The twenty-seven lunar mansions

The twenty-seven nakshatras divide the ecliptic into equal arcs of thirteen degrees and twenty minutes, each named for an asterism and ruled by a deity and a graha. They are older in the Indian tradition than the twelve rashis, appearing already in the Vedas, and they remain central to Jyotisha, especially for timing, compatibility and the finer reading of the Moon.

Each nakshatra has a presiding deity, a ruling planet, a symbol, and a set of qualities, and is further subdivided into four padas. The Moon's nakshatra at birth is particularly important and is the basis of the naming and the dasha calculation in much Indian practice.