Moon (Chandra · चन्द्र)

Dignity and Friendships

Nature

Benefic when waxing, malefic when waning — the only graha whose nature changes month to month

Own sign(s)

Cancer

Exalted in

Taurus, deepest at 3°

Debilitated in

Scorpio

Moolatrikona

Taurus 4°–30°

Friends

Sun, Mercury

Enemies

None — the Moon has no natural enemy

Neutral

Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn

This is the natural (naisargika) friendship table, which never changes. Temporary friendship based on the two planets’ positions in a specific chart is calculated separately and can override it.

The Moon in Each of the 12 Rashis

The dignity above is the summary; each rashi changes what the Moon can actually do in it. These twelve pages carry the verdict with its degree, the two-way relationship with the sign lord, the signs the Moon aspects from there, the nine nakshatra padas it crosses, and — computed from the ephemeris — the dates it occupies that sign.

Technical Profile

Aspects (drishti)

The 7th house only

Directional strength

4th house — the Moon is strongest at the nadir, around local midnight

Combustion

Within 12° of the Sun, which is why an Amavasya birth carries a weak Moon

Vimshottari dasha

10 years

Nakshatras ruled

Rohini, Hasta, Shravana

Body

Blood, lymph, lungs, chest, stomach lining and all bodily fluids

Karaka for

Mother, the mind (manas), water, milk, the public, comfort, the home

Weekday

Monday

When The Moon Is Strong

A strong Moon is the single best indicator of a life that feels good from inside. The mind is settled, sleep is deep, and the native reads a room accurately without effort — which is why a strong Moon appears so often in the charts of counsellors, nurses, negotiators and anyone who works with the public. It gives an easy popularity, a good relationship with the mother, and physical comfort: enough food, enough water, a house that feels like one. Emotional recovery after a setback is fast.

When The Moon Is Weak or Afflicted

A weak or waning Moon is felt long before it is diagnosed. Sleep breaks up, the mind loops, small slights land hard, and the native reads hostility that is not there. Classical texts link an afflicted Moon directly to what we would now call anxiety and depressive patterns, and to chest, lung and fluid-retention complaints. Where the Moon is with Rahu or Ketu (Grahan dosha) or with Saturn (Punarphoo), the mind carries a specific heaviness that shows up in the chart long before it shows up in life. The mother's health or availability is often part of the picture.

The 10-Year Chandra Mahadasha

The ten-year Chandra mahadasha is a period of feeling rather than doing — relationships, home, the mother, and the inner weather dominate. Waxing and well-placed, it is one of the most comfortable stretches in the whole cycle: property, family, ease and public goodwill. Waning or afflicted, it is ten years of emotional instability with no obvious external cause, and it is the period during which mental health support matters most.

Best and Worst Houses for the Moon

House placement is only half of it — the sign, the house lord’s condition and the aspects on the Moon decide the outcome. The dignity shown above is under Kaal Purush, the natural zodiac laid on the bhavas; in a real chart the sign depends on the ascendant, which each of those pages works out for all twelve. See the 12 houses for what each one governs.

Remedies for the Moon

• Fast on Mondays and keep the diet white and simple — rice, milk, curd. The Monday fast is aimed at Shiva and reaches the Moon through him.
• Recite Om Chandraya Namah or the Annapurna Stotram; the classical japa count for the Moon is 11,000.
• Offer water or milk at a Shiva lingam, and donate rice, milk, white cloth or silver on a Monday.
• Serve your mother and the older women in the family, and keep water clean and stored at home — the Moon is water, and a household with stagnant or scarce water is held to reflect it.

Mantra

Om Chandraya Namah

Deity

Parvati, and Shiva through the Monday fast

Gemstone

Pearl (Moti)

The gemstone is the last remedy to reach for, not the first — it strengthens the Moon unconditionally, which is the wrong outcome if the Moon rules a difficult house from your ascendant. Confirm against the chart. See gemstones by rashi.

Frequently Asked Questions