Mercury in the 11th house: many sources of gain, and which deeds they come from

Mercury in the 11th house is a placement where the Bhrigu Sutras' closing Note records "full agreement" that the 11th is "a very auspicious and favourable house for Mercury". Saravali makes the native rich, learned, happy, long-lived and famous. The sutras give wealth through many sources and then add a moral condition rare in these readings: in a malefic's house or with malefics, loss of wealth "on account of sinful deeds"; in its own sign or exalted, wealth "by performing virtuous deeds".

This page sets out those verses, the BPHS combinations that name Mercury in the 11th, what Mercury carries into the house from each rising sign, and how this app grades it, with one engine-computed chart. For the planet see Mercury in Vedic astrology; for the house, the 11th house, Labha Bhava.

The planet of trade in the house of gains

BPHS Ch. 11 Sl. 12 gives the 11th all articles, the son's wife, income, prosperity and quadrupeds. BPHS Ch. 70 Sl. 1-6 name what is judged from Mercury: business dealings, livelihood and friends. Friends are not in BPHS's list for the 11th but are in the Bhrigu Sutras' modern list (p. 15), so Mercury and the 11th share income-by-dealing in BPHS and friends in the later layer. The texts draw no special conclusion from the overlap, and this page draws none.

The house is an Upachaya and a Panaphara, never a dusthana in this engine. A planet in the 11th is welcomed almost everywhere in the texts, while the 11th lord is a lordship BPHS Ch. 34 Sl. 2-7 read poorly. Mercury owns the 11th for Leo and Scorpio rising, and in each case it is in its own or exaltation sign when it sits there, so both questions arise at once for those two Lagnas.

What the verses say

The Bhrigu Sutras, Sutras 71-75

The sutras (p. 72): many auspicious ceremonies; wealth through many sources; children after the age of 21; wealthy and kind-hearted. In the house of a malefic or with malefics, loss of wealth on account of sinful deeds; in its own sign or exalted, wealth by performing virtuous deeds. The commentator calls the results very benefic "if he is not under any malefic influence" and singles out Leo rising. His general rule for the house, stated under Saturn in the 11th (p. 107), is the outer qualifier: all planets prosper in the 11th unless they are lords of the 6th, 8th or 12th.

Other Views (pp. 72-73). Brihat Jatak: wealthy. Phaldeepika: long-lived, true to his word, possessing enormous wealth, happy, with comforts from servants. Chamatkar Chintamani, as quoted: "There will be no gain of wealth unless Mercury is in the eleventh house." Phaladeepika and Chamatkar Chintamani are cited as the Bhrigu Sutras quote them.

The sutra makes Mercury's known convertibility (the Bhrigu Sutras' own word for Mercury, p. 63) into a moral distinction. BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 11 and Ch. 34 Sl. 8-10 make Mercury a benefic with benefics and a malefic with malefics; the sutra turns the same rule into virtuous and sinful means of gain. "The house of a malefic" is not defined in the sutra. The natural malefics' signs would be the Sun's, Mars's and Saturn's, but this page does not assume a definition the text does not give.

Saravali Ch. 30 Sloka 48

The verse in full: the native will be rich, an amicable worker, learned, happy and endowed with wide enjoyments, long-lived and famous. No condition is stated. Learning recurs across both texts here, as it does in Saravali's Mercury readings for most houses.

Mercury beside the other planets in the 11th

Only two sutras in this column grade the means of gain as rightful or not: Mercury's and Venus's. Both turn on company, Venus's on a benefic or a malefic beside it, Mercury's on malefic company or a malefic sign. Saravali's column makes Mercury one of three planets, with the Moon and Saturn, given long life in the 11th. And the general pattern holds for Mercury too: neither text gives any planet a plainly bad verse in this house.

The Sun beside Mercury

Mercury is never more than one sign from the Sun; in a century of this engine's positions it shared the Sun's sign on 51.0 per cent of days. The Sun's house follows the clock, the 1st around sunrise and the 10th around midday, so a Mercury in the 11th belongs to a birth with the Sun in the 10th, 11th or 12th: in this engine's whole-sign houses, roughly the morning to midday. With the Sun in the 11th as well, the sutra's malefic-company clause is met, since this engine counts the Sun among its malefics.

Combustion follows the same geometry: this engine marks Mercury combust within 14 degrees of the Sun, the Bhrigu Sutras within 8 1/2 (p. 8). For two Lagnas BPHS addresses it directly. Ch. 22 Sl. 2 gives "many gains" when the 11th lord is in the 11th, and the same if the lord is exalted, "though in combustion", one of the few places BPHS lets exaltation override combustion. Sl. 11 denies gains when the 11th lord is combust. For Scorpio rising, Mercury exalted in Virgo is the 11th lord in the 11th, so Sl. 2's override applies; for Leo rising, Mercury in Gemini is the 11th lord in its own sign, not exalted, and the override as worded does not.

Saravali Ch. 15 Sl. 4 reads the pair as in service, sweet in speech, with fame, money and learning, dear to the king and to good people, with unsteady wealth. In the house of gains, "unsteady wealth" is the line to keep beside the sutra's many sources.

The BPHS combinations that name Mercury in the 11th

BPHS Ch. 41 Sl. 2-8 list seven Yogas for Great Affluence, each with an own-sign planet in the 5th and named planets in the 11th. Two involve Mercury. One of them puts Mercury in the 11th: Jupiter in its own sign in the 5th with Mercury in the 11th (Sl. 6). Another puts Mercury in the 5th instead, in its own sign, with the Moon, Mars and Jupiter in the 11th. This engine detects the family as "Dhan Yoga (Great Affluence)" only when the full condition is met.

The Sl. 6 form fixes the Lagna. Jupiter in its own sign in the 5th means Sagittarius or Pisces in the 5th, so Leo or Scorpio rising, and then Mercury in the 11th is in Gemini or Virgo, its own sign or exaltation. So the one Great Affluence form built on Mercury in the 11th arises only for the two Lagnas where Mercury is also the 11th lord in a strong sign. The 5th and 11th are opposite, and Mercury in the 11th aspects the 5th by its 7th aspect, so the two planets of that yoga face each other.

BPHS Ch. 22 Sl. 7 names Mercury in a different 11th: Jupiter, Mercury and the Moon in the 11th counted from the 11th, which is the 9th house, give wealth, grains, fortunes, diamonds and ornaments. That is a 9th-house placement, not this one, and it is mentioned here only so the two are not confused.

Leo and Scorpio rising: Mercury owns the 11th

Leo rising: the 2nd and 11th lord in Gemini

For Leo rising Mercury owns Gemini (the 11th) and Virgo (the 2nd), and the Bhrigu Sutras commentator singles out this case ("a very good disposition for making the native very wealthy", p. 72): one planet holds both wealth houses, and the Ch. 13 pairings of the 2nd and 11th lords reduce to the condition of that single planet. Ch. 24 Sl. 23 gives the 2nd lord in the 11th all kinds of wealth, diligence and fame; Sl. 131 gives the 11th lord in the 11th gain in all undertakings, learning and happiness increasing day by day; Ch. 22 Sl. 2 gives many gains. Ch. 40 Sl. 12 gives gain through royal association when the 11th is occupied by its own lord and unaspected by a malefic, with a further Atma Karaka condition.

BPHS Ch. 34 Sl. 29-30 still call Mercury malefic for Leo: it owns the 11th, one of the three houses Sl. 2-7 say give evil effects. One way to hold both: Ch. 22 asks whether income flows, Ch. 34 whether a planet's lordship is benign.

Scorpio rising: the 8th and 11th lord, exalted

For Scorpio rising Mercury owns Virgo (the 11th) and Gemini (the 8th), and sits exalted in Virgo in the 11th. An 8th lord also owning the 11th is the combination Ch. 34 Sl. 2-7 call "specifically harmful". The sutras' commentator excepts lords of the 8th from his rule that planets prosper here. Against that, the sutra itself gives an exalted Mercury wealth by virtuous deeds; Ch. 22 Sl. 2 gives the 11th lord in the 11th many gains, even combust because it is exalted; and Ch. 24 Sl. 95 reads the 8th lord in the 11th by its company, without wealth early with a malefic and long-lived with a benefic.

Scorpio rising is therefore the row where the dignity verdicts and the lordship verdicts on this page are furthest apart, and the texts give no tie-break. The engine's planet row follows dignity and is favourable; Ch. 34 lists Mercury as malefic for Scorpio.

What Mercury owns, from each rising sign

Mercury is in your 11th when it occupies the eleventh sign from your rising sign; the Lagna calculator finds yours. In Ch. 24 almost every lord gains something when placed in the 11th; only the 12th lord brings loss, and the 8th lord depends on its company.

Taurus rising is the sharpest contrast between sign and lordship. Mercury owns the 2nd and 5th, a wealth house and a trine, and the two Ch. 24 slokas are among the best in the set, but it sits debilitated in Pisces, where Saravali Ch. 26 Sl. 23-24 give good conduct and purity but no learning in shastra or the arts, and Saravali Ch. 45 makes a debilitated Mercury mean and at enmity with relatives. The Ch. 41 Mercury-in-the-5th Great Affluence form does not apply here, since it needs Mercury in the 5th, not the 11th.

Exchanges with the 11th lord

Ch. 22, the 11th house's own chapter, gives three exchange rules, and Mercury in the 11th is half of each for a particular Lagna. The other half is the 11th lord sitting in Mercury's sign, which this engine reports as a Parivarthana Yoga when it occurs.

• Sl. 8, the Lagna lord and the 11th lord in exchange: Gemini rising, with Mercury (Lagna lord) in Aries and Mars (11th lord) in Gemini.
• Sl. 9, the 2nd lord and the 11th lord in exchange, "abundant fortunes after marriage": Taurus rising, with Mercury (2nd lord) in Pisces and Jupiter (11th lord) in Gemini. Ch. 13 Sl. 4 reads the same pair, the 2nd lord in the 11th and the 11th lord in the 2nd, as wealth acquired.
• Sl. 10, the 3rd lord and the 11th lord in exchange, wealth "through co-borns": Aries rising, with Mercury (3rd lord) in Aquarius and Saturn in Gemini; and Cancer rising, with Mercury (3rd lord) in Taurus and Venus in Virgo, the 3rd, where Venus is in its fall.

Taurus rising is the row worth noticing: the Sl. 9 exchange needs Mercury in Pisces, its sign of fall, so the best lordship pattern available to a Taurus-rising Mercury in the 11th comes with its weakest dignity. The texts do not say how the two combine.

Aspects, strength and the Ashtakavarga

From the 11th, aspectedHouses('mercury', 11) returns [5]: the 7th aspect on the 5th house, the house of children and of the Great Affluence planet. Mercury is a benefic in this engine, so the aspect raises the aspect score of a planet there. Two Ch. 24 verses (Sl. 71 and 83) trade income against happiness from children, the same 5th-11th opposition; neither of those verses is about Mercury as such.

Mercury's directional strength peaks in the 1st (BPHS Ch. 27 Sl. 7) and the engine gives it 2.67 of 4 in the 11th, two houses away. A combust Mercury loses its whole position score in the engine's Shad Bala and cannot be rated Strong by the engine's arithmetic; with the Sun so often nearby, that is a common outcome for this placement.

One fact about Mercury's own Ashtakavarga bears on this house. In that table the 11th place is marked good by all eight contributors, the most generous place in it: BPHS Ch. 66 Sl. 51-52 list "all in the 11th" as Rekhapradas, and Sl. 28-30 list "none in the 11th" among the bad marks, which the engine's table complements. The Lagna is one of the eight, so a Mercury in the 11th house always receives the Lagna's point in its own table. The Ashtakavarga calculator returns the full row.

How this app grades it

The Kundali reading prints the favourable line when Mercury's dignity label is Exalted, Moolatrikona, Own sign or Friendly sign; the 11th is not a dusthana, so dignity alone decides. The dignity function receives the chart, so friendly and enemy grades include the temporary relation of BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 56.

• Always favourable: Leo rising (own sign) and Scorpio rising (exalted).
• Never favourable: Taurus rising (debilitated in Pisces) and Virgo rising (Cancer, Neutral at best).
• Favourable with the sign's lord in a temporary-friend position: Aries, Gemini, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces rising (otherwise Enemy sign); Cancer, Libra and Sagittarius rising (otherwise Neutral). For Libra rising the lord is the Sun, so Mercury in Leo with the Sun beside it falls to Neutral.

The line overlaps the sutra only partly: it does not read company, so it can be favourable with the Sun and a malefic beside Mercury, and it does not read the commentator's lordship exception, so Scorpio rising gets it. The career and money page scores the 11th as "income, gains and networks" separately from the planet row.

Timing

Mercury has 17 Vimshottari years. BPHS Ch. 47 Sl. 62-65 name Labh, the 11th, among the positions for which Mercury's dasha brings wealth, reputation, better knowledge, favour from the government, happiness from wife and children and profit in business, alongside the 5th, the 9th and an exalted, own or friendly sign. So a Mercury in the 11th meets that list by house, whatever its sign.

Ch. 48 Sl. 18-20 then make the dashas of planets placed in the 3rd, 6th or 11th unfavourable. BPHS does not reconcile Ch. 47 and Ch. 48 here, but its working method is stated: judge by placement and relationship, and note Sl. 14-17's rule that association with a trine lord helps. For Leo and Scorpio rising the period is also the 11th lord's, which this app words as "gains that come with some obstacles, and health matters worth watching".

The app grades the period good for exalted or own sign, neutral for friendly or neutral, challenging for enemy sign or fall. The Vimshottari Dasha calculator gives the dates and the Mercury Mahadasha page the sub-periods. For transits the Gochar calculator counts from the natal Moon, and the 11th from the Moon is favourable for every planet in this engine.

A worked chart

This app's engine output for 10:49 IST on 6 July 2010 in New Delhi, chosen because it is the Leo-rising case: Mercury in its own sign as lord of both wealth houses. It is an illustration, not a reading of any person.

Dignity and lordship favour it: own sign, which is the sutra's virtuous-deeds case; the 11th lord in the 11th (Ch. 22 Sl. 2, Ch. 24 Sl. 131); the 2nd lord in the 11th (Sl. 23). Company works against it: the Sun and Ketu share Gemini, both malefics in this engine, which is the sutra's sinful-deeds case. Saturn aspects the 11th from the 2nd and Rahu from the 5th, so Ch. 40 Sl. 12's "unaspected by a malefic" is not met. Mercury is 8.91 degrees from the Sun, combust by the engine's 14 degrees and just outside the Bhrigu Sutras' 8.5; Ch. 22 Sl. 2's exaltation override does not help an own-sign Mercury, and the engine's Shad Bala falls to Weak.

Jupiter is in Pisces, its own sign, but in the 8th, not the 5th, so the Great Affluence form of Ch. 41 Sl. 6 is not met. The Moon in Ashwini starts the chart in Ketu's period, followed by Venus to 2033, so Mercury's own seventeen years are far off. Mercury at 29.12 degrees is in the last decanate, which BPHS Ch. 47 Sl. 3-4 tie to the end of the period. The page lists these and does not net them.

Your own chart

1. 1.Confirm Mercury is in the eleventh sign from your Ascendant in the birth chart calculator, and note the combust flag and the Sun's house.
2. 2.Is Mercury in its own sign or exalted (Leo, Scorpio rising)? That is the sutra's virtuous-deeds case.
3. 3.List its company: any malefic, the Sun included, is the sutra's other case.
4. 4.Find what Mercury rules; if it is a 6th, 8th or 12th lord, the commentator's exception applies. Read both Ch. 24 slokas.
5. 5.For Leo and Scorpio rising, read Ch. 22 Sl. 2 and 11 on the 11th lord, including the combustion clause.
6. 6.Check the yogas calculator for a Great Affluence entry; for Mercury in the 11th it needs Jupiter in its own sign in the 5th.

BPHS Ch. 7 Sl. 39-43 also ask for the 11th to be read from the Sun and the Moon. Your Moon sign is the starting point for the second count. Method and limits are on the methodology page.

Over-readings

• "Mercury in the 11th means business income." The verses give wealth through many sources and name no trade; business dealings are what BPHS Ch. 70 judges from Mercury in general.
• "Own-sign Mercury in the 11th is always good." The sutra still reads malefic company, and the Sun is often there.
• "Exalted Mercury for Scorpio rising settles it." It is also the 8th and 11th lord, which Ch. 34 calls specifically harmful.
• "A combust 11th lord gives no gains." Ch. 22 Sl. 2 lets exaltation override combustion for the 11th lord.
• "Mercury in the 11th is a wealth yoga." The Great Affluence form needs Jupiter in its own sign in the 5th as well.
• "The dasha will be good because the 11th is a good house." Ch. 47 and Ch. 48 disagree on planets in the 11th, and BPHS leaves both in place.

Questions about Mercury in the 11th

Is Mercury good in the 11th house?

The verses are favourable: wealth through many sources (Bhrigu Sutras); rich, learned, happy, long-lived and famous (Saravali). The sutras make the means depend on Mercury's sign and company.

What are the "virtuous deeds" and "sinful deeds" in the sutra?

The sutra gives loss of wealth on account of sinful deeds for Mercury in a malefic's house or with malefics, and wealth by performing virtuous deeds in its own sign or exalted. It does not define the deeds further.

Which rising signs fall under the commentator's exception?

By lordship: Aries and Capricorn (Mercury owns the 6th), Scorpio and Aquarius (the 8th), Cancer and Libra (the 12th).

What does Mercury aspect from the 11th?

Only the 5th house, by its 7th aspect.

Why is my Mercury in the 11th marked testing?

Its dignity label is not Exalted, Own or Friendly. Taurus rising (debilitated) and Virgo rising (Cancer) never get the favourable line; others depend on where the sign's lord sits.

Which wealth yoga includes Mercury in the 11th?

BPHS Ch. 41 Sl. 6: Jupiter in its own sign in the 5th with Mercury in the 11th. It can only arise for Leo or Scorpio rising.

Does a combust Mercury in the 11th lose its gains?

For the 11th lord, Ch. 22 Sl. 11 says so, but Sl. 2 lets exaltation override combustion, which covers an exalted Mercury for Scorpio rising. The engine's Shad Bala removes the position score of any combust planet.

Is a Mercury dasha good with this placement?

BPHS Ch. 47 Sl. 62-65 name the 11th among Mercury's good positions; Ch. 48 Sl. 18-20 list planets in the 11th as unfavourable. The app grades the period by dignity.