Chapter 3 · ग्रह Graha
The 9 planets
The nine grahas are the actors in every chart. This chapter introduces each one: what it signifies, where it is strongest and weakest, whether it is benefic or malefic by nature, and how fast it moves.
- The nine grahas and what each one signifies
- Exaltation, debilitation and moolatrikona for each graha
- Which grahas are natural benefics and malefics
- Why the speed of a graha matters
1. Meet the nine grahas
Jyotish works with nine grahas: the Sun, the Moon, the five visible planets, and Rahu and Ketu, the two points where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s. The word graha means “that which seizes”. Select a graha to see its main significations and dignities.
2. Benefics and malefics
By nature, Jupiter and Venus are benefics; a waxing Moon and an unafflicted Mercury are also benefic. The Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are natural malefics, and Mercury becomes malefic when joined with malefics. In chapter 6 you will see that a planet’s role for a particular ascendant can override its natural character.
3. Fast and slow
The grahas move at very different speeds, and that matters: fast planets describe passing moods and short phases, slow ones describe long chapters of life. Press play to watch them move round the zodiac at their relative speeds.
| Graha | Time in one sign (approx.) | Full circle (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Moon | About 2¼ days | About 27 days |
| Sun | About 1 month | 1 year |
| Mercury | About 1 month (varies) | About 1 year |
| Venus | About 1 month (varies) | About 1 year |
| Mars | About 1½ months | About 2 years |
| Jupiter | About 1 year | About 12 years |
| Saturn | About 2½ years | About 29½ years |
| Rahu, Ketu | About 1½ years (backwards) | About 18½ years |
Mercury and Venus never stray far from the Sun; all planets except the Sun and Moon sometimes appear to move backwards (retrograde).
Worked example · Albert Einstein
Two exalted planets, two debilitated
Venus is exalted in Pisces at 24°49′, close to its deepest exaltation at 27°. Mars is exalted in Capricorn. On the other side, Mercury is debilitated in Pisces and the Moon is debilitated in Scorpio. A chart is never simply strong or weak: it is a mix, and the rest of this course is about weighing it.
Birth data: 14 March 1879, 11:30 local time, Ulm, Germany; Rodden rating AA (from the birth record), as listed by Astrotheme from Astro-Databank. Positions converted by LotusAstro to the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa, about 22°10′ in 1879), whole-sign houses. One famous chart illustrates a technique; it proves nothing on its own.
Worked example · Indira Gandhi
No planet at either extreme
None of her planets is exalted or debilitated. Mars and the Sun are in friends’ signs; Jupiter (in Taurus, Venus’s sign) and Saturn (in Cancer, the Moon’s sign) are in signs of their enemies. Her chart’s strength lies elsewhere, as chapters 6 and 9 show.
Birth data: 19 November 1917, 23:11 local time, Allahabad (now Prayagraj), India; source given as her own account (Rodden rating A), as listed by Astrotheme. Positions converted by LotusAstro to the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa, about 22°42′ in 1917), whole-sign houses. One chart illustrates a technique; it proves nothing on its own.
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