Indian zodiac signs: Vedic astrology and rashi

Hindu zodiac signs use the sidereal zodiac

Vedic astrology measures the signs against the fixed stars rather than the seasons. Today its signs start about 24° later than Western (tropical) signs, so most people’s Vedic Sun sign is one sign earlier. See the sidereal dates for this year.

Rashi means the Moon sign

In everyday Indian usage “your rashi” usually means the sidereal sign of the Moon at birth (chandra rashi), not the Sun sign. It is used for horoscopes, naming ceremonies and marriage matching. Our birth chart calculator can show the Moon in the sidereal (Lahiri) zodiac: choose “Sidereal, Lahiri”.

The 27 nakshatras

The ecliptic is also divided into 27 lunar mansions of 13°20′ each, named after star groups. The Moon’s nakshatra at birth (janma nakshatra) is central in Vedic astrology.

1. Ashwini
2. Bharani
3. Krittika
4. Rohini
5. Mrigashira
6. Ardra
7. Punarvasu
8. Pushya
9. Ashlesha
10. Magha
11. Purva Phalguni
12. Uttara Phalguni
13. Hasta
14. Chitra
15. Swati
16. Vishakha
17. Anuradha
18. Jyeshtha
19. Mula
20. Purva Ashadha
21. Uttara Ashadha
22. Shravana
23. Dhanishta
24. Shatabhisha
25. Purva Bhadrapada
26. Uttara Bhadrapada
27. Revati

The nine grahas

Vedic astrology uses nine “grahas”: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not traditional grahas.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Hindu astrology (Jyotisha)
• Wikipedia: Nakshatra