“Abounding in Vata and Kapha and filled with knowing is the Moon of round body, O’ Twice Born, auspiciously eyed, of sweet speech, fluctuating and love sick”   - BPHS Chapter 3

Myth:

The Moon named Chandra had 27 wives which were the Nakshatras. The wives were the daughters of Daksha, a very powerful king. Ideally, the Moon, or Chandra, would spend an equal amount of time with each of his wives around the constellations. However, his favorite wife was Rohini and he was spending most of his time with her. The rest of Chandra’s wives complained to their father of their husband’s indifference. Daksha warned Chandra to spend an equal amount of time with each wife but the Moon ignored his father-in-law and continued to spend most of his time with Rohini. Because of this, Daksha cursed the Moon and bid that he waste away from consumption. Daksha’s daughters, hearing that they were about to lose their husband, begged their father to renounce the curse. Daksha went to Vishnu and ask that his curse be revoked. Vishnu told him he could not revoke the curse completely, only 50%. So now the Moon spends an equal amount of time with each wife (Nakshatra). Half of the month he wanes and wastes away to nothing and half of the month he grows brighter and brighter until he is full.

Significations of the Moon:

The Moon rules one’s Mother, the perceptual mind, water, the home, females, early childhood, the past, emotions, nurturing, past experience, the public, the Queen, the stomach, left eye, the breasts, blood, the Northwest direction. The Moon like the Sun is sattvic in nature and of royal status. The Moon is Vaishya (commercial/merchant) caste. The Moon takes the Sun’s light like the Mind takes its power from the Soul to reflect back the material world. The Moon is the jiva, the incarnated being, with a mind to perceive all manifestations of the tattvas (five elements) and the three gunas (states of being). The Moon is tawny complexioned and rules salty tastes.