Kuṇḍali (also calledjanmapatra) is the Indian term for theastrological chart or diagram representing the positions of thenavagraha-s of Indian astrology at a particular moment like the moment of the birth of a child. Thenavagraha-s are theSun,Moon,Mercury,Venus,Mars,Jupiter andSaturn, and thetwo nodes of the Moon. The nodes of the Moon are the points on thecelestial sphere where the orbit of the Moon intersects the orbit of the Sun. At a particular moment thenavagraha-s will be at different points in the sky and they will be located in one of the12 zodiacal signs (rāśi-s in Indian astrology), namely:
Akuṇḍali will show diagrammatically which one of thenavagraha-s are located in which one of therāśi-s at a particular moment. Akuṇḍali has twelve cells to represent the 12 zodiacal signs. Practitioners of astrology in different parts of India follow different conventions regarding the exact form in which thekuṇḍali is constructed. Essentially there are three different ways in which these cells are represented in akuṇḍali, the one followed by people of South India, the one followed by people of North India and the one followed by people of Eastern India (West Bengal andOdisha).[1]
The practice of constructing akuṇḍaliper se is not unscientific or pseudo-science as thekuṇḍali is only a diagram depicting the positions in the zodiac of the nine entities called thenavagraha-s at a particular moment of time, and thenavagraha-s are associated with true astronomical entities. But, the practice of "reading" akuṇḍali and interpreting or using it to predict the future events or the personality traits of individuals, has no scientific basis and is apseudo-science.[2][3][4]
In astrology, theascendant,lagna or rising sign at a specified moment (like the moment of birth of a child) is therāśi on the eastern horizon at that particular moment. The ascendant is specific to a particular time and place. Thekuṇḍali format followed in northern India is ascendant-centric in the sense that it gives primacy to the ascendant and assigns a fixed location to the ascendant. But, thekuṇḍali format followed in the southern and eastern India arerāśi-centric in the sense that they give primacy to therāśi-s. In these formats, the variousrāśi-s occupy fixed positions whereas the position of the ascendant changes depending on time and place.[1][5][6]
Thekuṇḍali format followed in southern India is essentially a depiction of the zodiac exactly as it is laid out in the sky. The only difference is that instead of a circle a square is used and twelve smaller squares or cells are drawn inside the square to represent therāśi-s. The earth may be imagined as situated at the center of the larger square. Therāśi-s are always in the same boxes. TheMeṣarāśi is in the second cell from the left in the top row of the diagram (marked 1 in the figure). The remainingrāśi-s are the remaining cells in the successive cells in the clockwise direction (marked 2, 3, 4, etc.).
The South Indiankuṇḍali is arāśi-centric format. Thenavagraha-s are placed in the boxes corresponding to therāśi-s in which they are located. The ascendant is marked in the appropriate box. It is denoted either by a diagonal line or by writingLagna in the appropriate box.
One advantage of this chart format is that it more closely resembles the actual astronomy of the sky. Another advantage is that, since eachrāśi has been allotted the same area in the chart, this chart is much easier to populate with names of thenavagraha-s. As in thekuṇḍali formats of the other regions, there are no odd-shaped smaller sections that one has to squeeze thenavagraha-s into.
Thekuṇḍali format followed in eastern India is depicted in the attached figure. The format is sometimes drawn with a square showing the outer boundary (in the attached figure, the square drawn using dashed lines segments). As in the format followed in southern India, this format is alsorāśi-centric. The firstrāśi,Meṣa occupies the central cell in the top row of the diagram (the cell marked 1). The otherrāśi-s are represented by the remaining cells selected in the anti-clockwise direction. In the format followed in southern India, the cells are assignedrāśi-s in the clockwise direction. This format has the same advantages as the format followed in southern India.
Thekuṇḍali format followed in northern India isbhāva-centric (or,house-centric). In traditional practice, eachrāśi is a house orbhāva. The beginning of each house is the 0th degrees of therāśi and the end is the 30th degree of therāśi. What varies from is the enumeration of thesebhāva-s, i.e., whichrāśi is the firstbhāva, which is the second, and so forth. This is determined by the position of theLagna (the Ascendant) The house in which theLagna falls is usually the firstbhāva, and the otherbhāva-s follow it, counter-clockwise, in the sequence of the zodiac. In thekuṇḍali format followed in northern India, the firstbhāva is always in the topmost middle diamond. In this format, thebhāva that each section denotes is static. Therāśi-s assigned to the sections change. This format is more of an astrological perspective than an astronomical one. The format is meaningless without numbering as therāśi of each house cannot be determined without numbers. Therāśi-s are numbered as follows: 1.Meṣa (Aries), 2.Vṛṣabha (Taurus), 3.Mithuna (Gemini), 4.Karka (Cancer), 5.Siṃha (Leo), 6.Kanyā (Virgo), 7.Tulā (Libra), 8.Vṛścika (Scorpio), 9.Dhanuṣa (Sagittarius), 10.Makara (Caprocornus), 11.Kumbha (Aquarius), 12.Mīna (Pisces).
[...] advocates of pseudo-sciences such as astrology and homeopathy tend to describe their theories as conformable to mainstream science.
To optimise the chances of finding even remote relationships between date of birth and individual differences in personality and intelligence we further applied two different strategies. The first one was based on the common chronological concept of time (e.g. month of birth and season of birth). The second strategy was based on the (pseudo-scientific) concept of astrology (e.g. Sun Signs, The Elements, and astrological gender), as discussed in the bookAstrology: Science or superstition? by Eysenck and Nias (1982).
