The Moon's 27 mansions
Nakshatras
The zodiac divided into 27 spans of 13°20' each, one for every day of the Moon's circuit.
Mrigashira
53°20'00" – 66°40'00" · lord Mars
- Symbol
- Deer head
- Deity
- Soma
- Lord
- Mars
- Gana
- Deva (divine — gentle, cooperative)
- Yoni
- Serpent
- Nadi
- Madhya (pitta)
- Varna
- Shudra
- Element
- Earth
Mrigashira is the searching nakshatra — a deer's head, always scenting the air for something better just out of reach. Mars rules it and Soma is its deity, which is a restless combination: energy pointed at a target that keeps moving. People born here are curious, gentle in manner, and rarely satisfied for long. Travel and constant enquiry are the natural expression.
Strengths
Curiosity, gentleness, research instinct, and an eye for quality.
Needs watching
Restlessness and never settling. The search can become a way of avoiding arrival.
Suited work: Research and academia, travel and exploration, writing, textiles, perfumery, real-estate hunting.
Gana, yoni and nadi are the three attributes used in marriage matching; the varna and tattva describe temperament and element. The reading below describes the nakshatra itself, not the whole chart — the Moon's nakshatra is the strongest single indicator of temperament, but it is one factor among many.