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Find your star

Your sky,at oneexact moment.

Birth star · Nakshatra

Your birth star is the nakshatra the Moon held when you were born.

New to Vedic astrology?

How it differs from the horoscope in your phone.

  1. 1 of 3

    Your birth star is about the Moon

    Not your Sun sign: the slice of sky the Moon was in, one of 27 .

  2. 2 of 3

    Your sign may move back one

    Signs are measured against the stars, not the seasons, so a Western Leo is often a Cancer.

  3. 3 of 3

    Meaning first, sources after

    A plain-English reading of your star, with the books behind each fact underneath.

Find my birth starStuck on a word? See the glossary

From birth to chart

An example moment, not your chart. Example: Ujjain, 1 January 2000, 12:00 IST (Indian Standard Time).

  1. A place on Earth.

    23.1765° N · 75.7885° E

    23.1765° N · 75.7885° E

  2. One exact moment.

    2000-01-01 · 12:00 · UTC+05:30

    2000-01-01 · 12:00 · UTC+05:30

  3. The Moon moves fast.

    ≈13° a day / 184°34′ → 196°43′

    ≈13° a day / 184°34′ → 196°43′

  4. Twenty-seven equal parts.

    27 × 13°20′ = 360°

    Surya Siddhanta ch. 2 v. 64 (E. Burgess, 1860)

    Ayanamsa 23°51′

    27 × 13°20′ = 360°

  5. The Moon's star.

    Moon 196°43′ → Swati (15), pada 4

    Moon 196°43′ → Swati (15), pada 4

  6. Your star, with sources.

    Swati / classical Vedic astrology

    Swati

    स्वाति

    A slice of sky from 186°40′–200°00′ along the Moon's path, measured in the zodiac.

    Real stars you can see
    Arcturus (α Boötis)
    Vayu
    Buffalo
    Deva
    Where these facts come from
    • Surya Siddhanta ch. 8 (E. Burgess, 1860)
    • Muhurta Chintamani 6.25-30 (Khemraj, 1879)

  7. Real sky. Named texts.

    Find the Moon’s place at your birth.

    Find my birth star
    Find the Moon’s place at your birth.
An open manuscript beside a brass armillary and a small lamp

27 × 13°20′

One circle, twenty-seven parts.

Surya Siddhanta ch. 2 v. 64 (E. Burgess, 1860)

Photograph made for Vediq

Your Sun may have shifted.

Western signs follow the seasons. Sidereal signs follow the stars, so your Sun sign may differ.

Western astrology uses the , tied to the seasons. Vedic astrology uses the , tied to the stars. Earth's slow wobble has pulled them about 24° apart (the ), so your Vedic Sun sign is often the one before your Western sign. Your birth star follows the Moon, not the Sun.

Read the sky and text sources
Two ways to measure the zodiac
ReferenceTropicalSidereal
Measured fromSeasons / equinoxFixed stars
Used byWestern astrologyVedic astrology
Gap between them ()23°51′
Tropical zero (dashed) and sidereal zero (solid): 23°51′ apart

The 27 stars.

The Moon crosses one of these slices of sky about every day. Each has its own character in the tradition. Tap one to read it.

What do these words mean?

Sky. Text. Test.

We name the text behind each fact. We don’t promise accuracy about you.

01

Sky

The Moon’s measured place in the sidereal zodiac.

02

Text

Vedic and classical sources, named separately.

03

Test

Read the citation beside each fact.

How we know
An original manuscript-style illustration of a divided celestial circle around Earth
Illustration made for Vediq

A few things to know.

A nakshatra is one of 27 equal parts of the sidereal sky, each associated with real stars. Your birth nakshatra is the part the Moon occupied when you were born.

The zodiac has 12 signs. The nakshatra system divides the same circle into 27 parts, each spanning 13°20′.

In classical Vedic astrology, each nakshatra has an animal used in traditional matching. We cite Muhurta Chintamani 6.25–30. This is a symbolic classification, not a judgment about people.

Our guide names its sources: the Taittiriya Samhita, Atharvaveda, Surya Siddhanta and Muhurta Chintamani. Each fact on a star page has a source.

The Taittiriya Samhita and the later classical list give different gods for Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Chitra, Mula and Shatabhisha. We show both lists.
A morning star over a thin golden dawn horizon

Find your place in the sky.

Find my birth star