What is the navamsa chart?
The navamsa, or D9 chart, divides every zodiac sign into nine equal parts of 3°20′, exactly one nakshatra pada each, and places each planet in the sign its part belongs to. After the birth chart (D1) it is the chart astrologers look at first: tradition reads it for marriage and the spouse, for your deeper purpose (dharma), and for how strong each planet really is.
How the D9 is calculated
The nine parts of a sign are counted from a starting sign set by its nature. Movable signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) start from themselves, fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) from their 9th sign, and dual signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) from their 5th. In practice that means fire signs start from Aries, earth signs from Capricorn, air signs from Libra and water signs from Cancer. The calculator above does this for every planet and for the lagna (ascendant), from positions cast by the Swiss Ephemeris under the Lahiri ayanamsa.
How to read your navamsa
- The D9 lagna and its lord: your inner nature, and in marriage readings the tone of married life.
- Each planet's D9 sign: a planet exalted in the D1 but debilitated in the D9 promises more than it delivers; debilitated in the D1 but exalted in the D9, it starts weak and finishes strong.
- Vargottama planets: in the same sign in both charts. Tradition reads them as steady and reliable.
- The 7th house of the D9, its lord and Venus: the spouse and the quality of the bond.
The D9 lagna moves about every 13 minutes of birth time, so an accurate time matters. Read the navamsa together with the birth chart: it refines the D1, it does not replace it.
Want the full picture? Read the navamsa chapter in our Learn guide.
Questions people ask
What is a navamsa chart?
The navamsa or D9 chart divides each zodiac sign into nine parts of 3°20′ and places each planet in the sign of its part. It is read for marriage, your deeper purpose and the real strength of each planet.
How is the D9 chart calculated?
Each sign is cut into nine parts of 3°20′. Movable signs count the parts from themselves, fixed signs from their 9th sign and dual signs from their 5th, and the planet goes into the sign its part falls in.
What does vargottama mean?
A planet is vargottama when it is in the same sign in the birth chart and the navamsa. Tradition reads such a planet as steady, reliable and strong.
Does the navamsa show the spouse?
Tradition reads the 7th house of the navamsa, its lord and Venus for the spouse and married life. It is one indicator among several, read together with the birth chart.