Aticara is an astronomical parameter. This is a technical term in Hindu astronomy/astrology connoting the variation in the speed of the planetary movement covering the zodiacal distance with respect to the sun. The literal meaning of Aticara is ‘acceleration’.
Aticara in Hindu astronomy is a measurable figure. It is
established that in the band of the zodiac, the sun moves at the rate of roughly
one degree in one day, while the moon takes the average rate of 108 minutes to
traverse through a degree in zodiac. Mars moves at the average rate of
one-and-a-half days per degree and Mercury moves at the rate of an average of
one-and-a-half degrees per day. But on account of its closeness to the sun, and
due to the solar influences, its motion is not steady. Thus, Mercury
experiences forward and backward motions with reference to the sun. In this
process, a faster movement of the planet in covering the zodiacal distance in
an accelerated movement occurs for Mars and Venus also.
The accelerated status of movement of a planet is counted
amongst a set of ten avasthas (parameters) of planets used for predictive
astrology. It must be noted that there is no accelerated movement for the
nodes, Rahu and Ketu.
The accelerated status of a planet is sometimes avoided in the selection of an auspicious time for rites and other performances or activities.