Fundamentals

The building blocks of a chart - the twelve houses, the nine grahas and their friendships, and the twelve signs by element. Classical definitions (BPHS), not predictions.

The 12 Houses (Bhavas)

The Grahas & their friendships

Naisargika (natural) friendship among the seven grahas - the fixed, temperament-based relationships, before any chart-specific adjustment. BPHS Ch.3.

Planet significations & attributes

What each graha naturally signifies (its karaka), plus its classical gender and the compass direction it governs.

Karaka = the person or thing a planet naturally represents. Gender (napunsaka = neutral) and direction are traditional attributes; the nodes' assignments are unsettled, so they are left blank.

Aspects (Graha Drishti)

Every graha aspects (casts its drishti on) the house opposite it — the 7th from itself. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn also cast special aspects. The houses below are counted from the planet's own house.

A benefic's aspect tends to support the house it falls on; a malefic's tends to stress or discipline it — but the real effect depends on the planet's dignity and the houses it rules (a natural malefic can be a Yogakaraka). Classical special aspects (BPHS) are Mars 4/8, Jupiter 5/9, Saturn 3/10; the nodes' aspects are a later, disputed tradition. Tendencies, not predictions.

Sign aspects (Jaimini Rashi Drishti)

A separate classical system: in Jaimini astrology signs aspect signs (not planets aspecting houses), grouped by their modality.

This sign-to-sign aspect is distinct from the planetary drishti above; it is used mainly in Jaimini technique (chara dasha, arudha).

Dignities — exaltation, debilitation, mooltrikona

Where each graha is strongest (exalted), weakest (debilitated), or comfortably at home (mooltrikona) — with its Vimshottari period length.

A planet's exaltation sign sits opposite its debilitation sign. The nodes (Rahu/Ketu) have no classical exaltation of their own. Strength depends on more than the sign alone (see Shadbala).

Vimshottari periods (dasha)

The 120-year cycle of planetary periods that times a chart. It begins from the ruler of your birth Moon's nakshatra, then follows this fixed order:

The 12 Signs by element

The 27 Nakshatras & their lords

The 27 lunar mansions, each 13°20′ wide, and the Vimshottari dasha lord that rules its period.

These are the fixed classical definitions of the system's structure. How they play out in a real chart depends on placement, dignity, aspects and the running dasha - which is what a full reading is for.

See your houses