the-astrology-book

The Nakshatras: The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology
Bepin Behari. As Behari points out, “The Atharva and Yajur Vedas give complete lists
of them (nakshatras) and associate them with the oldest Vedic gods.” By befriending
the particular god or goddess of a given nakshatra, archetypal healing becomes possible.
As the great Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung once stated, it is important to “feed the
gods and goddesses.”
The nakshatras represent the fields of activity or environment in which the
creative powers of the planets can reveal their multifaceted nature. They are called
lunar mansions because the Moon “resides in” each of them for approximately one
day. Each lunar mansion of 13°20’ length is further subdivided into four quarters of
3°20’ called padas. An ancient Vedic myth describes how the Moon god, Soma, was
given 27 wives by the lord of creation, Prajapati. Each wife represented one of the
lunar mansions which Soma, the Moon god, inhabited during his lunation cycle
through the constellations. An ancient Celtic King also had a tower constructed with
27 windows to view the monthly sojourn of the Moon.
Each nakshatra has a particular power or shakti. According to Vedic scholar
David Frawley, the shakti is “the power of the devatas or deities ruling the lunar mansions.”
Every nakshatra is associated not only with particular deities, but also with a
specific planet that rules that asterism. It may fall completely within a particular sign
or overlap between two signs. Thus, it is also influenced by the sign or rasi within
which it resides and its ruling planet.
Each nakshatra is male or female, as well as sattwa, rajas or tamas in nature.
These are the three basic gunas in which life reflects, according to the Vedas. Sattwa
has a quality of spirituality, harmony, balance and purity. Rajas, which is dominant in
human experience, is high-energy activity and somewhat “Type A” behavior. Finally,
tamas has the basic quality of dullness, inertia, sloth, and darkness. According to
Behari, the nakshatras are divided into three groups of nine, called pariyay, meaning
“cycle.” The first nine nakshatras are rajasic in nature, the second nine are tamasic, and
the final nine are described as sattwic. A specific animal species, sex, caste, temperament
and primary motivation such as dharma (life purpose), artha (wealth), kama (fulfillment
of desire), and moksha (enlightenment) is reflected through each nakshatra.
Personality characteristics reflecting strengths and weaknesses are also correlated
with the basic nature of each lunar mansion. In chapter 16 of his classic text Brihat
Jataka, Varāhamihira describes the human characteristics of the nakshatras. The
chapter focuses primarily on the positions of the natal Moon in the respective lunar
mansions. The Nakshatras: The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology also provides a good
introduction and overview of the personality characteristics of the 27 lunar mansions.
It focuses on the meaning of the Moon, Sun, and the Ascendant’s natal placement in
each of the nakshatras.
In addition, the nakshatras are of primary importance in muhurtha or electional
astrology. This involves the selection of a particular lunar mansion for the Moon
pertaining to the optimal timing to undertake any new venture, i.e., starting a new
business, building a new home, or choosing an auspicious wedding date. Finally, a specific
archetypal symbol is depicted for each asterism. Because Vedic astrology is a sidereal
system, it is based on direct observation of the planets in the constellations. Thus,
[480] THE ASTROLOGY BOOK