Sagittarius Symbol ♐: The Archer's Arrow of Dhanu Rashi

Dhanu Rashi Symbol in Indian Astrology

Dhanu means bow. The Dhanu rashi symbol Indian astrology uses is the same ♐ used in the West, so the Dhanu rashi ka symbol in a Hindi panchang looks just like the English one. In Indian pictures Dhanu is usually shown as an archer whose lower body is a horse, very close to the Western centaur. So if someone asks for the Dhanu rashi in English symbol, the answer is Sagittarius, ♐.

Many people write Dhanush, since dhanush is the everyday Hindi word for a bow. Whether you search Dhanush rasi symbol, Dhanusu rasi symbol or symbol Dhanu rashi, the glyph is ♐.

Sagittarius Dates and Dhanurmas

Western astrology places Sagittarius from about 22 November to 21 December. In the Vedic (sidereal) system the Sun is in Dhanu from about 16 December to 13 January, ending the day before Makar Sankranti. That month is called Dhanurmas in many regions and Margazhi in Tamil Nadu, a season of early-morning prayers and kolam designs.

The gap of about 23 to 24 days applies to every sign. In India your rashi is also usually your Moon sign, so it can differ from the Sun-sign column in a newspaper. All twelve signs are listed on the zodiac symbols page.

Why the Arrow Points to the Centre of the Galaxy

Here is a fun sky fact. When you look towards the constellation Sagittarius, you are looking towards the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. On a dark night away from city lights, the Milky Way looks thickest and brightest in this direction. The brightest stars of Sagittarius form a shape that looks like a teapot, and the Milky Way seems to rise like steam from its spout.

In the Indian nakshatra system, Purva Ashadha and Uttara Ashadha lie in this part of the sky.

The Sagittarius Symbol: From Archer to Arrow

Older drawings of this sign showed the full archer, a centaur (half human, half horse) drawing a bow. In Greek tradition the centaur is sometimes said to be the wise Chiron, though the stories vary. Over time the picture was cut down to just the arrow, which is what ♐ shows. The short cross bar is the bow or the arrow's fletching, depending on who you ask.

Do not confuse ♐ with the arrows on our right arrow symbol page, such as ↗. Those are general arrows; only ♐ means Sagittarius.

Quick Ways to Type ♐

• Word: 2650 then Alt+X (no Alt code exists)
• Excel or Google Sheets: =UNICHAR(9808)
• Windows: Win+., search "Sagittarius"
• Mac: Control+Command+Space, search "Sagittarius"
• Phone: emoji keyboard, search "sagittarius" or "bow"
• HTML: ♐

Sagittarius in Astrology Tradition, Plus Bio Ideas

Sagittarius is a fire sign and a mutable (dual) sign, ruled by Jupiter (Guru), written ♃. In astrology belief, Sagittarius is said to love travel, freedom and big ideas. These are traditional descriptions, not facts. Fellow fire signs are Aries and Leo; the signs around it are Scorpio and Capricorn.

Bio ideas: Dev ♐ 🏹 always on the move, ♐ | December | ✈️, Dhanu rashi ♐ aim high.