Forty-four terms of the Vedic sky — the words you will meet in every chart, panchang and conversation about jyotish. No mysticism without a definition.
The 'science of light' — Vedic astrology. One of the six Vedangas, called the eye of the Veda because it lights the path of action with time.
The Vedic birth chart — a map of the sky at the moment of birth, drawn as twelve houses with nine grahas. The foundation of all analysis.
A 'planet' in the jyotish sense — the nine grahas are Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. 'Graha' means 'that which grasps' — each seizes a domain of life.
A zodiac sign — one of twelve 30° divisions of the ecliptic. Your Moon rashi (not Sun sign) is the primary identity marker in Vedic astrology.
The ascendant — the sign rising on the eastern horizon at birth. It sets the twelve-house frame of the chart; everything hangs on it.
A house — one of twelve life topics (self, wealth, siblings, home, children, health, marriage, longevity, fortune, career, gains, loss) anchored to the lagna.
A lunar mansion — one of 27 star-stations the Moon visits each month. Sets dasha sequence, gana, nadi and the syllables for naming.
A planetary period — the time allotted to each graha. Vimshottari covers 120 years across nine planets; it is the clock of predictions.
Matching of birth charts by points — the Ashtakoot system scores 36 gunas across eight tests of compatibility.
The eight kootas (tests) of matching: Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gana, Bhakoot, Nadi — worth 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8 points.
The pulse-koota, heaviest at 8 points. Three nadis (Adi, Madhya, Antya) echo the Ayurvedic doshas; same-nadi pairs score zero unless cancelled.
Mars affliction from Mars in houses 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 or 12. Feared more than it deserves — cancellation rules and full-chart reading come first.
The 7-point koota of emotional harmony from the Moon signs' relative positions. Same or 7-8 positions score highest.
Temperament class — Deva (peaceful), Manushya (pragmatic), Rakshasa (fierce) — worth 6 points; it predicts conflict style, not love.
The 4-point koota of instinctive compatibility, named after fourteen animals from the nakshatras.
The five-limbed Vedic almanac: tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga, karana. The operating system of Hindu time.
The lunar day — a 12° step of Moon–Sun elongation, thirty per month. Festivals follow tithis, not dates.
Today's lunar mansion — one of the five panchang limbs; sets the day's character and auspicious activities.
The Sun–Moon combined position — the fourth panchang limb, 27 yogas cycling through the year.
Half a tithi — the fifth panchang limb; eleven karanas rotate through the lunar month.
The weekday — ruled by a graha (Monday Moon … Saturday Saturn). The simplest panchang limb.
New moon — the darkest tithi, kept for ancestor rituals (shraddha) and rest; the monthly reset.
Full moon — the tithi of completion, gratitude and celebration: Guru Purnima, Sharad Purnima, Kartik Purnima.
The 11th tithi, twice monthly — a fasting and cleansing day attached to Vishnu; 24 named Ekadashis a year.
An elected auspicious moment — chosen from panchang factors for weddings, house-entry, launches. The art of beginning well.
The Hindu era-year. Vikram Samvat runs ~57 years ahead of the Gregorian; the calendar's historical backbone.
The great planetary period — Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17 years.
The sub-period within a mahadasha — nine nested periods, each planet in turn. Mahadasha sets the era, antardasha the season.
Saturn's 7½-year transit over your Moon sign and its neighbours — three phases of restructuring, the forge, and consolidation.
Saturn transiting the 8th from your Moon — Sade Sati's harder sibling, famous far less but felt more.
Saturn spends ~2.5 years per sign; its transits time the long exams of life: career consolidation, duties, debts.
Jupiter's yearly sign change sets the year's expansion theme — its grace period is when muhurtas are chosen.
A transit — the current position of a graha, read against the birth chart. Dashas tell when; gochar tells how.
The science of numbers — Vedic numerology. Birth date, name letters and grids each speak.
The birth date reduced to one digit (1–9) — the numerological signature of the life's engine.
The 3×3 magic square of numerology — birth date digits placed in cells; rows are planes of existence, every line sums to 15.
The name-to-number system weighting letters by vibration (A,I,J,Q,Y = 1 … to 8), from Babylon, favoured for name analysis.
11, 22, 33 — uncut double-digit Life Paths carrying heightened intensity: messenger, master builder, master teacher.
A 78-card oracle: 22 Major Arcana (life's great lessons) and 56 Minor Arcana (daily events). A mirror for the questioner.
The 22 trump cards from The Fool (0) to The World (XXI) — archetypes of the soul's journey.
The 56 suit cards — Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles — mapping everyday events and feelings.
The essential layout: where you stand · the crosswind · the open road. One sentence in three clauses.
The north lunar node — the shadow graha of hunger and ambition. Amplifies what it touches; eclipses occur at its axis.
The south lunar node — Rahu's counterpart, the dissolver. Where Rahu chases, Ketu releases.