B. V. Raman's Planet-to-Profession Lists, All Seven, Word for Word
The short answer
B. V. Raman lists specific occupations for each of the seven classical planets in How to Judge a Horoscope Vol 2, pp. 277–278 — no hedging, just the jobs. The Sun takes authority, government and gold; the Moon travel, nursing, catering and anything that feeds or tends people; Mars blades, flames and metal; Mercury documentation, teaching, clerks and accountants; Jupiter law, counsel, publishing and priesthood; Venus art, music, textiles and beauty; Saturn mining, labour, building and the graveyard. Find the lists that apply to you by taking your 10th lord, any planet in your 10th, and any planet sitting with your 10th lord. Raman wrote no list for Rahu or Ketu.
Most career astrology online is mush. "You are suited to a creative field." Cheers, very helpful.
Here is the opposite of that.
A while back I ran a bank clerk's chart to see what came back. Every tool I tried gave me some version of "analytical work, possibly design". Not one of them said clerk. That annoyed me, because I knew the word was sitting in the source text.
It is in Raman. How to Judge a Horoscope, Volume 2, pages 277 to 278. He simply lists the jobs. Seven planets, seven lists, no hedging anywhere. "Clerks" is right there under Mercury, between "writing" and "accountants".
All seven are below, word for word. I repaired a few OCR typos and did nothing else to them — no occupation added, modernised, or quietly dropped. The vocabulary dates itself, as you will see.
Finding your lists takes about a minute
Look at your 10th house. Whatever sign sits on it, that sign's ruler is your 10th lord. That is your planet.
| Sign on the 10th | Your 10th lord |
|---|---|
| Aries, Scorpio | Mars |
| Taurus, Libra | Venus |
| Gemini, Virgo | Mercury |
| Cancer | Moon |
| Leo | Sun |
| Sagittarius, Pisces | Jupiter |
| Capricorn, Aquarius | Saturn |
Also read the list for any planet actually sitting inside your 10th, and any planet sitting with your 10th lord. Those count as career significators too, so most people end up with two or three lists rather than one.
Aspects do not count here. On an average chart that drags in five planets out of seven and you are straight back to mush.
There is no Rahu or Ketu below, because Raman did not write one for them and I am not going to invent it on his behalf.
The Sun
"The Sun indicates those in authority, rulers, dignitaries, government, goldsmiths, jewellers, financiers, occupations involving children, circus-trainers, theatre-owners and managers."
Authority, government, gold. Then circus-trainers, out of nowhere.
Reading lookups is not the same as reading a chart. The Gurukul turns these rules into practice on your own kundali.
Start freeThe Moon
"The Moon governs travelling and all travelling requisites, sailors, nurses, liquor dealers, laundry-owners, gardeners, confectioners and bakers, house-keepers, dairy-owners, obstetricians, healing, plastics, catering, eating places and waiters."
Basically everything that feeds, tends or moves people around. Still no idea how "plastics" got in there.
Mars
"Mars signifies firemen, metallurgists, armament-factories, machine tools, soldiers, police, surgeons, dentists, barbers, cooks, hardware goods, locksmiths, boxers, butchers, chemists and druggists."
Blades, flames and fights. Surgeons and butchers on the same line is very Jyotish.
Mercury
"Mercury rules documentation and recording and all jobs connected with such work, teaching, writing, clerks, accountants, book-keepers, postal men, bus drivers and train employees, architects, correspondents, stenographers, interpreters, messengers, reporters, radio and other communication media, stationeries, printing and telephone operators."
The one that maps onto now most easily. "Radio and other communication media" is quietly covering every single person reading this on a phone.
Jupiter
"Jupiter rules counsellors, lawyers, lecturers, publishers, writers, astrologers, travel-agents, priests and temple trustees and officials, cashiers, philosophers, literateurs, grocers and tobacconists."
He filed astrologers under Jupiter. Make of that what you will.
Venus
"Venus refers to poets, artists, cinema artistes, dancers, singers, musicians, instrumentalists, hat and dress dealers and makers, silks and expensive textiles, perfumeries, cosmeticians, beauticians, entertainers of all kinds, dealers in furnishings, furniture-makers, coffee planters, tea estate owners, fancy articles, ladies' articles, objects of art and fashion, social secretaries, photography, engravers, cartoonists, flower sellers and embroiderers."
The longest list by a distance. Venus gets all of beauty, and also, very specifically, tea estates.
Saturn
"Saturn indicates miners, coal and fuel of every kind, petrol, real estate business, craftsmen, plumbers, architects, cemetery, excavators, building contractors and masons, leather goods, hides, ice-making, time-pieces, coffin and tomb makers, farm and factory labour, watchmen, undertakers, priests, monks, nuns, renunciates and philosophers."
Saturn gets the earth, the labour and the graveyard, and then in the same breath, monks and renunciates. Both ends of "this world is heavy".
Two things before anyone reads these badly
The lists are not ranked. Raman is not putting surgeon above barber under Mars. They are simply both on it. If you catch yourself scanning for the impressive end of your list, that is you doing it, not him. Watchman, clerk and factory labour sit there with exactly the same weight as doctor and lawyer. That bank clerk chart is the entire reason I am labouring this point.
One lens is not a reading. The list narrows the field, and that is all it does. Where the planet actually sits, what condition it is in, and what the navamsa says all move the answer around inside the list, sometimes quite far. The 10th House & Its Lord works through the rest of that reasoning.
Frequently asked questions
Which house shows career in Vedic astrology?
The 10th house, and its lord, is the primary reference for profession. Raman's occupation lists are applied through it: take the sign on the 10th to find its lord, then read that planet's list, along with the list for any planet sitting in the 10th house itself or conjunct the 10th lord.
How do I find my 10th lord?
Identify the sign occupying your 10th house, then take that sign's ruling planet. Aries or Scorpio gives Mars, Taurus or Libra Venus, Gemini or Virgo Mercury, Cancer the Moon, Leo the Sun, Sagittarius or Pisces Jupiter, and Capricorn or Aquarius Saturn.
Why is there no list for Rahu and Ketu?
Because Raman did not write one in this passage. The nodes own no signs, so they cannot be a 10th lord, and any profession list attributed to them would be an invention rather than a citation. Where the nodes matter for career is in what they sit with and aspect — which recolours the planet actually carrying the vocation.
Are these job lists still valid today?
The vocabulary is clearly of its period — stenographers, tobacconists, telephone operators. What survives is the underlying category rather than the job title: Mercury's documentation and communication, Venus's beauty and craft, Saturn's earth and labour. Modern occupations generally map onto one of those categories cleanly, but the mapping is interpretation, not citation, and worth labelling as such.
Can one chart point at several professions?
Usually, yes. Most people end up reading two or three lists, because the 10th lord, any planet in the 10th, and any planet conjunct the 10th lord all qualify as significators. The lists narrow the field; dignity, placement and the D10 decide which part of that field a life actually settles into.
Sources cited
- B. V. Raman, How to Judge a Horoscope, Vol 2, pp. 277–278