Movable, fixed and dual signs (chara, sthira, dwiswabhava)
The three qualities of the rashis are chara (movable), sthira (fixed) and dwiswabhava (dual). Each quality appears four times in the zodiac.
What it is
Chara signs are Mesha, Karka, Tula and Makara, which start the four seasons. Sthira signs are Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha, which hold the seasons steady. Dwiswabhava signs are Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu and Meena, which carry one season into the next.
How it is worked out or read
The quality of a sign is a fixed label, and it does not change with the planet placed in it. Signs of each quality are four apart in the zodiac.
Where it appears on this site
The quality is shown on each rashi page and in the glossary.
The lists
The movable, or chara, signs are Mesha, Karka, Tula and Makara. The fixed, or sthira, signs are Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha. The dual, or dwiswabhava, signs are Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu and Meena. Each group has one sign of each element, and the movable signs begin the four seasons in the scheme's original setting.
Use in muhurta
Muhurta texts use the quality of the rising sign to match the kind of action. Movable Lagnas are preferred for travel and for beginnings that involve change; fixed Lagnas for things meant to last, such as entering a new house, laying a foundation or installing an image; dual Lagnas for actions that combine both. This is one of the clearest practical uses of the three qualities.
Use in calculation
The qualities also enter several calculations. In the navamsha, the count for a movable sign starts from the sign itself, for a fixed sign from the ninth sign, and for a dual sign from the fifth. The badhaka house, a house associated with obstacles, is the eleventh for a movable Lagna, the ninth for a fixed Lagna and the seventh for a dual Lagna.
What the qualities do
The three qualities describe how a sign moves. Movable signs begin seasons and actions, fixed signs sustain and hold, and dual signs complete one phase and prepare the next. A chart reader uses the quality to judge the manner of a planet's expression: a planet in a movable sign acts quickly and starts things, a planet in a fixed sign acts slowly and holds on, and a planet in a dual sign shifts between approaches. The quality does not change the planet, but it colours how the planet's energy is handed out.
Using the qualities with the elements
The quality and the element together give a fuller picture. Fire signs are movable in Mesha, fixed in Simha and dual in Dhanu. Earth signs are movable in Makara, fixed in Vrishabha and dual in Kanya. Air signs are movable in Tula, fixed in Kumbha and dual in Mithuna. Water signs are movable in Karka, fixed in Vrishchika and dual in Meena. Each combination is unique, and a reader who knows all twelve can describe any sign in two short phrases.