Rashi 7 of 12
Tulaతుల
Libra
The zodiac's midpoint — a movable air sign of exchange and balance.
- Ruling planet
- Venus
- Element
- Vayu (air)
- Modality
- Chara — movable
- Symbol
- The scales, held by a merchant
- Sidereal span
- 180° – 210°
- Sun crosses it
- mid-October to mid-November
About Tula
Tula runs 180° to 210° and begins at the exact halfway mark of the sidereal zodiac. Ruled by Venus, it contains Swati entire — the nakshatra of independence and trade, whose symbol is a young shoot bending freely in the wind — and most of Vishakha. It is the only rashi whose symbol is an object rather than a creature or a person, and the classical descriptions dwell on weighing, exchange and settlement.
Nakshatras in this rashi
Chitra padas 3-4, Swati, Vishakha padas 1-3
Where it appears in the panchangam
The sun crosses Tula through the Deepavali weeks. Tula Sankranti opens the solar month of Kartika and is kept in Odisha as Garbhana Sankranti; the Tula Snanam at the Kaveri runs through his whole passage in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
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.