Lesson 4 of 14
The nine grahas and what each stands for
Seven planets you can see and two points you cannot, each carrying a set of life’s matters.
| Graha | Stands for | Own signs | Exalted in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suriyan Sun | the self, the father, authority and health | Simmam | Mesham |
| Chandran Moon | the mind, the mother, feeling and the home | Kadagam | Rishabam |
| Sevvai Mars | energy, courage, siblings and land | Mesham, Viruchigam | Magaram |
| Budhan Mercury | speech, learning, trade and reasoning | Mithunam, Kanni | Kanni |
| Guru Jupiter | wisdom, children, wealth and the teacher | Dhanusu, Meenam | Kadagam |
| Sukran Venus | marriage, comfort, art and pleasure | Rishabam, Thulam | Meenam |
| Sani Saturn | discipline, work, delay and long life | Magaram, Kumbam | Thulam |
| Rahu Rahu | ambition, the foreign and the unfamiliar | none | Rishabam |
| Ketu Ketu | detachment, insight and the spiritual | none | Viruchigam |
A is literally "one that grasps": a body that is held to take hold of a person’s life. There are nine, the . Seven are the lights and planets that can be seen: the Sun, the Moon, (Mars), (Mercury), (Jupiter), (Venus) and (Saturn). The other two, and , are not bodies at all but the two points where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s, always exactly opposite each other. Eclipses happen near them, which is how they came to be counted with the rest.
What each stands for
- Suriyan: the self, the father, authority and health.
- Chandran: the mind, the mother, feeling and the home.
- Sevvai: energy, courage, brothers and sisters, and land.
- Budhan: speech, learning, trade and reasoning.
- Guru: wisdom, children, wealth and the teacher.
- Sukran: marriage, comfort, art and pleasure.
- Sani: discipline, work, delay and long life.
- Rahu: ambition, the foreign and the unfamiliar.
- Ketu: detachment, insight and the spiritual.
These are what a graha "carries". When a reading says Guru is strong, it means the matters on Guru’s line are well supported in that chart; when Sani is running as the period lord, Sani’s matters come to the front.
Natural benefics and malefics
Guru, Sukran, a waxing Moon and a well-accompanied Budhan are the natural benefics, gentle by nature. Suriyan, Sevvai, Sani, Rahu and Ketu are the natural malefics, forceful by nature. The words are old and sound harsher than they are: a malefic in the right house does a great deal of good, Sani in particular rewarding patience, and a benefic badly placed can disappoint. The house a graha rules and the house it sits in matter as much as its nature.
Where a graha is strong
Each graha has a sign of , where it is at its best, and the opposite sign of , where it is weakest. The Sun is exalted in Mesham, the Moon in Rishabam, Sevvai in Magaram, Budhan in Kanni, Guru in Kadagam, Sukran in Meenam and Sani in Thulam. In between come its , a friend’s sign, a neutral one and an enemy’s, together called its . In the sample chart the Sun is exalted in Mesham and Sukran sits in its own Rishabam.
Two conditions change the picture. A graha close to the Sun is , lost in its glare and read as weakened. A planet that appears to move backwards for a few weeks is , marked R in the chart; Rahu and Ketu always move that way. Neither is a disaster, and the app notes both so the astrologer can weigh them.
Grahas look at houses
A graha affects the sign it sits in and also the signs it looks at, its . Every graha looks at the seventh sign from itself. Sevvai also looks at the fourth and eighth, Guru at the fifth and ninth, and Sani at the third and tenth. Guru’s aspect is the one families hope for: whatever it falls on is said to be protected.