It is commonly understood that malefic planets trigger illness and benefic planets helps in restoration of health. It needs to be careful understood when a planet will behave as benefic or malefic. But it needs to be understood that at times what we perceive as benefic may also give malefic results and the vice-versa. How, a planet will behave will depend on many factors like its lordship of houses, its natural tendencies and how it is placed in transit. Jumping to any conclusion without a sound analysis may be dangerous for proper assessment.

Benefic and malefic planets produce their good or bad results as per the running dasha. Dasha and transits helps in timing the occurrence of healing or cure.

Malefics and Benefics as per their inherent nature:

Jupiter, Venus, waxing Moon and well-associated Mercury are natural benefics. Similarly, the Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu, Waning Moon and afflicted Mercury are natural enemies. Here, we see that Moon and Mercury gets influenced easily, hence its effects may depend on its association and strength.

Benefics and Malefics for different lagnas:

Planets behave as benefics and malefics based on the houses they own. The ownership of houses will vary from lagna to lagna. Therefore, for some lagna, certain planets will behave as benefics while others will behave as malefics or neutrals.

Some important considerations:

a) Natural benefics as lords of the quadrants (1,4,7,10 houses) lose their beneficence. Natural malefics as lord of (1,4,7,10 houses) also lose their malefic nature.

b) Lord of the trines (1,5,9 houses) give benefic results irrespective of their inherent nature.

c) Lords of the third, the sixth and the eleventh house are always malefic.

d) The lords of the second, the eighth and the twelfth are neutrals. They give results based on their location and influences on them.

e) Amidst the quadrants, the fourth lord is more powerful than lagna, seventh lord is more powerful than fourth lord, tenth lord is more powerful than seventh lord.

f) Amidst the trines, the fifth lord is more powerful than lagna lord, the ninth lord is more powerful than the fifth lord.

g) Amidst the 3,6,11 group, the sixth lord is more powerful than the third lord and the eleventh lord is more powerful than the sixth lord.

h) Amidst the 2,8,12 group, the eighth lord is more powerful than the second lord and the twelfth lord is more powerful than the eighth lord.

i) The eighth lord, though considered to be neutral has great propensity to do evil as it is the twelfth lord from ninth house (fortune). Therefore, it can cause obstacles, failures, ailments, death etc.

j) The eighth lord is still more malefic if it is also the lord of the third or the eleventh lord. Like Venus in Pisces lagna, Mars in Virgo lagna, Jupiter in Taurus lagna and Mercury in Scorpio lagna.

k) The eighth lord becomes a benefic when it also owns a trine like Jupiter and Mercury in Leo and Aquarius lagna. For Gemini lagna, Saturn as lord of the eighth house and the ninth house gives mixed results.

l) The blemish of the eighth lordship do not apply to the Sun and the Moon. However, practically this doesn’t hold good. Especially for longevity and other considerations.

m) When a planet owns both a quadrant and the trine, it becomes Rajya-Yoga-Karaka (doer of great benefit). It becomes especially more effective it such planet is placed in quadrant or trine.

n) Only the ownership of the quadrant doesn’t make any malefic planet as benefic, the planet should also own a trine to get rid of its malefic nature completely.

o) The blemish of kendra lordship, as applicable to benefics increases progressively from the Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus.

p) The Full Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus, in this order, are more powerful as benefics.

q) The Waning Moon, Sun, Saturn and Mars, in this order, are more powerful as malefics.

r) If lord of a quadrant is in any way related to lord of the trine, a Rajya yoga is formed. This can occur by various means like conjunction of the lord of the quadrant with lord of the trine, by mutual aspect, by placement of lord of quadrant in trine or vice-versa, by exchange of houses (Parivatan Yoga), when one is placed in other’s house and this latter aspect the former. Planets involved in Rajya yoga generally give good results.

s) Rahu and Ketu give results based on the house where it is located and according to the planet whom they join. Rahu and Ketu can give yogakarka results when they are placed in the quadrant, and join a trine lord or when they are placed in trine with the lord of the quadrant. Rahu also behaves as Saturn and Ketu as Mars.

Trika Houses and their Lords

Houses 6, 8 and 12 are called Trika houses. Generally, these houses and its lords give adverse results with respect to health and longevity. The sixth house and the sixth lord generally indicate disease and accidents. The eighth house and the eighth lord generally indicate chronic ailment, incurable disease as well as death. The twelfth house and its lord indicate confinement as well as hospitalization. The dasa of the planets associated with these planets and their lords must be carefully analysed for determining illness.

The Marakas (Death Inflictor)

As we have discussed earlier the twelfth house of any house indicates loss. Longevity or Ayu is seen from the eighth house. Twelfth from eighth house is seventh house. Then eighth from the eighth house is third house; this is the alternate house for longevity. Twelfth from third house is second house. Therefore, second house and the seventh house and its lord are marakas. Death-inflicting planets and houses. Planets placed in the second and the seventh house also has propensity to kill. However, this principle shouldn’t be blindly applied. The dasa of these planets may not necessarily kill, it can also give ailments. It would be wise to ascertain longevity in the horoscope first before jumping into any conclusion.

Other Important considerations

a) The twenty-second Drekkana: The twenty-second Drekkana is the Drekkana that falls exactly seven houses away from the lagna. It thus falls in the eighth house at the same degree as lagna. Place the degree of the lagna in the sign occupying the eighth house of the birth chart and determine its Drekkana. The lord of that sign and the planets falling in that sign in the Drekkana chart are evil and capable of causing death and disease. When a Drekkana chart is cast, the eighth house of this chart indicates the 22nd Drekkana. The lord of this house as well as planets falling in that house prove malefic.

b) The sixty-four Navamsha: Whereas the 22nd Drekkana is calculated from the lagna, the 64th Navamsha is calculated from the Moon. It falls exactly seven houses away from the Moon. Place the degrees of Moon in the sign 8th from it, and determine the Navamsha of that sign. The lord of that Navamsha is the lord of the 64th Navamsha, and, along with planets falling therein in the Navamsha chart, behaves as a malefic.

In the usual Navamsha chart, the sign falling in the 4th house from the Moon happens to be the lord of the 64th Navamsha; this lord as also its associates, and the planet falling in that house in the Navamsha Chart behave as evil planets.

c) Sarpa Drekkana: The second and third Drekkanas of the sign Cancer, the first and the second of the sign Scorpio, and the last Drekkana of the sign Pisces are termed as Sarpa (serpent) Drekkanas. Planets falling in these Drekkanas tend to produce ill health during their periods and sub-periods if other factors also indicate thus.