What is a Kundali?

A Kundali (also called a Janam Kundali or Janam Patri) is a map of the sky at the moment and place of your birth, drawn according to the conventions of Indian (Vedic) astrology, or Jyotisha. It records where the Sun, Moon, planets and the lunar nodes appeared against the zodiac, and which part of the zodiac was rising on the eastern horizon.

The zodiac and the twelve signs

The zodiac is the band of sky the Sun, Moon and planets appear to travel through. It is divided into twelve 30° signs (rashis), from Aries (Mesha) to Pisces (Meena).

Vedic astrology usually uses the sidereal zodiac, which is aligned with the fixed stars. Western astrology usually uses the tropical zodiac, aligned with the seasons. Because of the slow precession of Earth's axis, the two are currently about 24° apart — so your Vedic Sun sign is often one sign earlier than your Western one. The size of that offset is called the ayanamsha; Astroilaz uses the widely adopted Lahiri ayanamsha.

The ascendant and the houses

The ascendant (lagna) is the zodiac degree rising on the eastern horizon at birth. Because the Earth turns, the rising sign changes roughly every two hours, which is why an accurate birth time matters so much.

The houses (bhavas) divide life into twelve areas — self, resources, effort, home, creativity, service, partnership, transformation, dharma, career, gains and release. Astroilaz uses whole-sign houses, the most common Vedic convention: the rising sign is the first house, the next sign the second, and so on.

The nine grahas

Vedic astrology considers nine grahas: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, plus Rahu and Ketu — the points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's apparent path. Rahu and Ketu are always exactly opposite each other and move backwards through the zodiac.

Nakshatras

The zodiac is also divided into 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions) of 13°20′ each, and each nakshatra into four padas. The Moon's nakshatra at birth is especially important: it determines where the Vimshottari dasha sequence begins.

North and South Indian charts

The same chart can be drawn in different styles. The North Indian (diamond) chart fixes the houses in place, with the first house at the top centre. The South Indian chart fixes the signs in place around a square. They show identical information.

Calculation versus interpretation

Where the planets were is a matter of astronomy and can be calculated precisely. What those positions mean is a matter of tradition, and different schools read them differently. Astroilaz always shows you which is which.