This form of astrology has been practised in India for thousands of years and is recognised as a science under Indian law. In India, astrological charts can also be used to gain additional information about health.
Like our European astrology, it is based on reading a life in relation to the solar system and the stars.
Its system is partly intertwined with the way the seasons are calculated.
The official calculations are based on the Lahiri method. There are also systems based on those used by the Roma or the Kyrgyz.
Medical astrology usually relies on calculations based on the astrological houses. There are also 27 signs based on the movement of the Moon, known as the nakshatras. Each one covers roughly a single day.
The Hindu horoscope is known as the Panchang. Most of the information in the Panchang comes from calculations based on the Moon. It is used to schedule state events on auspicious days in line with the calendar, and to work out favourable days, months and hours. The Panchang is divided into five parts and refers to five elements of the day – Rashi, Nakshatra, Tithi, Karana and Vara.
A month in India lasts as long as it takes the Moon to reach its fullness, a maximum of 30 days. It is divided into a dark half and a bright half. Each half is divided into 15 days called Tithi, and each Tithi is split into two parts called Karana. Vara refers to the days of the week.
Rashi – Zodiac sign – Samvata (lunar month) – Date
- Mesha – Aries – Vaishakha – 13 April to 14 May
