Raja yoga: the general term
Raja yoga is a general term for combinations that give power, status and authority in the classical texts. The most common form links a lord of a kendra with a lord of a trikona.
What it is
The standard forms are conjunction, exchange (parivartana) and mutual aspect between the lord of a kendra and the lord of a trikona. Because the trikona houses include the first, the same planet may count for both.
How it is worked out or read
The rule is stated in general terms and its lists vary between texts. The site does not check raja yogas; it checks the nine standard yogas listed on the birth chart.
Where it appears on this site
Raja yogas are not in the birth chart tool. See kendra and trikona houses for the groups.
What the family of raja yogas is
Raja yoga is a general term for combinations that the classical texts associate with power, status and authority. The most common form links a lord of a kendra with a lord of a trikona. Because the first house belongs to both groups, its lord can take part in the link on both sides, which is why the first house has a special place in these rules.
The family is large, and the texts give many forms of it. The reader should not treat the term as a single rule, but should name the specific form that is found in the chart and cite the source for it.
The standard forms
The standard forms are conjunction, exchange and mutual aspect between the lord of a kendra and the lord of a trikona. In an exchange, each lord sits in the other's sign, which creates a mutual support. In a mutual aspect, each lord aspects the other's house. Each form is described in the texts with its own conditions, and the reader should check which form applies and whether the conditions are met.
To check a form by hand, identify the lord of each house involved from the lord table, then find where those lords sit in the chart and whether they share a sign or aspect one another.
Strength and the classical view
The classical view is that raja yogas bring their results most fully when the lords are strong and well placed. A raja yoga formed by weak lords is read as giving a more modest version of the themes, and the texts describe the difference in some detail. The reader should therefore consider the dignity and the house of each lord, not only the existence of the link.
Using the family with care
Raja yogas are often cited in popular writing as signs of great success, which the classical method does not claim. The best reading describes the combination in its traditional terms, names the lords and their houses, and notes the factors that strengthen or weaken the link. This site does not check raja yogas, so the reader must apply the rule from the chosen source.
Raja yoga in practice
In practice a reader checks a raja yoga in three steps. First, identify the kendra and trikona lords. Second, see whether they are connected by one of the standard forms. Third, check the strength and house of each lord. Only after these steps should the reader describe the combination, and then state the source and the conditions used.