Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) — Guide & Free Kundli

Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, anchored to the fixed stars, while Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, anchored to the equinoxes — today the two differ by roughly 24 degrees. Beyond the zodiac, Jyotish leans on the Moon, the 27 nakshatras, whole-sign houses and the Vimshottari dasha timing system, while Western practice emphasises the Sun, psychological interpretation and transits.

Because of the ayanamsa — the roughly 24-degree offset between the sidereal and tropical zodiacs — most people move back one sign in a Vedic chart. Your planets have not moved; the same sky is simply measured against the stars instead of the seasons, a drift accumulated through the precession of the equinoxes.

Ayanamsa is the angular difference between the tropical zodiac and the sidereal zodiac, currently about 24 degrees and growing by roughly 50 arc-seconds a year. AstroCodex uses the Lahiri ayanamsa by default — the value adopted by the Indian government's Calendar Reform Committee — with other ayanamsas available.

A kundli, or janam kundali, is the Vedic birth chart — a map of the nine grahas across the twelve houses, cast for your exact date, time and place of birth. It is the base document from which nakshatras, dashas, yogas and doshas are all read; AstroCodex computes it with Swiss Ephemeris precision.

Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which measures planetary positions against the actual fixed stars. The twelve rashis from Mesha (Aries) to Meena (Pisces) each span 30 degrees of this star-anchored circle, and the 27 nakshatras subdivide it into 13°20′ lunar mansions.

Neither system is objectively "more accurate" — they are different toolkits with different aims. Jyotish is renowned for timing through dashas and transits counted from the Moon, while Western astrology excels at psychological portraiture; AstroCodex computes both from the same Swiss Ephemeris data so you can compare them without mixing traditions.