Long before astrology became a question you ask on a first date, it was a way of reading the rhythm of the year. People watched the sky to know when to sow, when to harvest, when to marry. The same stars that guided a planting season now turn up in birthday memes and morning horoscopes. Some of us ask a new acquaintance for their sign before we ask their name; some of us plan a quiet holiday around a full Moon. Whatever your relationship with it, astrology endures because it offers a language for paying attention.
There are many astrological traditions, and each reads the same sky in its own dialect. In this piece we wander through the best known of them — Western, Vedic, Chinese, Horary and Kabbalistic — looking at where they came from, how they differ, and what each one studies. We hold them all the same way: as frameworks for reflection and self-awareness, a lens for noticing something true about yourself. The choosing is always yours. The stars are a prompt, never a verdict.
Western (‘Traditional’) Astrology
Western astrology, often called ‘Traditional astrology’, is the system most familiar across the Western world. It leans on the Sun sign — determined by the Sun’s position on the date of birth — and the zodiac. Its roots lie in Babylonian sky-watching over 2,000 years ago, formalised by Greek astronomers such as Claudius Ptolemy, whose Tetrabiblos appeared in the 2nd century CE. That work shaped how the Western tradition reads the chart, and much of its framework has carried through to today. Many modern Western astrologers stress that the chart describes tendencies, not a fixed fate — a portrait of leanings, with the choosing left to you.
The system reads ten celestial bodies, the lunar nodes and the asteroid Chiron, alongside calculated points such as Black Moon Lilith and Selena, hypothetical bodies like Proserpina, and the Arabic Parts (Lots) such as the Part of Fortune.
Western and Chinese astrology share a thread: both anchor to the moment of birth and use twelve symbols to carry meaning. But each is its own practice. Western astrology centres on the relationship between the Earth and the Sun. Its Tropical Zodiac measures the Sun’s position against the Earth’s seasons and the tropics — the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
The Western zodiac holds 12 signs. You will find a zodiac fragrance oil for each one in our collection — a small, scent-led way to keep your own sign close:
- ♈ Aries (the Ram)
- ♉ Taurus (the Bull)
- ♊ Gemini (the Twins)
- ♋ Cancer (the Crab)
- ♌ Leo (the Lion)
- ♍ Virgo (the Virgin)
- ♎ Libra (the Scales)
- ♏ Scorpio (the Scorpion)
- ♐ Sagittarius (the Centaur)
- ♑ Capricorn (the Sea-Goat)
- ♒ Aquarius (the Water Bearer)
- ♓ Pisces (the Fish)
These signs map to the positions of the constellations relative to the Earth, and take their names from figures in Greek mythology. People born under the same sign are often said to share certain leanings. Those born under Pisces (19 February to 20 March), for instance, are described as drawn to solitude, music, romance and spiritual themes, and as having little patience for criticism, cruelty or know-it-alls. Read it as a sketch to try on, not a label to live inside.
The Western astrological calendar follows the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, with the vernal equinox (around 20 March) marking the start of a new astrological year. With day and night in near-equal balance, this moment is held as the true beginning of the year in astrology. The Roman calendar set 1 January as the start of the civil year, but that date carries no astrological weight. Here, the first sign, Aries, opens around the equinox, and the rest follow in turn.
Planets play a leading role in Western astrology, standing for fundamental motivations in the human psyche. The system also reads two lunar nodes — the north (ascending) node and the south (descending) node — though the planets are considered more telling.
Western astrology also names four elements, with each sign tied to one:
- 💧 Water signs are guided by emotion.
- 🌎 Earth signs are practical.
- 🔥 Fire signs are spontaneous.
- 🌬️ Air signs are cerebral.
If you would like to sit with your sign’s element — rather than feel ruled by it — one quiet way is to light a sign-matched candle while you journal. Our crystal candles for your sign pair a scent with a small gemstone, a gentle cue for the qualities you want to cultivate.
Vedic Astrology (Jyotish)
Vedic astrology — also known as Jyotish, or Hindu astrology — is a tradition rooted in India. Its roots reach back to the ancient Vedic period; the horoscopic system used today took shape over the centuries that followed. Grounded in the sacred texts known as the Vedas, it is marked by its focus on karma and the idea that our past actions shape our present circumstances. The term ‘Vedic astrology’ was popularised by the astrologer David Frawley.
Karma
- Central to the tradition, karma refers to the actions of past lives held to shape one’s current reality.
- The planets are seen as the karmas of the soul, read as influencing both bright and difficult turns.
- Vedic astrology offers practices to work with these karmic patterns — easing difficulty, encouraging growth.
Tools and Practices
- Reflective techniques. Vedic astrology uses yogas (planetary combinations) and dashas (planetary periods) that practitioners read as cycles or seasons of life — a lens for reflection on timing, rather than fixed prediction.
- Remedies. These include mantras, gemstones, affirmations, yoga and Ayurvedic practice. In this tradition, remedies such as mantras or gemstones are chosen to suit the individual chart, which is why practitioners recommend consulting a knowledgeable astrologer rather than self-prescribing.
Mantra practice has a tangible companion in mala beads for daily practice — the traditional thread of 108 beads for counting repetitions — while crystals and gemstones give the stone side of the tradition something you can hold.
Zodiac System
- Sidereal Zodiac. Where Western astrology uses the Tropical Zodiac, Vedic astrology uses the Sidereal Zodiac, anchored to the actual positions of the stars.
- Precession of the equinoxes. Vedic astrology accounts for the slow precession of the equinoxes, adjusting the zodiac by roughly one degree every 72 years to keep its astronomical positions true.
Planetary Periods
- Dashas. Vedic astrology works with planetary periods called dashas, read as the changing seasons of a life.
- Sub-periods. Each dasha is divided further into sub-periods lasting up to three years — a finer grain for reflecting on timing, themes and the chapters of one’s life.
Chart Calculation
- Vedic astrology takes a holistic approach that historically drew on related interpretive arts such as palmistry and numerology.
- Birth chart. The natal chart is calculated much as in Western astrology, but differs notably in interpretation and use.
- Janam Kundali. One of the tradition’s central customs is the Janam Kundali, a birth chart drawn soon after a baby arrives. It maps the planetary positions at the exact time and place of birth, read as a kind of cosmic blueprint for the life ahead — a way to consider character, the seasons of a life and its likely challenges. In Indian tradition, the Janam Kundali is often consulted at milestones such as marriage; within this framework it is read as a map of karmic patterns. In this tradition it is understood to reflect the imprint of past-life karma and how it colours the present.
Purpose and Philosophy
- Light and influence. Jyotish translates as ‘science of light’, a study of how light moves through all things.
- Cosmic connection. The tradition rests on the idea of bandhu — the teaching that, in this view, humans are children of the cosmos.
- Working with the chart. According to Vedic teachings, practices such as mantra and gemstones are used to work consciously with one’s path, rather than to dictate it.
For those drawn to the heart of this tradition, our spiritual statues and idols offer a serene focal point for stillness — an object for meditation and reverence, honouring the heritage the tradition holds.
Taken as a whole, Vedic astrology offers a rich and considered way of reflecting on the sky’s patterns and a life’s rhythms — ancient wisdom carried into a practice of attention.
What is the Difference Between Vedic and Western Astrology?
Both are well-established systems, and both speak in familiar terms — signs, houses, planets. Yet they part company in meaningful ways. The very idea of a ‘house’, for instance, is read quite differently in Vedic and in classical Western astrology.
- Planets. Both systems share seven classical planets (the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn). Western astrology also reads Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and a host of minor comets and asteroids, which Vedic astrology generally sets aside. In their place, Vedic astrology gives weight to Rahu and Ketu, the karmic points. And where Western astrology centres on the Sun, Vedic astrology looks first to the Moon’s position in the signs.
- Aspects. In Vedic astrology, with its sidereal signs, aspects are read as asymmetrical. Western astrology calculates aspects by geometric angle, treating them as symmetrical.
- Charts. Western astrology works mainly from the natal chart. Vedic astrology draws on the natal chart too, but adds lunar and sixteen harmonic charts for a more layered reading of different facets of a life.
These differences mark out two distinct ways of reading the same sky — each offering its own insight, neither the single ‘correct’ map.
Chinese Astrology
Chinese astrology is an old and intricate system that reads the sky quite differently from the Western tradition. According to legend, the Chinese calendar was devised by the mythical ‘Yellow Emperor’ around 2600 BCE, while another account places its origins in the Zhou dynasty.
The Chinese zodiac consists of twelve animal signs:
- 🐁 Rat
- 🐂 Ox
- 🐅 Tiger
- 🐇 Rabbit
- 🐉 Dragon
- 🐍 Snake
- 🐎 Horse
- 🐐 Goat
- 🐵 Monkey
- 🐓 Rooster
- 🐶 Dog
- 🐷 Pig
In one popular legend the animals were summoned for a great race — told variously of the Jade Emperor or the Buddha — and the order in which they arrived set the sequence of the signs.
