Vimshati means twenty, and the Vimshamsa is the twentieth part of a sign. In the tradition it is the chart of upasana, meaning devotional practice, and of the inner direction of a life: how a person relates to worship, discipline and the search for meaning.
What the Vimshamsa is read for
Teachers use the D20 to look at spiritual inclination and practice. The questions put to it are of a gentle kind: what form of practice suits a person’s temperament, how steady the inclination is, and whether a path is likely to be devotional, contemplative, service-minded or ritual. The ninth house of the Rashi chart (dharma, teachers, higher learning) and the fifth house (mantra, devotion, intelligence) are the main houses, with Jupiter as the natural significator of wisdom and Ketu, in many accounts, for detachment.
The site has a separate Ishta Devata calculator which uses the Jaimini method, the 12th sign from the Atmakaraka’s Navamsa position, to point to a deity for personal worship. That is a different reading with a different method, and neither replaces the other.
A caution belongs here. Faith and practice are personal, and no chart can measure a person’s devotion or decide their path. The D20 describes tendencies for reflection. Nobody should feel that a chart has judged their spiritual life.
How the Vimshamsa is calculated
The Parashari rule used by the divisional charts calculator splits each sign into twenty parts of 1 degree 30 minutes. For a movable sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) the count begins at Aries. For a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) it begins at Sagittarius. For a dual sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) it begins at Leo. Each following part takes the next sign in order, so the twenty parts go round the zodiac once and then continue for eight more.
| Sign divided | Part 1 falls in | Last part (20) falls in |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | Aries | Scorpio |
| Taurus | Sagittarius | Cancer |
| Gemini | Leo | Pisces |
| Cancer | Aries | Scorpio |
| Leo | Sagittarius | Cancer |
| Virgo | Leo | Pisces |
| Libra | Aries | Scorpio |
| Scorpio | Sagittarius | Cancer |
| Sagittarius | Leo | Pisces |
| Capricorn | Aries | Scorpio |
| Aquarius | Sagittarius | Cancer |
| Pisces | Leo | Pisces |
Take a planet at 7°40′ of Leo. Each part is 1°30′ long, so this position lies in part 6 (from 7°30′ to 9°00′). By the rule above, part 6 of Leo is Taurus, so the planet sits in Taurus in D20.
Parts 13 to 20 repeat the signs of parts 1 to 8. The table shows where the first and the twentieth part of each sign fall, and from these you can work out any part by counting forward.
Confusing it with the D16 and D45
Three charts use a movable, fixed and dual rule with starting signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius or a swap of them. The D16 and D45 start at Aries, Leo and Sagittarius for movable, fixed and dual signs. The D20 starts at Aries, Sagittarius and Leo. The swap between fixed and dual is a frequent source of errors when the charts are worked by hand, and it is one reason to prefer a tool that states its rule under each result.
Sensitivity to birth time
A part of 1 degree 30 minutes is crossed by the ascendant in about six minutes, so the D20 Lagna depends on the birth time to the minute. Where the time is approximate, teachers advise reading the Vimshamsa for the planets’ signs and relationships and not for the Lagna.
Where schools differ
The movable, fixed and dual rule above is the Parashari scheme in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Some writers give other counting orders for the D20, and the way the chart is used differs a great deal between teachers. Some read it for devotion in this life only. Others read it for the spiritual inheritance of a life, and some barely use it at all. Where a teacher uses it, the reading is nearly always combined with the ninth and fifth houses of the Rashi chart.
How much weight teachers give it
In the commonly quoted Vimshopaka weights the Vimshamsa carries 0.5 out of 20 in the Shodashavarga, a small share, and it is not in any of the smaller sets. It is one of the less-used vargas in routine practice. It is sometimes opened for people with a strong interest in practice or when a question about initiation or a teacher arises, but there is no tradition of reading it for every client.
For the planets that matter in spiritual life, the usual approach is to look first at the ninth and fifth houses and their lords in the Rashi chart, with the guides to planets in the houses and the yogas as references. Then ask whether the D20 supports the picture. The result is a conversation starter and not a conclusion.
Reading your own Vimshamsa
Select D20 in the calculator and enter your birth details. Note the D20 Lagna, the position of Jupiter and Ketu, and the planets in the ninth and fifth houses from the D20 Lagna. Compare with the Rashi chart.
The preceding chart is the Shodashamsa (D16) and the next is the Siddhamsa (D24).
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is the D20 chart used for?
Tradition reads it for spiritual practice, devotion and the inner direction of a life, together with the ninth and fifth houses of the Rashi chart and Jupiter.
↳ How is the Vimshamsa calculated?
Each sign is divided into twenty parts of 1 degree 30 minutes. The count starts at Aries in a movable sign, at Sagittarius in a fixed sign and at Leo in a dual sign.
↳ Can the D20 tell me which deity to worship?
It can offer a hint at most, and teachers use other methods for that question. The site's Ishta Devata calculator uses the Jaimini method from the Navamsa.
↳ Why is the D20 easy to mix up with the D16?
Both use movable, fixed and dual starting signs. The D16 starts at Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, while the D20 starts at Aries, Sagittarius and Leo, so the fixed and dual starts are swapped.
↳ Does a weak D20 mean I am not spiritual?
No. A chart cannot measure devotion, and the D20 only describes tendencies. Spiritual life is personal and is not graded by astrology.