Solving the Complex Puzzle of Planetary Dignity
Are you interested in learning Vedic Astrology from an experienced teacher? Do you want to deepen your understanding of the ancient wisdom of the stars and planets? If so, you might want to check out the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program, a two-year online course that covers all the essential topics of this fascinating discipline.The Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program is offered on the teachable.com platform, where you can access the lectures, exercises, quizzes, and assignments at your own pace. You will learn about the fundamentals of Vedic Astrology, such as the rasis, the signs, the houses, the planets, the vargas, the dashas, the yogas, and more. You will also learn how to interpret charts, make predictions, and apply remedies.If you are looking for even more rigour, you can also enrol in the Certification Pathway, a complementary program that allows you to submit your work for assessment at the end of each semester. There are nine semesters in total, and each one has a specific focus and theme. By completing the Certification Pathway, you will demonstrate your mastery of Vedic Astrology and earn an invitation to join the Practicum Year of supervised, applied Vedic Astrology. Successful completion of the Practicum Year will entitle you to Certification from Asheville Vedic Astrology and its associated benefits.But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself the quality of the work produced by students on the program. Today’s blog post is a paper written by one of our apprentices at the end of the second semester, which explores how the all-important dignity of a planet is calculated.We hope you enjoy reading this paper and find it informative and insightful. If you are inspired by what you see and want to join our program, please visit the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program on teachable.com or contact me for more information. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you on your journey of learning Vedic Astrology.
Solving the Complex Puzzle of Planetary Dignity by Satya d’Amours
Within each birth chart the unique placements of the planets are the pieces of a complex puzzle which allow us to understand the stories of our souls. A combination of the natural and temporary relationships between the planets enables us to judge how they will interact with each other and thus influence a person’s life. This essay will outline the process an astrologer may go through in order to determine the dignity of planets.
A planet’s dignity illustrates its capacity to achieve its innate goals to take action as it is meant to do. If it is in good dignity, it is in a sign of a good element and nature that supports its characteristics, qualities, and its capacity to achieve its goals. On the contrary, a planet in bad dignity is not comfortable and therefore lacks the skills, knowledge, or capacity to excel in that particular placement.
A planet is in its highest dignity when it is exalted, allowing it to fulfill its agenda based on its innate qualities. In contrast, a planet is in its lowest dignity when it is debilitated, making it weak and thus struggling to function effectively and responsibly. The exaltation and debilitation points within a chart are located opposite one another. For example, the exaltation degree of Venus is 27 degrees of Pisces while the debilitation degree is 27 degrees of Virgo.
It is stated in Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra that planetary dignity can be extrapolated from the position of planets from another planet’s moolatrikona sign, which is the root (moola) triangle (trikona) for the planet. This sign is where the planet gets its energy, similar to how the plant's root supplies nutrients so it can grow. The moolatrikona sign is usually the fire or air sign of the two signs of rulership, with the exception of Mercury, which has Virgo, an earth sign, as the moolatrikona sign. The Moon and Sun, the two planets which only have one ownership of a sign, have Taurus and Leo as the moolatrikona, respectively.
If a planet has a rulership of two signs, the moolatrikona sign will be more prominent than the other. For example, for a Scorpio ascendant, Venus rules both the 7th and 12th houses. Even though the 7th house Taurus is a kendra position, Venus may bring more challenges since the 12th house Libra is the moolatrikona.
Let us now look at how the dignity of a planet can be determined in the case that it is not exalted, debilitated, in its own home or in the moolatrikona sign. When determining the dignity of a planet, we must consider both natural and temporary relationships.
Natural Friendships
In the chart below, we can see the natural relationships between the planets. At one glance, it may be difficult to work out the numerical pattern within this chart. However, it is important to note that according to ancient mythology, the planets belong to the following two camps: the Devas; being the Sun, Moon, Jupiter, and Mars; and the Asuras, being Mercury, Venus, and Saturn (Wilhelm, 2006). However, these two planetary camps cannot completely explain this chart since there are some relationships which are not mutual, such as the Moon perceiving Mercury as a friend while Mercury seeing the Moon as an enemy. These states can be understood through the formula of natural relationships.
Sun is friends with Moon, Jupiter and Mars, neutral with Mercury, and enemies with Venus and Saturn.
Moon is friends with Sun, Mercury and neutral with Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
Mars is friends with Sun, Moon and Jupiter, neutral with Venus and Saturn, and enemy with Mercury
Mercury is friends with Venus and Sun, neutral with Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, and enemy with Moon
Jupiter is friends with Sun, Mars and Moon, neutral with Saturn and enemy with Venus and Mercury
Venus is friends with Mercury and Saturn, neutral with Mars and Jupiter, and enemy with Sun and Moon
Saturn is friends with Venus and Mercury, neutral with Jupiter, and enemy with Sun, Moon and Mars
The natural relationships are determined based on the signs the planet rules in a chart and their distance from the moolatrikona of the other planet in question. According to Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra, the rulers of signs which are the 4th, 2nd, 12th, 5th, 9th, and 8th from the moolatrikona of a planet are friends to that planet in question. On the contrary, the rulers of signs which are the 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, and 11th from the moolatrikona of a planet are considered enemies. The only exception to this rule is if the planet in question is exalted in any of the other houses, which produces a friendly relationship. Planets other than the Sun and Moon rule two houses; therefore, if one of the two signs of a planet ruling is a friend to the particular planet and the other an enemy, it becomes a mutual planet to the planet in question.
For example, the moolatrikona of Saturn is Aquarius. Since Venus rules both the fourth and ninth houses from Aquarius, this makes Venus a friend to Saturn. Since Mars rules both the third and tenth houses from Aquarius, Mars is an enemy to Saturn. Since Jupiter rules both the second and eleventh houses from Aquarius, this makes Jupiter neutral to Saturn.
Temporary Relationships
The temporary relationships are situational, meaning that they will change from chart to chart. According to Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra, the planets in the 10th, 4th, 11th, 3rd, 2nd, and 12th house become friends to the planet in question and the rest are enemies. In other words, a planet placed three rashis on either side of a house in which another planet is placed becomes friends with that particular planet. This is because the planet is close enough to benefit the planet in question. When planets are placed within the same rashi, this makes them temporary enemies since their agendas will be competing, causing difficulties for the sign to develop itself. When a planet is placed 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th houses away from another planet, they are considered temporary enemies since there is too much distance between the two planets, leading to challenges in maintaining harmony.
Planetary dignity is extrapolated through the consideration of both the natural and temporary relationships, as we can see below.
friend + friend = great friend
friend + neutral = friend
friend + enemy = neutral
enemy + neutral = enemy
enemy + enemy = great enemy
Further, Sage Parasara wrote that the planet’s ability to express its innate nature and therefore its agenda can be understood by the ratio below.
“An exalted planet gives fully good effects. That planet can fulfill its agenda perfectly (it has to be qualified by avasthas, shadbalas etc)
When moolatrikona, we subtract a quarter of its effects.
A planet in its own home has half of its beneficial prospects.
Its beneficial prospect is a quarter in a friendly sign.
In a neutral sign, the effect is 1/8 good.
The good effects are nil in an enemy or debilitation sign.
The inauspicious effects are reversed, based on the previous statements.”
As we can see in the second sentence in the text above, in order to get a more accurate understanding of planetary dignity, we must qualify the avasthas as well.
Jagradaadi Avasthas
From the natural relationships, we can determine the Jagradaadi avasthas, which tell us the amount of karmic energy there is for the planet to produce and sustain a particular area of life. There are three possible states of the Jagradaadi avasthas: jagrat (awake), svapna (sleepy), and sushupti (asleep). Jagrat avastha occurs when a planet is in exaltation, placed in the moolatrikona or its own house. Svapna occurs when a planet is in a natural friend’s or neutral sign. Sushupti occurs when a planet is in a natural enemy's sign or is debilitated. For example, the Moon placed in Cancer would be in the jagrat or awake state because it is placed in its own sign, whereas the Moon placed in Leo would be in the svapna or sleepy state since it is placed in a natural friend’s sign.
Balaadi Avasthas
The Balaadi avasthas are established by the degree in which the planet is placed, in segments of six degrees within thirty degrees in each sign. They should be considered as additional information in order to understand the conscious awareness and control we have over the areas of life which are represented by a planet. The Balaadi avasthas can be in the following five states: bala (infant), kumara (adolescent), yuva (adult), vriddha (old), and mrita (dead). A planet in the yuva avastha is in the strongest state with the most active and fully engaged karma, followed by the kumara avastha. Based on this rule, we can see that planets tend to be stronger towards the middle of a rashi and weaker towards the beginning or the end.
Conclusion
In order to determine the dignity of a planet, we must thoroughly evaluate the planet in question from multiple angles and only then will we truly understand the effects on an individual’s chart. For example, a conjunction between Saturn and the Sun is considered to produce a negative influence on the Sun. However, if the conjunction takes place in Leo, the Sun’s moolatrikona and an enemy sign for Saturn, the Sun will be less impacted by Saturn. Moreover, If Saturn happens to be in mrita avastha and the Sun in yuva avastha, Saturn’s negative influence on the Sun will be minimised. As such, careful analysis of the dignities of planets in a holistic manner is essential as we put together the pieces of the puzzle to understand the bigger picture of how each planet influences different areas of a person’s life.
References
Wilhelm, Ernst. Graha Sutras. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.