We’re all know those people whose public image is vastly different than who they really are inside.
The tough guy who is really a big softie, or someone known their friendly, homey approach to baking cookies and crafting party favors who is in reality is an ice-cold calculating businessperson.
Or there’s that colleague who everyone thinks is an absolute angel when they’re actually a snake, or the friend who is constantly seen as lazy and disrespectful when nothing could be farther from the truth once you get to know them.
And then there are those people where what you see is exactly who they are and what you get.
These (potential) differences between how the world sees us and who we actually are can be seen by comparing two different points in our birth charts: our Lagna and Arudha Lagna.
Understanding the Arudha Lagna
In astrological chart is made up of different houses that represent the aspects that make up our lives. For example, we see partnerships and relationships in the 7th house, gains in networks in the 11th house, spirituality, teachers and higher education in the 9th, and so on.
In turn, each house also has an Arudha Pada. The Arudha of that House acts like a mirror, reflecting the tangible results of innovative talents and intelligence in ways that others can see: in other words, the external image of a particular house, and how it manifests in the world.
One of the most significant of the Arudha Padas is the Arudha Lagna–often shortened to AL–which is the Arhuda of the first house of self. It represents how the world perceives you, your public image and your reputation. Understanding your Arudha Lagna can provide valuable insights into the impression you have on other people.
By analyzing and interpreting the Arudha Lagna, you can gain a deeper understanding of:
- Public persona: The Arudha Lagna reflects your public persona. It signifies how you appear to others and the qualities that people associate with you in social and professional settings.
- Social status: It can offer insights into your social status, the level of respect and recognition you receive, and how you are regarded by your peers and the community at large.
- Impact on relationships: Your public image, as indicated by the Arudha Lagna, can influence your relationships. It can affect the type of individuals you attract and the way you interact with others in both personal and professional contexts.
Personal branding is something that matters in a lot of fields these days, especially if you’re running your own business. Understanding your AL is a fantastic tool to understand not only how the public perceives you, but also what they want from you.
But more on that later. First, some info on how an Arudha Lagna is calculated.
How to calculate the Arudha Lagna
Step 1: Identify the Ascendant (Lagna) Lord
The first step in calculating the Arudha Lagna is to identify the Ascendant lord. This is the planet that rules the zodiac sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the time of your birth. The Ascendant lord is a significant factor in your astrological chart, as it holds sway over your overall personality and life path.
Step 2: Determine the Placement of the Ascendant Lord
Once you’ve identified the Ascendant lord, the next step is to locate the house in which it is positioned in your birth chart. Each house in the astrological chart represents specific life areas and themes. The house occupied by the Ascendant lord plays a crucial role in where you put your energy and apply your intelligence.
Step 3: Count the Same Number of Houses
Having determined the house in which the Ascendant lord is placed, you’ll now count the same number of houses from this position to find the Arudha Lagna. This means that if the Ascendant lord is in the 4th house, you would count four houses from this point to determine the Arudha Lagna.
Too much counting? You can also use a website like Deva Guru to calculate your chart and choose the setting that displays the AL automatically for you.
How to interpret your Arudha Lagna
Although the AL is an interesting glimpse into the first impression people have of you–something few of us are fully aware of–where it really comes in handy is as a tool to build your business.
Remember, your AL also describes what the public wants from you. Aligning with this principle by, for example, choosing images, a brand name and language and tone that match its energy can be an effective branding and marketing tool.
I remember my teacher mentioning the example of someone who has a podcast about spirtuality and occult subjects. Since he was interested in these subjects from a scholarly standpoint, he created content that reflected this. If he had had, say, the Sun and Mercury on the AL this would have been a good approach. However, he had Mars.
After a while, he changed his style and invited guests onto his podcast where he hotly debated these subjects, bringing in the fire and friction of Mars. His podcast took off in a way it never had when he was simply presenting the information in a more subdued, scholarly fashion.
By aligning his approach with his innate image, he was still successful talking about what he was interested in, he just had to tweak his approach.
Can you change your AL?
Well, not exactly change for good.
As karma doctors, Vedic astrologers can offer ways to boost, cleanse or purify aspects of your chart that lead to transformation. This includes a person’s AL. Which approach is best would depend on the chart in question.
That said, we are all stuck with our AL for better or worse.
In terms of building a business, there is a way to get around it: if your AL has some issues (e.g., conjunct a weak or afflicted planet) or doesn’t fit what you’d like to do, you can also either build a business based around your A10 (the Arudha Pada of the 10th house of career and reputation), or choose an approach that boosts a particularly strong planet in your chart instead.
In both cases, you would take a more behind-the-scenes approach and not build things on your name or image itself.
Chart example
Case in point: Bill Gates.
The Arudha Lagna in his chart (the purple AL) is with Rahu in Scorpio in the 8th house. What this means is that people tend to see him as someone who is very intelligent and good with machines and international business, but also rather ruthless and a little untrustworthy. With Rahu on the AL, in general, people probably initially don’t really like him that much. If he had named his business Gates Inc., he would have invoked his Rahu/AL energy, which would not have been the best idea to ensure success.
However, he chose the name Microsoft, which just happens to invoke his strong Jupiter in the 2nd house of resources (more on naming techniques in the future, so stay tuned!) I doubt Gates has an astrologer helping him out with such things, but the guy definitely has good instincts.
Michelle R. Dean is a Vedic astrologer in Berlin. For more about Vedic astrology, subscribe to her newsletter on Substack.