What is a kundli, and what does it actually show?

The three things you need

Every kundli is calculated from just three facts:

• Date of birth: fixes where the slow planets, such as Saturn and Jupiter, were.
• Time of birth: fixes the lagna (ascendant), the sign rising on the eastern horizon. It changes roughly every two hours, so the time matters a lot.
• Place of birth: gives the latitude, longitude and time zone, which the lagna and house positions depend on.

If you don't know your birth time, a chart can still be made from the Moon sign (a chandra kundli). It's less detailed about houses, but the planets' signs and the dasha periods still work.

What's inside a kundli

• 12 houses (bhavas): each stands for areas of life. The 1st is you and your body, the 7th marriage and partnerships, the 10th career, and so on.
• 12 signs (rashis): Aries (Mesha) to Pisces (Meena). Each house falls in one sign.
• 9 grahas: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the two lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu.
• 27 nakshatras: finer divisions of the sky. Your birth nakshatra is the one the Moon was in.

Why Vedic charts differ from Western ones

Vedic (Jyotish) astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, measured against the fixed stars, while most Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac tied to the seasons. The gap between them, the ayanamsa, is about 24 degrees today. That's why your Vedic Sun sign is often one sign behind your Western one. Most Indian astrologers use the Lahiri ayanamsa.

North and South Indian styles

The same kundli can be drawn two ways. The North Indian chart is a diamond with fixed houses (the lagna is always at the top) and sign numbers written in. The South Indian chart is a square grid with fixed signs and the lagna marked. They hold exactly the same information.

Other charts that come with it

• Navamsa (D9): a divisional chart read for marriage and the strength of planets.
• Bhav chalit: shows when a planet sits in a different house once house borders are worked out exactly.
• Vimshottari dasha: the timeline of planetary periods running through your life.

A word on how to use it

A kundli is a traditional framework for reflection, not a fixed verdict. Treat what it says as guidance, and make big health, money and legal decisions with qualified people.

This guide describes traditional Vedic astrology for general information. Astrology is guidance, not a guarantee, and isn't medical, legal or financial advice.