Rashi 10 of 12
Makaraమకరం
Capricorn
Where uttarayana begins — the sign the whole harvest calendar turns on.
- Ruling planet
- Saturn
- Element
- Prithvi (earth)
- Modality
- Chara — movable
- Symbol
- The makara — a sea-creature, part crocodile, part fish
- Sidereal span
- 270° – 300°
- Sun crosses it
- mid-January to mid-February
About Makara
Makara runs 270° to 300°, is ruled by Saturn, and contains Shravana entire — the nakshatra of hearing and of knowledge received rather than seized. Its symbol is not the goat of the western zodiac but the makara, a composite sea-creature that is also Ganga's vehicle and Kamadeva's emblem. It is classified movable and earthy.
Nakshatras in this rashi
Uttara Ashadha padas 2-4, Shravana, Dhanishta padas 1-2
Where it appears in the panchangam
Makara Sankranti, the sun's entry into this rashi, is the most widely kept solar festival in India — Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri, Magh Bihu, Uttarayan. It begins uttarayana, reopens the wedding calendar after Dhanurmasam, and is the one major Hindu festival that stays on roughly the same Gregorian date each year.
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.