Signs (rashis)

Aries (Mesha) in Vedic astrology

Aries (Mesha) is sign 1 of the 12 rashis. In the sidereal zodiac the API uses, it runs from 0° to 30° of longitude. It is a fire sign and a movable sign, and its ruler is Mars. The Sun is exalted here. Saturn is debilitated here. It holds all or part of the nakshatras Ashwini, Bharani and Krittika.

Updated Nov 3, 2026

More terms in Signs (rashis)

Aries: what it means and how the API computes it

Aries is pictured as a ram, and tradition links it to the head. It is the first sign, so it carries the feeling of a fresh start. People in this sign are said to act quickly, speak plainly and dislike waiting.

The same drive can turn into impatience, and tradition warns that Aries starts more than it finishes. A Moon in Aries is read as bold and quick to react, with strong feelings that pass as fast as they come. In the sidereal zodiac (measured against the stars), the Sun is in Aries from about April 14 to May 14. That is later than the dates a Western horoscope prints.

With Aries rising (coming up in the east at birth), the houses run in sign order from it. So house 7, the house of partners, is Libra, and house 10, the house of work, is Capricorn (CH-06). The API returns Aries as sign_number 1, for the ascendant and for every planet in POST /v1/planets.

The degree inside the sign comes with it. GET /v1/rashi/{sign}/today gives the daily horoscope for a Moon in Aries.

Get it from the API

Planet positions and the ascendant. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

POST /v1/planets

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/planets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'

Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK

{
  "meta": {
    "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
    "ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
    "julian_day": 2448119.10483,
    "ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
    "node": "true",
    "timezone": {
      "source": "zone",
      "offset_hours": -4,
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "dst": true,
      "dst_hours": 1,
      "ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
      "note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
    }
  },
  "ascendant": {
    "name": "Ascendant",
    "longitude": 169.934155,
    "sign": "Virgo",
    "sign_number": 6,
    "degree_in_sign": 19.934155,
    "degree_dms": "19 : 56 : 03",
    "house": 1,
    "nakshatra": "Hast",
    "nakshatra_lord": "Moon",
    "pada": 3,
    "speed": 0,
    "retrograde": false,
    "combust": false,
    "dignity": "n/a",
    "vargottama": false,
    "pushkara": {
      "navamsa": false,
      "navamsa_number": 6,
      "bhaga": false,
      "bhaga_degree": 9,
      "bhaga_by_element": false,
      "bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
      "sources_agree": true,
      "orb_degrees": 1
    }
  },
  "positions": [
    {
      "name": "Sun",
      "longitude": 118.7753409,
      "sign": "Cancer",
      "sign_number": 4,
      "degree_in_sign": 28.7753409,
      "degree_dms": "28 : 46 : 31",
      "house": 11,
      "nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
      "pada": 4,
      "speed": 0.9610665,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "friend",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": false,
        "navamsa_number": 9,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 8,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 7,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Moon",
      "longitude": 54.5750352,
      "sign": "Taurus",
      "sign_number": 2,
      "degree_in_sign": 24.5750352,
      "degree_dms": "24 : 34 : 30",
      "house": 9,
      "nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
      "pada": 1,
      "speed": 14.258194,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "mulatrikona",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": false,
        "navamsa_number": 8,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 14,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Mars",
      "longitude": 27.7149328,
      "sign": "Aries",
      "sign_number": 1,
      "degree_in_sign": 27.7149328,
      "degree_dms": "27 : 42 : 54",
      "house": 8,
      "nakshatra": "Krittika",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Sun",
      "pada": 1,
      "speed": 0.5753266,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "own sign",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": true,
        "navamsa_number": 9,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 21,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 21,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    }
  ],
  "planetary_war": []
}

Where the API returns it

POST	/v1/planets	Planet positions and the ascendant
GET	/v1/rashi/{sign}/today	Daily reading for a Moon sign, no chart
POST	/v1/chart/svg	The birth chart or any divisional chart as an SVG or PNG image
POST	/v1/varshaphal	The Tajik annual chart (varshaphal) for one year
POST	/v1/varshaphal/dina	Tajik daily return (dina pravesh) for a day or a short window
POST	/v1/ascendant	The ascendant only

What the API reference says

Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.

POST /v1/planets · Planet positions and the ascendantThe degree matters for mulatrikona: Mars in Aries is mulatrikona up to 12 degrees and own sign after that.
POST /v1/chart/svg · The birth chart or any divisional chart as an SVG or PNG imageThe top diamond is house 1, and each house prints its sign number, 1 for Aries to 12 for Pisces.
POST /v1/chart/svg · The birth chart or any divisional chart as an SVG or PNG imagestyle=east is the East Indian chart used in Bengal and Odisha: a 3x3 grid with Aries in the top middle, the signs running counter-clockwise, and each corner split into two signs.

Feature page: Kundli and birth charts. Who uses it: Astrology apps. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.

How we check the numbers

Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.

Related terms

Free tools

See it with your own details

Runs on the same API call. Enter your details and see the answer in your browser.

All free tools

Free kundli
Your Vedic birth chart: the rising sign and all nine planets, with sign, house and nakshatra.
Make my kundli

Astrology API

Get these values from the API

Create a free test key and call any endpoint on this page. Or try a request in the API reference first.

Get a free API key Open the API reference

Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK

RisingVirgoHast
SunCancerAshlesha
MoonTaurusMrigashira
MarsAriesKrittika

Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.

01
Test key: 1,000 test calls a month to build with
02
Free plan: 2,000 live calls a month, no card needed
03
Open rules: every rule is published, so you can check any answer