The 4 building blocks of a Kundli
Your Janma Kundli (birth chart) shows the sky exactly as it appeared from your birthplace at the moment of your birth. Four elements appear together:
12 Houses (Bhavas) — The chart's 12 boxes/triangles. Each governs a slice of life: 1st = self, 2nd = wealth/family, 3rd = siblings/courage, 4th = mother/home, 5th = children/intellect, 6th = enemies/health, 7th = marriage, 8th = transformation/longevity, 9th = father/dharma, 10th = career, 11th = gains, 12th = losses/moksha.
12 Signs (Rashis) — Aries to Pisces. Each house contains exactly one sign. The sign in your 1st house is your Lagna (Ascendant) — the cornerstone of your chart.
9 Planets (Grahas) — Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu. Each is placed in one sign and one house at your birth moment. (Western astrology adds Uranus, Neptune, Pluto; Vedic uses only the 9 visible/karmic ones.)
Aspects (Drishti) — Each planet 'sees' (influences) certain other houses from where it sits. Jupiter aspects 5th, 7th, 9th from itself. Saturn aspects 3rd, 7th, 10th. Mars aspects 4th, 7th, 8th. Other planets aspect only the 7th. Aspects modify everything.
Start with your Lagna (Ascendant)
Look at your 1st house — the topmost diamond in a North Indian chart, or the leftmost square in a South Indian chart. The sign written inside is your Lagna. This is the most important single piece of information in your entire chart.
Your Lagna determines: (1) which sign occupies every other house, (2) which planet is your Lagna lord (the most personal planet for you), (3) the natural strength/weakness of every other planet for you specifically.
Example: if your Lagna is Cancer, then 2nd = Leo, 3rd = Virgo, 4th = Libra... and your Lagna lord is the Moon (Cancer's ruler). For a Cancer Lagna native, the Moon is the most important planet — its placement defines wellbeing.
Reading planet placements: 3 questions to ask
For each planet in your chart, ask three questions:
1. What house is it in? This tells you WHICH area of life that planet activates. Mars in the 10th = career energy. Mars in the 4th = home tension. Mars in the 7th = Manglik.
2. What sign is it in? This tells you HOW the planet expresses there. Mars in Aries (own sign) = forceful and effective. Mars in Cancer (debilitated) = weak, defensive, anxious.
3. What aspects fall on it? This modifies the outcome. Mars in the 7th aspected by Jupiter from the 1st = the dosha is significantly diluted by Jupiter's wisdom.
Stack these for all 9 planets — and a personality + life pattern picture emerges. This is the foundation. Advanced readings layer on dasha periods, divisional charts (D9 Navamsa, D10 Dashamsa), transits, and yogas.