female’s cycle.

All of the glands have their own effect on our mood, so the moon must always play a role in the endocrine system. We can certainly see how the sex organs give the skin luster as one at the peak of fertility when strong.

The adrenal glands seem to be a mars gland due to the adrenaline and it’s relation with our ‘fight or flight’ response. Mars certainly rules cortisol and relates with the stress hormones in general. But those natural opiods are motivation enhancers like dopamine that lead to and enforce addictive behavior are fully the domain of Venus. When we mix Mars with Venus we increase the risk of addiction but also typically get more active enjoyment in life. There is a strong tendency to engage with the opposite sex, and take other pleasure risks. We see more clearly the connection between the adrenal glands and the reproductive glands (ovaries & testes) and the workings of Venus and Mars. The adrenal glands also sit on top of the kidneys which also relate

The thymus, most notable for immunity must be ruled by the Sun. But once we begin to see things this way than the sun rules over the whole endocrine system along with the moon. We must also consider the strength of the moon and ascendant and well as Mars to know the strength of the immune system to correctly detects, avoid, defend against, or defeat disease and illness of the body. Sometimes I don’t know how many planets to stop at when

This leaves us with the glands in the head: the pineal, pituitary, hypothalamus. These three are a little more complex since they essentially control the entire endocrine system plus most of the major functions of the body. This is where the Sun and Moon certainly play a stronger role. But we must also look carefully at the fictions played by the individual hormones secretes by these glands.

The pineal gland uses serotonin to make melatonin. only secretes a single hormone. The primary function is to control our circadian rhythms and sleep cycles. It connects us to the daily and seasonal rhythms of light and dark. This is the gland they also call the seat of the soul giving us much psychedelic experience by connecting us to our ancient reptilian ancestry. The functions of the pineal are perhaps the most mysterious of all the glands. Sun, Ketu and Mars along with 1^st house and Aries must be checked

The pituitary does not get much easier to understand. It can quite logically be divided in between a masculine and feminine expression by the different functions of the anterior and posterior sides of this gland.

The posterior pituitary only stores hormones without producing any of its own. It does secrete anti-diuretic hormone controlling he water balance on the body, and oxytocin which influences uterine contraction and lactation. Moon is obviously influential here. Oxytocin is also the hormone of affection, love and belonging; it’s sometimes called the bonding hormone. It’s a natural inflammatory cooling the system, lowering blood pressure, decreasing blood pressure and cortisol levels in the body; all of which bring about a sense of security, and deep relaxation.

The anterior pituitary is the masculine, productive side of the pituitary. The anterior pituitary produces hormones that regulate the entire endocrine system. Human growth hormone is one of the main hormones coming from here to regulate all areas of growth in the body, including hair, skin, nails, muscles mass, and the size of our body as we grow from fetus to adult. The depletion of this hormone in old age tilts the balance in the opposite direction. Other hormones regulate the thyroid (TSH), growth and health of the hair on the body (FSH), stress (ACTH), fat reserves (lipotropin), hair/eyes/skin pigmentation (melanocyte), the reproductive organs and the libido (luteinzing regulates testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, ovulation) as well as bone density, memory, loco-motor activity and slow wave sleep (all of which are repartly regulated by osteocalcin and cortistatin)).

From this list we get a strong sense of Jupiter energy ruling growth, fat on the body, intelligence as well as contributing to reproduction. Mars certainly plays a role in libido, stress and motor activity. Sun and the moon seem to both be at work here; though many of these hormones must passes thru a kind of incubation period in the posterior pituitary before moving on to their destination gland.

This leaves on the hypothalamus, known as the adviser of the pituitary and these two glands rule over the entire endocrine system. They also call this gland “the seat of prana” as it controls the breathing and the bodily movements that affect breath. It is also considered the seat of emotions as it gives emotional response to sense stimulus (taste, smell, touch, laughter, smiling, frowning, thoughts). I once heard this gland described as a shiva lingam (Jupiter and Cancer). Jupiter is known as the lord of the vital airs; the five pranas, and moon and cancer relate with our emotions. This might also be why GajKeshari yoga (Jupiter in 4^th, 7^th or 10^th from moon (some include Jupiter moon conjunction) might be considered to be so beneficial since it brings some emotional balance into ones life.

We must also take into account the location of the gland in our body. This suggests that the first eight houses (and signs) rule over all of our glands. It also highlights the importance of first house (and Aries) and those most influential glands that reside in the head (in the brain). The thyroid, located int eh throat at the level of the adams apple resides on the boundary of Taurus and Gemini. The thymus in the heart centre which open up the debate between 4^th and 5^th house for so many health conditions related to the chest and heart. The pancreas fits reasonably well with 6^th house (Virgo) which is known to have a strong influence on the stomach and metabolism, but one is tempted to apply the 6^th & 7^th house to the pancreas and the adrenals. Which leaves the 7^th & 8^th houses (Libra and Scorpio) with control over the testes and ovaries.

The typical afflictions of the planets must also be applied: Mars’ heat, Saturn’s coldness and vata, Rahu and Ketu hyper and hypo activity which is said to mimic Mars and Saturn. Planetary debilitation, weakness, affliction by natural or functional malefic (owners of 6^th, 8^th or 12^th houses) can all play a role in afflicting a house and planet associated with the glands. For deep seated glandular debility affecting all aspects of life, we must also confirm the debility by sign, house, and planetary karakas from the rising sign, the sun and the moon.

My study of this topic is continuing into the nakshartra. If anyone has any knowledge or ideas about nakshatas influence on the endocrine system I will be happy add that to my survey.

Gland	Planet	House
Pineal	Sun, Ketu, Mars	1st house & Aries
Hypothalamus	Moon (Jupiter in Cancer) (angle between Moon & Jupiter)	1st & 2nd house Aries & Taurus
Anterior Pituitary	Jupiter, Mars, Sun & Moon
Posterior Pituitary	Moon
Thyroid	Mercury	2nd & 3rd house Taurus & Gemini
Thymus	Sun (moon & mars) (angle between Sun & Mars)	4th & 5th house Cancer & Leo
Pancreas	Jupiter & Venus	6th house & Virgo
Adrenals	Mars & Venus	6th & 7th house Virgo & Libra
Ovaries	Mars (angle between Moon & Mars)	7th and 8th house Libra and Scorpio
Testes	Venus	7th and 8th house Libra and Scorpio

There are numerous ways to understand the endocrine glands: by function, location, chakra rulership. I will include these below but I don not believe these correlations are working as well as that expressed above. Some things seem to work, yet there are also deep flaws in some parts of the categorization and in many cases it is not working in practice. One will, however, get much benefit in considering each method, and it’s likey that western astrology has something to offer in this field thru the use of the more distant planets: Pluto, Uranus & Neptune.

Gland	Western Astrology	Dr SS Chatterji
Pineal	Neptune	Moon
Hypothalamus	Moon
Anterior Pituitary	Saturn	Sun
Posterior Pituitary	Jupiter	Moon & Mars
Thyroid	Mercury	Jupiter & Sun
Parathyroid	Venus	Saturn & Mercury
Thymus	Sun & Neptune	Moon
Pancreas	Moon & Venus	Mars
Adrenals	Mars	Mars, Jupiter & Venus
Gonads	Uranus	Venus & Moon
Ovaries		Mars
Testes	Pluto	Venus

And when we go to compare the chakras with the glands we are finding some agreement, but looking at the rules of the sex organs in this chart one must also protest since nobody will ever say that Muladhara rules over the sex organs, nor can one imagine that the sex organs are ruled by either Saturn or Mercury. Good luck in your studies.

Om namah shivay

Gland	Chakra	Bepin Behari & Frawley	Sanjay Rath & T. Subba Rao
Pineal	Sahashtra – Crown	Sun	Sun
Hypothalamus & Pituitary	Ajna – Third Eye	Moon	Jupiter
Thyroid	Visshidhi – Throat	Mercury	Saturn
Thymus	Anahata – Heart	Venus	Moon
Pancreas	Manipura – Navel	Mars	Mars
Adrenals	Swatisthana – Sex	Jupiter	Venus
Sex/Reproductive	Muladhara – Root	Saturn	Mercury