Blank Chart Predictions from a Horoscope

Blank chart predictions are a method of horoscope analysis which largely works on energy exhibited or influence imbibed through the blending or combination of signs, houses and planets. The interesting thing to note is that for this kind of analysis, we do not take into account at all as to where the planets are placed in the horoscope. That's why it is coined as "Blank" meaning null or empty, hence placement of planets don't have a say. 

It should however be remembered that planets play the most crucial role in any horoscope and based on it's static placement in the natal chart or it's transitory movement forms the fulcrum of identifying the fate of any horoscope. So it may beg the question as to how can any horoscope be viewed without even knowing where planets are placed in the horoscope? This is the catch in blank chart analysis.

This system gives a great insight on initial horoscope analysis by blending various energies and can give an overview of some of the basic and inherent qualities for those born in different ascendants. It is useful especially for disseminating the natural traits. A majority part of the analysis is identified by basing it on the 'Kalapurusha' chart which indicates the wheel of time along with knowing the state of planet where exaltation or debilitation happens and also fusing a little bit of the signification elements in to the mix.

However, it should always be kept in mind that placement of planets can completely alter the said understanding and hence one shouldn't be too cheeky in trying to interpret everything from just a blank chart. As a first frontier in chart analysis, blank chart predictions can give a heads up on the zone of life where an individual is more focused on or at least wanting to be. It can also be a great learning tool for budding astrologers as a nascent step towards having a basic idea of a particular native. For this system, the fundamentals is of utmost importance and hence key performance indicators pertaining to signs, houses and planets should be readily available at the clasp of one's fingers.

Let us look at important significations pertaining to each of the houses:
1st House - All about the self - Characteristic, Constitution, Appearance, Personality, Stature, Physique, Complexion, Great Grandfather, Body Parts - Brain, Head. In general denotes all things associated with self as first house denotes the individual himself. The primary signifier for the first house is Sun as it largely deals with one's health and soul.

2nd House - Wealth, Speech, Family, Food & Drink, Primary Values or Basic Education, Resources to support, accumulation of possessions, precious articles like jewelry, treasure, gold, silver etc., mother's elder siblings, Body Parts - overall face in general, right eye, mouth, tongue, teeth etc. In general denotes all the essential things and assets which an individual possesses. The primary signifier for the second house is Jupiter as it's the planet for money, wealth and finances.

3rd House - Courage, Virility, efforts, communication, younger siblings, neighbors, generic friends, thoughts, natural abilities, initiatives, mental inclination, negative mindset, struggles, short distance travels/road journeys, change in place, multiplicity, Father in law, Body Parts - Shoulders, Arms, Hands, throat, right ear etc. In general denotes all the immediate things that an individual develops in the phase of growing up and the risks undertaken. The primary signifier for the third house is Mars as it's the planet for courage, siblings and risk taking.

4th House - Comforts, Happiness, Degree Education, Mother, Land/House/Home (Immovable Property), Vehicles/Conveyances (Movable Property), Home Land, Private Life, Peace of Mind, Center, Settling Down, Emotions, Feelings, Nurturing, Stability, close/intimate friend, Basic requirements like water, milk, clothes, Body Parts -  Heart, Chest, Breasts etc. In general denotes all things that gives a sense of comfort, happiness and security to an individual. The primary signifier for the fourth house is Moon as it is to do with motherly love, nourishment, feelings etc.

5th House - Intelligence, Skills, Learning, Creativity, Memory, Children, Paternal Grandfather, Fruits of Karma from previous birth (Poorva Punya), Extra curricular activities, Romance, Love, Passion, Sports, Speculation, Mantra, Body Parts - Belly, Stomach, Pancreas etc. In general denotes the deeds brought forward from previous birth and extending one's legacy through progeny along with application of all sorts of creative pursuits, learning endeavors and all things related to the mind. The primary signifier for the fifth house is Jupiter as it mainly deals with children and possessing wisdom/knowledge.

6th House - Diseases, Enemies, Injury, Debts/Loans, Disputes, Obstacles, Day to Day Activities/Routine, Pending Karma, Disagreements, Fitness, Service, Fights/Conflicts, Threats, competitiveness, victory, obsessive compulsion disorder, service, pets, mental worries, Relatives, Mothers younger siblings, Body Parts - Waist, Lower Abdomen, Intestine, Back etc. In general denotes all things that are seen as bad and which causes trouble and pains to the native along with the will to fight out for survival. The primary signifier for 6th house is Mars as it deals with enemies, injuries, wounds etc.

7th House - Marriage, Relationship, Spouse, Other People, Opposite things, Conjugal Pleasure, Association, Trade/Business/Partnership, Contracts/Negotiations/Dealings, Agreements, Entertainment and related fields like movies/music/drama/fine arts, foreign travel, Body Parts - Sex Organs, Phallus, Genitals, Semen etc. In general denotes all kinds of stuff or people that an individual associates with towards forging an alliance. The primary signifier for 7th house is Venus as it deals with all kinds of relationships.

8th House - Longevity, Hidden things/occult/secrets/mystery, Misfortunes,  Problems/Difficulty/Embarrassment, Transformation, chronic ailments, Insurance/Tax/Provident Funds, Income from other sources, Inheritance, Spouses family/In Laws, Marital Bond (Mangalya Sthana), Gifts, Research, Going deep/underground/search, Sex, Body Parts - Rectum, Anus etc. In general denotes all kinds of trials and tribulations that an individual goes through the vagaries of life in the quest for existence. In effect it's about the things in relation to life and death. The primary signifier for 8th house is Saturn as it deals with longevity and all kinds of difficulties associated.

9th House - Blessings, Fortune, Luck, Prosperity, Father, Divinity, Destiny, Auspiciousness, Dharma or Righteousness, Teacher/Guru/Preceptor/Mentor, Religion/Holiness/Worship, Temples/Pilgrimages/Penance, Long Distance Travels, Higher Education in the form of PhD, Doctorate etc., Body Parts - Thighs, Limbs etc. In general denotes the good deeds that come associated with one's welfare or destiny. The primary signifier for 9th house is Jupiter as it deals with auspiciousness, luck & fortune.

10th House - Profession/Career, Karma (result of a persons actions), Livelihood (Jeevana), Fame, Honour, Achievements, Position/Status/Reputation, Duties, Authority, Leadership, Power, Respect, Dignity, Public Image, Highest Point/Sky/Zenith, Mother in Law, Body Parts - Knees, Flesh etc. In general denotes the necessary actions performed by an individual to keep going towards leading life. The primary signifier for 10th house is Mercury as it deals with honours, achievements and being successful in career due to the earthy element associated with Mercury.

11th House - Gains/Profit, Desires, Benefits, Wishes, Aspirations, Ambitions, Elder Siblings, Fathers younger siblings, Social interactions, Network/Group/Circle, friends from society/community, Body Parts - Legs in general, Shank, left ear etc. In general denotes all the things that lead an individual towards gains and success in undertakings. The primary signifier for eleventh house is Jupiter as it deals with one's gains and desires.

12th House - Expenses, Losses, Sleep, Bed Pleasure, Imagination, Liberation, Redemption, Foreign Place/Far Away, Fear, Grief, Decline, Unpleasantness, Charity/Philanthropy, Spirituality, Punishment, Misery, Inferiority, Hospitalization, Medicines, Waste, Exit/End, Imprisonment/Jails/Asylum, Sorrow, Solitude, Intuition, Illusion, Isolation, Maternal Grandfather, Paternal Grandmother, Body Parts - Feet, Left eye etc. In general denotes all things that are expended by an individual before attaining salvation. The primary signifier for twelfth house is Saturn as it deals with losses and expenditure. 

The listed significations happen to be some of the fundamental classifications for each house. One must also keep in mind the linking of houses to extend the significations. For instance we know 2nd house denotes wealth and 9th is about Father. Thus 10th house which is 2nd from 9th will denote the wealth of the father. Likewise spouses profession can be ordained from the 4th house being the 10th house of profession from the 7th house of spouse. While doing predictions, an astrologer must be able to link various factors in order to generate relatable extended significations from each house.

With regard to the significations, each and every planet except the nodes is given the main portfolio of one of the houses with the outer planets from earth given more than one each whereas the inner planets are given one each. Jupiter has 4 main significations being the root signifier of 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th. Mars and Saturn hold key portfolio for the general bad houses with Mars being given 3rd, 6th and Saturn being provided 8th and 12th. The four kendras are all given to Sun (1st), Moon (4th), Venus (7th) and Mercury (10th). However it should be remembered that a house has multiple significations and hence there can be secondary karakas as well for eg. the profession and karma area of 10th the signifier will be Saturn whereas when seeing the status, position, leadership etc we have to be see from purview of Sun. Likewise the luxuries associated with 4th house, Venus will take charge whereas things related to land and property, Mars will have a say. These also need to be factored in but as a first step the primary root karaka provided by Sage Parashara would be helpful in catching the crucial areas in the relevant houses.

We will now look at some keywords ingrained within each zodiac sign

Aries - Impulsive, Impatient, Independent, Passionate, New Beginnings, Active, Energetic, Straight Forward, Frequent, Selfish, Hasty, Leading from the Front, Restless. Places - Mountain Region, Hilly Places

Taurus - Resourceful, Stable, Secure, Seeking Comfort, Stubborn, Patient, Determination, Slow, Inclined to Luxuries, Grounded. Places - Grasslands, Banks, Treasury

Gemini - Communication, Charismatic, Writing, Speaking, Scattered, Variety, Quick Thinking, Multi Tasking, Witty/Humorous, Youthful, Light Hearted, Fun seeking, Changes, Options, Curiosity, Copulation. Places - Social Interactions, educational institutes, University, Library

Cancer - Unstable, Feelings, Emotions, Sensitive, Nurturing, Moody, Motherly, Over Thinking, Indecisive, Floating, Up & Down. Places - Watery in nature like rivers, lakes, ponds

Leo - Pride, Ego, Dominating, Authority, Entertaining, Generous, Creativity, Fun loving, Bold, Chivalrous, Warm, Attention Seeking, Extravagant. Places - Forests, Jungles, Difficult to reach places

Virgo - Analytical, Critical, Perfectionism, Attention to Detail, Intelligence, Nervousness, Nit Picking, Helping, Practical, Service Oriented, Problems, Fault Finding. Places - Garden, Orchards, Hospitals

Libra - Balance, Harmony, Choice, Diplomacy, Aesthetic, Charming, Relationship, Middle Ground, Justice, Peace Making, Upright, Style, Grace. Places - Market Places, Trading, Financial Transactions

Scorpio - Mysterious, Transformation, Jealousy, Obsession, Manipulation, Probing, Intense, Secretive, Depth, Chaos. Places - Deep and underground, caves, holes, wells, hidden areas

Sagittarius - Optimistic, Happy go Lucky, Belief System, Teaching, Adventure, Over the Top, Abundance, Opportunistic, Exploring, Expansion, Growth. Places - Temples, Religious shrines, Cliffs, High Rise Buildings

Capricorn - Structure, Order, Discipline, Ambitious, Power Hungry, Seeking Success, Seriousness, Strict Regimen, Goal Oriented. Places - Swampy places, land abounded by water, small islands

Aquarius - Progressive, Unconventional, Unique/Different, Freedom Loving, Friendship, Rebellious, Networks/Groups, Aloofness, Erratic, Detachment, Humanitarian, Hopes & Wishes, Revolutionary. Places - Burial & Cremation grounds, deep philosophical areas, Hermitage

Pisces - Compassionate, Sympathetic, Sacrificial, Spirituality, Day Dreaming, Healing, Changing Colors, Fantasy, Glamour, Idealism, Escapism, Disillusionment, Imagination. Places - Oceans, Spiritual Places, Meditation, Self Help Centers

The zodiac signs are further classified into different elements as seen below:
Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - Fire
Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn - Earth
Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - Air
Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - Water
Based on the elements, there are some inherent traits that are common and can be useful for prediction

Fire - Action oriented, Outgoing, Impatient, Forceful, Enthusiastic, Impatient, Careless
Earth - Responsibility, Hard working, Organized, Practical, Stable, Reserved, Critical, Steady
Air - Socially Active, Communicative, Tolerant, Nervous, Superficial, Aloof, Eccentric
Water - Feelings, Imagination, Sensitive, Artistic, Intuitive, Psychic, Moody, Secretive, Unrealistic

Likewise the zodiac signs are also classified into mobility as seen below:
Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn - Movable
Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius - Fixed
Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces - Dual
Based on the mobility, the signs express some natural traits that can be useful for prediction

Movable - Promoting Change, Enterprising, Outgoing, Restless, Taking Control, Over Active, On the Move, Long Distance
Fixed - Resistance to Change, Focus, Practical, Firm, Persistence, Stubborn, Stabilize, Unrelenting, Nearby Distance
Dual -  Constant Change, Flexible, Adaptable, Fluctuating, Indecisive, Inconsistent, Balanced, Choosy, Middle Ground Distance

Combining Element and Mobility, we can see some important objects represented by each of the zodiac signs to understand the varied nature.

Aries - Movable Fire. Eg. Forest fires, Wild fire as they spread virulently having the essence of fire
Taurus - Fixed Earth. Eg. Plants, Trees etc. as they are earthy elements rooted to the ground
Gemini - Dual Air. Eg. Vacuum, Portable Hand Fans, Hair Dryer etc. as they generate air and can be moved around from one place to another
Cancer - Movable Water. Eg Rivers, Stream etc. as they keep flowing unceasingly
Leo - Fixed Fire. Eg. Furnace, Chimneys as they are fixed to a place and generate fire
Virgo - Dual Earth. Eg. Vases, Pots etc. as they are earthy but can be moved around within one place to another
Libra - Movable Air. Eg. Cyclones, Rapid Winds like Tornado which move very swiftly in a large scale environment
Scorpio - Fixed Water. Eg. Lakes, Ponds as they are watery and rooted to a particular area
Sagittarius - Dual Fire. Eg. Candles, Torches as they generate heat and can be moved around from place to place
Capricorn - Movable Earth. Eg. Farms, Orchards as they represent a large area for growing crops, plants for rearing
Aquarius - Fixed Air. Eg. Ceiling Fans, Air Conditioner as they are fixed to a place and generate air
Pisces - Dual Water. Eg. Oceans, Seas as they are watery with the water rising within the magnitude

It is also crucial to know the lord ruling each zodiac sign and the house in which they get exalted and debilitated:

Aries - Ruler Mars - Exalted in 10th House (Capricorn), Debilitated in 4th House (Cancer)
Taurus - Ruler Venus - Exalted in 11th House (Pisces), Debilitated in 5th House (Virgo)
Gemini - Ruler Mercury - Exalted in 4th House (Virgo), Debilitated in 10th House (Pisces)
Cancer - Ruler Moon - Exalted in 11th House (Taurus), Debilitated in 5th House (Scorpio)
Leo - Ruler Sun - Exalted in 9th House (Aries), Debilitated in 3rd House (Libra)
Virgo - Ruler Mercury - Exalted in 1st House (Virgo), Debilitated in 7th House (Pisces)
Libra - Ruler Venus - Exalted in 6th House (Pisces), Debilitated in 12th House (Virgo)
Scorpio - Ruler Mars - Exalted in 3rd House (Capricorn), Debilitated in 9th House (Cancer)
Sagittarius - Ruler Jupiter - Exalted in 8th House (Cancer), Debilitated in 2nd House (Capricorn)
Capricorn - Ruler Saturn - Exalted in 10th House (Libra), Debilitated in 4th House (Aries)
Aquarius - Ruler Saturn - Exalted in 9th House (Libra), Debilitated in 3th House (Aries)
Pisces - Ruler Jupiter - Exalted in 5th House (Cancer), Debilitated in 11th House (Capricorn) 

The Zodiac signs have numerous classifications such as being categorized into odd/even, positive/negative, day/night, rising from head/back, ascension as short/medium/long, quality as sattwik/rajasic/tamasic, aim being Dharma/Artha/Kama/Moksha, type being quadruped/human/watery/insect etc., along with various divisions. Knowing these may also come in handy when knowing more innate features of zodiac signs. However the fundamental classification of rasis ruled by the respective planets and knowing their element and mobility can be extremely useful in making subtle predictions. Rahu and Ketu have not been considered as they do not own signs exclusively of their own and they are more known to give results based on the house or sign in which they are placed. Since blank charts do not consist of planets placement, these have not been considered.

Making Blank Chart Predictions
Lets now see how we can make some handy predictions for different signs using blank charts. Knowing essentials such as characteristic features of various signs, important representations of the different houses, the signifier and ruling lord of all the houses along with the exaltation and debilitation of each planet in the houses and signs are very important when it comes to making such blank chart predictions.

We shall see some random predictions that can be made using this method. For an Aries Ascendant, we can that they are more happy in work environment than home environment as the Ascendant Lord exalts in 10th house and debilitates in 4th house. At the same time since 10th lord debilitates in sign of Aries, we can also infer that they may face some problems relating to profession. Taking the case of Virgo Lagna, we can say these natives are naturally intelligent as Virgo is the only sign where Lagna Lord gets exalted in Lagna itself. However they may be rather poor in relationship matters as the Lagna Lord debilitates in 7th house. We can infer that Gemini & Sagittarius natives can have an extra liking towards 4th house matters like mother, education, vehicles etc as in these cases both Ascendant Lord and 4th Lord are ruled by one and the same planet Mercury for Gemini and Jupiter for Sagittarius. For a Gemini Lagna, the intensity is even more because the lord also gets exalted in the 4th house. Taking the case of a Pisces Ascendant, the Lagna Lord Jupiter gets exalted in the 5th house. Jupiter also happens to be the natural signifier of the 5th house. So it can be predicted that these natives can be really fond of children. For a Libra Lagna person, 7th house is Aries and we know that 7th house is all about relationships and Aries sign denotes energy and activeness. So we can say a Libra Ascendant native is very active when it comes to forging relationships. Similarly we know Taurus shows resources and 8th house talks about in laws, thus we can say Libra Ascendants can get plenty of resources from their in laws by blending sign and house energy. A Cancer Ascendant native has his 3rd sign as Virgo. 3rd represents writing/communication and Virgo can mean critical, analytical, perfection. Hence we can say a Cancer Ascendant native aims for perfectionism when it comes to writing skills. For a Scorpio Ascendant, Capricorn comes as 3rd House and Capricorn has all to do with structure, order, discipline. Hence we can infer that the younger sibling of a Scorpio native is very orderly and meticulous in approach. Likewise for a Capricorn native, Scorpio is the 11th house and natural 8th house. So these natives may have a group or network of friends who could be actively engaged in occult sciences. A Leo native, the ascendant lord gets debilitated in 3rd house and exalted in 9th house. So these natives may benefit from 9th house matters like father, fortune, luck etc. We can even go one step and say that the father of these natives may be very active as it's coming in Aries sign. On the other hand these natives may not gain from 3rd house matters since its debilitated. Hence we can say not much help from younger siblings who may be very diplomatic in nature because of Libra sign which may not bode well for Leo Ascendants. For Aquarius Ascendants, Pisces is their 2nd house of money. Hence we can say that these natives earn money from significations of Pisces which could be in the form of spirituality, healing etc. Pisces also means oceans and crossing the waters, hence finance flow can come through foreign lands.

Illustration of using Blank Chart Prediction
We will now do an illustration of Blank Chart prediction of one particular Ascendant say Virgo by breaking into diverse segments and analyze results purely based on the blending of different dimensions of the sign and house energies

- Natural Sign Traits
Virgo is a dual sign of earth nature. There are certain inherent characteristics of Virgo sign and from that we can infer that these natives will be analytical by nature viewing things in detail and wanting to attain perfection. They can be too self critical at times and get nervous very soon as the indecisiveness of dual sign creeps in. As the sign is ruled by Mercury, we can also say they may be of curious kind and mildly of a thinner disposition as Virgo rules the hips or waistline area which is underneath the belly and shows a reduction in body fluff around that side. 

- Kala Purusha House Order
As per the Kala Purusha Order, Virgo happens to be the natural 6th house of the zodiac. We know 6th house represents fights, issues and hence we can expect Virgo natives to be naturally of an argumentative nature. They may be very competitive by spirit and always wanting to be victorious in every endeavor. They may disagree on a lot of things and it's very hard to convince these natives as they look at most things in a minute manner.

- Other Lordship Impact
For a Virgo Ascendant native, Mercury is the ruler of both the 1st and 10th house. As we know 1st is all about the self and 10th is to do with one's profession and livelihood. Since the same planet rules the 1st and the 10th, these natives will take their work very seriously and always looking for ways to meet their needs. Since the ruler is Mercury, few natural significations of the planet will also come into the picture like for instance these individuals being logical and calculative when it comes to professional matters. Likewise Jupiter rules both the 4th and 7th houses. 4th is about mother and 7th spouse. Hence a Virgo native may treat matters of mother and spouse equally with no discrimination and since Jupiter is the owner of both these houses, he may be very respectful and duty bound when it comes to such matters.

- Exaltation and Debilitation
Virgo is ruled by the sign of Mercury which exalts in Virgo itself in the first house and debilitates in the 7th house ruled by Pisces. Virgo is the only zodiac sign where the Ascendant ruler gets exalted in it's very own sign. Hence one can easily infer that such natives will be extremely intelligent due to this proposition. However since Lagna Lord debilitates in the opposite 7th house, they may be pretty weak when dealing with other people be it with their spouse or relating to any business negotiations.

- Karaka Theory
Each house has a primary root karaka and for the 10th house the main signifier happens to be Mercury especially relating to matters such as to do with gaining honours and achievements. The Karaka of 10th Mercury gets exalted in 1st house but gets debilitated in 7th house. We know the 1st house is the self and 7th is about dealing with others. This clearly highlights that such natives are better off doing their own service than indulging in business activities since the karaka gets uncomfortable when it is dealing with different people. The primary signifier of 3rd house is Mars mainly to do with courage, valor etc and we see that it gets exalted in the 5th house of Capricorn. So these natives may be pretty creative when exhibiting their skills but however may not be gaining much due to the karaka being debilitated in the floating up and down 11th house of Cancer.

- Progression Based Approach
In general, we have 12 houses in a horoscope and every year of life is said to dictate one sign each. Hence in the 1st year Virgo will be activated with 2nd being Libra, 3rd Scorpio and so on till 12th being Leo. The order repeats again with Virgo activating the 13th year and so on and so forth. We know Gemini represents changes and happens to be the 10th sign for a Virgo native. Thus in ages of 22, 34, 46 etc. we can deduce that these natives would have had a change in their work place. For instance 4th house will be activated during year 4,16,28,40,52,64,76,88,100 etc. During the above mentioned ages, a lot of 4th house significations will take place such as completion of education, buying vehicles, acquiring property etc. However this rule should be seen with a pinch of salt as a lot depends on the sign placement of Sagittarius and it's lord Jupiter also for things to get activated.

- Blending of Signs and Houses
This is fundamentally the most important rule and forms the crux of the prediction analogy behind analyzing blank or blind charts. Each house is to be studied based on where it falls in the natural zodiac and accordingly the sign energy needs to be blended with the house in question. The first house of Virgo happens to be the 6th house of the natural zodiac and we know the 6th pertains to difficulty. So these natives will naturally be difficult to please and have questions for every matter. The 2nd house falls in Libra which is the natural 7th sign. As Libra represents choice, these natives could also be pretty choosy when it comes to their food habits. Thus we can infer that these natives will be pretty balanced when dealing with money and family matters. Since the 3rd house falls in the natural 8th house, it can be inferred that these natives will be quite secretive with regard to their communication or efforts put in. As the 4th house is natural 9th house of exploring, these individuals will like to research about things like vehicles, properties in much depth. The mother of such natives can be quite religious as it happens to be sign of Sagittarius denoting belief system. The 5th house happens to be the natural 10th house of Capricorn and hence with regard to matters of children, it can be said that they would be strict and bring them up with discipline. Coming to 6th house which happens to be natural 11th house, it can be said that these natives can gain from court cases or any disputes prevailing. From another angle, since the 6th house rules diseases and falls in the sign of Aquarius that represents legs especially the shanks, it could be said that these natives may be having issues relating to that part of the legs. The 7th house happens to be the natural 12th house of loss and hence these natives may feel the pinch when dealing with other people. Incidentally the other rules already pointed to a weakness when dealing with 7th house matters and this only exacerbates the issue all the more. The 8th house happens to be Aries which is the 1st sign of the zodiac and connotes new beginnings. With regard to hidden and secretive issues, they may want to try newer approaches and put lots of efforts to know such things. The 9th house happens to be the 2nd sign of Taurus denoting support and resources. It can be inferred that the father of the native can be a very resourceful person or even the native's teachers being virtuous. The 10th house is about work and happens to be the natural 3rd sign of Gemini. It is pretty easy to state that the work environment will be quite communicative. Multiple professions can also be indicated from Gemini's duality trait. From the 11th house that happens to be the 4th house of natural zodiac, it can be said that these natives could be emotionally connected to their social network. Some sort of gains can also arise through 4th house matters like mother, properties etc. Since Leo happens to be the 12th house and the natural 5th house, it can be said that these natives will incur expenditure to maintain status quo and for the sake of their children or any other creative pursuits.

- Extended Significations
Through the blending of signs and houses, we were able to predict various facets pertaining to an individuals life. By extending this theory we can also briefly predict about matters relating to the natives family members. For instance, father is represented by the 9th house and for a Virgo native, 9th house falls in the sign of Taurus through which we were able to infer that the father could be a resourceful person. Now if we want to know about the wealth capacity of the father, we would have to look at the 2nd sign from the 9th house of Virgo which happens to be Gemini. Now we know Gemini represents variety and multiple sources and hence it can be said that the dad of the native may be earning wealth through various avenues. Likewise other areas can also be decoded by linking houses for instance to know about spouses profession we need to see the 10th from the 7th sign of Pisces which would be the sign of Sagittarius for a Virgo Ascendant.

- Sign and House Energy for Other Ascendants
We should also keep in mind that Virgo would be ruling a particular house for the other ascendants and taking care of specific portfolios based on the house it is associated. Using the energy of Virgo, we would be able to work out relatable predictions based on the house of Virgo. For instance a Libra Ascendant native will have Virgo ruling the 12th house of expenditure and we know Virgo happens to be the natural 6th house of the zodiac. Hence we can say that Libra Ascendant natives may be incurring lots of spends with regard to paying their debts, dealing with enemies, diseases etc. A Capricorn Ascendant will have Virgo as it's 9th sign that connotes one's teachers. Since it falls in sign of Virgo which is all about paying attention to detail, we can say that the Gurus/Father/Mentor of Capricorn Ascendant natives will be very meticulous and well planned.

Conclusion
These are just a glimpse of how predictions can be made simply out of blank charts. By blending various energies of sign, house, planets majority of predictions can be performed through the inherent cosmos prevailing within this framework. If one is skilled and able to use the creative forte to the best of ability, numerous predictions can just flow unendingly and a plethora of results can be foretold simply through the ascendant alone. However as emphasized earlier, these may not always work and everything can change in a dramatic manner based on actual placement of planets in the chart. The blank chart predictions can give a high level insight especially when a planet is actually not placed in the house or sign being analyzed. If there are planets placed, results can get altered significantly and caution needs to be exercised. Thus predictions using this methodology needs to be thread carefully and used judiciously in order to obtain the best results possible.

Bhava, Bhava Adhipathi and Karaka - The 3 Pillars in deconstructing a Horoscope

Many a time, we find that it becomes quite a dicey proposition when we are trying to establish how a particular feature or event will work out while analyzing a horoscope. Sometimes it's the Bhava or House that is keenly looked at but at other times the Bhava Adhipathi or House Lord plays a key role and in certain cases the karaka or significator also has an essential takeaway in the proceedings. Is there any way to know one is more superior than the other in giving the requisite results? Its easier said but let's look at what each of them stands for and dissect their independent roles in bifurcating a horoscope.

Bhava or House: Promise
This essentially tells the PROMISE of an event taking place or not. In fact this should be the out right first step in looking at an event. For illustration, let's say we want to know about marriage and 7th house matters. We first need to look at this house / sign in question to see what kind of planets are occupied and the kind of aspects the house it receives. By analyzing the influence which the house receives through planets placed there in, aspectual tendencies it receives, foreseeing the strength of the house through measures such as Bhava Bal (house strength), Ashtakavarga (house based point system) etc can enable us to understand in decent measure about the promise that a particular house holds.

Bhava Adipathi or House Lord: Facilitator
This plays the role of the FACILITATOR in making sure an event takes place. If the house doesn't promise an event, the house lord cannot do much but within it's limited capability can ensure that something at least can be facilitated. From the example of marriage and 7th house, if the 7th Bhava is completely derailed, we would have to observe if the 7th Lord at least can save face to some extent. One thing which also needs to be remembered here is that the Bhava Adipathi is a planet not house and in most cases owns portfolio of 2 houses in a horoscope. This would be the case for all planets except Sun & Moon which own only one house. Thus Bhava Adipathi can be owner of not only 7th house but also some other even house in the horoscope such as 8th or 10th etc for instance. Thus studying about the house lord as to where it is placed from the house it governs, the planets it conjuncts and the aspects it receives along with understanding the 6th fold Shadbala strength of the planet can go a long way in measuring whether the planet has the capacity to produce the desired results. One should also always keep in mind whether the planet in question happens to be a natural or functional benefic/malefic planet.

Karaka or Significator: Signifier
This is the planet that acts as the main SIGNIFIER for an event taking place. Most units are defined by a particular planet such as for instance children are said to be signified by Jupiter, marriage through Venus, profession via Saturn etc. But one thing to note is that this is common for all and does not take into account the functional nature prevalent in a horoscope. As an illustration, for Jupiter born Ascendants such as Sagittarius / Pisces, Venus happens to be a functional malefic but yet it continues to be the signifier when it comes to an event such as marriage. Though Karaka is important in delving results at a generic level, the Bhava Adipathi or House Lord assumes a more important role as it's designated specifically to rule a particular house or two in the horoscope. Just to understand, if we are talking of events pertaining to children, the 5th Lord may be a different planet say Saturn in the case of say Libra Lagna. Saturn which normally has no relevance to children in the scheme of things plays a vital role in this case because it is assigned the portfolio of governing the 5th house. The actual Karaka Jupiter, though being the natural signifier of children actually has ownership of 2 evil houses here which are the 3rd and the 6th. But looking at things in a different angle, let's say one wants to see the 4th house and we know this house denotes a number of stuff such as mother, vehicles, properties etc. For all these cases 4th lord will end up being the same planet but the Karaka planet is different such as Venus for vehicles, Mars for properties etc and so this given an extra dimension to dissect effects. Thus these things also need to be seen carefully and results have to be blended accordingly.

Illustration:
Just to understand it in an easy abstract fashion, let's presume a Bhava or House to be a Building, Bhava Adipathi or House Lord to be Materials placed within and the Karaka to be an indicative tool. Imagine the building being ravaged having really no scope of refurbishment. In a way this is indicated that a promise is not ready to be fulfilled as the Bhava (house) or source itself is affected. However though the construction is deeply hit, there are still some materials (Bhava Adipathi or House Lord) such as bricks/mortars through which something at least can be worked around to facilitate a solution. Now think of a particular indicative tool (Karaka or Significator) such as a special stone which if available in good condition can be used to work around a specific area of the affected building. This in effect signifies the Karaka.

Conclusion:
Though each of the 3 have a major role to play in delineating an event, the importance should spread first from the Bhava, then the Bhava Adipathi and finally the Karaka. If a promise itself is not suggested, it would be hard for the facilitator or signifier to make it happen. But if the promise is inherently visible, even if the facilitator or signifier is afflicted an event can still take place albeit with some potholes just because the potential is intact. Also between the facilitator and signifier, the former takes a more head on role as he has been designated specifically for a purpose whereas the signifier is more generic and applies for everyone in the same manner. In essence all the 3 are important in their own way and in most cases guarantee of a matter taking place should only be decided after analyzing all three of these areas in complete detail.

                                                             P.S: Picture taken from internet

Usage of Panchanga Elements in Horoscope Analysis

The Panchang plays a pivotal role in delineating a horoscope. It is generally perceived that the elements of the Panchanga viz Vara, Nakshatra, Tithi, Yoga and Karana are used only for the purpose of a muhurta which is to say selecting an auspicious period of time but it's scope in actuality is much beyond that and can also be useful when deciphering the planetary play of events in a horoscope. Let's look at a few clues which the Panchanga provides us while analyzing a horoscope.

Vara : Solar Day Transiting at Birth
It is said that Knowledge of Vara brings Life. A Vara begins from the beginning of sunrise and lasts till the end of the next day of Sunrise. In essence a Vara or Weekday lasts for an approximate period of 24 hours. The Vara is said to denote 'Arogya' which can be deemed to know about the health, vitality and characteristics of a person.

The day in which a person takes birth can tell in brief about the well being of a person. For eg. if a person were born on a Wednesday, then the ruler of the day happens to be Mercury. Through the placement of Mercury we can know somewhat about the health of the native. The strongest houses in a horoscope are usually the kendra houses with 10th being the strongest followed by the 7th, 4th and 1st. Hence the weekday planet placed in a strong kendra could indicate that vitality is strong unless badly afflicted. 

Apart from this, each of the Vara has an obstructer that happens to be the 6th from the weekday lord. For this purpose we also take into account Rahu and Ketu that are factored in after Saturday ruled by Saturn. The 6th planet from the weekday is known to cause Stambana or freeze and ideally this planet should be weaker than the Vara planet when ascertaining the well being of a native. Let us take a look below at the 6th planetary ruler from each weekday.

Sunday - Ruler Sun, Obstructer Venus
Monday - Ruler Moon, Obstructer Saturn
Tuesday - Ruler Mars, Obstructer Rahu
Wednesday - Ruler Mercury, Obstructer Ketu
Thursday - Ruler Jupiter, Obstructer Sun
Friday - Ruler Venus, Obstructer Moon
Saturday - Ruler Saturn, Obstructer Mars

For instance if someone were born on Thursday, then planetary ruler is Jupiter. The obstructer happens to be Sun because we need to count 6 from Thursday which happens to be Thursday->Friday->Saturday->Rahu->Ketu->Sunday. As observed we need to factor Rahu and Ketu after Saturday and before Sunday is counted next again. Hence a person can be born on any of the 7 days from Sunday to Saturday ruled by the 7 planets from Sun to Saturn but the obstructor can be any of the 9 planets including Rahu & Ketu also. Rahu is the obstructer for Tuesday (Mars) and Ketu is the obstructer for Wednesday (Mercury). Ideally the opposing Vara planet need to be weaker than the weekday lord for sound body and health.

Other clues to study about the Vara in the chart is it's combination with the Paksha or period of the Lunar Tithi cycle. The combination of Vara and Paksha results in the controllership of a planet and based on where it's placed in the chart, it is believed to have a longingness to that house in which it's placed in the chart. It is supposed to be a pretty powerful technique and just by this placement, it is known to interpret the lifepath of a native. Let's look at the planets in question based on the 14 different combinations:

Sunday Shukla Paksha - Jupiter
Monday Shukla Paksha - Venus
Tuesday Shukla Paksha - Jupiter
Wednesday Shukla Paksha - Venus
Thursday Shukla Paksha - Mars
Friday Shukla Paksha - Mercury
Saturday Shukla Paksha - Saturn
Sunday Krishna Paksha - Mercury
Monday Krishna Paksha - Saturn
Tuesday Krishna Paksha - Mercury
Wednesday Krishna Paksha - Mars
Thursday Krishna Paksha - Venus
Friday Krishna Paksha - Jupiter
Saturday Krishna Paksha - Saturn

As an illustration, let's say a native was born on a Friday in Shukla Paksha. In such a case, the planetary ruler happens to be Mercury. We need to see the placement of Mercury in the horoscope and it can give a lot of insights based on the house it is placed, the nature of sign, the houses it rules etc. For eg. if this Mercury sits in the 8th and happens to be Lagna Lord it can be inferred that the native is fond of research and his mind will always revolve around searching for the unknown.

Nakshatra : The constellation of Moon transiting at Birth
It is said that Knowledge of Nakshatra removes sins. A Nakshatra rules a space of 13° 20' minutes of the 360° zodiac and hence there are 27 Nakshatras in total. Out of all the Panchanga elements prevailing, it is the Nakshatra which is looked at in vogue. Detailed information pertaining to the Nakshatras have been dealt with separately. The Nakshatra is said to connote 'Arivu' meaning knowledge, skill, intelligence etc.

In general parlance the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th Nakshatras are supposed to be favorable from a Tara Bal (star strength) point of view. The birth Nakshatra is said to infuse plenty of tensions and the 3rd, 5th, 7th all denote inauspicious time periods. However from a birds eye view seeing where the lord of the Moon Nakshatra is placed in a chart can help estimating in which areas the native will look towards knowledge and information. For eg, lets say someone's Moon Nakshatra is placed in Chitra. We know lord of Chitra is Mars and if this Mars is placed in the 7th house, it can indicate most of the focus in learning, knowledge and collation of information will be towards 7th house signification matters.

Tithi : Every 12 degrees of angular distance at which the Moon moves away from the Sun
It is said that Knowledge of Tithi brings prosperity. A Tithi gets formed every time the Moon moves 12° away from the Sun. Hence there are a total of 30 Tithis (360°/12) with 15 forming the brighter half and the remaining 15 drawing up the darker half. The Tithi talks about 'Selvam' which can be expanded to mean wealth, prosperity, enjoyments, pleasures etc.

'Tithi Shoonya' is one concept which is used quite a bit in ascertaining the houses of 'Karma' which has been dispensed in a separate post. It is also said that the 4th, 8th and 14th Tithi from one's Janma Tithi isn't auspicious. Eg. for one born in Sashti Tithi, the Tithis Navami, Trayodashi, Chaturthi is not supposed to be favorable since they rule the 4th, 8th and 14th from Sashti. However the 5th from Birth Tithi is said to be an auspicious Tithi.

Apart from that, the number of houses that the Moon has moved away from the Sun can indicate the areas in which a native derives pleasures or happiness. For eg an individual born in Shukla Paksha Chaturthi Tithi which is the 4th tithi (36 to 48 degrees) of brighter half would show that the Moon has moved 2 houses away from Sun. This means the focus will mostly be on matters relating to family, wealth, speech, accumulation of resources etc. Also it's good to map the Tithi point as an ausicious area in the zodiac and see where it falls from natal Ascendant. Every rasi of 30 degrees will house 2.5 Tithis (12*2.5=30) beginning from Shukla Paksha Pratamai in Aries. As per this all the Shukla Paksha Tithis will get mapped to Rasis from Aries to Virgo and the Krishna Paksha Tithis will be mapped to Rasis from Libra to Pisces. As an example we can say that Shukla Paksha Ashtami Tithi which is the 8th tithi formed between 84 to 96 degrees will be mapped to Gemini & Cancer with the first 6 degrees from 84 to 90 being in Gemini and next 6 degrees from 90 to 96 falling in Cancer.

The Tithi ruling planet also indicates the benevolence of wealth. The rulership lords are bit different as given by the Kerala Prashna Text 'Krishneeyam' as seen below:

Pratipada - Mars
Dwitiya - Venus
Tritiya - Mercury
Chaturthi - Moon
Panchami - Sun
Sasthi - Jupiter
Saptami - Saturn
Ashtami - Rahu
Navami - Mars
Dasami - Venus
Ekadashi - Mercury
Dwadashi - Moon
Triyodashi - Sun
Chaturdashi - Jupiter
Pournami - Saturn 
Ammavasya - Rahu

Based on where the Tithi Lord planet is placed in the chart can also give a good impetus with respect to matters pertaining to prosperity. For someone born in Dasami and Venus being placed in 4th can be inferred that the native derives lot of pleasures from 4th house significations.

Yoga : Sum total of Sun + Moon amounting to 13 degrees 20 minutes each
It is said that Knowledge of Yoga removes immunity from diseases. Yogas also like Nakshatras comprise of a space of 1320' in the sky but is obtained by adding the degree of the Sun and the Moon. Yoga is about 'Niraivu' that tells about completeness, contentment, abundance etc.

The Yoga point in the horoscope happens to be the addition of Suns and Moons degrees. If they exceed 360°, then 360° needs to be reduced from the sum total. For instance if Sun degree is 282 and Moons is 83, adding the two results in 365 degrees from which 360 degrees needs to be subtracted with the end result being 5 that falls in Ashwini Nakshatra 2nd Pada. Now Ashwini Nakshatra happens to be the Yoga point in the horoscope. The 8th Nakshatra from where the yoga point falls happens to be the Yogi Nakshatra and the lord of the Nakshatra is said to be Yogi planet. Similarly the 22nd Nakshatra from where the yoga point falls happens to be the Avayogi Nakshatra and the lord of the said Nakshatra is said to be Avayogi planet. In the above case Pushya and Saturn tend to be the Yogi Nakshatra and Yogi planet whereas Shravana happens to be the Avayogi Nakshatra and Avayogi planet. It can be construed from this that all Saturn Nakshatras are in general said to be favorable and all the Moon stars are said to be unfavorable. It is also ideal if Yogi Nakshatra is in strong Tara Bal from the Janma Nakshatra.

Yogi planet is said to be the prosperity giving planet and Avayogi planet is said to be the prosperity harming planet. Considering all factors, it is preferable if Avayogi falls into a weak house and Yogi is placed in a strong house. There is also a concept of Uba Yogi and Uba Avayogi which is said to boost up the prosperity and hamper the same respectively and this happens to be the 4th planet from the Vimshottari Dasa sequence in forward or reverse motion depending on whether the birth is in Shukla Paksha or Krishna Paksha. Taking same eg. above of Saturn as Yogi planet for a Shukla Paksha birth, the 4th from Saturn based on Vimshottari forward sequence is Venus (Saturn->Mercury->Ketu->Venus) which is the Uba Yogi planet. Likewise the 4th from Moon which is the Avayogi planet in above example happens to be Jupiter (Moon->Mars->Rahu->Jupiter) which is the Uba Avayogi planet. For a Krishna Paksha birth, the Uba Yogi would be Mars (Saturn->Jupiter->Rahu->Mars) and likewise Uba Avayogi will be Ketu (Moon->Sun->Venus->Ketu) as the sequence is considered in reverse order. There is also a saying that the houses from where the Yogi Nakshatra is placed till the position where the Avayogi Nakshatra falls happen to be the bright houses in a horoscope whereas the position from Avayogi Nakshatra placement to the Yogi Nakshatra placement denote the dark houses in a horoscope. Using the 9 planets, the Yogi Triads are said to be good and the Avayogi triads are bad. With same eg. the sequence goes as Saturn->Mercury->Ketu->Venus->Sun->Moon->Mars->Rahu->Jupiter. To explain someone born in Vishkumba Yoga where Saturn is Yogi, the 1-4-7 planetary triad is preferable which is Saturn, Venus and Mars whereas the triads from Moon which is Avayogi viz Moon, Jupiter, Ketu are 3-6-9 aren't auspicious. The remaining Triad of 2-5-8 are neutral. 

Karana : Every 6 degrees of angular distance at which the Moon moves away from the Sun
It is said that Knowledge of Karanas leads to success. A Tithi gets formed every time the Moon moves 12 degrees away from the Sun and half of a Tithi is a Karana which is 6 degrees. Hence there are 60 Karanas in total (360°/6) which are however further categorized into 11 as 7 of the karanas are movable and repeat 8 times in a cycle making up 56 and there are remaining 4 fixed karanas totaling to 60. Karana is all about 'Muyarchi' that highlights on areas like trying, efforts, perseverance etc.

The Karana ruling planet is the karya siddhi which denotes tasks being completed. Hence the Karana ruling planet has a major role to play as it is the one drawing upon one's karma and hence it's best if it is unafflicted in the chart. The Karana ruling planets are as stated below:

Bava - Mars
Balava - Rahu
Kaulava - Saturn
Taitula - Venus
Garaja - Moon
Vanija - Sun
Vishti - Ketu
Shakuni - Saturn
Chatushpada - Jupiter
Nagava - Rahu
Kimstugna - Mercury

The first seven of the karanas are movable and keep repeating whereas the last 4 are fixed in nature. Based on where the Karana Lord is placed in horoscope, matters relating to one's efforts, professional acumen can be dwelled upon. The Karana point will be similar to the Tithi point as Karana is essentially deduced from the Tithi. It is also said that the 3rd, 8th and 11th Karana from one's Janma Karana isn't auspicious.

Summary of Panchang in Horoscope:
Summarizing below key points to be kept in view while doing Panchanga Analysis in a horoscope

Vara:
- Know the planetary ruling planet of Vara (for eg. Vara ruler of Tuesday is Mars)
- Map the Vara point in the zodiac (See which Nakshatra and house Mars is placed in the horoscope)
- Be cognizant that the 6th planet from the Vara Lord is an obstructer (In this case Rahu is obstructer for those born on Tuesday)
- Understand the life path of native from Vara Paksha (for eg. born on Monday Krishna Paksha, Saturn is the planet governing the life path of the native)

Nakshatra:
- Know the planetary ruling planet of Nakshatra (for eg. Swati ruler is Rahu)
- Map the same in the zodiac (See which Nakshatra and house Rahu is placed in the horoscope)
- Map the Nakshatra point in the zodiac (This is the positional degree of the Moon in the horoscope)
- Be cognizant that the 3rd, 5th, 7th from Birth Nakshatra are inauspicious as per Tara Balan

Tithi:
- Know the ruling planet of Tithi (for eg. Ekadashi ruler is Mercury)
- Map the same in the zodiac (See which Nakshatra and house Mercury is placed in the horoscope)
- Map the Tithi point in the zodiac (for eg. Shukla Paksha Ekadashi will fall in Leo and Krishna Paksha Ekadashi will fall in Aquarius)
- Also find out how many houses the Moon has moved away from the Sun in the horoscope
- Be cognizant that the 4th, 8th, 14th Tithi from Birth Tithi are inauspicious

Yoga:
- Know the ruling planet of Yogi and Avayogi (for eg. Vishkumba yoga born Yogi Saturn Avayogi Moon) 
- Map the same in the zodiac (See which Nakshatra and house Saturn and Moon is placed in the horoscope)
- Map the Yoga point in the zodiac (for eg. Vishkumba Yoga will fall in Ashwini Nakshatra in Aries Rasi)
Be cognizant that the 6th planet from Yogi planet is inauspicious (6th planet from Yogi Saturn is Moon)

Karana:
- Know the ruling planet of Karana (for eg. Garaja ruler is Moon)
- Map the same in the zodiac (See which Nakshatra and house Moon is placed in the horoscope)
- Map the Karana point in the zodiac (this will be same point as that of Tithi since Karana is derived)
- Be cognizant that the 3rd, 8th, 11th Karana from Birth Karana are inauspicious

Ascertaining Influence in Planetary Conjunctions!

While delineating a horoscope, one of the hardest spots to crack happens to be planetary conjunctions. It becomes tighter when the going gets tougher with planets being closely aligned with one another and it's quite an onerous task to see who influences whom more and which planet has a far reaching impact when they are all congregated nearby each other. When it's a single planet sitting in a sign, results are always easier to decipher whereas when 2 of them combine it gets murkier and in situations where you have 3 or more planets close by the intricacies really start sizing up.

There is also a notion of conjunctions to be taking place only when planets are placed within the same zodiac sign. This is not entirely true as planets are ever revolving and we cannot really attribute it to the zodiac sign or house concept which is fixed in nature. For instance if Planet A is at 2° and Planet B is at 26° in the same sign say Capricorn, we tend to brand it as a conjunction whereas let's say there is a Planet C placed in the previous sign of Sagittarius at 29° we don't really always take Planet A & C to be conjunct despite them being just 3 degrees apart. To explain this with a simple illustration, we can consider a horoscope to be equivalent of a large building consisting of 12 storeys or compartments. These compartments are fixed in nature like the zodiac signs in the sky whereas these compartments will consist of a number of objects which get moved from one part of the building to another part. These objects correspond to the Planets which are always movable in nature from one place to another. Hence we cannot really categorize conjunctions only when planets fall in the same sign and in essence the distance between the planets matter a lot irrespective of the zodiac sign in which they are placed.

Now coming to the real deal, so how do we then evaluate planetary conjunctions? One factor to always keep in the back of the mind is the planetary table of friendship to know which of the planets maintain a friendly, inimical or neutral relationship with their respective counterparts. Secondly the difference in the degrees also matter a lot. Like in the above example of 2 planets sitting in the same sign but being well over 20 degrees from each other certainly doesn't suggest a conjunction since they happen to be too far and don't necessarily warrant an influence over one another. Additionally also it would be prudent to see the direction in which the planets are moving whether in forward mode or undergoing a retrogression movement. Let's now look at some key characteristics at play to understand planetary influence in conjunctions.

Strength of Planets:
This is absolutely essential to consider for evaluating planetary influence. The strongest to weakest planets of the Navagrahas are given as under:
Ketu -> Rahu -> Sun -> Moon -> Venus -> Jupiter -> Mercury -> Mars -> Saturn

This is backed by a verse from 'Hora Sara' that states "The strength of Mars is double of Saturn's. Mercury is four times stronger than Mars. Jupiter is eight times stronger than Mercury. Venus has eight times more strength than that of Jupiter. The Moon is sixteen times stronger than Venus, the Sun twice of the Moon and Rahu's strength is twice of the Sun's and hence Rahu is the strongest of the planets". This is also corroborated in Uttara Kalamrita which assigns points to the planets for Indu Lagna Calculation as such; Sun - 30, Moon - 16, Venus - 12, Jupiter - 10, Mercury - 8, Mars - 6 and Saturn - 1. The Indu Lagna calculations doesn't include Rahu & Ketu whereas in the verse above it's clearly stated that Rahu is more powerful than Sun. It clearly makes sense because as per mythology and also astronomy, it's mentioned that Rahu & Ketu are capable of swallowing both the Sun & Moon and it's only due to the phenomenon of the Nodes that eclipses even get formed. Between Rahu and Ketu however they are one and the same with the head portion denoting Rahu and body portion depicting Ketu. In astrological parlance however Ketu is said to be the strongest of them because it is said to be associated with a 5 faced snake and hence more powerful than Rahu but however this information as to which of the nodes is stronger isn't really relevant as they are always 180° apart and the major essence to take away is that the Nodes happen to be the strongest among the Navagrahas. Also to be kept in mind is that this is only planetary strength and there is no mention of degrees which have an important bearing with respect to planetary influence.

Asthanga and Samagama - Solar and Lunar Combustion:
When planets are within a particular distance of the Sun, they are said to lose their power and said to be in a combust or Ashtanga state. The planets are said to be obscured by the Sun and their rays don't fully land on the earth. It has been clearly defined also in texts about the degrees in which they are said to be combust. Solar Combustion takes place only when the planets Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are involved. Since Moon is always closer to the Earth, combustion doesn't apply and likewise Nodes are only shadow points and do not possess rays of any kind. Listed below are the degrees in which planets gets combust when they are close to Sun:
Mars 17°
Mercury 14°, 12° when retrograde
Jupiter 11°
Venus 10°, 8° when retrograde
Saturn 15°

Similar to Ashtanga, when the planets get closer to the Moon it is said to cause a phenomenon called 'Samagama' or Lunar Combustion. Since the Moon is always closer to earth, when any planet comes close to the Moon, it automatically means these planets in essence are also very close to the Earth. There is however no defined degrees of Lunar Combustion when planets get close to the Moon but however it re-iterates the theory that Moon is stronger than all the other planets when in a state of conjunction. Similar to Ashtanga, Samagama does not include Sun, Rahu & Ketu.

Planetary War or Graha Yuddha:
When 5 planets barring the luminaries and nodes viz Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn come within 1º distance from each other it is said to cause 'Planetary War' or 'Graha Yudha'. This concept doesn't utilizes the Sun, Moon, Rahu & Ketu and this only occurs when the 5 planets get extremely close ie within a degree distance of each other. Here again, it is stated that Venus never loses in a planetary war when associated with the other 4 planets again harping on the strength order of planets that Venus happens to be the strongest planet after the Nodes and the Luminaries. The victor in Planetary War sans Venus who always wins is decided based on the Latitude of the planets with the planet having more Northern Latitude said to come out on top and be the winner.

Yoga Formation within 12°:
This is a very important principle. It is stated in Uttara Kalamritam that when any 2 planets cause a yoga whether good or bad, it should be seen only when they are within 12° from each other. 12° can also be interpreted as One Tithi and this number is extremely pivotal in ascertaining results. It has also been stated that for effects to fructify, it is quite essential that planet slower in motion is ahead of the planet which is faster in motion. The slowest to fastest motion of the planets are as below:
Saturn -> Rahu/Ketu -> Jupiter -> Mars -> Sun -> Venus -> Mercury -> Moon

Thus we can witness during conjunction of planets which are within 12°, the faster planet should be behind and the slower planet should be ahead for it to be effective. This is also termed as an 'lthasala Yoga' and said to be benefic in general when a faster planet with less longitude is behind a slower planet with higher longitude. On the other hand there is also something called 'Easarapha Yoga' which in general is said to be inauspicious when a faster planet with greater longitude is ahead of a slower planet with lesser longitude.

Through this concept, it can be clearly understood that Mercury + Sun conjunction known as Buddha Aditya Yoga where Mercury the faster motion planet being in lesser degree than Sun the slower motion planet is more effective as compared to the other way round where Mercury is higher in degree than Sun. One exception to this rule however is when ascertaining Sun and Moon. If the Moon being the faster planet is behind the Sun within 12 degrees, it happens to be cudgeled by the Sun which is known as Ammavasya Tithi and also said to be a natural malefic as it's in Krishna Paksha or waning state. On the other hand when it is ahead of Sun but within 12 degrees, it is said to form Pratipada Tithi and attains waxing status of Shukla Paksha which also indicates natural benefic state of Moon. Though in both cases Moon happens to be in a dark state because of being close to the Sun, the latter is more auspicious as it enjoys the status of a natural benefic. One more point worth pondering is whether the planets are approaching each other or going away. For instance in a Venus + Jupiter conjunction where both are in forward motion with Venus the faster planet approaching Jupiter the slower planet could cause an auspicious yoga but just twisting the ratio and let's say Jupiter happens to be retrograde in which case both planets face each other to form a collision, it could indicate a far greater impact, be it good or bad.

Nadi Planetary Rule:
This is a specific Nadi rule with respect to Planetary influence when 2 or more planets are conjunct. It is said that the planet lower in degree is the one who is going to be influenced by the planet ahead in degree. This is based on a simple reasoning that the planets are always moving and the planet which is behind in degree is the one who will touch the forward planet and gather most of the significations of the higher degree planet and not the other way around. However if the planet ahead in degree happens to be in a retrograde state then both planets tend to influence each other a lot. A good way of understanding is through an example and let's say Venus in normal motion is behind Rahu which always travels backwards. In this case the influence is potent as both are coming towards each other. However reversing the equation and let's say Rahu is behind in degree than Venus, here the influence is relatively marginal as Rahu travels in a different direction as compared to Venus which goes in another direction with their paths not crossing one another.

Deeptamsa or Planetary Orbs of Influence:
This works on the theory of the span of degrees in which one planet has an orbital influence over the other. There is list of degrees given for each of the planets and they influence to this extent irrespective of whether a planet is behind or ahead of it. The planetary orbs are as follows:
Sun - 7°30'
Moon - 6°
Mars - 4°
Mercury - 3°30’
Jupiter - 4°30'
Venus - 3°30’
Saturn - 4°30'
Rahu - 6°
Ketu - 6°

This is semi arc degree of influence. For eg. if let's say Sun is placed in 16° in a sign. Since Sun's Deeptamsa range is 7°30', we would have to both add and subtract from the degree in which Sun is placed. Hence Sun's influence will be on any planet which is between 8°30' to 23°30' which in essence is +/- 7°30' from degree of the Sun.

Hence, these are the different theories at play when ascertaining Planetary conjunctions. It looks like there is much more than what meets the eyes with so many staggering combinations coming into the fray. But looking at things from a logical perspective will help in establishing the impact and influence which Planets instill on one another.

Summary:
- For conjunctions to take place Planets should be within 12° of each other irrespective of sign
- If conjunction test is met, then strength of planets should be ascertained from the order of Ketu -> Rahu -> Sun -> Moon -> Venus -> Jupiter -> Mercury -> Mars -> Saturn with nodes being strongest and Saturn being the weakest
- Always ascertain the degree of distance between the planets in conjunction and also check the relationship among planets in conjunction whether they are Friend/Enemy/Neutral
- In general planets in lower degree have a higher influence on planets ahead of it. This is however subject to planetary average motion speed and also factoring in effects of Retrograde planets
- Check the orbital influence which a planet has on another. Sometimes both could be influencing each other whereas in some cases one will have influence on the other and not the other way around which again will give clues as to which planet is the primary driver and which plays second fiddle

The Big Jupiter Transit to Sagittarius!

Everyone is awaited with bated breath for the impending Jupiter transit which is looming large as it get sets to enter it's own sign of Sagittarius. Transits of slow moving planets such as Saturn, Rahu/Ketu and Jupiter generally garner a lot of interest among the general public and very many are curious about how it will play out for them. To be frank, just with a single planet transit nothing really can be deduced and in essence studying these transitory phenomenons just portray a glimpse of how the upcoming picture is likely to shape up. I suggest don't take transits too seriously but just use it as a generic indication in the overall scheme of things.

Jupiter along with Venus is considered as the only two pure natural benefic planets in vedic astrology. There is an extra footprint for Jupiter because it's transit is somewhat sporadic taking place only once a year on an average as opposed to it's contemporary Venus who transits a sign virtually every other month. Thus, you will see Jupiter coming to this particular sign of Dhanus Rasi or Sagittarius zodiac after almost 12 years and next time it is expected to happen again after only another dozen years. Also the fact that it will be congregating with Saturn & Ketu who are already stationed in the sign of Sagittarius adds that dose of extra prominence. And for the uninitiated, let me share a bite of a masala chilli spicy information. The last time these 3 planets joined forces in the fire sign of Sagittatius was behold way back almost 300 years ago in 1723.

While studying transits, the two key reference points are the Ascendant (body) and the Moon (mind). The Ascendant or Lagna harps on the physical angle where as the Moon rasi throws it's weight on the emotional side. These two many a time are complementary and is known to signify the physical framework and mental structure of an individual. As per all shastra's it's the moon sign which is pivotal when ascertaining transits but factoring in the Lagna also makes sense as any horoscope in general is always read with reference to the Ascendant being the first house. Apart from these two indexes, it's valid to also perhaps consider the karaka planet in question which is Jupiter as it would add an extra dimension in knowing how many signs Jupiter has moved from it's own natal placement. After all, this transit is all about Jupiter and it's known to have an expansive tendency.

I believe it would be futile to look at transits without considering the tool of Ashtakavarga which is a point based handy system and designed quite exclusively for transits. One important point to note in the placeholder is that even in this system, it's the planet Jupiter that contributes the maximum points of 56 out of a maximum of 337.

As mentioned out of the 56 points contributed, it casts 9 benefic dots or points to the Ascendant whereas the Moon is bestowed with only 5 benefic dots.
From the Lagna, Jupiter is given benefic dots in houses 1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10,11
From the Moon, Jupiter is given benefic dots in houses  2,5,7,9,11
Thus in essence out of a possible 24 points (12 for Lagna & 12 for Moon), Jupiter is conferring 14 points (9+5) which is only about 60%.

We find here that places 2,5,7,9,11 are commonly beneficial from both the point of view of the Lagna as well as that of the Moon with the Lagna additionally benefiting the 1st (temporal strength), 4th (default place of exaltation as per natural zodiac), 6th (service) and 10th (fame & recognition). Jupiter in essence is the karaka for the 2nd (wealth, resources), 5th (children & intelligence), 9th (father, luck) and 11th (gains, desires). Jupiter placed from itself is given benefic dots in houses 1,2,3,4,7,8,10,11. It is interesting to note here that Jupiter is devoid of being a benefic when it transits into the 5th and 9th from itself. Some food for thought here as I believe this could be on account of Karako Bhava Nashaya concept which indicates that the signifying planet fails to give results for the houses it connotes and we know that the fundamental natural karaka of Jupiter is 5th house and as per default rasi / Kala Purusha chart it holds ownership of the 9th house.

Thus, lets now look at the signs where Jupiter is expected to cast his auspiciousness in the upcoming one year time frame in the office of Sagittarius. One needs to look at both their Ascendant sign & Moon sign and infer the result accordingly.

Results of Zodiac Signs:
Mesha / Aries: Transiting in to the 9th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (9th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (9th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Rishaba / Taurus: Transiting in to the 8th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Negative (8th sign is not favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (8th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Bad

Mithuna / Gemini: Transiting in to the 7th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (7th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (7th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Karka / Cancer: Transiting in to the 6th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (6th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (6th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Neutral

Simha / Leo: Transiting in to the 5th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (5th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (5th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Kanya / Virgo: Transiting in to the 4th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (4th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (4th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Neutral

Thula / Libra: Transiting in to the 3rd sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Negative (3rd sign is not favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (3rd sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Bad

Vrischika / Scorpio: Transiting in to the 2nd sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (2nd sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (2nd sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Dhanus / Sagittarius: Transiting in to the 1st sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (1st sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (1st sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Neutral

Makara / Capricorn: Transiting in to the 12th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Negative (12th sign is not favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Negative (12th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Bad

Kumbha / Aquarius: Transiting in to the 11th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Positive (11th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Positive (11th sign is favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Meena / Pisces: Transiting in to the 10th sign of Sagittarius
Lagna - Benefic (10th sign is favourable from Lagna)
Moon - Malefic (10th sign is not favourable from Moon)
Overall: Good

Individual Score for all 144 Lagna & Rasi combinations:
The table below assigns scores for all 144 Lagna and Rasi combinations. The tool used for this is Ashtakavarga benefic dots given for Jupiter's placement with respect to both Lagna and Moon. A beneficial placement from Lagna is given 40 points whereas a beneficial placement from Moon is given 60 points. The reason Moon is allocated slightly higher weight-age is because study of transits in general are reckoned with respect to the level of the mind which in essence is the rasi in which Moon is positioned in the Natal horoscope.

Statistical Analysis:
- Houses 3,8,12 are bad for Jupiter both from the angle of Lagna as well as Moon. Hence the 3 major zodiac signs facing the brunt this time happen to be Rishaba (Taurus), Thula (Libra) and Makara (Capricorn).
- Houses 1,4,6,10 are good for Jupiter from the view point of Lagna but not from the Moon. Thus the neutral signs for this Jupiter transit are Karka (Cancer), Kanya (Virgo), Dhanus (Sagittarius) and Meena (Pisces).
- Houses 2,5,7,9,11 are great for Jupiter from the lens of both the Lagna as well as that of Moon. The propitious zodiac signs with regard to this particular Jupiter transit are Mesha (Aries), Mithuna (Gemini), Simha (Leo), Vrischika (Scorpio) and Kumbha (Aquarius).
- Out of the above 5 zodiac signs, the best of the lot can be said to be Mesha followed by Simha as Jupiter is not only a friend to both Mars (ruler of Mesha) and Sun (ruler of Simha) but it's presence as ruler of Sagittarius means it holds ownership to their trikona lords viz 9th and 5th lord respectively. For Scorpio also it's highly favourable but just slightly lesser as we are more inclined to the place of Dhanus which happens to be 2nd lord for Scorpio and hence not as felicitous as owning 5th and 9th lordship. This would be followed by Kumbha (ruled by Saturn) and Mithuna (ruled by Mercury) as Jupiter holds kind of a neutral relationship with these 2 planets.
- Combining Lagna and Moon, we have a sum total of 144 positions (12 Lagnas & 12 Moon signs) out of which 60 places (42%) are providential and 36 places (25%) are not conducive from both stand points. 48 places making up roughly 33% is favourable from Lagna perspective alone.

Conclusion:
This is just a high level cockpit analysis of Jupiter's transit to Sagittarius. A horoscope has a plethora of factors to be viewed and transits happen to be just one solitary area. Again even from the transit angle, we have looked only at a particle of Jupiter and things could take twists & turns with the other big fellow Saturn also expected to move signs very soon. However, despite the inherent limitations, transits act as a gleam of light and tends to be a trigger point source especially when one is looking forward to an event taking place. You never know, the torch of transit can add that extra impetus with Jupiter's light of reflection being the harbinger that you're really looking forward to.