If the Sun is the soul, the Moon (Chandra) is the mind (manas). Vedic astrology gives the Moon a special place: your Moon sign sets your daily horoscope, your birth star sets your dasha, and the Moon's strength colours how you experience everything else in the chart.
What the Moon signifies
- The mind and emotions: feelings, moods, memory, imagination and peace of mind.
- The mother, nurturing and home comforts.
- The public: popularity and work with people.
- The body's fluids: blood, water balance, the chest and sleep.
- Travel, especially by water, and change.
Its day is Monday, its direction northwest, its colour white, its metal silver and its gem the pearl.
Where the Moon is strong or weak
| Condition | Sign |
|---|---|
| Exalted | Taurus, deepest at 3° |
| Own sign | Cancer |
| Debilitated | Scorpio, deepest at 3° |
Waxing and waning
The Moon's brightness matters as much as its sign. A waxing Moon (shukla paksha), especially one well away from the Sun, is considered a natural benefic and strong. A dark Moon near Amavasya is weak, however well it is placed. This is why the tithi of birth adds information to a chart.
A strong Moon
A bright, well-placed Moon gives emotional steadiness, empathy, a good memory, popularity and a supportive relationship with the mother. It also lifts the whole chart: many yogas, such as Gaja Kesari, depend on it.
A weak or afflicted Moon
A dark or debilitated Moon, or one joined by Saturn, Rahu or Ketu, can show anxiety, restlessness, mood swings or difficulty sleeping. Saturn's transit over the Moon is Sade Sati, which is felt mainly in the mind.
The Moon's mahadasha
The Moon's dasha lasts 10 years. It often brings changes of residence, emotional growth, family matters and work with the public. Its results depend on the Moon's strength and the houses it rules for your Lagna.
Simple remedies
- Spend time near water and in moonlight; keep regular sleep.
- Honour and care for your mother.
- Monday observances: Shiva worship, the Chandra mantra, offering milk or water.
- Meditation and breathing practices calm the Moon directly.
- A pearl only on advice; see gemstones.
Find your Moon sign and birth star in your free birth chart.