What Determines the Strength of Exalted and Debilitated Planets: Understanding the Factors

There are many factors that can affect the strength of exalted and debilitated planets, and also change their operational comfort.  In this post, we will see what these factors are and how they affect the strength of an exalted and debilitated planet.

Exalted and Malefic Planet Being in Conjunction

If an exalted planet and a malefic planet are in conjunction with each other, the malefic planet will afflict the exalted planet, due to which the latter may lose a part of its strength in fighting the affliction. How much strength is lost depends on the strength of the planet that afflicts it and the closeness of the conjunction. 

For instance, if a benefic exalted Sun is afflicted by malefic debilitated planet, Saturn in Aries, the affliction will not cause much damage since the afflicting planet is very weak in Aries. But if the benefic exalted Sun is afflicted by malefic Jupiter in Aries, the affliction will be stronger because Jupiter is comfortable in Aries.

On the other hand, if malefic Mars affects the exalted Sun in Aries, it will become a serious issue because Mars is strong in Aries and will cause significant damage to the strength and also to other significance of the exalted Sun. The closer Mars is to the Sun in Aries, the weaker will be the exalted Sun. 

Exalted Planet is in Conjunction with Benefic Planet

If an exalted planet is in conjunction with a benefic planet, it will gain more strength because the other planet will provide more strength to an exalted planet. This is only applicable if both planets are beneficial. 

So if a malefic planet is placed in conjunction with a benefic planet, their energies will start counteracting with each other because a malefic exalted planet will try to afflict the benefic planet. The benefic planet will also try to counteract the energy of the exalted planet to protect itself. This process will lead to both planets losing some of their energy and, hence, becoming weaker. 

When the exalted planet is benefic, the strength gained by it will depend on the strength of the benefic planets. Let us take an example. If benefic exalted Mercury is placed in Virgo with debilitated Venus, it will not benefit much owing to Venus’ weakness. 

But if benefic exalted Mercury is placed in Virgo with benefic Saturn, it will achieve more strength since Saturn is strong in Virgo. Similarly, if benefic exalted Mercury is placed in Virgo with benefic exalted Rahu, both planets will strengthen each other because both are benefic and strong.

In the case of a debilitated planet, if a strong benefic planet is placed with it, it will gain considerable strength. But if placed with a weak benefic planet, the debilitated planet will not gain much strength. For instance, if a debilitated Venus is placed in Virgo along with benefic Mars, it will not gain much strength since Mars is not comfortable in Virgo. However, if the benefic debilitated Venus is placed in Virgo with benefic Saturn or Mercury, it will gain significant strength since both the planets are strong in Virgo. 

This concept is also true for affliction to a debilitated planet by a malefic planet. The stronger the malefic planet, the weaker will be the debilitated planet. So if a debilitated Sun is placed in Libra along with malefic exalted Saturn, this combination may cause disasters for the individual because the Sun may get extremely weak due to the affliction. 

Since the Sun represents our immunity and lifeline, bad things may happen to the natives if the rest of the horoscope is not strong. Similarly, the strength of a debilitated planet can be calculated when it is present in combination with more than one planet.

Combustion

The phenomenon of combustion also affects the strength of exalted and debilitated planets. When a planet gets extremely close to the Sun, the planet becomes combustible and loses some of its power. All planets undergo combustion except the Sun, Rahu, and Ketu. This means if one of the planets is debilitated or exalted, you need to check whether it is a combust planet or not. 

The sign in which the combustion occurs is also another key factor. For instance, a planet will receive maximum combustion effect in Aries because the Sun is exalted in Aries. Saturn is the only planet that gets debilitated in Aries, thus causing additional weakness for Saturn. 

Placement of Exalted or Debilitated Planet in the Navamsha Chart

Though not a major factor, it can still change the results to some extent. So, if an exalted planet is debilitated in Navamsha, also called D9, it will not remain strong. 

Takeaway 

Therefore, all of these aspects should be kept in mind when assessing the strength of an exalted or debilitated planet. An experienced astrologer will take all of these factors into consideration when checking the strength of exaltation and the debilitation of planets in a horoscope.