Worked example · fictional Aarav Sharma
Tropical and sidereal: why signs can differ
The sky stays the same while the starting point of the zodiac changes.
हिंदी में पढ़ेंOur worked examples use fictional Aarav Sharma: 15 August 1991, 06:40, Jaipur, India. Vedic examples use Lahiri sidereal and whole-sign houses. Western examples use the tropical zodiac. The dated report sample is from 30 September 2026.
Two reference points
The tropical zodiac begins Aries at the March equinox. A sidereal zodiac uses a reference related to the stars, with an offset called ayanamsa. Vedic charts here use Lahiri sidereal; Western charts use tropical. Both divide the zodiac into twelve equal 30° signs.
One Sun, two labels
Fictional Aarav’s tropical Sun is about 21.74° Leo: 120° + 21.74° = 141.74° around the zodiac. Subtract the roughly 23.75° Lahiri offset for his birth date and it becomes about 117.99°, or 27.99° Cancer. The Sun has not moved between readings; the reference point changed.
His Moon stays in Libra in both systems, while his rising sign changes from tropical Virgo to sidereal Leo. An offset does not always change a sign. Near a boundary, use the precise date and available birth time.
Make a fair comparison
Compare the same birth instant, place, zodiac and house system. Ayanamsa varies by date and convention; do not subtract a fixed modern number from every historical chart. Neither naming system proves predictive accuracy.
Astrology is a tradition for reflection. These examples do not establish predictive accuracy or replace your own decisions.