The twelve rāśis
The rāśis are the twelve signs, each 30° wide. Each sign has a quality, an element, a lord and a part of the body.

In short. A rāśi is one of twelve signs, each with a quality, an element, a gender, a lord and a part of the body, in patterns that repeat.

Sign Quality Element Gender Lord Part of the body Direction
1 Meṣa movable fire male Mars head east
2 Vṛṣabha fixed earth female Venus face south
3 Mithuna dual air male Mercury chest and arms west
4 Karka movable water female Moon heart north
5 Siṁha fixed fire male Sun belly east
6 Kanyā dual earth female Mercury waist south
7 Tulā movable air male Venus lower abdomen west
8 Vṛścika fixed water female Mars genitals north
9 Dhanus dual fire male Jupiter thighs east
10 Makara movable earth female Saturn knees south
11 Kumbha fixed air male Saturn shanks west
12 Mīna dual water female Jupiter feet north

The body of Kālapuruṣa

Varāhamihira lays the signs over the body of Kālapuruṣa from head to foot. Meṣa is the head and Vṛṣabha the face. Mithuna is the chest and arms, Karka the heart, Siṁha the belly and Kanyā the waist. Tulā is the lower abdomen and Vṛścika the genitals. Dhanus is the thighs, Makara the knees, Kumbha the shanks and Mīna the feet. Astrologers use this to connect a sign with a part of the body.

Quality, gender and element

The signs follow a cycle of three qualities. Meṣa, Karka, Tulā and Makara are movable (cara). Vṛṣabha, Siṁha, Vṛścika and Kumbha are fixed (sthira). Mithuna, Kanyā, Dhanus and Mīna are dual (dvisvabhāva). The texts connect movable signs with change and travel, fixed signs with stability, and dual signs with both.

The signs also alternate male and female, starting with Meṣa as male. The texts call the male signs odd and cruel. They call the female signs even and gentle.

The elements repeat every fourth sign. Meṣa, Siṁha and Dhanus are fire. Vṛṣabha, Kanyā and Makara are earth. Mithuna, Tulā and Kumbha are air, and Karka, Vṛścika and Mīna are water. The fire signs belong to the east and the earth signs to the south. The air signs belong to the west and the water signs to the north.

Example

Kumbha is the 11th sign. The qualities repeat in threes: 11 is 3 × 3 + 2. Kumbha is second in its cycle, fixed. The elements repeat in fours: 11 is 2 × 4 + 3. Kumbha is third, air. 11 is odd, and Kumbha is male.

Rising and strength by day or night

Varāhamihira also sorts the signs into night signs and day signs, and into those that rise head first (śīrṣodaya) and those that rise back first (pṛṣṭhodaya). This affects when in a period a sign gives its results. He assigns each sign a colour, from red for Meṣa to a clear colour for Mīna.

Signs
Rise head first Mithuna, Siṁha, Kanyā, Tulā, Vṛścika, Kumbha
Rise back first Meṣa, Vṛṣabha, Karka, Dhanus, Makara
Rise both ways Mīna
Night signs Meṣa, Vṛṣabha, Mithuna, Karka, Dhanus, Makara
Day signs Siṁha, Kanyā, Tulā, Vṛścika, Kumbha, Mīna

Source: BJ 1.10.

The lords

Mars rules Meṣa and Vṛścika. Venus rules Vṛṣabha and Tulā, and Mercury rules Mithuna and Kanyā. The Moon rules Karka, and the Sun rules Siṁha. Jupiter rules Dhanus and Mīna, and Saturn rules Makara and Kumbha. To judge a house, an astrologer finds where the lord of its sign sits.

Each sign below has its own page. The page gives its symbol, nature and lord, and the grahas exalted or debilitated in it. It also gives what the texts say about people born with it rising.

BJ 1.4-5BJ 1.10-11BJ 1.20BJ 1.13BJ 1.14BPHS · The signs and their nature

Open one:

♈︎ Meṣa♉︎ Vṛṣabha♊︎ Mithuna♋︎ Karka♌︎ Siṁha♍︎ Kanyā♎︎ Tulā♏︎ Vṛścika♐︎ Dhanus♑︎ Makara♒︎ Kumbha♓︎ Mīna