Two moons, compared
Ashtakoota milan means "the meeting of eight things". It compares where the Moon was for two people - their rashis and their nakshatras. Each of the eight looks at one part of how two natures live together. Each one carries a weight. The weights add up to 36. Those are the famous gunas.
The eight kootas
- Varna1 guna
- Vashya2 gunas
- Tara3 gunas
- Yoni4 gunas
- Graha maitri5 gunas
- Gana6 gunas
- Bhakoot7 gunas
- Nadi8 gunas
They go from getting along (Varna) to nature (Gana) to body type (Nadi). The heavier the koota, the more weight the tradition gives it.
Reading the score
People read the total in bands. 18 is the old floor. The mid-twenties is comfortable. Above 32 is rare and people celebrate it:
- < 18Old texts say no
- 18-24Fine, workable
- 25-32Very good
- 33-36Rare and excellent
What the score cannot see
Guna milan looks only at two moons. It does not see Venus, which is love. It does not see the 7th house, which is partnership. It does not see the dasha periods two lives are passing through. A 30 with a hard Nadi clash is very different from a 22 with strong Venus on both sides. That is why a careful astrologer checks Mangal dosha and both full charts before saying anything about a number.
Use the score to start a talk about how you two move together. Sometimes at different speeds - and that can be a good thing.