Vedic and Western astrology
The same planets in the same sky, measured from two different starting points. Here is what differs, why your sign can change, and what a Vedic reading looks at first.
The drift
The Earth wobbles slowly on its axis, so the spring equinox slides backwards against the stars, one degree in about 72 years. Around the year 285 the two zodiacs lined up. Move the year and watch them separate.
Vedic, fixed to the starsWestern, tied to the seasons
Side by side
Western
- Zodiac
- Tropical, tied to the seasons
- Aries begins at
- The spring equinox
- Leads with
- The Sun sign
- Houses
- Usually Placidus
- Planets
- Sun to Pluto
- Timing
- Transits and progressions
Vedic (Jyotish)
- Zodiac
- Sidereal, tied to the stars
- Aries begins at
- A fixed point among the stars
- Leads with
- The Moon sign and the lagna
- Houses
- Whole signs
- Planets
- Seven planets, Rahu and Ketu
- Timing
- Dasha periods
What a Vedic
reading looks at
The Moon before the Sun
A Western reading usually starts with the Sun sign. A Vedic reading starts with the lagna, the sign rising at birth, and with the Moon sign, called the rashi. When an Indian astrologer asks your sign, they usually mean your Moon sign.
Nakshatras
Besides the twelve signs, the sky is split into 27 nakshatras, or lunar mansions, of 13°20′ each, one for roughly every day of the Moon's month. Each has a ruling planet and four quarters called padas. The Moon's nakshatra at birth is one of the most personal facts in a Vedic chart.
Dashas
Vimshottari dasha divides a life into planetary periods that add up to 120 years. The first period is set by the lord of the Moon's nakshatra, and how far the Moon had travelled through it decides how much of that period was left at birth.
Rahu and Ketu
The two places where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path are treated as planets: Rahu, the north node, and Ketu, the south node. They always sit exactly opposite each other and move backwards through the signs.
Which one is right?
Neither zodiac is an error. The Western one follows the seasons, the Vedic one follows the stars, and each tradition is consistent inside its own rules. Many people read both.