Plain English, A to Z

Dictionary

What the words in your chart mean, without the jargon. Search for one, or scroll through.

← Back to Learn

Abhijit Muhurta: A short window around local midday that tradition favours for important beginnings.
Ascendant (Lagna): The constellation rising on the eastern horizon at your birth moment. It shapes your body, energy, and how the world experiences you.
Ashtakavarga: A classical system that totals planetary support points for each house. House totals often center around 28; scores are points for comparison, not a guarantee of outcomes.
Aspect: A planet 'looking at' another from a certain distance across the chart, so that it influences it.
Ayana: Uttarayana is the half-year when the Sun moves north (Makara to Mithuna); Dakshinayana is when it moves south.
Choghadiya: A traditional way of cutting the daytime and the night into eight parts each, with a character such as gain, ease or loss.
Combust: When a planet sits too close to the Sun (within a few degrees), causing its external expression to be merged into or overshadowed by Sun's heat.
Conjunction: Two or more planets in the same sign, so their themes blend together.
Dhaiya: A two-and-a-half-year stretch when Saturn is in the 4th or 8th sign from your Moon sign.
Dignity: How comfortable a planet is. In its own sign it is at home, exalted it is at its best, and debilitated it has to work harder.
Dosha: A classic chart pattern that tradition watches for as a challenge. It is a tendency to be aware of, not a verdict.
Exalted / Debilitated: Exalted means a planet is in its favorite sign (operating at peak strength). Debilitated means it's in a challenging sign requiring conscious effort.
House: One of twelve areas of life in your chart, such as yourself, money, home, work and relationships. They are counted from your rising sign.
Karana: A karana is half a tithi (6 degrees of Moon-Sun distance). There are 11 of them, and some, such as Vishti, are traditionally avoided for new starts.
Kundli: Another name for your birth chart.
Masa (lunar month): A month that runs from one new moon to the next, named after the Sun's sign at its start, such as Ashwin or Kartika. Lunar months are about 29.5 days.
Moon match: Compares the sign the Moon is in today with your birth Moon sign (called Chandra Bala). It is an old way of judging whether a day suits your mood and plans.
Nakshatra: One of 27 specific stellar sectors in the sky. Your birth Nakshatra (Moon star) defines your deep emotional nature, instincts, and psychological traits.
Paksha: Half of a lunar month. Shukla paksha is the 15 days while the Moon grows; Krishna paksha is the 15 days while it shrinks.
Planet: Indian astrology works with nine: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and two shadow points called Rahu and Ketu.
Planetary hour: A traditional hour ruled by one planet (called a hora). The day and the night are each split into twelve.
Rahu & Ketu: Karmic shadow planets. Rahu shows your future ambition and growth area; Ketu shows your past-life mastery and spiritual detachment.
Rahu Kaal: A stretch of about 90 minutes each day that tradition says is not good for starting new things. It moves with the weekday and with sunrise.
Retrograde (R): When a planet appears to move backwards from Earth's view. It makes the planet's energy introspective, intense, or unconventional.
Ritu (season): The Indian calendar has six seasons of about two months each, from Vasanta (spring) to Shishira (late winter), set by where the Sun is.
Ruler (lord): Each sign has a planet that rules it. The ruler of a house is the planet that rules the sign on that house, and where it sits shows how that area of life tends to play out.
Sade Sati: A seven-and-a-half-year stretch when Saturn passes through the sign before your Moon sign, your Moon sign and the sign after it. People often describe it as a time of more responsibility.
Samvatsara: Each year has a name from a repeating 60-year cycle, such as Parabhava. Shaka and Vikram are two ways of counting the year number.
Sign: One of twelve slices of the sky, such as Aries or Taurus. Indian astrology uses their Sanskrit names, such as Mesha and Vrishabha.
Star match: Compares the star the Moon is passing today with your birth star (called Tara Bala). Some matches are friendly and some are not.
Sub-period: A smaller stretch inside a life chapter, ruled by another planet (called an antardasha). It adds a second flavour to the main chapter.
Tithi: The distance between Sun and Moon in the sky, shaping daily emotional energy and timing for activities.
Transit: Where a planet is in the sky right now. Comparing it with your birth chart shows which parts of your life it is touching.
Vara: The day of the week, each ruled by a planet: Sunday by the Sun, Monday by the Moon, and so on.
Vedic calendar: The traditional Indian calendar (called the panchang). It describes each day by five things: the weekday, the lunar day, the Moon's star, a daily mood and a half-day.
Vimshottari Dasha: A 120-year planetary timeline system. Whichever planet's period is active governs the major events, opportunities, and mood of your life during those years.
Yoga: Special alignments between planets that create specific talents, royal status (Raja Yoga), or financial gains (Dhana Yoga).