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: speech gains warmth, art and a sense of value. Mars, the lord of Aries, is neutral toward Mercury, 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, so Mercury here takes up papers that settle things. Wills, contracts, accounts closed, debts named and debts paid all come forward. 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. They do not serve the start of a study, a first meeting or a soft negotiation. Mercury's trade and travel proceed, with the 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 a person's reasoning behaves under the pressure of consequence. Bharani asks the mind to accept a limit, and Mercury reports whether the mind agrees. A person who has done the accounting finds the week quiet. A person who has been avoiding a reckoning hears it spoken aloud, often by a friend.

For remedy, worship Vishnu and give green cloth or moong on Wednesday, Parashara's dana for the graha. Japa of Om Budhaya Namah keeps the mind steady. A prayer to Yama, water offered to the departed, and honest words in a hard conversation are the practice of the week.