Journal · Almanac
Why your Vedic sign is probably one sign back
Two zodiacs, nearly 24 degrees apart, and what that does to your chart.
Born on April 1? A Western chart calls you an Aries. In a Vedic chart your Sun sits in Pisces. Neither is a mistake. They measure from different starting points, and only one of them is the sky overhead.
Two ways to start the zodiac
The tropical zodiac, used in Western astrology, starts Aries at the March equinox, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north. It is tied to the seasons.
The sidereal zodiac, used in Jyotish, starts Aries against the fixed stars. It is tied to the sky you would actually see.
The two once lined up. But Earth’s axis wobbles slowly, like a spinning top, and the equinox point slides backward against the stars by about one degree every 72 years. By the Lahiri reference, the standard in Jyotish, the two zodiacs matched around the year 285 and have drifted apart ever since. In October 2026 they sit 24°14′ apart.
What that does to your chart
Anything in roughly the first 24 degrees of a tropical sign lands in the sign before it in a Vedic chart. That is most of every sign, so most placements move back one. The same goes for your rising sign.
| Sign | Tropical | Sidereal |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mar 20 | Apr 14 |
| Taurus | Apr 19 | May 14 |
| Gemini | May 20 | Jun 15 |
| Cancer | Jun 21 | Jul 16 |
| Leo | Jul 22 | Aug 16 |
| Virgo | Aug 22 | Sep 16 |
| Libra | Sep 22 | Oct 17 |
| Scorpio | Oct 23 | Nov 16 |
| Sagittarius | Nov 22 | Dec 16 |
| Capricorn | Dec 21 | Jan 14 |
| Aquarius | Jan 19 | Feb 12 |
| Pisces | Feb 18 | Mar 14 |
Computed with the Swiss Ephemeris, Lahiri, US Eastern dates.
Your rising sign changes about every two hours, so finding it takes your birth time and place. In Jyotish it matters more than where the Sun was: it is the lens that decides which areas of your life each planet governs for you.