Vedic astrology · Jyotish
Vedic Astrology for Beginners
Vedic astrology, explained in plain English for anyone, anywhere: what the signs, nakshatras and planets mean, and a free birth chart calculator that works for births worldwide.
Free tool
Vedic birth chart (kundli) calculator
Your rising sign, Moon sign, birth star, every planet's sign and house, and your planetary periods, for a birth anywhere in the world.
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Complete Kundli Report
What every planet in your houses means for you, your full dasha and antardasha dates, Mangal dosha, Sade Sati and the year ahead, in English or Hindi.
Free tool
Kundli matching (Guna Milan)
Compare two birth charts across the eight traditional factors and see the score out of 36, with Nadi, Bhakoot and Mangal dosha.
Yearly forecast
Vedic horoscope 2027
What 2027 holds for each Moon sign, from the year's real movements of Jupiter, Saturn and Rahu, with exact dates.
Shani
Sade Sati and Shani gochar 2027
When Sade Sati and Dhaiya start and end for your Moon sign, and what Saturn's 2027 move into Aries means for you.
Nakshatras
27 nakshatras and baby name letters
The name letter for every nakshatra pada and every rashi, with each nakshatra's lord, deity, gana, yoni and nadi.
Daily
Today's horoscope
Today's Vedic horoscope for all 12 Moon signs, from the Moon's real transit, with the week ahead.
Weekly and monthly
This week and this month
Weekly and monthly horoscopes from the real transits of the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars, with the best days and Chandrashtama dates.
Vrat calendar
Ekadashi, Purnima, Amavasya, Sankashti and Pradosh
Every Ekadashi, Purnima and Amavasya of 2026 to 2028, with tithi times, the fasting day and Ekadashi parana times.
Festival muhurat
Diwali, Chhath, Karwa Chauth and more
Puja muhurats, moonrise, arghya and midnight puja times for Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Navratri, Karwa Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath, Janmashtami and Maha Shivaratri, for 15 cities.
Daily
Today's panchang
Tithi, nakshatra, sunrise, Rahu Kaal and the day's good times for your own city, in local time.
Vedic astrology in five minutes
Vedic astrology (Jyotish, “the science of light”) grew up in India over thousands of years and is still part of everyday life there, from choosing wedding dates to naming children. Its core idea is the same as any astrology: the sky at the moment of birth is read as a map of a person's nature and the rhythm of their life.
What makes it distinctive is how it measures that sky. Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which stays aligned with the constellations, and divides the Moon's path into 27 nakshatras. It gives the Moon and the rising sign more weight than the Sun, and it times life in dashas, long periods ruled by each planet in turn.
The 12 signs (rashis)
The signs are the same twelve as in Western astrology, each with a Sanskrit name, a ruling planet, an element and a quality.
| Sign | Sanskrit | Ruler | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| ♈ Aries | Mesha | Mars | Fire, movable |
| ♉ Taurus | Vrishabha | Venus | Earth, fixed |
| ♊ Gemini | Mithuna | Mercury | Air, dual |
| ♋ Cancer | Karka | Moon | Water, movable |
| ♌ Leo | Simha | Sun | Fire, fixed |
| ♍ Virgo | Kanya | Mercury | Earth, dual |
| ♎ Libra | Tula | Venus | Air, movable |
| ♏ Scorpio | Vrishchika | Mars | Water, fixed |
| ♐ Sagittarius | Dhanu | Jupiter | Fire, dual |
| ♑ Capricorn | Makara | Saturn | Earth, movable |
| ♒ Aquarius | Kumbha | Saturn | Air, fixed |
| ♓ Pisces | Meena | Jupiter | Water, dual |
The nine planets (grahas)
Jyotish works with the seven visible planets, Sun to Saturn, and two invisible points, Rahu and Ketu, where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path and eclipses happen. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not part of the traditional system.
- Sun (Surya)
- Moon (Chandra)
- Mars (Mangal)
- Mercury (Budh)
- Jupiter (Guru)
- Venus (Shukra)
- Saturn (Shani)
- Rahu (Rahu)
- Ketu (Ketu)
The 27 nakshatras
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the zodiac and has its own deity, symbol and ruling planet. The nakshatra your Moon was in at birth is your birth star, and it decides where your planetary periods begin.
| # | Nakshatra | Ruler | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashwini | Ketu | Horse's head |
| 2 | Bharani | Venus | Yoni |
| 3 | Krittika | Sun | Razor or flame |
| 4 | Rohini | Moon | Chariot |
| 5 | Mrigashira | Mars | Deer's head |
| 6 | Ardra | Rahu | Teardrop |
| 7 | Punarvasu | Jupiter | Quiver of arrows |
| 8 | Pushya | Saturn | Cow's udder |
| 9 | Ashlesha | Mercury | Coiled serpent |
| 10 | Magha | Ketu | Royal throne |
| 11 | Purva Phalguni | Venus | Front legs of a bed |
| 12 | Uttara Phalguni | Sun | Back legs of a bed |
| 13 | Hasta | Moon | Hand |
| 14 | Chitra | Mars | Bright jewel |
| 15 | Swati | Rahu | Young shoot in the wind |
| 16 | Vishakha | Jupiter | Triumphal arch |
| 17 | Anuradha | Saturn | Lotus |
| 18 | Jyeshtha | Mercury | Earring or umbrella |
| 19 | Mula | Ketu | Bunch of roots |
| 20 | Purva Ashadha | Venus | Fan or winnowing basket |
| 21 | Uttara Ashadha | Sun | Elephant's tusk |
| 22 | Shravana | Moon | Ear |
| 23 | Dhanishta | Mars | Drum |
| 24 | Shatabhisha | Rahu | Empty circle |
| 25 | Purva Bhadrapada | Jupiter | Front of a funeral cot |
| 26 | Uttara Bhadrapada | Saturn | Back of a funeral cot |
| 27 | Revati | Mercury | Fish or drum |
Ready to see your own? Try the free Vedic birth chart calculator, or explore numerology, the sister tradition of numbers.
FAQ
Vedic astrology FAQs
What is Vedic astrology?
Vedic astrology, or Jyotish, is the traditional astrology of India. It reads the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets at birth against the sidereal zodiac (aligned to the fixed stars), and adds two features Western astrology lacks: the 27 nakshatras, or lunar mansions, and the dasha system of planetary periods.
How is it different from Western astrology?
The main technical difference is the zodiac. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, fixed to the seasons; Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, fixed to the stars. They are now about 24 degrees apart, so your Vedic signs are often one sign earlier. Vedic astrology also gives the Moon and the rising sign more weight than the Sun sign.
What do I need for a Vedic chart?
Your date, time and place of birth. The time sets your rising sign and houses; the place sets the time zone and the horizon. Without a time you can still learn your Moon sign, nakshatra and planetary periods.