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Learn Astrology, Simply
Start with the beginner guides, then use the glossary whenever a term feels unfamiliar — every definition is written in plain language, not jargon.
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Glossary
Short, honest definitions of the terms you'll meet everywhere in astrology — 36 and counting.
PanchangAbhijit MuhuratA universally auspicious window near local midday, lasting about 48 minutes. It is counted as the eighth of the fifteen muhurats between sunrise and sunset, beginning roughly 24 minutes before solar noon. Tradition holds it auspicious for most beginnings, and it is one of the few windows allowed to override a mild dosha — though it is still avoided on Wednesdays by many practitioners.ChartsAscendant (Lagna)The zodiac sign rising in the east at the exact moment of birth. It sets the first house of the chart and shapes your look, nature and the layout of the whole kundli.ChartsAspect (Drishti)The influence a planet casts on the house or planet it 'looks at'. Every planet aspects the 7th house from itself; Mars, Jupiter and Saturn cast special extra aspects in Vedic astrology.CalculationAyanamsaThe cumulative difference between the tropical zodiac (anchored to the equinox) and the sidereal zodiac (anchored to the fixed stars), caused by the slow precession of Earth's axis. Currently about 24 degrees. Subtracting the ayanamsa from a tropical position gives the sidereal one used in Vedic astrology — which is why a Western Sun sign often becomes the previous sign in a Vedic chart.PlanetsBeneficA planet whose natural influence is supportive and constructive. The natural benefics are Jupiter (the greatest), Venus, the waxing Moon and Mercury when unaffiliated with malefics. Benefic planets in a chart smooth the houses they occupy and aspect, soften afflictions, and during their dashas tend to bring growth, protection and favourable events — subject always to the benefic's own dignity, house placement and running period.PanchangChoghadiyaA Gujarati-origin timing system dividing the day and night into eight parts each, labelled by quality: Amrit (nectar), Shubh (good), Labh (gain), Char (movable), Udveg (anxiety), Rog (disease) and Kaal (loss). Each choghadiya is ruled by a planet and lasts roughly 90 minutes, with the pattern shifting daily from the day lord. Widely used for choosing travel and trade hours, especially in western India and among trading communities.StrengthCombustA planet too close to the Sun in the sky, hidden by the Sun's glare and considered weakened in Vedic astrology. Combustion limits differ by planet: Moon 12 degrees, Mars 17, Mercury 14 (12 when retrograde), Jupiter 11, Venus 10 (8 when retrograde) and Saturn 15. The closer the planet, the stronger the effect; the Sun itself and the nodes are never combust.WesternConjunctionTwo planets sitting close together in the same sign. Their energies mix into one combined effect — the strongest and most personal of all planetary angles.TimingDashaA planetary period in Vedic astrology. In the vimshottari system, life is divided into periods of the nine planets, each with smaller sub-periods, showing which planet's themes run your life at a given time.StrengthDebilitationThe sign opposite a planet's exaltation, where the planet sits at its lowest formal dignity in Vedic astrology — Sun debilitated in Libra, Moon in Scorpio, Mars in Cancer, Mercury in Pisces, Jupiter in Capricorn, Venus in Virgo and Saturn in Aries. Debilitation suggests the planet's nature struggles to express directly, though cancellation rules (Neecha Bhanga) can restore much of its strength.StrengthExaltationThe sign, and often a specific degree, where a planet is at its maximum dignity in Vedic astrology — expressing its nature most powerfully and comfortably. Sun is exalted in Aries (10°), Moon in Taurus (3°), Mars in Capricorn (28°), Mercury in Virgo (15°), Jupiter in Cancer (5°), Venus in Pisces (27°) and Saturn in Libra (20°). The opposite sign is the planet's debilitation.MatchingGun MilanThe Ashtakoota points system used in kundli milan. Eight kootas — Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gana, Bhakoot and Nadi — add up to 36 points; 18 or more is traditionally a workable match.PanchangHoraA planetary hour — one of 24 hours in the traditional day, each ruled by one of the seven classical planets in a fixed repeating sequence beginning with the day's lord. Used in muhurat work to pick the best hour within an already-chosen day: Jupiter's hora for finance and teaching, Venus's for arts and marriage matters, Mercury's for trade and communication.ChartsHouse (Bhava)One of the twelve divisions of a birth chart, each covering an area of life — self, wealth, siblings, home, children, enemies, partner, longevity, luck, career, gains and loss. A planet's result depends a lot on the house it occupies.PanchangKaranaHalf of a tithi — the panchang's finest lunar unit, completed every 6 degrees of Moon-Sun separation. Each karana lasts roughly six to thirteen hours, and a lunar month contains sixty of them. Eleven karanas exist in repeating cycles: seven movable ones (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija, Vishti) and four fixed ones (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, Kimstughna) reserved for particular lunar days.PanchangKrishna PakshaThe dark fortnight of the lunar month, running fifteen tithis from Purnima (full moon) to Amavasya (new moon) as the Moon steadily wanes. Krish means dark. Tradition reads this contracting half as the month's season of settling: favoured for repayment, release, ancestor rites and completion of unfinished work, and generally avoided for launches, acquisitions and ceremonies meant to grow over time.PlanetsMaleficA planet whose natural influence is severe, testing or disruptive. The natural malefics are Saturn (the greatest), Mars, the Sun in a milder degree, the waning Moon, and the shadow planets Rahu and Ketu. Malefics challenge, discipline and cut away — traditionally linked with obstacles and loss when weak or badly placed, but with exceptional achievement and resilience when strong, dignified and seated in houses that welcome effort.DoshasMangal DoshA placement of Mars in the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house (from lagna, Moon or Venus), usually checked before marriage. Its strength changes with sign, aspects and the person's age.ChartsMoon Sign (Rashi)The sign the Moon occupied at birth. It governs mind, mood and instinct, decides your dasha order, and is the base of Vedic (rashifal) predictions.TimingMuhuratA carefully chosen window of time when the planets support a specific activity — marriage, travel, business launch or griha pravesh. Abhijit muhurat, around local noon, is the most universally favorable.ChartsNakshatraOne of 27 birth stars the Moon passes through in a month. Nakshatras fine-tune planet meanings, decide Vedic name sounds, and are used in kundli milan.ChartsNavamsaThe ninth harmonic divisional chart (D9) of Vedic astrology, dividing each sign into nine parts of 3 degrees 20 minutes. The navamsa refines every planet's hidden strength and is the primary chart for marriage, the spouse and the inner self. A planet dignified in the navamsa is considered reliable across the second half of life regardless of its birth-chart condition, while weakness there tempers early promise.StrengthOwn SignA planet occupying a sign it rules — Sun in Leo, Moon in Cancer, Mars in Aries or Scorpio, Mercury in Gemini or Virgo, Jupiter in Sagittarius or Pisces, Venus in Taurus or Libra, Saturn in Capricorn or Aquarius. Own-sign placement is high dignity, just below moolatrikona and exaltation: the planet is master in its own house, expressing itself freely and supporting the houses it rules.PanchangPakshaA lunar fortnight — half of the lunar month, fifteen tithis long. There are two: Shukla paksha, the bright half when the Moon waxes from new moon to full, and Krishna paksha, the dark half when it wanes from full to new. Paksha decides which set of tithi names applies to a day and shapes the tone of rituals, with the waxing half favoured for growth-oriented work.PanchangRahu KaalA daily period of roughly 90 minutes ruled by Rahu and considered inauspicious for beginning new work. Calculated by dividing daylight from sunrise to sunset into eight equal parts, with a fixed part assigned to each weekday: Monday the 2nd, Saturday the 3rd, Friday the 4th, Wednesday the 5th, Thursday the 6th, Tuesday the 7th and Sunday the 8th. The clock time shifts daily with the season.GrahasRahu & KetuThe north and south lunar nodes — shadow points that stand for the karmic axis. Rahu pulls toward worldly wants; Ketu points to letting go and past-life skill.TransitsRetrogradeThe apparent backward move of a planet in the sky as seen from Earth. Astrologically, a retrograde planet turns its energy inward — reviewing and rethinking the matters of the houses it touches.TransitsSade SatiThe roughly seven-and-a-half-year window when Saturn moves through the 12th, 1st and 2nd houses from your natal Moon. It is a time of restructuring and growth, not pure bad luck.PanchangSankrantiThe Sun's transit from one zodiac sign into the next, occurring about every 30 days in the sidereal zodiac and giving twelve sankrantis a year. Each marks a solar month's turning point in the Hindu calendar. Sankranti days carry special rules: charity is encouraged, and auspicious beginnings are generally avoided in the hours around the crossing, when the Sun is said to be in transition.PanchangShukla PakshaThe bright fortnight of the lunar month, running fifteen tithis from Amavasya (new moon) to Purnima (full moon) as the Moon waxes. Because the Moon's light is steadily increasing through the half, tradition treats Shukla paksha as the growing half of the month, favoured for beginnings, purchases, investments, marriage ceremonies, housewarmings, and anything intended to expand and endure over time.WesternSun SignThe zodiac sign the Sun occupied on your birth date. It shapes your core identity, vitality and direction, and is the sign used in Western horoscopes.WesternSynastryThe Western method of comparing two birth charts — placing one person's planets on the other's houses and measuring the angles between them — to read a relationship.PanchangTithiA lunar day in the Hindu panchang, measured by the Moon gaining 12 degrees of separation from the Sun. Thirty tithis fill a lunar month — fifteen in the waxing Shukla paksha and fifteen in the waning Krishna paksha — from Pratipada up to Purnima or Amavasya. Tithi is the first of the five panchang limbs and shapes the day's suitability for rituals and new work.TransitsTransit (Gochar)The real-time movement of planets in the sky compared against your birth chart. Transits explain why certain weeks or years feel active, heavy or lucky.ChartsVargottamaA planet occupying the same sign in both the birth chart (D1) and the navamsa (D9) — literally 'of the same division'. Vargottama planets are considered doubled in strength and reliability: their promise holds steadily through time, their results show fewer interruptions, and their dashas tend to deliver the chart's promise more consistently than the same planet in different D1 and D9 signs.PanchangYoga (Panchang)The third limb of the panchang: one of 27 lunisolar combinations calculated from the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes. The total is divided into 27 spans of 13 degrees 20 minutes, each named a yoga — from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. Yogas colour the day's quality; some like Siddhi and Amrita are auspicious, while Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided for new work.