Reference
Glossary
Every one of these words also explains itself wherever it appears in Jade — point at it, or tap it on a phone, and the definition comes to you with what it refers to in the chart you are looking at.
- Antardaśāantardashaliterally “inner period”
The sub-period inside a mahādaśā.
Each mahādaśā divides into nine antardaśās in the same proportions as the main cycle, so a Venus mahādaśā of twenty years opens with a Venus/Venus antardaśā of about three years and four months. The pair is what a consultation is usually read from: the mahādaśā names the theme, the antardaśā names what is happening about it now.
See alsoMahādaśāDaśāVimśottarī
- AnuradhaAnuradha
The 17th nakṣatra, ruled by Saturn.
Spans 213°20′ to 226°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Mitra and its symbol a pearl, a potter’s wheel. Because Saturn rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Saturn.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- ArdraArdra
The 6th nakṣatra, ruled by Rāhu.
Spans 66°40′ to 80°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Rudra and its symbol a teardrop. Because Rāhu rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Rāhu.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- AshleshaAshlesha
The 9th nakṣatra, ruled by Mercury.
Spans 106°40′ to 120°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is the Nāgas and its symbol a coiled serpent. Because Mercury rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Mercury.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Aṣṭakavargaashtakavargaliterally “the eightfold division”
A points system scoring every sign for every graha.
Each of seven grahas plus the lagna contributes benefic points — bindus — to each sign, from the point of view of each other graha. The result is a map of which parts of the zodiac are supported and which are not. It is what transit work actually reads: Saturn crossing a sign with two bindus is a different matter from Saturn crossing one with seven.
See alsoBinduSarvāṣṭakavargaGochara
- Aṣṭakūṭaashtakutaliterally “the eight peaks”
The eight-fold compatibility score, out of 36.
Also called guṇa milāna. Widely used in matchmaking and widely over-read: it compares two Moons’ nakṣatras and almost nothing else, so it says nothing about the rest of either chart. Jade reports the components rather than only the total, because a 28 built on a nāḍī failure and a 28 built on a vaśya failure are not the same situation.
- AshwiniAshwini
The 1st nakṣatra, ruled by Ketu.
Spans 0°00′ to 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Aśvinī Kumāras and its symbol a horse’s head. Because Ketu rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Ketu.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Ati-mitraatimitraliterally “great friend”
The 9th tārā — the 9th, 18th and 27th nakṣatras from your own.
The most favourable of the nine, also called parama mitra in some sources. It completes the cycle, after which the count returns to Janma.
- Ātmakārakaatmakarakaliterally “the doer of the self”
The graha at the highest degree in the chart, whatever sign it is in.
Not a fixed assignment like the ordinary kārakas — it is computed from the chart, and it changes from person to person. Central to Jaimini technique, where it is read as the strongest single indicator of what a life is organised around. Degrees alone decide it, which makes it one of the few things in Jyotiṣa with no interpretive step at all.
- Ayanāṁśaayanamshaliterally “the portion of the solstice”
How far the equinox has drifted from the fixed stars.
A single number, currently about 24°, subtracted from a tropical position to get a sidereal one. Astrologers disagree about its exact value because they disagree about where the sidereal zodiac begins, and the common choices — Lahiri, Raman, Krishnamurti — differ by up to a degree. That is enough to move a graha across a sign boundary, so every chart in Jade records which one produced it.
In Jade: Stated on every chart, and chosen in Settings.
See alsoSidereal
- BharaniBharani
The 2nd nakṣatra, ruled by Venus.
Spans 13°20′ to 26°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Yama and its symbol a yoni. Because Venus rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Venus.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Bhāvabhavaliterally “a becoming, a state”
A house — one of twelve areas of life, counted from the lagna.
Where a rāśi is a division of the zodiac, a bhāva is a division of a life: the first is the body and self, the seventh partnership, the tenth work. Jade counts them whole-sign by default, meaning house one is the entire rising sign — the oldest and most widely used method in Jyotiṣa, and not the same as the Western house systems.
- Bindubinduliterally “a point, a drop”
One benefic point in the aṣṭakavarga.
A sign can hold between zero and eight bindus from any one graha’s table. More is read as more supportive ground. The count is arithmetic, not interpretive — which is precisely why it is useful: two astrologers who disagree about everything else will agree on the number.
See alsoAṣṭakavargaSarvāṣṭakavarga
- BudhaBudha
Intellect, speech, commerce, and the ability to hold a distinction.
Budha is the discriminating intellect — the faculty that tells one thing from another, counts, writes and trades. Where the Moon receives, Mercury analyses. Signifies intellect, speech, commerce, writing. Rules Gemini and Virgo. Exalted in Virgo, debilitated in Pisces.
- Chalitchalitliterally “moved, shifted”
The bhāva chart, where houses begin at the ascendant degree rather than at 0° of the sign.
Whole-sign houses make house and sign the same thing. Under any other frame they are not, and a graha in the last degrees of a sign can belong to the *next* bhāva — which changes what it is read as doing. Jade draws the chalit cusps as a second dashed set of spokes so the disagreement is visible rather than asserted.
- CandraChandra
The mind, the mother, and how a person receives what happens to them.
Candra is manaḥkāraka — the mind, meaning the receiving and responding part rather than the reasoning part, which belongs to Mercury. It signifies the mother, emotional life, and the general public. Signifies the mind, the mother, emotion, the public. Rules Cancer. Exalted in Taurus, debilitated in Scorpio.
- Candra balachandra balaliterally “Moon strength”
Whether the Moon’s current sign is favourable, counted from your natal Moon.
Count signs from where the Moon was at birth to where it is today. Some of the twelve counts are traditionally regarded as supportive and some are not. Read alongside tārā bala rather than instead of it — one counts by nakṣatra and the other by sign, and practitioners want both to agree before calling a day good for beginning something.
- ChitraChitra
The 14th nakṣatra, ruled by Mars.
Spans 173°20′ to 186°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Tvaṣṭṛ and its symbol a bright jewel. Because Mars rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Mars.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Combustioncombustion
A graha too close to the Sun to be seen.
Within a few degrees of the Sun a graha is lost in its light, and the tradition reads it as having its own agenda overwhelmed. The orb differs by graha. Within about a degree the condition inverts and becomes cazimi — "in the heart" — which is read as a strengthening rather than a burning.
- Daśādashaliterally “a state or condition”
A period of time ruled by one graha.
Jyotiṣa’s answer to "when". Life is divided into stretches, each governed by a graha, and what that graha means in the chart is what the period is read to be about. Periods nest: a mahādaśā of nineteen years contains antardaśās of months, which contain pratyantardaśās of days. Jade computes five levels.
In Jade: The daśā column on a chart, and the running chain on Home.
See alsoVimśottarīMahādaśāNakṣatra
- 2nd houseDhana bhavaliterally “Dhana bhāva”
Accumulated resources, family of origin, speech, food, and the face.
The second house holds what a person accumulates and keeps: money already earned rather than money being earned, possessions, and the immediate family they were born into. It is the house of resources at rest. Read for wealth, savings, speech, family, food. Its kāraka is Jupiter.
- DhanishtaDhanishta
The 23rd nakṣatra, ruled by Mars.
Spans 293°20′ to 306°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is the Vasus and its symbol a drum. Because Mars rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Mars.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- SagittariusDhanuliterally “Dhanu”
Dual fire, ruled by Jupiter — aim, principle, and the long view.
Dual fire, and the archer: fire with a target. Dhanu is the sign of aim and of principle — a graha here acts in service of something it believes rather than for its own sake. Ruled by Jupiter; fire, dual. Read for philosophy, aim, teaching, travel.
- 9th houseDharma / Bhagya bhavaliterally “Dharma / Bhāgya bhāva”
Father, guru, higher learning, pilgrimage, law, and fortune that arrives unearned.
The ninth is the most auspicious house in the chart — the strongest trikoṇa, and the one the texts call bhāgya, fortune. Its distinguishing quality is that what it gives is not earned by effort in the way the third or tenth is earned. It arrives. Read for fortune, father, guru, higher learning, philosophy. Its kāraka is Jupiter.
- Dignitydignity
How comfortable a graha is in the sign it occupies.
Exalted at its best, debilitated at its worst, with own-sign and mūlatrikoṇa between. A graha in dignity acts freely; one in debilitation is read as acting under constraint rather than as simply bad. The scheme is fixed and ancient — Jupiter is always exalted in Cancer — so it is one of the few things in a chart that requires no judgement to read.
See alsoGrahaCombustionVargottama
- Doṣadoshaliterally “a fault, a blemish”
A named affliction in a chart.
The most discussed is maṅgala doṣa (also kuja doṣa) — Mars in certain houses from the lagna, the Moon or Venus, read as a difficulty for marriage. Its cancellations are as numerous as the rules that form it, and the sources disagree about both, so Jade always shows which rule fired and what cancelled it rather than printing a verdict.
- Dṛṣṭidrishtiliterally “a glance, a gaze”
Aspect — where a graha casts its attention.
Every graha aspects the seventh sign from itself. Mars additionally aspects the fourth and eighth, Jupiter the fifth and ninth, Saturn the third and tenth. Note that Vedic aspect is by whole sign rather than by degree, which means it is a standing condition lasting as long as the graha is in the sign — not a passing event with an orb.
- Duḥsthānadusthanaliterally “a bad place”
The difficult houses — 6, 8 and 12.
Read as the houses of struggle, disruption and loss respectively. The nuance the tradition insists on is that difficulty is not disaster: the sixth is also the house of overcoming, and a strong graha there can indicate someone who wins fights. Jade will not tell you a duḥsthāna means something bad will happen, and never predicts illness or death.
- Gocharagocharaliterally “moving on the earth”
Transit — where the grahas are now, against where they were at birth.
The other half of timing. A daśā says which graha is speaking; a transit says whether the sky is currently supporting it. Slow transits matter most — Saturn takes two and a half years to cross a sign, and its contacts to natal points are the dates practitioners actually write down.
See alsoDaśāAṣṭakavarga
- Grahagrahaliterally “one who seizes”
A planet — but the word means "seizer", not "wanderer".
Nine of them: the Sun and Moon, five visible planets, and the two lunar nodes Rāhu and Ketu. The name is worth knowing: where the Greek planētēs means wanderer, graha means one that takes hold. The tradition treats them as agents acting on a life rather than markers moving through a sky.
See alsoRāhu and KetuDignityDṛṣṭi
- Guru / BṛhaspatiGuru / Brihaspati
Expansion, wisdom, the teacher, and what grows without being forced.
Guru is the great benefic. It signifies wisdom, teachers, children, law and religious life, and its method is expansion — whatever it touches gets larger. Signifies wisdom, children, wealth, the teacher. Rules Sagittarius and Pisces. Exalted in Cancer, debilitated in Capricorn.
- HastaHasta
The 13th nakṣatra, ruled by Moon.
Spans 160°00′ to 173°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Savitṛ and its symbol a hand. Because Moon rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Moon.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Janmajanmaliterally “birth”
The 1st tārā — your own birth nakṣatra, and the 10th and 19th from it.
The count lands on your own birth star. The texts treat it as a day belonging to the self rather than to undertakings, and traditionally advise against beginning something new on it.
- Jātakajatakaliterally “born, of birth”
Natal astrology — the chart of a birth, and the branch that reads it.
The largest branch of Jyotiṣa and the one most people mean by the word. Its counterparts are muhūrta for electing times and praśna for answering a question from the moment it is asked.
- JyeshthaJyeshtha
The 18th nakṣatra, ruled by Mercury.
Spans 226°40′ to 240°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Indra and its symbol a circular amulet. Because Mercury rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Mercury.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- JyotiṣaJyotishaliterally “the science of light”
Indian astrology, and the tradition Jade computes in.
One of the six Vedāṅgas, the limbs of Vedic learning. It differs from Western astrology in three ways that matter for reading anything in Jade: it is sidereal rather than tropical, it works from the Moon and its nakṣatra as much as from the Sun, and it has a developed system of timing — the daśās — that Western practice largely lacks.
- Jyotiṣījyotishi
A practitioner of Jyotiṣa.
The person Jade is built for. The word carries more than "astrologer" does in English — traditionally it implies training in a lineage and in the calculation itself, not only in interpretation, which is why a tool that hides its working is of no use to one.
- 7th houseKalatra / Yuvati bhavaliterally “Kalatra / Yuvati bhāva”
Spouse, business partners, contracts, negotiation, and open dealings with others.
The seventh is directly opposite the first, and that opposition is the meaning: it is the not-self, the other party, the person across the table. It governs marriage and the spouse, business partnership, and any binding agreement between two parties. Read for spouse, partnership, contracts, business partners, negotiation. Its kāraka is Venus.
- VirgoKanyaliterally “Kanyā”
Dual earth, ruled by Mercury — discrimination, method, and useful work.
Dual earth. Kanyā separates, sorts and refines — it is the sign of discrimination in the technical sense, of telling one thing from another accurately. Ruled by Mercury; earth, dual. Read for analysis, method, service, refinement.
- Kārakakarakaliterally “the doer, the one who causes”
A graha that signifies a matter wherever it happens to fall.
Independent of house. The Sun is the kāraka of the father, Venus of marriage, Jupiter of children — so a question about marriage is read from the 7th house, its lord, *and* Venus, and the tradition expects all three to be consulted before an answer. A house whose kāraka is badly placed is read as promising less than the house alone would suggest.
See alsoGrahaBhāvaĀtmakāraka
- Karaṇakaranaliterally “a doing, an instrument”
Half a tithi — the Moon gaining 6° on the Sun.
Sixty in a lunar month, drawn from a set of eleven names, of which four occur once per month and seven repeat in rotation. The fourth limb of the pañcāṅga, and the one used least in natal work — it belongs mostly to electional astrology.
- CancerKarkaliterally “Karka”
Movable water, ruled by the Moon — feeling that moves, and the instinct to shelter.
Movable water — feeling in motion. Karka responds rather than initiates, but it does respond, and the response is protective. It signifies the mother, the home, and the instinct to make a safe container. Ruled by Moon; water, movable. Read for nurture, memory, the home, protection.
- 10th houseKarma bhavaliterally “Karma bhāva”
Profession, reputation, authority, and action taken in the world.
The tenth is the house of karma in its plainest sense: action performed in the world and visible to it. Profession, standing, reputation and dealings with authority all belong here. Read for profession, career, reputation, authority, status. Its kāraka is Sun.
- Kendrakendraliterally “centre”
The angular houses — 1, 4, 7 and 10.
The pillars of a chart. A graha in a kendra is read as having a platform to act from, and the classical rule that benefics in kendras strengthen a chart is one of the oldest in the literature. The trines — 1, 5 and 9 — are the koṇas, and a graha ruling both a kendra and a koṇa is especially well regarded.
- KetuKetu
The south node — detachment, mastery already held, and what is let go of.
Ketu is the south node and Rāhu’s opposite in every respect — the body without the head. Where Rāhu craves, Ketu has already had it and is done. Signifies detachment, liberation, past mastery, insight.
- KrittikaKrittika
The 3rd nakṣatra, ruled by Sun.
Spans 26°40′ to 40°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Agni and its symbol a razor or flame. Because Sun rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Sun.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Kṣemakshemaliterally “well-being, security”
The 4th tārā — the 4th, 13th and 22nd nakṣatras from your own.
Favourable. Read as a settled count, chosen for consolidating something already under way rather than for launching something new.
- AquariusKumbhaliterally “Kumbha”
Fixed air, ruled by Saturn — settled principle, groups, and distance from the personal.
Fixed air: ideas that hold their shape. Kumbha is the sign of the collective and the systemic — a graha here operates at a remove from personal interest, which reads as fairness or as coldness depending on the rest of the chart. Ruled by Saturn; air, fixed. Read for groups, systems, detachment, principle.
- Kūṭakutaliterally “a peak, a heap”
One of eight tests in the classical compatibility system.
Each kūṭa compares one thing between two charts — mostly between the two Moons’ nakṣatras — and scores it. Varṇa, vaśya, tārā, yoni, graha maitrī, gaṇa, bhakūṭa and nāḍī, worth 1 to 8 points, totalling 36. What matters more than the total is which kūṭa failed, since they are not testing the same thing at all.
- 11th houseLabha bhavaliterally “Lābha bhāva”
Income, profit, elder siblings, friendships, and the fulfilment of desires.
The eleventh is lābha — gain. Where the second holds wealth already accumulated, the eleventh is the flow of income arriving: profit, returns, and the fulfilment of things wanted. Read for gains, income, profit, friends, networks. Its kāraka is Jupiter.
- Lagnalagnaliterally “that which is attached”
The rising sign — the degree of the zodiac on the eastern horizon at birth.
The whole chart is counted from here: the lagna is the first house, and every other house follows it. It moves about a degree every four minutes, which is why the birth time matters so much more than the birth date. An hour of uncertainty can move it a whole sign and renumber every house in the chart.
In Jade: The first thing on any chart page, and what the wheel is oriented to.
See alsoBhāvaRāśiRectification
- 1st houseLagna / Tanu bhavaliterally “Lagna / Tanu bhāva”
Constitution, appearance, temperament, and the whole chart’s reference point.
The first house is not a topic like the others — it is the point everything else is measured from. The sign rising here fixes which sign each of the remaining eleven houses falls in, which is why two people born on the same day with different rising signs have almost nothing in common structurally. Read for body, appearance, vitality, temperament, early life. Its kāraka is Sun.
- MaghaMagha
The 10th nakṣatra, ruled by Ketu.
Spans 120°00′ to 133°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is the Pitṛs and its symbol a throne. Because Ketu rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Ketu.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Mahādaśāmahadashaliterally “great period”
The outermost daśā level, six to twenty years long.
The broad season of a life. Within it the antardaśā (sub-period) shades the reading, and within that the pratyantardaśā narrows it further. A practitioner usually reads the innermost two for a consultation and the mahādaśā for the shape of the decade.
See alsoDaśāVimśottarī
- CapricornMakaraliterally “Makara”
Movable earth, ruled by Saturn — structure built deliberately, over time.
Movable earth — an unusual combination, and the reason Makara reads as ambition rather than mere solidity. It builds, and it builds according to a plan, and it does not expect the result soon. Ruled by Saturn; earth, movable. Read for discipline, structure, ambition, endurance.
- MaṅgalaMangala
Force, courage, siblings, and the willingness to cut.
Maṅgala is force applied directly. It signifies courage, physical energy, younger siblings, land and property disputes, and anything that involves cutting — from surgery to engineering. Signifies courage, energy, younger siblings, land. Rules Aries and Scorpio. Exalted in Capricorn, debilitated in Cancer.
- Mārakamarakaliterally “causing to die”
A classical label for the 2nd and 7th houses and their lords.
Jade names the category because it appears throughout the literature and a reader will meet the word, but it does not act on it: **nothing in Jade predicts death, illness, or how long anyone will live** (constitution #6). Modern practice generally reads these houses for sustenance and partnership and leaves the older use alone.
- AriesMeshaliterally “Meṣa”
Movable fire, ruled by Mars — beginnings taken without waiting for permission.
The first sign, and movable fire. A graha in Meṣa acts first and considers afterwards — it starts things, and its characteristic failure is starting more than it finishes. Ruled by Mars; fire, movable. Read for initiative, directness, speed, competition.
- PiscesMinaliterally “Mīna”
Dual water, ruled by Jupiter — dissolution, compassion, and the end of the cycle.
Dual water, and the last sign — the place where distinctions dissolve. Mīna is the medium of imagination, of compassion, and of the loss of hard edges, for better and worse. Ruled by Jupiter; water, dual. Read for compassion, imagination, dissolution, retreat.
- GeminiMithunaliterally “Mithuna”
Dual air, ruled by Mercury — exchange, dexterity, and holding two things at once.
Dual air. Mithuna is the sign of exchange — of information, of hands, of two things being true at the same time. A graha here works through contact and articulation rather than force. Ruled by Mercury; air, dual. Read for communication, dexterity, curiosity, duality.
- Mitramitraliterally “friend”
The 8th tārā — the 8th, 17th and 26th nakṣatras from your own.
Favourable, and read as a supported count — particularly for anything that involves other people, which the name is doing the work of saying.
- Mūlatrikoṇamoolatrikonaliterally “root triangle”
A degree range within a graha’s own sign where it is at its most effective.
Ranked between exaltation and simple own-sign placement. Each graha has exactly one, in one of the two signs it rules — the Sun’s is 0° to 20° of Leo — and outside that span in the same sign it is merely in its own sign, which is good but less so.
- MrigashiraMrigashira
The 5th nakṣatra, ruled by Mars.
Spans 53°20′ to 66°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Soma and its symbol a deer’s head. Because Mars rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Mars.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Muhūrtamuhurtaliterally “a moment”
Choosing an auspicious time to begin something.
Electional astrology: rather than reading a chart already fixed, you search for a moment whose chart suits the undertaking. A distinct discipline with its own rules, and one practitioners charge separately for.
- MulaMula
The 19th nakṣatra, ruled by Ketu.
Spans 240°00′ to 253°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Nirṛti and its symbol a bunch of roots. Because Ketu rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Ketu.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Nāḍīnadiliterally “a channel, a pulse”
The heaviest kūṭa — 8 of the 36 points.
Each nakṣatra belongs to one of three nāḍīs, and the tradition regards two people sharing one as the strongest objection the system raises. It is also the objection most often set aside in practice, on the grounds that a single nakṣatra-based test carries more weight here than its evidence supports.
- Nakṣatranakshatraliterally “that which does not decay”
One of 27 lunar mansions, each 13°20′ of the zodiac.
The Moon crosses roughly one a day, and the nakṣatra it occupies at birth is read as closely as the sign — often more closely. Each has a ruling graha, and that lord is what orders the Vimśottarī daśā, so the nakṣatra of the Moon at birth decides the entire timing structure of the life. This is the single most important thing Jyotiṣa has that Western astrology does not.
In Jade: On every graha row, and in the glance at the top of a chart.
See alsoPādaVimśottarīDaśā
- Nitya yoganitya yogaliterally “daily joining”
The Sun and Moon’s longitudes added together, cut into 27.
The third limb of the pañcāṅga, and a different thing entirely from the named combinations also called yogas — which is why Jade labels it "nitya" rather than leaving the word ambiguous. Twenty-seven names, changing roughly daily.
- Pādapadaliterally “a foot, a quarter”
A quarter of a nakṣatra — 3°20′.
Each nakṣatra divides into four pādas, and the pāda a graha falls in decides its navāṁśa sign. So the pāda is the bridge between the lunar and the divisional systems: it is how a position in the 27-fold scheme becomes a position in the 9-fold one.
- Pakṣapakshaliterally “a wing, a side”
The lunar fortnight — waxing (śukla) or waning (kṛṣṇa).
Fifteen tithis each. Śukla pakṣa runs from the new Moon to the full, kṛṣṇa pakṣa back down. The distinction matters for more than bookkeeping: a waxing Moon is traditionally read as strengthening and a waning one as not, so the same Moon placement is judged differently depending which side of the month it falls on.
- Paṇapharapanapharaliterally “succedent”
The houses following the kendras — 2, 5, 8 and 11.
The second rank of angularity. Where a kendra gives a graha a platform to act from, a paṇaphara gives it resources to act with. The remaining four — 3, 6, 9 and 12 — are the āpoklimas, the cadent houses, read as the weakest position for outward action.
- Pañcāṅgapanchangaliterally “five limbs”
The five measures of a day: tithi, vāra, nakṣatra, yoga and karaṇa.
The Indian almanac in five numbers, and the basis of choosing auspicious times. It is a description of the day itself rather than of a person, which is why Jade shows it beside a chart rather than inside one.
- Praśnaprashnaliterally “a question”
Reading the chart of the moment a question was asked.
The third branch, beside jātaka and muhūrta. No birth data is needed: the chart is cast for when and where the question arrived, on the principle that a question is itself an event. Its rules are its own and it is not a shortcut for a natal reading.
- Pratyantardaśāpratyantardashaliterally “the period next to the inner one”
The third daśā level, running weeks to months.
Inside every antardaśā, nine more periods in the same proportions. This is the level at which dates start to be worth writing down, and Jade computes two further levels below it — sūkṣma and prāṇa — which are used for muhūrta-scale work rather than for reading a life.
See alsoAntardaśāDaśāVimśottarī
- Pratyaripratyariliterally “the opposing party”
The 5th tārā — the 5th, 14th and 23rd nakṣatras from your own.
Held unfavourable for undertakings. The name means an adversary in the legal sense, and the texts read it as friction and obstruction rather than as harm.
- PunarvasuPunarvasu
The 7th nakṣatra, ruled by Jupiter.
Spans 80°00′ to 93°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Aditi and its symbol a quiver of arrows. Because Jupiter rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Jupiter.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Purva AshadhaPurva Ashadha
The 20th nakṣatra, ruled by Venus.
Spans 253°20′ to 266°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is the Viśvedevas and its symbol an elephant’s tusk. Because Venus rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Venus.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Purva BhadrapadaPurva Bhadrapada
The 25th nakṣatra, ruled by Jupiter.
Spans 320°00′ to 333°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Aja Ekapāda and its symbol the front of a funeral cot. Because Jupiter rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Jupiter.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Purva PhalguniPurva Phalguni
The 11th nakṣatra, ruled by Venus.
Spans 133°20′ to 146°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Bhaga and its symbol the front legs of a bed. Because Venus rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Venus.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- PushyaPushya
The 8th nakṣatra, ruled by Saturn.
Spans 93°20′ to 106°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Bṛhaspati and its symbol a cow’s udder, a flower. Because Saturn rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Saturn.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- 5th housePutra bhavaliterally “Putra bhāva”
Offspring, creative intelligence, discernment, mantra, and pūrva puṇya.
The fifth is the strongest of the trikoṇa houses after the first, and the classical texts treat it as the house of pūrva puṇya — merit carried from before this life. Whether or not one takes that literally, the practical reading is consistent: the fifth shows what comes to a person easily and without apparent cause. Read for children, intelligence, creativity, discernment, mantra. Its kāraka is Jupiter.
- RāhuRahu
The north node — appetite, foreignness, and amplification without limit.
Rāhu is the north lunar node — a point, not a body, which is why it has no rulership and casts no light. It is the head of the severed asura: appetite without a stomach. Signifies obsession, foreign things, sudden gain, illusion.
- Rāhu and KetuRahu, Ketu
The lunar nodes — where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s.
Not bodies but points, always exactly opposite each other, and always moving backwards through the zodiac. They are where eclipses happen, which is the whole of the mythology: the severed head and body of the being that swallows the luminaries. Jyotiṣa counts them among the nine grahas and reads them heavily; Western astrology traditionally does much less with them.
- 8th houseRandhra / Ayu bhavaliterally “Randhra / Āyu bhāva”
Longevity, inheritance, others’ resources, occult study, and sudden change.
The eighth is the most misread house in the system. Its name randhra means an opening or a weak point, and it holds what is concealed: inheritance, insurance, dowry, the resources that come through other people rather than one’s own earning. Read for hidden things, inheritance, partner’s resources, research, occult study. Its kāraka is Saturn.
- Rāśirashiliterally “a heap”
A sign of the zodiac — one of twelve 30° divisions.
The same twelve signs Western astrology uses, measured sidereally. Each is ruled by a graha, has an element and a mode, and lends its character to whatever stands in it. In Jyotiṣa the rāśi chart — the plain birth chart — is only the first of sixteen; the vargas divide each sign further.
- Rectificationrectification
Working backwards from events to find an uncertain birth time.
The lagna moves a degree every four minutes, so a chart with an uncertain time has an uncertain first house and therefore uncertain everything. Rectification sweeps candidate times and scores each against dated events in the life. It is inference, not measurement — a rectified time is a best reading of the evidence and should be recorded as one.
In Jade: The rectification workspace, which reports which rules actually did the ranking.
See alsoLagnaRodden rating
- Retrograderetrogradeliterally “vakrī — crooked, turned back”
A graha appearing to move backwards through the zodiac.
An effect of the Earth overtaking, not of the planet reversing. The Sun and Moon never do it; the nodes always do. Jyotiṣa and Western astrology disagree here in a way worth knowing: several classical sources treat retrogression as a *strengthening*, because the graha is nearer the Earth and brighter, where Western practice usually reads it as an obstruction.
See alsoGrahaGocharaCombustion
- RevatiRevati
The 27th nakṣatra, ruled by Mercury.
Spans 346°40′ to 0°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Pūṣan and its symbol a fish, a drum. Because Mercury rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Mercury.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- 6th houseRipu / Roga bhavaliterally “Ripu / Roga bhāva”
Adversaries, debts, service, routine work, and the discipline that meets difficulty.
The sixth is a duḥsthāna — one of the three difficult houses — and it holds enemies, debts, and the friction of daily life. But it is also an upachaya house, and those two facts together are the whole art of reading it: the sixth is where difficulty is met, and meeting it is what produces competence. Read for obstacles, adversaries, debts, service, daily work. Its kāraka is Mars.
- Rodden ratingRodden rating
A scale for how well a birth time is attested.
AA means a birth certificate or register; A means the person or family; B a biography; C means no source at all; DD means the sources conflict. X means no time is recorded. Named for Lois Rodden, who insisted astrologers say where their data came from. Most famous charts in circulation are far weaker than they look.
In Jade: On every chart in the public library.
See alsoRectificationLagna
- RohiniRohini
The 4th nakṣatra, ruled by Moon.
Spans 40°00′ to 53°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Brahmā and its symbol a cart. Because Moon rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Moon.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Sādhakasadhakaliterally “the accomplisher”
The 6th tārā — the 6th, 15th and 24th nakṣatras from your own.
Favourable, and traditionally the count chosen for work that has to be seen through to the end. The word is the same one used for a practitioner completing a discipline.
- 3rd houseSahaja bhavaliterally “Sahaja bhāva”
Initiative, younger siblings, short journeys, hands, and skill acquired by practice.
The third is the house of self-made effort. Where the ninth gives fortune that arrives, the third gives capability that is earned — courage, drive, manual skill, the willingness to try something and be bad at it first. Read for courage, initiative, younger siblings, skill, short journeys. Its kāraka is Mars.
- Sampatsampatliterally “wealth, attainment”
The 2nd tārā — the 2nd, 11th and 20th nakṣatras from your own.
One of the counts the muhūrta texts regard as clearly favourable, and traditionally the one chosen for anything to do with acquisition.
- Sarvāṣṭakavargasarvashtakavargaliterally “the whole eightfold division”
The seven graha tables summed — one figure per sign, totalling 337.
The overview: which signs in this chart are best supported overall. Practitioners use it to decide where a transit will land well and where it will not, and to compare houses at a glance without reading seven tables.
See alsoAṣṭakavargaBindu
- Ṣaḍbalashadbalaliterally “six strengths”
Six separate measures of a graha’s strength.
Positional, directional, temporal, motional, natural and aspectual strength, each computed differently. Jade reports the six components and deliberately does not sum them: the sources disagree about the weights, so a single total would be a number with a false air of authority. The components are what the tradition actually argues from.
- ŚaniShani
Time, limitation, labour, and what is only earned slowly.
Śani is time itself — the graha of delay, limitation, and everything that has to be worked for. It is the strongest malefic and the most misunderstood. Signifies time, longevity, labour, discipline. Rules Capricorn and Aquarius. Exalted in Libra, debilitated in Aries.
- ShatabhishaShatabhisha
The 24th nakṣatra, ruled by Rāhu.
Spans 306°40′ to 320°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Varuṇa and its symbol an empty circle. Because Rāhu rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Rāhu.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Ṣoḍaśavargashodashavargaliterally “the sixteen divisions”
The full set of sixteen divisional charts.
From the rāśi (D1) down to the ṣaṣṭyāṁśa (D60), each dividing the zodiac more finely than the last. Few practitioners read all sixteen for every chart, but the set is the standard against which software is judged — and most Western-built astrology tools have none of it at all.
In Jade: All sixteen, on every chart, on the free tier.
- ShravanaShravana
The 22nd nakṣatra, ruled by Moon.
Spans 280°00′ to 293°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Viṣṇu and its symbol three footprints. Because Moon rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Moon.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- ŚukraShukra
Value, pleasure, the partner, and the capacity to be drawn toward something.
Śukra signifies the partner, the senses, art and beauty, and value in both the aesthetic and the financial sense. It is the second benefic and the kāraka of marriage. Signifies the spouse, pleasure, art, vehicles. Rules Taurus and Libra. Exalted in Pisces, debilitated in Virgo.
- Siderealsiderealliterally “of the stars”
Measured against the fixed stars rather than the equinox.
The equinox drifts backwards through the constellations by about a degree every seventy-two years. Western astrology measures from the moving equinox; Jyotiṣa measures from the stars themselves. The gap between the two is currently about 24° — nearly a whole sign — which is why your Western Sun sign and your Vedic one usually differ. The size of that gap is the ayanāṁśa.
- LeoSimhaliterally “Siṁha”
Fixed fire, ruled by the Sun — steady authority and the need to be seen.
Fixed fire: a flame that stays lit rather than one that flares. Siṁha holds position, and a graha here acts with a certain amount of ceremony — it wants its action acknowledged. Ruled by Sun; fire, fixed. Read for authority, dignity, display, leadership.
- 4th houseSukha bhavaliterally “Sukha bhāva”
The mother, dwelling, land, vehicles, formal education, and emotional foundation.
The fourth is the foundation of the chart — literally, in the North Indian diagram it sits at the bottom, and structurally it is what everything else stands on. It signifies the mother, the home, land and buildings, and the felt sense of having somewhere to belong. Read for mother, home, land, property, vehicles. Its kāraka is Moon.
- SūryaSurya
The self, authority, the father, and what a person cannot delegate.
Sūrya is ātmakāraka in the fixed sense — the significator of the self, the centre a chart organises around. It governs the father, authority in general, and standing in the world. Signifies the soul, the father, authority, vitality. Rules Leo. Exalted in Aries, debilitated in Libra.
- SwatiSwati
The 15th nakṣatra, ruled by Rāhu.
Spans 186°40′ to 200°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Vāyu and its symbol a young shoot, a sapling. Because Rāhu rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Rāhu.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Tārā balatara balaliterally “star strength”
The favourability of a day, counted from the Moon’s nakṣatra at birth.
Count from your birth nakṣatra to the one the Moon occupies today; the count, modulo nine, names a tārā — Janma, Sampat, Vipat and so on — and each carries a traditional judgement about undertakings. Jade uses it, with candra bala, for the coloured week. It is a statement about the suitability of *starting things*, not a forecast of the day.
- Tithitithi
A lunar day — the Moon gaining 12° on the Sun.
Thirty in a lunar month, fifteen waxing and fifteen waning. Because the Moon’s speed varies, a tithi runs anywhere from about nineteen to about twenty-six hours, so it drifts against the solar day rather than matching it. Festivals and observances are set by tithi, not by date.
- Trikoṇatrikonaliterally “triangle”
The trines — houses 1, 5 and 9.
Read as the houses of merit and support, and regarded as the most favourable in the chart. A graha ruling both a trikoṇa and a kendra is a yogakāraka — one of the strongest single conditions the tradition recognises, and the reason the same graha is excellent for one ascendant and unremarkable for another.
- LibraTulaliterally “Tulā”
Movable air, ruled by Venus — weighing, trading, and finding the balance point.
Movable air, and the only sign represented by an inanimate object — a pair of scales. Tulā is the sign of weighing: comparison, negotiation, and the search for a fair settlement. Ruled by Venus; air, movable. Read for balance, exchange, agreements, aesthetics.
- Upachayaupachayaliterally “accumulation, growth”
The houses that improve with time — 3, 6, 10 and 11.
The one place the tradition says difficulty is an asset: malefics in the upachayas are read as strengthening rather than harming, because these are the houses of effort, competition and gain, and a graha with fight in it does well there. This is why a Mars in the 6th is not read the way a Mars in the 8th is.
- Uttara AshadhaUttara Ashadha
The 21st nakṣatra, ruled by Sun.
Spans 266°40′ to 280°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Brahmā and its symbol an ear, a fan. Because Sun rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Sun.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Uttara BhadrapadaUttara Bhadrapada
The 26th nakṣatra, ruled by Saturn.
Spans 333°20′ to 346°40′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Ahir Budhnya and its symbol the back of a funeral cot. Because Saturn rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Saturn.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Uttara PhalguniUttara Phalguni
The 12th nakṣatra, ruled by Sun.
Spans 146°40′ to 160°00′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Aryaman and its symbol the back legs of a bed. Because Sun rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Sun.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- Vadhavadhaliterally “the strike”
The 7th tārā — the 7th, 16th and 25th nakṣatras from your own.
The count the texts regard as least suited to beginning anything. Jade reports it as a count and says nothing whatever about what will happen, which is the entire difference between this and a forecast.
- Vāravaraliterally “a turn, a day”
The weekday, ruled by a graha — and it runs sunrise to sunrise.
Sunday is the Sun’s, Monday the Moon’s, and so on through the seven visible grahas in the order the tradition gives. The important difference from a civil weekday is where it starts: a vāra runs from sunrise, not from midnight, so the hours after midnight still belong to the previous day. Above the Arctic Circle, where there is no sunrise, Jade reports no vāra rather than guessing one.
- Vargavargaliterally “a division, a class”
A divisional chart — each sign cut into finer parts.
A varga divides every sign by some number and reassigns the pieces to signs, producing a second chart from the same moment. Each is read for a particular department of life: the navāṁśa for marriage and inner strength, the daśāṁśa for career. A graha strong in the rāśi but weak across the vargas is read as promising more than it delivers.
See alsoNavāṁśaṢoḍaśavargaVargottama
- Vargottamavargottamaliterally “best in division”
A graha occupying the same sign in the rāśi and the navāṁśa.
Read as a marked strengthening: what the graha promises in the birth chart it also delivers in the ninth division, so the two do not contradict each other. One of the few conditions on which the tradition is more or less unanimous.
- Varṣaphalavarshaphalaliterally “the fruit of the year”
The annual chart, cast for the Sun’s return to its natal degree.
A solar return read with its own apparatus — the muntha, the year lord, and a daśā system of its own — rather than as a second natal chart. Traditionally used for the year ahead where the Vimśottarī daśā gives the decade.
- Vimśottarīvimshottariliterally “one hundred and twenty”
The standard daśā system, a cycle of 120 years.
Nine grahas share 120 years in fixed unequal portions — Venus gets twenty, the Sun six. Where you enter the cycle is decided by the nakṣatra the Moon occupied at birth, and how far through that nakṣatra it had travelled sets how much of the first period had already elapsed. That is why an accurate birth time matters twice over: once for the lagna, once for the daśā balance.
- Vipatvipatliterally “misfortune”
The 3rd tārā — the 3rd, 12th and 21st nakṣatras from your own.
One of the three counts held unfavourable for beginning things. A statement about starting, not a prediction about the day — Jade prints the count and stops there.
- Virūpavirupaliterally “a unit of form”
The unit ṣaḍbala is measured in. Sixty virūpas make one rūpa.
The classical sources set a minimum rūpa figure each graha should reach. Jade reports the six components in virūpas and deliberately does not total them, because the sources disagree about the weights and a single number would carry a false air of settlement.
- VishakhaVishakha
The 16th nakṣatra, ruled by Jupiter.
Spans 200°00′ to 213°20′ of the sidereal zodiac. Its deity is Indra and Agni and its symbol an archway. Because Jupiter rules it, a Moon here opens the Vimśottarī daśā on Jupiter.
See alsoNakṣatraPādaVimśottarī
- ScorpioVrischikaliterally “Vṛścika”
Fixed water, ruled by Mars — depth held under pressure, and what is not shown.
Fixed water. Feeling that does not move and does not surface — Vṛścika holds, and what it holds is under pressure. It is the natural sign of research, of the hidden, and of things that transform by going through rather than around. Ruled by Mars; water, fixed. Read for depth, intensity, secrecy, research.
- TaurusVrishabhaliterally “Vṛṣabha”
Fixed earth, ruled by Venus — holding, valuing, and making things last.
Fixed earth: whatever sits here settles in and does not move easily. Vṛṣabha accumulates, values, and takes its time, which reads as steadiness or as stubbornness depending on what else is going on. Ruled by Venus; earth, fixed. Read for stability, resources, the senses, patience.
- 12th houseVyaya bhavaliterally “Vyaya bhāva”
Losses, expenses, foreign lands, seclusion, sleep, and liberation.
The twelfth is vyaya — expenditure. Everything that leaves: money spent, energy given away, time in places that are not home. It is a duḥsthāna, and read carelessly it is simply the house of loss. Read for expenditure, loss, foreign lands, seclusion, retreat. Its kāraka is Saturn.
- Yogayogaliterally “a joining”
A named combination of placements with a recognised meaning.
Not the physical practice — the same root, but here it means a conjunction of conditions. Hundreds are named in the literature. What matters as much as the yoga is its cancellation: many are formed technically and then blunted by another placement, and a yoga reported without its cancellations is astrologically dishonest. Jade always shows both.
In Jade: Nineteen yogas, each naming the placements that formed it.
The chart library is where most of this is easiest to see in use.