New Numerology API

Planets (grahas)

Moon (Chandra) in Vedic astrology

Moon, called Chandra in Sanskrit, is one of the nine grahas of Vedic astrology. It rules Cancer, is exalted in Taurus and is debilitated in Scorpio. It stands for the mind, feelings and the mother. Vedic astrology counts transits and daily horoscopes from the Moon's sign. In the Vimshottari dasha, its main period runs for 10 years.

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More terms in Planets (grahas)

© API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com). "Glossary houses chart". All rights reserved. Not to be copied or reused.123456789101112A North Indian chart has 12 houses

Moon: how the API computes it

POST /v1/planets returns the Moon with its sign, degree, house, nakshatra (birth star) and dignity (how well it is placed in its sign). The Moon is exalted only in the first 3 degrees of Taurus (CH-02). From there to the end of Taurus, the API reports mulatrikona, a strong place just below exaltation (CH-04).

The Moon is not always helpful or always harsh, the way Jupiter and Saturn are. The API decides it for each chart (CH-14). A dark Moon, near the new moon, counts as harsh in shadbala, the six-part strength score (SB-08).

Within 12 degrees of the Sun, the Moon is also combust (CH-07). The Moon is the fastest planet, at about 13 degrees a day. It changes sign about every two and a quarter days. So a wrong birth time moves it more than any other planet.

Each 12 degrees the Moon gains on the Sun is one tithi, or lunar day (PA-01). Transits are counted from the birth Moon's sign (TR-01). So are sade sati and the daily horoscope on GET /v1/rashi/{sign}/today.

In shadbala, the Moon needs 6 rupas to count as strong.

Get it from the API

Sudarshana chakra: the chart from the ascendant, Moon and Sun. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

POST /v1/chart/sudarshana

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/chart/sudarshana" \
  -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"}'
Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK
{
  "rings": [
    {
      "ring": "lagna",
      "counted_from": "Ascendant",
      "start_sign": "Virgo",
      "houses": [
        {
          "house": 1,
          "sign": "Virgo",
          "sign_number": 6,
          "occupants": []
        },
        {
          "house": 2,
          "sign": "Libra",
          "sign_number": 7,
          "occupants": []
        },
        {
          "house": 3,
          "sign": "Scorpio",
          "sign_number": 8,
          "occupants": []
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "ring": "chandra",
      "counted_from": "Moon",
      "start_sign": "Taurus",
      "houses": [
        {
          "house": 1,
          "sign": "Taurus",
          "sign_number": 2,
          "occupants": [
            "Moon"
          ]
        },
        {
          "house": 2,
          "sign": "Gemini",
          "sign_number": 3,
          "occupants": []
        },
        {
          "house": 3,
          "sign": "Cancer",
          "sign_number": 4,
          "occupants": [
            "Sun",
            "Jupiter",
            "Venus"
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "ring": "surya",
      "counted_from": "Sun",
      "start_sign": "Cancer",
      "houses": [
        {
          "house": 1,
          "sign": "Cancer",
          "sign_number": 4,
          "occupants": [
            "Sun",
            "Jupiter",
            "Venus"
          ]
        },
        {
          "house": 2,
          "sign": "Leo",
          "sign_number": 5,
          "occupants": [
            "Mercury"
          ]
        },
        {
          "house": 3,
          "sign": "Virgo",
          "sign_number": 6,
          "occupants": []
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "basis": "Whole-sign houses. Each ring puts house 1 on the sign of its reference point (the ascendant, the Moon, the Sun) and counts on from there. The signs and planets are the birth chart's; only the house numbers change.",
  "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"
    }
  }
}

Where the API returns it

POST/v1/chart/sudarshanaSudarshana chakra: the chart from the ascendant, Moon and Sun
GET/v1/name/rashiThe Moon sign a name points to
GET/v1/rashi/{sign}/todayDaily reading for a Moon sign, no chart
POST/v1/planetsPlanet positions and the ascendant
POST/v1/varshaphalThe Tajik annual chart (varshaphal) for one year
POST/v1/kpKrishnamurti Paddhati: cusps, sub lords, significators

What the API reference says

Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.

  • POST /v1/chart/sudarshana · Sudarshana chakra: the chart from the ascendant, Moon and SunEach ring numbers the houses from a different starting point: the ascendant (lagna), the Moon (chandra) and the Sun (surya).
  • GET /v1/rashi/{sign}/today · Daily reading for a Moon sign, no chartReturns the transit part of the daily reading for a Moon sign (rashi) alone.
  • POST /v1/planets · Planet positions and the ascendantThe Moon has no traditional enemies, so it never reports enemy.

Feature page: Kundli and birth charts. Who uses it: Astrology apps. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.

How we check the numbers

Every value 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 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.

Related terms

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Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK
  • RisingVirgoHast
  • SunCancerAshlesha
  • MoonTaurusMrigashira
  • MarsAriesKrittika

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