Frequently Asked Questions

AstralTwins is a Vedic astrology social network. You create a profile with your birth details, we calculate your full Kundli using the Swiss Ephemeris engine, and you can then discover other users who share exact planetary conjunctions with you — your Astral Twins. Beyond matching, AstralTwins offers a full astrology suite: Panchang, Dasha timelines, Divisional Charts, Bhav Chalit, Ashtakavarga, and AI-powered birth chart readings.

Yes — the core platform is completely free. Your full Kundli, all divisional charts, Panchang, Dasha timeline, Nakshatra details, Ashtakavarga, Bhav Chalit, Twin Matching, the social feed, messaging, and your AI Kundli reading are all free. Premium membership unlocks AI Transit Readings (monthly) and AI Annual Readings (yearly).

Register with your name, email, and password. During setup, enter your date of birth, time of birth, and place of birth. We geocode your birth city and calculate your complete Vedic birth chart instantly. Your Astral Twin matches, Panchang, and all chart features are immediately available.

Not at all. AstralTwins is designed for everyone from complete beginners to professional astrologers. Beginners can explore their chart through our AI-generated Kundli reading which explains each house in plain language. Advanced users can dive into Ashtakavarga scores, Divisional Charts (D1 through D60), and precise planetary degree data.

AstralTwins uses Vedic (Jyotish) astrology exclusively — specifically the sidereal zodiac with Lahiri Ayanamsa, Whole Sign houses for the D1 Rashi chart, and Sripati Paddhati for the Bhav Chalit chart. Planetary positions are calculated using the Swiss Ephemeris library, the same engine used by professional Jyotish software.

The time of birth determines your Lagna (Ascendant), which changes sign approximately every two hours. The Lagna is the foundation of your entire Kundli — it sets all 12 house positions. Without an accurate birth time, the house placements, Bhav Chalit chart, and Dasha starting point may be imprecise. We recommend using your birth certificate time if possible.

You can still use AstralTwins — enter your best estimate (e.g. "morning" → 6:00 AM). Your Sun, Moon, and planetary sign placements will be accurate. Only the Lagna, house positions, and the Bhav Chalit chart will be approximate. If you later find your exact time, go to Edit Profile and update it — we'll recalculate everything instantly.

The D1 Rashi chart uses Whole Sign houses — the entire sign of your Lagna is House 1, the next sign is House 2, and so on. The Bhav Chalit chart uses the Sripati Paddhati system — each house is centred on the exact degree of the Ascendant (Bhava Madhya), spanning 15° before and 15° after that midpoint. Planets near sign boundaries may shift to a different house in Chalit compared to Rashi, which can significantly alter their interpretation.

AstralTwins provides D1 (Rashi), D2 (Hora), D3 (Drekkana), D4 (Chaturthamsha), D7 (Saptamsha), D9 (Navamsa), D10 (Dashamsha), D12 (Dwadashamsha), D16 (Shodashamsha), D20 (Vimshamsha), D24 (Chaturvimshamsha), D27 (Nakshatramsha), D30 (Trimsamsha), D40 (Khavedamsha), D45 (Akshavedamsha), and D60 (Shashtiamsha).

Ashtakavarga is a Vedic system that assigns strength points (0–8) to each planet in each sign, based on contributions from all other planets and the Lagna. A planet with 5 or more points in its sign is considered strong; 3 or fewer indicates weakness. AstralTwins calculates this automatically and displays it free for all users on the Astrology page.

Panchang is the Vedic almanac for a given day. AstralTwins calculates your daily Panchang showing: Tithi (lunar day), Nakshatra (Moon's asterism), Yoga (Sun–Moon combination), Karana (half-tithi), and Vara (day of week). It also shows auspicious timings (Muhurta), Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda, and Gulika Kalam for your birth location.

The Dasha (planetary period) system divides your life into major periods ruled by each of the 9 planets, in a fixed sequence totalling 120 years. AstralTwins calculates your Vimshottari Dasha from your Moon Nakshatra at birth, showing your current Mahadasha (major period), Antardasha (sub-period), and the full timeline of past and future periods with dates.

Recalculate re-runs your birth chart computation from scratch using the Swiss Ephemeris. Use it after updating your birth time or birth place in Edit Profile. It refreshes all planetary positions, your Lagna degree, Nakshatra, Ashtakavarga, and Dasha calculations. Admin users can also use it to verify calculation accuracy.

AstralTwins compares your planetary longitudes (in degrees) against every other user's chart. When two people share a planet in the same sign within a configurable orb (default 2°), that is a conjunction. The more conjunctions you share with someone, the higher your match score. You can set your degree tolerance in Settings → Matchmaking.

A Cosmic Twin shares multiple exact planetary conjunctions with you — typically 4 or more planets within a very tight orb (1–2°). A Near Twin shares fewer conjunctions or conjunctions within a slightly wider orb. A Time Twin is someone born at nearly the same date, time, and place — their chart is almost identical to yours.

Yes — AstralTwins maintains a database of famous people's birth charts (added by admins). If enabled in your Settings → Matchmaking, these charts are included in your conjunction discovery so you can see which historical figures or celebrities share planetary aspects with you.

Check your Settings → Privacy. If "Show me in Discover results" is set to No, you will not appear in any discovery or matching. Also confirm that your birth details are complete — users without a calculated chart cannot be matched.

AstralTwins sends your calculated chart data — Lagna, planetary positions, Nakshatra, and Dasha period — to Google's Gemini 1.5 Flash model with a detailed Vedic astrology prompt. Gemini generates a structured reading, then a second verification call checks the output for internal consistency before it is saved to your account. Your name and personal identity are never sent to the AI — only astrological data.

Your Kundli reading is generated once and stored permanently in your account. Every time you log in after that, it loads instantly from the database — no additional AI calls are made. This keeps the service fast and free. If you update your birth details and Recalculate, you can request a fresh reading.

The AI Transit Reading (monthly) refreshes once per calendar month — on your first visit each month a new reading is generated based on that month's planetary positions vs your natal chart, then cached for the rest of the month. The AI Annual Reading refreshes once per calendar year, covering all 12 months.

AI predictions are based on genuine Vedic astrology principles applied to your actual chart data. They are designed for personal insight, self-reflection, and entertainment — not as a substitute for consultation with a professional astrologer. Astrological interpretation involves nuance that an AI can approximate but not fully replicate. Always use predictions as one lens among many, not as definitive guidance.

The Kundli reading (house-by-house birth chart analysis) is completely free for all users. The AI Transit Reading (monthly) and AI Annual Reading (yearly) require a Premium subscription.

You have full control. In Settings → Astro Visibility, you can set each section of your chart (full Kundli, Panchang, Dasha, raw birth data, AI predictions) independently to: Public (anyone), Conjunctions Only (only users you are connected with), or Only Me (private). By default, your chart is visible to your conjunctions only.

Never. AstralTwins does not sell, rent, or share your personal or birth data with any advertiser or third party for commercial purposes. The only external service that receives astrological data is Google Gemini (for AI predictions), and only anonymised chart data — not your name or identity — is sent.

Yes, at any time. Go to Settings → Account → Delete Account Permanently. This immediately and irreversibly deletes your profile, birth data, astrological chart, posts, messages, and all other data from our systems. There is no recovery after deletion.

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a cost factor of 12. We never store or log plain-text passwords. All connections to AstralTwins are secured with HTTPS.

Premium unlocks the AI Transit Reading (personalised monthly analysis of current planetary positions vs your birth chart across all life areas) and the AI Annual Reading (month-by-month overview of the entire year). All other features — full Kundli, divisional charts, Panchang, Dasha, Ashtakavarga, Bhav Chalit, Twin Matching, social features, and the AI Kundli reading — remain free.

AstralTwins offers monthly and yearly subscription plans. Payment gateway integration is coming soon — you will be notified when subscriptions go live. Existing early users may receive complimentary Premium access during the launch period.

Yes — you can cancel anytime from your account settings. Your Premium access continues until the end of the billing period you have already paid for. No partial refunds are issued for unused time.

A Conjunction is AstralTwins' version of a connection or friend request. When you send a Conjunction request to another user and they accept, you become Conjunctions — you can message each other, see each other's conjunction-level content, and appear in each other's network. The name reflects the astrological concept of planets meeting at the same degree.

By default, only your Conjunctions can message you. You can change this in Settings → Privacy → Who can message me to Everyone or No One.

You can share thoughts, astrological insights, life events, cosmic observations, and images. Posts can be public or visible to Conjunctions only. Please keep posts respectful — content that is abusive, harmful, or violates our Terms of Use will be removed.

Use the report button (⚑) on any post or user profile. Our moderation team reviews all reports. Accounts found to be in violation of community standards may be suspended or permanently removed.

First verify your birth details in Edit Profile — date, time (including AM/PM), and city are all correct. Then click Recalculate on your Astrology page. If positions still look off, check that your birth city is correct (we geocode it automatically). For edge cases like births near midnight, make sure the date matches the local date at the time of birth, not UTC.

Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which accounts for the precession of the equinoxes (the slow wobble of Earth's axis). This makes Vedic signs approximately 23–24° earlier than Western (tropical) signs. So if your Western Sun is at 5° Taurus, your Vedic Sun will be around 11° Aries. Both are valid — they describe different layers of your cosmic identity.

Ayanamsa is the angular difference between the sidereal and tropical zodiacs, which grows by approximately 50 arcseconds per year due to precession. Lahiri Ayanamsa (also called Chitrapaksha Ayanamsa) is the standard adopted by the Government of India and is the most widely used in Vedic astrology. AstralTwins uses Lahiri exclusively for all calculations.

Yes — AstralTwins is fully responsive and works on all modern smartphones and tablets. For the best experience with detailed charts, a tablet or desktop screen is recommended.