The Navagraha are the nine grahas of Jyotish: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the two lunar nodes, Rahu and Ketu. Graha means "that which seizes", the forces that take hold of your attention and experience.
This article is part of our Vedic astrology guide.
Tap a house to see what it rules.
Get your free KundliWhat each graha signifies
| Graha | Signifies (karakatva) | Own sign(s) | Exalted | Debilitated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun (Surya) | Self, father, authority, government, vitality | Leo | Aries | Libra |
| Moon (Chandra) | Mind, mother, emotions, public | Cancer | Taurus | Scorpio |
| Mars (Mangal) | Energy, courage, siblings, land, surgery | Aries, Scorpio | Capricorn | Cancer |
| Mercury (Budh) | Speech, intellect, trade, writing | Gemini, Virgo | Virgo | Pisces |
| Jupiter (Guru) | Wisdom, teachers, children, wealth, dharma | Sagittarius, Pisces | Cancer | Capricorn |
| Venus (Shukra) | Relationships, spouse, comfort, arts, vehicles | Taurus, Libra | Pisces | Virgo |
| Saturn (Shani) | Discipline, delay, labour, longevity, endurance | Capricorn, Aquarius | Libra | Aries |
| Rahu | Ambition, obsession, foreign things, technology | (varies by text) | (varies) | (varies) |
| Ketu | Detachment, spirituality, research, sudden loss | (varies by text) | (varies) | (varies) |
Rahu and Ketu aren't physical planets. They're the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path, where eclipses happen. They're always exactly opposite each other and move backwards through the zodiac.
Natural friendships
Parashara lists natural friendships between the planets. A planet in a friend's sign does better than one in an enemy's sign.
| Planet | Friends | Neutral | Enemies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Moon, Mars, Jupiter | Mercury | Venus, Saturn |
| Moon | Sun, Mercury | Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn | none |
| Mars | Sun, Moon, Jupiter | Venus, Saturn | Mercury |
| Mercury | Sun, Venus | Mars, Jupiter, Saturn | Moon |
| Jupiter | Sun, Moon, Mars | Saturn | Mercury, Venus |
| Venus | Mercury, Saturn | Mars, Jupiter | Sun, Moon |
| Saturn | Mercury, Venus | Jupiter | Sun, Moon, Mars |
Judging strength, simply
- Dignity: exalted, then own sign, friend's sign, neutral, enemy's sign, and debilitated last.
- House: planets in Kendras (1, 4, 7, 10) and Trikonas (1, 5, 9) have more room to act. In the 6th, 8th or 12th they struggle, unless they rule those houses.
- Combustion: a planet close to the Sun loses independent strength. Commonly used limits: Moon 12°, Mars 17°, Mercury 14°, Jupiter 11°, Venus 10°, Saturn 15°.
- Retrograde: traditionally strong, but the results come in an unusual or delayed way.
- Neecha Bhanga: a debilitated planet can have its weakness cancelled. One example is when the lord of the sign it's debilitated in sits in a Kendra. Always check before calling a planet "weak".
Advanced astrologers use Shadbala (six-fold strength), a numerical score. For beginners, the five checks above are enough.
Aspects (drishti)
Every graha aspects the house 7th from itself, counting its own house as the 1st. Three have extra aspects:
- Mars: 4th and 8th
- Jupiter: 5th and 9th
- Saturn: 3rd and 10th
Many astrologers also give Rahu and Ketu Jupiter-like 5th and 9th aspects. Traditions differ on this.
"Malefic" doesn't mean bad
Jupiter, Venus, a waxing Moon and a well-placed Mercury are natural benefics. The Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are natural malefics. But what a planet does in your chart depends on which houses it rules from your Lagna:
- Lords of Trikonas (1, 5, 9) are functional benefics for that chart.
- Lords of the 3rd, 6th and 11th tend to act as functional malefics.
- A planet that rules both a Kendra and a Trikona becomes a Yogakaraka, the best planet for that Lagna. For Taurus and Libra Lagna, this is Saturn.
So "Saturn is bad" is never a complete sentence. Always ask which houses it rules and where it sits.
Next: the 27 Nakshatras · the 12 houses