Love marriage or arranged marriage? What your Kundli says

"Love marriage hogi ya arranged?" comes right after "shaadi kab hogi" on every astrologer’s list. The Kundli gives a lean, not a guarantee, and for many people it shows both: a love match that the family then arranges.

The two houses to look at

The 5th house is romance. The 7th house is marriage. When the two are connected, love turns into marriage. When the 7th is tied instead to the houses of family and tradition, the family finds the match.

Signs of a love marriage

• The lords of the 5th and 7th houses sit together, look at each other or exchange houses. This is the strongest sign.
• Rahu in the 5th or 7th house. Rahu breaks convention, so the match may be from a different background.
• Venus with Mars or with Rahu: strong attraction.
• Venus or the Moon in the 5th house.
• The lagna lord and the 7th lord linked: you choose your partner yourself.

Signs of an arranged marriage

• Jupiter or Saturn in the 7th house or looking at it. Both respect tradition.
• The 7th lord in the 2nd, 4th, 9th or 10th house, the houses of family, home, elders and status.
• The lords of the 9th and 7th houses linked: marriage with the family’s blessing.
• No connection between the 5th house and the 7th.

When the chart shows both

Many charts carry signs from both lists. In real life that usually means love cum arranged: you meet someone yourself, or through family, and both sides agree. It is the most common result in India today.

Does one last longer than the other?

No. How a marriage goes depends on the 7th house, its lord, Venus and the match between the two charts. How you met matters far less than how you treat each other.

If you are in love and worried about the match, check the Guna Milan and the Manglik status of both charts before you worry about anything else.