Moon Transit in Pushya

Pushya sits in the middle of Cancer, the Moon's own sign. Saturn is its lord, Brihaspati its deity, and its symbol a cow's udder or a lotus. The Moon regards Saturn as neutral. Saturn, for its part, counts the Moon an enemy, and the pairing gives a day that is nourishing and sober at once.

Muhurta Chintamani places Pushya among the laghu nakshatras, light and quick, and rates it the most reliable of the twenty-seven. Trade, medicine, learning, ornaments, the start of a new post and the first lesson from a teacher all go well. The one exception the text keeps is marriage, which Pushya does not serve. The Moon spends about a day here, steady and full.

Tara bala counted from the birth nakshatra:

• Sampat for Punarvasu, Vishakha and Purva Bhadrapada; kshema for Mrigashira, Chitra and Dhanishta.
• Sadhana for Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha; mitra for Ashwini, Magha and Mula.
• Parama mitra for Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Revati.
• Vipat for Ardra, Swati and Shatabhisha; pratyak for Rohini, Hasta and Shravana.
• Naidhana for Bharani, Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha.

Pushya, Anuradha and Uttara Bhadrapada births have their janma tara. From the Moon sign, Cancer, Taurus, Aquarius, Capricorn, Libra and Virgo Moons hold the day's Moon in a favourable house. Sagittarius Moons have chandrashtama.

The day shows the mind's capacity to be fed and to feed. Brihaspati's nakshatra under Saturn's rule teaches that nourishment is a discipline, given at a fixed hour without fuss. A fitting practice is a meal cooked and served to someone older, milk offered to Shiva, and a quiet reading of a neglected text. The Moon's japa, Om Som Somaya Namah, suits the evening.