Ashwini nakshatra

The first of the twenty-seven

The count of the nakshatras begins here, at the point where the sidereal year begins. Everything about Ashwini has the quality of a first step: quick, fresh, a little impatient with whatever came before.

The Ashwini Kumaras are the key to it. In the old stories they arrive at speed on horseback and they heal. They restore sight, youth and strength to those the other gods had written off. So the nakshatra pairs a fast start with a practical kindness. People born under it tend to move towards a problem rather than away from it, often before anyone has asked.

Ketu rules the star. Ketu is the graha of release and of sharp, sudden perception, which gives Ashwini its instinct: the answer arrives whole, before the reasoning. Mesha, ruled by Kuja, adds drive. The pairing makes a nakshatra that acts first and explains later.

Brihat Samhita, in its chapter on birth under the stars, gives the Ashwini native a love of ornament, a pleasing appearance, cleverness and the goodwill of others. The later works keep the same picture: someone liked, quick-witted and at ease in company.

Ashwini as your janma nakshatra

When the Moon stood in Ashwini at your birth, this is your janma nakshatra, the birth star printed on a kundali. The mind it describes is alert and eager. It reaches a conclusion quickly and prefers to act on it the same day.

The strengths are real. There is courage for new ventures, an ease with beginnings and a steady wish to be useful. Many Ashwini natives are drawn to work where speed decides the outcome: first response, sport, transport, trades that repair or restore, or any field where they can set up something new.

The lesson is patience with the middle of things. Ashwini starts well. The long, unexciting stretch before the finish asks more of it. A good year for this star is one where that stretch gets its due.

Because Ketu rules the star, your life opens in a Ketu dasha, the first period of the Vimshottari sequence. How much of its seven years remained at birth depends on how far the Moon had travelled through Ashwini. From there the dashas run in their fixed order: Shukra, Surya, Chandra and onwards.

Care, in this star's language, means rest before the tank is empty. Ashwini spends energy freely, so regular sleep and unhurried meals do more for it than for most.

Ashwini rising

With the lagna in Ashwini, the rising degree sits in the first third of Mesha. The self the world meets is direct, quick to move and easy to read. The body tends to be active. The manner is frank, sometimes to the point of bluntness.

Kuja rules the lagna here and Ketu rules the rising star, so both lords are worth finding in the chart. Where they sit shows where this person's energy goes first. A lagna in Ashwini tends to start things for other people: the one who opens the meeting, lifts the heavy end or makes the first call.

The four padas and their navamshas

• Pada 1, Mesha navamsha. The first pada falls in the Mesha navamsha, the sign doubled on itself: the most headlong of the four, bold and quick to lead.
• Pada 2, Vrishabha navamsha. The second pada falls in Vrishabha, ruled by Shukra, which slows the pace. It adds a taste for comfort, beauty and things that last.
• Pada 3, Mithuna navamsha. The third pada falls in Mithuna, ruled by Budha: a talkative, curious quarter, good with ideas, trade and messages.
• Pada 4, Karkataka navamsha. The fourth pada falls in Karkataka, ruled by Chandra, which brings feeling, loyalty to family and the healer's side of Ashwini to the front.

Names from Ashwini

A child born in Ashwini is traditionally given a name that begins with the syllable of the pada. The four are Chu, Che, Cho and La, in pada order. Families who keep it take the pada from the birth chart, since the syllable changes every 3°20′.

Work and calling

The Ashwini Kumaras are physicians, so the star's oldest link is with healing. Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita places physicians under Ashwini, along with those who keep and train horses. In present terms that points toward medicine, nursing, emergency care and veterinary work. Ketu (the Moon's south node) adds a liking for skilled work done quickly, with little fuss over credit. Kuja (Mars), as lord of Mesha, gives the nerve for roles that ask for a fast decision, such as field engineering or the armed services.

Marriage and partners

The classical picture of the Ashwini native, liked by others and quick of mind, carries into married life as a warm, practical helpfulness. This star shows love by doing: solving the problem, making the journey, arriving first when a partner needs help. A partner with patience for its pace suits it well, as does one who enjoys new plans. What Ashwini needs in return is calm at home, a place where a quick temper can cool.

In matching, the horse yoni of Ashwini scores no yoni points with the buffalo yoni of Hasta or Swati. Bhakoot and graha maitri, together worth twelve points, depend on the two Moon signs, so a Mesha Moon is compared sign to sign as well as star to star. Low points in any one kuta are examined in the whole chart.

• Marriage prediction for Mesha
• How marriage is read from the Moon sign

Health, in general terms

Ashwini lies wholly in Mesha, the sign that Varahamihira's Kalapurusha gives to the head. The area that asks for care is the head, so heat, glare and late nights are worth managing. A star that spends itself quickly is helped most by a fixed bedtime, with steady meals on days of hard work. Short breaks during a long task serve it better than one long rest at the end.

Other names and spellings

In Tamil the star is Aswini, a star of Mesham rasi. Telugu calendars write it Ashwini or Aswini. Other common spellings are Asvini and Aswathi, the Malayalam name. All of these refer to the same first nakshatra, the stretch from 0° to 13°20′ of Mesha.