Yogas · Difficult

Shakata Yoga

Sanskrit: “cart, wheel

How it forms

The Moon placed in the 6th, 8th or 12th house from Jupiter.

The exact condition, and who can form it

Count from Jupiter to the Moon. Three of the twelve possible positions qualify, giving a base rate of roughly one in four before cancellations. Note that this is the inverse relationship to Gajakesari, and a chart cannot carry both.

What the tradition says

Fortune that rises and falls repeatedly — the image is of a cartwheel, alternately at the top and the bottom.

What makes it strong — or merely technical

Read more seriously when both Jupiter and the Moon are otherwise weak, and when the Moon is dark. A Shakata formed with a dignified Jupiter is generally treated as describing rhythm rather than misfortune.

What cancels or dilutes it

The principal cancellation is the Moon placed in a kendra from the Lagna, which is widely held to remove the yoga entirely — and which applies to a third of charts on its own. A strong or exalted Jupiter is treated as cancelling it by several authorities. Between the two, most technical Shakata Yogas do not survive.

When it is held to operate

Moon and Jupiter periods. The cyclical description means classical sources look for alternation within the dasha rather than a uniform effect across it.

Where the classical sources disagree

Some texts restrict the yoga to the Moon in the 6th or 8th only, excluding the 12th. Others require the Moon to be in a dushthana from the Lagna as well. The kendra cancellation is near-universal but its scope — whether the Lagna, the Moon or both — is disputed.

An honest reading

Broadly defined and correspondingly common, and subject to a cancellation that removes a large share of instances. The cyclical framing is more useful than the ominous one.

Check this one manually

Our engine doesn't currently detect Shakata Yoga automatically, so we won't claim it either way. Generate your free kundli to see your planetary positions, house placements and dignities, then check the condition above against them yourself.

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A note on how to hold any of this: a yoga is one feature of a chart among many, and no combination decides a life on its own. Classical texts frequently disagree on exact conditions, and a yoga’s effects are traditionally read as arriving during the dasha periods of the planets involved rather than continuously. Be particularly wary of any reading that names a difficult yoga and then offers to sell you the cure.

Other difficult yogas

Kemadruma Yoga · Grahan Yoga · Daridra Yoga

All yogas · Doshas explained · The 27 nakshatras