--- title: "Vrishchika Rashi (Scorpio) in Vedic Astrology" url: "https://abhisheksoni.in/learn/rashi/vrishchika" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-27" description: "Vrishchika (Scorpio), rashi 8 of 12: Fixed water sign of depth, secrecy and transformation. Lord Mangala, 210°00' - 240°00'." --- # Vrishchika Rashi (Scorpio) *Rashi · ♏* Vrishchika (Scorpio, वृश्चिक) is the 8th of the twelve rashis of Vedic astrology and spans 210°00' to 240°00' of the zodiac. Fixed water sign of depth, secrecy and transformation. Its lord is Mangala, and it holds the nakshatras Vishakha, Anuradha and Jyeshtha. Ketu is exalted here and Chandra and Rahu debilitated. ## What is Vrishchika rashi? Vrishchika is the 8th of the twelve rashis and spans 210°00' to 240°00' of the sidereal zodiac. Its English name is Scorpio, its lord is Mangala, its element is water and its quality is fixed (sthira). The name means scorpion, and the scorpion, which hides, waits and strikes, is its symbol. ## Who rules Vrishchika and what kind of sign is it? Mangala rules Vrishchika as well as Mesha. In Mesha his energy acts in the open; in Vrishchika, a water sign, the same energy turns inward and becomes persistence, endurance and a long memory. Being fixed, the sign holds on. It is counted a female sign, and of the body it governs the genitals and the organs of excretion. ## Which nakshatras fall in Vrishchika? Three. Pada 4 of Vishakha (210°00' to 213°20'), all four padas of Anuradha (213°20' to 226°40') and all four padas of Jyeshtha (226°40' to 240°00'). Vishakha belongs to Guru, Anuradha to Shani and Jyeshtha to Budha. Jyeshtha is one of the six gandamool nakshatras, and the end of Vrishchika, where Jyeshtha meets Moola at 240°00', is a gandanta zone: the seam between a water sign and a fire sign. Tradition gives a birth in the last part of Jyeshtha particular attention, but the classical caution covers a slice far narrower than it is usually made out to be. ## Which grahas are exalted or debilitated in Vrishchika? Chandra is debilitated in Vrishchika, most deeply at 3°. Rahu is debilitated here too, at 20° in the reckoning this site uses, and Ketu, always opposite Rahu, is exalted here at 20°. No graha has its mooltrikona in Vrishchika. Debilitation is a condition, not a verdict: the texts list several ways it is cancelled (neecha bhanga). Some texts place Ketu's exaltation in Dhanu instead. ## What does tradition say about a Vrishchika Moon or ascendant? The texts describe a Vrishchika Moon as deep-feeling, private, determined and slow to forgive, Tradition holds that a Vrishchika ascendant is courageous, secretive, a hard opponent and loyal once committed. These are classical descriptions, not a judgement: the Moon's house and aspects matter more. ## Which careers are linked with Vrishchika? Mangala in a water sign points the traditional lists to work that goes beneath the surface or handles crisis: surgery and medicine, research, investigation and police work, insurance, mining, chemicals and hidden subjects such as astrology. Work itself is read from the 10th house, its lord and the dashas. ## What does Vrishchika mean for marriage? For a Vrishchika ascendant the 7th house is Vrishabha, Shukra's sign, and tradition reads a partner who is calmer and steadier. In Ashtakoota matching the Moon sign enters through bhakoot (7 points) and graha maitri (5 points). People also worry because Mangala rules this sign, but ruling the Moon sign is not mangal dosha, which depends on Mangala's own house position. The marriage is read from the 7th house, its lord, Shukra and both people's dashas. ## Is Vrishchika rashi the same as Scorpio? No. Western Scorpio is measured from the equinox, in the tropical zodiac; Vrishchika is measured against the stars, in the sidereal zodiac. The two are now about 24 degrees apart, the Vedic sign about 24 degrees behind, so most people born in Scorpio's Western dates have the Sun in Tula, not Vrishchika. And the rashi people quote in India is usually the Moon sign. ## What does your rashi not tell you? A Vrishchika Moon tells you the Moon is debilitated, and on its own that is nearly all it tells you. Whether the debilitation is cancelled, which house Vrishchika occupies, where Mangala sits, and whether the Moon is in Anuradha (Shani's dasha opens the life) or Jyeshtha (Budha's) decide far more. It does not make anyone jealous or unlucky in love; that is newspaper columns, not the texts. Birth time decides the sign, and I read it as one factor in the whole chart. ## Classical facts - **Number:** 8 - **Sanskrit name:** Vrishchika - **Hindi name:** वृश्चिक - **English name:** Scorpio - **Glyph:** ♏ - **Lord:** Mangala - **Element:** Water - **Quality:** Fixed (sthira) - **Gender:** Female - **Symbol:** Scorpion - **Body (Kalapurusha):** genitals, excretory - **Degree range:** 210°00' - 240°00' - **Nakshatras in this sign:** Vishakha, Anuradha, Jyeshtha - **Exalted here:** Ketu 20° - **Debilitated here:** Chandra 3°, Rahu 20° - **Reference:** [Scorpio (astrology) (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpio_%28astrology%29) ## Articles about Vrishchika Rashi (Scorpio) - [Moon in the 8th house, read honestly](/learn/moon-in-the-8th-house): The Moon in the 8th house indicates an emotional life lived in private, strong intuition, and a hard time letting go. It is not a curse.