Rahu Transit in Uttara Bhadrapada

Uttara Bhadrapada is Saturn's nakshatra in Pisces, Jupiter's sign. Ahirbudhnya, the serpent of the deep, is its deity, and its symbols are the back legs of a funeral cot and twins. In the usual lists Saturn is Rahu's friend and Jupiter is neutral, and since the deity is a serpent like Rahu itself, this is one of Rahu's quieter stars.

The stay is about eight months, backward from the fourth pada to the first, splitting into two visits when the true node runs direct for some weeks. Depth, patience, wisdom that comes late, the discipline of withdrawal and the waters beneath the waters are the themes.

Rahu here goes deep and stays. Long research, long retreats and long illnesses are the pattern. A sadhana begun under this transit tends to hold. Ketu stands in Hasta at the same time and moves back into Uttara Phalguni for the second half of the stay, and the feet, the lymph and sleep need care.

Capricorn, Libra and Taurus Moons and lagnas receive Rahu in the third, sixth and eleventh, the houses Phaladeepika allows to Saturn and to Rahu. Pisces Moons carry Rahu in the first and feel a pull toward solitude, foreign shores and the inner life. Virgo Moons have Ketu in the first and Rahu in the seventh. Aries and Leo Moons hold Rahu in the twelfth and eighth.

The transit measures how far a person is willing to go down. Ahirbudhnya lives at the bottom, and Rahu in this star takes the mind there to see what holds the surface up.

Worship Durga, and light a sesame oil lamp on Saturday for Saturn, whose star this is. Recite Om Ram Rahave Namah, keep a fixed hour for practice, and take no intoxicants. Parashara's graha shanti calls for mantra and dana, and for Rahu the dana is dark cloth, sesame and oil on Saturday.