Also called: ladder · steps · stairs · ladder of success

Where on the hand: Most significant rising toward Jupiter or the Sun, or as an ascending series on the Fate line.

What it looks like: Two long parallel lines joined by three or more short parallel cross-strokes at regular intervals — a ladder in outline. The stair form is a single line rising in right-angled steps.

Progressive, step-by-step ascent; promotion by grades rather than a single leap; a career built by stages. Read as auspicious but slow.

Read with care: The classical tradition has no ladder, and a grid of crossing lines is classically the inauspicious जाल (jāl, net) — harmful wherever located. The ladder is frequently a mis-read jaal; distinguish carefully.