Rashi 4 of 12
Karkaకర్కాటకం
Cancer
The Moon's own sign, and the start of the southward course of the year.
- Ruling planet
- Moon
- Element
- Jala (water)
- Modality
- Chara — movable
- Symbol
- The crab
- Sidereal span
- 90° – 120°
- Sun crosses it
- mid-July to mid-August
About Karka
Karka runs 90° to 120°, is ruled by the Moon, and contains both Pushya — held to be the most auspicious nakshatra of the twenty-seven — and Ashlesha, among the most difficult. It is a movable water sign. The Beehive Cluster lies within Pushya near its centre, which is why older texts describe that nakshatra as a scatter of faint stars rather than one bright one.
Nakshatras in this rashi
Punarvasu pada 4, Pushya, Ashlesha
Where it appears in the panchangam
Karka Sankranti begins dakshinayana, the sun's southward course, treated as the less auspicious half of the year and closing most wedding calendars. Chaturmasya begins within it at Devshayani Ekadashi, and Guru Purnima falls in the same stretch.
Janma rashi
Your janma rashi is the rashi the moon occupied at the moment you were born — not the sun, which is what a western star sign uses. This is why the two frequently disagree, and why someone told they are a Leo in a newspaper may be a Karka by Indian reckoning. The janma rashi is what a family uses for naming, for annual rituals, and for matching in the traditional systems.