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11What is a Navamsha chart?A Navamsha chart is a derived chart: each rashi is split into nine equal parts, and every position is re-sorted by the part it falls in.
Nine slices per sign
Each 30-degree rashi is divided into nine navamshas of 3°20′ each, which makes 108 across the twelve signs. The translator points out that the 27 nakshatras, each split into four quarters, also make 108. So one navamsha lines up with one nakshatra quarter (pada).
Where the counting starts
Navamshas take the names of the twelve rashis, counted in order again and again from the start of Mesha. As a result, Mesha, Simha and Dhanus all begin with the Mesha navamsha. Vrishabha, Kanya and Makara begin with Makara. Mithuna, Tula and Kumbha begin with Tula. Kataka, Vrischika and Meena begin with Kataka.
A worked example
Take a point at 5° Vrishabha. Its first slice (0° to 3°20′) is Makara, and its second slice (3°20′ to 6°40′) is Kumbha. So in the Navamsha chart, which modern software often labels D9, this point is placed in Kumbha. Nothing new was observed in the sky. The same position was simply sorted a different way.
Work one out yourself
Choose a degree from a chart you already have and find its navamsha by hand. Each slice is only 3°20′ wide, so a small error in the recorded degree, such as one caused by an uncertain birth time, can push the result into the next sign. Be cautious with points near a boundary.
This explains the traditional chart calculation, not a verified prediction of marriage. Astro Aunty’s free Gun Milan calculates a Moon-based score out of 36; it does not generate a Navamsha, Lagna, or complete birth chart.
12The traditional rulers of the zodiac signsFind the traditional ruling graha for each zodiac sign, with a simple example you can follow on your own chart.
Meet the seven rulers
The Brihat Jataka uses seven grahas as sign lords: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. The Sun and Moon each rule one sign, and the other five rule two signs each. Together they cover all twelve rashis.
The full list
Mars rules Aries (Mesha) and Scorpio (Vrischika). Venus rules Taurus (Vrishabha) and Libra (Tula). Mercury rules Gemini (Mithuna) and Virgo (Kanya). The Moon rules Cancer (Kataka); the Sun rules Leo (Simha). Jupiter rules Sagittarius (Dhanus) and Pisces (Meena). Saturn rules Capricorn (Makara) and Aquarius (Kumbha). A graha’s own sign is called its swakshetra.
A small lookup
If a report says the Moon is in Kanya, the lord of that sign is Mercury. The translator's notes add that the same rulers apply to the navamsha and dwadashamsha divisions. So a navamsha named Kumbha is also ruled by Saturn.
Draw a reference wheel
Write the twelve rashis in a circle starting from Mesha, and add each lord. You will see a mirror pattern. With Kataka and Simha at the center, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn appear in the same order on both sides.
Rulership is a traditional assignment used for lookup. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean any sign is better or worse than another. This passage lists only these seven grahas and does not assign signs to Rahu or Ketu.
13What is a rashi?A zodiac sign, or rashi, is one of twelve equal 30-degree sections of the zodiac; its familiar animal or image is a symbol for that section.
Start with the measurement
The zodiac is a 360-degree circle divided into twelve equal signs. Each sign is 30 degrees wide. Its name tells you which section you are looking at; a degree tells you where a point lies inside that section. These are two parts of the same address.
Learn the order once
The sequence is Aries (Mesha), Taurus (Vrishabha), Gemini (Mithuna), Cancer (Kataka), Leo (Simha), Virgo (Kanya), Libra (Tula), Scorpio (Vrischika), Sagittarius (Dhanus), Capricorn (Makara), Aquarius (Kumbha) and Pisces (Meena). After Pisces, the count returns to Aries.
Use the symbols to remember
Traditional images include two fish for Pisces, a person holding a water pot for Aquarius, and a man and a woman for Gemini. You can use these images to remember the names. The image does not change the size or boundaries of the sign.
Try one calculation
Suppose a point lies 45 degrees from the start of Aries. Subtract the first 30 degrees, which belong to Aries: 15 remain, so the point is at 15 degrees of Taurus. Exactly 30 degrees starts Taurus at 0 degrees. Draw a circle, mark every 30 degrees, and add the twelve names in order.
14Nakshatra and pada: what is the difference?A nakshatra is one of 27 equal sections of the zodiac; a pada is one of its four equal quarters.
Divide the circle by 27
Dividing 360 degrees by 27 gives 13 degrees 20 minutes for each nakshatra. Here minutes measure an angle: 60 minutes make one degree. The sequence begins with Ashwini at the start of Aries (Mesha) and ends with Revati at the end of Pisces (Meena).
Divide each nakshatra by four
Each quarter, called a pada, spans 3°20′ because 13°20′ ÷ 4 = 3°20′. There are 108 quarters in the full circle and nine in each 30-degree sign. At an exact boundary, use the following quarter; after quarter four, start the next nakshatra at quarter one.
See how signs and nakshatras overlap
Each sign contains two and a quarter nakshatras, so their starting points do not always coincide. Krittika's first quarter lies in Aries, while its second begins Taurus (Vrishabha). One nakshatra can therefore extend across two signs.
Work an example
At 18° Aries, the Moon is 4°40′ past the end of Ashwini, placing it in Bharani. Within Bharani, quarter two runs from 3°20′ up to, but not including, 6°40′. The result is Bharani, pada 2. For another sign, first count from Aries: 18° Taurus is 30° + 18° = 48°. Try another position using that total.
Astro Aunty’s free Gun Milan calculates a basic Moon-based score out of 36; it does not generate a complete birth chart.
15What does Hora mean in a chart?In this method, a hora is one of the two 15-degree halves of a zodiac sign, linked to either the Sun or the Moon.
Split each sign in half
Every sign is 30 degrees wide. The first hora runs from 0° up to, but not including, 15°. The second begins at 15° and ends before 30°. Exactly 15° belongs to the second half; at 30°, the next sign begins. There are 24 halves across twelve signs.
Identify odd and even signs
Count Aries (Mesha) as number one. The odd signs are Aries, Gemini (Mithuna), Leo (Simha), Libra (Tula), Sagittarius (Dhanus) and Aquarius (Kumbha). The even signs are Taurus (Vrishabha), Cancer (Kataka), Virgo (Kanya), Scorpio (Vrischika), Capricorn (Makara) and Pisces (Meena).
Apply the Sun and Moon order
In an odd sign, the first half is the Sun's, or Solar, hora and the second is the Moon's, or Lunar, hora. In an even sign the order reverses: Moon first, then Sun. Check both the sign's number and the degree before choosing.
Check two examples
A planet at 20° Leo is in an odd sign and its second half, so it falls in the Moon's hora. A planet at 10° Taurus is in the first half of an even sign, also the Moon's hora. Choose another sign and degree, then identify its solar or lunar hora.
This guide covers half-sign divisions. Planetary-hour calculations are a separate topic.
16Understanding the three Drekkana divisionsA Drekkana is one of three 10-degree parts of a sign; this method assigns each part a ruler by counting from that sign.
Divide each sign into thirds
A 30-degree sign has three parts: 0° to less than 10°, 10° to less than 20°, and 20° to less than 30°. At an exact boundary, use the following part; 30° begins the next sign. There are 36 Drekkanas across twelve signs.
Count one, five and nine
The first part belongs to the ruler of the sign itself. The second belongs to the ruler of the fifth sign from it, and the third to the ruler of the ninth sign. Always include the starting sign as number one.
Look up the rulers
Mars rules Aries (Mesha) and Scorpio (Vrischika); Venus, Taurus (Vrishabha) and Libra (Tula); Mercury, Gemini (Mithuna) and Virgo (Kanya). The Moon rules Cancer (Kataka), and the Sun rules Leo (Simha). Jupiter rules Sagittarius (Dhanus) and Pisces (Meena); Saturn, Capricorn (Makara) and Aquarius (Kumbha).
Work an example
At 14° Virgo, a point is in the second part. Count five signs including Virgo: Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn. Capricorn's ruler is Saturn. For the third part, the ninth sign from Virgo is Taurus, ruled by Venus. Try a degree in Aries next: identify its part, count to the relevant sign, then look up that sign's ruler.
17A first look at DwadashamshaDwadashamsha divides each sign into twelve parts of 2°30′; their names follow zodiac order, beginning with the sign itself.
Find the size of each part
Divide a 30-degree sign by twelve: each part spans 2½ degrees, written 2°30′. The first begins at 0°, the second at 2°30′, and the third at 5°. Each exact boundary belongs to the following part. At 30°, the next sign begins.
Name the parts in order
The first part takes the sign's own name. In Aries (Mesha), the sequence begins Aries, Taurus (Vrishabha), Gemini (Mithuna), and continues through Pisces (Meena). In Taurus, it begins with Taurus and finishes with Aries. Start a fresh twelve-part count for each sign.
Look up the ruler
Each part has the same ruler as the sign whose name it carries. A part named Sagittarius (Dhanus), for example, has Jupiter as its ruler. First find the part and its name; then look up the corresponding ruler.
Work an example
Take 17° Gemini. Since 17 ÷ 2.5 = 6.8, six parts are complete and the point lies in part seven: from 15° to less than 17°30′. Count Gemini, Cancer (Kataka), Leo (Simha), Virgo (Kanya), Libra (Tula), Scorpio (Vrischika), Sagittarius. The seventh part is Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter. Choose another degree and repeat the calculation, including the starting sign in your count.
18Which houses are called Kendras?Houses 1, 4, 7 and 10 form the Kendra group; in these examples, we count one whole sign as one house.
Choose the starting point
For these examples, use whole-sign counting: the rising sign, or lagna, is house 1, and each following sign is the next house. Other house systems can place boundaries differently. Start by marking the rising sign before adding any house numbers.
Spot the spacing
On this evenly divided sign wheel, houses 1, 4, 7 and 10 are a quarter-circle apart. Move forward three positions from 1 to reach 4, then 7, then 10. Another three takes you back to 1. Together these positions are called Kendras, often translated as angles or quadrants.
Recognize alternate names
You may also encounter Kantaka or Chatushtaya for this same group. Individual houses can have other names: the fourth is called Sukha, the seventh Jamitra, and the tenth Karma. These labels refer to positions you have already counted; they do not add more houses.
Work an example
With Cancer (Kataka) rising, count Cancer 1, Leo (Simha) 2, Virgo (Kanya) 3, Libra (Tula) 4. Continuing brings Capricorn (Makara) to 7 and Aries (Mesha) to 10. The Kendras are therefore Cancer, Libra, Capricorn and Aries. Draw a twelve-sign wheel, mark those four positions, and repeat with another rising sign.
19The houses between the KendrasThe other eight houses fall into two groups: Panapara houses 2, 5, 8 and 11, and Apoklima houses 3, 6, 9 and 12.
Move one house past each Kendra
Begin with the Kendras: houses 1, 4, 7 and 10. The house immediately after each one belongs to the Panapara group. Adding one gives 2, 5, 8 and 11. Keep counting forward through the house numbers.
Move forward once more
The next houses form the Apoklima group: 3, 6, 9 and 12. The pattern repeats as Kendra, Panapara, Apoklima. After house 12, the count returns to house 1, a Kendra.
Check all twelve numbers
Write each group on a separate line. Together they should include every number from 1 to 12 exactly once. For example, house 7 is Kendra, 8 is Panapara, 9 is Apoklima, and 10 begins the pattern again. This gives you a way to check your list without memorizing three separate sequences.
Add sign names to an example
Use whole-sign counting here: with Libra (Tula) rising, Libra is house 1 and each following sign is the next house. Panapara signs are Scorpio (Vrischika), Aquarius (Kumbha), Taurus (Vrishabha) and Leo (Simha). Apoklima signs are Sagittarius (Dhanus), Pisces (Meena), Gemini (Mithuna) and Virgo (Kanya). Mark the house numbers first, then color each group differently on your wheel.
20Signs and houses: what is the difference?A sign names a section of the zodiac; in the whole-sign examples here, its house number comes from counting from the rising sign.
Keep the sign order fixed
The twelve signs run in the same order, from Aries (Mesha) through Pisces (Meena), with 30 degrees in each. A point at 14 degrees of Taurus (Vrishabha) keeps that sign-and-degree address regardless of which sign you use to start counting houses.
Choose how to count houses
For this example, use whole-sign counting: the rising sign, or lagna, is house 1. Each following whole sign is the next house. This lets you label the signs with house numbers from 1 to 12. Other house systems can have different boundaries, so check which method a report uses.
Give one sign different house numbers
The starting point can change between charts. A sign that is house 1 when it rises becomes house 7 when the opposite sign rises. The sign name and the house number therefore answer different questions: which zodiac section, and which place in the count from the rising sign?
Work an example
With Capricorn (Makara) rising, Capricorn is house 1, Aquarius (Kumbha) 2, Pisces 3, Aries 4, and Cancer (Kataka) 7. With Cancer rising instead, Cancer becomes house 1 and Capricorn house 7. Write both complete lists side by side, keeping the zodiac order the same, and compare the numbers.
Astro Aunty’s free Gun Milan calculates a basic Moon-based score out of 36; it does not calculate houses.