Sun Transit in Aries

Aries belongs to Mars, and the Sun counts Mars a friend. Surya reaches exaltation here, deepest at ten degrees, and Parashara gives the Sun no stronger seat in the zodiac. The stay runs about a month.

Aries governs the head, the sense of self, and the first push of action. A Sun at full strength lifts confidence, authority and bodily heat, so work begun in this month carries the person's own stamp. Pride rises with the strength and needs watching.

Mesha Sankranti opens the solar year, and Nepal counts its new year from this ingress.

The nakshatras are Ashwini, Bharani and Krittika. Ashwini, under Ketu, favours quick starts and healing. Bharani, under Venus, brings the harder work of holding what was begun. Krittika belongs to the Sun itself, so the last days of the stay burn hottest.

Phaladeepika places the Sun well in the third, sixth, tenth and eleventh from the Moon. Aquarius, Scorpio, Cancer and Gemini Moons receive it in those houses. Libra Moons carry it in the seventh, where partnership takes the strain.

An exalted Sun shows a person their own authority, and where one has waited for permission, this month asks for the first move. Where strength has been confused with dominance, the same month makes the habit plain. Keep the temper cool and the work steady.

• Offer arghya, water from cupped hands, facing the rising Sun.
• Recite Om Hram Hreem Hraum Sah Suryaya Namah before the day's work.
• Honour the father, or the elder who stood in that place.