Tradition · Navagraha

The Nine Planets

Vedic astrology counts nine: the seven visible bodies plus Rahu and Ketu. Rahu and Ketu are not physical bodies but the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path. Eclipses happen there, which is why they were treated as special from ancient times.

  1. SuryaSuryaMoolank 1 · Sunday · Ruby · EastEyes gather on you without you stepping forward. When you leave your seat, it shows immediately. You say it's a burden, and still you return to that seat.
  2. ChandraChandraMoolank 2 · Monday · Pearl · NorthwestYou read the room before anyone speaks. Other people's feelings come in as if they were yours — which also means your day gets dragged around by other people's moods.
  3. GuruGuruMoolank 3 · Thursday · Yellow sapphire · NortheastPeople keep coming to ask you things. Your gift for teaching shows before your gift for learning, and your reputation becomes your wealth.
  4. RahuRahuMoolank 4 · no day · Hessonite · SouthwestYour life turns over completely at least once. The road everyone takes strangely doesn't work for you; the way opens where nobody goes.
  5. BudhaBudhaMoolank 5 · Wednesday · Emerald · NorthYou tell the same story far more entertainingly. Words and writing become income directly, and making hard things easy is your specialty.
  6. ShukraShukraMoolank 6 · Friday · Diamond · SoutheastYou say you did nothing, and yet people approach first. You have an eye for beauty, and that taste becomes your work.
  7. KetuKetuMoolank 7 · no day · Cat's eye · no directionIt takes a long time for what's inside to show. You've already worked it all out but never bring it out. The people who recognize you tend to arrive late.
  8. ShaniShaniMoolank 8 · Saturday · Blue sapphire · WestYou collect the result after everyone else has left. Slow at first, but what comes late lasts. Where others gave up is your starting line.
  9. MangalaMangalaMoolank 9 · Tuesday · Red coral · SouthYou're not afraid to start. You learn by throwing yourself in. But once burned, you remember that person for a long time.

Why the dasha periods differ

The periods ruled by the nine planets add up to exactly 120 years. Ketu is shortest at 7, Venus longest at 20. These lengths are fixed by tradition and do not vary by person. What varies is which planet's period you were born in.

More about the dasha system →

Add up the digits of your day of birth and you get one of these nine. Born on the 27th? 2+7=9, Mars. No calculation needed, so it is certain even without a birth time.
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