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The Vedaz Knowledge Base
Everything Vedaz uses to read a chart, explained in plain English. Each term has its definition, the meaning of the word, how it is calculated, its history, its energy, what it physically is, how it is traditionally interpreted, and how Vedaz reads it. This knowledge is yours. Read as much or as little as you like.
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- What is Vedic astrology?
Jyotiṣa explained in plain English.
- Western vs Vedic astrology
What actually changes, and why your sign may move.
- The 28 nakṣatras
Every lunar mansion: meaning, deity, symbol and terrain.
- Agency
Your chart is not your fate.
- Trauma-aware
Patterns named without blame or shame.
- Queer-affirming
Vedic astrology for LGBTQIA+ people.
- Decolonising
Honouring the tradition, naming the distortions.
- Cycle-aware
Moon, body and rhythm.
Foundations
The building blocks of a Vedic chart.
- Jyotiṣa
Jyotiṣa is the traditional astrology and timekeeping science of the Indian subcontinent. It reads the sky at the moment of birth against the fixed stars to describe patterns, timing and where choice lives.
- Nakṣatra
A nakṣatra is a lunar mansion: a star field along the Moon's path. There are 27 equal fields of 13°20′, plus Abhijit, the twenty-eighth, which Vedaz always counts.
- Pada
A pada is one of the four quarters of a nakṣatra. There are 108 padas across the 27 equal nakṣatras.
- Graha
A graha is one of the nine moving forces of Jyotiṣa: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the two lunar nodes, Rāhu and Ketu.
- Rāśi
A rāśi is a zodiac sign measured against the fixed stars. There are twelve, each spanning 30°.
- Bhāva
A bhāva is one of the twelve houses of a chart. Each stands for a field of lived experience, from body and identity to rest and release.
Grahas
The nine moving forces. None of them is gendered.
- Sūrya
Sūrya is the Sun, the graha of light, vitality and the self.
- Chandra
Chandra is the Moon, the graha of mind, feeling and rhythm.
- Maṅgala
Maṅgala is Mars, the graha of energy and action.
- Budha
Budha is Mercury, the graha of intellect and communication.
- Guru
Guru, also called Bṛhaspati, is Jupiter, the graha of wisdom and expansion.
- Śukra
Śukra is Venus, the graha of relationship, beauty and desire.
- Śani
Śani is Saturn, the graha of time, discipline and endurance.
- Rāhu
Rāhu is the north lunar node, treated as a graha.
- Ketu
Ketu is the south lunar node, treated as a graha.
Chart points and timing
How a chart is anchored and how time is read.
- Lagna
The lagna, or ascendant, is the point of the zodiac rising in the east at the moment and place of birth.
- Daśā
A daśā is a timing period in which one graha's themes come forward. Periods nest inside each other, from years down to days.
- Ayanāṃśa
The ayanāṃśa is the angular difference between the tropical zodiac and the sidereal zodiac.
- Navāṃśa
The navāṃśa is a divisional chart made by splitting each sign into nine parts of 3°20′.
- Tithi
A tithi is a lunar day, defined by each 12° of separation between the Moon and the Sun.
- Cara kāraka
Cara kārakas are the movable significators of the Jaimini system. Grahas are ranked by how far they have travelled in their sign, and each rank carries a role.
- Ātmakāraka
The ātmakāraka is the graha that has travelled furthest through its sign. It is the first of the cara kārakas.
- Divya lagna
The divya lagna is a specially calculated ascendant, distinct from the natal lagna.
Degrees
Sensitive and supportive points within the signs.
- Gaṇḍānta
Gaṇḍānta is the meeting point between water and fire signs.
- Mṛtyu bhāga
Mṛtyu bhāga refers to specific degrees in each sign that classical texts mark as sensitive for a graha or the lagna.
- Vargottama
A graha is vargottama when it occupies the same sign in the rāśi (D1) chart and the navāṃśa (D9) chart.
- Puṣkarāṃśa
Puṣkarāṃśa degrees are specific points in each sign regarded as supportive for any graha or lagna placed there.
Traditions
The bodies of knowledge Vedaz draws on.
- Karma
Karma is action, and the continuing effect of action.
- Dharma
Dharma is that which upholds: purpose, integrity and right relationship.
- Śakti
Śakti is power, capacity and creative force.
- Vedāṅga
The Vedāṅgas are six supporting disciplines of Vedic study: Śikṣā (sound), Chandas (metre), Vyākaraṇa (grammar), Nirukta (word meaning), Kalpa (ritual practice) and Jyotiṣa (time and the sky).
- Vedānta
Vedānta is the body of philosophy drawn from the Upaniṣads, the Brahma Sūtras and the Bhagavad Gītā.
- Āyurveda
Āyurveda is the traditional life science of the Indian subcontinent, concerned with body, rhythm, food and daily routine.
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The Knowledge Base grows as Vedaz does. Hover over or tap any underlined Sanskrit word anywhere on this site for a short definition.