Quantitative Aspect Strength (Parashara Formula): 180° = 100%, Jupiter +50 Points in 9H (240°–270° = 100→75%), Mars +25 Points in 8H (210°–240° = 100→75%); CRITICAL: Aspect of X on Y ≠ Aspect of Y on X (Asymmetric); Rahu Exaltation: PVNR = Taurus (NOT Gemini)

Quantitative Aspect Strength — Teaching

Context: the D-24 of the example chart (Part 12), read for her bachelor's education. D-24 lagna is 18° Taurus; the 9th house is Capricorn and its lord is Saturn. By divisional longitude Mars is at 28° Gemini and Saturn at 7° Sagittarius. Does Mars aspect Saturn, and how much?

The formula (Parashara)

Measured from the aspecting planet to the point aspected:

• Mars: raise the 210°–240° stretch by 25 points — it runs 100% → 75%.
• Jupiter: raise the 240°–270° stretch (the 9th house) by 50 points — it runs 100% → 75%, and drops to 25% the moment 270° is crossed.
• So the graph has discontinuities. "They are not linear graphs."

Worked on the D-24

• Mars on Saturn: Saturn is 159° from Mars — 9° past the 150° point. 9/30 = about 30%. Saturn is nearer Mars's 6th cusp than his 7th.
• Mars on the 9th house cusp (18° Capricorn): 200° from Mars, two-thirds of the way from 180° to 210°. 100 − (2/3 × 25) = about 84-85%.
• Saturn on Mars: Saturn's full aspect falls on 7° Gemini; Mars is 21° further, at 201°. 21/30 × 25 = 17.5 off → about 82%.

"Mars' aspect on Saturn was 30%, but Saturn's aspect on Mars is 82%. So it is not the same."

The lesson

• Aspects of X on Y and of Y on X are not equal. We are used to the sign aspect — "Mars aspects Saturn" — but the amount depends on the exact angle.
• In a mutual aspect one planet may hardly touch the other while the other affects it strongly; or both may be strong. The reading of a yoga changes accordingly. Here Mars is hardly aspecting Saturn.
• This is not new research. Parashara gave the formula, and software already codes it for the dṛk bala of Shadbala. He taught two kinds of aspect — the one by signs, and this one — and did not say it was only for a strength calculation.
• For her education: Mars has a strong aspect on the 9th house and a weak one on the 9th lord Saturn; Saturn aspects Mars strongly. Saturn and Mars together explain civil and architectural engineering.

Jagannatha Hora: the teacher has added a feature to the new version that lists these percentages — every planet's aspect on planets, houses, arudhas (A1, A2 …) and houses counted from them. It also works across charts (navāṁśa, natal against transit, Tithi Praveśa). "Doing this math mentally is not difficult, but you can't do it for hundreds of points."

Rahu/Ketu Exaltation Signs — PVNR Position

Raised while judging Rahu in Scorpio in the D-7.

Tradition: many traditions take Rahu exalted in Taurus and Ketu exalted in Scorpio.

Sanjay Rath: Gemini and Sagittarius are the exaltation and debilitation signs of Rahu (the reverse for Ketu) for phalita, general results; for āyur, longevity matters, use Taurus and Scorpio. Both, for different purposes.

The teacher: "Whether that is genuine or not is debatable."

"In some of my research on some techniques which are sensitive to the signs occupied by planets, I found better results taking Rahu and Ketu to be exalted and debilitated in Taurus and Scorpio rather than Sagittarius and Gemini. So I tend to consider Taurus and Scorpio as the signs of exaltation and debilitation for Rahu and Ketu."

So Rahu in Scorpio is treated as debilitated.