Glossary · Astrology
Rashi
राशि
What does Rashi mean?
The twelve rashis — Mesha (Aries) through Meena (Pisces) — mirror the Western zodiac in name but use the sidereal zodiac, shifted about 24 degrees by the precession of the equinoxes. A Western 'Aries' may therefore be a Vedic Pisces.
In Vedic practice the Moon's rashi matters most: it governs the mind and emotions and is the sign used for horoscopes and naming. The Sun sign, so central in the West, is a secondary factor in Jyotish.