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Zodiac

The first step of reading and understanding a horoscope is to know the three main elements of it, namely the Zodiac, Stars and Planets.

Zodiac And their Lords : There are 12 signs from Aries to Pisces. And, Every Sign (Rashi) is ruled by a Planet known as Sign Lord or Rashi Lord or Rashi Adhipathi.

On the Kala Chakra basis, the 1st Rashi is Aries (Mesha) and the 1st Rashi Lord is Mars (Kuja or Sevvai). The 2nd Rashi is Taurus (Rishaba) and the 2nd Rashi Lord is Venus (Shukra). The 3rd Rashi is Gemini and the 3rd Rashi Lord is Mercury (Budha). The 4th Rashi is Cancer (Karkara or Kadakam) and the 4th Rashi Lord is Moon (Chandra). The 5th Rashi is Leo (Simha) and the 5th Rashi Lord is Sun (Surya). The 6th Rashi is Virgo (Kanya) and the 6th Rashi Lord is Mercury (Budha).

The 7th Rashi is Libra (Thulam) and the 7th Rashi Lord is Venus (Shukra). The 8th Rashi is Scorpio and the 8th Rashi Lord is Mars (Kuja or Sevvai). The 7th Rashi is Scorpio and the 7th Rashi Lord is Mars (Kuja or Sevvai). The 9th Rashi is Sagittarius (Dhanush) and the 9th Rashi Lord is Jupiter (Guru). The 10th Rashi is Capricorn (Makaram) and the 10th Rashi Lord is Saturn (Shani). The 11th Rashi is Aquarius (Kumbham) and the 11th Rashi Lord is Saturn (Shani). The 12th Rashi is Pisces (Meenam) and the 12th Rashi Lord is Jupiter (Guru).

The strength of the Sign (Rashi) Lord determines the characters of a person very much. For ex, a person whose Sign Lord is Mars, will be energetic and active. And those whose Sign Lord is Moon, will be cool and loving in nature. The table below shows the 12 zodiac signs (Rashis) and their Lords :

Rasi and Rasiathipathi

Rahu and Ketu do not rule any sign as they are only shadow planets.

Birth Sign : Vedic astrology is Moon Sign based. The sign in which the Moon transits when a person is born is called the Birth sign (Jenma Rasi) of that person. For example, if the Moon transits through Leo, the birth sign will be Leo.

Classification of Signs : The Astrological Signs are classified into different groups depending their character and nature. Some of the classifications are :-

Twofold or Dual nature : Each zodiac sign is classified as male sign or female sign. All Odd Signs are classified as Masculine and all Even Signs as Feminine.

  1. Masculine Signs are : Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius
  2. Feminine Signs are : Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces

Threefold or Triplicity nature : Each zodiac sign is classified as Fiery or Earthy or Airy or Watery nature. This nature of Sign is important in divination because it indicates the relationship between Sign. For instance, Fire and Water are quite opposite, so will be the nature of Fire and Water sign. Two persons, one born in Fire sign and another in Water sign, will have quite opposite nature
  1. Fire Signs (Inspirational Type) : Aries, Leo, Sagittarius (i.e 1st, 5th, 9th sign)
  2. Earth Signs (Practical Type) : Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn (i.e 2nd, 6th, 10th sign)
  3. Air Signs (Socially Oriented Type) : Gemini, Libra, Aquarius (i.e 3rd, 7th, 11th sign)
  4. Water Signs (Emotional Type) : Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces (i.e 4th, 8th, 12th sign)

The threefold nature can be easily remembered with the acronym FLAW which stands for Fire, Land, Air and Water

Fourfold or Quadruplicity nature : Each zodiac sign is also classified as Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable sign. Also known as Chara, Sthira and Upaya signs, this classification is based on their mode of operation. Each sign has its own way of approaching a problem.

  1. Cardinal or Chara Sign : Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th sign)
  2. Fixed or Sthira Sign : Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius (2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th sign)
  3. Mutable or Upaya Sign : Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces (3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th sign)
The table below gives the consolidated view of Zodiacal signs, their Lords and the classifications.
Rasi classifications

Signs and Months : 12 Tamil months ie. From Chitrai to Panguni it represents the Sun's transit through each zodiac sign. It coincides perfectly with the Tamil calendar month. That is, each Tamil month indicates the sign in which the Sun will travel.

For instance, Sun will be traversing Aries (Mesham) during Chittirai, Taurus (Rishabam) in Vaikasi and so on. In Panguni, Sun will be traversing Pisces (Meenam). For any one who was born in Avani, the Sun will be in Leo (Simmam) in his/her horoscope.

However, the English calendar months do not align at all. This indicates a simple fact that the Astrology originated from India and adopted by West later.

The Table below shows the Signs and Tamil and English calendar month.

Rasi and Months