Friendship and Enmities of Planets

Allotment of Zodiac Houses for Planets 

The problem is to allot twelve houses, without partitioning a single one to seven planets, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. If these twelve houses which are to be allotted to seven planets each planet will get 1.71% house.

The solution given in Hindu astrology is: the Sun owns only one house or rashi, Leo or Simha and the Moon owns only one rashi, Cancer or Karka. Solution Now there are ten houses and five planets awaiting allotment.

The easy solution that emerges out now is allot two houses to each of the five planets.

The Scheme of Allotment thus arrived at is:

Mars is allotted Mesha (Aries) & Vrishchika (Scorpio), two each.

Venus is allotted Vrishabha (Taurus) & Tula (Libra), two each.

Mercury is allotted Mithuna (Gemini) & Kanya (Virgo), two each.

Jupiter is allotted Dhanu (Sagittarius) & Meena (Pisces), two each.

Saturn is allotted Makara (Capricorn) & Kumbha (Aquarius), two each.

There is a very easy way to remember it. Divide these twelve rashis into two divisions six belonging to the Moon and six belonging to the Sun.

The rashi number of the Moon is four (Karka) proceed in backward direction from here 4, 3, 2, 1, 12 and 11. The rashi number of the Sun is five (Simha) and proceed in forward direction from here 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

The Lunar Half 4 3 2 1 12 11

The Solar Half 5 6 7 8 9 10

Now Re-arrange It Thus:

Lunar Half : Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn

Solar Half : Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn

To sum up Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn move in a backward direction from Karka. Repeat it from Simha in forward direction.

Happy and Unhappy Conditions of Planets

Hindu astrology which deals with the happy and unhappy conditions of human beings who are happy or unhappy or indifferent or very comfortable in some surroundings, comfortable in some, less comfortable in some, uncomfortable in some and miserable in some, so too planets have different conditions and different moods. The condition of planets in a horoscope reflects it.

Note: Do not take it literally because there are many brilliant exceptions to these rules. If that is not remembered, only a gloomy and fatalistic view of a horoscope will have to be taken, as many astrologers do.

Just as the company of different human beings and different surroundings create different moods in you so do planets in a horoscope. Planets are happy in some conditions and unhappy in some other conditions. There are varying emotional states.

Caution 

Before you learn the following lesson, overcome the mechanistic attitude of the age we live. Astrology of Hindus is not a set of formulae to be applied in a push-button way. What is being given here is for a quick understanding of the fundamentals only. Do not take them as final pronouncements. If you commit that mistake, you will become dogmatic. 

Hindu astrology is world's most developed astrology because India is the land where astrology originated and, was developed over a period of thousands of years. Here many astrological experiments have been done and many techniques tested and re-tested. Avoid dogma but follow the steps given below. The more flexible but, not romantically stupid, you are in learning astrology, the better are the chances of your developing proper astrological ability.

Remember it step by step

Exaltation & Debilitation

A planet is in an extremely happy condition when he is exalted and is in an extremely miserable condition when he is debilitated (It is not always true, But this fundamental principle is useful for prediction). When and upto what degrees in a sign is a planet exalted is the first lesson you learn.

Note  : Except Mercury who is exalted in Kanya no other planet gets any exalted status in its own house.

Note: All exalted planets get debilitated in the seventh house from their points of exaltations. For instance the Sun is exalted in Mesha. Now count in this way – Mesha first, Vrisha second, Mithuna third, Karka ending with Tula which is the seventh house from Aries.

Moolatrikona

The second best condition for planets is called as the Moolatrikona. Remember it.

Sun in Simha upto 20 degrees

Moon in Vrishabha upto 27 degree

Mars in Mesha upto 12 degrees

Mercury in Kanya upto 20 degrees

Jupiter in Dhanu upto 10 degrees

Venus in Tula upto 15 degrees

Saturn in Kumbha upto 20 degrees

Note: Except the Moon all other planets get the Moolatrikona condition in one of their own houses.

Own House 

The third best condition for a planet is to be in its own house (other than Moolatrikona house which, except in the case of the Moon is of course its own house). Remember it thus:

Note  : Sun, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn recognize the same house in which they are in a moolatrikona condition, as their own houses. But their other houses are also their own houses. The only exception is the Moon.

Next a planet is happy in the house of a friend.

How then to decide the friendships and enmities among planets and, the third condition called neutrality.

In International Law there are three parts – War, Peace and Neutrality. Among planets these types of relationships have existed since the Lord created the world, planets and stars.

Principle Number One – The lords of the fifth and the ninth  houses and the lords of the second, fourth, eighth and twelfth houses from a planet’s moolatrikona  house are its friends.

Illustration

The moolatrikona  house of Mars is Mesha. From this point (Mesha) the lord of the fifth house (Simha), the Sun and the lord of the ninth house (Dhanu) Jupiter are the friends of Mars.

Again from Mesha, the lord of the fourth house (Karka), the Moon, of the eighth house, Mars himself, and of the twelfth house (Meena) Jupiter.

You thus now know who are the friends of Mars. They are Venus (the second lord), Moon (the fourth lord), Mars himself (being the eighth lord) and Jupiter (the twelfth lord).

Visual Exercises

Start from the moolatrikona houses and mark first the lords of the fifth and ninth houses.

Then mark the lords of the second, fourth, eighth and twelfth houses. Your now have a total picture of friendships among planets. In a tabular form it is being given now.

Note

1. Wherever a planet shows gesture of friendship twice to another planet he becomes his great friend. Here you find that: The great friend or friends of The Sun are Jupiter and Mars – Of the Moon, Mercury; Of Mars, Jupiter; Of Mercury Venus; Of Jupiter Mars; Of Venus both Mercury and Saturn; Of Saturn both Mercury and Venus.

2. Where a planet has expressed its gesture of friendship only once a suspicion arises about the other unknown relationship. Actually it is known after seeing the other relationship.

3. Therefore to decide the mutual enmitites of planets remember that a planet owning the third, sixth and eleventh house and then also the seventh and tenth house becomes, from its moolatrikona house, its enemy. This is being explained in tabular form.

Note

In the earlier table of friendships it has been seen that some planets become friends twice and some once.

In the preceding table it has been seen that some planets become enemies twice and some once.

In the third category are those planets who become friends in one way and enemies in another way These planets become neutrals.

So let us prepare a third table of neutrals.

Neutrals

Caution

1. What has been given so far is what is known as neutral, friendly and hostile relationship. This has to be modified by looking at the temporal principle of friendships of planets.

Planets in the second, third and fourth from each other and planets in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth houses become friends. See the first three houses in the forward direction and the last three in the backward directions.

2. Never overemphsise the friendships or enmity factor. Lot of new factors have to be looked into and new research has to be done.

3. All that is being stressed here is remember the principle but do not overstress these factors. Also do not ignore them. The art of judgement in astrology is the art of developing a judicial balance.

In various ancient texts, different results are given for the conditions of planets. They, if used liberally, not literally make an astrologer avoid dogmatic interpretation of horoscopes, a very common weakness and fault of astrologers.
Given below is the result of different conditions with certain remarks.

In fact debilitated Saturn and Mars give humility. Debilitated planets have to have their weaknesses. They manifest in different ways at different times.
Caution
1. The above given results get modified through the association or aspects of other planets with them. They can improve or get worse.
2. A planet within, say, about three degrees of the Sun is said to be combust  and is said to give bad results. In our experience it is not always so, though for a brief period there can be mental pain.
3. A planet defeated in a planetary war is the planet which is almost of the same degree as another one (not the Sun and also other exceptions). This has been interpreted differently by different writers. There is no sound research to guide us.
4. A planet when retrograde (other planets except the Sun, the Moon) gets into retrograde motion. Read a little bit of astronomy to learn about it). No astrologer should jump to any conclusion without a sound research and observation.
Note :  The interpretation of the results of all these, particularly of retrograde planets has been mostly done through loose generalisations. Such an approach and tendency must be avoided.