Learn Vedic Astrology
The vocabulary you need to read your own chart on this site, in the order the concepts build.
Rashi, bhava, graha
A chart has three moving parts. The twelve rashis are fixed 30° slices of the sidereal zodiac. The twelve bhavas are areas of life, counted from your lagna. The nine grahas move through the rashis and land in bhavas — that placement is the whole reading.
Why sidereal (Lahiri)
Vedic astrology measures from the fixed stars, western astrology from the equinox. The gap between them — the ayanamsa — is now about 24°, which is why your Vedic Sun sign is usually the previous sign. This site uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, the Indian government standard.
Nakshatra and pada
The zodiac also divides into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′, each with four padas. Your Moon’s nakshatra sets your Vimshottari dasha sequence, your naming syllable, and most of what matching looks at.
Dignity and strength
A graha is exalted, in moolatrikona, in its own sign, or in a friend’s, neutral or enemy sign — down to debilitated. Same planet, same house, opposite result. Read dignity before you read any prediction.
Dasha: the timing system
Placement says what; dasha says when. Vimshottari runs 120 years of planetary periods in a fixed order from your birth nakshatra, subdividing into antardasha and pratyantardasha. A promise in the chart tends to come due in the dasha of the planets that make it.
Gochar: transits
The daily, weekly and yearly horoscopes on this site are gochar — where the planets are now, counted from your Moon sign. Transits trigger; the natal chart and the dasha decide the size of the result.