The 27 Nakshatras: List and Meanings

The nakshatras are the 27 mansions of the Moon. The one your Moon sat in at your birth tells your nature and sets the start of your life periods.

Ashwini: Ashwini, first of the 27 nakshatras, opens Mesha with twin horsemen and speed; Ketu's period, 7 years.

Bharani: Bharani, second nakshatra of Mesha, evokes carrying to term; Yama and the yoni say nothing about a life; Shukra dasha, 20 years.

Krittika: Krittika, third nakshatra, between Agni's flame and a razor, names the Pleiades and opened the ancient series; Surya dasha, 6 years.

Rohini: Rohini, fourth nakshatra of Vrishabha, the reddish one of Aldebaran, has Prajapati as deity and a chariot as image; Chandra dasha, 10 years.

Mrigashira: Mrigashira, fifth nakshatra between Vrishabha and Mithuna, the head of a lively, timid antelope, has Soma as deity; Mangala dasha, 7 years.

Ardra: Ardra, sixth nakshatra of Mithuna, the moist one, has Rudra, god of the storm, as deity, with images of the season; Rahu dasha, 18 years.

Punarvasu: Punarvasu, the seventh nakshatra, good again, names Castor and Pollux and has Aditi as deity; its dasha belongs to Guru and lasts 16 years.

Pushya: Pushya, the eighth nakshatra of Karka, auspicious, has Brihaspati as deity and the exaltation of Guru, but Shani as dasha lord.

Ashlesha: Ashlesha, ninth nakshatra, closing Karka, the one who entwines, has the serpents as deities; riksha sandhi; Budha dasha, 17 years.

Magha: Magha, the mighty, tenth nakshatra at the start of Simha, has the ancestors as rulers and a house as its figure; Ketu's period, 7 years.

Purva Phalguni: Purva Phalguni, eleventh nakshatra of Simha, has the bed as its figure and Bhaga as its deity; Shukra's period, 20 years.

Uttara Phalguni: Uttara Phalguni, twelfth nakshatra between Simha and Kanya, second of the bed pair, has Aryama as deity; Surya's period, 6 years.

Hasta: Hasta, thirteenth nakshatra, entirely in Kanya, has the hand as its figure and Savitar as ruler; Chandra's period, 10 years.

Chitra: Chitra, the brilliant, fourteenth nakshatra straddling Kanya and Tula, is the Spike of the Virgin; Mangala's period, 7 years.

Swati: Swati, fifteenth nakshatra of Tula, rests on Arcturus, a star far from the zodiac, and has the wind Marut as deity; Rahu's period, 18 years.

Vishakha: Vishakha, sixteenth nakshatra from Tula to Vrishchika, has spread branches and is ruled by Indra and Agni; Guru dasha, 16 years.

Anuradha: Anuradha, seventeenth nakshatra of Vrishchika, has the friend Mitra as deity and a row of stars as image; Shani dasha, 19 years.

Jyeshtha: Jyeshtha, the eighteenth nakshatra, the elder one of Antares, closes Vrishchika with Indra as ruler; its dasha belongs to Budha and lasts 17 years.

Mula: Mula, the root, nineteenth nakshatra of Dhanu, has the calamity Nirriti as deity but a favorable portrait; Ketu dasha, 7 years.

Purva Ashadha: Purva Ashadha, twentieth nakshatra of Dhanu, first of the unconquered, has the Waters as deity; Shukra dasha, 20 years.

Uttara Ashadha: Uttara Ashadha, twenty-first nakshatra, has the Vishvedevas as collective deity; Abhijit depends on the list; Surya dasha, 6 years.

Shravana: Shravana, twenty-second nakshatra of Makara, is listening, with the three steps of Vishnu as image; Chandra dasha, 10 years.

Dhanishta: Dhanishta, twenty-third nakshatra between Makara and Kumbha, has the drum as image and the Vasus as rulers; Mangala dasha, 7 years.

Shatabhisha: Shatabhisha, twenty-fourth nakshatra of Kumbha, with a hundred healers, has Varuna as ruler and a circle as image; Rahu dasha, 18 years.

Purva Bhadrapada: Purva Bhadrapada, the twenty-fifth nakshatra, is ruled by the one-footed goat Aja Ekapad; its dasha belongs to Guru and lasts 16 years.

Uttara Bhadrapada: Uttara Bhadrapada, twenty-sixth nakshatra of Meena, is watched by the serpent of the depths; Shukra's exaltation falls elsewhere; Shani dasha, 19 years.

Revati: Revati, twenty-seventh and last nakshatra, closes the wheel at the end of Meena and marks the start of the sidereal zodiac; Budha dasha, 17 years.