12 Rashi
- Mesh (Aries)मेष
- Vrishabh (Taurus)वृषभ
- Mithun (Gemini)मिथुन
- Kark (Cancer)कर्क
- Singh (Leo)सिंह
- Kanya (Virgo)कन्या
- Tula (Libra)तुला
- Vrishchik (Scorpio)वृश्चिक
- Dhanu (Sagittarius)धनु
- Makar (Capricorn)मकर
- Kumbh (Aquarius)कुंभ
- Meen (Pisces)मीन
Moon sign vs Sun sign
In Vedic astrology, your rashi is your Moon sign. It is calculated from the sidereal zodiac — the zodiac measured against the fixed stars — rather than the tropical zodiac used in most Western Sun-sign columns. Because of this difference, the rashi you see in a kundli or rashifal often does not match the Sun sign you may have read elsewhere. Both are valid within their own systems; they simply measure different things.
Your Sun sign describes the sign the Sun occupied at your birth. Your rashi describes the sign the Moon occupied. In jyotish, the Moon is associated with the mind and with day-to-day experience, which is why the rashi is the reference point for a daily rashifal. To know your rashi reliably, read it from your own kundli or from a rashifal that states it is based on the Moon. If a chart is unclear, a qualified jyotishi can confirm it.
The 12 rashis by element
The twelve rashis on this page are:
- Mesh (Aries), Vrishabh (Taurus), Mithun (Gemini)
- Kark (Cancer), Singh (Leo), Kanya (Virgo)
- Tula (Libra), Vrishchik (Scorpio), Dhanu (Sagittarius)
- Makar (Capricorn), Kumbh (Aquarius), Meen (Pisces)
Jyotish groups these twelve into four elements, each with three rashis. The fire rashis are Mesh, Singh and Dhanu. The earth rashis are Vrishabh, Kanya and Makar. The air rashis are Mithun, Tula and Kumbh. The water rashis are Kark, Vrishchik and Meen. This elemental grouping is a traditional way of describing the character of a rashi; it is descriptive, not a forecast.
How rashi is used in daily rashifal
A daily rashifal is written for each of the twelve rashis. Readers usually find their entry by their Moon sign, since that is the rashi recorded in the kundli. The reading is general — it speaks to a group, not to one person's chart — and traditions differ on how the day is reckoned. Some follow the amanta month, others the purnimanta; North and South Indian conventions, and Smarta and Vaishnava practices, also vary. For anything personal, consult a qualified jyotishi rather than relying on a general column.