# Rashi (Sign) Guides > The twelve signs -- temperament, ruling planet, and how each shapes a chart. - **Canonical URL**: https://merirashi.com/en/rashi - **Language**: en --- 12 Zodiac Signs The twelve signs -- temperament, ruling planet, and how each shapes a chart. [![Aries (Mesha)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Faries.png&w=3840&q=85)AriesMeshaThe RamFireMars](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/aries-rashi) [![Taurus (Vrishabha)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Ftaurus.png&w=3840&q=85)TaurusVrishabhaThe BullEarthVenus](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/taurus-rashi) [![Gemini (Mithuna)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fgemini.png&w=3840&q=85)GeminiMithunaThe TwinsAirMercury](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/gemini-rashi) [![Cancer (Karka)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fcancer.png&w=3840&q=85)CancerKarkaThe CrabWaterMoon](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/cancer-rashi) [![Leo (Simha)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fleo.png&w=3840&q=85)LeoSimhaThe LionFireSun](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/leo-rashi) [![Virgo (Kanya)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fvirgo.png&w=3840&q=85)VirgoKanyaThe MaidenEarthMercury](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/virgo-rashi) [![Libra (Tula)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Flibra.png&w=3840&q=85)LibraTulaThe ScalesAirVenus](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/libra-rashi) [![Scorpio (Vrishchika)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fscorpio.png&w=3840&q=85)ScorpioVrishchikaThe ScorpionWaterMars](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/scorpio-rashi) [![Sagittarius (Dhanu)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fsagittarius.png&w=3840&q=85)SagittariusDhanuThe ArcherFireJupiter](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/sagittarius-rashi) [![Capricorn (Makara)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fcapricorn.png&w=3840&q=85)CapricornMakaraThe Sea-goatEarthSaturn](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/capricorn-rashi) [![Aquarius (Kumbha)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Faquarius.png&w=3840&q=85)AquariusKumbhaThe Water-bearerAirSaturn](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/aquarius-rashi) [![Pisces (Meena)](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2Fpisces.png&w=3840&q=85)PiscesMeenaThe FishesWaterJupiter](https://merirashi.com/en/rashi/pisces-rashi) Understanding rashi ## The twelve janma rashis, explained ### What a rashi is Vedic astrology divides the zodiac into twelve rashis of exactly 30 degrees each, from Mesha (Aries) to Meena (Pisces). Your janma rashi -- birth sign -- is the rashi the Moon occupied at the moment you were born. That one placement anchors more of Jyotish practice than any other: dasha periods are timed from it, gochar (transits) are counted from it, and Sade Sati is defined by it. Each rashi carries a fixed set of properties: an element (fire, earth, air, water), a modality (movable, fixed, dual), a ruling planet, and a body zone in the Kalapurusha scheme. Those attributes are the raw material; how they actually express depends on where the sign's lord sits in your individual chart. ### Why the Moon comes first Western astrology leads with the Sun; Jyotish leads with the Moon. The reasoning is practical. The Moon stands for the manas -- the feeling, reacting mind you live in from hour to hour -- while the Sun describes the slower current of self and vitality. And because the Moon changes sign every two and a quarter days, it separates people born in the same month into genuinely different temperaments, which a month-long Sun sign cannot do. So when a Vedic astrologer asks "what is your rashi?", they mean your Moon sign -- and the daily horoscope on this site is written by Moon sign for the same reason. ### How to find your rashi You need your birth date, a birth time, and a birth place. The free birth chart calculator computes the Moon's sidereal position for that moment and names your rashi along with your nakshatra and lagna. Time matters less here than it does for the ascendant -- the Moon holds one sign for about 54 hours -- but if you were born on a day the Moon changed signs, the hour decides which side of the boundary you fall on. ### Rashi vs. Western sun sign If a magazine calls you a Leo and this site calls your Moon sign Cancer, nothing is broken -- three separate differences are in play. First, the two systems track different bodies by default: Sun there, Moon here. Second, Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, anchored to the fixed stars, while Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, anchored to the equinox; the two currently differ by roughly 24 degrees (the ayanamsa), so even your Sun sign often lands one sign earlier in the Vedic count. Third, the interpretive toolkit differs: a rashi here is read through its lord, its nakshatras, and the dashas it times -- not as a standalone personality label. [Find your rashi with the free chart calculator](https://merirashi.com/en/birth-chart-calculator) ## Rashi FAQs Is my rashi the same as my Western zodiac sign? Usually not. Your Western sign is your tropical Sun sign; your rashi is your sidereal Moon sign. Both the body (Sun vs. Moon) and the zodiac reckoning (tropical vs. sidereal, about 24 degrees apart) differ, so most people find their rashi is a different sign from the one they read in magazines. Can I find my rashi without an exact birth time? Often, yes. The Moon spends about two and a quarter days in each sign, so on most birth dates it holds one rashi from midnight to midnight. If the Moon changed signs on your birth date, though, the calculator needs at least an approximate hour to place you on the correct side of the change. Which matters more -- my rashi or my lagna? They answer different questions. The lagna fixes the twelve houses and describes your constitution and approach; the rashi describes the mind and is the reference point for dashas, transits, and matching. A careful reading uses both rather than ranking one above the other. [Planetary Placement Guides](https://merirashi.com/en/planets)[Nakshatra Guides](https://merirashi.com/en/nakshatras)[Dasha Period Guides](https://merirashi.com/en/dashas)