Lal Kitab · लाल किताब
Lal Kitab: the red book of astrology and its remedies
Lal Kitab reads your chart house by house and is known for simple remedies (upay) anyone can do. Make your Lal Kitab Kundli, see the pakka ghar of each planet, and read the rules of its remedies.
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What is Lal Kitab?
Lal Kitab (लाल किताब, “the red book”) is a system of Indian astrology set out in a series of Urdu books published in Punjab between 1939 and 1952. The books are commonly attributed to Pandit Roop Chand Joshi. They use the planets and houses of Vedic astrology but read them in their own way, and they are best known for remedies that are cheap and practical: acts of charity, feeding animals, care for relatives and small household habits.
How a Lal Kitab chart works
- Houses come first. The houses are counted from the lagna, as in a normal Kundli, but every house keeps a fixed sign: Mesha in the 1st, Vrishabha in the 2nd, and so on to Meena in the 12th. A planet is read by its house alone.
- Pakka ghar. Each planet has a permanent house (or two) where it is at home: the Sun the 1st, the Moon the 4th, Saturn the 8th and 10th.
- Exalted and weak houses. These follow the fixed signs: the Sun is exalted in the 1st house (Mesha) and debilitated in the 7th (Tula).
- Empty houses. A house with no planet (khali ghar) is read through the planet whose pakka ghar it is.
- Remedies. A troubled planet is balanced with an everyday act linked to it: the Sun with respect for your father, the Moon with respect for your mother, Saturn with kindness to workers.
Pakka ghar, exalted and debilitated houses
The placements most Lal Kitab books give. A few, such as Rahu and Ketu's strong and weak houses, differ between editions.
| Graha | Pakka ghar | Exalted in | Debilitated in | Stands for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun सूर्य | 1st | 1st | 7th | father, government, self-respect and the eyes of the family |
| Moon चंद्रमा | 4th | 2nd | 8th | mother, peace of mind, travel and milk |
| Mars मंगल | 3rd, 8th | 10th | 4th | brothers, courage, land and property |
| Mercury बुध | 7th | 6th | 12th | sisters, daughters, aunts, speech and trade |
| Jupiter गुरु (बृहस्पति) | 2nd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 12th | 4th | 10th | teachers, grandfather, learning and faith |
| Venus शुक्र | 7th | 12th | 6th | spouse, home comforts, beauty and cows |
| Saturn शनि | 8th, 10th | 7th | 1st | workers, uncles, machinery, iron and old age |
| Rahu राहु | 12th | books differ | books differ | in-laws, sudden events, electricity and the unknown |
| Ketu केतु | 6th | books differ | books differ | sons, nephews, dogs and travel |
The rules of Lal Kitab remedies
- Do one remedy for one planet at a time, usually for 40 or 43 days without a break.
- Do remedies in daylight, between sunrise and sunset.
- If a day is missed, start again from the first day.
- Remedy only a planet that is troubled in your chart; remedying a planet that is fine is said to do harm.
- A blood relative may do a remedy on your behalf when you cannot.
The remedies for each planet are on Lal Kitab remedies (upay). Your Lal Kitab Kundli shows which planets sit in their debilitated house.
Questions about Lal Kitab
What is Lal Kitab?
Lal Kitab (लाल किताब, “the red book”) is a system of Indian astrology set out in a series of Urdu books published in Punjab between 1939 and 1952, commonly attributed to Pandit Roop Chand Joshi. It reads the planets by house and is known for its simple, low-cost remedies.
How is Lal Kitab different from Vedic astrology?
It uses the same planets and houses, but gives every house a fixed sign (Mesha in the 1st to Meena in the 12th) and reads planets by house alone. It adds ideas of its own, such as the pakka ghar of each planet and empty houses read through their house lord, and it favours everyday remedies over rituals.
Can I make a Lal Kitab Kundli without the birth time?
No. Lal Kitab reads planets by house, and the houses come from the lagna, which needs the time of birth.
Are Lal Kitab remedies safe to do on my own?
They are everyday acts such as charity, feeding animals and respecting relatives. Lal Kitab still asks for one remedy at a time, for a planet that troubles the chart, so many people have the chart read before starting.
What is the Lal Kitab varshphal?
A yearly chart in which the houses of the birth chart move in a fixed cycle by age. It needs the full Lal Kitab table for each year of life; ask Namieta for a varshphal reading.