So, as mentioned, there are 4 major types of charts used in vedic astrology! We’ll just get into how to read each one, one by one. But, before that, I’ll have to explain the major components of a chart.
Major Components of a Chart
- Planets –
- ☉ Sun (सूर्य – sūrya)
- ☽ Moon (चन्द्र – chandra)
- ♃ Jupiter (बृहस्पति – bṛhaspati)
- ☊ Rahu (राहु – rāhu)
- ☿ Mercury (बुध – budha)
- ♀ Venus (शुक्र – śukra)
- ☋ Ketu ( केतु – ketu)
- ♄ Saturn (शनि – śani)
- ♂ Mars (मङ्गल – maṅgala)
- Zodiac Signs – 12 signs
- ♈︎ Aries (मेष, meṣa)
- ♉︎ Taurus (वृषभ – vṛṣabha)
- ♊︎ Gemini (मिथुन – mithuna)
- ♋︎ Cancer (कर्क – karka)
- ♌︎ Leo (सिंह – siṃha)
- ♍︎ Virgo (कन्या – kanyā)
- ♎︎ Libra (तुला – tulā)
- ♏︎ Scorpio (वृश्चिक – vṛścika)
- ♐︎ Sagittarius (धनुष – dhanuṣa)
- ♑︎ Capricorn (मकर – makara)
- ♒︎ Aquarius (कुम्भ – kumbha)
- ♓︎ Pisces (मीन – mīna)
- Houses – 12 houses, referred to by their numbers. In the vedic format, one house is equal to one sign, a system referred to as whole sign house.
North Indian Style Diamond Chart
When reading a North Indian style diamond chart, we first look at the box in the center top. This is the first house, also called the Ascendant (लग्न – lagna). Most modern vedic astrology chart software will make it clear that it is the ascendant.
The numbers in the middle of the chart, in the corner of the houses, represents the sign. The houses, then, are counted, and go in counter clockwise direction. This chart has a pisces (12) ascendant, or pisces in first house, so it has aries (1) in second house, Taurus (2) in third house, and so on and so forth.
The planets are represented by the letters, so in this chart, we can see that moon is in pisces sign, in first house, Jupiter is in Aries sign with rahu, and so on.
South Indian Square Chart
This is the same chart as the above, but you can see that the big difference with this chart is that it goes clockwise in direction. This is the only chart to do so.
Unlike the North Indian style chart, this chart uses fixed placements for the signs. As in, this chart will always have Aries in the second from top left side, taurus in the third one, and so on. The ascendant will always be clearly marked in this kind of chart and the signs are not, because the signs do not move.
East Indian Fusion Chart
This is a bit of a fusion chart. Similar to the North Indian chart, it runs counter clockwise, but similar to the South Indian Chart, it has a fixed position for the signs, and not the houses.
Western Circle Chart
This chart will always have the ascendant in the left side. This chart looks very different, and relies heavily on the symbols of the planets and the signs. This is because this is not traditionally used in Vedic Astrology. However, circle charts are my personal favourite, because they give information in a way that’s simple to see, especially when it comes to degrees.
The Table
Every chart drawn up by a modern software will have a table you can look towards to see the placements more easily. These tables will contain the panchang information, and the exact placements of the planets. This table should be the same no matter what chart you use.
The reason it is good to learn to use the chart is because, as you advance in this field, understanding the chart helps you develop certain visual cues for aspects, arudhas, etc. Additionally, the tables do not give you information about the houses that the planets are situated in.
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