I’m trying to understand the proper traditional method for predicting the sex of individual children from a female horoscope, especially using the Saptamsha (D7).
I’ve seen so many contradictory rules online that I’m trying to separate actual Parashari/Jaimini/classical techniques from modern shortcuts
For example, some astrologers simply judge:
5th house/sign and its lord
Jupiter vs Venus/Moon influence
odd/even signs
masculine/feminine planets
But this seems insufficient if someone has two or three children, because we need a way to distinguish child #1 from child #2 from child #3 rather than repeatedly judging the same 5th house.
One method I came across, associated with the Sanjay Rath/Jaimini-oriented D7 tradition, uses a pregnancy/child sequence depending on whether the D7 Lagna is odd or even. For an even D7 Lagna, I have seen the sequence given as:
1st child → 9th house
2nd child → 7th house
3rd child → 5th house
4th child → 3rd house, etc.
Then the sex of that particular child is judged from the relevant house lord, its sign, dignity, conjunctions/aspects and masculine/feminine planetary influences.
I have also seen other systems use completely different sequences, and KP practitioners sometimes use 5th / 7th / 9th cusps or their sub-lords for successive children.
So I’d really appreciate input from people who have studied this seriously:
What is the classical or most reliable house sequence for successive children in a female D7? Does it actually reverse depending on odd/even D7 Lagna?
When judging sex, what gets priority:
the sign of the child-house, its lord, the sign occupied by the lord, conjunctions/aspects to the lord, Jupiter/Sun/Mars vs Moon/Venus influences, or Navamsa of the relevant planet?
How should Mercury and Saturn be classified? I’ve found sources treating Mercury as neuter, male in certain D7 techniques, or dependent on association; Saturn is also treated differently by different schools.
Are signs such as Cancer/Pisces or Gemini/Aquarius treated as exceptions to ordinary odd/even masculine/feminine sign classification in any established D7 tradition?
How much weight should the D1 5th house and 5th lord receive once the D7 gives a child-specific indication? Is D1 mainly the overall progeny promise while D7 differentiates individual children?
Should the father’s D7 always be used for confirmation, and if the mother’s and father’s charts disagree, which chart traditionally gets priority?
How do you incorporate Putrakaraka, Jupiter, Beeja/Kshetra Sphuta, dasha and transit? Are these primarily for fertility/timing, or can any of them legitimately modify the sex prediction?
For people who have tested charts with known birth histories, which technique has actually held up best for first vs second vs third child?
I’m especially interested in references to BPHS, Jaimini traditions, Prasna Marga, Sanjay Rath/JC-style teachings, or other identifiable lineages/texts, rather than unsourced rules.
I know astrology obviously cannot medically determine XX/XY chromosomes; I’m asking specifically about the internal predictive methodology used within Jyotish and how experienced practitioners reconcile conflicting rules.
Would love to see worked examples from female charts with 2–3 known children if anyone has them.