Logic behind the concept of temporary enemies

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Planets in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th and 12th sign from a planet are considered "temporary friends" whereas planets in the same sign, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th from a planet are considered "temporary enemies".

Some of this is counter-intuitive as you would expect planets in the 12th from a place to be an enemy and planets in the 5th and 9th to be a friend, purely from the nature of of those houses.

And also consider that Jupiter will only aspect it's temporary enemies through it's 5th and 9th special aspect, this also seems counter-intuitive.

What is the logic/reasoning behind considering these placements friendly or unfriendly and how does one reconcile this concept for instance with the fact that Jupiter only aspects it's temporary enemies?

And how do people actually apply this, for instance I have been told that an Mahadasha and Antardasha lord relationship of 2/12 is generally unfavourable yet this is a temporary friendship.

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holdorflod,

i was interested in an answer to your question too and so i asked aj, a poster who is unable to post here due the fact the certificates for skyscript are out of date and mess with the security features on his computer.. here is aj's answer on your question... hopefully this is of some value to you as it is to me..

"This is to answer queries from a post on Skyscript sent to me by James. [I am no longer active at all on Skyscript.] See my answers below the broken out quotes from the post.

‘Planets in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th and 12th sign from a planet are considered "temporary friends" whereas planets in the same sign, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th from a planet are considered "temporary enemies".’

Let me start by saying Relationships between the planets have different schools of thought and systems from the simple to the complex. Almost all texts use Parashara’s system you quoted above and as expounded in BPHS (Brihat Parahara Hora Shastra).

Most Jyotishis tend to ignore temporary friendships and only consider natural friendships or use one based on the simple dignities due to the obscurity of the logic of temporary relationships. So you are not alone in your perplexity.

This is a complex system. That's why you need all of the tables in front of you to keep track.

Temporary friendships are not meant to be used independently but used with natural friendships to determine the Panchadha or Compound friendship.

‘Some of this is counter-intuitive as you would expect planets in the 12th from a place to be an enemy and planets in the 5th and 9th to be a friend, purely from the nature of of those houses.’

I would agree, the temporary friendship system is not intuitive.

Like Parashara’s exaltation scheme of the planets, the natural friendship scheme does have a logic. It is complex and at times seemingly contradictory but does make mostly sense whereas the temporary one is obscure.

It would take a whole article to explain but the natural friendship scheme but simply as it can be described is based on the mooltrikona signs of the Grahas and cause of friendship by the lordship of houses. See BPHS chapter 3.

I must admit the logic of the temporary scheme has me perplexed too other than it is clearly based on the relative relationship between two planets in a given chart. What that is based on is Parashara’s little secret.

And also consider that Jupiter will only aspect it's temporary enemies through it's 5th and 9th special aspect, this also seems counter-intuitive.

See my answer above, this is a good point. Clearly, other criteria are being used by Parashara in the temporary scheme or it is just a cerebral muddle perpetrated just because it is in BPHS.

Planetary aspects are not included in the friendship system but planetary friendship is just one consideration in analyzing a planet’s strength/role or dignity.

Note in the natural scheme Jupiter is not disliked by any Graha (planet).

What is the logic/reasoning behind considering these placements friendly or unfriendly and how does one reconcile this concept for instance with the fact that Jupiter only aspects it's temporary enemies?

As noted above, the natural relationship (Nitya) I have no problem with for the most part, but the temporary is out of my reckoning other than it seemed important to end up with six friendship places and six enemy places.

And how do people actually apply this, for instance I have been told that an Mahadasha and Antardasha lord relationship of 2/12 is generally unfavourable yet this is a temporary friendship.

A lot of these rules in Jyotish should never be applied in isolation.

The final result is the sum of the natural and temporal friendship. This is then specific to a particular chart and is one factor to determine the dignity of a planet. All other Avasthas, placement, sign, aspects etc. are then weighed against each other. This is difficult until a lot of experience is reached that's why systems like Shadbala, Vimshopak Ashtakavarga etc. are popular.

As an aside, BPHS is not the end-all of Jyotish texts and principles. In fact, it should be approached with a lot of caution as at least the current text we have does not have an ancient provenance. Whole swaths of BPHS are clearly later additions and/or spoiled. This has been elaborated on elsewhere on Skyscript.

I would put to you that the elaborate Friendship/Enmity scheme is corrupted or an attempt to apply a theory/principle that was little understood by an editor of the current BPHS text that we have.

Don’t get too bogged down in this. All the Jyotishis I know don't use temporary relationships, myself included. My Jyotish gurus never gave it any weight much either preferring the natural relationship scheme or others.

It just keeps getting regurgitated into all of the modern texts, its a redundant concept IMO.

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i would also like to add my own comment on your question which is an indirect answer to your question, but might help put it in context as well...

i am reading a book by vinay aditya called 'practical ashtakavarga'.. a similar system is used for arriving at a point system for understanding greater strengths or weaknesses in a chart thru this system... aditya states on page 3 on the basic calculations chapter the following.. "The Table-1 on page 4 has to be referred to as the standard table, to mak the benefic positions for all horoscopes. The rationale behind this table is lost in the dust of time."

it draws into question the whole basis for ashtakavarga as i see it.. however, those who use ashtakavarga will vouch for its usefulness..the book is quite good and does a convincing job in this regard.. i am 1/2 way thru the book and would recommend it if anyone is interested in this particular stream of indian astrology.. the author wrote a book previously on ashtakavarga called 'the dots of destiny'... in the book i have the author claims you don't need to have his first book to understand what he lays out in his views on ashtakavarga..