Yogas: Special Combinations In A Chart

A yoga is a combination of planets that gives a particular result. Classical texts list hundreds of them. They are useful, but they must be checked for strength before they are trusted.

Some well-known yogas

• Raja yoga — a link between the lord of a kendra (1, 4, 7, 10) and the lord of a trikona (1, 5, 9). It supports status and success, especially in the periods of the planets involved.
• Dhana yoga — links among the lords of the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th houses. It supports income and savings.
• Gaja Kesari yoga — Jupiter in a kendra from the Moon. It supports wisdom, respect and good fortune.
• Budha-Aditya yoga — the Sun and Mercury together. It supports intelligence and communication, if Mercury is not too deeply combust.
• Pancha Mahapurusha yogas — Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus or Saturn in its own or exalted sign in a kendra. Each gives the strong qualities of that planet.
• Viparita Raja yoga — lords of the 6th, 8th and 12th houses placed in each other's houses. It can give success after difficulty.

When does a yoga work?

A yoga gives its results mainly:

• when the planets forming it are strong and not badly afflicted;
• during the dasha periods of those planets;
• when transits also support the houses involved.

A yoga made of weak or combust planets may give only a small result.

A word of caution

Because there are so many yogas, almost every chart has several. Their presence alone proves little. The skill lies in judging their strength and timing — which is why TRAC shows the reason behind each yoga it lists.

A worked example of a Raja yoga

In a Capricorn ascendant chart, Venus rules the 5th and 10th houses. Venus alone is a Raja yoga planet (yogakaraka). If Venus sits in the 10th house in Libra, its own sign, the yoga is strong: it supports status, creativity and recognition, especially in the Venus period. If instead Venus were combust and in the 8th house, the same lordship would give much smaller results.

Some yogas for wealth and learning

• Lakshmi yoga — a strong 9th lord in a kendra or trikona with a strong ascendant lord.
• Saraswati yoga — Jupiter, Venus and Mercury well placed in kendras, trikonas or the 2nd house; supports learning and the arts.
• Adhi yoga — benefics in the 6th, 7th and 8th from the Moon; supports leadership and comfort.
• Chandra-Mangala yoga — the Moon with Mars; supports earning through enterprise.

Yogas that need care

Some yogas describe difficulties, such as Kemadruma (no planets on either side of the Moon), which can show phases of loneliness or unsupported effort. Classical texts give many conditions that cancel it — for example planets in kendras from the ascendant or the Moon. As with all yogas, it is never read alone.

Common mistakes

• Counting yogas instead of weighing them. One strong yoga matters more than ten weak ones.
• Expecting results outside the dasha. Yogas mostly deliver in the periods of the planets that form them.

Frequently asked questions

Does my chart have a Raja yoga? Most charts have at least one kendra–trikona link. Its strength and timing are what matter.

Can a yoga be activated by transit? Transits can trigger a yoga's results, but mainly when the dasha also supports it.