Rahu Transit in Punarvasu

Aditi, the mother of the gods, presides over Punarvasu, and Jupiter rules it. Its symbol is a bow and quiver, the arrow returned to its place. Three padas lie in Gemini and the fourth in Cancer. Jupiter is neutral toward Rahu in the usual lists, and Rahu in a Jupiter star is quieter than in most.

Rahu enters at the fourth pada, in Cancer, and moves backward into Gemini, leaving from the first pada after around seven months. When the true node runs direct for some weeks, the stay shows as two visits in the table. Punarvasu's themes are return, renewal, second chances, safety after travel, and the restoring of what was lost.

Rahu amplifies the wish to return. Old plans revive, old partners write, and a person may move back to a place once left. Foreign returns are common. Ketu stands in Uttara Ashadha for the first half of the stay and in Purva Ashadha for the second.

From the Moon, the Cancer pada favours Taurus, Aquarius and Virgo, who hold Rahu in the third, sixth and eleventh named by Phaladeepika. For the Gemini padas the favoured signs are Aries, Capricorn and Leo. Cancer and Gemini Moons carry Rahu in the first and should watch the chest, the lungs and the sleep. Capricorn and Sagittarius Moons meet Ketu in the first; the lagna follows the same count.

The pull of the familiar is the tendency shown here. Rahu wants to go back and find the old place unchanged. It never is, and the seeing of that is the fruit of the transit.

Worship Durga, and honour Aditi with a lamp for one's mother. Recite Om Ram Rahave Namah, and sit with a teacher on Thursday. Parashara prescribes mantra and dana for Rahu; the customary gifts are dark cloth, sesame and oil on Saturday, and no intoxicants.