Last Updated on July 30, 2020 by astrologerbydefault

There are so many ways you can use your horoscope to pull even more information. And because there are not many Jyotishis left who know and then who actually use these techniques, we are missing out on these tiny nuances of analysis. Here is the Argala of Jyotish to pique your interest.

Argala means a bolt, latch, impediment or check, and as a concept is quite simple to use. It gives valuable insights which you might miss out in your regular analysis. Use the basic birth chart D-1 for Argala analysis.

A very simple example, if you have a client with problems with his mother, naturally you will check out the 4th house, birth moon and everything to do with it to come to a conclusion. But still you are not satisfied and the situation does not tally with the charts check the argala/obstructing forces on the 4th house (and the moon too). The astrological concept is this..

1. The 2nd, 4th and 11th houses counted from a house or a planet are its principal argala/obstruction. The planets and signs here and their powers will influence the potential of the house under consideration.

• The planets placed in the 12th can nullify the argala of 2nd house.
• The planets placed in the 10th can oppose the argala presented by the 4th house.
• The planets in the 3rd can nullify the argala presented by the 11th house.

1. The 5th and 8th from a house or a planet present the minor argala/obstacle to the matters of that house.

• The minor argala presented by the 5th house can be nullified by the sign/planet placed in the 9th house.
• And finally the minor argla of the 8th will be nullified by the position in the 6th house.

This may have sounded very confusing but its quite simple. Let’s continue our simple example just to get you thinking about this topic. ‘Someone not getting along with his mother.’

From the 4th house the house second is the 5th house. Obviously in his interactions with his mother, if this person is only about his own good times (topics of the natural 2nd) which in his chart are represented by the planets in the 5th (also ego, self-referential behaviours, selfishness etc seen from here), the interactions with the mother represented by the 4th are going to suffer. These tensions can be less or more depending on the number/strength of the planets placed in 5th.

• Now the obstruction represented by the 5th (second from the 4th house) will be nullified by the planets positioned in the twelfth from 4th, i.e. the 3rd house. If there are strong planets here they will make this person to be of some service to his mother in some way, eg take her to family or community functions. This person may feel like this is an imposition on him but doing this will immensely improve his relationship with his mother.

The next obstruction will be presented by the situation in the house counted fourth  from the house under analysis. So fourth from 4th is the 7th house. (topics of the 7th include spouse, partnerships etc). Naturally if the 7th is strong with several planets placed here to reinforce it, the arrival of the wife/husband will diminish the relationship with the mother drastically. Also if the person does a lot of business with a lot of partners the relationship with the mother will be obstructed.

• So this obstruction presented by the fourth from house concerned, will be countered by the house counted tenth from the house. So tenth counted from 4th is the 1st house/ascendant sign. So if this 1st house is strong enough with strong planet placements, the obstacle presented by the 7th house on the matters of the 4th house/mother will diminish. If the person has a strong personality he will not let the spouse/partnership dominate his relationship with his mother.

The third argala on matters of the 4th/relationship with the mother is to be seen from the power of the house counted eleventh from the 4th, i.e. the 2nd house. This is also quite logical, the eleventh from house represents the larger landscape, interactions with wider groups and income/gains of that house. In this case, if the planets placed in the 2nd house are strong enough the relationship with the mother will be placed secondary to the benefits/gains/resources that he will get from her. Also he will prefer interacting with a larger group of maternal figures in his family (matters of the 2nd house) rather than his personal mother.

• This obstacle will be nullified by the planets and power of the house counted third from 4th, i.e. the 6th house. If these planets are strong enough they will create situations where the person will be required to again be of service to his mother, especially in common interactions in the extended family and in the neighbourhood.

This was a very simplistic example of how argala works in Jyotish. This is a very useful concept and is used in birth chart analysis and also in Prashana. It is more important in Prashna and should be always used before coming to a conclusion here.

Do remember that a single placement can never be used for drawing conclusions. Astrology is about learning to recognise patterns. Nothing is fixed in stone, it is never absolute. These patterns show tendencies and probablities. Absolute results cannot be predicted ever. Humans have free will and if you can recognise the pattern and the freedom of choice that you have in it, you can change the course of events, always!

Vedic Jyotish is like the bottomless ocean, you can keep learning for a lifetime and even several lifetimes, it is very enjoyable. You have so many precise tools in your hands which you use to unravel the mystery of your own self!