The fourth volume in the Predictive Astrology series explores the significance of the Planets, or Grahas.
In Sanskrit, the word for planet is “Graha,” which means “to seize” or “to lay hold of.” In Vedic astrology, a Graha represents a celestial body. The nine planets, or Nava Grahas, are the cosmic forces believed to influence human life. These nine include the Sun, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Venus, Rahu, and Ketu. Among them, the Sun and Moon are considered luminaries rather than planets, while Rahu and Ketu are known as the lunar nodes—imaginary points where the Moon’s orbit intersects the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth.
In Predictive Astrology, planets play a vital role in revealing the course of one’s life and destiny. They represent karmic influences that shape the experiences of living beings. Each planet signifies distinct qualities, attributes, and energies, possessing its own characteristics, elements, symbols, and deities. These celestial forces govern different aspects of human existence. By deeply understanding the nature of each planet, one can interpret horoscopes more accurately and gain profound insights into life’s unfolding patterns.
Importance of Planets in horoscope analysis:
1. The bhava (house) a planet occupies in one’s Rasi chart indicates that planet’s influence on that house.
2. Which planets it is conjunct with, or which planets are aspecting it, shows the relationships between planets and their mutual effects.
3. The strength or weakness of a planet is determined by its placement, exaltation, debilitation, and related factors.
4. The dasa (period) indicates the duration and timing of a planet’s influence in one’s life.
5. From planetary positions one can learn about personality traits, strengths, and weaknesses.
6. Planets help predict various life areas such as career, wealth, and marriage.
** In the coming Predictive Astrology series, detailed discussions of aspects, conjunctions, exaltation, debilitation, strengths, bhavas (houses), and related topics will be covered.
Planetary placement indicators:
When discussing each planet in depth we use terms such as the strength of a planet, the weakness of a planet, well-placed, or poorly placed. These mean:
- A well-placed planet shows the positive indications described under that planet’s strengths. Typically this occurs when a planet is in its own house, in exaltation, in benefic houses such as the trikona, or is aspected by benefic planets.
- A poorly placed planet tends to be weak and may produce hurdles, difficulties, or obstacles. This happens when a planet occupies dusthanas (unfavorable houses), debilitated positions, or is aspected by malefic planets.
Now we will study each planet in depth — their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, deities, elements, and more. In this article, we will start with the Sun and then go into the other planets in future articles.
Sun:
The king of the planets and one of the prominent luminaries is the Sun. In Sanskrit, the Sun is known by many names, the most important being Surya and Ravi. The Sun represents light and life itself — the soul that illuminates and sustains our being. It signifies the core self, vitality, authority, father and fatherly figures, the government, and leadership.
A strong Sun bestows confidence, power, and recognition. It represents nobility, generosity, compassion, and steadfastness, granting authority and influence often seen in government officials, leaders, and public figures. The Sun symbolizes fire, heat, immense strength, enlightenment, travel, and good health, being largely free from disease.
Physically, the Sun is described as having a square-shaped body, moderate height, honey-colored eyes, sparse hair, strong bones, curly hair, a sharp intellect, a commanding voice, and an appearance that is noticeable from a distance, often with a light complexion.
The Sun’s energy is extremely potent, and any planet positioned within 8 degrees of it becomes combust, meaning its strength and influence are diminished.
A weak Sun, on the other hand, can result in low self-esteem, a lack of leadership qualities, and poor health.
The body parts governed by the Sun include the head, right eye, bones (asthi dhatu), circulation, heart, general vitality, and skeletal system.
When the Sun is weak or afflicted, it can lead to ailments related to vitality and constitution, poor circulation, heart conditions, bone and dental issues, eye problems, headaches, baldness, fevers, stomach troubles, and head injuries.
Facts about Planet Sun:
Deity: Lord Surya (Sun god) and Agni (Fire)
Element: Fire
Rasi(zodiac sign): Simha (Leo)
Symbol: Lion
Color: Red
Day: Sunday
Body part: Right eye, virility
Gem: Ruby
Metal: Copper
Family: Father
Season: Summer
Flora: Strong and tall trees
Places: Open & bright spaces
Gender: Male
Direction: East
Aspects: 7th house (directly opposite)
Basic nature: Malefic
Exaltation: Mesha (Aries)
Debilitation: Tula (Libra)
Friendly planets: Moon, Mars, Jupiter
Neutral planet: Mercury
Adverse planets: Saturn, Venus, Rahu, Ketu
Transit time : 1 month
Remedies for Sun:
Offer water to Surya during sunrise. Recite Aditya Hridaya Stotram on Sunday. Do Surya namaskaras.
Mythology:
Lord Surya (the Sun) is the son of Sage Kashyapa and Aditi. His first wife was Sandhya (also known as Saranya), and their children were Yama and Yamuna. Sandhya was a devoted and loving wife, but she found it unbearable to withstand the intense heat and dazzling brilliance of Surya. Unaware of her suffering, Surya continued to radiate his powerful light, unintentionally causing her pain.
Determined to endure his radiance, Sandhya decided to perform penance to strengthen her body against his heat. However, not wanting to leave her husband unattended, she created a shadow of herself named Chhaya to take her place. Sandhya then departed for her penance, while Chhaya remained with Surya.
In time, Chhaya gave birth to a son, Shani, who was dark-complexioned and not handsome in appearance. Surya, angered and disappointed, refused to accept Shani as his son. Eventually, Surya learned that Chhaya was not his true wife but only the shadow of Sandhya. After completing her penance, Sandhya returned to Surya.
However, Shani was deeply wounded by his father’s rejection and developed resentment toward him. From that time onward, the relationship between Surya and Shani remained strained.
In predictive astrology, the Sun (Surya) and Saturn (Shani) are considered natural enemies. When they aspect or conjoin each other in a chart, they are believed to produce challenging or adverse results.
