Readings
Karmic Astrology API: the Rahu-Ketu reading
Updated
How the karmic astrology API works
- 1Rahu and Ketu are two points that always sit opposite each other in a birth chart.
- 2Ketu marks what comes easily to a person, and Rahu marks where they are pulled to grow.
- 3The API returns a reading of both ends and of the soul planet, and says plainly that it makes no past-life claims.
POST /v1/karma200 OK{
"axis": {
"ketu": {
"sign_name": "Cancer",
"house": 11
},
"rahu": {
"sign_name": "Capricorn",
"house": 5
}
},
"not_claimed": "this reports DISPOSITION AND DIRECTION -- where a person is already fluent and disengaged, and where they are hungry and unpracticed. It is not a report on a previous life, and must not be read or…"
}Call the karmic astrology API from your code
Send the details as JSON with your API key in the Authorization header. Copy the code, set ASTROLOGY_API_KEY to your key, and run it.
POST /v1/karma
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/karma" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'{
"axis": {
"ketu": {
"graha": "Ketu",
"sign": 4,
"house": 11,
"sign_lord": "Moon",
"lord_house": 9,
"means": "the settled end -- already fluent, already practiced, and for that reason the place a person disengages from",
"sign_name": "Cancer",
"graha_name": "Ketu",
"sign_lord_name": "Moon"
},
"rahu": {
"graha": "Rahu",
"sign": 10,
"house": 5,
"sign_lord": "Saturn",
"lord_house": 4,
"means": "the unmet end -- unfamiliar, hungry and unpracticed, and for that reason where the effort of a life actually goes",
"sign_name": "Capricorn",
"graha_name": "Rahu",
"sign_lord_name": "Saturn"
},
"rule": "one axis with two ends, always seven houses apart. Moving toward one is moving away from the other",
"nodes_rule_no_sign": "the nodes own no sign, so each end is read from the sign it occupies and the graha that rules it -- never from a dignity they do not have",
"houses_apart": 6,
"is_an_axis": true,
"text": [
"**You have Ketu in the eleventh house and Rahu in the fifth.** As the two lunar nodes, Ketu and Rahu always sit opposite each other. Ketu stands on familiar ground, and Rahu on ground that pulls you.",
"Your eleventh house covers friends, groups and shared goals. So you find it easy to move through large groups, social circles and shared projects.",
"Your fifth house covers creativity, romance and self-expression, and that is what pulls you. It draws you to your own creative voice and to things that carry your own mark. It also draws you to romance, fun and the simple joy of creating.…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"atmakaraka": {
"graha": "Sun",
"sign": 4,
"house": 11,
"sign_lord": "Moon",
"lord_house": 9,
"karaka": "Atmakaraka",
"degree_in_sign": 28.7753,
"all_karakas": {
"Atmakaraka": "Sun",
"Amatyakaraka": "Mars",
"Bhratrikaraka": "Saturn",
"Matrikaraka": "Mercury",
"Putrakaraka": "Moon",
"Gnatikaraka": "Venus",
"Darakaraka": "Jupiter"
},
"scheme": "seven-karaka. The eight-karaka variant adds Rahu and changes every assignment below it, so the two are not compatible and a chart is read under one or the other",
"rule": "the graha at the highest degree within its sign",
"text": [
"**The Sun is your atmakaraka**, the planet that has gone farthest through its own sign in your chart. The Jaimini system is a classical school of Vedic astrology. It reads this planet as the one that points to the main lesson of your life.",
"The Sun stands for authority, self-respect and your father. So for you the lesson is about humility, self-respect and leading well. The aim is to shine and inspire people through honesty and care for others. You learn to feel sure of…",
"In real life this can show up as being handed responsibility early, or feeling stung when your effort goes unnoticed. What helps: lead by example, give credit freely, and ask yourself whether you want the job done well or want to be seen…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"graha_name": "Sun",
"sign_name": "Cancer"
},
"karakamsa": {
"atmakaraka": "Sun",
"navamsa_sign": 12,
"rasi_sign": 4,
"house_from_rasi_lagna": 7,
"sign_lord": "Jupiter",
"vargottama": false,
"rule": "the sign the atmakaraka occupies in the navamsa, counted as a house from the RASI ascendant",
"text": [
"**Your karakamsa** is the sign your atmakaraka occupies in the navamsa (D9) chart. That sign is counted as a house from your rising sign. The atmakaraka is the planet farthest through its own sign, the one that carries your main life…",
"Your birth chart shows what you do outwardly, while the navamsa shows your inner life and your deeper leanings. So the karakamsa shows where that main lesson meets your inner life.",
"For you it falls in your **seventh house**. Your main lessons tend to play out in this part of life. Your growth, passions and sense of fulfillment are most engaged here. Give this area steady, deliberate attention rather than leaving it…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"sign_name": "Pisces",
"sign_lord_name": "Jupiter"
},
"houses": {
"5": {
"means_en": "purva punya: what is already earned, and comes without being worked for",
"lord": "Saturn",
"lord_house": 4,
"lord_sign": 9,
"occupants": [
"Rahu"
],
"text": [
"**This house covers purva punya: what is already earned, and comes without being worked for.** Its ruler is Saturn, placed in your fourth house.",
"Here the fifth house is read for what already comes easily to you: creative talent, good instincts or simple good fortune. Tradition links it with merit from earlier actions (purva punya). In this reading, that means the gifts you bring…",
"The house where its ruler sits shows where those gifts are most likely to be put to use. Because easy gifts are easy to take for granted, it helps to practice them on purpose."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"means": "purva punya: what is already earned, and comes without being worked for",
"lord_name": "Saturn",
"occupant_names": [
"Rahu"
]
},
"9": {
"means_en": "dharma, fortune and the father: the direction that feels like it was always yours",
"lord": "Venus",
"lord_house": 11,
"lord_sign": 4,
"occupants": [
"Moon"
],
"text": [
"**This house covers dharma, fortune and the father: the direction that feels like it was always yours.** Its ruler is Venus, placed in your eleventh house.",
"The ninth house is about dharma (right conduct), grace, wisdom and fortune. It shows the path that feels right to you, and it links you with teachers, good ideals and lucky breaks.",
"The house where its ruler sits shows where two things tend to show up in your life: a sense of right direction, and good fortune. What helps: follow the principles you believe in consistently, and stay in touch with people who teach or…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"means": "dharma, fortune and the father: the direction that feels like it was always yours",
"lord_name": "Venus",
"occupant_names": [
"Moon"
]
},
"12": {
"means_en": "moksha, release, and what has to be given up rather than gained",
"lord": "Sun",
"lord_house": 11,
"lord_sign": 4,
"occupants": [
"Mercury"
],
"text": [
"**This house covers moksha, release, and what has to be given up rather than gained.** Its ruler is the Sun, placed in your eleventh house.",
"The twelfth house is about moksha (liberation), time alone and the wisdom of letting go. It stands for the peace that comes when you stop worrying and trust that life is carrying you along.",
"The house where its ruler sits shows where letting go is most likely to be asked of you. It also shows where letting go tends to bring relief. What helps: make regular time for rest or quiet reflection, and practice giving without…"
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"means": "moksha, release, and what has to be given up rather than gained",
"lord_name": "Sun",
"occupant_names": [
"Mercury"
]
}
},
"read_from": "the Rahu-Ketu axis, the atmakaraka and its karakamsa, and the 5th, 9th and 12th bhavas",
"not_scored": "there is no classical total for a karmic reading, and a number here would look authoritative and be this service's own",
"not_claimed": "this reports DISPOSITION AND DIRECTION -- where a person is already fluent and disengaged, and where they are hungry and unpracticed. It is not a report on a previous life, and must not be read or written as one",
"not_computed": [
"the eight-karaka scheme, which is a different and incompatible assignment",
"karakamsa yogas, which need the navamsa read as a chart in its own right"
],
"framing": {
"title": "What you bring, and where you are going",
"text": [
"**This section looks at where you are already practiced and where you are not.** It draws on the Rahu-Ketu axis, the atmakaraka and its karakamsa, and the 5th, 9th and 12th bhavas.",
"Put simply, it looks at three things together. First, the two lunar nodes, Rahu and Ketu, which always sit opposite each other. Ketu marks familiar ground, and Rahu marks ground that pulls at you. Second, the planet that leads your chart…",
"Together these show your natural leanings. Some things come easily because you have done them so much. Other ground pulls at you because you haven't covered it yet. Knowing which is which helps you put effort where you are hungry to grow."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
},
"gaps": [],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"meta": {
"ayanamsa": "lahiri",
"ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
"julian_day": 2448119.10483,
"ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
"node": "true",
"timezone": {
"source": "zone",
"offset_hours": -4,
"zone": "America/New_York",
"abbreviation": "EDT",
"dst": true,
"dst_hours": 1,
"ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
"note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
}
}
}What the karmic astrology API returns
- The Rahu-Ketu axis, read as one thing. Ketu's end is what a person already knows well, and Rahu's end is where they are eager but new.
- The atmakaraka, the planet at the highest degree in its sign. Also its karakamsa: its sign in the navamsa (D9, the ninth-part chart), counted as a house from the birth chart's rising sign.
- Readings of the 5th, 9th and 12th houses.
- not_claimed: a plain statement, in every response, that this is not a report on a past life.
- A spiritual path reading (POST /v1/spiritual). It follows one chapter of a classical book, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, chapter 33. It reads the karakamsa and the sign 12th from it, and it includes the full karma reading. Each finding names its verse. A deity is named only when the chart points to one.
- Nothing is scored. The text comes in a standard or a longer version.
Many karmic readings talk about past lives. This one describes character and direction instead. That is useful without asking anyone to believe anything in particular. Pair it with the readings and dasha (planetary period) endpoints when an app wants karmic themes next to timing.
Karmic astrology API endpoints
POST /v1/karmaKarma reading: what you bring and where you are headedPOST /v1/spiritualSpiritual path reading: devotion and release
What it uses from your plan
Calculations use 1 call each. Written readings use reading credits instead:
- Karma reading2 credits
- Spiritual path reading2 credits
The rules behind the karmic astrology API
The reading refuses to claim anything about past lives (KR-01). Rahu and Ketu are one axis, always seven houses apart, and Ketu's house is the key to it (KR-02). The atmakaraka is the planet at the highest degree in its sign. The karakamsa is counted from the rising sign of the birth chart, not of the navamsa (KR-03). The spiritual path reading applies only the verses of Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, chapter 33 (SP-01 to SP-14). A deity table often quoted with it is not in that chapter, so it is left out (SP-15).
How we check the numbers
Every answer here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. Our tests fail if a result drifts past these figures.
A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. Each rule has an ID you can look up in the public rulebook.
See how we test accuracy
Karmic astrology API questions
All questionsCan I sell the karmic reading as a past-life reading?
It is not one, and the response says so. Every response has a not_claimed field stating that this is not a report on a past life. The reading text says it too, in the reader's language. It describes where a person is already skilled and where they are eager to grow.
Read rule KR-01Why might the karakamsa differ from another app?
Here the karakamsa sign is counted as a house from the rising sign of the main birth chart (D1), not of the navamsa. This step is often skipped, and counting from the navamsa's rising sign answers a different question while looking the same.
What the karakamsa isWhich scheme picks the atmakaraka?
The seven-karaka scheme: the atmakaraka is whichever planet from the Sun to Saturn is at the highest degree within its sign. Rahu is left out, so the result can differ from apps that use the eight-karaka scheme.
What the atmakaraka isDoes the karmic reading need an exact birth time?
Yes. The house readings and the karakamsa are counted from the rising sign, which changes about every two hours. A wrong time can also change the atmakaraka when two planets sit at close degrees in their signs.
Does the karmic reading use true or mean Rahu and Ketu?
True nodes by default. Send node set to mean for the averaged position instead. The two positions can be more than a degree apart. When Rahu and Ketu sit near a sign boundary, that can move them into another sign and house.
True and mean nodesAstrology API
Call it with a free test key
Create an account and a test key, then call any endpoint on this page. Or try a request in the API reference first.
Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.
01
Test key: 1,000 test calls a month to build with
02
Free plan: 2,000 live calls a month, no card needed
03
Open rules: every rule is published, so you can check any answer