Sutram
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Reference

A quiet glossary.

Keep this open while you study. The reading formula is shared; the vocabulary below follows the tradition you select.

The reading formula

Planet · Sign · House.

What is acting (planet), how it acts (sign), and where in life it shows up (house). Three words is your first sentence. Add nuance later.

The 12 houses
1
Lagna · Self
Your body, vitality, the way you arrive in a room.
2
Dhana · Resources
Money, voice, family of origin, what you accumulate.
3
Sahaja · Effort
Siblings, courage, communication, hands-on skill.
4
Sukha · Home
Mother, roots, inner peace, the place you belong.
5
Putra · Creation
Children, romance, intelligence, devotion.
6
Ripu · Friction
Work, health, debts, daily obstacles you grow through.
7
Yuvati · Partnership
Marriage, business partners, the mirror of self.
8
Ayur · Transformation
Hidden things, inheritance, deep change, longevity.
9
Dharma · Meaning
Father, teachers, philosophy, fortune, long journeys.
10
Karma · Vocation
Career, public reputation, the work the world sees.
11
Labha · Gains
Friends, networks, income, wishes fulfilled.
12
Vyaya · Release
Solitude, dreams, foreign lands, what you let go.
The 12 signs
Aries · Fire
Direct, brave, quick to act. The spark.
Taurus · Earth
Sensual, patient, deeply rooted. The garden.
Gemini · Air
Quick-witted, conversational, plural. The messenger.
Cancer · Water
Tender, intuitive, protective. The hearth.
Leo · Fire
Generous, expressive, regal. The performer.
Virgo · Earth
Discerning, careful, useful. The craftsperson.
Libra · Air
Diplomatic, aesthetic, fair. The mirror.
Scorpio · Water
Penetrating, intense, transformative. The well.
Sagittarius · Fire
Philosophical, expansive, hopeful. The arrow.
Capricorn · Earth
Disciplined, ambitious, enduring. The mountain.
Aquarius · Air
Original, humane, future-facing. The signal.
Pisces · Water
Compassionate, dreamy, dissolving. The ocean.
The planets
Sun · Soul
Self, vitality, father, the center you orbit around.
Moon · Mind
Emotion, mother, comfort, the inner weather.
Mars · Courage
Drive, anger, action, what you fight for.
Mercury · Intellect
Speech, commerce, learning, the way you connect ideas.
Jupiter · Wisdom
Teachers, fortune, faith, what expands you.
Venus · Love
Beauty, relationship, art, what you find pleasurable.
Saturn · Time
Discipline, limits, longevity, what slowly matures.
Rahu · Hunger
The unfamiliar pull, ambition, what you obsess over.
Ketu · Release
What you already know, detachment, mystical insight.
Big Three & Dasha

Ascendant (Lagna): the sign rising at your birth. Always House 1. Sets the entire chart.

Moon sign: where the Moon was at your birth — your inner emotional landscape.

Sun sign: where the Sun was — your soul, vitality, sense of centre.

Dasha: a long planetary period that brings one planet’s themes forward. Descriptive, not deterministic.

Vedic terms
Lagna
Your Ascendant — the sign rising in the east at your birth. It sets house 1.
Dasha
A planetary period. Vedic astrology divides a life into planet-ruled seasons.
Daśā
A planetary period. Vedic astrology divides a life into planet-ruled seasons.
Mahadasha
The major planetary period you're living in — the long season, years at a time.
Mahādaśā
The major planetary period you're living in — the long season, years at a time.
Antardasha
A sub-period inside a Mahadasha — the shorter chapter within the long season.
Rashi
A zodiac sign, and also the name for the main birth chart itself.
Rāśi
A zodiac sign, and also the name for the main birth chart itself.
Bhava
A house — one of the twelve areas of life the chart divides into.
Bhāva
A house — one of the twelve areas of life the chart divides into.
Graha
A planet — literally 'that which grasps'. The nine moving forces of a chart.
Jyotisha
Vedic astrology — 'the science of light'.
Jyotiṣa
Vedic astrology — 'the science of light'.
Kendra
The angular houses 1, 4, 7 and 10 — the load-bearing pillars of a chart.
Trikona
The houses of grace and purpose: 1, 5 and 9.
Dusthana
The difficult houses 6, 8 and 12 — growth through friction.
Drishti
Aspect — the way a planet 'looks at' another house from where it sits.
Nakshatra
A lunar mansion — one of 27 finer divisions of the zodiac. Sets your dasha sequence.
Vimshottari
The 120-year dasha system used most widely in Vedic astrology.
Navamsa
The D9 divisional chart — a higher-resolution lens, especially on partnership.
Navāmśa
The D9 divisional chart — a higher-resolution lens, especially on partnership.
Karaka
A significator — the planet that naturally stands for a topic (Venus for love, and so on).
Kāraka
A significator — the planet that naturally stands for a topic (Venus for love, and so on).
Yoga
A recognised planetary combination that produces a recognisable pattern of life.
Sidereal
The star-anchored zodiac Vedic astrology uses, about 24° behind the Western one.