Jyotish
Indian astrology, a system of birth charts and planetary periods consulted before marriages, journeys and new ventures.
Also: jyotisha, vedic astrology, kundli, jyotishi
Jyotish, from the Sanskrit for light, is the Indian tradition of reading the sky. It uses a sidereal zodiac of twelve signs, twenty-seven lunar mansions called nakshatras, and the nine grahas, which include the Moon and the two lunar nodes. An astrologer, or jyotishi, draws a kundli, a chart of the moment of birth, and reads planetary periods from it. Families consult one for matching a bride and groom, choosing a day for a ceremony, and in times of trouble, when remedies such as mantras, charity or gemstones may be suggested. Scientists have criticised university courses in it. In India's 2004 Supreme Court ruling, such courses were allowed to continue.