The nine planets of Vedic astrology
Graha is a Sanskrit word meaning one that seizes or holds. In Vedic astrology there are nine Grahas: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. The first seven are visible bodies in the sky. Rahu and Ketu are the two points where the path of the Moon crosses the path of the Sun, known in Western astrology as the north and south lunar nodes. They are treated as shadow planets.
The classical system leaves out Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, which cannot be seen without a telescope. A Vedic Kundli therefore has nine bodies where a Western natal chart has ten.
What each Graha stands for
Surya, the Sun. The soul, vitality, authority and the father. A strong Sun gives confidence and leadership. It rules the sign Leo.
Chandra, the Moon. The mind, emotion, nourishment and the mother. It shows how you feel and what comforts you. It rules the sign Cancer. See the page on the Moon sign.
Mangala, Mars. Energy, courage, action and conflict. It shows how you fight and how you work for what you want. It rules Aries and Scorpio.
Budha, Mercury. Intellect, speech, trade and learning. It shows how you think and communicate. It rules Gemini and Virgo.
Guru, Jupiter. Wisdom, teaching, growth and fortune. It is called the great benefic and shows where help comes from. It rules Sagittarius and Pisces.
Shukra, Venus. Love, beauty, art and comfort. It shows what you enjoy and how you relate. It rules Taurus and Libra.
Shani, Saturn. Discipline, time, duty and delay. It is called the great teacher and shows where effort and patience are needed. It rules Capricorn and Aquarius.
Rahu, the north node. Desire, ambition, foreign things and the unusual. It shows where you feel hunger and tend to overreach. In the classical system it has no sign of its own.
Ketu, the south node. Detachment, past habits, spiritual interest and endings. It shows what you have already learned and may let go of. Like Rahu, it has no sign of its own in the classical system.
Benefics and malefics
Traditional astrologers sort the Grahas into natural benefics and natural malefics. Jupiter and Venus are the clearest benefics. The Moon, if bright, and Mercury, if not linked with harsh planets, are also considered benefic. The Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are malefics, which means they are strong and demanding and not that they are bad. Every malefic can give success, and every benefic can give problems. It depends on the house and sign.
Dignity: where a planet is strong
A Graha is said to be strong in several states.
Own sign. The planet is at home, as with Mars in Aries.
Exaltation. A sign where the planet is especially strong. The Sun is exalted in Aries, the Moon in Taurus, Mars in Capricorn, Mercury in Virgo, Jupiter in Cancer, Venus in Pisces and Saturn in Libra. Traditions differ on the signs of Rahu and Ketu.
Debilitation. The sign opposite the exaltation, where the planet is weak. The Sun is debilitated in Libra, the Moon in Scorpio, Mars in Cancer, Mercury in Pisces, Jupiter in Capricorn, Venus in Virgo and Saturn in Aries.
Friendly and enemy signs. Each planet has friends and rivals among the others. The Sun, Moon, Mars and Jupiter are friends, for example, and the Sun is cool toward Venus and Saturn.
A debilitated planet is not a ruined one. Astrologers look for cancellations, such as a strong ruler in a good house, and treat the position as a place of effort and growth.
Aspects in Vedic astrology
Vedic astrology uses sign based aspects, called Drishti. Every planet aspects the sign opposite it, which is the seventh from its own. Three planets have extra aspects. Mars also aspects the fourth and eighth signs from itself, Jupiter the fifth and ninth, and Saturn the third and tenth. Rahu and Ketu are often given the fifth and ninth. This differs from Western astrology, which uses angles in degrees. See the page on aspects for the Western method.
Retrograde and combust
A planet is retrograde, called Vakri, when it appears to move backward in the sky. A retrograde Graha is said to be strong in one sense and turned inward in another. A planet is combust, called Asta, when it is very close to the Sun and its light is overpowered. Combust planets are said to give weaker results, and Mercury and Venus are the most often affected.
Rahu and Ketu
The nodes are not bodies but points, and they are always exactly opposite each other. They move backward through the zodiac and complete a circle in about 18.6 years. Eclipses happen when the Sun and Moon are near the nodes, and this is the source of the ancient myth in which a demon swallows the Sun and Moon. In a chart, Rahu and Ketu show the pull of desire and the pull of release. The pair also appears in the Western chart as the true or mean node.
Grahas and time
Each Graha rules a period in the Vimshottari Dasha, and each rules a day of the week. The movement of the Grahas today, compared with the birth chart, is called a transit. See transits.