The nine planets (Navagraha) and what each one is in charge of
Vedic astrology works with nine planets. Here is what each stands for, which signs it owns and where it is strong or weak.
Updated
Vedic astrology works with nine planets. Together they are called the Navagraha. The word used is Graha, which means something that takes hold. That is why the list includes the Sun and the Moon and two points that are not bodies at all: Rahu and Ketu.
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not part of the traditional system.
What each planet stands for
| Planet | Sanskrit name | In charge of |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Surya | The self, confidence, authority, father and vitality |
| Moon | Chandra | The mind, feelings, mother and comfort |
| Mars | Mangal | Energy, courage, conflict, land and brothers |
| Mercury | Budha | Thinking, speech, trade, learning and skill |
| Jupiter | Guru | Wisdom, teachers, children, wealth and good fortune |
| Venus | Shukra | Love, marriage, beauty, comfort and the arts |
| Saturn | Shani | Discipline, hard work, delay, duty and old age |
| Rahu | Rahu | Ambition, desire, foreign things and sudden rise |
| Ketu | Ketu | Losing interest in worldly things, insight and the inner life |
Signs each planet owns
Each sign has one owner. The Sun and the Moon own one sign each. The other five own two. Rahu and Ketu own none.
| Planet | Owns | Strongest in (exalted) | Weakest in (debilitated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Leo | Aries | Libra |
| Moon | Cancer | Taurus | Scorpio |
| Mars | Aries and Scorpio | Capricorn | Cancer |
| Mercury | Gemini and Virgo | Virgo | Pisces |
| Jupiter | Sagittarius and Pisces | Cancer | Capricorn |
| Venus | Taurus and Libra | Pisces | Virgo |
| Saturn | Capricorn and Aquarius | Libra | Aries |
A planet in its own sign is like a person in their own home. A planet in its exalted sign is at its best. A planet in its debilitated sign has to work harder to give results.
Gentle planets and demanding planets
The tradition sorts the planets into two groups by nature.
- Gentle (benefic): Jupiter, Venus, a bright Moon and Mercury when it is not with a demanding planet.
- Demanding (malefic): Saturn, Mars, Rahu, Ketu, the Sun and a dark Moon.
Gentle planets tend to give with ease. Demanding planets tend to give through effort, pressure or delay. Neither group is simply good or bad. Saturn in the right house builds lasting success. Jupiter in the wrong one can make a person careless.
What a planet does in your chart depends more on the houses it owns for your Lagna than on its general nature.
Rahu and Ketu
Rahu and Ketu are the two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's path. Eclipses happen near these points. They are always exactly opposite each other and they always move backwards through the zodiac.
Rahu is where you want more. Ketu is where you have had enough. Because they have no sign of their own they act through the planet that owns the sign they sit in.
How long each planet stays in one sign
| Planet | Time in one sign |
|---|---|
| Moon | About 2¼ days |
| Sun, Mercury, Venus | About 1 month |
| Mars | About 1½ to 2 months |
| Jupiter | About 1 year |
| Rahu and Ketu | About 1½ years |
| Saturn | About 2½ years |
The slow planets matter most when you look at the sky today against your birth chart. Saturn's passage over your Moon sign is the well known Sade Sati.
What makes a planet strong
A planet's sign is only one measure of its strength. Astrologers also look at:
- Its degree. A planet in the first or last degree of a sign is on a border and weaker.
- Its house. Planets in the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses act with more force.
- The Sun. A planet very close to the Sun is called combust and loses strength.
- Its motion. A planet moving backwards is retrograde. It is counted as strong but it acts in its own way.
- Vargottama. A planet that holds the same sign in the birth chart and in the Navamsa chart is called Vargottama. It is steady and reliable.