Pillar article
Compatibility: 7th Lords, Navamsa, and Ashtakoot
Compatibility worth the name uses both 7th lords, both Venuses, and both Navamsas, then Ashtakoot if a family wants the 36 lunar points. A pair of Sun signs is not a match. The Sun does not rule the 7th unless the lagna makes it so.
The horoscope half
The 7th lord in its own sign, in exaltation, or in a kendra with Jupiter's aspect is the supportive pattern. The 7th lord in the 6th, 8th, or 12th is the strain. Venus debilitated in Kanya weakens the karaka. Mangal dosha, Mars in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th from lagna, Moon, or Venus, is a heat count compared across both charts, softened by Mars in Mesha, Vrishchika, or Makara, or by Jupiter's aspect. One clean chart does not rescue the other's 7th lord. Read four things: two lords, two D9 seventh houses.
The lunar screen
Ashtakoot totals 36: varna 1, vashya 2, tara 3, yoni 4, graha maitri 5, gana 6, bhakoot 7, nadi 8. Nadi, the largest, fails when both Moons share Adi, Madhya, or Antya. Bhakoot fails on Moon-sign distances 2/12, 5/9, and 6/8, with 6/8 treated as the heavy one. Gana fails most sharply on Dev with Rakshasa. A total can look high while nadi is zero. Publish the broken koota, not only the sum. These points never see the lagna. A couple can score 30 and still have both 7th lords in the 8th.
Ideal is a stack, not a soulmate rashi
There is no rashi that is ideal for another rashi in the abstract. Opposite signs are the natural 1/7 axis, which is a structural fit, not a guarantee. The ideal you can actually defend is: 7th lords dignified, Venus not crushed, D9 in agreement, nadi not shared, and the dashas of the 7th lords not both sitting in dusthanas at the wedding. Even that stack is advice. Adults marry for reasons the chart does not vote on. The chart's job is to show the strain before the muhurta, not after a slogan.
Frequently asked questions
Do opposite signs match?
They are each other's 7th sign, which is the partnership axis. The 7th lords and D9 still decide whether that axis is livable.
Is 18 out of 36 enough?
It is half the lunar screen, and it matters which points failed. A failed nadi is 8 points by itself. The 7th houses can be better or worse than the total.
Does the groom's chart outweigh the bride's?
No. Both 7th lords and both Navamsas are read. Matching is not a one-chart inspection.
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D1, D9, D10, dashas, yogas, and transits, the same calculations referenced in this article.