Planets (Graha)

The nine bodies Jyotish reads: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. The word means "seizer" or "one that grasps", not "planet" — which is why the Sun, the Moon and two lunar nodes belong to the list and Uranus, Neptune and Pluto do not.

The Sun. Signifies the self, vitality, father, authority and visibility. Rules Leo (Simha), is exalted in Aries and debilitated in Libra. Takes about a year to circle the zodiac, roughly a month per sign.

The Moon. Signifies the mind, emotion, mother and nourishment. Rules Cancer (Karka), exalted in Taurus, debilitated in Scorpio. The fastest graha — about 2¼ days per sign — which is why the Moon sign changes so often and why birth time matters.

Mars. Signifies energy, courage, conflict, siblings and land. Rules Aries and Scorpio, exalted in Capricorn, debilitated in Cancer. Its placement is what Manglik or Kuja Dosha is calculated from.

Mercury. Signifies intellect, speech, calculation, trade and learning. Rules Gemini and Virgo, and is the one graha exalted in a sign it also rules (Virgo); debilitated in Pisces. Never appears far from the Sun, so it is often combust.

Jupiter. Signifies wisdom, teachers, expansion, dharma and children. Rules Sagittarius and Pisces, exalted in Cancer, debilitated in Capricorn. Spends about a year per sign, which is why Jupiter transits are the ones most commonly discussed.

Venus. Signifies love, beauty, art, comfort, vehicles and marriage. Rules Taurus and Libra, exalted in Pisces, debilitated in Virgo. Like Mercury it stays near the Sun and is frequently combust.

Saturn. Signifies discipline, delay, labour, endurance and old age. Rules Capricorn and Aquarius, exalted in Libra, debilitated in Aries. The slowest classical graha at roughly 2½ years per sign, which is what makes Sade Sati a seven-and-a-half-year period.

The north lunar node — the point where the Moon's path crosses the ecliptic going north. Not a body but a calculated point, so it casts no light and has no diameter. Signifies obsession, amplification, foreign things and unconventional gain. Always moves backwards through the zodiac.

The south lunar node, exactly 180° from Rahu. Also a calculated point rather than a body. Signifies detachment, loss of interest, inherited skill and liberation (moksha). Also moves backwards.

"Shadow planet" — Rahu and Ketu, the two lunar nodes. They are geometric points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic, not objects, so they are never seen, never rise or set as bodies, and are always exactly opposite each other.

Exaltation — the sign in which a graha is held to act with most strength and least distortion. Each graha has exactly one exaltation sign and one exact exaltation degree within it.

Debilitation — the sign opposite a graha's exaltation, where it is held to be weakest. Debilitation is not a verdict on the person: classical texts describe several conditions (neecha bhanga) that are said to cancel it.

Retrograde — a graha appearing to move backwards through the zodiac as seen from Earth. It is an effect of the two bodies' relative motion, not a real reversal. The Sun and Moon are never retrograde; Rahu and Ketu always are.

Combustion — a graha too close to the Sun to be visible, and therefore held to be weakened. Mercury and Venus are combust most often because they never travel far from the Sun. The permitted distance differs by graha and by text.