3/3/2021 Ascendants and functional malefics – psychologically astrology

psychologically astrology

Experience and thus Transcend

Ascendants and functional malefics

March 13, 2020July 30, 2020 astrologerbydefault

There was a question on the luckiest ascendant (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2018/12/01/the-
ascendant-and-its-planetary-lord/), so a quick post. This logic is based on the ‘functional malefic’
concept.
th
A planet who owns the 6 , (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2018/11/08/dushamsthan-house-of-
th
turmoil-the-6th/) 8 (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/07/09/8th-house-dushamsthan/) or
th
12 (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/11/03/the-12th-house-of-bridges/) house counted
from the ascendant sign, in a chart will act as a functional malefic
(h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/02/17/malefics-energies-in-your-chart/) for the horoscope.
Especially so if its Mooltrikon sign falls in any of these turbulent houses.
Rahu and Ketu are functional malefics (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/02/19/benefics-as-
malefics/) for all ascendant signs.
rd
The lord of the 3 (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/04/21/the-darker-side-of-the-3rd-
house/) house, if badly placed, will act as a functional malefic, so check out the individual horoscope
rd
for this factor. The 3 house is a very typical house, can go either way.
The ascendant lord cannot overtly be a malefic for a chart, this is applicable for Aries
(h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/08/12/aries-libra-the-beginnings-part-2/), Libra
(h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2018/12/29/libra-and-more-on-interpreting-charts/) and
Aquarius ascendants. But if you get a chart with these ascendants, do evaluate the power of the
ascendant lord to get a clear idea of what results he is going to confer. eg I have noticed that for Aries
and Libra, the rate of change is very high, the personality goes through periodic cycles where there is
severe disturbance, followed by a mini-melt-down, followed by an astonishing rebound and growth.
For Aquarius ascendants, there is an undefinable loss of personality in the sense that they are always
defined by their background groups. Alone, without his social support, an Aquarius ascendant seems
a shadow of his self.

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So this is the list of functional malefics for each ascendant sign,

Aries- Mercury, Rahu, Ketu

Taurus- Mars, Jupiter, Rahu, Ketu
Gemini- Rahu and Ketu
Cancer (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2020/02/12/cancer-ascendant-the-depth-of-disinterest/)–
Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu (possibly Mercury as per individual chart)
Leo (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2020/02/13/leo-ascendant-integration/)– Moon, Rahu, Ketu
Virgo- Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu
Libra- Mercury, Rahu, Ketu (possibly Jupiter as per individual chart)
Scorpio (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2020/03/06/scorpio-and-its-strange-karma/)– Venus,
Rahu, Ketu
Sagi arius- Moon, Rahu, Ketu
Capricorn- Sun, Jupiter, Rahu, Ketu
Aquarius- Moon, Mercury, Rahu, Ketu
Pisces- Sun, Saturn, Venus, Rahu, Ketu

Here we have followed the concept that the mool-trikon sign of the planet should fall in the 6th, 8th and
12th houses for it to be classified as a full blown functional malefic. But do remember that even if a
planet’s regular sign falls in these 6th, 8th and 12th houses of turmoil, he can be an agent of pain in your
life. (For Moon we do not consider his Mooltrikon sign Taurus, but his own sign Cancer)

I have added one possible malefic for Cancer ascendant, ie Mercury. And Jupiter as a potential
malefic for Libra ascendant. Their mool-trikon sign falls in the 3rd house for these ascendants. The
3rd house is a rather typical house, can go either way so always check it from the individual chart.

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If you look at this above list critically, Virgo and Pisces ascendants have a whopping five planets as
clear-cut functional malefics. People born under these ascendant signs have more happening and
traumatic events in their life. The influence of the three houses of turmoil is more in their lives and more
unfavourable incidents associated with the keywords of these houses occur. Broadly diseases, debts,
enemies, losses, stress, catastrophic transformation etc can occur with more frequency. (Cancer will fall in
this list, if in the individual chart, Mercury is unable to give auspicious results. eg If Mercury is aspected/ conjoint
Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu)

Now whenever the Sun is a functional malefic, you should analyse his proximity to Mercury too.
Mercury is more often combust (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/10/24/understanding-
combustion-of-planets/) than other planets. So if in the chart, a malefic Sun consumes a beneficial/
neutral Mercury, Mercury is unable to give his results and you have one less positive/neutral planet in
your chart. Second possibility is Venus being combust by a malefic Sun, as he too remains rather close to
the Sun. This scenario is possible for Virgo, Capricorn and Pisces ascendants, so check this in the
individual chart.

Second possibility is if the Sun combusts a functional malefic planet then he too becomes a malefic! The
Sun can combust all the 5 tara-graha, but this possibility is more for Mercury and Venus as they are the
inner planets, closer to the Sun.

Aries, Cancer, Libra and Aquarius have Mercury as a functional malefic so if such a malefic Mercury
is swallowed up by the Sun in combustion, the Sun will take on all of Mercury’s a ributes including
his this functional malefic nature.
Then Scorpio and Pisces have Venus as a functional malefic so if the Sun combusts a malefic Venus,
he too will become a composite Sun+Venus malefic power.

In the horoscope, check if the ascendant lord is influenced by these functional malefics. This reduces his
power to adjust your personality and your environment with each other. Also check if the birth Moon is
under malefic influence, as this directly affects the mind, emotions and mental processes.

eg for Cancer ascendant, Moon (ascendant lord) conjoint Jupiter is not a very auspicious combination.
Even if Jupiter is considered to be beneficial, he is a functional malefic for this ascendant.

Taurus, Capricorn and Aquarius ascendants, have four planets as functional malefics. (Libra can come in
this category if in the specific chart, Jupiter is under the influence of even more malefics and is incapable of giving
auspicious results.) And Aries, Leo, Scorpio and Sagi arius ascendants, have three functional malefic
planets. Finally Gemini ascendant has only two, ie the common Rahu/ Ketu as the functional malefic
energies in the chart.

So I would say that Gemini ascendant is the luckiest ascendant to have, as it practically has no functional
malefics. Except Rahu (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2020/02/22/rahu-ketu-and-existential-
sorrow/) and Ketu who are astral planets entrusted with the express job of creating turbulence in our
life. The remaining 7 planets are either neutral or beneficial so this ascendant has a relatively smoother
life compared to the remaining eleven signs of the zodiac.

The toughest would be Cancer, Virgo or Pisces ascendants.

Virgo and Pisces because of the five planets who work directly as functional malefics.
Cancer because he has four (five, if Mercury also afflicted), but these include Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and
Ketu, the slowest planets. If something goes wrong in a Cancer’s life, it can take ages to first suffer

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through the problem and then ages to recover from it.

Now a bit more on how to use this concept.

If the functional malefic in the birth chart is on the exact central degree at the house he is placed in,
he exerts more negative influence on the ma ers of this house. eg if your birth rising degree is 3deg
st
Leo, the middle of the 1 house is at 3deg Leo. Look out for the planets transiting around 3deg in
any sign and their effects on you.
If the functional malefic is closely conjunct or aspects
(h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/05/12/why-rahu-ketu-have-no-aspects/) any other birth
planet, he will affect their power to give auspicious results.
In transit (h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2020/02/29/transits-and-their-power-over-you/)too,
these planets give their worst results when they are passing through the center of a house or
conjunct/ aspecting any birth planet.

Finally one more aspect of this list must be considered. Check which ascendant has slow moving or fast
moving planets as its functional malefics.

Leo and Sagi arius have only Moon as their functional malefic. Moon is the fastest planet going at
2.25days/sign. So the trials in their life will pop in suddenly, maybe an acute a ack of some problem in
life and then as suddenly pop out. There can be more frequent problems as the Moon transits around the
zodiac in about 28days. But perhaps this is be er as you do not have to endure under a problem for
years.

eg If you know that the next 2.25days are going to be typical, you can do something about it, eg re-
arrange your work schedule etc or just sit through knowing that it will end in 2.25days.

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Aries, Libra, Scorpio, Aquarius have the Sun, Moon, Mercury or Venus as their functional malefic. These
‘inner planets’ are also fast moving, approx a month in a sign. So the problems faced by these people do
not last for long, though may have a yearly sort of periodicity. Here a problem can last for about a month
(might resurface maybe a year later if the dasha/other transits permit.) However note the combustions of
these planets in your birth chart and in transit which can modify results.

eg If a Cancer ascendant at birth has Mercury conjoint Sun and both aspected by Saturn. Then those
periods when Mercury goes combust in the skies (three times a year) wil, inflate his ego, affect his
thought processes, make him temporarily selfish, unable to accepts others views, create even more
misunderstandings because of this, might cause severe fights with siblings or teammates or
neighbours, or extended family members, losses in trade etc be especially problematic for him.

For Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn and Pisces ascendant people, the outer planets, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn figure in the list. These take longer times to transit signs, Mars can take 2-6 months, Jupiter 1 yr
and Saturn 2.6yrs, per sign. So for these people, troubles in life will last for a longer period, they will
have to endure under problematic situations for months/ years. And recovery from these episodes will
be slow. However periodicity will be lesser. Mars completes one round of the zodiac in 2yrs, Jupiter in
12yrs and Saturn in 30yrs.

I have mentioned in my previous posts, that Cancer ascendants should take special care and try to
focus on their spiritual growth than material objects during the next few years. Now you see, Jupiter,
Ketu, Saturn, are/ will be transiting their 6th, 7th, 8th houses back to back. Two houses of turmoil, 6th
and 8th and 7th is a very cryptic house, decisions taken here convert to karma very quickly.

You must have read about functional malefics in your studies on astrology, so this is how you gain more
information using this concept. Astrology is about seeing pa erns and linking them together with
common sense and a bit of intuition. You must study your sample
(h ps://psychologicallyastrology.com/2019/08/21/start-learning-astrology-systematically/) horoscopes of
your family/ friends and see how your ideas and concepts really play out in life. This is how you learn
with every chart you read.

11 Votes

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astrology analysing horoscope, aspects, combustion, lucky signs, mooltrikon, rising sign, table
of functional malefics, transit

9 thoughts on “Ascendants and functional malefics”

1. ANGELITA
March 13, 2020 / 10:55 pm
So what would you think of Ketu Scorpio 14 in 1st House of Libra with Vesta 6 Scorpio, Then Sun 13
Capricorn conjunct Mercury 5 Capricorn in 3rd House, and Jupiter at 1 degree Leo 10 House
Retrograde? I have my thoughts, and intense experiences that I can physically feel.

ASTROLOGERBYDEFAULT
March 14, 2020 / 10:31 am
Hi there,
i think frm yr question, you have mentioned ‘vesta’, you follow the western system..

i am a Vedic/Indian astrologer, so if u want to use the information in this blog u will hav to get
your charts calculated from a Vedic software ..

2. ANGELITA
March 13, 2020 / 10:58 pm
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Do you have an email I could write to you?

ASTROLOGERBYDEFAULT
March 14, 2020 / 10:32 am
Hi there,
i don’t correspond via individual emails.. you will have to use this comment form in this blog..

3. DEEPAK KUMAR
July 2, 2020 / 1:11 pm
Hi Mam,

thanks for very lucid and enlightening posts. I read your articles and they seemed very pain relieving
as they unlocked few mysteries. I will be grateful if you can share some thoughts to guide me.

I am Libra lagna with Ven-Sat in lagna, moon in 6th, Jup-mars in 3rd house and Sun/Merc in 12th
house (merc is within degree behind). I finished Ven Dasha and started Sun dasha in Jan 2019.
Though I reside outside India since 2008, suddenly since Sun dasha job & money are gone. While
there is a lot of contentment and spiritual upliftment, career wise all efforts are futile.

Funny all astrological predictions have failed. How to find right direction forward as without Karma
it almost feels like imprisonment

ASTROLOGERBYDEFAULT
July 2, 2020 / 5:25 pm
Hi there
some points to analyse ur sun

Sun in 12th house,

karak of 11th in 12th,
11th is a upchay house
mahadasha and antardasha rulers are in 2/12 axis also natural enemies

so do anything which will help you balance the sun’s energy, from giving Surya arghya to doing
the surya mantra on sundays..

DEEPAK KUMAR
July 3, 2020 / 8:49 pm
Hi Mam,

clear and thanks for guiding me. I read further articles of yours on argala and Navamsha.Two
questions

1) 9/11/12th house lords are conjunct, so if spiritual orientation is coming right now with the
loss of money, will luck and gains come as well at some point I read somewhere about
Dasha progression as Dasha planets goes around the zodiac

2) Though Dasha is of Sun, Lagna lord is in 2nd from Sun in Lagna in Pushkar Navamsha and
most likely at Pushkar Bhaga degree, does it make sense to activate Venus again? I was asked
to remove Diamond and wear Pukhraj + Emerald earlier this year

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Sincere thanks for your article on Pushkar Navamsha as it made my day knowing that LL is in
Pushkar Navamsha.

4. PREETHI
July 10, 2020 / 9:29 am
Hi ma’am. Thank you for such an enlightening post. My son has quite a difficult horoscope and we
don’t have the expertise here in Malaysia to get an expert advice. He has 5 planets in the 12th house
which is sun, Venus, Mercury , Jupiter and Ketu.
Ascendant is Mithuna.
Rahu in 6th house.
Moon and Saturn in 4th house.
Mars in 3rd.

I’m worried that most of the major planets are all confined in one house.

ASTROLOGERBYDEFAULT
July 10, 2020 / 2:10 pm
Hi there
one positive is tht the owner of the 12th is there himself. but yes there will be some typical issues
from time to time..
I have wri en several posts on the 12th house, do use the index page if you feel like reading them
..
also go thru the posts on
asc lord with ketu
ketu conjunct other planets
rahu/ketu in 6/12 axis
guru chandal yog
gemini-sagi axis
post on energies of fear
also read about the moksh trikon
also i have wri en a lot on rahu/ketu, which you might find a useful read

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