Planets occuring in the 7th House in a birth chart will affect an individual’s relationships with the qualities and motivation of that planet. Natural benefics (the Moon, Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter) won’t necessarily just be good for relationships. They could be afflicted, in challenging condition, or ruling difficult houses, bringing those challenges into relationships by house position. Similarly, natural malefics (Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu) in the 7th House don’t produce entirely difficult results all the time, challenging as they may be.

My Vedic Astrology mentor taught that it’s best when there’s no planet in the 7th House. “Think of a river,” she said. “When there’s no object in the way, the water flows without obstruction. Any planet in the 7th House becomes an object in the river that forces the water to have to go around it. The object interrupts its path.” If we understand the different energetics that each planet represents, then we can glimpse in what ways a planet in the 7th House will impact relationships.

Let’s take a quick look at what it might mean to have a planet in the 7th House.

Moon – When the Moon is in the 7th House, the person will have an innate sense of mothering towards their partners. If the Moon is afflicted, the mothering could turn into unstable smothering behavior, control or manipulation through the emotions. When unafflicted and in good condition, the Moon will give intuitive knowledge about Self through others and care, loving kindness, and (ultimately) unconditional love for the partner.

Sun – Let’s face it. The Sun is the planet of Self and ego. Sitting in the house of partnership or spouse is not the easiest location. In fact, its one of the hardest. One reason this is challenging is that the light and power of the Sun (especially if strong natally), is the ‘revealer’. Think of a beam of sunshine coming into your living room window and exposing the dust particles in the air, reminding you (without even saying anything!) that your place is a mess and needs to be cleaned. Having Sun in the 7th can put a uncomfortable spotlight on your partner, making it very important to have someone who understands this and is okay with the exposure. The radiant Sun in the 7th House can also make the native treat the partner like a king and put their self-interests and needs aside, if not careful. Still another reason the Sun is challenging here is that the person may spend most of their energy on themselves. Simply put, they might not be in touch with their partner’s emotional needs or they may become a leader (dictator at worst) rather than a teammate. This placement is not the end of the world and doesn’t mean partnerships are impossible. However, it takes mature individuals to navigate it. At its best, the Sun will bestow beauty and generosity to the partnership and help it thrive.

Mars – Did I say the Sun is the hardest planet to have in the 7th House? Wait, try Mars! All joking aside, Mars is another challenging planet for relationships. While Mars can support wonderful things- productive, constructive, and protective, Mars is also aggressive, defensive, wreckless, and impatient. There’s a condition in Vedic Astrology called Mangalik, which means that natal Mars is in or aspects the 7th House from the Ascendant, the Moon, and/or the Sun. Because it is considered from all three of these, it’s occurrence is common. Whoever has this Mangalik Mars in their chart is recommended to wait until after age 28 to marry. Most marriages with a Manglik partner end in divorce or have difficulties that often involve infidelity or violence and domestic abuse. The reasoning behind this difficulty, astrologically speaking, is that Mars hasn’t matured yet (hence the individual doesn’t have enough maturity to use Mars’ influence properly). It’s said that if someone who has Mangalik Mars married someone who is also Mangalik, the partnership can manage since both are ‘familiar’ with the Mars energy. Just how difficult the relationship would be and how able the partners would be willing to work through their issues depends on the signs Mars is in, the condition Mars is in, if Mars is receiving aspects from beneficial or challenging planets, and how each Mars is positioned from each other. For example, if both Mars are in the same sign, then the partners would resonate with their behavior and, for the most part, there would be an ease between them.

In upcoming blog posts, we’ll take a look at Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu and what their presence brings to relationships when located in the 7th House. In the meantime, what planet(s) are in your 7th House? If you have no planets there, look at the ruler of your 7th House: what sign is it in, what house is it located in? And – take it a step further- see if that ruling planet is involved in any planetary yogas. Is it aspected? If so, is the planet(s) who is making the aspect a natural benefic or malefic?

Lastly, think of your current and past relationships. Can you see how this planet(s) has played its role in your life, your choices and behavior- for better or worse? Then observe the Vimshottari Dasha timeline and check what planetary periods you were running during your relationships. If you’re in a stable, long-lasting partnership, use the timeline to see what was happening when you hit some bumps in the road, whether emotionally between the two of you, maybe something financial, or a family crisis. Any positive or challenging major life event (such as relocating, death of a family member, birth of a child, etc…) can be looked at. You just need the month and year for this. If you remember exact days, that’ll fine tune your review).

Renate Maria Bell is a certified Vedic Astrologer, Jyotish Visharada, and approved teacher with the Council of Vedic Astrology. She can be reached at renatembell@aol.com

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