Short answers about the two zodiacs, the Vedic terms you will meet in the app, and how Unseen Signs works.
What is the difference between Western and Vedic astrology?
Both read the same sky but divide it differently. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which starts at the March equinox. Vedic astrology, also called Jyotish, uses the sidereal zodiac, which is fixed to the stars. The two zodiacs now sit about 24° apart. Vedic astrology also has tools of its own: 27 lunar mansions called nakshatras, the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu, and planetary periods called dashas. Western daily readings usually start from the Sun sign, and Vedic ones from the Moon sign.
Why is my Vedic sign different from my Western sign?
Each sign is 30° wide and the two zodiacs are about 24° apart. A planet in the first 24° of a Western sign falls in the sign before it in the Vedic zodiac, which is about four placements in five. A Western Sun at 3° Leo is a Vedic Sun in Cancer. A Western Sun at 27° Leo stays in Leo.
Which zodiac is correct, tropical or sidereal?
Neither is wrong. They are two ways of measuring, each consistent inside its own tradition. The tropical zodiac ties the signs to the seasons. The sidereal zodiac ties them to the stars. The planets are in the same place in the sky either way, and the angles between them are the same in both charts.
What is the ayanamsa, and which one does Unseen Signs use?
The ayanamsa is the angle between the tropical and the sidereal zodiac. It grows by about one degree every 72 years, because the equinox drifts slowly against the stars. Unseen Signs uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, the standard of India’s national calendar, which is a little over 24° today.
What is a nakshatra?
A nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Each covers 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, and the Moon crosses one in about a day. The nakshatra the Moon was in at your birth is your birth star, and your dasha periods are counted from it.
What is a dasha?
A dasha is a planetary period of life in Vedic astrology. Unseen Signs uses the Vimshottari system, which divides 120 years into nine periods ruled by Ketu, Venus, the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. The first period is set by the Moon’s place in its birth nakshatra, and each period has nine sub-periods.
What are Rahu and Ketu?
Rahu and Ketu are the two points where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s path. Rahu is the northern crossing and Ketu the southern one, always opposite each other. Eclipses happen near them. They are not physical bodies, but Vedic astrology treats them as planets. Unseen Signs uses the mean lunar node, which always moves backwards through the zodiac.
What is a tithi?
A tithi is a Vedic lunar day: each 12° the Moon gains on the Sun. A lunar month has 30 of them, 15 while the Moon waxes (the Shukla half) and 15 while it wanes (the Krishna half). The fifteenth of the waxing half is the full Moon, called Purnima, and the thirtieth is the new Moon, called Amavasya.
Do I need my exact birth time?
The Sun sign needs only the birth date. The rising sign changes about every two hours, so it needs the birth time and place, and so do the houses, the birth star and the dasha periods. The Moon changes sign about every two and a half days, so it is often clear from the date alone. Without a birth time, Unseen Signs shows what is certain from the date and leaves the rest unknown instead of guessing.
How does Unseen Signs calculate a chart?
Planet positions are calculated on your device with the Astronomy Engine library and checked against the Swiss Ephemeris. Western charts use the tropical zodiac. Vedic charts use the sidereal zodiac with the Lahiri ayanamsa. Both use whole-sign houses. The sidereal positions agree with the Swiss Ephemeris to within a tenth of an arcminute.
Is Unseen Signs free?
Yes for everything that is calculated: the day in both skies, your chart in both zodiacs, the sky calendar, the daily check-in and the zodiac score. No account is needed. A paid plan for extra personal readings is planned.
What happens to my birth details?
They stay on your device. Unseen Signs needs no account, your chart is calculated on the device, and your notes, saved people and daily answers are stored there. If you ask for a personal reading, the calculated chart positions and the words you type are sent to the reading service. Your name, birth date, birth time and birthplace are not.