The 27 Nakshatras
The moon travels a little over thirteen degrees a day, and the sidereal zodiac is divided into twenty-seven equal parts to match — one for each night of a lunar circuit. These are the nakshatras. Each is thirteen degrees and twenty minutes wide, and the one the moon occupies at a given moment is the nakshatra of that moment.
A nakshatra is not a prediction. It is a description of where the moon is, and the character that tradition has attached to that stretch of sky over several thousand years of observation and practice. Each has a ruling planet that orders the vimshottari dasha sequence, a presiding deity that gives it its temperament, a symbol that compresses its meaning into an image, and a classification — gana and nature — that muhurta uses to decide what a day suits.
Your own janma nakshatra is the one the moon stood in at the moment you were born. It is what your family uses for your birthday rituals, and its four padas supply the syllable your name traditionally begins with. Each page below gives that syllable set along with the rest of the nakshatra's attributes.
- 1Ketu · Deva (divine)
Ashwini
The first light — quick, healing, impatient to begin.
- 2Venus · Manushya (human)
Bharani
Bearing and restraint — the discipline that carries a thing to term.
- 3Sun · Rakshasa (fierce)
Krittika
The cutting flame — purification that does not flatter.
- 4Moon · Manushya (human)
Rohini
Growth and abundance — the most fertile ground in the zodiac.
- 5Mars · Deva (divine)
Mrigashira
The gentle searcher — always scenting for something better.
- 6Rahu · Manushya (human)
Ardra
The storm that clears the air — grief that turns into clarity.
- 7Jupiter · Deva (divine)
Punarvasu
Return and renewal — the light that comes back after the storm.
- 8Saturn · Deva (divine)
Pushya
The most auspicious of the twenty-seven — nourishment itself.
- 9Mercury · Rakshasa (fierce)
Ashlesha
The coiled serpent — penetrating insight, and the power to entwine.
- 10Ketu · Rakshasa (fierce)
Magha
The throne — inherited authority and the weight of lineage.
- 11Venus · Manushya (human)
Purva Phalguni
Rest, pleasure and creative ease — the reward before the work.
- 12Sun · Manushya (human)
Uttara Phalguni
The bond that holds — friendship, contract and kept promises.
- 13Moon · Deva (divine)
Hasta
Skill of hand — craft, dexterity and things well made.
- 14Mars · Rakshasa (fierce)
Chitra
The made thing that shines — design, form and brilliance.
- 15Rahu · Deva (divine)
Swati
Independence — the reed that bends because it is not tied down.
- 16Jupiter · Rakshasa (fierce)
Vishakha
The forked path — ambition held to a single goal.
- 17Saturn · Deva (divine)
Anuradha
Devotion that keeps its shape under pressure.
- 18Mercury · Rakshasa (fierce)
Jyeshtha
The eldest — seniority, protection, and its burden.
- 19Ketu · Rakshasa (fierce)
Mula
Down to the root — investigation that does not stop at the surface.
- 20Venus · Manushya (human)
Purva Ashadha
The invincible — conviction that will not be argued down.
- 21Sun · Manushya (human)
Uttara Ashadha
The final victory — the one that lasts because it was earned.
- 22Moon · Deva (divine)
Shravana
Listening — knowledge received rather than seized.
- 23Mars · Rakshasa (fierce)
Dhanishta
Rhythm and wealth — the beat that others move to.
- 24Rahu · Rakshasa (fierce)
Shatabhisha
The hundred healers — solitary, unconventional, curative.
- 25Jupiter · Manushya (human)
Purva Bhadrapada
The fire of transformation — asceticism with an edge.
- 26Saturn · Manushya (human)
Uttara Bhadrapada
Depth and stillness — wisdom that has stopped struggling.
- 27Mercury · Deva (divine)
Revati
Safe passage — the last nakshatra, and a kind one.