The 12 Rashis of the Vedic Zodiac

The twelve signs, or rashis, are the backdrop against which every planet and house is read. In Vedic astrology they're measured against the stars (the sidereal zodiac), so your Vedic sign is often one sign earlier than your Western one (why).

The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS, Chapter 4) gives each sign a vivid portrait: a colour, an image, a place it "wanders", a time of strength. Here they are, followed by the classifications astrologers use every day.

The twelve signs

1. Mesha (Aries). Ruler: Mars. Fire, movable. BPHS: "blood-red in complexion ... a quadruped Rashi and strong during night. It denotes courage ... It wanders in hills." The pioneer: brave, quick and direct.

2. Vrishabha (Taurus). Ruler: Venus. Earth, fixed. White, "long", a quadruped. It "represents villages and businessmen." Steady, sensual and loyal. It builds and keeps.

3. Mithuna (Gemini). Ruler: Mercury. Air, dual. It "represents a male and a female, holding a mace and lute." Curious, talkative and versatile, the sign of pairs and of skill.

4. Karka (Cancer). Ruler: the Moon. Water, movable. Pale red, with "many feet" (the crab), a watery sign that "resorts to forests". Caring, protective and emotional.

5. Simha (Leo). Ruler: the Sun. Fire, fixed. "A royal Rashi ... it has a large, white body," strong by day. Proud, generous and commanding.

6. Kanya (Virgo). Ruler: Mercury. Earth, dual. A maiden who "has grains and fire in its hands". Discerning, practical and service-minded.

7. Tula (Libra). Ruler: Venus. Air, movable. Rises "with its head", strong by day, and "relates to the western direction". Balanced, social and diplomatic, the sign of the scales and of trade.

8. Vrishchika (Scorpio). Ruler: Mars. Water, fixed. "A slender physique," it "resides in holes," and is "very sharp (or passionate)." Intense, secretive and transformative.

9. Dhanu (Sagittarius). Ruler: Jupiter. Fire, dual. Human in its first half and horse in its second, it "adores an arch" (the bow). Idealistic, adventurous and devoted to truth.

10. Makara (Capricorn). Ruler: Saturn. Earth, movable. Its "first half is quadruped and its second half footless, moving in water," the sea-creature makara. Ambitious, disciplined and practical.

11. Kumbha (Aquarius). Ruler: Saturn. Air, fixed. "A man holding a pot," and it "resorts to deep water". Humanitarian, independent and thoughtful.

12. Meena (Pisces). Ruler: Jupiter. Water, dual. "A pair of fish, one tailed with the head of the other," rising "with both head and back". Compassionate, imaginative and spiritual.

Movable, fixed and dual

BPHS gives the first great classification: "Movable, Fixed and Dual are the names given to the 12 Rashis in order."

• Movable (chara): Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. These signs start things. Planets here bring change, travel and new beginnings.
• Fixed (sthira): Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. These signs hold on. Planets here give lasting, stable, sometimes stubborn results.
• Dual (dvisvabhava): Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces. These signs adapt. Planets here mix both qualities and often bring two of something.

This matters in practice. In horary charts, a movable sign suggests things will change and fixed suggests they won't. In muhurta, fixed signs are chosen for foundations and movable ones for journeys (choosing a good time).

Odd and even, male and female

The signs alternate. Odd signs (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius) are male: outgoing and active. Even signs (Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces) are female: receptive and inward. BPHS also calls the odd signs "malefic" and the even signs "benefic", meaning their temperament, not good or bad luck.

The four elements

Each element repeats in a triangle, a trikona:

• Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): energy, purpose. BPHS calls these signs "bilious".
• Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn): stability, resources ("windy").
• Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): ideas, connection ("mixed").
• Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces): feeling, depth ("phlegmatic").

These triangles map onto life's four aims (the four trines).

Rising with the head or the back

BPHS notes how each sign "rises". Some rise with the head (shirshodaya), like Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Libra and Aquarius. Others rise with the back (prishtodaya), like Aries, Taurus, Cancer and Capricorn. Pisces rises with both. BPHS uses this for timing. Planets in head-rising, both-rising and back-rising signs "yield their results, respectively, at the commencement, in the middle and at the end of the Dasha."

Signs as places

Notice how often BPHS says where a sign lives: hills for Aries and Virgo, villages for Taurus and Gemini, forests for Cancer and Leo, holes for Scorpio, deep water for Aquarius, water for Pisces. These are used in practice. In horary astrology they help locate lost objects or describe a place. In mundane astrology they describe the terrain an event touches.

The takeaway

The twelve rashis are the colours of the zodiac. Each has a ruler, an element and a modality, and BPHS gives each one a living portrait. Learn them by their pictures: the ram in the hills, the bull in the village, the pair with a mace and lute, the crab, the royal lion, the maiden with grain and fire, the scales, the scorpion in its hole, the archer, the sea-creature, the water-bearer and the two fish. Then let the classifications (movable, fixed, dual, element and gender) tell you how each one behaves.

Calculate your chart free to see which rashis your planets occupy. Then learn the twelve houses they colour.