Benefics and Malefics for each Lagna
If Ascendant or Lagna is :
Aries
(Mesha)—Jupiter, the Sun and Mars
are benefics. Jupiter is the best benefic. The
next benefic is Mars. Saturn, Mercury and Venus
are malefics. Mercury being the greatest malefic
as lord of the 3rd and 6th
Vrishabha (Taurus)—The best
benefic is Saturn as he owns the 9th and 10th.
Mercury, Mars and the Sun are also benefics.
Jupiter, Venus and the Moon are evil planets but
Venus may be declared a neutral as he is lord of
Lagna or ascendant.
Mithuna (Gemini)—Venus alone is
the most beneficial planet for this Lagna. The
most malefic is Mars as he is lord of the 6th
and the 11th. Jupiter and the Sun are also evil.
The Moon and Mercury may be classified as
neutrals.
Kataka (Cancer)—Jupiter and Mars
are benefics, the better being Mars as he is
lord of the 5th and 10th. Venus and Mercury are
evil and Saturn, the Moon and the Sun are
neutrals.
Simha
(Leo) —
Mars and the Sun are benefics, the former being
the most auspicious. Mercury and Venus are
malefics. Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn are
neutrals.
Kanya
(Virgo)—Venus is alone the best
benefic. Moon, Mars and Jupiter are evil or
malefics. Saturn, the Sun and Mercury are
neutrals.
Thula
(Libra)— Saturn, Mercury and
Venus are benefics, Saturn being the best. The
Sun, Jupiter and the Moon are malefics. Mars may
be taken as a feeble benefic.
Vrischika (Scorpio)—The Moon is
the best benefic and Jupiter and the Sun are
also benefics. Mercury and Venus are evil. Mars
and Saturn are neutrals.
Dhanus (Sagittarius)—Mars
and the Sun are benefics. Venus, Saturn and
Mercury are evil and Jupiter and the Moon are
neutrals.
Makara (Capricorn)—Venus
is the most powerful benefic. Mercury and Saturn
are also benefics. Mars, Jupiter and the Moon
are evil, the worst being Mars. Though the Sun
is the 8th lord, he becomes a neutral.
Kumbha (Aquarius)—Venus
is the benefic. The Sun and Mars are also
benefics. Jupiter and the Moon are malefics and
Mercury is a neutral.
Meena (Pisces)—The
Moon and Mars are benefics. Saturn, the Sun,
Venus and Mercury are malefics. Jupiter is of
course a neutral.
To facilitate easy understanding
I shall make these principles more clear.
In each horoscope there are
benefic lords, malefic lords and neutral lords.
These of course have nothing to do with the
natural classification of planets as benefics
and malefics.
In any horoscope the benefics or
benefic lords are :— (1) First house lord, other
than the Moon; (2) the 5th and 9th lords (Thrikonadhipathis);
(3) and (4) lords of the 4th, 7th and 10th when
they do not happen to be natural benefics.
The lord of the 9th is decidedly
more benefic than the lord of the 5th. Similarly
lord of the 10th is more benefic than that of
the 7th while the lord of the 4th is the least
benefic.
The malefics or malefic lords in
a horoscope are :— (1) Lords of the 3rd, 6th and
11th houses; (2) lords of the 4th, 7th and 10th
houses (Kendradhipathis) if they happen to be
natural benefics. Again among the malefics the
11th lord is the worst malefic, the 6th less
malefic while the 3rd the least malefic.
Considerations in Judging a House
The neutrals in a horoscope
are:—(1) The Moon—when he is lord of Lagna, (2)
the Sun or the Moon as the 8th lord, (3) the Sun
or the Moon as the lords of the 2nd and 12th.
Thus the student has to be very
careful in correctly affirming the strengths,
weakness and other peculiarities of the
horoscope.
From the above it
will be seen that a natural benefic, such as for
instance Jupiter, can also become a malefic when
he is lord of an angle. Natural malefics such as
Mars, Saturn, etc., become temproral benefics if
they become lords of angles (Kendras).
Similarly, natural benefics become malefics if
they own quadrangular houses. It is also to be
noted that a natural benefic, who becomes a
malefic by virtue of quadrangle ownership, will
cease to act as a malefic, when he occupies the
angular house (Kendra) of which he is lord. Thus
in case of Cancer, if Venus occupies Libra, he
will cease to be a malefic just because Libra
happens to be his own. Similarly, a natural
malefic, viz., Mars who becomes a benefic by
virtue of quadrangular ownership will cease to
be a benefic, when he occupies the angular house
of which he is the lord
