Lesson #4: The Essential Meaning of the Planets (Grahas) By Vaughn Paul Manley, M.A. Printer rien!ly Version " Eail Author " Author " Ar$hi%e &is$uss This on Vaughn Paul's Message Boar! Copyright 2004. All Rights Reserv Reserved. ed.
In the previous lesson we learned how to draw up our Vedic charts using both the South Indian and the North Indian chart styles. e also inserted the sidereal degrees o! our planets that we calculated in lesson 2. "y now you should have a copy o! your Vedic natal horoscope that you#ve either $anually calculated% or that you#ve ac&uired a co$puter printout o!. 'hroughout this course we will be pri$arily wor(ing with our own natal horoscope in the e)ercises at the end o! each lesson. 'here!ore% be sure that your chart is accurate and that you have copies o! your chart in both the South Indian and North Indian chart styles% as we will re!er to each. *owever% *owever% we will pri$arily be using the South Indian chart style as this is the one $ost co$$only used. e are now ready to learn how to $a(e sense o! our Vedic charts. 'he ne)t + lessons will give you the !unda$entals o! the planets% houses and signs and their (ey indications. e will also be learning beginning chart interpretation s(ills in the e)ercises at the end o! each lesson.
Learning To Thin Astrologi$ally 'hroughout this course we#ll be learning to thin( astrologically. In other words% instead o! ,ust giving you a list to $e$ori-e o! the various various indications !or !or the planets% houses% and and signs% which you can !ind in $ost boo(s on Vedic astrology% astrology% we will be learning the !unda$ental logic behind how those indications are derived. nce you understand the logic behind the !unda$entals% you will be a $uch $ore versatile% and astute astrologer. /or e)a$ple% I gave a reading to a client recently who had the oon in the 1rd house and who started his li!e in a oon period in the vi$shottari dasa planetary period syste$. I as(ed hi$ i! he had lost his $other early in li!e and he said% 3es% 3es% she died when I was 2 $onths old.
*ow did I (now that5 3ou won#t !ind $any boo(s on Vedic astrology that list the oon in the 1rd house as representing the loss o! the $other. "ut i! you understand that the 62th house !ro$ any given house represents the loss o! the indications o! that house% and you (now that the 4th house and the oon relate to $other% then you can logically understand that the oon in the 1rd house 7the 62th house !ro$ the 4th house8 can relate to loss o! the $other% especially in a oon period. I! I had been dependent on the indications given in boo(s then I would not have been able to co$e up with that speci!ic interpretation. As I $entioned in the !irst lesson% astrologers are li(e detectives loo(ing !or clues to support a hypothesis. 'he $ore indications that they !ind the $ore certain they beco$e. 'his is how the great astrologers co$e up with brilliant predictions and da--ling insights. 'hey have seen a particular indication rein!orced !ro$ $any di!!erent angles% which they#re able to do very &uic(ly in their head. 'his approach o! learning to thin( astrologically will serve you i$$ensely in beco$ing a co$petent astrologer. 3ou will be able to see a chart !ro$ $any di!!erent angles and co$e up with your own da--ling insights.
Getting to no* the Planets Astrology is said to be the oldest science on the planet. 'his is perhaps because ancient civili-ations pri$arily learned through stories and $yths that were developed out o! directobservation o! their environ$ent. At night% there is not $uch le!t to observe e)cept the s(y and people gathered around a !ire and watched the s(y $uch li(e we gather at night and watch 'V9 In ancient India% $any ho$es had outdoor !ire pits called :howan (unds: where people would o!ten spend ti$e chanting $antras% observing the stars ; planets% telling stories etc. 3ou can still !ind this tradition happening in $any parts o! India today% especially in the rural villages. d suggest getting a boo( on astrono$y and beco$ing !a$iliar with identi!ying the actual signs and planets in the night s(y. 3ou will gain insights into their nature ,ust by tuning into the$ directly. In !act% the great sages o! Vedic astrology% li(e ?arashara and @ai$ini% brought !orth their (nowledge out o! intuitive insight. 'here!ore% by learning in this $anner you are connecting to an ancient tradition.
'he easiest planets to locate in the s(y% besides the Sun ; oon% are Venus% @upiter% ars% Saturn and ercury in that order. Venus and @upiter are o!ten so bright that they are the !irst stars out at sunset or the last stars visible at sunrise. Venus is also called :the $orning star: !or this reason and is the brightest ob,ect in the s(y ne)t to the Sun and oon. ercury is very di!!icult to see because o! its close pro)i$ity to the Sun. 3ou only have about a 10 $inute window to view it at sunset or sunrise% and only i! its sign place$ent is a!ter the Sun at sunset% or be!ore the Sun at sunrise.
+aleaala rater, Maui, +a*aii Recently% I decided to stay up all night on the !ull oon on top o! *alea(ala Crater where I live in aui% *awaii. "y sunrise I had seen every visible planet Sun% oon% Venus% @upiter% ars% Saturn% and ercury9 'he highlight% however% was not ,ust seeing the planets but !eeling their power!ul e$anations. It was well worth the loss o! sleep and a very $e$orable e)perience that I>d reco$$end to anyone% especially students o! astrology.
Gras-ing the Grahas 'he Sans(rit word !or planet is :graha: which $eans to :to sei-e or grasp.: 'he i$plication is that the planets grab a hold o! us and cause us to behave in certain ways. *owever% this is not the case. 'he great sage ?arashara% in one o! the opening chapters o! his classic te)t% Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra% saysB :'he nborn lord has $any incarnations. *e has incarnated as the planets 7grahas8 to bestow on the living beings the results due to their (ar$as.:(Chapter 2, verse 3) 'he planets% there!ore% are $erely continuing what we have set in $otion in the past and our astrology chart is an overall $ap o! our (ar$a. e are the cause% not the planets. 'he planets are ,ust acting as agents to deliver us the results o! our past actions% !or better or !or worse. In addition% we have the ability to $odi!y the results o! our (ar$a to varying degrees through our !ree will% or aga$a ; (riya$ana (ar$a% which represent the current actions we choose to ta(e. ?lease review Desson 6 !or an in depth discussion on (ar$a% !ate ; !ree will. It>s $ore true to say that we are sei-ed by our habitual behaviors or are in the :grip o!
desire: than that the planets have caused us to behave in a certain way. Additionally% the planets don>t deter$ine the outco$e o! a situation. It>s the $erit o! our own (ar$a that does. 'he planets $erely reveal the $erit o! our (ar$a. therwise% the planets would be in control o! our lives% we>d be devoid o! !ree will% and the outco$e o! every situation would be predeter$ined. I personally don>t believe that this is a very e$powering or help!ul perspective. ! course% ta(ing !ull responsibility !or our lives $ay not always be easy. It>s a lot $ore convenient to bla$e everything on the planets. :'here>s so$e illplanet reigning9: as Sha(espeare wrote% :Shall we curse the planets o! $ishap that plotted thus our glory>s overthrow59: 'he planets will sei-e periods o! ti$e in our li!e% however% so that we can e)perience and learn !ro$ the (ar$ic results o! our previous actions. y ,yotish guru% E.N. Rao% gave a very tangible illustration o! this principle once that I>ll never !orget. *e too( a piece o! !abric and care!ully rolled it up. 'hen he started slowly unrolling it saying% :'he dashas are the unraveling o! our (ar$a through ti$e.: "y :dashas: he>s re!erring to the planetary ti$e periods in the vi$shottari dasha syste$% which is a pri$ary predictive $ethod in Vedic astrology. /or instance% a Sun period lasts + years% during which ti$e the (ar$a that the Sun represents in our chart will be dispensed. e>ll discuss this concept in $ore depth later in the course.
The Planetary Gar!ener 'he best analogy I>ve !ound to understand the relationship that we have to the planets is to thin( o! yoursel! as a gardener. Det>s say you>ve planted a huge garden and you have to hire help !or harvesting it. 3our e$ployees deliver to you bas(ets !ull o! your produce so$e are success!ul crops% while others !ail. 'he planets are li(e these e$ployees delivering to you the results o! your past e!!orts. I! you don>t li(e what is delivered% you can>t bla$e your e$ployees% the planets. A!ter all% it>s your garden. 3ou chose what to plant a long ti$e ago and tended it yoursel!. hat>s $ore% you always have the !ree will to plant and tend new seeds at any ti$e. It>s i$portant to reali-e that ulti$ately we are not our astrology charts any$ore than the gardener is his or her garden. An inherent proble$ in this great study o! astrology is that we tend to get overly identi!ied with our charts and lose sight o! the big picture o! our soul or :at$an.: 'he beauty o! Vedic astrology is its connection to the spiritual tradition o! India% which enco$passes so$e o! the $ost pro!ound spiritual literature in the world. 'he Vedas% Upanishads% Mahabharataand $any other ancient te)ts abound in descriptions o! the souls>s eternal nature. *ere>s a &uote !ro$ the Bhagavad Gitawhich is a part o! the MahabharataB :'his Sel! cannot be cut% nor burnt% nor wetted% nor dried. Changeless% allpervading% stable% i$$ovable% the Sel! is eternal and everlasting.: (Ch 2, verse 24) e have to re$e$ber not to lose sight o! this when discussing astrology% which is $erely the study o! our (ar$a as e)pressed through the agents o! our (ar$a the planets.
u-iter / 0aturn
Benefi$ an! Malefi$ Planets any estern astrologers have an aversion to the classical astrology concept o! bene!ic planets that cause good and $ale!ic planets that cause evil. It all sounds so !atalistic and blac( and white which I can understand. e>ve all had e)periences where the worst thing that could have happened% li(e a loss o! so$e (ind% turned out to be a blessing in disguise. At the sa$e ti$e% we o!ten hear o! how the best thing that could have happened% li(e winning the lottery% ended up ruining people>s lives. So how do you draw the line between $ale!icFevil and bene!icFgood in!luences5 In Vedic astrology $a(ing the distinction between bene!ic and $ale!ic planets is vitally i$portant !or this si$ple reasonB it allows us to get speci!ic in our interpretations and predictions. It#s only when we go beyond vague generalities that astrology gets e)citing. 'he purpose o! distinguishing between bene!ics and $ale!ics is not so that we can $a(e ,udg$ental state$ents or !atalistic predictions. It>s because our lives are co$plicated and any given planetary con!iguration can represent a wide range o! potential interpretations. e need to have a way to narrow down the possibilities and deter$ine where in the wide spectru$ o! positive and negative interpretations a planetary con!iguration lies. Dearning to identi!y bene!ic and $ale!ic in!luences is the pri$ary $eans and cannot be co$pro$ised in order to practice Vedic astrology pro!iciently. 'he bene!ic planets tend to cause positive outco$es relative to what $ost people would consider desirable stability% gains% progress% ease% and success etc. 'he $ale!ic planets tend to cause negative outco$es relative to what $ost people would consider as undesirable instability% loss% obstacles% tension% and !ailure etc. e naturally classi!y these e)periences as positive or negative% which are delivered to us generally by bene!ic or $ale!ic planets. *owever% !or so$e people e)periencing loss and instability $ay be ,ust the per!ect outco$e i! they>re inclined towards travel and living si$ply. lti$ately our sub,ective e)perience is always dependent on our $ental attitude and not on e)ternal situations. The 1enefi$ -lanets are: G @upiter G Venus G oon when wa)ing 7located within 6H0 degrees a!ter the Sun8 G ercury when associated with bene!ic planets. The alefi$ -lanets are: G Saturn G ars
G G G G G
Rahu Eetu Sun oon when waning 7located within 6H0 degrees be!ore the Sun8 ercury when associated with $ale!ic planets
It $ay appear con!using that the Sun is listed as a $ale!ic planet. A!ter all% can the source o! li!e in our solar syste$ really be $ale!ic5 'he Sun is only considered a $ild $ale!ic in Vedic astrology. Its $ale!ic status is due to the !act that it is a hot planet and can cause what>s called :co$bustion: when other planets are too close in pro)i$ity. 'his can :burn up: the positive in!luences o! these planets and render the$ wea(. ost Vedic astrologers only re!er to the oon and ercury as $ild bene!ics in practice. 'hey never consider the$ as serious $ale!ics even when the oon is waning or the ercury is associated with $ale!ics. 'here!ore% it>s generally agreed that the $ost seriously $ale!ic planets are only these !ourB Saturn% ars% Rahu% and Eetu.
2atural %s. Te-oral Benefi$s an! Malefi$s It $ust be noted that this list is re!erring to what can be called :natural: bene!ic and $ale!ic planets. "y :natural: we $ean the planet>s innate% natural state as either bene!ic or $ale!ic. 'here is another concept called :!unctional: or :te$poral: bene!ic and $ale!ic planets% which is based on house rulerships. /or instance% ars rules over the signs Aries and Scorpio% so i! your ascendant is Aries% ars rules the 6st house and the Hth house because Aries and Scorpio !all in the 6st and Hth places !ro$ Aries. 'he basic $ethod !or deter$ining which planets are te$poral bene!ics and $ale!ics !or each ascendant is to see which planets rule the trinal houses 6% % J. 'hese will be the te$poral bene!ic planets regardless i! they are natural $ale!ics. 'his is because the trinal houses are always considered the $ost bene!ic houses. /or e)a$ple% !or Aries ascendant ars% Sun% and @upiter beco$e te$poral bene!ics because they rule houses 6% % and J respectively. All other planets will be te$poral $ale!ics or at best te$poral neutrals !or that ascendant. e will be studying this concept in $ore depth later in the course.
Benefi$ an! Malefi$ +ouse Pla$eents In addition to the natural and te$poral status o! the planets% there are several basic chart interpretation rules regarding the house place$ent o! planets that need to be $e$ori-ed. 'hey are as !ollowsB 3) The natural 1enefi$ -lanets fun$tion 1est *hen they are -la$e! in the trinal houses 3, , 5 or the angular houses 3, 4, 6, 37. 3ou#ll notice that the 6st house is the only house that is both an angle and a trine% giving it pri$ary i$portance as the ascendant or lagna in Sans(rit. 'here!ore bene!ic planets in the lagna% !or instance @upiter% are e)tre$ely help!ul !or the overall strength o! the chart and the well being o! the individual. 8) The natural alefi$ -lanets fun$tion 1est *hen they are -la$e! in the u-a$haya houses 9, , 37, 33. 'his is because the $ale!ic planets will tend to cause the least a$ount o! har$ when located in these houses. 'he upachaya houses are considered :growing: houses which $eans that they continually get better with ti$e.
9) The alefi$ house -la$eents for either natural 1enefi$ or alefi$ -lanets are the !usthana houses , ;, 38 7unless it>s a $ale!ic in the +th house which is an upachaya house8. @ust li(e how the trinal houses 6% % J are the three $ost bene!ic houses% the dusthana houses +% H% 62 are the three $ost $ale!ic houses. In general% you should treat the lords o! the +% H% and 62 houses as $ale!ic along with the natural $ale!ic planets. *owever% i! a planet also rules a trinal house 6% % or J in addition to a dusthana house +% H% or 62 then the planet beco$es a te$poral bene!ic. /or instance% !or A&uarius rising Saturn rules the 6st and 62th houses. Saturn>s rulership o! the bene!ic 6st house overrides it>s te$poral $ale!ic status as the ruler o! the $ale!ic 62th house.
The Polarities of the Planets 'he nine planets are trans$itters o! universal% archetypal energy. 'he &ualities o! each planet help to $aintain the overall balance o! polarities in both the $acrocos$ic and the $icrocos$ic universe as above% so below. 'he sets o! these polarities are as !ollowsB
The Three ategories of the Planets 'he nine planets !all into 1 categories o! personal% interpersonal% and transpersonal planets. 'he two lu$inaries% the Sun and oon% are considered the personal planets because they represent our $a,or character traits $ore than any other planets. 'hey are the (ing and &ueen o! our individual (ingdo$ and all the other planets !unction in relation to the$.
'he planets ercury and Venus are considered the interpersonal or inner planets because their orbits lie between the Sun and the earth. 'hey represent our social interactions $ore than any other planets. 'he planets ars% @upiter and Saturn are considered the transpersonal or outer planets because their orbits lie outside o! the Sun and the Karth. 'hey represent the collective trends o! hu$anity $ore than any other planets. 'he nodes o! the oon% Rahu and Eetu% also !all into this latter category even though they are $athe$atical points in space causing eclipses and not actual planets with orbits. 'hese !ive transpersonal planets ars% @upiter% Rahu and Eetu% Saturn% are the slowest $oving planets% which is why they have a !ar greater in!luence on collective trends and are the $ost i$portant planets to !ollow by transit. In the South Indian chart style you can visually see the astrono$ical order o! the planets in our solar syste$ in relation to the Sun and oon. /or instance% ercury is the closest planet to the lu$inaries so the signs it rules% =e$ini and Virgo% !all on either side o! the Deo and Cancer% the signs ruled by the Sun and oon. Venus rules the signs 'aurus and Dibra% and is the ne)t closest planet to the Sun and oon a!ter ercury. ars rules the signs Aries and Scorpio% and is the ne)t closest planet to the Sun and oon a!ter Venus. @upiter rules the signs ?isces and Sagittarius% and is the ne)t closest planet to the Sun and oon a!ter ars. Saturn is the !arthest !ro$ the Sun and oon and rules the signs A&urius and Capricorn. 'he chart below shows this se&uential progression !ro$ t he personal% to the interpersonal% and the transpersonal planets.
The Essential Meaning of the Planets nderstanding the $eanings o! the planets is the essence o! the study o! astrology since the houses and signs $ean nothing until the planets are placed in the$ and rule over the$. As previously $entioned% each planet governs and trans$its essential universal &ualities that $aintain the balance in both the $acrocos$ic universe and the $icrocos$ic universe. Venus% !or instance% governs art. 'here!ore% it can be said that Venus inspires% to so$e e)tent% every e)pression o! art in the universe. *ence% the whole range o! physical% $ental% e$otional and spiritual &ualities in the universe are governed by one o! the planets. It beco$es vitally i$portant% there!ore% to understand the essential $eaning o! each planet or else you would have the daunting tas( o! having to $e$ori-e $illions o! indications !or each planet9 'his is where learning to thin( astrologically really beco$es a great aid in our study o! astrology. /or instance% i! you (now that the oon rules !luids then you can develop your own list o! logical indications that !ollow L water% the ocean% $il(% blood% tears% oils etc. As students o! astrology% our li!e long tas( is to continually increase our list o! indications% as we thin( astrologically about the planets in all the varied conte)ts o! our day today lives.
A1out The irst Glan$e hart
designed to help you get a :!eel: !or the chart. In the 6st Desson I presented the idea that there are both &uantitative and &ualitative $ethods to interpreting a chart. ost o! the !irst glance $ethods over the ne)t several lessons utili-e &uantitative $ethods where we identi!y and tally (ey in!luences in the chart.
Lesson #4 E=er$ise > 3st Glan$e Planet
'he !ollowing list gives the te$poral bene!ics !or each ascendant. 'he three planets listed are the rulers o! the 6st% th% Jth houses respectivelyB Aries: ars 768% Sun 78% @upiter 7J8 Taurus: Venus 768% ercury 78% Saturn 7J8 Geini: ercury 768% Venus 78% Saturn 7J8 an$er: oon 768% ars 78% @upiter 7J8 Leo: Sun 768% @upiter 78% ars 7J8 Virgo: ercury 768% Saturn 78% Venus 7J8 Li1ra: Venus 768% Saturn 78% ercury 7J8 0$or-io: ars 768% @upiter 78% oon 7J8 0agittarius: @upiter 768% ars 78% Sun 7J8 a-ri$orn: Saturn 768% Venus 78% ercury 7J8 Auarius: Saturn 768% ercury 78% Venus 7J8 Pis$es: @upiter 768% oon 78% ars 7J8 ?lace an @ ne)t to your te$poral bene!ics. ?lace an @ ne)t to all your other planets e)cept Rahu and Eetu who don>t rule any houses. Dater in the course we will re!ine our understanding o! the te$poral bene!ics and $ale!ics by tal(ing about te$poral neutrals and other e)ceptions to these rules /or now we will (eep it as si$ple as possible. In the e)a$ple below the ascendant is Deo and there!ore the te$poral bene!ics are the Sun% @upiter% and ars. 'he Sun rules the 6st house o! Deo% @upiter rules the th house o! Sagittarius% and ars rules the Jth house o! Aries.
'he natural $ale!ic planets !unction best when located in the upachaya houses 1% +% 60% 66. ?lace an @ ne)t to any $ale!ic planets that are located in these houses in your chart. In the !ollowing e)a$ple you will !ind Venus in an angular house 760th house8 and @upiter and ercury in trinal houses 7th and Jth house respectively8. 'hese are the only natural bene!ics in this chart that are located in either an angular or trinal house. Ne)t% you will !ind that the Sun and ars are in upachaya houses 760th and 66th house respectively8. 'hese are the only natural $ale!ics in this chart located in upachaya houses.
