Lal Kitab Remedy Planner: Simple Upay for Planets and Houses
Lal Kitab — the 'Red Book' — is a unique system of Vedic astrology compiled by Pt. Roop Chand Joshi and first published in the 1930s. It is famous for two things: simple, everyday remedies (upay) that anyone can perform, and a set of principles that differ sharply from classical texts. Where classical astrology prescribes complex rituals, Lal Kitab offers remedies as plain as offering water to the Sun or feeding a black dog on Saturday.
The core philosophy of Lal Kitab remedies is 'give, don't destroy'. A weak or afflicted planet is pacified not by fighting it but by giving — donating food, offering items, serving creatures, or changing a small habit. The remedy is performed on the planet's weekday, ideally for a set duration, and it is judged by its effect on the native's life rather than by ritual correctness.
What is Lal Kitab
Lal Kitab is a compact system of Vedic astrology, written in a distinctive question-answer style, that emphasizes practical remedies over complex calculation. It is especially popular in North India and among diaspora families because its remedies are cheap, daily and doable: a handful of rice, a coin, a lemon, a walk to a temple.
Lal Kitab also reads the chart house by house with its own rules. The remedy planner follows this spirit: it identifies the planets and houses that need attention and pairs them with the simplest effective upay.
- Remedies are simple, daily and inexpensive — no elaborate rituals required.
- The system emphasizes giving and serving rather than destroying or fighting.
- Each remedy is tied to a planet and its weekday for maximum effect.
Core Principles: Give, Don't Destroy
The central rule of Lal Kitab remedies is that a troubled planet is pacified by offering it something it values. The Sun is pacified by giving water at sunrise; the Moon by offering rice or milk; Mars by giving moong or jaggery on Tuesday; Saturn by feeding the needy or offering oil on Saturday. The giving creates a channel through which the planet's difficult energy can flow and dissolve.
Lal Kitab also teaches that remedies should be performed with faith and consistency, and that the native's own actions matter more than the astrologer's prescription. A remedy done once in a hurry is far weaker than the same remedy done daily with a clear intention for a set number of days.
- Offering water (arghya) to the rising Sun is the classic Sun remedy.
- Giving in the planet's direction and on its weekday strengthens the upay.
- Consistency and faith outweigh the size of the offering.
Common Remedies by Planet
Each planet has a set of well-known Lal Kitab upay. The planner pairs them with the planets highlighted in your chart — usually the weak, afflicted or dasha-running planets.
- Sun: offer water to the rising Sun; donate wheat or copper; feed birds in the morning.
- Moon: offer rice or milk; donate white items; pour milk at a temple on Monday.
- Mars: donate moong dal or jaggery on Tuesday; offer red cloth; give to a worker.
- Mercury: donate green gram or green fodder; feed cows on Wednesday; give green items.
- Jupiter: donate chana dal, turmeric or bananas on Thursday; feed a sadhu or the learned.
- Venus: donate white items, sugar or curd on Friday; give white cloth or silver.
- Saturn: donate black sesame, oil, iron or blankets; feed a black dog, crows or the poor on Saturday.
- Rahu: donate coconut, mustard oil or blue items; feed stray dogs; give to widows.
- Ketu: donate sesame, blankets or mixed grains; feed ants with sugar; give to the elderly.
House-Based Remedies
Lal Kitab pairs remedies not only with planets but with the houses they occupy, because a planet's position in a house changes what it needs. A planet in the 1st house affects the self; in the 4th, home and mother; in the 6th, health and enemies; in the 7th, spouse; in the 8th, longevity; in the 12th, expenses and foreign matters.
The remedy planner reads your chart's house placements and suggests the corresponding upay — for example, feeding ants and offering sugar for an afflicted 6th house, or giving white items for a difficult 7th house. This house-level reading is what makes Lal Kitab remedies feel personal rather than generic.
- 6th house affliction: feed ants with sugar; donate medicines; serve the needy.
- 7th house difficulties: give white items; avoid arguments with the spouse's family.
- 8th house themes: donate blankets and sesame; avoid negativity about longevity.
- 12th house pressure: reduce waste; donate old clothes; give to those in need.
How to Use the Remedy Planner
The planner starts from your birth chart, identifies the planets that need attention (weak, afflicted, or running their dasha), and builds a small daily and weekly habit plan: which offering, on which day, for how long. Traditional durations are 40 days for a single remedy, 43 days for certain planetary remedies, or a full year for ongoing maintenance.
The practice is deliberately small — five to ten minutes a day. Choose one remedy at a time rather than many at once, do it on the correct weekday, and keep a simple record. Lal Kitab itself teaches that the remedy works when the native's attitude changes alongside the offering: patience, humility and service are the real agents of change.
- Start with the single most relevant planet; do not overload the practice.
- Perform the upay on the planet's weekday, ideally at the recommended time.
- Run the remedy for 40–43 days, then reassess; repeat annually or during the planet's dasha.
- Pair every remedy with a small attitude change — service, patience, humility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lal Kitab astrology?
Lal Kitab (the Red Book) is a system of Vedic astrology compiled by Pt. Roop Chand Joshi, first published in the 1930s. It is known for simple, practical remedies (upay) and for house-by-house principles that often differ from classical texts. Its remedies center on giving and service rather than elaborate rituals.
Do Lal Kitab remedies really work?
Many practitioners and families report that simple, consistent Lal Kitab upay bring noticeable relief — but the remedies work best when paired with a genuine change in attitude and behavior. Lal Kitab itself emphasizes faith, consistency and service over the size of the offering.
Which day should I do remedies for Saturn?
Saturn remedies are performed on Saturday. The classic upay include donating black sesame, mustard oil, iron or blankets, and feeding a black dog, crows or the poor. The Shani mantra (Om Pram Prim Praum Sah Shanaischaraya Namah) is often added.
How long should I do a remedy?
The traditional duration is 40 days for most remedies and 43 days for certain planetary upay, with a full year recommended for ongoing maintenance. The key is consistency: a small daily practice for 40 days is far more effective than a large one performed once.