Money Matters

The problem of determining financial success of a person can essentially be broken down in to three main questions:

1. What is the profession of an individual?
2. What is the source of money for this individual and what amount of money will this person earn through this source?
3. How will this person be able to retain this money and increase its value?

Astrologically, the first question is answered by looking at the 10th house that represents the profession and the area in which a person is employed. If you look at the last post about Cricket, Mars, the ruler of the 3rd house associated with 10th house and its ruler would give a career in sports.

In Vedic Astrology, the three main houses that govern wealth in a chart are the 2nd house, 11th house and the 5th house.

5th House: This Lakshmisthana governs money coming from speculation - shares, stock market and related instruments. A powerful 5th house along with 9th house is said to bring luck to an individual. 9th house represents bhagya and is therefore called bhagyasthana. 5th being 9th from 9th also represents luck in the horoscope.

11th House: House number 11 represents livelihood in a chart. A person may have a lot of interests, but the kind of influence on 11th house alone will determine what this person will earn from. The strength of the house and ruler would determine the the size of source of income. It is also known as labhasthana, which loosely translated means - house of profit. It, therefore, represents gains of all kinds.

2nd House: Financially, house number 2 (dhanasthana) represents the net worth of an individual. It denotes the extent to which the individual will be able to retain the money earned through sources represented by 5th and 11th house.

11th house can be thought of as a tap and 2nd house as a bucket. The bucket is filled with water flowing from the tap. How much water will accumulate depends on the rate water flows from the tap and size of the bucket. Shri J.N. Bhasin, in his book "Astro Sutras", makes a very good point about the 2nd house. He says that the 4th house represents the house where an individual lives. Similarly, 2nd house, by being 4th from 11th represents where money coming from 11th house is deposited - a bank, treasury, or in other words, it represents the accumulated wealth of the individual.

Various Dhana Yogas, i.e. planetary combinations of wealth, are formed when rulers of these houses are associated with each other and with rulers of 1st, 5th and 9th house. This association could be through conjunction in good houses, exchange and through mutual aspect. Involvement of Jupiter as benefic planet in these combinations is considered extremely auspicious. In Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, Venus and Mercury are also mentioned along with Jupiter as planets bestowing wealth when connected with 2nd or 11th house. Apart from these dhana yogas, various raj yogas and the panch mahapurusha yogas are also considered combinations of wealth.

Just as there are Dhana Yogas denoting wealth, there are yogas denoting poverty - Nirdhana Yogas. These yogas are formed when ruling planets of these wealth houses are associated with rulers of  6th, 8th and 12th house or are situated in these houses. Any such association would cause loss of status, distress and bring adversity to an individual. This situation can be thought of either the bucket being leaky or someone disrupting the flow of water by turning the tap off.

Rulers of 2nd house and 11th house, if rendered powerless, e.g. by being in evil houses and/or by being combust, will bring extreme poverty to an individual. Therefore, the strength of these planets, along with the strength of ascendant, is extremely important for prospects of money. If there are any dhana yogas in the chart, appropriate measures should be taken to strengthen the planets during their dasha periods. If any nirdhana yogas are indicated in the chart, care should be taken to strengthen the planets situatued in the ascendant, ascendant lord, Jupiter, if benefic, and other yogkarakas in the chart to neutralize the affect of planets causing nirdhana yoga. Making changes to lifestyle is also suggested.