A rashi is one of the twelve equal signs of the Vedic zodiac, each 30° wide, measured against the fixed stars. In everyday Indian usage, "your rashi" means your Moon sign: the sign the Moon occupied when you were born, which is what rashifal, gun milan and sade sati are all counted from.
Three signs in every chart
Every birth chart holds three signs people call "mine", and they are rarely the same.
The Moon sign, or janma rashi, describes the mind, feelings and instinctive reactions. Because the Moon is the mind (manas) in Vedic astrology, this is the sign used for daily forecasts, for transits (gochar) and for matching.
The lagna, or ascendant, is the sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. It changes roughly every two hours, sets up the twelve houses, and describes the body, temperament and direction of life. Most astrologers treat it as the foundation of the chart.
The Sun sign is where the Sun stood. It matters in Vedic astrology too, as the soul and the father, but it is not what "rashi" means. Western horoscopes use the Sun sign alone.
Sidereal and tropical zodiacs
Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, anchored to the stars. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, anchored to the March equinox. The two were once aligned; because of the slow precession of the equinoxes they now differ by the ayanamsa, about 24° today under the Lahiri value adopted by the Government of India's Calendar Reform Committee in 1955. That gap is why most people's Vedic Sun sign is one sign earlier than their Western one. The full story is in our article on Vedic vs Western sun signs.
Elements and qualities
Each rashi combines one of four elements (tatva) with one of three qualities, and has a ruling planet. The pattern repeats around the circle:
| Sign | Hindi | Lord | Element | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Mesha | Mars | Fire | Movable |
| Taurus | Vrishabha | Venus | Earth | Fixed |
| Gemini | Mithuna | Mercury | Air | Dual |
| Cancer | Karka | Moon | Water | Movable |
| Leo | Simha | Sun | Fire | Fixed |
| Virgo | Kanya | Mercury | Earth | Dual |
| Libra | Tula | Venus | Air | Movable |
| Scorpio | Vrishchika | Mars | Water | Fixed |
| Sagittarius | Dhanu | Jupiter | Fire | Dual |
| Capricorn | Makara | Saturn | Earth | Movable |
| Aquarius | Kumbha | Saturn | Air | Fixed |
| Pisces | Meena | Jupiter | Water | Dual |
Fire signs act and inspire; earth signs build and keep; air signs think and connect; water signs feel and nourish. Movable (chara) signs begin things, fixed (sthira) signs sustain them, and dual (dvisvabhava) signs adapt and bridge. The Sun and Moon rule one sign each; the other five planets rule two. Rahu and Ketu own no sign in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, though some later authors give them co-rulership, and texts differ on their exaltation.
Odd-numbered signs are classed masculine and even-numbered feminine. In the Kalapurusha, the zodiac laid over a human figure, Aries is the head and Pisces the feet, with the other signs in order between.
Rashis and nakshatras
The same 360° is also divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′ each, and each nakshatra into four padas. Every rashi therefore holds exactly nine padas, two and a quarter nakshatras. The nakshatra is the finer lens: two people with the same Moon sign can have quite different natures because their Moon sits in different nakshatras. Naming syllables (naam akshar) come from the nakshatra pada, not the sign.
How the rashi is used
- Rashifal, the daily or monthly forecast, is read from the Moon sign. See rashifal for all twelve signs.
- Transits are judged from the Moon sign as well as the lagna; Saturn's seven-and-a-half-year sade sati is counted from the Moon.
- In gun milan, the Bhakoot koota compares the two Moon signs, while most other kootas use the nakshatras.
- Houses can be read a second time from the Moon (Chandra lagna) to confirm what the lagna shows.
A rashi describes tendencies, not fixed outcomes, and no single sign decides a life. The whole kundli, with its planets, houses and dashas, is always read together.
Find your own rashi
Enter your date, time and place of birth in the free kundli tool. It shows your Moon sign, nakshatra and pada, lagna and Sun sign on the sidereal zodiac with Lahiri ayanamsa. If you do not know your birth time, the Moon sign is usually still clear, since the Moon stays about two and a quarter days in each sign; the lagna needs an accurate time. Then read the page for your sign above, and the planet that rules it.