Understand Lagna and unlock the door to success

Lagna or Ascendant.

Your story begins with your Lagna or Ascendant. Learn to read the story and get ahead in life.

Have you ever thought why two people react differently to the same situation? Vedic Astrology has the most all-rounded answer: Your Ascendant or Lagna.

Table of Content

• What is Lagna or Ascendant in Vedic Astrology?
• What areas does Ascendant or Lagna define?
• Vedic Astrology’s fascinating facts about Lagna/Ascendent and its role.
• Lagna And Marriage: A Case Study Through Vedic Astrology

Look at this scenario:

SAME SITUATION. DIFFERENT RESPONSES

Imagine a boardroom where a meeting is in progress. The managers present the annual reports to the CEO. Some performance indicators are way off the mark, and there is a growing concern in the room as it seems clear that something must be done to rein in the wayward figures.

CEO A’s approach: They listen to all people in the room, consider the facts, make an impactful speech about accountability, and politely ask the managers to provide a new plan of action within 24 hours to meet target sales. They remain calm, composed and in command throughout the meeting, brooking no excuses, weak responses, or justifications. The message is clear: Shape up or else face the consequences.

CEO B’s approach: They listen but get impatient when the figures seem to be going off. They continuously interrupt the speaker, pointing out the flaws in their reasoning, and providing on the-spot-feedback. They express their displeasure at the poor sales and read the riot act. They have prepared the plan of action written in stone when the meeting ends. The message: You had your chance; now I’ll tell you what to do.

Both CEOs have different approaches based on their personalities.

No two fingerprints are identical; so also, no two Lagnas or Ascendents are the same. You may be Kanya Ascendant or Lagna, as are millions of people. Still, every Kanya Lagna horoscope is unique due to the planetary placements, degrees of planets, exaltation, debilitation, yogas, and divisional charts; the complexity of your birth chart is one of a kind. The same principle applies to all the 12 signs.

In short, according to Vedic Astrology, your personality is customized for you by your Lagna or Ascendant.

Understanding your Ascendant or Lagna is one of the first steps to interpreting a horoscope since it guides your intelligence. Your Ascendant or Lagna is the beacon that takes you to higher discrimination and sensibilities. In Hindi, we can say it is your Viveka, and the planet in your Ascendant or Lagna will dominate your intelligence. Let’s get to know the role of Lagna in our lives.

What is Lagna or Ascendant in Vedic Astrology?

Simply put, it is the degree of the rāśi (or sign) and Nakshatra (or constellation) – specifically the nakshatra pada (also known as the division of a zodiac into four different parts) – which is rising on the Eastern horizon at the time of one’s birth.

In Vedic Astrology or Jyotiṣa, the Ascendant is the first moment of contact between the soul and its new life on earth; it’s why a soul is declared a being. Does a soul have an ascendant? Ideally, it gets an ascendant when it enters a living creature (animal or human).

Please note: This concept of degree exactitude is what separates you from another being born at the same time in a different place. Unfortunately, dividing people into 12 signs based on birth dates per Western astrology may make for a good paperback, but it does not work in practice. Why? We are all created due to our backlog of Karmas, and even twins have different destinies.

What areas does Ascendant or Lagna define?

• It is your existence, health, and root karma.
• It’s your personality.
• It promotes your ability to think and decision-making skills.
• Ability to act.
• It’s the seat of your intelligence.
• It shapes your first response to any situation. (Calm/Hasty. Impulsive/Thoughtful. Angry/ Cool., etc.).
• It influences your likes and tastes.
• It determines your essential character, which adapts to time-based on Dashas.
• Ascendant or Lagna impacts Viveka. Viveka means more than intelligence; and it’s a higher realm that brings awareness, the ability to go deeper into an issue, to discriminate.        
• It defines the purpose of your life.

Have you heard of the saying ‘Use your head’? How you use your head depends on your Ascendant or Lagna!

Have you come across people whose first response is confusion or jumping to the wrong conclusion? People invariably take the bad decision first and then spend time making amends. Why does this happen? It’s the Ascendant or Lagna at work.

Ascendant or Lagna represents your head. So, when you use your head, it’s the Lagna that’s pulling the strings. If you have a weak Ascendant or Lagna or your Lagna lord – also called Lagnesh – is soft, afflicted, or debilitated, your thoughts and responses will be fuzzy, off-base or simply wrong. It’s as if the Ascendant or Lagna lord is frozen into inaction.

People with a strong Ascendant or Lagna or a Lagna lord in a favourable placement in the birth chart have clear, assertive communication, like an arrow hitting its target.

Only remedies can help mitigate the effects of a weak Ascendant or Lagna.

The moral of the story is? The lord of the Ascendant and its position are critical to shaping your personality.

Understanding Lagna/Ascendant is the first step to knowing your thinking ability.

The position of your Ascendant or Lagna lord in the horoscope determines your thought process. The planets in your ascendant are the activities/people who are always on your case.

For example, if your ascendant lord is in the 6th House of enemies, your instinct is to attack your enemy. On the other hand, if your 6th House lord is in your Ascendant, your enemies will constantly attack you, and you need to be ready to face it.

Vedic Astrology’s ground-rule about Ascendant or Lagna:

• Planets in your Lagna or Ascendant House = people’s expectations of/from you.
• Ascendant or Lagna in different signs/Houses in the birth chart: your expectations of people related to that House.

Wherever the Lagna lord is placed, that House receives more Agni or Fire element.It is an area of your expectation from others.

For example:

• If you are Aries Lagna and the 7^th House lord is Venus in Ascendant or Lagna, your partner will be a dominating person as the 7^th House denotes Partners, Marriage.
• If the 10th House lord is in Lagna, the person is always thinking about work as the 10th House relates to career.
• If the 2nd House lord is in Lagna, the individual always thinks about family or food because the 2nd House represents family and food.
• If Lagna Lord is in the 6^th House, the person’s outlook is aggressive.
• If Lagna Lord is Aries, then Mars is Ruler of Aries.
• If Mars is in the 7th House, you expect a lot from your spouse, and you will be the dominating person.

Vedic Astrology’s fascinating facts about Lagna/Ascendent and its role.

Fame: Lagna can indicate fame. You will be famous if Lagna lord is in Lagna or aspects Lagna.

Notoriety: Lagna can also give you infamy. You must know people who become one-song wonders but get trolled and maligned. That’s the double-edged gift from Lagna. Or people who get known for scandals, murders, scams, well, that’s toxic fame, and Lagna can do that to you. A malefic planet in Lagna or a malefic Lagnesha can malign you.

Blunders! If Saturn aspects Lagna, you might make big blunders. If you have bad yogas in your birth chart generated by your Lagna, brace yourself for bad experiences.

Repairs: Ketu in Lagna will lead you to make mistakes, but you will understand the error and make amends.

State of play: The Avastha or Condition of Lagnesh in your birth chart is a strong indicator of your personality traits. If it is exalted, you will grow in integrity as you age.

Bright spot: The karaka or significator for Lagna is the Sun. Along with your Atmakaraka (the planet with the highest degree in your birth chart), it gives you fame and purpose in life.

Connect the dots: Planets aspecting Lagna and associating with Lagna are essential to study to predict the potential of your birth chart.

Timeline: Lagna, the 1^st House, is in a trine with the 5^th and 9^th Houses. These are known as the Trinal Houses, and they represent the Past (9^th House), Present (Lagna) and Future (5^th).

Pressure points: Planets in Lagna are the pressure points. If there are many planets in Lagna, you will reach great heights, but there will also be many expectations, depending on the planet and its significations. Giving and meeting expectations become your karma.

Tastemakers: Did you know that the planet in your Lagna defines your tastes in food? For example, Jupiter in Lagna makes you love sweets, and Surya in Lagna makes you crave spicy foods.

LAGNA AND MARRIAGE: A CASE STUDY THROUGH VEDIC ASTROLOGY

Here is an example of a couple’s chart fighting a divorce case.

The wife’s Lagna:

• She is Libra ascendant, and her Lagna lord Venus is in debility (in the 12^th House), which indicates brain-fade moments related to the 12th House. However, Venus being in the 12th House ensures marriage.

• Rahu is in Lagna as lord of the 5th House, so Kids, Future, etc., will be predominant in her head (Lagna). Rahu in Lagna is not welcome since it aspects 7th House of relationship/ finance, and Ketu in the 7th House indicates mistakes in marriage.

• The saving grace for debilitated Venus? It is aspected by Jupiter through Graha and Rashi Drishti, so she consulted an astrologer to help her.

The husband’s Lagna:

• It is brilliant since his Lagna lord is aspecting Lagna by Graha and Rashi Drishti. 2) However, he has two malefics in his 7th House, and it is a badhaka, too – the husband will tend to look at the wife as an obstacle, unable to see her positives. 3) He is an achiever due to various yogas, but his marriage will be a mess.

Can this marriage survive?

Their marriage is tough to sustain, and they are going through divorce proceedings.

So, what are the takeaways on Lagna/Ascendant?

• Your Lagna is what gifts you the natural tendency to think.

• Your Lagna lord signifies the direction of thought.

• Planets in Lagna define your pressures points/responsibilities.

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