System
Vedic astrology
Also called Jyotish. The largest difference from Western astrology is that it is led by the Moon, not the Sun.
Tools in this system
How to read this system
It reads the Moon before the Sun
Western astrology asks which sign your Sun is in. Vedic astrology asks about the Moon first. The Moon moves fast, circling the zodiac in a little over 27 days, so this system cuts the zodiac into 27 segments rather than 12 — and which one holds the Moon says more about how a person actually feels than the Sun sign does.
The same chart reads differently at different ages
The second difference is time. Vedic astrology divides a life into nine stretches across 120 years — the Vimshottari dasha — each governed by a different planet. So the same chart does not say the same thing at 25 and at 45.
Most tools here need no exact birth time
The third difference is how fixed the calculation is. The eight-koota match reads only both Moons — sign and nakshatra — so the same two birth dates always produce the same score. It is also why most of the tools here work without an exact birth time.
Common questions
Which is more accurate, Vedic or Western astrology?
They are not measuring the same thing, so there is no shared ruler. Western astrology leads with the Sun and speaks to who you want to become; Vedic astrology leads with the Moon and speaks to how you actually are. Reading one through the other's standard is where the confusion starts.
Can I use this without knowing my birth time?
For most tools, yes. Synastry and the relationship pattern check read the Moon only, so the birth time changes nothing; Prashna needs no birth data at all. Only the full natal chart needs the time — it sets the rising sign and the whole house structure.
How do the 27 nakshatras map onto the 12 signs?
Each nakshatra spans 13°20', while each sign spans 30°, so a sign holds a little over two nakshatras. Some straddle two signs — the third, Krittika, runs from the tail of Aries into the start of Taurus.
Is the chart here the same as a Western birth chart?
The same birthday often produces different results. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, Vedic uses the sidereal one, and the two coordinate systems sit about 24° apart — so the Sun and Moon can each land a sign away. Neither is wrong; the rulers differ.