Graha Drishti — Planetary Aspects

Graha Drishti (Planetary Aspects)

Parasara gives two kinds of drishti: Graha Drishti and Rashi Drishti.

• Parasara taught Rashi Drishti first and Graha Drishti after it. Rashi Drishti is the more important of the two.
• 80% of astrologers in India today have forgotten Rashi Drishti and use only Graha Drishti.
• The class covers Graha Drishti first only because that is the order people follow today.

"Graha Drishti basically stands for the desire of the planet. If a planet has Graha Drishti on a particular house, what it means is that planet wants to get involved in that house's matters. He has an eye on that."

Every Planet Aspects the 7th from Itself

The 7th house is the middle point of the Kama Trikona: desire. So the 7th from any planet is the desire of that planet, and the planet has Graha Drishti on it.

• 7th from Jupiter = the desire of your intelligence
• 7th from Mars = the desire of your initiative, your aggressive spirit
• 7th from Venus = the desire of your spirit of enjoyment

Special Aspects

Rahu's aspects are controversial. Parasara does not mention them explicitly — he leaves Rahu and Ketu out of many details — but other classics do. Several astrologers use them; you may choose not to.

Jupiter and Rahu

• Jupiter is the teacher of the gods and stands for dharma. Rahu is a rakshasa and stands for adharma. They are always fighting.
• Both look at the 5th and the 9th. The house of adharma is also the 9th: good influences on the 9th show dharma, bad influences show adharma.
• Jupiter does not care about resources. He holds that with good dharma and good abilities the resources arrange themselves.
• Rahu is more practical. He looks at resources first, so he also aspects the 2nd.

Vakra Drishti

A student had heard the colloquial term. Vakra Drishti is looking at something while going backward. Planets sometimes go backward and then have Vakra Drishti. Rahu and Ketu always go backward, so they always have it.

Are Rahu's 5th, 9th and 2nd then counted in reverse? No. Going backward does not change the definition of the houses. The 2nd counted in the regular direction is still Rahu's resources, and he looks at that house.

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Graha Drishti vs. Rashi Drishti (Preview)

• Rashi Drishti is not a desire. From the sign it occupies a planet automatically looks at certain signs. It is fixed by the Rasi Chakra and is the same whichever planet is doing the looking.
• The teacher's picture: living in a house, you keep meeting your neighbour and the people near your bus stop, and so you have some influence on them. That is Rashi Drishti — influence from placement and proximity.
• Graha Drishti does not by itself show influence. Jupiter with Graha Drishti on a house badly wants to influence its matters. Whether he can depends on where he is — whether he also has Rashi Drishti — and on Argala.

"Those are fixed aspects based on where you are. And the aspect that we talked about now is the aspect based on who you are, what your desires are."

Rashi Drishti is taken up in the next class.

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