Guide

Vedic Astrology (Jyotish): How It Works

Vedic astrology, or Jyotish, is the astrology of the Indian subcontinent. It reads the sky in the sidereal zodiac — measured against the fixed stars — using nine grahas (the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu), twelve bhavas (houses) and 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions). Its signature is timing: the Vimshottari dasha system divides a 120-year life cycle into planetary periods that say which graha is "running" your life now.

The sidereal zodiac and the ayanamsa

Western astrology fixes the zodiac to the seasons; Jyotish fixes it to the stars. Because the equinoxes drift slowly against the stars, the two zodiacs now sit about 24° apart, and most people’s Vedic Sun sign is the sign before their Western one. The size of that offset is the ayanamsa. Plutto uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, the standard adopted by the Indian government’s calendar reform and the most widely used in India.

Grahas, bhavas and nakshatras

A Vedic chart (kundli) places the nine grahas in the twelve rashis (signs) and twelve bhavas. Each bhava governs a field of life — the first the self, the seventh partnership, the tenth work and standing. Beneath the signs sit the 27 nakshatras, each 13°20′ of the zodiac; the nakshatra the Moon occupies at birth (the janma nakshatra) sets where your dasha sequence begins.

Dashas: the timing of a life

The Vimshottari dasha assigns each graha a period — Ketu 7 years, Venus 20, the Sun 6, the Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17 — which together make 120 years. Each mahadasha (major period) divides into antardashas (sub-periods). Jyotish reads a life less as a fixed character than as a sequence of chapters, each coloured by the graha in charge.

Yogas, doshas, gochara and muhurta

Yogas are specific combinations of grahas and houses — Gaja Kesari, Raja yogas, Dhana yogas — read as capacities in the chart. Doshas are the combinations the tradition treats as afflictions, such as Mangal (Kuja) dosha or Kaal Sarp. Gochara is transit: where the grahas are today relative to your natal Moon, which is where Sade Sati (Saturn’s seven-and-a-half-year passage) comes from. Muhurta is the choice of an auspicious moment to begin something.

Compatibility: Guna Milan

For partnership, Jyotish traditionally compares two charts by Ashtakoota Guna Milan: eight factors (kootas) drawn from each person’s Moon nakshatra, scored out of 36 points. Many families treat 18 as the threshold, and read Mangal dosha alongside the score.

What Plutto reads for Vedic astrology

Grahas — your full chart, planet by planet
Bhavas — the twelve houses, and what occupies them
Dashas — your current mahadasha and antardasha, and what they open
Yogas and Doshas — the combinations present in your chart
Gochara — today’s transits against your Moon
Muhurta — auspicious timing for what you plan
Guna Milan — Ashtakoota compatibility out of 36
Purva Janma and Life Story — the chart read as a whole life
Prashna — a question answered from the moment you ask it
Ank Jyotish — Vedic numerology
Today, This Week, This Month, This Year — time wheels read from your dashas and transits

Every reading is computed from your own date, time and place of birth with Swiss Ephemeris, and spoken in your language. Free to start.

Questions

What is the difference between Vedic and Western astrology?

Vedic astrology (Jyotish) uses the sidereal zodiac, fixed to the stars; Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, fixed to the seasons. They now differ by about 24°, so your Vedic sign is often the one before your Western sign. Jyotish also emphasises the Moon, the 27 nakshatras and dasha timing, while Western astrology centres on the Sun sign, aspects and transits.

Which ayanamsa does Plutto use?

Plutto uses the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa for Vedic charts, the most widely used standard in India. KP charts use the Krishnamurti ayanamsa, as that system specifies.

What is a mahadasha?

A mahadasha is a major planetary period in the Vimshottari dasha system. The 120-year cycle is divided among the nine grahas — Venus runs 20 years, Saturn 19, Rahu 18, Mercury 17, Jupiter 16, the Moon 10, Mars and Ketu 7 each, the Sun 6 — and each mahadasha is subdivided into antardashas.

Do I need my exact birth time for a Vedic chart?

For the ascendant (lagna) and houses, yes — the lagna changes sign roughly every two hours. The planets’ signs and nakshatras are far less sensitive, so a chart with an approximate time is still meaningful for dashas and transits.

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