How Good or Bad is a Planet in a Sign or House?

This article will be a detailed analysis of an astrological technique called varga-viṁśopakaṁ – a 20-point system of rating a planets positivity or negativity by taking into account some or all of the subdivisions influencing the exact zodiac degree the planet occupies. This technique is recorded in Chapter 8 of the controversial but rather biblical tome of ancient eastern astrology: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra.

The first 8 texts of Chapter 8 are really on a different subject. They are just talking about what each different division pertains to, and they give a suggestion about how to use the d60 and d16 in fundamental house interpretation.

So, the discussion of the 20-point system really begins at text 9 and 10, “By considering 20-point strength you can clearly understand the positivity or negativity of the planets and ascendant in the various houses and signs.”

Then 11 gives what should be the first rule of the 20-point system:

गृहविंशोपकं वीक्ष्यं सूर्यादीनां खचारिणाम् ।
स्वगृहोच्चे बलं पूर्णं शून्यं तत्सप्तमस्थिते ॥११॥

gṛhaviṁśopakaṁ vīkṣyaṁ sūryādīnāṁ khacāriṇām |
svagṛhocce balaṁ pūrṇaṁ śūnyaṁ tatsaptamasthite ||11||

gṛha - location/sign; viṁśopakaṁ - 20 point system; vīkṣyaṁ – wonderful; sūryādīnāṁ - the planets, beginning from the Sun; khacāriṇām – which move about. sva-gṛha – own sign; ucce - elevated; balaṁ - strength; pūrṇaṁ – full; śūnyaṁ - nothing; tat-saptama – seventh from there; sthite - situated.

The wonderful 20-point system of sign strength for the moveable planets is: In it’s own sign it is raised to full strength, and in the seventh sign from it there is no strength.

There is confusion regarding the word uccha to refer to the exaltation sign, but this can not be. The next text makes this clear:

“If a planet owns two signs, full strength occurs in the sign it owns that has the same gender as the sign it occupies. In between the full and nil strength positions, calculate the strength proportionately.“

No planet has two exaltation signs, but most have two “own-signs.”  So taking 11 and 12 together it seems to indicate that full strength is not in the exaltation sign, but in the own sign.

Then we come to 13-16 which tell how to calculate the strength of planets in the Hora, which has no signs, only lordship via the Sun and Moon. The proportionality in the Hora is judged by a ratio of how close the planet is to the beginning of the Sun or Moon’s division. The closer to the beginning the more full the effect. So, for example, it defines Mars as having full Hora strength if at the beginning of the Sun’s section of the hora. At the opposite point, the beginning of the Moon’s hora, Mars has nil hora strength.

13-16 goes on to specify that for the other divisions the regular calculation described in 11-12 should be used.

Then texts 17-24.5 give the mathematics for how to weight the various divisions in different schemes for considering them in groups of 6, 7, 10 and 16.

24.5-25 then give us another very important rule, which seems to contradict what we have already been told in 11-12!

पूर्नं विंशोपकं विंशो धृतिः स्यदधिमित्रके॥२४॥
मित्रे पंचदश प्रोक्तं समो दश प्रकीर्तितम्।
शत्रौ सप्तधिशत्रौ च पंचविंशोपकं भवेत्॥२५॥

pūrnaṁ viṁśopakaṁ viṁśo dhṛtiḥ syadadhimitrake||24||
mitre paṁcadaśa proktaṁ samo daśa prakīrtitam|
śatrau saptadhiśatrau ca paṁcaviṁśopakaṁ bhavet||25||

Full 20 of the 20-point system is held when in the sign of a great friend. It is said there are 15 when in a friend’s sign. It is declared that there are 10 in a neutral sign. In an enemy’s sign there are 7, and in a great enemy’s there are 5. This is how the 20-point system unfolds.

There seems to be a prevalent idea among astrologers that 20 points goes to the own sign, 18 goes to a great friend. I cannot see that at all in the Sanskrit, so I consider it an error.

The big mystery is: What does the definition of strength given in 11-12 have to do with this system of assigning points based on friendship? The answer will come out soon…

First, texts 26 and 27 give more simple mathematical details of how to calculate the system.

Then 28 and 29 give an interesting point which shed light on the main question just raised. These texts say that “I will tell you ANOTHER way to figure out the strength. A planet conjoined with the Sun has zero strength, while a planet opposite the sun has full strength.”

I take this to mean an alternative to the method given in 11-12. And this is my clue to resolving what 11-12 is all about. In my estimation it is like this:

1. We should begin by by getting the value of a planet’s sign placement in each varga we are working with, as defined in 24 and 25.
2. For each division we have to then modify the score by multiplying it against a percentage of how close the planet is to its own sign – as defined in 11 and 12, and for the divisions in 13-16.
3. Then we should work out the 20 point score by taking the numbers we have from the first two steps and applying the math given in 17-24 and 26-27.

As an option to step 2 we could instead multiply the base numbers against an inverse  percentage of how close the planet is to the Sun.

Most people think, “huh, what is all this math?” If anything they think, “oh, my software does all this for me.” The problem is, does your software use the correct formulas? You will never know unless you learn the math yourself.

…

Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

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12th lord in the 2nd house – Humility is the Root of All Happiness.

Image via Wikipedia

In the ancient classic of Vedic astrology, Parashara Muni writes:

“Lord of dissolution (12th house) in the house of wealth (2nd house): always spending money on good deeds; moral; sweetly spoken; virtuous and happy.”

This information does nothing if not underscore the extreme importance of humility as the fundamental good quality in life, and the most essential key to positive growth. In the Vedic opinion (which you can see plainly stated by Sri Krsna in Bhagavad Gita 13.8-12) Humility is the foundation of all virtue and all realization. The 12th is the house of dissolution – specifically the dissolution of the various components which support a false sense of ego. Thus it is the house of humility.

The 2nd is the house of things which support and nourish us. Thus the lord of humility in the house of support creates a symbol stating that humility is a key factor in what brings us strength, success, support, etc. This is why the images presented in the quote above are all so positive, something very usual for images ascribed to the 12th lord by classical Vedic authors.

Spending on good: The 12th is the house of expenses, and the 2nd is the house of economic stability and foundations. Therefore the 12th lord in the 2nd house indicates that there is a lot of expense. That’s why the image by the author says “always spending.” But the full image is “always spending on good deeds.” This is because of the positive influence of humility. Humility decreases our self importance and increases our perception of the importance of others. This causes us to be more and more willing to spend our own resources, money, and energy to benefit others. This is the Vedic definition of a good deed. In short this placement increases our charitable nature.

Morality and virtue: As I mentioned earlier, Vedic knowledge identifies humility as the foundation of all morality and virtue. Because the 12th lord in the 2nd house increases our humility, it therefore also increases our access to virtue and morality.

Sweetly spoken: The 2nd is the house of what comes in and out of our mouths. The 12th is the house of humility. Thus the 12th lord in the 2nd house causes our speech to be less proud, less self-serving, more tuned in to the needs and feelings of others, more humble and sweet.

Happy: We wrongly thing that accomplishing our own ambitions and desires will bring about happiness. Vedic philosophy, however, gradually convinces us that the more we become humble the more we can concern ourselves with the needs of others, and the less with our own selfish desires. The more we concern ourselves thusly, the more moral and virtuous we become – for selflessness is the definition of morality and virtue. The more we are moral and virtuous the more we engage in good deeds meant to help others. The more we engage in good deeds the better karma we create for ourselves, and thus the more happiness we enjoy. Thus the 12th lord in the 2nd house increases our ability to be happy as a result of being humble and caring for the needs of others.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Harming Beings – 6th lord in the 12th house

Image via Wikipedia

Vedic Wisdom gives us a caricature of the nature of the 6th lord in the 12th house as creating a person who does not observe non-violence, but winds up harming other beings. I will now explore the reasoning for this caricature.

Harming beings: This specifically refers to the Vedic principle of ahimsa (non-violence), which is one of the very primary virtues. Ahimsa is a topic of the 12th house. The 12th house is the sky above the eastern horizon. The eastern horizon is where the Sun rises, and therefore represents birth and becoming visible and physical. So the 1st house, the eastern horizon represents the physical self. The 12th house is the sky above this. In the sky just above the horizon is all the wind and rain which erodes and dissolves the land. Thus the 12th house represents everything that erodes the physical-centrered and self-centered way of existing.

In a self-centered way of existing, we naturally feel like we are important and the people and things in the world are resources for us. The 12th house wants to enlighten us by eroding this self-centered illusion. But if the 6th lord – lord of obstacles – inhabits the 12th house, the symbolism is that there is a blockage, an obstacle inhibiting the 12th house from doing so. If we are in a self-centered concept of life, we exploit others. We do not take care to be non-harming (ahimsa). This is what the author is alerting you to. He is telling you that you must pay much more careful attention to being non-harmful to others. Why live in a way that leaves a big footprint behind you? Why live in a way that inconveniences others? Why for example, eat meat? It is not at all necessary – although maybe someone might think it is “enjoyable.” These sort of debates have to be welcomed more hospitably into the heart of us with 6th lord in the 12th house, or else we risk seriously damaging our future karma and having our next birth in very unfavorable conditions.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

Always Delighted by Understanding Impermanence – The blessing of the 7th lord in the 5th house

In Parashara’s Encyclopedia of Astrology (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra), the great Vedic seer illustrates the nature of what various astrological placements promote for an individual who has those placements in their birth chart. A very useful section is his depiction of images conveying the nature of what arises for people with various house lords occupying various houses.

In particular one placement really catches my attention today. He says:

If the 7th lord is in the 5th house, the native will be always delighted.

“Always delighted” means one understands that sense gratification is not tremendously important. Why is this the meaning? Because, the 7^th house represents the setting sun and disappearance. The 5^th house is one’s intellect. When the 7^th lord is in the 5^th house the implication is that one is better able to understand the impermanent nature of things. Therefore one becomes detached from sense gratification, the idea that happiness and pleasure comes as a result of contact with “desirable” temporary objects.

Sense gratification – the idea of exploiting things for senory pleasure – is itself inevitably always the source of grief, because there are only three possible outcomes:

1. One cannot obtain sufficient contact with the object of desire = grief.
2. One obtains sufficient contact with the object, but it does not live up to its attractive appearance = grief.
3. One obtains sufficient contact with the object, it is all that one hoped for, but it dies, breaks, or wears out and one loses it = grief.

Therefore by intelligently understanding the impermanent nature of the world and thus becoming less enamored of exploiting its temporary objects, one becomes more free from sources of grief. Thus one is “always delighted.” That is the idea conveyed by this quotation.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com