Meaning of the 9 grahas or planets

By Krishna Wiuker

Author: Krishna Darshan - Alan Wiuker

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The 9 Grahas
According to the Vedas, the planets are the instruments of God, by which the law of
karma operates.
The Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are called the
9 “Grahas” (Sanskrit meaning is “to grab” or “to hold”). According to the ancient
scripture Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra: “Vishnu (God) has incarnated as the
Navagrahas (9 planets) to bestow on living beings the results of their Karmas or
actions. He assumed the auspicious form of Grahas to destroy the strength of the
demons (evil forces), to sustain the strength of the Devas (the divine beings) and
to establish Dharma (cosmic order or law).”
The planets, besides their huge physical mass and gravitational force, are
tremendous fields of subtle psychic or spiritual energies, and it is at that level
that we have to understand their effects. This understanding is the basis of the
science of astrology. Each planet corresponds to a specific vibratory frequency,
color, subtle element, geometrical form, and even a personality type with it’s own
likes and dislikes, friendships and enmities.
Each individual person is made of a specific and unique combination of the energies
of these planets that determines his characteristics, likes and dislikes,
personality and behavior.
It is interesting to note that Vedic astrology doesn’t use the “outer” planets—
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto—even though there is some historical evidence that the
ancient Rishis knew about them; in the ancient scripture the Mahabharata, three
planets are mentioned which correspond with the location and coordinates of the
outer planets.

THE SUN – (SURYA)

The Sun, being the center of our planetary system, represents the central position:
the king, the soul, the government, the masculine principle and our vital energy
(together with the Moon). Without the Sun, life on earth wouldn’t be possible,
therefore it represents the life force and energy. Even though the Sun represents
our true nature (the soul or Atman), due to human beings’ spiritual ignorance, it
manifests more as the individual self or ego. The Sun represents what the
individual identifies with.
According to the sign and house in which it is located in the birth chart, we can
understand which areas will be important for the person, or areas the individual
has to experience to find out his true nature and Self. Because of its fiery
nature, the Sun is considered a malefic planet in Jyotish; it hurts or damages the
areas it affects.
By identifying with a particular area of life which is not the true self or soul,
it brings a fall of consciousness, leading to the experience of suffering, which
will eventually lead us to develop humility and recognition of our true nature.
The Sun represents the authority figure, the king, the government or the boss. A
strong Sun in the birth chart will indicate a person with some authoritarian and
leader personality, who will tend to be in an important position in society or have
some relationship with the government. It also represents the father or paternal
figure. A strong Sun usually indicates a rich or powerful father or a good relation
with him.
A strong Sun in the chart indicates a mature soul with a developed consciousness,
strong personality, and good self-esteem. A too-strong or predominant sun can
indicate an overly authoritative person, or someone who is too self-centered,
always wanting to be the center of attention, someone who has difficulties working
with or under other people, and, in general, a lack of humility.
A weak or afflicted Sun will usually indicate a difficult relationship with the
father or that the father has some problem, or a low self-esteem, low vitality or
health problems.
The Sun rules the heart, blood circulation, the sight, right eye, head and
headaches, hair growth or baldness, the abdomen and digestive fire, dryness and
fever. The ayurvedic constitution is Pitta or fiery.

THE MOON - (CHANDRA or SOMA)

The Moon is considered the most important heavenly body in Vedic astrology, due to
its influence on the mind and emotions. These are the instruments by which we
perceive the world, and act and relate with it, being the cause of the play of
karma.
The Moon reflects the energy of the Sun and balances its fire with her fresh,
cooling, nourishing and vitalizing light and nectar.
It represents the mind, emotions, prana, water and liquids. Moon also represents
the mother. Its position indicates the type of relation with her and her well-
being, factors that have a deep effect on a person’s psychology and life. It also
represents the nourishment, food and material needs for survival, all of which are
provided by the mother. Therefore, a strong Moon is a great strength in the chart
and helps to overcome difficulties in life.
The waxing and waning cycles of the Moon are well-known for their effect on all
life on earth: plants, ocean tides, climate, the female cycle, fertility and
emotional moods. The Moon cycles directly affect the psychological and
physiological state of humans and all living beings. Statistical studies have shown
that mentally disturbed people feel more affected or aggravated during the full
Moon.
Being born during the waxing Moon usually leads to a more extroverted mind and
personality, while the waning Moon leads to a more introverted mind.
The position of the Moon in the birth chart indicates the way the person thinks and
feels, his important subjects in life and his relationship with the external world.
A strong Moon in the chart reflects mental and psychological stability, good
concentration and capacity of well-being and emotional satisfaction.
An afflicted Moon usually reflects emotional difficulties, mental or psychological
disturbances or health problems.
The effects of a weak Moon can be overcome by meditation and spiritual practices,
living in calm places, in contact with nature, and by white or light colors.
The exact degree of the Moon at birth determines the successive planetary periods
known as Maha Dashas, and it is an important factor to predict the energies and
issues that will predominate over the course of time.
Moon represents female fertility, blood and body fluids, the lungs, breasts, milk
and the chest area. The ayurvedic constitution is Kapha or phlegmatic, and
partially Vata or airy.

MARS – (KARTIK, MANGAL or KUJA)

Mars represents energy, courage, initiative and action. It also represents war and
aggression. Depending on its position it can be a positive spiritual energy to
overcome obstacles and grow spiritually, or it can become a destructive force,
causing harm, injuries, accidents and uncontrolled passions. Mars is action-
oriented, related to initiative, youth and the conquering of enemies. It can lead
to a very dynamic, active and enthusiastic personality, or alternatively, to one
who wants to dominate others by force.
Mars also represents brothers, technology, technical or mechanical skills,
mathematics, computing, athletics and sports, medicine and surgery, blood pressure,
police and military people, dictators, fire and explosions.
A strong and well-placed Mars in the birth chart indicates a spiritual warrior—a
lack of fear to face the difficulties and enemies of life, internally and
externally; control over one’s own body and aggression. An afflicted Mars can
indicate a fearful, aggressive or violent person.
A weak Mars can lead to an uncontrolled dissipation or loss of the vital energy in
many directions. It can create muscular weakness. Physical exercise is a good way
to strengthen Mars energy.
Physically it represents the marrow, muscles, physical strength, the head,
testicles and virility, and has a Pitta or fiery ayurvedic constitution.

MERCURY – (BUDDHA)
Mercury represents the intellect or Buddhi, the capacity for discrimination,
communication, language, learning, youth, childhood, plays, sports and friends.
Mercury has a constant desire for learning, but it also creates a duality in the
mind, always comparing between the pairs of opposites. The Moon represents the
subconscious or emotional mind, but Mercury represents the pure analytical and
rational mind.
A strong and well-placed Mercury indicates good intelligence and capacity for
learning, oral or written communication skills and good speech.
Mercury, when too strong or predominant, can lead to repressing the emotions with
reason, and can make for a very critical nature.
A weakly-placed Mercury can lead a person to rely more on emotions and instinct
rather than on reason, and it can bring some difficulties in learning, speech, the
skin, nervous system, and diminish the capacity to retain knowledge.
Mercury can behave as a benefic or malefic planet depending on its association with
other planets.
A person can have a good intelligence, but use it on a selfish and destructive way,
if afflicted by malefic planets.
Physically it represents the skin and breathing passages, and it has a Vata or airy
ayurvedic constitution.

JUPITER – (GURU or BRIHASPATI)

Jupiter represents the teacher, the “Guru,” the one who leads us from the darkness
of ignorance to the light of knowledge. He stands for wisdom, knowledge, learning,
goodness, good luck, good karma and expansion.
In the Vedas, Brihaspati is called the Guru of the Devas, the celestial or
angelical beings. He is represented as a priest—full of wisdom, righteousness,
justice, goodness; desirous to bless and give prosperity to everyone.
Jupiter also represents children, mainly the eldest son, and in case of woman, it
represents the husband.
It is considered the most benefic planet because of its nature of giving and
expanding, without expectations.
Jupiter usually blesses the areas related with its placement, but for some
ascendants like Taurus, Libra or Capricorn, it can be adverse or bring inauspicious
effects, because it is the ruler of difficult houses. The position of Jupiter in a
birth chart will indicate the ways of spiritual learning, type of faith or
religion, teachers and material prosperity.
A strong and well-placed Jupiter in a chart is an indicator of optimism, faith,
interest in religion of philosophy, sense of righteousness and justice, positive
contacts with teachers, wise or religious people, and good prosperity, caused by
some good past karmas and spiritual tendencies. It is very common in the charts of
religious people, priests, teachers, philosophers, judges, lawyers, or prosperous
people.
But in some cases, an excessively strong Jupiter can lead a person to not make any
effort to improve his life situation—an excessive optimism that can lead to
spiritual stagnation.
An afflicted Jupiter can indicate difficulty in getting a spiritual teacher, or
sometimes even getting a wrong, dishonest or fake teacher, or a difficult
relationship with teachers in general. It can bring lack of faith and optimism in
life, or a more materialistic view of life, or material difficulties that don’t
allow the mind to expand into a more spiritual awareness.
An afflicted or weak Jupiter can indicate marital difficulties or husband’s bad
health, or difficulties to have children.
Physically it is related to the fat tissues, accumulation of fluids, obesity,
liver, pancreas and the sugar and fat metabolism, the hips and the feet. Its nature
is Kapha or phlegmatic.

VENUS – (SHUKRA)
Venus is also a spiritual teacher, but he is the teacher of the Asuras or demons—
beings who were spiritually evolved at some past time, but fell from grace due to
strong materialistic or selfish tendencies. Venus helps them find their path of
return.
Venus represents the feminine, the beautiful, refined; attraction, the desires and
human passions; the sexual and marital relationships. Venus is also associated with
wealth, clothes, jewelry, music, dance, the fine arts, creativity, semen, love,
attraction and sexuality.
For a man, Venus is a significator for woman or the spouse, whose characteristics
and relationship can be assessed from the position of Venus in the birth chart.
A strong and well-located Venus tends to bestow artistic talents and creativity,
physical beauty, good sense of esthetics and harmony, prosperity, wealth and divine
grace. A well-located Venus has a spiritual potential of transforming the energy of
love and sensuality into devotion, cosmic love and a feeling of the divine grace.
If there are no other spiritual indications in the chart, a too-strong or
dominating Venus can lead to an excessive attachment to sensual pleasure, and the
material objects of the world and its physical pleasures
An afflicted or debilitated Venus usually brings a difficulty to obtain pleasure or
enjoyment in life, which can lead a person to look for exaggerated means of sensual
gratification to compensate. It can also indicate weakness or diseases of the
reproductive organs, or sexual disorders. In some cases, if there are other
spiritual indications, a debilitated Venus can lead a parson to a sincere spiritual
path, developing a strong devotion, looking for God’s love alone.
Physically it represents the reproductive organs, urinary tract and semen. Its
ayurvedic constitution is Kapha and Vata.

SATURN – (SHANI)
Saturn represents austerity, discipline, restrictions and sufferings. He is also a
spiritual teacher, but one who teaches through restriction, hard work,
purification, service and humility, leading the person to face his weaknesses and
more negative tendencies, to recognize and change them.
Saturn makes us face and work out the negative karma we created in the past in the
form of restrictions and sufferings, which will lead us eventually to recognize our
negative patterns and develop responsibility and self-discipline to change them.
Saturn represents longevity, old age, concentration and meditation.
The position of Saturn in the chart indicates the areas of struggle and
difficulties in life, though in Vedic astrology it is considered a very important
planetary energy for spiritual advancement and evolution.
A strong and well-located Saturn in a chart will indicate a good capacity to endure
the hardships of life, the capacity for hard work, a strong sense of
responsibility, seriousness, self-discipline, austerity or “tapas.”
An afflicted Saturn can show a difficulty in facing responsibilities, or trying to
evade them, which leads to more suffering. It can cause mental depression,
loneliness, feelings of isolation, addictions and chronic diseases. The more one
tries to escape from Saturn’s restrictions, the more intense those sufferings
become, leading eventually to extremely difficult situations. Saturn’s restrictions
lead to disappointment and detachment from the worldly happiness, which eventually
leads to the search for true happiness within the spirit.
The best way to relate with Saturn’s energy is to understand and accept his
restrictions consciously through self-discipline and self-purification.
Saturn moves slowly, an indication that his lessons will have to be learned over a
long period of perseverance and hard work. But after that, Saturn can give immense
blessings and spiritual strength.
He usually tends to postpone or delay things and the areas of life that it affects
in the chart.
A strong and dominant Saturn can be found in the birth charts of hard-workers,
servants, politicians, yogis and ascetic people.
Its energy can be positively channeled through fasting, selfless service, seclusion
and meditation.
Physically it is associated with the nerves and it has a Vata or airy ayurvedic
constitution.

RAHU and KETU (the nodes of the Moon)

Rahu and Ketu are not physical planets; they don’t have a physical mass, but are
very powerful energetic points in the sky. They are the points of intersection
between the path of the Sun and the path of the Moon, causing the solar and lunar
eclipses. They are very important on the spiritual level, as they are related with
the unconscious shades, unresolved karmas and conflicts coming from previous lives.
They are mythologicaly represented by a snake that was cut in two: the head (Rahu)
and the tail (Ketu). This inner conflict manifests as two antagonistic, opposite
forces in the sub-conscious mind that generate conflicts, dualities, fears,
compulsive desires, rejections or phobias, and karmic situations which lead us to
face them and work them out.
When we can understand and connect those two antagonistic forces, the “Kundalini”—
the inner spiritual power and strength—awakens, leading to inner healing, peace of
mind and spiritual illumination.
Therefore, Rahu and Ketu can be the cause of great conflicts, dissatisfactions and
diseases, but by understanding and working them out spiritually, we can connect
them and transform them into a great spiritual power.

RAHU – (the north node)

Rahu is related with the unconscious desires, dissatisfactions, fears, obsessions,
ambitions and unresolved issues from previous lives that need to be experienced in
this life. The houses and signs where Rahu is located indicate areas where there
will be mental restlessness, hypersensitivity, strong desires to experience that
area, but fears to do so and dissatisfaction with it at the same time.
It tends to create very strong but unconscious desires, without really
understanding their causes, which can lead to compulsive behavior, addictions,
fantasies, unrealistic imaginations or suggestions.
Rahu represents the unconventional, illegal, dark but desired; also foreigners,
people out of the social system and its norms, or “outcasts.” It can also be
transformed and sublimated into a spiritual energy, knowledge of the occult side of
the mind, or knowledge of psychology. Understanding and control of this energy
leads to esoteric knowledge and awakening of the Kundalini power.

KETU – (the south node)

Ketu is represented by a Sadhu, a mendicant ascetic monk, one who rejects the world
and its vanity, instead looking for the essential truth alone. Ketu indicates areas
where detachment has to be developed, areas that will be the source of some
suffering—with the purpose of being spiritualized, searching for life’s very
essence. Ketu is considered a very important planet for spiritual evolution,
because it represents the capacity for renunciation, detachment from the ephemeral,
and a search for the truth and the essence of life. It also represents Moksha,
liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and attainment of illumination.
A predominant Ketu can be seen in the charts of monks, ascetics, renunciates, and
psychic and clairvoyant people.
The placement of Ketu in the birth chart indicates areas that have been experienced
in excess in previous lives, now causing feelings of dissatisfaction and rejection
towards them.
Ketu can cause damage and restrictions in the areas it affects, but it is also a
way of spiritual learning.
An adverse Ketu can cause ruptures, breaks, accidents or diseases, but
alternatively it can bestow intuitive knowledge coming from past life experiences.