A planet in a Vedic chart does not only act where it sits. It also looks at other signs, and what it sees is touched by its nature. That look is called drishti, literally sight, and the planetary version is graha drishti. The rule that every learner meets first is the simplest of them: every planet looks at the 7th sign from itself, straight across the chart.
This page sets out how to count that aspect, what it does and does not mean, and what each planet is read as sending across. The special aspects of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn come on top of it and have their own pages, linked below.
How to count it
Count the sign the planet is in as the first, then count forward. The 7th sign is the one directly opposite, 180 degrees away. A planet in Aries looks at Libra. A planet in Cancer looks at Capricorn. A planet in Pisces looks at Virgo.
Because the count is by sign and not by degree, the planet in the 1st house looks at the 7th house, the planet in the 2nd looks at the 8th, and so on in pairs: 1 and 7, 2 and 8, 3 and 9, 4 and 10, 5 and 11, 6 and 12. The look is mutual in position, since each of a pair is the 7th from the other, but only planets sitting there do the looking. An empty sign looks at nothing.
The rule applies to the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have extra aspects as well, covered in Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Whether Rahu and Ketu look anywhere is disputed, and that has its own page.
Full strength, and what that means
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, the main classical text, teaches graha drishti as a matter of fractions: a planet looks at some places a quarter, a half or three-quarters, and at the 7th in full. The 7th is therefore the only aspect all planets share at full strength. The other fractions are explained in full and partial aspects.
Full strength is not the same as good or bad. It means the planet’s nature arrives undiluted. A benefic’s 7th look brings its supportive quality and a malefic’s brings its pressure, so the result depends on who is looking, from where, and at what.
What the look falls on
An aspect has two targets at once. It lands on the house (the sign as a department of life) and on any planets in that sign. Both matter, and aspects on houses and on planets shows how teachers use the difference.
A conjunction is a planet sitting with another. An aspect is a planet influencing from a distance. A conjunction is usually the stronger tie, which is why the conjunction library comes first in many readings, and the 7th aspect is the standard opposition-style link that completes the picture.
What each planet sends across
The lines below are the general readings most teachers share. They are themes, and the sign, house and dignity of the planet change them.
| Planet | Its 7th-sign look is read as |
|---|---|
| Sun | Light and scrutiny. Authority, self-regard or a push to be seen where it falls. |
| Moon | Care, receptivity and mood. Its look is gentler when the Moon is bright and waxing, and thinner when dark and waning. |
| Mercury | Curiosity, discussion and analysis. Its colour follows the company it keeps. |
| Venus | Warmth, taste and attraction. A softening look. |
| Mars | Drive and directness. Energy and sometimes friction. |
| Jupiter | Guidance, protection and expansion. The most widely welcomed look. |
| Saturn | Seriousness, limits and patience. It slows and steadies what it watches. |
Some teachers add that a planet’s look is stronger when it is a friend of the planet it sees, using the friendship table of Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. The table is not symmetrical, and it describes temperament, not outcome.
An example of reading one
Take a Cancer ascendant with Jupiter in the 1st house, in Cancer, and Venus in the 4th house, in Libra. Jupiter looks at the 7th sign, Capricorn, and the 7th house with it. Venus in the 4th looks at the 10th house. The first look is protective and carries growth to partnership and public life. The second brings taste and ease to the career side. This is a reading by theme, not a forecast: the same arrangement is read differently once the dignity of Jupiter, the lordships for that ascendant and the running dasha are added.
A habit that helps in practice is to work backwards. If you notice a house that seems quiet in a chart, check which planets sit in its 7th. Their look is often what gives that house its tone.
How planets look at their own opposite
Since the aspect is mutual by position, two planets in opposite signs look at each other. This is the mutual aspect and it is read as a tie as strong as a conjunction by many teachers. Read about it in mutual aspects. The Sun and Saturn in opposite signs, for instance, are a distant version of the pair in the Sun and Saturn conjunction, carrying the same theme across the chart instead of in one place.
Checking it in your chart
- Note the sidereal sign of each planet. The planet position calculator gives sign, degree and house.
- For each, count to the 7th sign and note who sits there.
- Check whether it is mutual, which the opposite planet will confirm.
- Think about the nature of each planet and its dignity.
- Add the special aspects of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, then follow the steps in how to read aspects in a chart.
To see how a planet reads in each house, use the guides for the Sun, Moon and the others in the house library, and the aspects hub for the rest of this series.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Which planet aspects the 7th house?
All of them. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn each look at the 7th sign from where they sit, with full strength. Opinions on the nodes differ.
↳ Is the 7th aspect good or bad?
Neither by itself. It carries the nature of the planet that casts it, so a benefic brings support and a malefic brings pressure, and the dignity of both planets modifies the result.
↳ Is an aspect the same as a conjunction?
No. A conjunction is two planets in one sign. An aspect is influence across signs. Most teachers treat a conjunction as the closer and stronger tie.
↳ Do aspects work by degree or by sign?
The Parashari method counts by sign, and a closer degree gap adds strength. Some modern schools use degree orbs. The page on aspects on houses and planets compares them.
↳ Does an empty house receive an aspect?
Yes. A planet looks at the sign, so the house receives the aspect whether or not a planet sits there. The house lord's condition then matters as well.