Combust Planets

In astrology when a planet comes in the orb of sun then it is considered as combust or asta. In predictive astrology the the significations of the house which is ruled by the combust planet looses. Now the 2 planets mercury and venus remain close to the sun.
They are called inner planet as their path of revolution around the sun is between earth and sun.Their frequency of getting combust in a year is very high. Now here the confusion arises. Every astrologer uses own discretion while drawing results. Some totally ignore the combustion of inner planet and take account of only outer planet. Before making any final conclusion it is very important to understand the concept of eclipse first. For example in solar eclipse the moon comes between Sun and earth making the sun to set. Now apply the same method with mercury. There are two possibility during the revolution of mercury around the sun.i.e.
1) Mercury comes between sun and earth(called inferior conjunction)
2) Sun come between mercury and earth(called superior conjunction)
Inferior conjunction is possible only with Venus and Mercury. It happen when they are retrograde(or Vakri).In case I it is the sun which is the sufferer. In case II it is the mercury which will at the reciving end. So one should analyse the chart in a rational manner , rather than applying the old rules blindly.

Mythology of eclipse

In Hindu mythology there is a wonderful story that describes how the gods and the demons once formed an alliance to produce a nectar that could give them immortality. This is the story of the churning of the milk-ocean and the descent of Lord Visnu as the Kurma avatara, the divine tortoise. When the nectar that was churned from this ocean was being served to the gods, a demon, disguised as a god, sat between the Sun and the Moon in an attempt to procure the nectar. When he was detected by the Sun and the Moon, Lord Visnu immediately severed his head from his body. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough, for the demon had already tasted a small quantity of the nectar and had become immortal. Ever since, this demon is said to wreak vengeance on the Sun and Moon whenever they come near. The head of this great demon is known as Rahu and his tail is known as Ketu.Since then Rahu and ketu promised that they will going to trouble sun and moon from time to time to take the revenge.In Hindu astrology Rahu and Ketu are known as two invisible planets. They are enemies of the Sun and the Moon, who at certain times of the year (during conjunction or opposition) swallow the Sun or the Moon causing either a solar or a lunar eclipse.