Chandra (Moon) in Vedic Astrology

Manas: the Moon as mind, mother and the public

Where Parashara calls the Sun the soul, he calls the Moon the mind (manas): the faculty that receives, feels and remembers. In the royal cabinet she is the queen beside the Sun's king. Her karaka roles grow from that seat: the mother, emotions, the public and its moods, and nourishment in every sense, from milk to comfort. Classical lists make her the significator of the 4th house, the house of home and inner contentment.

BPHS gives the Moon blood among the bodily tissues, the salty taste, a place near water as her abode, and the muhurta, the forty-eight-minute unit, as her span of time.

Waxing and waning: a nature that changes with the phase

The Moon is the only graha whose benefic or malefic standing depends on the calendar. A waxing Moon is counted a benefic and a waning one a malefic, and later texts grade her strength by distance from the Sun, fullest when opposite it. Female and sattvic, linked by wider tradition with water, she is read as receptive rather than forceful. BPHS pictures her round-bodied, sweet-spoken, learned and of a windy and phlegmatic temperament, and also fickle-minded, which is the price of a mind that responds to everything.

Dignity: Taurus, Scorpio and the 4th house

The Moon's deepest exaltation is at 3° Taurus and her deepest debilitation at 3° Scorpio. Cancer is her one own sign, and her mooltrikona runs through the rest of Taurus, from 3° to the end, so the same sign holds both her exaltation point and her mooltrikona.

Directional strength comes in the 4th house, the north and the bottom of the chart, the hidden point where the Moon is at home. Brihat Jataka assigns her the north-west among the directions.

A graha without enemies

In BPHS natural friendship the Moon counts the Sun and Mercury as friends, treats Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn as neutral, and has no enemies at all. Mercury does not return the feeling: it counts the Moon an enemy, the clearest example that natural friendship is not symmetric. The Puranas supply a reason, since Budh was born to Chandra and Tara, wife of Brihaspati, and the son never accepted the circumstances of his birth.

Aspect, nakshatras and the ten-year period

The Moon casts the single 7th-house aspect. She rules Rohini, given to Prajapati and long called her favourite, Hasta, given to Savitar, and Shravana, given to Vishnu. Her Vimshottari mahadasha lasts ten years, and the site has a separate Chandra mahadasha guide for that period.

The fastest transit: two and a quarter days

The Moon changes sign roughly every two and a quarter days, which is why daily rashifal columns follow her. Measured from the natal Moon, Phaladeepika counts her transit favourable in the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th houses. Many South Indian families also avoid starting important work while the Moon crosses the 8th sign from the natal Moon, a period known as chandrashtama. For muhurta, the Moon's nakshatra on the day matters as much as her sign.

Chandra, Daksha's daughters and the curse of waning

In the Puranas Chandra is a god rather than a goddess, married to the twenty-seven nakshatras, daughters of Daksha. He loved Rohini above the rest, and the neglected sisters complained to their father, who cursed him to waste away. Shiva gave the fading Moon refuge on his head, and the curse was softened into a cycle: the Moon now dies and returns each month. The story explains the crescent in Shiva's hair, the Moon's monthly passage through every nakshatra, and why the Moon's exaltation lies in Taurus, Rohini's sign.

Upaya: practices associated with the Moon

Monday is the Moon's day, and the Somvar fast is among the most widely kept vrats. Worship of Shiva, who wears the crescent, is the usual devotional route, while BPHS names the water deity Varuna as the Moon's presiding god. The mantra Om Shraam Shreem Shraum Sah Chandraya Namah is recited, and rice, milk, white cloth or silver are given in charity. Tradition adds care of one's mother, regular sleep and quiet time near water.

Pearl (mukta) is the Moon's traditional gem association. Whether to wear one is a personal and traditional choice the page does not make for anyone, and a gem is never a substitute for medical, financial or legal advice.

What is the Moon called in Hindi?

The Moon is Chandra or Chandrama in Hindi. Sanskrit texts also use Soma and Indu, and Monday, Somvar, takes its name from the Moon.

Why is my Moon sign used as my rashi?

Jyotish treats the Moon as the mind, so the sign it occupied at birth becomes the reference for daily horoscopes, for counting transits and, through its nakshatra, for starting the dasha sequence.

Which day belongs to the Moon?

Monday. The Somvar fast, worship of Shiva, a Chandra mantra and gifts of rice, milk or white cloth are the traditional Monday observances.

Is the Moon a benefic planet?

A waxing Moon is counted a natural benefic and a waning Moon a malefic, so the answer depends on the phase at birth. Commentators add that a Moon joined or aspected by benefics becomes helpful even while waning.

What is the Moon's gemstone?

Pearl (mukta) is the traditional association. Wearing it is a personal and traditional choice that this page does not recommend, and no gem replaces medical, financial or legal advice.

How long does the Moon stay in one sign?

About two and a quarter days. She crosses the whole zodiac in roughly twenty-seven days, passing through one nakshatra a day on average.