Raja-Yoga-Karaka

If a planet rules both a trinal and an angular house at the same time (apart from the first), it acquires a special strength. Such a planet is called a raja-yoga-karaka, that is, «the significator of great power». It can bestow high social standing, power and prestige. The union of a trinal and an angular house under the rulership of a single planet is the union of Vishnu and Lakshmi, of God and the Goddess, which foretells a great karmic reward.

The trinal houses (the first, the fifth and the ninth), as the houses of dharma and spirituality, symbolise Vishnu. The angular houses, connected with a person’s domestic surroundings (the fourth), marital relations (the seventh) and social status (the tenth), symbolise Lakshmi, the goddess of happiness. In astrology the term «yoga» denotes a particular combination of planetary energies formed by a configuration of planets or by the specific placement of a single planet.

In the literal sense a raja-yoga is able to make a person a king, to clothe him in high political or social power, since «raja» means «king». This notion includes all posts connected with wide authority and broad renown in society — for example, the offices of judge, mayor or senior administrator.

A raja-yoga is present in the horoscopes of most political leaders. Moreover, such an astrological configuration foretells success in the broadest sense of the word, including the acquisition of knowledge and the path of spiritual perfection. The general orientation of the chart will help to refine its indications. Raja-yogas are, however, met with in many horoscopes. And therefore, for one to manifest at full strength, it must be reinforced by several further factors.

For most ascendants a raja-yoga is formed by a single planet that is a temporal benefic of double strength.

For ascendants in Gemini and Libra that planet turns out to be Saturn; for ascendants in Capricorn and Aquarius — Venus; and for ascendants in Cancer and Leo — Mars.

For ascendants in Aries and Scorpio a raja-yoga is formed by the combination of the Sun and the Moon.

A raja-yoga can also be formed by other combinations of the rulers of a trinal and an angular house (first of all — the ninth and the tenth). The strength of this yoga depends on the number of factors in the horoscope that support it.

David Frawley