The 12 rashis (signs)

Spin the zodiac wheel and see what each sign stands for.

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मेषMesha · Aries
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Mesha (Aries)

Ruling planet
Mars
Element
Fire
Quality
Movable
Symbol
Ram

A ram charging ahead: the sign of beginnings.

Traditional themes: initiative, directness, courage, impatience

Nepali month: Baisakh

Mesha is where the zodiac begins. In the sidereal (Vedic) zodiac it starts at the same point as the first nakshatra, Ashwini, so the whole system of signs and stars is anchored here.

Mesha is a fire sign of the 'movable' kind: signs of this type are traditionally linked with starting things. It is ruled by Mars (Mangala), the planet of drive, and Mars also rules Vrishchika, the eighth sign.

The Sun is exalted (at its strongest, by traditional reckoning) in Mesha, at 10°. Nepal's solar new year, Baisakh 1, falls when the Sun enters Mesha in mid-April.

What tradition says

Mesha is read as the sign of the self-starter: quick, forthright, competitive. A challenging Mars in a chart is traditionally said to show up as haste or conflict, a strong one as courage and stamina.

What astronomy and science say

The twelve signs are equal 30° divisions of the Sun's yearly path. The constellation Aries (the star pattern) is a different, unequal region of sky, and because of precession the Sun now enters sidereal Mesha about 24° of drift away from where the seasons' spring point sits.

Culture and history

Mesha Sankranti (the Sun entering Mesha) is a new-year moment in many solar calendars: Baisakh 1 in Nepal, Vaisakhi in Punjab, Pohela Boishakh in Bengal, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu.

Sources
  • Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, attributed to Maharishi Parashara; a compiled text of uncertain date. The central reference for Parashari jyotisha: planets, signs, houses, yogas, and the Vimshottari dasha system.
  • Phaladeepika, Mantreswara. A popular classical handbook on the results traditionally attached to planets, signs and houses.

These are the works the tradition and the astronomy draw on. Astavya paraphrases them; verse-level quotations are not reproduced, and editorial review by a qualified Jyotisha scholar is pending.