Lights, not a science-class list
Sun and Moon are luminaries. Rahu and Ketu are the lunar nodes, the points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's.
Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn are the grahas that wander against the sidereal signs. Jyotish still calls all nine grahas, seizers, because they seize a part of life and colour it. A Vedic birth chart that skipped Rahu and Ketu would be a Western solar list with extra Sanskrit. VedicAstrology.com calculates the nine in the sidereal zodiac from your date, time, and place of birth.
Nature, friendship, exaltation
Each graha has a nature, friends, enemies, a sign of exaltation, and a sign of debilitation. Benefic and malefic are starting words, not the whole truth.
A malefic in the right house, in the right dasha, can build. A benefic poorly placed can spoil ease. Jupiter is growth and meaning. Venus is bond, beauty, and the sweetness of being with someone. Mercury is speech and the linking mind. Mars is heat and the will to act. Saturn is time and work. The Sun is soul and father. The Moon is mind. Rahu is hunger and the unconventional path. Ketu is the cut, the past, the release. Those are sketches. The janam kundli is the combination, not a list of lucky stones.
Where a graha is, and whose dasha it is
A reading checks each graha's sign, house from the lagna, house from the Moon, nakshatra, aspects, and dasha.
For example, a well-placed Venus may provide steady support, while a difficult Saturn may become especially important during a Saturn period. Retrograde motion, combustion near the Sun, and conjunctions with other grahas also change the result. These conditions are interpreted together and only where they relate to your question.
Ask from the nine, not from a stereotype
Work questions may involve the Sun, Saturn, and the tenth house. Love may involve Venus, the Moon, and the seventh.
Money may involve Jupiter, Venus, and the second and eleventh houses. Study often involves Mercury, while conflict and decisive action often involve Mars. Rahu and Ketu are also included because they are essential parts of Jyotish. Bring your date, exact time, and place of birth, then ask about the area of life you want the nine grahas to clarify.
