Rahu Transit in Purva Bhadrapada

Purva Bhadrapada belongs to Jupiter. Its deity is Aja Ekapada, the one-footed goat, counted among the Rudras in some lists, and its symbols are the front legs of a funeral cot and a sword. Three padas lie in Aquarius and the fourth in Pisces. Jupiter is neutral toward Rahu in the usual lists, and Saturn, owner of the Aquarius padas, is its friend.

Rahu enters at the fourth pada, in Pisces, and moves backward into Aquarius, leaving from the first pada after about eight months, with a split into two visits whenever the true node runs direct for a few weeks. Austerity, fierce conviction, the fire of tapas, funeral rites and the sword that cuts both ways are the themes.

Rahu inflates conviction into fanaticism. Causes gather zealots and spiritual practice turns severe, and a person may burn for an idea that is half understood. Ketu stands in Uttara Phalguni during the Pisces pada and the third pada of Aquarius. For the first two padas it sits in Purva Phalguni, withdrawing from contracts and then from pleasure.

From the Moon, the Pisces pada favours Capricorn, Libra and Taurus, who hold Rahu in the third, sixth and eleventh named by Phaladeepika. For the Aquarius padas the favoured signs are Sagittarius, Virgo and Aries. Pisces and Aquarius Moons carry Rahu in the first. Virgo and Leo Moons meet Ketu in the first and Rahu in the seventh.

The transit shows the heat of a person's belief, and whether it is turned on oneself as tapas.

The remedy is Durga and Om Ram Rahave Namah, with a teacher consulted on Thursday before any severe vow is taken. Parashara prescribes mantra and dana for Rahu, and the traditional gifts are dark cloth, sesame and oil on Saturday. Take no intoxicants, and fast no further than the body allows.