All 52 chapters
  1. Part 1 · The sky and the chart
  2. The sky above us
  3. Time and place of birth
  4. Two zodiacs
  5. How a chart is drawn
  6. Part 2 · The building blocks
  7. The 9 planets
  8. The 12 signs
  9. The 27 nakshatras
  10. The 12 houses
  11. The lagnas
  12. Part 3 · How planets work together
  13. How planets interact
  14. Friends, dispositors, exchanges
  15. House lords
  16. Reading one placement
  17. Part 4 · Strength and condition
  18. Dignity in depth
  19. A planet's mood
  20. Planetary strength
  21. Ashtakavarga in depth
  22. Part 5 · Patterns: yogas and doshas
  23. Yogas
  24. Doshas
  25. Part 6 · The nakshatras up close
  26. Reading a nakshatra
  27. Tara Bala
  28. Part 7 · Divisional charts
  29. Divisional charts
  30. Navamsa in depth
  31. Part 8 · Timing
  32. Dashas
  33. Transits
  34. The annual chart (Tajika)
  35. Part 9 · Relationships
  36. Compatibility
  37. Marriage in depth
  38. Part 10 · Advanced systems
  39. Special points
  40. Jaimini astrology
  41. Arudha padas
  42. KP astrology
  43. Nadi astrology
  44. Part 11 · Choosing the moment
  45. Panchanga
  46. Muhurta
  47. Prashna (horary)
  48. Part 12 · Life areas
  49. Career, money and business
  50. Travel, abroad, spirituality
  51. Health and longevity
  52. Karma and past lives
  53. Remedies
  54. Rectifying a birth time
  55. Part 13 · Western astrology
  56. Western astrology basics
  57. Aspects and chart shapes
  58. Western prediction
  59. Synastry
  60. Horary and electional
  61. Part 14 · The wider world
  62. Mundane astrology and eclipses
  63. Astrocartography and branches
  64. Part 15 · Putting it all together
  65. How it all fits
  66. How AstroMatch4u scores a chart
  67. Using astrology well
Part 10Advanced systems
CHAPTER 31

Arudha padas: your image

Who am I, versus who do people think I am?

A house shows the reality of something. Its arudha ("mounted", like a reflection) shows the perception: what the world sees, believes and responds to. Wealth in the 2nd house is your money; wealth in the arudha of the 2nd is how rich you look. Both matter, because people react to the image.

How to find an arudha

Step 1Countfrom the house to its lord
Step 2Count againthe same number from the lord
Exception1st or 7th?if you land on the house itself or the 7th from it, take the 10th from there

Example: Aries rising; Mars (lord of the 1st) is in the 4th house, Cancer. Count 4 from Aries to Cancer, then 4 more from Cancer: Libra. Libra is the 7th from Aries, so the exception applies: the 10th from Libra is Cancer. The Arudha Lagna is Cancer.

The twelve padas

PadaNameThe image of…
A1Arudha LagnaYou: reputation, status, how you come across
A2Dhana padaYour visible wealth and family standing
A3Vikrama padaYour courage, media presence, initiatives people see
A4Matri / Sukha padaYour home, property and vehicles as others see them
A5Mantra padaYour creations, followers, children and name for intelligence
A6Shatru padaVisible enemies, disputes and illnesses
A7Dara padaPartners and business dealings in the public eye
A8Mrityu padaHidden matters, chronic problems, scandals
A9Bhagya padaYour fortune, dharma and father's standing
A10Rajya padaYour career and professional status
A11Labha padaYour gains, network and income as seen
A12UpapadaYour marriage as the world sees it, and its staying power

How they are used

  • Fame and status: planets in kendras from the A1 and A10; the 11th from the A1 shows how gains flow in, the 12th from it what drains away.
  • Business: the relation between the A1 and the A7 (you and your trading partners).
  • Marriage: the Upapada, its lord and the 2nd from it (the marriage's continuation).

a shop's sign board compared with what is inside. A great shop with a poor board gets few customers; a fancy board on an empty shop gets them once.

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