The Moon that Pleases and Punishes by Ochavlal A. Jani

Karaka of the mind is the Moon.  The Moon is also a centre of energy, attraction and repulsion, revolving round the earth in his orbit once in 29 days and 12 hours.  His orbit round the earth is just like a bracelet half of which is under water level and the other half above forming an angle of 3° with the level.

Tides and ebbs are generated on every full-moon day and new-m0on day in the oceans and seas as well as in the blood circulation of animals.  Lunar influence is great at night.  The Moon is nearest to the earth, and is magnetic in gravitational force.  The Moon is a watery planet and is considered to have lordship over the watery sign, Cancer.

The Hindu mythology reveals the significance of the Moon’s 30 digits (कलातिथी) in a month and 62 digits in a Ritu (ऋतु), a season of two months.  Brahma, Creator of the universe, had 27 daughters.  All married the Moon.   Once, Brahma took the Moon in his chariot 21 times round the earth.  The Moon loved only Rohini and would have loved to stay always with her.  The staying of the Moon in Rohini constellation gives a beautiful phenomenon in the moonlight.  This is generally possible on the days near the Full-Moon in the months of Aswayuja, Kartika, Margasira and Pushya (October to January).  Sages called this as Rohini Pidhana (रोहिणी पिधान). 

Against the Moon’s partiality for Rohini the other 26 daughters of Brahma complained to their father.  Brahma cursed the Moon to suffer from Kshaya (consumption).  That is why the Moon waxes in the bright half from lunar 1^st day to the 15^th day, and wanes from the lunar 16^th day to the 30^th day, in the dark half.  Affliction to the Moon disturbs the mind.  Mental disorder increases and decreases with the phases of the Moon.

The Sun rules the moods, attitudes, likes and dislikes while the Moon rules the mind.  With the slightest affliction to the Moon, the mind is disturbed which creates many complexes often leading to negative behaviour.  Certain distances between the Sun and the Moon affect the human mind.  The Sun and the Moon in the 2^nd/12^th and 6^th/8^th positions in a chart produce characteristic and psychological conflicts in life.  If the 7^th house is involved, the husband and wife relations will be at stake.  If the Sun and the Moon form mutual Kendras or tines or 3^rd/11^th positions, they add strength to the horoscope.

The distance between the Sun and the Moon is measured in terms of constellations and signs.  The position of the Moon in a pada (quarter), orbal distance of 3°20’ of a constellation is an important unit.

Let us examine the results assigned to tithis (lunar days) of the bright half (शुकलपक्ष)and the dark half (कृष्णपक्ष).  The tithi (a lunar day) is a yardstick for measurement of distances of the Moon at the rate of 12° each from the Sun beginning from the point on the New Moon when the distance between them is 0°.  The length of a tithi varies, short or long, as the Sun also moves each day.  As such reat importance is attached to the Sun Lagna besides Janma (natal) Lagna and the Moon Lagna.  In olden times sages gave great importance to the tithis in predictive astrology keeping in view the positions of the Moon from the Sun.

According to Jataka Parijata, an authority on astrology, the effects of birth on different lunar days are as under:-

1^st and 16^th – Learned, modest, ornaments of gold, gems, graceful and holy acts, 2^nd and 17^th – Innocent, charitable, pleasant, famous, coward, 3^rd and 18^th – Passionate, learned, foreign residence, haughty, strong, wanderer.  4^th and 19^th – Clever in war, debtor, juggler, argumentative, clever in mantras, 5^th and 20^th –   Graceful, having wife and son, friends, compassionate, relations with Governments, love of Vedas and shastras, 6^th or 21^st – Truthful, wealth, son very strong, fame, clever, wounds on the body, very angry, 7^th or 22^nd – Virtuous, knowledge, big eye, worship of God, interest in girls and others’ wealth, phlegmatic, 8^th or 23^rd – Kind, noted in country, unsteady mind, interested in daughter-in-law, happiness from sons and wealth, 9^th or 24^th – Away from kith and kin – relations, harsh speech, opponent of learned men, characterless, passionate, 10^th or 25^th – Religious, long neck, knows various shastras, generous mind, most humble, possessed of wealth, wife, son and fine speech, 11^th or 26^th – Worshipper of deities and Brahmins, enthusiastic in charity and festivals, best worker, pleasant mind, 12^th or 27^th – Fond of water, good relations with all, own buildings, profligate, donor, charitable, learned, wealth from Government, 13^th or 28^th – Bereft of satwika guna, long neck, greedy, brave, passionate, 14^th or 29^th – Cruel nature, harmonious, harsh and unbearable speech, confused state of mind, killer of near and dear relatives, different kinds of murders are attributed to different parts of the 14^th lunar day, 15^th or the Full Moon day – Graceful body, earns by labour, just, very kind, virtuous, enjoys casual pleasures.  Amavasya or the New Moon day – Worships parents, money by own labour, honoured by men, lack-lustre and slender body.

From the above it will be seen that the lunar days 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 15 of both the pakshas (bright and dark fortnights) have very good effects.  As such it is fortunate for one to be born on any one of these days as they have no bad effect of any kind; and the Moon exerts good influence on these days.  The Moon of the above tithis involving the 1^st, the 3^rd, the 4^th, the 5^th, the 9^th, the 10^th and the 11^th houses from the Sun gives added strength to a chart.

The lunar 3^rd, 4^th, 8^th, 9^th, 13^th and 14^th days of both the fortnights have some sort of a sting and are believed to  created bad effects, generally in drastic conflicts.  In order to eradicate it one should keep the mind engaged in good activities like devotion, japas, etc.  So ancient sages have advised us to observe fast on the 4^th lunar day (Vinayaka chaturthi) and (Sankashta Chaturthi), the 8^th lunar day as Durgashtami and Kalashtami and on the 12^th as Pradosha in order to ward off the evil effects on the body.