☉ Sun in House I - Appearance and Health
Brigu Sutras
The Sun in the First House or Ascendant
Sutras 1-21-If the Sun is posited in the First House or Ascendant, the native will enjoy good health. He will be of bilious constitution and will suffer from diseases of the eye. He will be wise and of good conduct. He will have acidic stomach and will be bereft of knowledge and sense. He will be highly intelligent, will speak less, and will wander away from his native place. He will be happy. If the Sun is in Aries (that is in his sign of exaltation), the native will get name and fame. If such Sun is aspected by benefics, the native will become highly learned. If the Sun is in debilitation (that is, in the sign Libra), the native will be dignified. He will, however, be devoid of learning, and power and be blind. These ill effects will not be felt, if the Sun is aspected by benefics (Jupiter or Venus). If the Sun be in Leo, or Leo Navamsha, the native will acquire lordship over some territory. If the Sun be in Cancer, the native will be knowledgeable. He will, however, suffer from boils in the body. If the Sun be in Capricorn, the native will suffer from heart disease. If the Sun be in Pisces, the native will be subservient to women. If the Sun be in Virgo, the native will be father of daughters only. He will lose his wife and will be ungrateful. The native will enjoy good health if the Sun be in his own sign Leo, but if the Sun is in association with malefics or be in his enemy's sign or sign of debilitation, the native will suffer from fever in his third year. Such unfavourable effects will not be felt if the Sun is aspected by benefics.
Comments-The Sun has been considered as a malefic planet in Hindu Astrology and as a benefic by Westerners. We feel that a planet who is source of light and life to the universe and who represents the creator Brahma, should not be termed as a malefic planet although there is no doubt that he is a hot and cruel planet. According to this work the Sun in the ascendant gives good health to the native and he is of good conduct. This is because the Sun is a planet signifying vitality and "Sattva guna". He suffers from bilious diseases because the Sun is bilious in temperament. He suffers from eye diseases and is bereft of children and knowledge. This can happen when the Sun is afflicted. The Sun being a hot planet and a significator of light and vision can therefore affect those parts of the body which give light and vision, namely, eyes. It is not clear how the Sun who is not a significator of children can deprive the native of progeny unless he is the lord of the 5th house (house of children) and is afflicted by association or aspect. It is said that with the Sun in the ascendant, the native will be bereft of knowledge but he will be highly intelligent. These two statements are contradictory. We believe that the Sun unless is dignified will bestow the native knowledge and learning. Very favourable results have been attributed to the Sun if he is in Aries, that is, his sign of exaltation. This is so because with Aries "as Ascendant the Sun will be lord of 5th house (a trinal and very beneficial house). Moreover the state of exaltation will provide further dignity to an already beneficial trinal lord. He becomes learned because the 5th house signifies intellectual capacity and when lord of such a house is well placed in his sign of exaltation, the native will become highly learned. He also gets name and fame because 5th house is 9th to 9th house which signifies high learning, bhagya and prosperity. For the Sun in Libra (that is, in his sign of debilitation) unfavourable results like being devoid of learning have been indicated. But it is not clear how the author has taken the view that the native will be dignified when the Sun is debilitated in the Ascendant. With Leo as ascendant, the placement of the Sun there is an ideal position for him and naturally very favourable results will follow.
The Sun in Cancer as ascendant is said to cause boils in the body. The ascendant represents body of the native and Cancer being a watery sign, the hot effect of the Sun is likely to bring about such troubles. In Pisces the Sun makes the native- subservient to women. The only reason for this can be the placement of the Sun in a female and dual sign in which he perhaps loses his domineering faculty. When the Sun is in Virgo in the ascendant the native will have only daughters and will lose his wife. When Virgo is ascendant, the Sun will be lord of 12th house, that is, the house sixth to 7th (house of wife). The aspect of the unfavourable 12th lord on the 7th house is likely to cause the loss of wife. Virgo being a female sign when containing the Sun is likely to give only daughters. It is also believed that Virgo natives generally get more daughters than sons. For the interest of readers we give below in brief the views given in respect of the Sun's position in the ascendant, by other recognised classical texts:
Brihat Jatak-If the Sun occupies the 1st house at a person's birth he will be valiant, obstinate, will have defective eyes and be cruel hearted. But if Aries be the ascendant, the person will earn himself but will suffer from eye disease. If the Sun be in Leo, the person concerned will be night blind. If Libra be the ascendant, the native will be blind and poor as well. If the ascendant be Cancer with the Sun in it, the person concerned will have inflamed eyes.
Saravali states the Sun be in the ascendant the native will be lazy, of quick temper, proud, cruel, valiant and unforgiving. He will have cataract in his eyes if the Sun be in Cancer. He will have defective eye sight, if Sun be in Aries in the ascendant. The Sun in Leo will make the native night blind. If the Sun be in Libra, the native will be poor and issueless.
Chamatkar Chintamani-The native who has the Sun in the ascendant has a good nose and body and a high forehead. He is troubled on account of his wife, children and family. He suffers from bilious diseases. He is always travelling. His wealth is not constant. He has ups and downs in this respect.
Note-It will be seen that there is consensus that the Sun in the ascendant adversely affects the eyes. Normally the Sun who is himself the source of light cannot take light out of the eyes. This adverse result described above seems to be due to the fact that while in the ascendant the Sun will be posted in a house of loss and expenditure, that is 12th to the second house which is inter alia significator of eye sight and vision.