Rahu Transit in Ashlesha

The Nagas rule Ashlesha, and its symbol is a coiled serpent. Mercury is the nakshatra lord and the sign is Cancer, the Moon's. Rahu is the serpent of the sky, so its passage through the serpent star is a meeting of like with like. In the usual lists Mercury is Rahu's friend and the Moon is neutral, so the star welcomes Rahu and the sign gives it neutral ground.

Rahu enters at the fourth pada and moves backward to the first over around seven months, and a direct spell of the true node can split the stay into two visits. Hidden knowledge, poison and its antidote, hypnotic influence, cunning and the clinging of a serpent's coil are Ashlesha's themes.

Rahu amplifies the hidden. Secrets surface, manipulation is exposed, and someone who lives by cleverness may meet someone cleverer. Uttara Kalamrita names snakes and poison among Rahu's karakatvas, and both should be read literally here. Ketu stands in Dhanishta during the first half of the stay and in Shravana during the second, withdrawing from wealth and from being heard.

• Taurus, Aquarius and Virgo Moons and lagnas hold Rahu in the third, sixth and eleventh, the houses Phaladeepika names favourable.
• Cancer Moons carry Rahu in the first and should watch the mind, the chest and their company.
• Capricorn Moons have Ketu in the first and Rahu in the seventh.
• Leo and Sagittarius Moons take the twelfth and the eighth.

The transit shows the coil a person keeps around others and around themselves. The grip is a habit of the mind, and Rahu makes it visible so it can be loosened.

Worship Durga, and offer milk to a Naga image or at a snake shrine. Recite Om Ram Rahave Namah. Parashara's graha shanti asks for mantra and dana, and the traditional gifts for Rahu are dark cloth, sesame and oil on Saturday. Take no intoxicants, and keep no secret from the doctor.