Question 1

How does an astrologer judge whether a chart is strong or weak other than having good yogas?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I personally do that analysis as a first step. Judging the foundation of the horoscope is very important to access the overall strength of the horoscope. All yogas will work to the extent in which the foundation is strong. Let me give some thumb rule here,

Trine(1st house, 5th house, and 9th house) are like the foundation of the horoscope. Unless the foundation is strong, a building can’t survive long. In a similar way, strong Trine lord or benefic aspection of Trine house indicate that native will have an overall good life.
Kendra(1st house, 4th house, 7th house, and 10th house) are like pillars of the horoscope, Kendra occupied by benefic is considered auspicious. So benefic planet occupying or aspecting Kendra is another point to consider to see if the horoscope is strong.
Lagna represents self, a strong Lagna lord itself is a clear indication that native will come up in life without much odds. Dusthana houses(6th house, 8th house, and 12th house) without any planet itself is a good sign. There is a popular saying that “Without illness is the greatest wealth”. So 6th house(represents disease) free from affliction is much better than having Dhana Yoga and afflicted 6th house.
Last but not least dasha bukti, even if some of the planets are afflicted and the corresponding dasha doesn’t come for the native then native will not see much impact of bad dasha. On other hands if one planet(say Venus) is much afflicted and comes in middle life(say for 20 years) then most of the time in precious age will be difficult.

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Question 2

How can I learn astrology from the Internet? What are the best sources (books) regarding astrology?

Accepted Answer

Any day learning astrology with proper Guru will be more effective, the very reason for this is astrology is such a vast subject with so many resource available today you can easily carried away by irrelevant information. Having said that, you can also learn from online resource but don’t hesitate to validate them with your personal experience.

The books by Dr.B.V. Raman and K.N. Rao are best resource to get started, both of their books are detail and rational. You could also learn from their training institutes. KN Rao founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Dr. B.V. Raman founded “Indian council for astrological studies” to help people learn this divine subject.

Except few YouTube channels I don’t recommend any other, as I observe many of them repeat the concepts that are already detailed in books.

Few important tips here,

Take ample time to read the concepts and never rush through the concepts.
It is normal to apply the concepts to your own chart, but don’t over do it. It is natural to decode our own birth chart first, but if someone over do it then their learning would stop.
Check as many horoscope as possible and validate the concepts you learn.
Never hesitate to break the traditional concept, if with your repeated interpretation found something new share with larger audience.
Never learn this divine subject with intention to make money. If you master this subject and have strong intention to help people then money will become byproduct.
Research, Research and Research. If someone have passion they can find astrological combination for anything.
Last but not least, use the subject to spread positive energy in the world. Help people to identify good and bad time to accelerate or apply brakes in their life. Don’t use this divine subject to fear people.

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How does an astrologer judge whether a chart is strong or weak other than having good yogas?

How can I learn astrology from the Internet? What are the best sources (books) regarding astrology?

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