Vedic astrology (Jyotish)

The clearest difference between the Vedic system and Western astrology lies in how the zodiac is defined. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, tied to the spring equinox, while Vedic astrology is based on the sidereal zodiac, tied to the fixed stars. Because of the slow wobble of the Earth's axis (precession), the gap between the two zodiacs widens by about 50 arcseconds each year and today exceeds 24 degrees. This difference is called the ayanamsa. The most widely accepted calculation in India is the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa, which was also adopted in the country's official calendar reform in the 1950s. Someone who is an Aries in Western astrology will usually find their Sun in Pisces in a Vedic chart.

In Vedic interpretation, the sign the Moon occupies (Chandra Rashi) is at least as important as the Sun sign, because the mind, emotional habits and first reactions to events are read through the Moon. The rising sign (Lagna) shows the body and the overall direction of life. The zodiac is also divided into 27 nakshatras, or lunar mansions, each 13°20′ wide. Since the Moon passes through a nakshatra in roughly a day, the nakshatra at the moment of birth fine-tunes the temperament and serves as the starting point for calculating the dasha periods. Each nakshatra has a ruling planet, a deity and a symbol.

The most widely used system for timing planetary periods is the 120-year Vimshottari dasha. The ruler of the Moon's nakshatra at birth determines the first mahadasha (major period); after that, the nine planets come into effect in a fixed order, each for its own length of time: Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17 years. While Western astrology emphasizes psychological tendencies and character analysis, Jyotish is more rule-based and oriented toward events and timing. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not used; instead, Rahu and Ketu, the Moon's nodes, are included in the nine-planet system. The information on this page offers a general framework; a personal reading requires a full chart prepared for the actual time and place of birth.