The Twelve Signs of the Sidereal Zodiac

The twelve rashis are the signs of the sidereal zodiac used in Indian astrology, measured from a fixed point among the stars rather than from the moving equinox. They carry the same names and images as the Western signs (Mesha for Aries, Vrishabha for Taurus, Mithuna for Gemini), but because of the different starting point they fall at different degrees, typically about twenty-four degrees earlier than the tropical signs.

Each rashi has a ruling graha, an element, a quality and a body of signification, and the twelve are the basic frame of the Vedic chart, onto which the grahas, houses and divisional charts are read.