Drishti — How Planets See Other Houses
A planet doesn't only affect the house it sits in — it also "looks at" other specific houses across the chart. This is called drishti (aspect). A benefic's drishti supports the targeted house; a malefic's drishti afflicts it.
The general rule
Every planet aspects the 7th house from its position with full strength. Some planets have additional special aspects:
| Planet | Houses aspected |
|---|---|
| Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus | 7th only |
| Mars | 4th, 7th, 8th |
| Jupiter | 5th, 7th, 9th |
| Saturn | 3rd, 7th, 10th |
| Rahu, Ketu | 5th, 7th, 9th (some traditions only) |
Example
If Saturn is in House 1 (Lagna), it aspects houses 3 (siblings/courage), 7 (marriage), and 10 (career). Result: each of those areas carries Saturn's "patience-test" flavor.
Sign aspects (Rashi drishti)
The Jaimini system uses a different model where rashis aspect other rashis directly:
- Movable signs (Aries/Cancer/Libra/Capricorn) aspect all fixed and dual signs — except their immediate neighbor.
- Fixed signs aspect all movable signs — except their immediate neighbor.
- Dual signs aspect all other dual signs.
Mainstream Vedic readings primarily use planetary drishti. Rashi drishti is an advanced reading concept, used heavily in Jaimini.