@ernst Hello professor, I’ve looked through several sources but still need some clarity about the Sun’s strength when it is placed in the 4th house.
Core question
Because the Sun loses Dig Bala (directional strength) in the 4th house, some astrologers call the Sun “naturally weak” in the 4th house because it lacks Dig Bala (directional strength). Others argue it is still strong, since sun planet placed in a kendra (angular house) gains power and Dig Bala is just one of six Balas.
I know the Sun lacks directional strength in the 4th house, but that is only one part of the overall evaluation.
Yet in the example below the Sun’s overall Shadbala is high, so I’m unsure whether to judge it weak or strong.
Example chart
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Sun in the 4th house (Gemini)
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Total Shadbala: 7.35 rūpas (≈ 147 % of the required strength)
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Sthāna Bala: 199.14
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Kāla Bala: 188.72
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Dig Bala: 1.40 (low because of 4th-house placement)
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Cheṣṭā Bala: 53.14
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Drik Bala: -8.10 (partly due to Saturn’s 4th-aspect from 1st Pisces, 44/60 virūpas)
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Naisargika Bala: 60.00
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with:
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Ishta Phala: 43.9
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Kāṣṭa Phala: 13.1
Mercury (lord of Gemini) is in the 5th house; Mercury’s Shadbala = 6.64 rūpas.
with Venus in Cancer (5th house) as well with Shadbala = 7.05 rūpas.
The Sun is not engaged in a planetary war; its sole aspect is Saturn’s partial 4th aspect.
Also, the Sun ranks highest in Shadbala at position 1 as well.
Plus, the Sun's placement Ashtakavarga is 7 bindus out of the 8 (D-1) and its Vimsopaka Bala is 10.9.
Additionally, the Sun is the Atmakaraka and is placed in the D9 chart in the same sign in the 5th house, making it Vargottama.
It is joined with Mars and Ketu in D9, positioned opposite the Moon and Rahu. Mars and the Moon are within a 4-degree orb from the Sun, while Rahu and Ketu are at a wider 12-degree orb in D9.
In the D1 chart, however, there is no such strong aspects to the Sun from other planets, as Ketu and Rahu do not cast aspects, and Mars and Moon are placed in the 4th and 5th houses apart - no special aspects - hardly 10/60 virupas to sun.
As per your teachings, D9 conjunction would not be considered an affliction.
What I’d like to confirm
Given the high total Shadbala (≈ 147 %) and only mild affliction overall (≈ 15 %) and all other factors, should we still call the Sun “weak” just because its Dig Bala is low? Or does the strong aggregate strength override the loss of directional strength? So, would we consider this chart to indicate a strong or weak sun? I believe it's very strong.
I have a chart of someone who’s have same settings - The person works at a good company and holds one of the highest leadership positions, but the role is remote - he works from home. Despite appearing calm, shy amd reserved on the outside, he has a strong inner confidence and drive. He also shares a very close bond with his parents.
@ts,
I think the main issue would be, for all the leadership and vitality that this Sun can give, the individual may :
- Rely on their natural Sun abilities for too long without switching to doing things that would build confidence in those natural Sun abilities.
- And when somehow switched to doing things that would build confidence in their natural Sun abilities, they would just keep doing that confidence building stuff instead of actually drawing their natural Sun abilities when needed.
For any planet to do profoundly well, the individual needs to switch the planet between actually drawing its natural abilities and building the confidence to use those natural abilities in a very seamless fashion. The individual can do that with the Sun best if it is in 10th house, and the least if it is in the 4th house.
The main important thing I would like to remind is that this switching ability can be consciously improved just like we have the freedom to heal the bad lajjitadivasthas, as both the dig bala and lajjitadivasthas are ruled by the air element, which empowers change.
Also, my thinking is not so much of a strong planet/weak planet, as this may lead to binary thought process, but just focusing in any weakness in any planet that can be improved with our free will (lajjitadivasthas and dig bala are the only ones I know).
Anand
@anand Very good explanation. For some funny reason I got this picture of a crew of people hoisting luggage aboard an airplane. I mean, you can be really good at it - that would be like STRENGTH. But if you keep hoisting even after the airplane has rolled away - then you are probably suffering from low DigBala.
Staffan
@anand Hello Sir, thank you. I understand a bit now.
So, what you mean is: it’s about doing one thing endlessly instead of balancing and switching when needed. For example, It’s like a person who keeps working non-stop without taking time to rest or learn new skills. Then, when they finally switch to self-improvement, they overdo it—spending so much time on training or perfecting things that they stop actually doing the work. They stay stuck in one mode instead of balancing between doing the work and improving themselves.
Also another example could be : if a person is working, they just keep working non-stop. And when they finally think on focsuing on their physical activity, they start to overdo exercise so much that their work time gets completely reduced. Essentially, they remain stuck in a single mode.
So you mean, when the Sun is directionally weak, it doesn’t make the Sun itself strong or weak- a strong Sun will still be strong in the 4th house, and a weak Sun will still be weak in the 4th house. What changes is that certain behaviors or significations of the Sun may suffer, because the person struggles to balance when and how to switch between using their sun qualities and building balance which can be achieved with routine, discipline, and consciously.
The lack of directional strength could create an unbalanced situation - for example, they stay stuck in one state or over-perfecting details at times that it doesn’t add much value, etc.
@ernst Hello Professor,
I was hoping to get your thoughts on this topic. I understand there’s a lot to cover, but a basic overview would be really helpful.
Just see if Sun's friends Moon, Jupiter and mars are delighting it and how much dig bala they have and how much enemies Saturn and venus are hurting it and how much negative dig bal they have. If positive ones are greater than negative ones, then sun will be bailed out. Check out this calculation in LA dig bala table.
@Amit Hello sir, based on the aspect table for the Sun, I have the following values:
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Saturn: 44/60 (Sun is 4th from Saturn)
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Mars: 10/60 (Mars is 4th from Sun)
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Moon: 20/60 (Moon is 5th from Sun)
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Jupiter: 2/60 (Jupiter is 8th from Sun)
Net aspect total = +22 - 55 = -33
The Dig Bala values I’m seeing are:
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Saturn: 3.3
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Sun: 3.7
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Moon: 23.1
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Mars: 30.6
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Jupiter: 43.4
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Venus: 47.3
This gives a net friends dig bala of (Moon, Mars and Jupiter) 23.1 + 30.6 + 43.4 = 97.1
(Venus and Saturn) 3.3 + 47.3 = 50.6
From what I understand, the cumulative Dig Bala of friendly planets is almost double that of inimical ones. I just want to confirm whether, in your method, we are comparing only the Dig Bala of friends versus enemies, or whether we also factor in their aspect strengths in this calculation. I assume there are additional considerations beyond just this like
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Ishta Phala
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Kāṣṭa Phala
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Ashtakavarga
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Vimsopaka Bala
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and All Other factors
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etc.
I just want to ensure I’m following your approach accurately. Also, if I calculate based on the aspect and their dig bala of the planets, Sun's friends' planets have more weightage if I'm doing it correctly.
IIRC only lagna and moon can be vargottama. I wish sun/ak could be because I would also have it 😛 @anand gave you a really great reply regarding dig bala strength
@karinia Yes, you remember it correctly. Ryan Kurczak plays down the role of vargottama though, even though Ernst says it really is a thing and that it has the potential to smooth out a tough chart notably.
I really hope he´s right, since I have it for both Moon and the Lagna. One chart out of 144 has it; this time I won the lottery. Just saying.
Staffan