Ashwini Nakshatra: Meaning
Ashwini, first of the 27 nakshatras, opens Mesha with twin horsemen and speed; Ketu's period, 7 years.
Two horsemen set the procession in motion. Ashwini is the first of the 27 nakshatras, portions of the sky that Chandra crosses one after another. Each stretches over 13 degrees 20 minutes and divides into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes, one navamsha for each. Ashwini covers the first 13 degrees 20 minutes of Mesha, and its first boundary is the common origin of the signs and the nakshatras.
The ancient name is in the dual, the two horsemen, and the Ashvins, twin deities, preside over it. Its figure is a horse's head. In the sky, two stars of the constellation of the Ram answer to it, sometimes completed by a third. The ideas that follow are simple: the pair, the horse and its swiftness, the beginning of things.
It has not always held first place. The series could open with Krittika. There also remains the question of the star that marks its starting point, and this partly explains the doubt surrounding the ayanamsa.
Within the cycle of the great periods, which total 120 years in nine lengths, Ashwini belongs to Ketu, who rules 7 years.
Your Moon in Ashwini
At your birth, Chandra, your Moon, was crossing Mesha from its start up to 13°20′, a sidereal sign that does not necessarily match the one Western astrology gives you. That is what the Moon in Ashwini brings. An inclination for adornment and everything that decorates, with a pleasant bearing. A charm that makes you popular. Skill at work and a quick mind. Perhaps you are one of those who choose their scarf with care even for a trip to the bakery! These traits unfold fully only if the Moon is strong in the chart. Your life opened in a Ketu dasha, for the remaining portion, calculated from the distance the Moon still had to cover in this nakshatra.
Its ruler is Ketu: life begins in the Ketu dasha. It sits in Aries sidereal.
Frequently asked questions
What does Ashwini nakshatra mean?
Ashwini, first of the 27 nakshatras, opens Mesha with twin horsemen and speed; Ketu's period, 7 years.
Which graha rules Ashwini?
Ashwini is ruled by Ketu. Someone born with the Moon in Ashwini starts life in the Ketu dasha.