How to Read a Birth Chart
A birth chart is a snapshot of the sky at the moment of birth: where the nine planets of Jyotish stood, which sign was rising in the east and how all of it was distributed across the twelve houses. Everything else Vedic astrology can tell you about a person — life periods, transits, compatibility, choosing dates — is built on this foundation. Below is what the calculation on this site includes, in what order to read the report and what to expect from it.
What you need for the calculation
Three things: the date, time and place of birth. The date fixes the positions of the planets in the signs and the Moon's nakshatra. The place gives the coordinates and the time zone in force on the date of birth — taking into account daylight saving time, which many countries have introduced and abolished more than once. The time matters most: the ascendant, the house boundaries and the divisional charts all depend on the minutes. The ascendant changes roughly every two hours and the navamsha every 13 minutes, so an error of half an hour can noticeably change the reading. If you know the time only roughly, start with rectification.
What the report is made of
Rashi (D1) is the main chart. The first thing to look at is the ascendant (lagna) and its lord: this is the person themselves, their body and their way of entering life. Next comes the Moon, whose sign and nakshatra Jyotish treats as hardly less important than the Sun: the Moon describes the mind, the emotions and how a person lives through events.
Planets in signs and houses. Each of the nine planets — the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu — describes a theme of its own; the sign shows the style in which it expresses itself, and the house shows the area of life. There are detailed articles on every combination in the Planets and Houses of the Horoscope sections, and in the report the link to the right one sits right next to the placement.
House lords. Each house is ruled by a planet — the lord of the sign on its cusp. Wherever the lord stands, that is where the theme of the house "flows": the lord of the 10th house in the 7th ties work to partners, the lord of the 2nd in the 11th ties money to income. See the House Lords section.
Vargas are the divisional charts that refine individual themes: the navamsha (D9) — marriage and inner essence, the dashamsha (D10) — work, the hora (D2) — finances, the saptamsha (D7) — children. A planet that occupies the same sign in the rashi and in the navamsha is called vargottama and is considered especially reliable.
Nakshatras are the 27 lunar mansions. The nakshatra of the Moon at birth sets the order of the dasha periods and says a great deal about temperament; each of them has its own reading in the Nakshatras section.
Yogas are combinations of planets with a special meaning: raja yogas of power and success, dhana yogas of wealth, yogas of hardship. The report lists those found in the chart and links to an article on each of the planetary yogas.
Planetary strength means shadbala and ashtakavarga: numerical scores that show which planets in the chart are stronger and which signs support the person more than the others.
Dasha periods are the Vimshottari dasha with its sub-periods. This is the answer to the question "when": which planet is running the current stretch of life and in which years its theme will come to the fore.
In what order to read
- The ascendant, its lord and the planets in the 1st house — the overall portrait.
- The Moon: sign, house, nakshatra — your emotional make-up and what brings you peace.
- The strongest and weakest planets by shadbala — what you can rely on and what needs attention.
- The houses that matter to you right now: work — the 10th, money — the 2nd and 11th, relationships — the 7th, home and moving — the 4th and 12th. Each theme has an article of its own: life purpose, money, relationships, moving abroad.
- Yogas — the combinations that strengthen or complicate particular areas.
- The current dasha and sub-period — which of the themes you have found is active right now.
The main principle of Jyotish is that no placement is read in isolation from the rest. A strong Venus in a weak house, a good yoga in an inactive period, a difficult transit during a strong dasha — the chart always gives a combination, not a verdict.
From the chart to your own time
The birth chart stands still, but the planets keep moving. That is why the report on this site has two more tabs next to the interpretation. «Transits» shows where the planets are now and which houses of your chart they are passing through, with entry and exit dates and your Sade Sati periods. «Lunar calendar» gives the lunar day, nakshatra and Moon sign for any date, and the next new moon, full moon and eclipse in the houses of your chart. The tabs open from the report with one click; there is no need to enter your data again.
How the chart is calculated
The calculation runs in the «Surya-Siddhanta» mode — the same one used by Jagannatha Hora; planetary positions, houses, nakshatras and divisional charts have been checked against the program's tables. The chart is calculated in a few seconds, and the interpretation opens straight away, free of charge. It is an automatic reading for self-study, not a personal consultation: it describes inclinations and periods, and the decisions remain yours. To see what the report looks like, open any chart in the Famous People section.
Calculate your birth chart — the date, time and place of birth, and in a few seconds the full reading is in front of you.