Kemadruma yoga
Kemadruma yoga is a classical yoga that forms when the Moon has no planets beside it in the signs next to its own, and the Moon is not in a kendra from the Lagna. It is traditionally regarded as an inauspicious combination.
What it is
The standard rule is that no grahas other than the Sun, Rahu and Ketu occupy the signs on either side of the Moon, and the Moon is not in a kendra. The classical readings describe a difficult emotional or material pattern.
How it is worked out or read
This site checks the rule in the birth chart, using the signs on either side of the Moon. It does not apply the common cancellations, which the texts list.
Where it appears on this site
The result is in the birth chart. The strength and cancellation article explains what is not applied.
A quick check
Look at the signs just before and after the Moon. If any of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus or Saturn is there, Kemadruma is absent. If not, check the cancellations above before drawing any conclusion.
The definition
Kemadruma yoga forms when there are no grahas, other than the Sun, Rahu and Ketu, in the second or twelfth sign from the Moon. It is the absence of Sunapha, Anapha and Durudhara. The Moon is then said to be unsupported, and the texts describe the yoga in harsh terms, associating it with poverty, sorrow and dependence. Because of this, it is one of the yogas most likely to cause worry when mentioned in a reading.
The cancellations
The same texts give several conditions that cancel Kemadruma, and these are met in a large share of the charts where the basic yoga appears. Commonly cited cancellations include: any planet in a kendra from the Moon; any planet in a kendra from the Lagna; the Moon itself in a kendra from the Lagna; the Moon aspected by Jupiter; and, in some texts, the Moon in its own or exaltation sign or a strong, bright Moon. The yoga list on this site's chart page tests the basic rule and states that it does not apply these cancellations, so a reader should check them separately.
Keeping it in proportion
Once the cancellations are applied, Kemadruma in its full, uncancelled form is uncommon. Even where it remains, it is one feature among many, and the rest of the chart, the dashas and the person's own circumstances matter far more than a single yoga. A reading that mentions Kemadruma without its cancellations, or uses it to sell a remedy, is giving an incomplete and unnecessarily alarming account.
What Kemadruma does and does not mean
Kemadruma is among the most discussed inauspicious yogas. Its rule is about the Moon's neighbouring signs, and it does not describe any particular misfortune. A reader should describe the Moon's isolation in the chart plainly, state the rule used, and avoid giving the yoga a dramatic meaning beyond what the source states.