Vedic Astrology: Bhavas and Houses

Vedic Astrology: Bhavas and Houses

Planetary dignity is an extremely important aspect in determining what is indicated in an astrological horoscope which takes into account the Natural and Temporary Friendships of planets. Natural (or Permanent Friendship) is bestowed based on the location of a sign in relationship to the Moolatrikona sign of a particular planet, while Temporary Friendship is found within a specific horoscope, and requires us to locate the placement of a planet in relationship to the ruler (lord) of the sign that it’s in, and then we weigh the relationship based on these combined factors.

The dignity of a planet will tell us how effectively that planet will be at bringing its best qualities to the horoscope, or how much it might struggle to imbue those qualities to the horoscope and the house it sits in, the houses it aspects, as well as the other planets it aspects and the house(s) that it rules.

Planets can be classified as being: 1) Exalted, which is to be in the degree of the sign at which the planet can perform at their absolute best. 2) Moolatrikona, which are a set of degrees, usually in a sign owned by that planet, at which the planet performs excellently. 3) Own Home, this would be a sign ruled by the planet, but not within the Moolatrikona degrees or it could be in the other sign ruled by the planet if it rules two signs. The planet can do very well here and is comfortable fulfilling its agenda. 4) Great Friends. The planet will do quite well here. 5) Friends sign. The planet can do pretty well here as the planet that rules the sign it’s in is friendly to it. 6) Neutral. The sign the planet is in is ruled by a planet that doesn’t help or hurt the planet. It’s basically so-so at fulfilling its agenda here. 7) Enemy. The planet will really struggle to fulfil its purpose and it’s not comfortable in this sign, the sign is at odds with the nature of the planet. 8) Great Enemy. The planet will suffer and struggle to give good results here. 9) Debilitated. This is the most difficult place for this planet to be as it goes against the nature of the planet. The planet will not produce the desired results of that planet without a lot of help from its friends or perhaps a remedy and working on the planet (by the horoscope owner) could help mitigate some difficulty with the planet, over time and with effort.

Now let’s take a more in depth look at exactly how to determine dignity, according to Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. As the Permanent Friendship is found through the Moolatrikona sign of each planet, let’s look at what the Moolatrikona sign is. Moolatrikona means literally “root trine”, and this is the position in which the planet in question gets its nourishment or energy from. When a planet rules two different signs, the Moolatrikona is the sign that the planet favours over the other. The Moolatrikona is usually a sign that the planet rules, except in the case of the Moon, whose Moolatrikona and exaltation degree are both in Taurus.

Following are the Moolatrikona signs for each planet:

0 – 20 degrees Leo is the Sun’s moolatrikona

4 – 30 degrees of Taurus is the Moon’s moolatrikona,

0 – 12 degrees of Aries is Mars’ moolatrikona

16 – 20 degrees of Virgo is Mercury’s moolatrikona

0 – 5 degrees of Sagittarius is Jupiter’s moolatrikona

0 – 20 degrees of Libra is Venus’ moolatrikona

0 – 20 degrees of Aquarius is Saturn’s moolatrikona

Natural Friendships are, as stated by Parashara:

“The rulers of signs which are the 4th, 2nd, 12th, 5th, 9th, and 8th from the Moolatrikona are friends to that planet.”

“Lords of signs other than these are its enemies - 3, 6, 7, 10, and 11 house rulers from the Moolatrikona sign.”

An exception to the above rule states that if the planet in question is exalted in any of these other signs it is still friendly.

To make the Natural Relationship clear, see the graph below:

Planet

Friends

Neutrals

Enemies

Sun

Moon, Mars, Jupiter

Mercury

Venus, Saturn

Moon

Sun, Mercury

Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn

Mercury

Sun, Venus

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

Moon

Venus

Mercury, Saturn

Mars, Jupiter

Sun, Moon

Mars

Sun, Moon, Jupiter

Venus, Saturn

Mercury

Jupiter

Sun, Moon, Mars

Saturn

Mercury, Venus

Saturn

Mercury, Venus

Jupiter

Sun, Moon, Mars

When a planet is a Friend as well as an Enemy, based on this reckoning, then it is a Neutral planet. The Moon is said to have no enemies, for the Moon, Sun and Mercury are friends, and the rest are neutral.” (Ryan Kurczak’s YouTube video, “Secrets of Planetary Dignity – Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra”). The Moon is said to have no enemies because the Moon is so adaptable that it will never go against the agenda of a planet that it’s placed with, so cannot be considered an enemy.

The Temporary Relationship also needs to be taken into account. The Natural and Temporary Relationships are then added together to determine what kind of relationship it is.

As Temporary Friendships can only be determined from a specific horoscope (whereas Natural Friendships are the permanent status of relationship between any two planets), we need to see where the planets are placed in relation to each other.

Planets placed in houses 10, 4, 11, 3, 2, and 12th from a planet are Temporary Friends.

Temporary Enemies are planets placed in houses 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9th from the planet in question.

The Temporary relationship shows how the two planets will mesh and work together in the particular chart. The determination of Temporary relationship comes from whether or not the planet will be able to support the planet. Temporary Friends are those planets that are in the houses directly to each side of the planet (three houses on each side), but not in the same house with it. Enemies are in houses across the chart from the planet, or in the same house with the planet. These planets are too far away from the planet to give any support, or if in the same house with the planet, the two planets agendas are now competing, so they become less effective in doing their jobs.

Now that we know what to look for to determine the dignity of a planet in a particular horoscope, we will need to look at how to add The Natural relationship with the Temporary relationship to see the final dignity for each planet in the specific horoscope.

When two planets are Friends, both Natural and Temporary, they become Great Friends.

When two planets are a mix of Friends and Neutral, they are Friends.

When two planets are a mix Friends and Enemies, they become Neutral to each other.

When two planets are one part Neutral and one part Enemy, we have an Enemy relationship.

And when the two planets are Enemies both Naturally and Temporarily, they become Great Enemies.

To help paint a picture of how we look for planetary dignity, let’s imagine a horoscope of Gemini Lagna with Mercury in Libra. Venus is a Natural Friend to Mercury. And let’s say that Venus is in Virgo, the twelfth house from Mercury. That is a position of Temporary Friendship, as it’s a supportive position. In this case, a Friend and Friend equals a Great Friend.

Now, for another example, let’s imagine a horoscope with Pisces Lagna. The Moon is in Aquarius, a sign of Saturn. Saturn is Natural Neutral to the Moon. Saturn in this chart is in the fifth house of Gemini, and this creates a Temporary Enemy status to the Moon. A Neutral and an Enemy equals an Enemy for this horoscope.

In Brihat Parashara Hora Shasta, the percentage of good a planet can give based on its dignity are as follows:

A planet in exaltation gives 100%

In Moolatrikona it gives 75%

In Own Home the planet gives 50%

In a Friends sign a planet will give just 25%

In a Neutral sign the planet is able to give 12.5%

In an Enemy sign or Debilitation the planet gives 0%

Another factor we will want to assess in a horoscope is the degree the planet is in. This is called Balaadi Avastha and will tell us how much power the planet has to give its results, as promised by dignity. If a planet is showing negative outcomes, it can be a good thing that a planet is only able to give minimal results. It cannot give results if it is an infant, old or dead state. But then again, a planet that promises wonderful results can’t give what it promises if not in the middle range of degrees either.

Odd Signs

Avasthas

Even Signs

Result

0 – 6 degrees

Infant

24 – 30 degrees

25% result

6 – 12 degrees

Young

18 – 24 degrees

50 % result

12 – 18 degrees

Adolescent

12 – 18 degrees

100% result

18 – 24 degrees

Old

6 – 12 degrees

5 – 10 % result

24 – 30 degrees

Dead

0 – 6 degrees

No results

There are also aspects of planets to consider, that will have quite a profound effect on the overall chart, these are called Lajjitadi Avasthas. These combinations will cause various effects, and they should be looked for when assessing the horoscope as well.

As we can start to see, there are many factors to take into account when reviewing a chart, to determine the strength a planet will have to give its best qualities. Most horoscopes are very mixed, as we can see reflected in human life.

References:

Kurczak, Ryan – Teachable Vedic Astrology Course, Bhavas and Houses and YouTube video – Parashara Hora Shastra – How to Calculate Dignity

Ashville Vedic Astrology Website, Article on Dignity