Rahu Transit in Rohini

Rohini is the Moon's own nakshatra, in Taurus, the Moon's sign of exaltation. Brahma, or Prajapati, is its deity, and a cart or a chariot its symbol. The Moon is neutral toward Rahu in the usual lists, and Rahu is still its eclipser, so Rahu in Rohini is a shadow laid over the most fertile star of the zodiac.

Growth, fertility, cattle, beauty, agriculture, luxury and the pleasures of the senses are Rohini's themes, and Rahu inflates each one. Over about seven months, moving backward from the fourth pada, the stay brings excess where there was plenty. Appetites grow. A person may chase comfort with unusual force, and a direct spell of the true node can divide the stay into two visits.

Ketu stands in Jyeshtha at the same time, moving back into Anuradha as Rahu reaches the first two padas of Rohini. The axis sets Rahu's hunger for comfort against Ketu's indifference to power and inheritance.

Pisces, Sagittarius and Cancer Moons receive Rahu in the third, sixth and eleventh, the favourable places for a graha that acts like Saturn. Taurus Moons carry Rahu in the first and should watch the throat, the face and their spending. Scorpio Moons have Ketu in the first and Rahu in the seventh. Gemini Moons hold Rahu in the twelfth, Libra Moons in the eighth, and the same count applies from the lagna.

The transit shows how much of a person's peace rests on comfort, and how much the wanting for more disturbs it. Uttara Kalamrita lists poison and gambling among Rahu's karakatvas, and both can enter through the door of pleasure here.

The remedy is Durga and Om Ram Rahave Namah, with japa of the Moon's mantra on Monday to steady the manas. Parashara's graha shanti asks for mantra and dana, and the traditional gifts for Rahu are dark cloth and sesame oil on Saturday. Eat simply, and avoid intoxicants.