Show Me the Money: Combinations for Wealth in a Horoscope

By Deborah Allison

coins Jyotisha shastra is filled with shlokas that detail a mind-boggling array of planetary combinations that promise to line your pockets. Along with mastering some of these specific indicators, there are some underlying principles that can guide one to understanding the prospects for wealth in a chart in a more general sense.

Although every house can indicate some form of money, the two houses where money is a primary theme are the eleventh house, the place of labha or easy gains and the second house, the place of dhana or the bank balance. In addition, the trinal or trikona houses (1st, 5th and 9th) are said to be the "sthanas" or places of Goddess Laksmi who graces us with good fortune and good luck. It is not a far leap to understand that when the lord (owner) of a money house gets together with the lord of a house indicating luck, this would be a good combination for wealth. In fact, combinations of either the 2nd or 11th lords with the lords of 1, 5 and/or 9 are known as dhana yogas - yogas for wealth. There are secondary dhana yogas made from these same lordships such as when the 2nd and 11th combine or the trikona lords combine but you want to have a primary combination of money plus luck before getting excited about the secondary ones.

It seems that many people would have the possibility of these kinds of combinations but in the world of Jyotish it is never as simple as that. The daily patterns of the grahas are endlessly changing like a kaleidoscope so beware the jyotishi who does not carefully qualify such yogas to see if it is more bluster than substance. Unless the aforementioned lords have a good dose of shakti in the form of some of the classical requirements of planetary strength, you may wind up with a $5 bill you find on the streets rather than the 5 million dollar lottery ticket! Also, one lone little combination in a chart that is otherwise barren and weak is not going to do the trick. The more yogas there are with powerful planets forming them and indicating a similar theme in life such as wealth, the more certain the outcome of money in the life of the native.

Let's consider the chart of Michael Crichton (see chart on the left or view a PDF). We find that he has many of these permutations. Venus is the lord of the 11th and it is in full mutual aspect with the Moon, the first lord. Both Venus and the Moon are super strong - Venus is in its own sign and has dig bala (directional strength) and the Moon is full. Venus is also with the 5th lord Mars giving the 5/11 yoga. The Sun as the second lord is in full aspect to the first lord Moon and also with the 5th lord Mars. In this case, counting the secondary dhana yoga of the 11th and 2nd lords (Sun and Venus) located together is no problem as it adds to the party.

In addition to the lordship dhana yogas, there are several combinations that are given particular names in the shastra or that appear often enough that names have become associated with them. One of the most desirable of these yogas is known as Laksmi Yoga. It is mentioned in more than one shastra and is not formed in exactly the same way in all instances, a fact that sometimes confuses Western Astrologers wanting to know which one is "right". The names of yogas are Sanskrit names that describe an attribute or quality and it should not be a problem that different authors might choose the same name for different combinations that address a similar life experience.

In Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, the classic text on Jyotish, great emphasis is placed on the lord of the 9th, the house of good fortune and of merit (punya). Parashara describes Laksmi yoga as occurring when the 9th lord is very strong (occupying its own or exalted sign) and located in an angular house (1, 4, 7 or 10) while the lord of the lagna is also powerful. Another Shastra calls for the 9th lord to be in own or exalted sign in a Kendra or trikona while Venus is similarly placed.

If we check out Michael Crichton's chart again, we find his 9th lord Jupiter is exalted with dig bala in the ascendant while Venus is in its own sign with dig bala in the fourth. It fulfills the Laksmi Yoga from the stand point of BOTH the aforementioned shastras as the lagna lord Moon is super strong and placed at the midheaven!

Bill Gates (see chart at right or view a PDF) also has a beautiful Laksmi yoga accompanying a dazzling array of other combinations for wealth and pre-eminence including the traditional dhana yogas mentioned above. In his case, the Laksmi Yoga forms with his exalted 9th lord Saturn in the 5th house associated with the lord of the 5th who happens to be Venus, fulfilling the combination perfectly and giving rise to other major yogas as well.

Chandra Mangala Yoga is another dhana yoga that occurs when Moon and Mars are in the same house or have a mutual aspect. The money could come through the auspices of women when this yoga is present with both Mars and Moon strong. Both Michael Crichton and Bill Gates have Chandra Mangala Yogas as well, giving them three different independent wealth yogas - lordship dhana yogas, Laksmi Yoga and Chandra Mangala.

Everyone has one planet in their chart that has the power to incline a person toward prosperity if it is strong and prominently placed. This planet is called the Yogi and we will explore it more in a future article.

The potential for wise counsel stemming from the knowledge of these wealth yogas and their opposites (yogas for financial distress) should make them a requirement in the training of all financial planners but alas! It is not yet a perfect world!

From the October/November 2006 issue of Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter. Click to subscribe to this free Jyotish newsletter.