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Kabbalah

Esoteric teachings that deal with mystical ideas of creation and concepts of a spiritual nature, based in the Hebrew/Gnostic scriptures. Kabbalah features interpretations of the Tree of Life, the Zohar, numerical keys to the Bible etc.

Karaka

In Vedic astrology, a term for significator, or "indicator".

Karma

Cosmic cause and effect. Activities. Reaping the effects of past actions, including those from previous incarnations. The energies that are designed to awaken our spiritual awareness.

Katarchic Astrology

One of the three main systems of Hellenistic Astrology, which corresponds today to a form of Electional Astrology and Event Astrology. Katarchic means "pertaining to a beginning".

Kendra

In Vedic astrology, a term for angular house. See Angles.

Kepler

Johannes Kepler, born Weil, Wurtemburg, Germany on December 27, 1571 was a famous astrologer who became the father of modern astronomy.

Keplerian Aspects

Minor aspects defined by Kepler, including 72°, 135° and 144°, developed as a musically-based extension of Ptolemy's Major Aspects.

Kepler's Laws

While working in Prague under Tycho Brahe, Kepler discovered his three laws of planetary motion, based on the idea that planetary orbits are elliptical, rather than circular as proposed by Galileo. These have revolutionised modern astronomy, though they have little astrological significance. More on Kepler's Laws (offsite).

Ketu

Name for the Dragon's Tail, in Indian Astrology. See Dragon's Head.

Key Words

Words that encapsulate the meaning of an astrological factor. For example, Cancer: "I feel".

Ki

Subtle energy of the life force, the control of which is one of the goals of yoga, tantra, tai chi and similar disciplines. Also known as Chi (Ch'i) and in Yoga, Prana.

Kite

A Grand Trine with one of the planets making an opposition to a fourth planet which in turn makes sextile aspects to the two others of the Grand Trine. The need to place creative expression of talents in a grounded context, supplied by the opposition.

Koch

A time-based system of house division published in 1971 by Walter Koch. Also called the Birthplace system, it is said to be similar to an earlier system of Alcabitius. Though Koch did not himself develop his system (it was invented by Fiedrich Zanzinger and Heinz Specht), he advocated it and held that it was an improvement on the popular Placidus system, which it resembles. Neither Placidus nor Koch are reliable for polar latitudes.

Krishnamurti

One of the lesser-known Ayanamsas used to convert the tropical positions to the sidereal in Indian Astrology. It has a current arc of 22° 21' 50".

Kuiper Belt

A vast region of icy, rocky bodies beyond Neptune's orbit. It has no known astrological significance in itself, but Pluto is located in this great frontier area, some 3 billion miles (4.8 billion km) from the Sun.

Kuja

In Vedic astrology, a name for Mars.

Kujadosha

Mars affliction, affecting married life.