The 12 Rashis

The signs of the Vedic zodiac and their lords

Updated 19 October 2026

The twelve rashis are the signs of the Vedic zodiac, each a 30° segment of the sidereal wheel, always listed in the same order from Mesha (Aries) to Meena (Pisces). If you are searching for the list of rashis in order, it runs: 1 Mesha (Aries), 2 Vrishabha (Taurus), 3 Mithuna (Gemini), 4 Karka (Cancer), 5 Simha (Leo), 6 Kanya (Virgo), 7 Tula (Libra), 8 Vrishchika (Scorpio), 9 Dhanu (Sagittarius), 10 Makara (Capricorn), 11 Kumbha (Aquarius) and 12 Meena (Pisces). Simha, for instance, is the fifth rashi, and Dhanu the ninth. The table below sets out each sign with its ruling planet, element, quality and symbol, and each name links to a full page on that rashi.

The 12 rashis in order with their lords

Rashis and their lords follow a simple pattern. Each of the seven classical planets rules one or two signs: the Sun rules Simha, the Moon rules Karka, Mars rules Mesha and Vrishchika, Mercury rules Mithuna and Kanya, Jupiter rules Dhanu and Meena, Venus rules Vrishabha and Tula, and Saturn rules Makara and Kumbha. Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, are not given signs of their own in the classical Parashari scheme, although some later traditions name them as co-rulers of Kumbha and Vrishchika. The lord of a sign matters because it determines how a house behaves in your birth chart when that sign falls on it: the placement of the lord shows where its themes are directed.

The rashis also group by element and quality, which is the quickest way to learn their character. Mesha, Simha and Dhanu are the Fire signs; Vrishabha, Kanya and Makara are Earth; Mithuna, Tula and Kumbha are Air; Karka, Vrishchika and Meena are Water. By quality, Mesha, Karka, Tula and Makara are movable (chara), the initiators; Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha are fixed (sthira), the stabilisers; and Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu and Meena are dual (dvisvabhava), the adapters. Each sign also contains two and a quarter nakshatras, which is why two people with the same rashi can be temperamentally so different.

Vedic astrology gives particular weight to the Moon sign, known as the Chandra rashi or Janma rashi. The Moon is the planet of the mind, so the sign it occupies at birth describes your emotional nature, your habitual reactions and what you need in order to feel secure. This is the sign used for daily predictions, for the Sade Sati cycle of Saturn, and for marriage matching. Each page here treats the sign as a Moon sign and explains the personality, strengths, challenges, career tendencies, relationships, planetary dignities, Saturn transits, and traditional remedies of that rashi. Everything is offered as tradition and tendency, not fixed prediction.

Rashis grouped by lord

The Sun and Moon rule one sign each; the other five planets rule two. Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, own no sign in the classical scheme.

Frequently asked questions

Navagraha provides Vedic astrology for informational and reflective purposes only; it is not a substitute for professional advice.