Relationship Problems and Planets

In Vedic Astrology, planets are assigned specific karakatva. They are responsible for specific areas in life. They also manage specific relationships, e.g., Sun is indicative of the father, Moon of the mother, Venus for the spouse in a man’s horoscope, Jupiter for the husband in a woman’s horoscope, etc.. This is called principle of natural or naisargik karkatva. You can pick up any book on astrology to find a chapter on basics that talks about these karaktva assignments. I would strongly recommend Uttara Kalamrita and Karakas (by Das Goravani) as both learning resource and reference books.

Further, as a result of the house ownerships in a horoscope, planets come to rule specific houses in the horoscope. They become temporal malefics if they are lord of dusthanas. Dusthana houses indicate delays, fights, arguments, obstacles, etc.. While the planets still maintain the natural or naisargik karakatva, malefic properties are imbibed by them by virtue of becoming lords of these dustpan houses 3rd, 6th, 8th, 12th and 11th.  11th house is in this list because it still is 6th from 6th (principle of bhavaat bhavam) and additionally causes ego problems. A lot of care has to be taken to make the predictions associated with these planets that become lord of dusthanas.

In this article, I have taken some of the examples from horoscopes where I have provided consultation. These examples are from the class of relationship problems (divorce, incompatibility, delayed marriage, etc.), that indicated problems with first marriage. While picking up these examples, no confidential and identifiable information is being shared here. I will concentrate on the interpretation and the messaging rather than going into specifics.

The affliction of 7th house in horoscope can and will manifest in some way in partnerships in life, i.e., marriage and in business or job. For differentiating between marriage problem and work/partnership problems, D-9 and D-10 should both be studied and compared. The afflictions in D-9 indicates breaks in marriage in the charts that I studied. The D-10 was found to be afflicted in order to cause distress at the place of work. When both these divisional charts were not afflicted, life went but with with problems that can be managed through change in behaviour as well as through mantras or gemstones.

For long term problems, there were other specific afflictions in the chart, i.e., separative drishti of Mars, Rahu, Ketu and especially Saturn on the 7th, 2nd and 4th houses. Out of these, drishti of Ketu was definitely found to create emotional upheaval and detachment. However, what piqued my interest was that a seemingly favourable dasha and transit of Jupiter and Venus also did not result in good companionship. My observations are presented below. Esteemed astrologers are respectfully welcome to point out mistakes in my observations and correct me.

Gender: Male, Lagna: Sagittarius

As a lagna, Sagittarius is a fiery sign. When ruling the ascendant, Sagittarius ensures that the person maintains high ideals and an extremely high bar for others to achieve. There is a sense of righteousness that forms the basis of ego clashes with others.

For Sagittarius, Venus is a first rate malefic planet due to ownership of 6th and 11th houses. Venus will involve them in opposition and competition (6th house significations) because of a sense of pride (11th house signification). A well placed Venus will make the person indulge in social networking, but at the same time will create jealous followers. A badly placed Venus will create problems with women. A women is always perceived as an enemy and cause of expenditure. Sagittarians will be attracted to Venus and Venusian beauty to splurge money on but such attraction will not result in contentment.

For Sagittarians, Mercury is the key planet for partnerships and marriage. Mercury’s moolatrikona sign ruling the 7th house indicates a need for intelligence and wit in the partner. Wit and intelligence in partnership helps in enhancing the wisdom that comes with Sagittarius. Mercury also rules 10th house and denotes karma/reputation as well. A wife who supports the career and reputation is more important to Sagittarians than a trophy wife. Still, there are problems with Mercury too. Mercury is Jupiter’s natural enemy. Jupiter does not do well in Gemini and Virgo. Mercury is debilitated in Pisces. Mercury is witty, while Jupiter is thoughtful. Mercury is frivolous while Jupiter is intense. Therefore, Jupiter does not take Mercury seriously and this attitude harms the relationship. This is what Bepin Behari has to say:

The married life of the individual becomes subordinate to the ideals and other worldly preoccupations which engage much of his time and energy. [Bepin Behari. Planets in the Signs and Houses: Vedic Astrologer’s Handbook Vol. II: v. 2 (Kindle Location 1686). Kindle Edition]

Gender: Male, Lagna: Taurus

For Taurus born males, Venus is the lord of Lagna. Venus is 6th lord as well due to the placement of two signs Taurus and Libra being 6/8 of each other. Taureans are beautiful and for them Venus is a mirror of their own self. A Taurean is beautiful, charismatic and full of himself. Since 6th house is also sign of Venus, this brings self-indulgence, a little too much of self respect and pride due to oneself. This can create competition with the opposite sex, while the real competition is within the Taurean man.

Venus is also the lord of 12th from 7th, which is house of partnerships. This way, Venus harms the prospects of spouse, which is against the basic karaktva of Venus. This creates contradictions for the person. Venus located in own sign in 6th creates a pleasure-seeker.

Gender: Female, Lagna: Taurus and Libra

For Taurus born females, the above logic of males applies. There is still self-indulgence, a little too much of self respect and pride due to oneself. Pride is detrimental to relationships.

In addition, Jupiter becomes lord of 8th and 11th houses simultaneously. For being an 8th lord, a planet is not deemed a major malefic. However, simultaneous ownership of 11th house makes it malefic. It is indicative of ambition. Jupiter is natural karaka for 11th house. It results in pomp and show.

For Libra lagna, Jupiter is 3rd and 6th lord. It is definitely malefic. During my phone conversations, husbands of Libra women were found to be careful and did not get into unnecessary arguments to maintain a good domestic atmosphere and to create a good relationship.

Gender: Female, Lagna: Aquarius

Jupiterís role in such charts is very interesting. Jupiter is indicative of dhana in such charts by being lord of dhana-bhava (2nd house) and labha-sthana (11th house).

It is still malefic though. Jupiter is natural karaka of the 11th house. Its presence in 11th house, its moola-trikona sign, is observed to be a case of karako-bhavo-nashyate. It lowers ambition and connection with social networks. Jupiter’s 9th house drishti on the 7th house from the 11th house creates a discontent with married life. Such a women becomes averse to marriage either due to taking up too much responsibility. She sets a very high bar for herself and her husband and she doesn’t consider other men to be worthy of companionship.

Gender: Both, Lagna: Scorpio

Scorpio is a sign of shyness, secrecy and lack of sharing with others. This attitude is detrimental to a good marriage and companionship. Even after marriage, a strong Scorpio female will remain independent.

In this horoscope, Jupiter become the 2nd & the 5th lord. When looked at from the 7th house, it is an obstructionist force because of being the 8th lord from the 7th lord. Hence, a disproportionate focus on family and children can cause rift with the husband. However, it does not cause major problems and the situation remains manageable.

At the same time, I have observed that Jupiter’s weakness and location in 3rd house where Jupiter becomes debilitated causes rift with family as multiple houses involving family are involved.

For Scorpio males, Venus is a malefic planet by being lord of 12th. Aspect of Venus on 2nd or presence of Venus on 2nd house causes great expenditure on account of women. If there are other separative influences on 7th house, a divorce with big alimony cannot be ruled out, although I have not observed this directly.

Although Mercury does not belong to the class of planets for relationships and 7th house, I have some specific observation about Mercury and the location of Mercury in Lagna. Mercury is a cause of distress for Scorpio lagna. Mercury is 8th and 11th lord. Its location in Lagna aspecting 7th house has been found to create problems in relationships in dasha/antardasha of Mercury. I have not directly observed the effect of Mercury being located in 7th house, as I have not come across any such charts so far, but logic dictates that it cannot be favourable.