Mercury Transit in Bharani

Bharani follows Ashwini in Aries. Yama is its deity, the yoni its symbol and Venus its lord. Venus is Mercury's friend, and the friendship shows in the words, which gain warmth, art and a sense of value. Mercury counts Mars, the lord of Aries, neutral, so the sign neither adds nor takes away.

The stay runs about a week. Yama rules restraint, the law of consequence and the passage between lives. Mercury here takes up the papers that settle things: wills, contracts, accounts closed, debts named and debts paid. Writing turns to what is owed and to whom.

Muhurta Chintamani places Bharani among the ugra nakshatras, fierce and severe. Such days serve hard decisions, the ending of an agreement and firm speech, and they do not serve the start of a study, a first meeting or a soft negotiation. Trade and travel carry on, with a sense that something is being weighed.

• Pisces, Capricorn, Scorpio, Virgo, Cancer and Gemini Moons and lagnas hold Mercury in the favourable even houses of Phaladeepika's count.
• Aries, Aquarius, Sagittarius, Libra, Leo and Taurus Moons have it in the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth and twelfth, and should speak with care.
• Venus's own transit at the same time colours the reading, since Venus lords the nakshatra.

The transit shows how reasoning behaves under the pressure of consequence. Bharani asks the mind to accept a limit, and Mercury reports whether the mind agrees. A reckoning that has been avoided tends to be spoken aloud this week, often by a friend.

For remedy, worship Vishnu and give green cloth or moong on Wednesday, Parashara's dana for the graha, and keep the mind steady with japa of Om Budhaya Namah. Pray to Yama, offer water to the departed, and use honest words in a hard conversation.