Nakshatras Explained: The 27 Lunar Mansions

Twenty-seven segments of the sky

The Moon takes about 27.3 days to circle the zodiac, spending roughly one day in each nakshatra. Each nakshatra spans 13°20' of the sidereal zodiac, starting with Ashwini at 0° Aries and ending with Revati at the end of Pisces.

Each nakshatra has a presiding deity, a symbol and a ruling planet, and is divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20'. The padas are used for finer detail, including the navamsha chart.

Finding your birth star

Your janma nakshatra is the nakshatra of your Moon in the sidereal zodiac. Soul Atlas calculates the Moon's position, applies the Lahiri ayanamsa, and finds the nakshatra and pada. Because the Moon moves quickly, your birth time matters: if the Moon changed nakshatra that day, a time is needed to be sure.

Ruling planets and the dashas

The nakshatras are ruled in a repeating sequence of nine: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. The ruler of your birth star sets the starting point of the Vimshottari dasha, the 120-year cycle of planetary periods used for timing in Vedic astrology.

A few examples

• Ashwini (0°–13°20' Aries): ruled by Ketu, presided over by the Ashvins, the divine physicians; symbol a horse's head.
• Rohini (10°–23°20' Taurus): ruled by the Moon, presided over by Brahma or Prajapati; symbol a chariot.
• Chitra (23°20' Virgo–6°40' Libra): ruled by Mars, presided over by Tvashtar, the divine architect; symbol a bright jewel.

Reading it reflectively

Read your birth star's deity and symbol as a story to contemplate: what qualities does it describe, and where do you recognise them? As with all of astrology, it's a tradition for reflection rather than a fixed description of who you are.