Distinction in Astrology

It’s not enough to say one has a particular planet in a sign. A planet at the early part of a sign display different qualities than a planet near the end of a sign. To account for this in Vedic Astrology/ Jyotish divides the zodiac into 27 parts called Nakshatras/Asterisms. The divide of each sign is guided by the time it takes the moon to transit a sign which is 2.5 days. So each sign has 2.5 parts. Each division in addition to the ruler of the sign itself has a planet that governs the division. Starting from Aries, the ruler ship of the divisions starts with Ketu (Southern Node), Venus, and Sun. Then the next set is Moon, and Mars. The next set is Rahu (Southern Node), Jupiter. And lastly is Saturn, and Mercury. These sets apply to Fire , Earth, Air , and Water signs respectively. For example Leo being a fire signs has 3 nakshatras Magha, Purva Phalguni, And Uttara Phalguni. They are ruled by Ketu, Venus, and Sun respectively. Part of the last division falls into the next sign Virgo which has Uttara Phalguni (shared with Leo), Hasta, and Chittra. Which is ruled by Sun, Moon, and Mars reflectively. Then Chittra falls into the next sign Libra , which has Chittra (shared with Virgo), Swati, and Vishaka. Which are ruled by Mars, Rahu (Southern Node), and Jupiter. Lastly Vishaka falls into Scorpio which has Vishaka( Jupiter), Anuradha, And Jyeshtha. Which are ruled by Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury respectively. Then the cycle starts over again. So essentially this splits the zodiac into 3 parts 120 degrees each. Using Scorpio as an example , Bob Marley moon in Anuradha displays a different Scorpio qualities than Mike Tyson who’s moon is in Jyeshtha. Bob Marley has more of a drive to create a new social order in the world versus Mike Tyson represents more of a drive for power, competition. Also there are fixed stars that are apart of each nakshatra. This makes nakshatra divisions differ from some sign division techniques in other forms of Astrology. They’re astronomical realities as well.

More on this in tomorrow’s episode!