The 12 rashis of Vedic astrology

Sidereal, not tropical

The Western zodiac starts at the spring equinox, a point that slides backwards against the stars by about one degree every 72 years. Jyotish fixes the zodiac to the stars instead. The gap between the two — the ayanamsha — is now about 24°. JyotiSoft uses the Lahiri ayanamsha, which places the star Spica at 0° Libra. As a result, roughly four people in five find their Sun, Moon or ascendant one sign earlier in a Vedic chart.

What a sign tells you

Every rashi has a ruler (the graha that owns it), an element (fire, earth, air, water) and a quality: movable signs start things, fixed signs hold them, dual signs adapt. A planet takes on the colour of the sign it sits in, and is strongest in its own sign or sign of exaltation. The houses of a chart are counted in whole signs from the ascendant sign, so the twelve rashis are also the twelve rooms of your life.

Which sign is “your sign”

In a Vedic reading three signs matter: the lagna (ascendant), the sign rising in the east at birth, which shapes the body and the way life is approached; the Moon sign (rashi in the narrow sense), which Indian daily forecasts and Sade Sati use; and the Sun sign, which comes a distant third. The ascendant changes about every two hours, so it needs an accurate birth time.

Signs and nakshatras

Each sign holds two and a quarter nakshatras (nine padas). Aries, Leo and Sagittarius begin with a new cycle of nakshatras; Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces end one — the boundaries between them are the sensitive gandanta points. The table on each sign page lists its nakshatras so you can go one level deeper.

Questions