Meet the grahas
Today you’ll learnName the seven classical luminary and planet entries, and recognize Rahu and Ketu as lunar-node entries.
The seven classical grahas
The classical list of grahas has seven entries: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. In the Brihat Jataka, the classical work by Varaha Mihira used throughout this course, these seven make up the core of the chart vocabulary. You will meet them again as sign lords on Day 6.
Graha is often translated as 'planet,' but here it is a broader label. It covers the two luminaries, meaning the two great lights of the sky, the Sun and the Moon. It also covers five planets: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes
Charts also list Rahu and Ketu. The cited translation identifies them as the ascending and descending lunar nodes. A node is a crossing point. The Moon's path crosses the Sun's apparent yearly path, which is called the ecliptic, at two points.
Rahu marks the ascending crossing, where the Moon moves from south to north of the ecliptic; Ketu marks the descending crossing, from north to south. Add these two points to the Sun, the Moon and the five planets, and you get nine chart entries. Together they are called the navagrahas, meaning the 'nine grahas.'
Reading a report legend
Many reports use short labels or symbols and explain them in a legend, which is a key showing which mark stands for which graha. Before you read any placement, match every mark in the legend to one of the nine names so that no entry is skipped or confused with another.
As you read, notice the groups. In modern astronomy, the Sun is a star, the Moon is Earth's satellite, and Rahu and Ketu are calculated points rather than physical bodies. The traditional term graha still includes all nine. Some reports also mark apparent retrograde motion, which is covered in an optional guide.
- Sun
- Moon
- Five planets: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn
- Two nodes: Rahu, Ketu
Worked example
Decoding a fictional legend
A fictional worksheet legend lists nine sample abbreviations: Su, Mo, Ma, Me, Ju, Ve, Sa, Ra, Ke. Expand each one and count them to confirm that the full set is present.
- Expand the labels: Su = Sun, Mo = Moon, Ma = Mars, Me = Mercury, Ju = Jupiter, Ve = Venus, Sa = Saturn, Ra = Rahu, Ke = Ketu.
- Count by group: 1 Sun + 1 Moon + 5 planets + 2 nodes = 9 entries.
- Confirm that nothing is missing before you read any placements.
Your turn
Try it yourself
Sort Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu into four groups: the Sun, the Moon, five planets and two nodes.
Show the answer
Sun; Moon; Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn; Rahu and Ketu. These groups explain what each label refers to. They do not change the traditional nine-entry chart vocabulary.
One quick check
Which pair are the lunar nodes?
See the explanation
The cited translation identifies Rahu and Ketu as the ascending and descending lunar nodes. The Sun and the Moon are the two luminaries, and Mars and Saturn belong to the five planets.
Take these three ideas with you
- The seven classical grahas are the Sun, the Moon and five planets.
- Rahu and Ketu are the ascending and descending lunar nodes.
- All nine together are called the navagrahas.