Reading one placement

How do I read "Mars in Leo" or "Jupiter in the 10th"?

Every line in a chart is a sentence: a planet (who) in a sign (how) in a house (where). Beginners read one word and stop. A careful reading asks the same short list of questions every time.

Planet in a sign: Mars in Leo

• The planet's nature: Mars is energy, courage, action.
• The sign's nature: Leo is proud, warm, a leader. So: bold, dramatic, wants to lead from the front.
• Dignity: Leo is ruled by the Sun, a friend of Mars, so Mars is comfortable here.
• The sign lord: how strong is the Sun? Mars can only do as well as its landlord allows.
• The house it falls in for this chart, its aspects, its nakshatra (Magha, Purva Phalguni or Uttara Phalguni), its degree (early, middle or late) and its overall strength.

Planet in a house: Jupiter in the 10th

• Natural meaning: Jupiter is wisdom, teaching, growth, advice.
• House meaning: the 10th is career and reputation. So: a career with a teaching, advising or guiding flavour, and a respected name.
• The sign Jupiter is in there (exalted in Cancer for Libra rising; debilitated in Capricorn for Aries rising: the same house, very different results).
• The houses Jupiter rules for this lagna: their matters get pulled into the career.
• The 10th lord: where it sits and how strong it is.
• Aspects on Jupiter, its nakshatra, dignity, strength, any yoga it is part of, and whether its dasha or a transit is switching it on.

House lord analysis: the ten questions

For any house, the most useful habit in Vedic astrology is to follow its lord:

reading a sentence instead of one word. "Mars" tells you little; "a confident Mars, in a friend's sign, in the house of career, looked at by Jupiter, in its own period" tells a story.