Sagittarius: The Vedic Lunar Signs (Nakshatras) that lie behind the western sign of Sagittarius
Deep-truth guidance is given by understanding which of the three Vedic Lunar Signs, called Nakshatras that lie behind the western sign of Sagittarius. These are:
Anuradha (19 November -2 December)
Jyeshta (2 December – 15 December)
Mula (15 December -28 December)
Nakshatras and Love Astrology: Vedic Astrology uses a powerful system of 27 Lunar Signs called Nakshatras as well as the familiar 12-sign zodiac. (The Nakshatras are the basis of the very sure and accurate Vedic astrology of relationships, where the Nakshatra the man’s Moon falls in in his birth chart is compared to the Nakshatra the woman’s moon falls in in her birth chart.)
The Gandanta Zones: Importantly the boundary between Jyestha and Mula is one of the three Gandanta zones, which are quite dangerous for earthly life, and can mean mother or a parent will not be there for you, but out of these hard experiences, awareness of the truths beyond the material realm can be gained. This dangerous zone is around 24 degrees western Sagittarius.
Galactic Centre: Importantly also, the sign of Mula contains the gravitationally powerful ‘Galactic Centre’ currently centering on 27 western Sagittarius, and this was identified by the Vedic Sages as the source of spiritual illumination: a very confrontative energy, and it was Sun’s passage across Galactic Centre on winter solstice 2012 that marked a once every 25,800 year peak in the influx of spiritual illumination available for the human race.
Anuradha – The first Vedic Lunar Sign behind the western sign of Sagittarius is Nakshatra No 17. Anuradha (Sun is in Anuradha from 19 November -2 December)
Power animal: The Female Deer
Orientation: Deva – to the Divine
In the Vedic sign 3°20′ – 16°40′ Scorpio
Symbol: a lotus flower
Deity: Mitra, god of friendship and daylight
Keywords: leadership, moving from one place to another, courage, inspiring, amicable
Translation: disciple (anu) of the (divine) spark (radha)
Ruling Planet: Saturn
Favorable: Outwardly buoyant and fun-loving; attractive, hearty, popular; spiritual seeker, interested in ancient knowledge; capacity for astrology; devoted; enjoys social life and organizations; brave; benefits more if they live away from their place of birth.
Unfavorable: Tries too hard to get enlightened; grieves; secretive, isolated, ethical according to the circumstances, dishonest; obstructed by envious people; doesn’t understand their impact on others—especially their marriage partners who may eventually ask for a divorce; needs constant nourishment—both in terms of food and drink and in terms of their emotions; defiant; progress is hurt by submitting to bad advice.
It is the task of Mitra, the god of daylight, to reveal everything what has remained in the dark. During the night forms fade away, but the daylight makes everything visible again. Mitra turns the unconscious into consciousness. Our true origin can no longer be ignored.
Mitra reveals to us that we all carry divine sparks within us which are mutually connected and which form part of the entire cosmos. This is why friendship can develop. You and I form part of the same cosmos, so we can only feel friendship and love for each other – everything in the Universe is connected. It is understood that this consciousness does not just originate by itself. It takes lots of effort before one can actually feel this. Unfortunately, life is not just about friendship and love.
The lotus, the symbol of the constellation of Anuradha, is a plant that grows in the swamp. The seed of the lotus is rooted in the mud that forms the bottom of a small lake. The mud represents the unconscious mind. Subsequently, the lotus finds its way through the water (water symbolises the emotional life and the feelings of a person) and finally reaches the surface. Influenced by the sun’s rays, which represent the True Self, the lotus grows into a magnificent flower. The flower greets the sun and thus the True Self.
People whose horoscope is dominated by this constellation are courageous people who dare to face things that once were unconscious and bring them into the light of awareness. They live intensively and they often make spiritual and physical travels in order to discover themselves.
The spiritual path of Anuradha is practising dynamic meditations. In the first stage of these meditations, everything that is unconscious is brought to the surface and expressed. The subsequent stages are serene stages in which the unconscious can cherish itself in the light of silence. When the mud has been left behind and the emotions have calmed down, it is possible to reach the True Self. In addition to dynamic meditations, psychotherapy goes well with this constellation. Psychotherapy brings the unconscious to the surface, so it can melt away, cherished by the sun (consciousness).
Jyeshta – The second Vedic Lunar Sign behind the western sign Sagittarius is Nakshatra No 18 Jyeshta (Sun is in Jyestha from 2 December – 15 December)
The Power Animal is the Stag
Symbol: a circular amulet (charm).
Deity: Indra, king of the gods.
Keywords: wealth, courage, the eldest or founder.
Translation: the eldest.
Symbol: A hanging earring
Presiding Deity: Indra (Chief of Gods)
Location: Scorpio 16°40′ to Scorpio 30°
Dasa-Ruling Planet: Mercury (17 years)
Favorable: Most successful of their family; keeps friends and builds a good support network; generous, self-reliant, eventually wealthy; takes charge of the family; passionate response to love; acts respectable;
receives fame and honors; takes control; gets things done when they want to.
Unfavorable: Angry; has family frictions; too intense to keep friends; hides their feelings and intentions; religious or peaceful on the surface while impatient or immoral underneath; acts religious to get regard; scheming; makes others dependent on them to gain control in the relationship; dramatizes illnesses and troubles to gain sympathy; subject to many illnesses
Jyeshta may bring a lot of wealth. The amulet represents the protection the person in whose horoscope Jyeshta plays an important role receives from Indra, king of the gods. Indra is a god who fights demons and represents justice. He fights for the fulfilment of noble goals and has the character of a solar god – extrovert, willing to act and leadership.
In ancient Vedic religion, Indra was one of the most important gods. Later that position was taken over by Shiva and Vishnu in particular. A notable characteristic of this constellation is that a person in whose horoscope Jyeshta is vividly present, often plays the role of “the eldest” (the eldest brother or sister for example). This may also be taken metaphorically; a Jyeshta person may hold an authoritative position in the board of elders for example.
The name “Jyeshta” means the eldest. It is related to Sattva – motivated to do good things or seek truth. The temperament of Jyeshta is Rakshasa – demon eccentric and individualistic and its sex is Female. Each Nakshatra has a special power or Shakti, the power of Jyeshta allows for rising or conquering and gaining courage in battle. Its heavenly basis emanantes for attack, which results in defense, through which one becomes a hero.
The spiritual path belonging to this constellation is that of the warrior and the acceptance of authoritative positions.
The Gandanta Zone: the boundary between Jyestha and Mula is one of the three Gandanta zones in Vedic Astrology, which are quite dangerous for earthly life, and can mean mother or a parent will not be there for you. There can be terrible issue of not being valued. But out of these hard experiences, awareness of the spiritual truths beyond the material realm can be gained. The three Gandanta zone are at the end of the water signs in the Vedic sidereal zodiac: they are in the last few degrees where water dissolves into the Void, across which can be glimpsed the first flicker of fire on the waters, where a Fire sign is born. Here, it’s the transition from sidereal Scorpio to sidereal Sagittarius, situated around 24 degrees of wetstern Sagittarius.
Mula – The third Vedic Lunar Sign behind western Sagittarius is No 19, Mula (Sun is in 15 December – 28 December)
The power animal is the Male Dog
Symbol: roots tied together – getting to the roots of things
Deity: Nirriti, the the goddess of death and destruction.
Keywords: going to the bottom, scientific, intelligent, inquiring, medicine. Dog- loyalty, friendship, slinking, holing up
Translation: the root.
Location: Sagittarius 0° to Sagittarius 13°20′
Dasa-Ruling Planet: Ketu (7 years)
Favorable: Skillful in persuading or manipulating people to serve their goals and objectives; politician; tactful, clever, able to live a comfortable life with all the amenities; good fortune; determined to succeed; learned
Unfavorable: Takes with little thought of return; unstable; tells people what they want to hear to get what they want; speaks logically but makes others suspicious; too goal-focused; lacks sufficient appreciation for others; arrogant, self-destructive, willful, sabotages their own love; has many affairs and/or marriages that don’t work out
In Vedic astrology, particular value is attached to the centre of the Milky Way. This centre symbolises a point of special spiritual power. It is located in the lunar constellation of Mula. Mula may therefore be the most spiritual lunar constellation. However, spiritual development is not about hanging around and pretending you are so spiritual. The spirituality of Mula involves the cleansing of the soul by means of confrontations with the unconscious. How deep the spirituality actually goes will only become clear in confronting situations. It is not difficult to be meditative when everything is going as planned; to have faith in the love of the divine when everything goes wrong is the real test.
Mula people are prepared to undergo such tests. They go the bottom, are intelligent and they know that tests have a reason. A problem will have to be tackled by its roots. It is only then that true healing can take place. The expression “desperate cases call for desperate remedies” will probably have been invented by someone with a strong influence of Mula in his horoscope.
The temperament of Moola is Rakshasa – demon, eccentric and individualistic. Each Nakshatra has a special power or Shakti, the power of Moola allows for ruining or destroying. Its heavenly basis emanates for breaking things apart, which results in crushing things, through which there is the power to destroy (can destroy destruction).
The spiritual path belonging to Mula is related to intensive psychotherapy and other intense therapeutic methods (bioenergetics, encounter therapy etc). The purpose is to overcome fear and to learn to accept challenges. Mula stands for an intense way of living, which consists of gaining many different experiences.
