What is Gajakesari yoga?

Jupiter in a kendra (1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) from the Moon. It is classically associated with reputation and sound judgement. It is also common — a quarter of charts have some form of it — so it should be read as a supporting strength rather than as a rare distinction.

How long does Jupiter stay in one sign?

About twelve months, though retrograde motion can extend a stay or bring Jupiter back into a sign it has already left. Exact ingress dates for the years ahead are calculated per chart rather than generalised.

Guru (Jupiter)

गुरु

What does Jupiter signify in Vedic astrology?

Jupiter (Guru or Brihaspati) is the great benefic — karaka of wisdom, teachers, children, wealth and dharma. It owns Sagittarius and Pisces, is exalted in Cancer and debilitated in Capricorn, aspects the 5th, 7th and 9th houses, and carries sixteen years in the Vimshottari cycle.

Why Jupiter's aspect is the one you want

Jupiter's 5th and 9th aspects reach the two trikona houses from wherever it stands, which is why a Jupiter aspect is classically described as protective. A great many doshas and difficult combinations are reduced simply by Jupiter looking at them — Mangal dosha, an afflicted seventh house, a weak Moon.

Jupiter is also the natural karaka for children (putra karaka) and for wealth in the sense of accumulated good fortune rather than earned income. The 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th houses are where its results usually show.

Jupiter's transit and the Guru Chandal question

Jupiter takes roughly twelve years to circle the zodiac, about one year per sign, which makes its transit the most legible of the slow-moving ones. Its transit through the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th from the natal Moon is traditionally read as supportive; through the 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th as a period of consolidation rather than expansion.

Jupiter conjunct Rahu is called Guru Chandal yoga and is frequently reported in an alarming register. What the classical description actually says is narrower: judgement can outrun principle, and unorthodox teachers are attractive. It is a caution about discernment, not a curse.

Traditional remedies

Jupiter's remedies are the ones almost every tradition converges on: respecting teachers and elders, study, feeding others, donating turmeric, chana dal or yellow cloth on Thursdays, and the beeja mantra Om Graam Greem Graum Sah Gurave Namah. Yellow sapphire (pukhraj) is the associated stone.

Common questions

What is Gajakesari yoga?: Jupiter in a kendra (1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) from the Moon. It is classically associated with reputation and sound judgement. It is also common — a quarter of charts have some form of it — so it should be read as a supporting strength rather than as a rare distinction.
How long does Jupiter stay in one sign?: About twelve months, though retrograde motion can extend a stay or bring Jupiter back into a sign it has already left. Exact ingress dates for the years ahead are calculated per chart rather than generalised.