Which planet affects which other planet unilaterally?

Unilateral Aspects in Vedic Astrology

 by Hank Friedman

In Vedic astrology, eery planet aspects all of the planets in the same house and in the opposite
house! Howeer, in addition to these aspects, "ars, #u piter, and $aturn hae special aspects!

Mars aspects four houses forward, which Western

Western astrologers might call the forward s%uare, and
eight houses forward!

Saturn aspects ten houses forward &' four houses backwards(, which
wh ich Western
Western astrologers might
call the backward s%uare, and three houses forward, which Western
Western astrologers might call the
forward se)tile!

Finally Jupiter aspects five and nine houses forward, which might be called trinal aspects by
Western
We stern astrologers! I!e! #upiter aspects all planets in the same element as itself!

 *ote+ Always
Always count the house "ars, $aturn, or #upiter occupies when looking for their special
aspects! !g! if $aturn is in -isces, three houses forward is .aurus &not /emini(!

When "ars, $aturn, or #upiter aspects a planet with one of their special aspects they 0see0 the
 planet but the planet does not see them! In other words, the influence is one1sided or unilateral!
!g! "ars casting its special aspect influences the o ther planet, but the other planet does not
influence "ars!

.here are two e)ceptions to this rule+

2! If "ars, #upiter, or $aturn is in the sign ruled by the planet they are casting their special
aspect on, then both planets influence each other &there is no unilateral influence(! For e)ample,
if "ars is in 3ancer and the "oon is in 4ibra, then "ars casts its special aspect on the "oon, but
 because "ars occupies the sign ruled by the "oon, it is also influenced by the "oon, i!e! they
mutually influence each other!

5! .he second e)ception is less common and uni%ue+ since "ars aspects four forward and
$aturn four backward , if "ars is four houses behind $aturn, they mutually aspect each other!
!g! "ars in $corpio and $aturn in A%uarius! In this case, they influence each other e%ually!

When Mars, Saturn, or Jupiter aspect another planet unilaterally by special aspect, their
influence is more powerful than when they occupy the same or opposite house as the
planet.

.he special aspects of these three planets are a uni%ue circumstance where one planet can hae a
ma6or affect upon another planet! $ince eery planet is the owner or lord of specific houses, the
influence of special aspects extends to the houses ruled by the target planet !

th
For e)ample, if $aturn special aspects the "oon, and the "oon is the lord of the 27 house, then
the career will be delayed, impeded, or in someway diminished by $aturn8s special aspect on its
lord!

$ince specific houses &and planets( also represent p eople &see the table below(, the unilateral
special aspect of "ars, #upiter, or $aturn upon the planet that represents a person can indicate a
strong affect upon that person!

Theme ixed Significator Temporal Significator

th
Father $un 4ord of the 9 house
"other "oon 4ord of the :th house
rd
;ounger $ibling "ars 4ord of the < house
th
=lder $ibling #upiter   4ord of the 22 house
3hild #upiter   4ord of the >th house
th
$pouse Venus 4ord of the  house
th
Vehicle Venus 4ord of the : house
th
-roperty "ars &@ $aturn( 4ord of the : house
th
/uru #upiter   4ord of the 9 house
th
Foreigners ahu 4ord of the 25 house

As the aboe table indicates, if a person has #upiter special aspecting the lord of the :th house,
they may hae better e)periences with their "other, property, and ehicles! If they hae "ars
special aspecting Venus, on the other hand, they may hae more ehicular accidents, and more
arguments with their spouse, since Venus is the Fi)ed $ignificator of both!

)tending this concept further, people who are signified in our charts by a planet that has a
special aspect upon our First House 11 or the 4ord of the First House 11 will affect us strongly!

For e)ample, if $aturn is the lord of the Fourth House, then it signifies the person8s "other! If 
$aturn as the Fourth 4ord has a special aspect on the lord of the First House 11 which represents
the person themseles 11 then that person8s "other has a ery strong impact on them!

Bo Cerek, the American star of the moie !" , is an interesting e)ample of this principle! As a
young girl, she was photographed for years by her adertising agent father, who pushed her
into auditions, etc!, and een introduced her to her husband &at the age of 2>(!

th
 *otice that "ars in her chart, the planet that represents her father &because it rules the 9 house(
th st
has a special &D ( aspect on the planet that represents her &#upiter, lord of the 2 house(! .his
indicates that she would be significantly influenced by her father! $ince people often re1enact
 patterns from childhood, it is no wonder that at the age of 2> she would meet #ohn Cerek, a man
<7 years older &i!e! a father figure( who would hae a huge influence upon her life, and would
eentually marry him!

Another manifestation of special aspects occurs in people who hae AriesE$corpio,

$agittariusE-isces, or 3apricornEA%uarius rising! $ince the planet that represents them, "ars or
$aturn, is the planet that casts special aspects, they themseles will strongly affect others who are
signified by a planet that "ars or $aturn unilaterally aspects!

th
Henry Winkler has 3apricorn rising, and his $aturn special aspects the > lord Venus! He has
deoted much of his life towards haing a deep and positie impact on the lies of children!
For each rising sign, the rulers of the houses change! .he tables below show, for each Ascendant,
where the effects of special aspects may occur! #ut they will only happen if "ars, #upiter, or
$aturn special aspects the target planet!

 *ote+ #upiter is a benefic and $aturn and "ars are malefics! .herefore, the unilateral influence of 
$aturn or "ars is undoubtably much more challenging than the unilateral influence of #upiter,
and therefore more noticeable!

Because rulership of challenging houses can hae negatie effects, in the tables below I hae
colored the influencing planet red when it rules a challenging house &, D, or 25(, to indicate that
the special aspect of "ars, #upiter, or $aturn could be problematic!

.he -ossible Unilateral Influences of "ars for ach Ascendant

Ascendant -otential Influencer -lanetsE-eople potentially affected

Aries $elf   " other, 3hild, $pouse, Father $ibling

.aurus $pouse $elf 

/emini =lder $ibling $elf 

3ancer 3hild $elf 

4eo "other G Father   $elf 

Virgo ;ounger $ibling $elf 

4ibra $pouse $elf 

$corpio $elf   " othe r 3hild $pouse Father $ibling

$agittarius 3hild $elf 

3apricorn "other G =lder $ibling $elf 

A%uarius ;ounger $ibling $elf 

-isces Father   $elf 

)amples+

For a person with 3ancer rising, if "ars special aspects the "oon, their child will hae an
unusually strong impact and influence on them! A person with -isces rising who has "ars
special aspecting #upiter will be greatly impacted by their Father!

$omeone with 4ibra rising whose "ars special aspects their Venus will find themseles deeply
affected by their spouse, like /eorge Harrison on the ne)t page!
/eorge Harrison was enthralled by -attie Boyd and een proposed to her at their first meeting!
.hat he should be so affected by the person he would marry is clearly indicated by the
th
unilateral aspect of "ars &lord of the  house and therefore significator of his spouse( on his
st
Venus &the ruler of his 2 house and therefore significator of himself(!

.he -ossible Unilateral Influences of $aturn for ach Ascendant

Ascendant -otential Influencer -lanetsE-eople potentially affected

Aries =lder $ibling $elf 

.aurus Father   $elf 

/emini Father   $elf 

3ancer $pouse $elf 

4eo $pouse $elf 

Virgo 3hild $elf 

4ibra "other G 3hild $elf 

$corpio "other G ;ounger $ibling $elf 

$agittarius ;ounger $ibling $elf 

3apricorn $elf   " other 3hild $p ou se Fa ther $ib ling

A%uarius $elf   "other 3 hild $pouse Father $ibling

-isces =lder $ibling $elf 

It is ery important to emphasie, for e)ample, in the aboe table, that 6ust because a person has
Aries rising does not mean that they are controlled by their older sibling! It 6ust means th at since
$aturn represents the older sibling for an Aries rising chart, that if $aturn unilaterally aspects
"ars &ruler of the First House, representing oneself(, then the person will be under the influence
of their older sibling!

.he -ossible Unilateral Influences of #upiter for ach Ascendant

Ascendant -otential Influencer -lanetsE-eople potentially affected

Aries Father   $elf 

.aurus =lder $ibling $elf 

/emini $pouse $elf 

3ancer Father   $elf 

4eo 3hild $elf 

Virgo "other G $pouse $elf 

4ibra ;ounger $ibling $elf 

$corpio 3hild $elf 

$agittarius $elf   3 hild $pouse Father $ibling

3apricorn ;ounger $ibling $elf 

A%uarius =lder $ibling $elf 

-isces $elf   " other 3 hild $pouse Father $ibling

 *ote that for $agittarius rising, #upiter, the lord of the First House is also the lord of the Fourth
House! .his could mean that the person will influence their "other %uite beneficially, if #upiter 
th th th
special aspects the : house &by being in the D or 25 house(! When a planet aspects its own
sign, especially by its special aspect, the th emes of house become significantly augmented!J

rd
If a person has 4ibra rising, then the special aspect of #upiter &lord of the < house( on Venus
may mean that the younger sibling has a positie effect upon oneself! Howeer, if #upiter has a
 poor placement in the chart &e!g! combust, in a planetary war, debilitated, aspected by malefics(,
then the influence of the younger sibling might be minimal or een problematic &because #upiter 
th
is also the  lord for 4ibra rising, and that can represent competitie or adersarial
relationships(!

In other words, to be completely accurate in ealuating special aspects, the strength of "ars,
$aturn, or #upiter should be taken into account, and also the other house ruled by them
 th th th
&especially if that house is one of the challenging ones, i!e! the  , D , or 25 houses, which will
create problematic interactions(!

.he aboe tables reeal other interesting dynamics for each of the rising signs!

For e)ample, since the Ascendants AriesE$corpio and 3apricornEA%uarius hae "ars or $aturn
as First House rulers respectiely, &and the First House ruler represents the pe rson whose chart it
is( anyone with one of these rising signs may be more capable of unilateral influence oer others
&if "ars or $aturn as First House ruler actually has spec ial aspects another planet(! In other
words, they may affect others more than they are affected by them &when special aspects occur(!

For e)ample, if a person with 3apricorn rising has $aturn special aspecting #upiter, then the
rd
 person will strongly affect their younger sibling &because #upiter is the < house lord for a
3apricorn1rising chart(!

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

A final illustration of the principle, as briefly touched upon aboe, is that "ars, #upiter, and
$aturn can also strongly affect houses they special aspect!

.he charts aboe show the house placements for "ars, #upiter, and $aturn that will special
aspect the First House! When one of these planets does special aspects the First House, it will
strongly affect the person8s life, since the First House is the pree minent house, and represents
more than any other house the person themseles and their itality, ability to succe ed, resiliency
&capacity to bounce back from challenges(, how they are receied by others &popularity(,
common sense, temperament, and self1concept!

th th
eryone with "ars special aspecting the Ascendant &i!e! who hae "ars in the  or 27
houses(, will be more 0"artian0 in flaor! .hat may mean that they are likely to be %uicker,
sharper, more brus%ue and assertie, to run hot &-itta(, and to be more impulsie &all other chart
factors taken into account, of course(!

.hose with #upiter special aspecting the Ascendant may be more calm, positie, likeable, open,
lethargic &Kapha(, and steady!

With $aturn special aspecting the Ascendant, a person is likely to be a bit more nerous and
sensitie &Vata(, ulnerable, self1critical or self1doubting, cautious, and serious!

.his approach can, of course, be applied to any house &or pair of houses( that "ars, #upiter, or
th
$aturn special aspect, so that, for e)ample, anyone with $aturn in the  house, where it is strong
 because it has directional strength &Cig Bala( and special aspects both of the houses that
represent parents &the :th and the 9th( is likely to feel that their parents were distant or strict or
repressed or in some other way unaailable to them!

.he special aspects of "ars, #upiter, and $aturn are incredibly important a nd uni%ue factors in
Vedic astrology and should always be taken into account when ealuating a chart!