Interpreting Grahas (Planets)
The 3 dimensions of planetary behavior:
There are 3 fundamental things to know about every Graha in the horoscope: 1. How strong is the Graha?
The strength will tell you the quantity of influence. The strength of the Graha is portrayed by the Shad Bala calculation.
2. How auspicious is the Graha?
The auspiciousness in determined with the Ishta Kashta bala calculation Both extremes of Auspiciousness are quite rare Parashara explains the results as following: “If the result is 5, then it is not capable of giving auspicious results; If it is higher than 5 but lower than 10 the Graha will give some auspicious effects; A score in between 10 and 15 will give mediocre auspicious results; and if it is more than 15 the Graha will give fully auspicious results.” .
3. What are the qualities (significations) of the Graha? The qualities of the Graha are determined by its natural significations (Karakatwas) and all the factors that modify those: the sign and Nakshatra occupied, conjunction and aspects from other Grahas, and various other factors. By understanding these 3 aspects, you will be able to interpret Planets properly.
The auspiciousness and significations will tell you the quality of the Graha. Together, they will tell you accurately what the potential of the Graha is.
Interpreting Planets – Planetary strength: Shad bala
We know that a Graha may be well placed in the chart which would enable it to bring out it’s most desirable qualities. Or the Graha may be afflicted in the chart, which would bring out it’s most challenging side. But to what extent, and how strong will it act in life? How prominent will the Graha act in comparison to others? For this question, Jyotish has a very elaborate strength calculation. It is made up of 6 distinct components, each expressing the strength based on a unique dimension of the Grahas’ placement. The total sum of these 6 strengths is called Shad Bala. Shad means six in Sanskrit, and Bala means strength. A complete overview of this is given in the Shad Bala report. A Graha that ranks high in Shad Bala, is going to fully manifest its significations. It will be more prominent than other, weaker Grahas in the chart. Strong Grahas will strengthen the houses they rule, and will hold up the areas of life they represent well. A malefic Graha that is very strong, will be able to do more harm. A benefic Graha that is very strong will be able to bring a lot of good. A Graha that ranks low in Shad Bala, will not manifest the area of life it represents. Those matters may remain wishes or dreams or thoughts, but never make it into full manifestation. The weaker the Graha, the more inhibited it’s expression will be. If a Graha is malefic and afflicted, it is actually good to be weak, since it will not be able to manifest harmful results. If the Graha is benefic and unafflicted but weak, the person will miss out on experiencing the full benefits of it’s potential. The six sources of strength are shown in the following table:
Dominance of the Grahas Combining strength, auspiciousness and dominance Now we have seen that a planet can be in a range from strong to weak and in a range from positive to negative: There is one more dimension to consider: How dominant or influential is the planet in the chart? Which planet will influence your life most? We partly answered this question in the discussion about strength. The planet with the strongest shad bala will exert the strongest influence. The catch is, where does the influence go? Out of 9 countries, one of the presidents may be the strongest, but what if he is away from the office? We may feel the influence of another, lesser strong president more. Planets become dominant in the chart due to their association with the significators of life in general: 1st house, the 1st house lord, the Moon and the Sun. Any planets associated with these points will be noticed more, because they influence life as a whole. And within that context, the stronger planets will do this to a greater extend. Planets become dominant if the planet rules the first house the planet is in the first house the planet aspects the first house the planet is conjunct the first house lord the planet is the dispositor of the first house lord the planet aspects the first house lord the planet is conjunct the Moon the planet is aspecting the Moon the planet is the dispositor of the Moon the planet is conjunct the Sun the planet is aspecting the Sun the planet is the dispositor of the Sun
Strength, Auspiciousness & Dominance of Planets
We have three important measures that we can use in the analysis of the planets: their strength, auspiciousness, and dominance. Let’s see what happens when these three measures combine in various ways: The planet is strong, well-positioned, and dominant: this planet will bring out the best of its significations, and the person will experience the results a great deal in his life. The planet is strong, well-positioned, but not dominant at all: this planet will bring out the best of its significations, but the results will be limited to some area of life. The effects of this planet will not be clearly visible in the person’s life in general. The planet is strong, afflicted, and dominant: this planet will bring significant problems, and the person will experience the problems a great deal in his life. The planet is strong, afflicted, but not dominant at all: this planet will bring significant problems, but the negative results will be limited to some area of life. The effects of this planet will not be clearly visible in the person’s life in general.
Example: Queen Elizabeth II




Queen Elizabeth II biography-
Queen Elizabeth [Elizabeth Alexandra Mary], who was born on 21 April 1926, is the longest living and reigning British monarch, as well as the longest serving female head of the United Kingdom. When her father passed away in the year 1952, she became the head of the Common Wealth and the reigning Queen for the several independent commonwealth countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ceylon. During her reign, she experienced the devolution of her reigning realms of all the common wealth countries between the years 1956 to 1992.
All her realms gained independence and became territories or republics. The most significant events of her life are her Coronation [Crowning Ceremony] in the year 1953 and the celebrations of her longest reign of Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in the year 1977, 2002 and 2012, respectively. She is the first British monarch to reach her Sapphire Jubilee and she has been the consistent monarch who has seen many contradictions of sentiments, in relation to her Royal Family, but her public support still is strong and her personal popularity remains consistently high.
Queen Elizabeth II’s husband expired on 9th April, 2021 at age of 99. Buckingham Palace announced his demise through the tolling of church tenor bells at Westminster Abbey, every 60 seconds for 99 times, to honour every living year of his life, as a tribute to the late Duke. The Duke of Edinburgh was the longest serving Royal Consort in the British history, and was with the Queen for her support, for more than six decades of her reign.

Queen Elizabeth II Astrological Analysis, Date of Birth – 21 April 1926 Time – 19:53 Place of Birth – Windsor United Kingdom
Astrological Significance-
Queen Elizabeth II has Sagittarius ascendant and Cancer Moon sign. Jupiter is her personal planet, which is the lord of the 4th house of stability that gives her all the materialistic assets and very good and harmonious domestic life which she shared with her husband – Duke of Edinburgh, who supported her with confidence, for more than six decades.
The horoscope of Queen Elizabeth is exceptional in its own way. It is indicated in the birth chart of the Queen, where the 5th house lord Mars, is exalted in the 2nd house of wealth in the Capricorn sign, along with the ascendant lord Jupiter. This makes her rich in materialistic assets and wealth retention in the family tree. In her horoscope, the ascendant lord [Jupiter] and the 2nd house lord of the wealth [Saturn] is in a Parivartan Raj Yoga with the 4th house of stability and 5th house lord [Mars] of power, which is a very beneficial yoga for wealth.
Venus the 3rd house lord of the initiative and courage and lord of gains will bring the inertia to play diplomatic games for name fame and good social recognition. Sun, the lord of the 9th house of fortune, is posited in the 5th house of ministership is in its exalted sign of Mars. It reveals her long reign of ruling the country. The placement of Jupiter, in its debilitation sign, cancels out the effect of exalted Mars in the 2nd house of wealth in Capricorn sign.
It is placed in the auspicious house from Moon, where Jupiter becomes strong in ascendant by the Neechabhang Raj yoga.
Moon is the lord of inheritance and is placed in the 8th house, clearly indicates her inheritance of British monarchy and strong wealth status. The Queen has Vargottam Ascendant [the planet is placed in the same sign in birth chart and in Navamsa chart] which will yeild very good Raj Yogas in her horoscope. The Ascendant lord Jupiter is with 5th lord Mars in the Navamsa chart, making a good Raj Yoga.
Some interesting Astrological facts about the Queen, which takes her personality and persona to dynamic heights:
Saturn and Jupiter are her dominant planets. Jupiter gives her an austere appearance, with modesty and reserve. Saturn lines her up with honesty, straightforwardness, reliability, and deep mental process, which makes her a successful ruling monarch and very deep integrated personality.She often portrays the reserved and unemotional side, as is observed by some people by her exterior display of character. But, she possesses sturdy qualities like she is very strong willed and tough and has a long term vision, a sense of duty and ambition. These are not affected by any contradictory dialogue or situations, which give her the natural edge over any human being. So, we can conclude that planets like Saturn and Jupiter will endow her with golden heart with caring sentiments for everyone under her tough and austere appearance. Moon has blessed her with clear long-term vision essential for her and her country’s progress, with the aura of well-established beauty with strength, which makes her almost an immortal living being. Mars, the planet of strong will, is in its exalted sign of Saturn. It will induce her with energy and strength to execute her plans with dynamic resolution. She will be able to catch all her dreams in her stride with power of Sun against whom everything seems to lose its strength and luster.
Example: Guru Govind Singh


Guru Gobind Singh (born 1666, Patna, Bihar, India—died October 7, 1708, Nanded, Maharashtra) was the 10th and last of the personal Sikh Gurus (1675–1708), known chiefly for his creation of the Khalsa (Punjabi: “the Pure”), the military brotherhood of the Sikhs. He was the son of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Guru Gobind Singh was a man of great intellectual attainments. He was a linguist familiar with Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit as well as his native Punjabi. He further codified Sikh law, wrote martial poetry and music, and was the reputed author of the Sikh work called the Dasam Granth (“Tenth Volume”). Guru Gobind Singh’s greatest achievement was his creation of the Khalsa in 1699. According to one tradition, one morning after services, he sat in meditation before a great number of Sikhs and asked if any would sacrifice himself for the faith. Finally one man stepped out. The Guru and his victim disappeared into a tent. A few minutes later the Guru appeared with his sword dripping with blood, calling for another sacrificial volunteer. This ceremony continued until five men had volunteered. All five men then reappeared; according to one tradition the men had been slain but were miraculously restored to life, and according to another Guru Gobind Singh had merely tested the men’s faith and slaughtered five goats instead. Initiated with amrit (sweetened water or nectar) and given the title panc-piara (the five beloved), they formed the nucleus of the Khalsa the militant Sihk Culture Weak Planets The planet is weak, well positioned, and dominant: this planet will bring out some good effects, and these results will affect life a great deal. However, due to the weakness of the planet, the person will not experience great fulfillment in this area, and the significations of the planet will not manifest fully. The planet is weak, well positioned, but not dominant at all: this planet will bring some good effects, but the results will be limited to some area of life. The effects of this planet will not be clearly visible in the person’s life in general, and be subdued due to the weakness of the planet.
Example: Satyam
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Satyam
Mercury (Budha) is debilitated in Pisces (Meena) Jupiter (Guru) is debilitated in Capricorn (Makar) Venus (Shukra) is debilitated in Virgo (Kanya) Saturn (Shani) is debilitated on Aries (Maish) Every planet has a positive and negative placement. For instance, a well-placed planet, or an exalted planet can lead you to great achievements in life.
A Debilitated planet in a weak position can cause you to go through a painful experience
Debilitated Sun diminishes your ability to fight off diseases,
Debilitated Mars diminishes your courage.
Debilitated Mercury diverts your mind towards erroneous activity.
Debilitated Venus can reduce your prospects of marriage.
If Saturn is debilitated, then he indulge in immoral activities.
Malefic planets have always been feared. Planets influenced by malefic planets are also considered inauspicious.
Debilitated planets can fail to deliver hoped for results. But a planet alone does not give any results. Its effects depend upon the sign or the house it is placed in and is influenced by Aspects.
Satyam has a debilitated Moon (Goddess Lakshi of Wealth) in the 2nd house and should be poor,
However, Satyam because of past good Karma has 2 Niche Bang Raja Yogas: The exaltation lord of the debilitated planet is in a Kendra from Moon. This Yoga indicates cancellation of the state of debilitation of a planet and yielding benefic results instead, being elevated to a Raja Yoga status. So with a 2x Raja Yoga Moon, Satyam is guaranteed to be wealthy.
Moreover, Satyam has a Dhana Yoga: A relationship between the 9th house lord Mercury and the 11th lord Sun that are conjunct in the 3rd house. So the promise of the 10th’s lord in the 2nd house prompts wealth, virtue, honour by the government, charity, and enjoyment of happiness from his father
