Follow a sign to its lord
Today you’ll learnUse the seven-graha rulership table to distinguish a sign's lord from the graha occupying that sign.
Seven rulers for twelve signs
In the Brihat Jataka, each rashi has a lord, the graha traditionally assigned to rule it. Only the seven classical grahas act as lords. The Sun and the Moon each rule one sign, and the other five each rule two. That gives 1 + 1 + (5 × 2) = 12 signs.
Mars rules Aries and Scorpio. Venus rules Taurus and Libra. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo. The Moon rules Cancer, and the Sun rules Leo. Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces. Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius. This passage assigns no signs to Rahu or Ketu.
Occupant and ruler
You can ask two questions about a sign, and they ask about different things. Who occupies it? The answer is any graha placed in that sign on the chart. Who rules it? The answer is the sign's lord from the table, wherever that lord happens to be placed. Sometimes the occupant and the lord are the same graha.
When a graha occupies a sign it rules, the tradition calls that sign its swakshetra, or own sign. Saturn in Aquarius is one example. The rulership table stays the same even when the occupants change, so keep it beside the chart as a reference.
Trace one placement
To trace a placement, read the occupant from the chart and then look up the sign's lord in the table. Write the two down as a pair, such as 'occupant: Mars; lord: Jupiter.' This habit keeps the two ideas from blurring together.
The library also has optional guides on natural and temporary relationships between grahas. Those are more advanced tables. They are easier to follow once the rulership table feels familiar, and you don't need them for today's practice.
Worked example
A fictional Mars in Pisces
A fictional worksheet places Mars in Pisces. Identify the occupant and the lord, and check whether this is a swakshetra placement.
- The graha placed in the sign is Mars, so Mars is the occupant.
- Look up Pisces in the table. Its lord is Jupiter.
- Record the pair as occupant Mars, lord Jupiter. Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, so Pisces is not its own sign.
Your turn
Try it yourself
A worksheet places the Moon in Virgo. Who occupies the sign, and who rules it? Which graha rules Aquarius?
Show the answer
The Moon is the occupant, and Mercury is the lord of Virgo. Saturn rules Aquarius. The occupying graha and the sign's ruler answer two different questions.
One quick check
A fictional chart places Venus in Leo. Which graha is the lord of Leo?
See the explanation
In the rulership table, the Sun rules Leo. Venus is only the occupant here; it rules Taurus and Libra. The Moon rules Cancer, not Leo.
Take these three ideas with you
- The Sun and Moon rule one sign each; five grahas rule two each.
- The occupant is the graha in a sign; the lord is that sign's ruler.
- Swakshetra means a graha placed in a sign it rules.