Navagraha family – friends and enemies
It is important to understand the nature of the grahas and the role they play in the navagraha family to infer the results of many things in vedic astrology, like strengths, combinations, aspects…
We will exclude Rahu and Ketu in the navagraha family because they are not real entities. Analysis of Rahu and Ketu is complex and they, normally, take the nature and role of one or more of the seven real grahas.
Family roles
Let us start with the role the seven grahas play in the navagraha family. Sun is the King, Moon is the Queen, Jupiter is the Minister (adviser), Mars is the Commander in Chief, Mercury is the Prince, and Saturn is the Servant. We left out Venus. Venus is also a Minister. While Jupiter advises the good team, the Devas, Venus advises the bad team, the Asuras. In some sense, if the kingdom is good, Jupiter is more important as an adviser and if the kingdom is bad, Venus is more important as an adviser.
The King (Sun) is powerful and authoritative. The Queen (Moon) is compassionate and caring. Jupiter, the Minister, is wise and advises the King on the path of Dharma. Venus, the other minister, is a Machiavellian; smart but in a cunning way. Mars is strong, determined, and fiery. The Prince (Mercury) is a rebel and is easily influenced. Finally, Saturn is industrious and hardworking.
Saturn is the son of the Sun, but is not given the status of a Prince. Saturn can be considered an illegitimate son of Sun. Sun and Saturn do not like each other.
Family groups
The seven grahas can be grouped into two teams – Team A consists of Sun, Moon, Jupiter, and Mars and Team B consists of Saturn, Venus, and Mercury. Team A is essentially the governing body of the kingdom. It has the King, Queen, Minister, and Commander in Chief and is considered the good team. Team B has the rebellious Prince and the Servant advised by the Machiavellian Minister.
Friends and Enemies
The table below shows the friends and enemies of each graha. The ones not mentioned are neutral. So, Sun likes Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. Sun dislikes Venus and Saturn. Sun is neutral to Mercury.
| Graha | Friends | Enemies |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Moon Mars Jupiter | Venus Saturn |
| Moon | Sun Mercury | |
| Mars | Sun Moon Jupiter | Mercury |
| Jupiter | Sun Moon Mars | Mercury Venus |
| Mercury | Sun Venus | Moon |
| Venus | Mercury Saturn | Sun Moon |
| Saturn | Mercury Venus | Sun Moon Mars |
The table is hard to memorize and so, we will try to use what we have learnt about the family to see if this table makes sense.
Let us start with the friendship column. This follows the team dynamics for the most part. Sun, Mars, and Jupiter like the others in Team A. Venus and Saturn like the others in Team B. The exceptions are Moon and Mercury.
Moon
Moon is compassionate and so likes one graha in each team. From Team A, Moon picks the Sun (Queen picking the King). From Team B, Moon picks her son, the Prince (Mercury). So, the Moon picks her husband and son.
Mercury
Mercury is a rebel and also picks one graha from each team. He dislikes his mother, the Moon and cannot stand the advises and drills from Jupiter and Mars. So, Mercury picks Sun from Team A. The Machiavellian, Venus is always trying to influence the Prince and so is always friendly to the Prince. Mercury picks Venus from Team B.
The enemy column also follows the team dynamic, but not all grahas in the other team are enemies to a given graha.
Sun
Sun, the King, does not like the scheming Venus and dislikes his illegitimate son, Saturn. He is neutral to the Prince, Mercury. Moon is compassionate, and so does not dislike anyone.
Mars
Mars does not like the rebellious Prince, Mercury. He is neutral to the industrious Saturn and the scheming Venus, both qualities that are needed for a Commander in Chief.
Jupiter
Jupiter, also has problems with the Prince, Mercury. He also dislikes his peer, Venus, who is constantly trying to undermine him. Jupiter is neutral to the hardworking and law abiding Saturn.
Mercury does not like his mother, the Moon. Mercury is neutral to the authoritative figures in his life; Sun, Jupiter, and Mars.
Venus
Venus always wants the position of Jupiter and dislikes the King (Sun) and Queen (Moon) for not giving him the position. He is neutral to the benevolent Jupiter.
Saturn
Saturn, being an illegitimate son, dislikes most of the members of Team A (Sun, Moon, and Mars). He, however, is also law abiding and is neutral towards Jupiter.
Very simple explanation. good