Nakshatra and Moon sign calculator
Find your Moon sign (rashi), your birth nakshatra and its pada, and the planet that rules your nakshatra, all in the Vedic (sidereal) zodiac.
Date and place of birth. Add the time if you know it: the Moon moves through a nakshatra in about a day, so the time can change the answer.
Your Moon sign, or rashi
In Vedic astrology your rashi is your Moon sign: the sign the Moon was in when you were born. Classical astrology names the Moon the mind, and Indian practice has long put the Moon sign first, ahead of the Sun sign that Western horoscopes use.
It is the sign your weekly horoscope and traditions such as Sade Sati are counted from. The Moon crosses a sign in about two and a quarter days, so people born a day apart often share it.
What a nakshatra is
The nakshatras are the 27 lunar mansions of classical Vedic astrology. They divide the zodiac into 27 equal parts of 13°20', roughly the distance the Moon travels in a day.
Your birth nakshatra, or janma nakshatra, is the one the Moon occupied when you were born. It is a finer reading than the sign. Two people with the same Moon sign can sit in different nakshatras, and each nakshatra has its own name, symbol and ruling planet.
Pada and ruling planet
Each nakshatra is split into four padas, or quarters, of 3°20'. The pada narrows the Moon's position further, and it is traditionally used to choose the first syllable of a child's name.
Each nakshatra also has a ruling planet, in a repeating order of nine starting from Ashwini: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. That ruler does more than name the nakshatra. It decides which planetary period, or dasha, you were born into.
Vedic and Western Moon signs
This calculator uses the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri), measured against the fixed stars. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, tied to the seasons, and the two are offset by about 24 degrees.
So for roughly four people in five, the Vedic Moon sign is one sign earlier than the Western one. Neither is a mistake: they are two ways of dividing the same sky, from different starting points. Nakshatras belong to the sidereal system only.
Questions people ask
Is rashi the same as Moon sign?
Yes. In Vedic astrology, rashi usually means the Moon sign, the sign the Moon occupied at your birth. Strictly, rashi is the word for any of the twelve signs, but when someone asks for your rashi they almost always mean your Moon sign.
Can I find my nakshatra without a birth time?
Usually, yes. The Moon spends about a day in each nakshatra, so on most birth dates the answer is the same all day. If the Moon changed nakshatra or sign on your birthday, the time decides it, so add it if you know it.
Why is my Vedic Moon sign different from my Western one?
Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac and Western astrology the tropical one. They are offset by about 24 degrees, so for roughly four people in five the Vedic sign is one sign earlier. The Moon is in the same place in the sky; only the sign boundaries differ.
What are the 27 nakshatras?
In order: Ashwini, Bharani, Krittika, Rohini, Mrigashira, Ardra, Punarvasu, Pushya, Ashlesha, Magha, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Vishakha, Anuradha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati.
What is my nakshatra's ruling planet used for?
Its main use is timing. The ruler of your birth nakshatra decides which planet's period (mahadasha) you were born into, and so sets the whole sequence of your Vimshottari dashas. It is also read alongside the Moon to add detail to what the Moon sign describes.
Which nakshatra is the best?
None. Classical astrology gives each nakshatra its own character, not a rank. How your Moon is placed, and what else in your chart touches it, matters more than which of the 27 it sits in.
Your Moon is one planet of nine.
The free reading looks at your whole chart, finds which planet carries your question, and names a small weekly practice for it.