Today’s Full Moon in Mrigashira

“The Searching Star” is the common name for Mrigashira. In Vedic Cosmology each of the 12 Sun signs has a karmic mission. These relate to the quality of time and may be seen as tracking with the life of individuals.

In Aries, the first sign, we find birth, the incarnation of the body. “I incarnate to serve the dharma,” describes the appearance of energy as matter according to natural law. In Taurus, the sensory mind, ego, language, and material consciousness form. “I think according to my karma, in service to dharma,” expresses the awakening of individual consciousness. In Gemini, loquacious Mercury begins the collection and organization of sensory data. The power of research and speech that expresses our karmic wants and needs, the passion of our feelings about the material world, our personal power, and goals awaken. “I speak the dharma,” expresses our developing perspective on truth, on dharmic wholeness.

Mrigashira bridges Taurus and Gemini, having six degrees and forty minutes of arc in each sign. It is a powerful placement for research, invention, and understanding the world. Great creative ideas form here as well as the ability to act on them. Ruled by the Moon and influenced by Venus and Mercury, this Nakshatra is generally swift, auspicious, curious, and attractive. Drawn to quality and beauty, the arts flourish for those born here.

There is a strong sensual nature that relates to a myth of Soma, one of the Moon’s avatars. Soma fell in love with Jupiter’s wife, Tara. Seducing Tara with his nectar of enlightenment, Soma fathered a child through her. The Vedas say that out of the Moon, the mind was born. The child, Mercury, had such extraordinary mental abilities that once Tara returned to Jupiter, the great benefic forgave his wife and raised the child as his own. Jupiter and Tara reconciled and even the Moon was forgiven because of the extraordinary nature of the baby.

Both Moon and Mercury are generally helpful to the high-minded and repentant. But in the company of impulsive, negative, or angry forces, they can be fierce and difficult. Grasping at power for personal gain are especially self-destructive acts under Mrigashira influence. The myth also shows the lonely nature of the Moon and how it does its best work in the company of other planets.

The great sculptor Rodin had his Moon in Mrigashira. Generations of superb Vedic Astrologers have ties to this Nakshatra. The list of poets, artists, statesmen, and thinkers with strong Mrigashira placements fills many volumes and links to important events throughout history.

Its shakti is the power to give fulfillment and joy, and its desire is to rule over the fruit of the garden. The result of this desire is to make the world enjoyable.

Moon in Rohini — The Star of Ascent

Rohini, located in the heart of Taurus, centers on the red giant star Aldebaran, the eye of the bull. It’s a clear symbol of both the passionate and sometimes obstinate nature of this asterism. Rohini is called the Star of Ascent, and in one phrase, it is a locus for creation.

Ruled by the Moon in Venus-ruled Taurus, the shakti of Rohini is the power of growth. It desires to unite in creativity with the beloved. Its ruling deity is Brahma, the creator, and those with gifts in any or all the creative arts are often born with strength from Rohini.

The negative quality of the Nakshatra can be a stubborn pursuit of achievement and material acquisition without regard for consequences. This relates to the origin myth of this lunar mansion:

Of all the Moon’s 27 wives, Rohini was his favorite so he visited her bed every night. This led to jealousy among the other 26 and they turned to Brahma for justice. Up to this point the Moon was full every night but Brahma cursed him so he began to die and his light to fade. Seeing their husband’s dire condition, the wives pleaded with Brahma to lift the curse. But once spoken, a curse always has lingering effects. Brahma was able to partially remove the affliction provided the Moon agreed to spend each night with a different wife for the good of the family. This allowed him to cycle from strength to weakness. The phases of the Moon we see today are the result of this story.

Rohini remains Moon’s favorite Nakshatra, and its location is the mulatrikona point of the Moon. This is a key position of power for any Vedic planet. It is happiest in Exaltation, saddest in Debilitation, most like its true nature in its home sign(s), and most effective and focused in mulatrikona. Mulatrikona is a bit like being at the office and doing its work.

If you have purely creative work to do today, the Moon in Rohini and in a strong, waxing gibbous phase is ripe for it. Remember that work approached with sensitivity to others and aspirations of benefits for all produces the best fruit. Use your passion, the fiery eye of the bull, but remember the diminishing curse of Brahma when the Moon’s passion aroused jealousy in his other wives.

No matter how narrow our focus, the effects we create touch all. We are one.

Exalted Moon in Krittika

From the final 3 degrees 20 minutes of Aries to 10 degrees Taurus, the Nakshatra Krittika dominates the winter night. Made up of stars from the brilliant Pleiades, Krittika in Vedic mythology represents the wives of the great seers, the Rishis, who are said to be the stars of the Big Dipper in the northern sky.

The dominant element is Agni, fire, with the power to burn away all negative thoughts. The Moon, director of mental energy, dreams, and emotions, is exalted, happiest, at 3 degrees of Taurus, in the heart of Krittika. Exaltation is a placement of perfect comfort, ease, honor, and respect for a planet. It is like the Queen on vacation, without a worry or care.

Agni in this positive asterism has a highly nourishing quality, both for digestion of food and stimulation of imagination. The Mars influence of Aries in its higher frequency brings out creativity in the arts. Bob Dylan’s natal Moon resides here. Its baser aspect can lead to sexual heat that manifests as extramarital affairs. A number of political and public figures have succumbed to this weakness (no names, please!).

On the Venus side, the artistic, creative power increases. So does the desire to have children. Venus has a discerning quality and an insistence on quality, appearance, and rules that makes for effective leadership. Thus in Taurus/Krittika we find the Moons of Frida Kahlo, Princess Diana, former President Reagan, and Mick Jagger. Pope John Paul had his natal Sun here.

Being effective doesn’t always manifest as the highest and best. Some of the figures above were at the center of unpopular and controversial actions. At the same time, the nature of Krittika, and its symbol of a razor or other sharp-edged implement clears obstacles toward achievement and has the ability to bring the will to power to produce results for the one who wields it.

The lesson here is perhaps to always be clear in our intentions and to tune our desires toward the good of all. Krittika brings out impulsive desires that can be those of a spoiled child or a balanced adult. Under the power of the exalted Moon, the best results come from nurturing that which elevated us and cutting away that which debases.

Makeup Post on Ashwini

The day of the Moon transit of Ashwini we were traveling and I did not post my thoughts. Since Bharani (yesterday’s post) hosts the Moon for most of today I’m taking the opportunity to makeup the missed Nakshatra.

Ashwini is the first of the Nakshatras. Ketu ruled at the head of Aries, it combines the active property of Mars with the spiritual aspirations of Ketu in a place where Dharma and Prana find their mythic origins.

Combining the power of the life force with the highest and best intentions to achieve freedom from all bondage is one way to describe the reasons the Vedic Rishis brought their knowledge to humanity. The Ashwini twins are the children of the Sun, Surya, and his wife, Sunjna. The myth is too long to recount here but I’ll cover it in a future podcast. The twins are energetic horselike beings with the divine power of healing, spreading the life force, Prana, and with the ambition to rid the world of disease.

For Ashwini energy to be effective, a healing of grievances and forgiveness of others for all perceived and actual wrongs is needed. The recognition of our oneness, each unique part born to create a perfect whole, brings out the Shakti of the asterism.

Ashwini’s strength is swift and sure if one’s intentions are pure. Most integrated medicine teaches us that serious and chronic illness begins in the mind. By adopting an attitude of forgiveness we put the broken parts of ourselves together again. In union with all life we work together for the betterment of everything. What problem could be so large that 7 billion unified humans in alignment with nature could not solve?

Although the Moon only traverses this idealistic Nakshatra once a month, any day is a good day to offer forgiveness and reunion. The Ashwini twins are devout in their intentions and even as mythic forms of our psychology they have a seemingly limitless ability to improve the world.

Independent, headstrong, like a spirited horse they thrive on attention and love and will flee in sadness or fear at abuse. As we see another wave of pandemic illness arising, we are again reminded that division has great power to exaggerate harm.. our caregivers toil beyond any reasonable limit to save lives without regard for political or religious leanings. They simply love life and give their utmost to preserve it.

To free the world of disease…worth forgiving, yes, forgiving everyone.

Bharani— the Bearer and Star of Restraint

To bear may mean to carry, to endure, or to give (as in birth). The first of these appears as physical action, the second as mental discipline, and the third as creativity born from spirit.

So it is with Bharani. The overlaps between the various energies are apparent with a little thought. Ruled by Venus and in the early to middle portion of Mars-ruled Aries, Bharani generates creative fire from the Mars/Venus commingling.

The symbol of this Nakshatra is a Yoni, womb, and in the physical sense the Moon today is drawn toward sexual activity. This is balanced by the idea of restraint, which brings mental discipline to remind us that while Mars and Venus together can be a recklessly passionate couple, in both an aggressive and receptive manner, they can also show qualities of discernment and targeted activity in many creative fields.

Unfettered passion is a potent force, but without discretion and an aim toward creative aims that raise us from our animal nature toward our Divine origins we may be wasting vital substance and in the most degraded forms, doing real harm.

This isn’t a lecture on abstinence, but a note that creative power spreads, grows, and rightly directed becomes a self-sustaining force for good in any activity. Indiscriminate yielding to base desire, on the other hand, can unleash a destructive fire that burns long after the impulse that sparked it.

Leadership, discovery, and advancement are the positive outcomes of directed creativity. Forced restraint such as illness, loss, and imprisonment may result from the lower aspects of desire.

Sigmund Freud had his Sun in Bharani, Carl Jung his Moon. Saddam Hussein’s Sun and Tonya Harding’s Moon were also there. Energy isn’t a force for prediction or magic, but the substance of creation, subject to conscious will as a tool of creation, sustenance, and destruction. Today, choose with wisdom and restraint and see what fruit you might bear.

Today’s Moon in Revati

After last night’s lineup of Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon all vertically ascribed in a 40 degree arc above the western horizon, one has a sense that powerful forces are gathering to mark the end of 2021.

Revati, “the Shining One” is the last Nakshatra in Vedic cosmology. Located in the last 13 degrees 20 minutes of Pisces, it consists of a group of 32 stars, that in my head resemble a modern, high-powered LED flashlight. Revati is called the wealthy star and as stars gleam like diamonds overhead, perhaps the efforts we make under a waxing gibbous Moon (very auspicious) in Revati will bring a gemlike quality to our lives.

Revati’s motivation is moksha, the liberation of the energetic source within us from all restrictions. Revati marks both endings and beginnings, movement from one way of living to a better one, and ruled by curious, adaptable Mercury, affords swift, nurturing aid to groups of travelers.

The shakti of nourishment, represented by milk, and under the watchful eye of both Jupiter as the ruler of Pisces and the Vedic deity Pushan, the guardian of the flock, feeds creative intelligence to renew the cycle of living.

There is very little of concern found in Revati. Even its shadow side is offset by an increase in sensitivity to the feelings of others, creating a natural avoidance of doing harm. The asterism is idealistic and disappointed ideals can’t lead to seclusion from sometimes harsh realities. Those under a strong Revati influence are evolved souls, bound for greater worlds and realms and often leaders in making leaps forward through their expansive vision.

You can find dark and even diabolical figures under any asterism, but their behavior is attributable to other elements in their birth charts. All we find in Revati seems positive and aspiring toward the Divine vision.

The visionary poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath had his natal Moon in Revati. I have a favorite quote of his to share:

“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.”

Today’s Moon in Uttara Bhadrapadha — The Second of the Fiery Pair

The two stars forming this Nakshatra combine with the pair from Purva Bhadrapadha to form the great square of Pegasus in Western Constellations. In the Vedic tradition they represent the four legs of a funeral cot, the two faces of a man, twin water snakes, and fiery representations of powerful forces of life, death, material abundance, and spiritual transcendence.

As noted yesterday, Purva Bhadrapadha is ruled by Jupiter. Uttara Bhadrapadha is under stable and serious Saturn. While there are many shared qualities between these two Nakshatras, especially their shadow natures of anger and aggression, Uttara Bhadrapadha’s Saturn qualities give those under its influence more self control. For me the image of lighting a propane torch comes to mind. One turns the gas on high and sets a spark to it. An explosive blue flame appears. In Purva Bhadrapadha, Jupiter expands this force and it may quickly grow out of control. But Saturn has a hand on the control knob in Uttara Bhadrapadha, and quickly reduces the flame to a diamond-pointed star that can seal a relationship, cut through anger, or warm the air around it so that productive activities may resume.

In Pisces, travel is a common desire. Pisces is ruled by Jupiter and when combined with Saturn we find the two gas giants of the solar system whose gravitational fields capture many wandering asteroids before their travels take them toward earth. In this sense, the gas giants are our protectors.

Uttara Bhadrapadha brings lively growth, its shakti power is that of cosmic rain, the kind that grows spreading plants whose roots provide stability against erosive forces. The people under this influence are worldly, generous, and beloved by their families and friends.

The implicit potential to commit acts of selfishness and malice also makes them feared when their shadow side emerges. Regardless of their nature, they are impactful and noticed. The list of those with Ascendant, Sun, or Moon in Uttara Bhadrapadha includes Walt Whitman, Billy Graham, Joan Baez, Bill Gates, Indira Gandhi, and Elton John.

Today, if you feel your anger kindled, allow slow, steady Saturn, like a patient grandfather who has caught you playing in his toolbox, to gently instruct you on the proper use of the cutting torch, and then walk with him on the stable lawn of life.

Today’s Moon — Purva Bhadraphada, “The Burning Pair”

Two stars in Pegasus crossing the boundary between the longitudinal meeting of Aquarius and Pisces form this powerful Nakshatra. Ruled by Jupiter and represented by the symbol of a male lion, related to unicorns, and translated as “lucky feet,” Purva Bhadrapada’s shakti contains the fire to elevate a spiritual person through a fiery temperament and ferocious activity.

Those born under this Nakshatra are motivated by material prosperity for the purpose of uplifting themselves and/or humanity. Aquarius nature is to save the world and Pisces marks the gateway to transcendence. The passion, fiery speech, strong opinions, and extreme sense of confidence and self reliance translate to an evangelical personality that frequently breaks boundaries and operates outside of societal norms.

Fame and infamy are both possible in this asterism, and the ability to see the world from two opposing points of view can create either a saint or sinner in the eyes of the world. For the Purva Bhadrapadha native the opinions of others matter far less than the actions necessary to achieve their personal aspirations, whether this are idealistic and uplifting or impulsive and destabilizing.

Madam Curie, Hugh Hefner, Martin Luther King Jr., and O. J. Simpson all have their natal moon in Purva Bhadrapadha.

Successfully living under this Nakshatra involves focusing on your highest philosophical and spiritual aspirations and acting free of selfishness, anger, and impulsive response. Acting without thinking or with wavering focus under Purva Bhadrapadha influence makes one appear two-faced. Acting toward the elevation and betterment of all allows for many ways of seeing solutions and paths to higher living.

A secretive, Rahu-ruled Nakshatra in the middle of Aquarius, the sign that will sacrifice itself in an effort to save the world, has been on my mind all week. More on that in a moment.

First, Shatabhishak’s shakti power is “to heal and support.” Aquarius’s pot holds pure Soma, the nectar of immortality, and Shatabhishak is often referred to as the “hundred healers” able to nourish and sustain the entire world and overcome every illness.

To use this power one should strive to be consistent, firm, and persistent in all conditions. A steady hand at the helm of life brings confidence to those who rely on us for support. It allows us to see in all directions for a clear path to free ourselves from calamity.

Perhaps Odysseus would have returned from Troy with far less effort and suffering had he sailed under a Shatabhishak moon. Being independent to the point of secrecy, isolation, and misleading others through such methods brings out the defensive and poisonous serpent nature of Rahu.

Appropriate boundaries, solitude for contemplation, and having a desire to hide one’s weaknesses are understandable. But honesty, openness, and repentance for error are necessary to cleanse the world of negative effects from immoral acts.

So, back to my attention to Shatabhishak this week. I’ve been following the trial of a former medical testing lab CEO, you probably know who. The birth time for this person is not known, just the date and location. Taking known events and applying rectification techniques, it appears the defendant was likely born with Moon in Shatabhishak.

The defense is relying on the young CEO’s claim of being mislead by mentors and trusted business partners. Instead of providing effective, inexpensive blood tests that could have helped millions, the company perpetrated a massive fraud that made the principle managers very wealthy.

I’m not judging this either way, but instead seeing the duality present in the case. Shatabhishak thrives on openness and honesty, draws together technology and healing aspirations. But lies and deceit lead to legal troubles and loss of freedom.

Only the CEO knows the truth of the crux of the case. A jury will decide for society what justice looks like. In any case, when life gets this far off the peaceful path for a person afflicted under Shatabhishak, the best remedy is often to discard every previous attachment, to rest, and to begin anew as if having just been born.