Chandra appears in 2 systems: the same name is used for more than one thing. Both are shown below.
Jyotisha
Chandra
Chandra is the Moon, the graha of the mind (manas), the mother, the emotions and the public. Because the mind is what Jyotish reads most closely, the Moon's sign, nakshatra and phase are read beside the lagna, and a whole chart can be taken from the Moon (Chandra lagna).
Exalted at 3 degrees of Taurus, debilitated at 3 degrees of Scorpio; moolatrikona from the 4th degree to the end of Taurus, the first three degrees being the exaltation portion (BPHS ch. 3) - the Moon is the one graha whose moolatrikona lies in its exaltation sign rather than in an own sign, Cancer being its own sign. It has no natural enemies: the Sun and Mercury are its friends and every other graha is neutral (BPHS, with Saravali agreeing). Paksha bala, the strength of the phase, matters more for the Moon than for any other graha, and BPHS gives it a combustion orb of 12 degrees. In the Western files the Moon is a luminary of equal rank with the Sun; here it is the faster of the two and the graha of the mind.
Correspondences
- Planet
- Moon
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- SomaInduShashinNishakaraRajanishakaraMoon
Nature and meaning
- Kind
- Graha
- Sanskrit
- चन्द्र
- English
- Moon
- Nature
- ClassSaumya and kruraQualityBeneficCondition
Benefic when waxing (shukla paksha) or well-aspected and bright; malefic when waning (krishna paksha), dark, or afflicted by the nodes or Saturn.
ReadingThe Moon is the graha whose class is decided by its phase. A waxing Moon is saumya and gives the benefic reading; the waning Moon is krura, and the classical texts call the dark Moon a malefic without qualification. This is the single most important qualification in the whole benefic/malefic classification.
- Meaning
Chandra is the Moon, the graha of the mind (manas), the mother, the emotions and the public. Because the mind is what Jyotish reads most closely, the Moon's sign, nakshatra and phase are read beside the lagna, and a whole chart can be taken from the Moon (Chandra lagna). It rules Cancer and is the karaka of the 4th house.
Details
Deities
Correspondences
Offerings
- Offerings
- MilkRiceGheeHoneyWhite flowersCurd
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- SomaThe Moon God
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The MoonLord of the PlantsKeeper of the Night
- Symbols
- CrescentHareLotusSoma cup
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneCool growingAddressChandraThe MoonLord of the PlantsRelationshipThe moon that feeds the plants and the mindWarningHe waxes and wanes and is watched for itResonanceThose working by the moon those who tend plants
- Modern Practice
Chandra is honoured at the full moon and in the planting of anything green. His practice is the lunar month kept, and the offering is white and cool.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- The moonThe nightPlantsSomaThe mindTidesTime
- Mythology Summary
Chandra is the Vedic moon, the cup of soma and the lord of plants, whose waxing and waning is a story of the gods drinking him down and the sun restoring him. He rules the mind and the night and the growing of everything green.
- Related Deities
- SuryaSeleneManiShivaBrihaspati
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsBlueSilverWhiteScentsSandalwoodGuggulCamphorMetalsSilverAnimalsHareHorseAntelope
One of 3,120 entries in the Grimoire — the whole library, every cross-reference, is free to take. Take the whole thing Is it wrong somewhere?
Referenced by 9
Every entry that names Chandra, grouped by the system it comes from.
☥ Deities 7
☉ Planets 1
- Moon Deities Associated
☊ Jyotisha 1
- Chandra Dasha Graha
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