Functional Malefic and Benefic Planets   

Benefics and Malefics for each Lagna  

If Ascendant or Lagna is :

Aries (Mesha)—Jupiter, the Sun and Mars are benefics. Jupiter is the best benefic. The next benefic is Mars. Saturn, Mercury and Venus are malefics. Mercury being the greatest malefic as lord of the 3rd and 6th 

Vrishabha (Taurus)—The best benefic is Saturn as he owns the 9th and 10th. Mercury, Mars and the Sun are also benefics. Jupiter, Venus and the Moon are evil planets but Venus may be declared a neutral as he is lord of Lagna or ascendant.  

Mithuna (Gemini)—Venus alone is the most beneficial planet for this Lagna. The most malefic is Mars as he is lord of the 6th and the 11th. Jupiter and the Sun are also evil. The Moon and Mercury may be classified as neutrals.  

Kataka (Cancer)—Jupiter and Mars are benefics, the better being Mars as he is lord of the 5th and 10th. Venus and Mercury are evil and Saturn, the Moon and the Sun are neutrals.  

Simha (Leo) — Mars and the Sun are benefics, the former being the most auspicious. Mercury and Venus are malefics. Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn are neutrals.  

Kanya (Virgo)—Venus is alone the best benefic. Moon, Mars and Jupiter are evil or malefics. Saturn, the Sun and Mercury are neutrals.  

Thula (Libra)— Saturn, Mercury and Venus are benefics, Saturn being the best. The Sun, Jupiter and the Moon are malefics. Mars may be taken as a feeble benefic.  

Vrischika (Scorpio)—The Moon is the best benefic and Jupiter and the Sun are also benefics. Mercury and Venus are evil. Mars and Saturn are neutrals.

Dhanus (Sagittarius)—Mars and the Sun are benefics. Venus, Saturn and Mercury are evil and Jupiter and the Moon are neutrals.  

Makara (Capricorn)—Venus is the most powerful benefic. Mercury and Saturn are also benefics. Mars, Jupiter and the Moon are evil, the worst being Mars. Though the Sun is the 8th lord, he becomes a neutral.  

Kumbha (Aquarius)—Venus is the benefic. The Sun and Mars are also benefics. Jupiter and the Moon are malefics and Mercury is a neutral.  

Meena (Pisces)—The Moon and Mars are benefics. Saturn, the Sun, Venus and Mercury are malefics. Jupiter is of course a neutral.

 

To facilitate easy understanding I shall make these principles more clear.

In each horoscope there are benefic lords, malefic lords and neutral lords. These of course have nothing to do with the natural classification of planets as benefics and malefics.  

In any horoscope the benefics or benefic lords are :— (1) First house lord, other than the Moon; (2) the 5th and 9th lords (Thrikonadhipathis); (3) and (4) lords of the 4th, 7th and 10th when they do not happen to be natural benefics.  

The lord of the 9th is decidedly more benefic than the lord of the 5th. Similarly lord of the 10th is more benefic than that of the 7th while the lord of the 4th is the least benefic.  

The malefics or malefic lords in a horoscope are :— (1) Lords of the 3rd, 6th and 11th houses; (2) lords of the 4th, 7th and 10th houses (Kendradhipathis) if they happen to be natural benefics. Again among the malefics the 11th lord is the worst malefic, the 6th less malefic while the 3rd the least malefic.

Considerations in Judging a House

The neutrals in a horoscope are:—(1) The Moon—when he is lord of Lagna, (2) the Sun or the Moon as the 8th lord, (3) the Sun or the Moon as the lords of the 2nd and 12th.

Thus the student has to be very careful in correctly affirming the strengths, weakness and other peculiarities of the horoscope.

From the above it will be seen that a natural benefic, such as for instance Jupiter, can also become a malefic when he is lord of an angle. Natural malefics such as Mars, Saturn, etc., become temproral benefics if they become lords of angles (Kendras). Similarly, natural benefics become malefics if they own quadrangular houses. It is also to be noted that a natural benefic, who becomes a malefic by virtue of quadrangle ownership, will cease to act as a malefic, when he occupies the angular house (Kendra) of which he is lord. Thus in case of Cancer, if Venus occupies Libra, he will cease to be a malefic just because Libra happens to be his own. Similarly, a natural malefic, viz., Mars who becomes a benefic by virtue of quadrangular ownership will cease to be a benefic, when he occupies the angular house of which he is the lord.

 Planets In Vedic Astrology Planetary Colors, Deities and their Use:-

From the Sun onwards the respective hues of the planets are copper-red, white, blood-red, green, yellow, variegated and black. The deities for these planets are, respectively, Fire, Water, Kartikeya, Vishnu, Indra, Sachi Devi and Brahma. The planets from the Sun onward should be worshipped by the Mantras concerned and, if trips to the respective directions are undertaken one can gain gold, gems, elephants etc.  

Sex, Caste and Elements:-

The Moon and Venus are females. Mercury and Saturn rule neutrals. Males

are Jupiter, the Sun and Mars. Brahmins are ruled by Jupiter and Venus. The Sun and Mars preside over the royal lot. The Moon rules Vaishya. Saturn rules those of mixed breed, while Mercury presides over Shudra. The five primordial compounds, viz. Fire, Earth, Ether, Water and Air are, respectively, ruled by planets from Mars onwards.  

Planetary Tastes and Abodes:-

The planets from the Sun on are attributed tastes, as acrid, saline, bitter, mixed, sweet, sour (acidulous) and astringent. Their abodes, respectively, are temples, water resorts, fire houses, sports ground, treasury, bed-room and dirty places.  

Natural Friendship, Neutrality and Enmity between Planets:

The Sun's friends are Jupiter, Mars and the Moon. The Moon's friends are the Sun and Mercury. The Sun, the Moon and Jupiter are friendly to Mars. Venus and the Sun are Mercury's friends. The Sun, Moon and Mars are friendly disposed to Jupiter. Saturn and Mercury are friends of Venus. Mercury and Venus are Saturn's friends. The Sun's enemies are Venus and Saturn. The Moon has no enemies. Mercury is inimical to Mars, while the Moon is Mercury's enemy. Venus and Mercury are the enemies of Jupiter. The Moon and the Sun are enemies of Venus. Saturn's enemies are the Sun, the Moon and Mars. If a planet is neither a friend, nor an enemy of another one, there exists neutrality among them.

Temporary Friendship and Enmity between Planets:  

If a planet is in the 12th, 4th, 2nd, 10th, 11th and 3rd from another planet, then there is temporary friendship between the two. If the position is in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 1st, 5th, or the 9th, then there is temporary enmity among them. (This may be applied to a birth horoscope, horary horoscope, or any such other context)  

Five Kinds of Considerations of Relationship:

Should there be temporary friendship and natural friendship between two planets, then they become extremely friendly. If there is natural neutrality and temporary friendship, there exists only friendship between two planets. If there is natural enmity and temporary friendship, they are neutral in relationship. Should they be naturally neutral and temporarily inimical, they are only inimical. If there is enmity both naturally and temporarily, then they are greatly inimical to each other.  

Directional and Positional Strengths:

Jupiter and Mercury have directional strength, while in the Ascendant (East), the Sun and Mars in the 10th (South), Saturn in the 7th (West) and the Moon and Venus in the 4th (North). If a planet is in exaltation, Mulatrikona, own House, friendly House, or own   NAVMANSA   and aspected by a benefic, it assumes strength. The Moon and Venus are strong in even   RASHISH, while

the rest are so in odd   RASHISH, This is called positional strength