Rahu Transit in Ashwini

Ashwini lies at the head of Aries. Ketu rules it, the Ashwini Kumaras are its deities, and a horse's head is its symbol, so here Rahu meets its own counterpart as the nakshatra lord. The two nodes are one body cut in two, and the usual lists give no rule for how one regards the other. Mars owns the sign and is Rahu's enemy in those lists. The ground is hot and the pace fast.

Rahu moves backward, entering Ashwini at the fourth pada and leaving from the first. A stay lasts around seven months, and a few weeks of direct motion by the true node can split it in two. Ashwini rules healing, speed, horses, transport and beginnings, and Rahu amplifies all of it into quick cures, fast vehicles, sudden ventures and impatience.

Ketu stands in Swati at the same time and slides back into Chitra for the second half of the stay, so the axis runs between the head and the partner, between the urge to start and the need to be met halfway.

Aquarius, Scorpio and Gemini Moons receive Rahu in the third, sixth and eleventh, the houses Phaladeepika calls favourable. Aries Moons carry Rahu in the first and feel restless, driven and prone to injuries of the head. Libra Moons have Ketu in the first and Rahu in the seventh, and partnership becomes the whole question. Taurus Moons meet Rahu in the twelfth and Virgo Moons in the eighth, and the lagna is counted the same way.

Haste is the tendency this transit brings into view. Seeing the pattern makes it possible to slow down by choice.

The remedy is Durga, the Ashwini Kumaras as healers, and Om Ram Rahave Namah. Parashara's dana for Rahu is dark cloth, sesame and oil on Saturday. Drive slowly, avoid intoxicants, and let a new venture wait a week before money moves.