KARAKAS: NATURAL RULERS OF VEDIC HOUSES
by Carol Willis

(C) Copyright by Carol Willis, 2005. All rights reserved.

In using the karakas, I'm taking a page out of vedic astrology
and applying it to western astrology.  Sometimes we can do that
to excellent effect, and I've done that before with the Moon's
Nodes*.

My use of the KARAKAS refers here to the natural rulers of vedic
houses.  These are not the rulers of the regular zodiac signs,
such as we would normally mean by "natural rulers of the houses" in
western astrology.  Rather, in vedic, the karakas when construed
as natural rulers of the houses are planets that have a special,
and I believe esoteric or spiritual, AFFINITY with the houses.
Further, we would do well to keep the karakas as natural rulers
of the houses in mind when delineating or investigating any given
house, especially in natal astrology.  I have defined the houses
as "areas of human concern."

The karakas as natural rulers of the [vedic] houses:

1st house -  Sun.

2nd house - Jupiter.

3rd house - Mars.

4th house - Moon.

5th house - Jupiter.

6th house - Mars, Saturn.

7th house - Venus.

8th house - Saturn.

9th house - Jupiter.

10th house - Jupiter, Sun, Mercury, Saturn.

11th house - Jupiter.

12th house - Saturn.

Commentary on the karakas as natural rulers of the houses:

1st house - Sun.  Health, vitality, integrity, personality 
    integration, confidence, healthy self-esteem, 
    self-expression, soul radiance.
    Downside risk:  lack or excess of these qualities.

2nd house - Jupiter.  Abundance of resources, values and virtues.
    Downside risk:  lack or waste.

3nd house - Mars.  Strong development of mind, bold constructive ideas,
    strong healthy voice, influential oratory and other communication.
    Downside risk: harmful speaking, too loud, strident,
    quarrelsome, insulting, abusive, errors of thinking,
    falsehood, distortions of truth, missing information, lack of
    right proportion and perspective, false accusation, sibling rivalry.

4th house - Moon.  Peaceful home, sense of safety and security,
    emotional peace of mind, unconditional love in the family.
    Downside risk: unhealthy dependency and clinging to the past.

5th house - Jupiter.  Joyful creation, blessed children, successful
    investment.  Joy in life, grounded in spiritual consciousness and
    devotion, and good karma naturally flowing from that.
    Downside risk:  overconfidence, excesses, wasteful, addictions.

6th house - Mars, Saturn.  Hard work, application of self in service
    to worthy causes.  In health, Mars and Saturn are first-class 
    malefics, fostering wounding, bleeding, inflammation, surgery
    (Mars) and inertia, depression, losses, and aging (Saturn).
    Exercise, work, austerities, regular program or lifestyle, taking
    the long view to do what will maintain health over the lifetime
    are positive uses of Mars and Saturn in the 6th house.

7th house - Venus.  We desire peaceful relations with all,
    especially with significant others, a life full of love and
    affection, sattvic and full of goodness, beauty, graciousness.
    Downside risk: going along to get along, overdependent on
    others' approval, peace at any price with loss of personal integrity.

8th house - Saturn.  Conservative use of other's resources.
    Serious attitude to plumb the depths of reality. Conservative
    use of reproductive resources or ojas.  Practice of yoga and
    austerities.  Downside risk: unresolved negativity, grief, or
    other loss pulling a person into a lower vibratory condition 
    or failure, even wasting others' resources.

9th house - Jupiter.  Religious-spiritual experience, realization,
    and devotion. Love of God as a foundation for life and blessings
    all around.  vision, perspective, increase in wisdom, compassion,
    love of truth. Spiritual teacher (guru) and spiritual teachings
    and path shown by the 9th house.  Downside risk:  false
    perspectives, religious errors or omissions, failure to
    validate the core truths and heart of all world religions, teachers who
    miss or fail to emphasize the essence of truth and lead people away 
    from the simplicity and fullness of spiritual life. 

10th house - Jupiter, Sun, Mercury, Saturn.   Professional success,
    good reputation based on virtue, fame, leadership (Jupiter, Sun).
    Success in commerce, writing, speaking (Mercury). Successful
    organization, administration, teaching essentials, sharing expertise
    and wisdom of experience (Saturn).  Jupiter shows the spiritual basis
    for worldly success - doing well by doing good.  Downside
    risk: arrogance, abuse, domination, destruction of healthy confidence, 
    destructive criticism, negative definition of others,
    poor communications by persons in authority, lack of adequate
    disclosure, excessive and inappropriate disclosure.

11th house - Jupiter.  Success in achieving goals and dreams. 
    Success in friendships, in groups and community.  Broad vision of
    well-being, tolerance, diversity, generosity for the common good.
    Jupiter again shows the spiritual basis for life success and
    flourishing community.  Downside risk:  lack of goodwill;
    lack of normal care, compassion, and seeking relevant truth together;
    injustice in group and social matters.

12th house - Saturn.  The benefits of solitude and the contemplative life.
    Esoteric or metaphysical studies.  Patience, depth, application of 
    self over time.  Meditation, contemplation, study of scriptures,
    initiation, effective therapy, excellent listening. Seeking the
    truth on all levels.  Karma from truth or falsity, sincerity or
    insincerity, application of self or not, depth or lack of it,
    character or lack of it, justice or injustice - Saturn weighs and
    sifts all of that.  Completions. Moksha or liberation.
    Downside risk:  feeling trapped or imprisoned on a physical
    level, lacking privacy, feeling misunderstood or socially alienated, 
    undeveloped or invalidated spiritual awareness, undeveloped
    or invalidated spiritual awareness.

In assessing a particular house in a chart, consider the karaka
regarding the meaning of the house, where the karaka is found in
the chart, how is it aspected, transits of the karaka, etc.  If
the karaka is found IN the house you're considering, or angular,
it makes the karaka and house stronger.  

For Further Reading

Carol Willis, "Moon Nodes" (article).

Carol Willis
cbwillis@lightlink.com
June 5, 2005  

----------------
Carol Willis, MA
Professional Astrologer since 1970
Sunnyvale CA              cbwillis@lightlink.com
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