Type a name in any script, a term, a question, or a combination such as “Saturn in the 7th”.
In short. Chart reading follows a fixed order from the whole to the parts and from promise to timing: lagna, Moon, houses, yogas and vargas, then timing.
1. Start with the lagna and its lord. Note the rising sign and the grahas in it or aspecting it. Note where the lagna lord is and how strong it is. The lagna represents the person. A strong lagna lord supports the rest of the chart.
2. Look next at the Moon. Note its sign, its nakṣatra and its strength. The Moon is the mind. The daśās and transits count from it. Then look at the Sun, and at the strongest and weakest grahas by dignity and ṣaḍbala.
3. Then read each house through its lord, as Parāśara does. For any subject, find its house, the lord of that house, where the lord is placed, what joins or aspects the house and its lord, and the house’s kāraka.
4. Judge the yogas next, by the strength of the grahas that form them. Then read the divisional chart for the subject: the navāṁśa for marriage and underlying strength, the daśāṁśa for career.
5. Read the timing last. Read the running mahādaśā and antardaśā through their lords. Then read the transits from the Moon.
Varāhamihira gives a rule for judging a house. Benefics improve a house and malefics damage it, except in the 6th, 8th and 12th, where it works the other way.
A result has to be shown in the rāśi chart. The vargas confirm or modify it.
Common beginner mistakes
| Mistake | Why it misleads |
|---|---|
| judging from a single graha, yoga or transit | the texts expect several factors to agree |
| reading a varga without the rāśi chart | a result has to be shown in the rāśi first |
| ignoring the strength of the grahas in a yoga | a yoga formed by weak grahas gives little |
| trusting the fine vargas when the birth time is uncertain | the D60 changes every two minutes of birth time |
The texts describe tendencies. They expect several factors to agree.
The How to read page takes your own chart through these steps.