Why the Moon comes first
Western astrology starts with the Sun. The Sun shows the person you grow into. Vedic astrology starts with the Moon. The Moon shows your mind, your feelings, and how a day feels to you. Your chandra rashi (moon sign) is the sign the Moon was in when you were born. Daily readings, dashas, and matching all start from it.
The Moon changes signs about every two and a quarter days. So your birth date matters a lot here. Your birth time matters too.
Why your sign may look "wrong"
Vedic charts use the sidereal zodiac. It is fixed to the stars. Western charts use the tropical zodiac. It is fixed to the seasons. Right now the two are about 24 degrees apart. So many people find their Vedic sign is one sign earlier than the one they grew up with. The sky did not change. Only the map did.
The twelve rashis
- MeshaAries · Fire · Mars
- VrishabhaTaurus · Earth · Venus
- MithunaGemini · Air · Mercury
- KarkaCancer · Water · Moon
- SimhaLeo · Fire · Sun
- KanyaVirgo · Earth · Mercury
- TulaLibra · Air · Venus
- VrishchikaScorpio · Water · Mars
- DhanuSagittarius · Fire · Jupiter
- MakaraCapricorn · Earth · Saturn
- KumbhaAquarius · Air · Saturn
- MeenaPisces · Water · Jupiter