Glossary
Every term, three ways
Indian astrology has its own words. Patri can use everyday English, the Indian names or the Sanskrit spelling of the old texts. Pick the one you like to read; the column you picked is highlighted.
The chart
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| birth chart | janam patri | janma-patrikā जन्मपत्रिका | A map of the sky at the moment and place of birth: where each planet stood, and which sign was rising. |
| rising sign | lagna | lagna लग्न | The sign coming up over the eastern horizon at birth. It becomes the first house, the starting point of the chart. |
| house | bhava | bhāva भाव | One of the chart's twelve parts, counted from the rising sign; each one stands for areas of life. |
| ruling planet | lord | adhipati अधिपति | The planet that rules a sign, and through it the house that sign falls in. |
| natural indicator | karaka | kāraka कारक | A planet that stands for an area of life in every chart, such as Jupiter for children. |
| aspect | drishti | dṛṣṭi दृष्टि | A planet's influence on the houses and planets it 'looks at' from where it stands. |
| angular house | kendra | kendra केन्द्र | Houses 1, 4, 7 and 10: the pillars of the chart. |
| trine house | trikona | trikoṇa त्रिकोण | Houses 1, 5 and 9: the houses of fortune. |
| difficult house | dusthana | duḥsthāna दुःस्थान | Houses 6, 8 and 12: the houses of obstacles, loss and letting go. |
| divisional chart | varga | varga वर्ग | A finer chart made by dividing each sign into equal parts, read for one area of life. See also ninth-part chart, sign. |
| ninth-part chart | navamsha | navāṃśa नवांश | The divisional chart of ninths, read for marriage and for a planet's inner strength. Part of divisional chart. See also divisional chart. |
| combination | yoga | yoga योग | A named pattern of planets that the texts say gives a particular result. |
| difficult pattern | dosha | doṣa दोष | A combination the texts read as a difficulty, never a verdict: other factors can cancel or soften it. See also combination, Mars placement for marriage. |
| Mars placement for marriage | Manglik | kuja-doṣa कुजदोष | Mars in certain houses, read in marriage matching. Most traditions list exceptions that cancel it. Part of difficult pattern. See also difficult pattern. |
The sky
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| planet | graha | graha ग्रह | One of the nine bodies the texts read: the Sun, the Moon, five planets and the Moon's two nodes (Rahu and Ketu). See also sign, natural indicator. |
| sign | rashi | rāśi राशि | One of the twelve 30° parts of the zodiac, counted from the start of Aries in the star-fixed zodiac. |
| Moon sign | chandra rashi | candra-rāśi चन्द्रराशि | The sign the Moon was in at birth: in Indian astrology, the sign people usually mean by 'my sign'. |
| star | nakshatra | nakṣatra नक्षत्र | One of the 27 equal parts of the zodiac (13°20′ each), each named after its stars. |
| birth star | janma nakshatra | janma-nakṣatra जन्मनक्षत्र | The star (nakshatra) the Moon was in at birth. It sets the order of the planet periods. |
| quarter | pada | pāda पाद | A quarter of a star (3°20′). There are 108 in the zodiac. |
| zodiac offset | ayanamsha | ayanāṃśa अयनांश | The gap between the season-based zodiac and the star-fixed zodiac the texts use: about 24° today. See also sign. |
| transit | gochar | gocara गोचर | Where the planets are moving now, read against the birth chart. |
| retrograde | vakri | vakrī वक्री | A planet that seems to move backwards through the zodiac, as seen from Earth. See also planet. |
| combust | ast | asta अस्त | A planet so close to the Sun that it is hidden in its glare. See also planet. |
| exalted | uchcha | ucca उच्च | The sign where a planet is at its strongest. See also planet, debilitated. |
| debilitated | neech | nīca नीच | The sign where a planet is at its weakest. |
Time
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| planet period | dasha | daśā दशा | A stretch of life ruled by one planet. The main system runs through all nine planets in 120 years. |
| main planet period | mahadasha | mahādaśā महादशा | The longest period level: 6 to 20 years under one planet. Part of planet period. See also sub-period. |
| sub-period | antardasha | antardaśā अन्तर्दशा | A period inside a main period, under a second planet. Part of main planet period. See also main planet period. |
| 120-year period system | Vimshottari | viṃśottarī विंशोत्तरी | The planet-period system most used: nine planets, 120 years, starting from the birth star's planet. |
| Sade Sati | Sade Sati | sāḍe-sātī साढ़े साती | The years Saturn passes the Moon sign and the signs either side of it. A modern reading, not in the classical texts. |
| day almanac | panchang | pañcāṅga पञ्चाङ्ग | The five parts of a day in the Indian calendar: lunar day, weekday, star, sun–moon combination and half lunar day. |
| lunar day | tithi | tithi तिथि | One of 30 steps in the Moon's monthly cycle away from the Sun (12° each). Part of day almanac. See also day almanac. |
| weekday | vaar | vāra वार | The day of the week, which in the Indian calendar begins at local sunrise. Part of day almanac. See also day almanac. |
| half lunar day | karana | karaṇa करण | Half of a lunar day (6° of the Moon's gain on the Sun). |
| Sun–Moon combination | yoga | yoga योग | One of 27 steps of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes added together: a part of the day's almanac, not the same as a chart's combinations. |
| good time to begin | muhurat | muhūrta मुहूर्त | A time chosen for beginning something, read from the day's almanac. See also day almanac. |
Strength
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| six-part strength | Shadbala | ṣaḍbala षड्बल | A planet's strength measured six ways (place, direction, time, motion, nature and aspect) against a minimum from the texts. See also planet, planet's state. |
| eight-source points | Ashtakavarga | aṣṭakavarga अष्टकवर्ग | Points each sign receives from the seven planets and the rising sign; 337 in all. More points, more support. |
| planet's state | avastha | avasthā अवस्था | The condition a planet is in (young or old, awake or asleep, bright or dim), which shades how it gives its results. See also six-part strength. |
Reading
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| remedy | upay | upāya उपाय | In Patri, the path toward a goal: build on strengths, move with the time, keep a practice. Patri recommends no gemstones or rituals. See also planet period, planet. |
The nine planets
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Surya | Sūrya सूर्य | |
| Moon | Chandra | Candra चन्द्र | |
| Mars | Mangala | Maṅgala मङ्गल | |
| Mercury | Budha | Budha बुध | |
| Jupiter | Guru | Guru गुरु | |
| Venus | Shukra | Śukra शुक्र | |
| Saturn | Shani | Śani शनि | |
| Rahu | Rahu | Rāhu राहु | The Moon's north node: a point, not a body, where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's. |
| Ketu | Ketu | Ketu केतु | The Moon's south node: a point, not a body, where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's. |
The twelve signs
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mesha | Meṣa मेष | 0° to 30° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Taurus | Vrishabha | Vṛṣabha वृषभ | 30° to 60° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Gemini | Mithuna | Mithuna मिथुन | 60° to 90° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Cancer | Karka | Karka कर्क | 90° to 120° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Leo | Simha | Siṃha सिंह | 120° to 150° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Virgo | Kanya | Kanyā कन्या | 150° to 180° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Libra | Tula | Tulā तुला | 180° to 210° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Scorpio | Vrischika | Vṛścika वृश्चिक | 210° to 240° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Sagittarius | Dhanu | Dhanu धनु | 240° to 270° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Capricorn | Makara | Makara मकर | 270° to 300° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Aquarius | Kumbha | Kumbha कुम्भ | 300° to 330° of the star-fixed zodiac |
| Pisces | Meena | Mīna मीन | 330° to 360° of the star-fixed zodiac |
The 27 stars (nakshatras)
The stars have no English names: in everyday English Patri uses their common Indian spelling.
| Everyday English | Indian terms | Sanskrit (scholarly) | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashwini | Ashwini | Aśvinī अश्विनी | Ruled by Ketu |
| Bharani | Bharani | Bharaṇī भरणी | Ruled by Venus |
| Krittika | Krittika | Kṛttikā कृत्तिका | Ruled by Sun |
| Rohini | Rohini | Rohiṇī रोहिणी | Ruled by Moon |
| Mrigashira | Mrigashira | Mṛgaśirā मृगशिरा | Ruled by Mars |
| Ardra | Ardra | Ārdrā आर्द्रा | Ruled by Rahu |
| Punarvasu | Punarvasu | Punarvasu पुनर्वसु | Ruled by Jupiter |
| Pushya | Pushya | Puṣya पुष्य | Ruled by Saturn |
| Ashlesha | Ashlesha | Āśleṣā आश्लेषा | Ruled by Mercury |
| Magha | Magha | Maghā मघा | Ruled by Ketu |
| Purva Phalguni | Purva Phalguni | Pūrva Phalgunī पूर्वफल्गुनी | Ruled by Venus |
| Uttara Phalguni | Uttara Phalguni | Uttara Phalgunī उत्तरफल्गुनी | Ruled by Sun |
| Hasta | Hasta | Hasta हस्त | Ruled by Moon |
| Chitra | Chitra | Citrā चित्रा | Ruled by Mars |
| Swati | Swati | Svātī स्वाती | Ruled by Rahu |
| Vishakha | Vishakha | Viśākhā विशाखा | Ruled by Jupiter |
| Anuradha | Anuradha | Anurādhā अनुराधा | Ruled by Saturn |
| Jyeshtha | Jyeshtha | Jyeṣṭhā ज्येष्ठा | Ruled by Mercury |
| Mula | Mula | Mūla मूल | Ruled by Ketu |
| Purva Ashadha | Purva Ashadha | Pūrvāṣāḍhā पूर्वाषाढा | Ruled by Venus |
| Uttara Ashadha | Uttara Ashadha | Uttarāṣāḍhā उत्तराषाढा | Ruled by Sun |
| Shravana | Shravana | Śravaṇa श्रवण | Ruled by Moon |
| Dhanishta | Dhanishta | Dhaniṣṭhā धनिष्ठा | Ruled by Mars |
| Shatabhisha | Shatabhisha | Śatabhiṣā शतभिषा | Ruled by Rahu |
| Purva Bhadrapada | Purva Bhadrapada | Pūrva Bhādrapadā पूर्वभाद्रपदा | Ruled by Jupiter |
| Uttara Bhadrapada | Uttara Bhadrapada | Uttara Bhādrapadā उत्तरभाद्रपदा | Ruled by Saturn |
| Revati | Revati | Revatī रेवती | Ruled by Mercury |
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