Mars entered the constellation of Purvashadha nakshatra (13.20 Sagittarius-26.40) on Sunday and stays there until Oct. 28th. Astronomers know this constellation as Epsilon, Delta and Sagittarii which are three stars close to the Milky Way . The Sanskrit name translates into meaning “the former Invincible One” or the “undefeated.” It symbol is a fan which is a mask to hide oneself, or something to cool the fire or to fan the flames.  This Nakshatra is ruled by Venus and as a decorative fan, it shows the glitzy and glamorous side of Venus. It has inspiring energy to keep the fires of enthusiasm burning. It also is good at concealing facts, information, feelings and has a shy and sensitive nature.
The deity of this constellation is Apah, a little known water goddess sometimes associated with the ocean goddess like Aphrodite. She is the mythical mermaid who is sensitive, alluring, mysterious and exciting. She is the feminine counterpart of the Ocean god, Varuna. Her positive side is a procreative fecundity and on the negative side is the poison that she can generate which reminds us of the dangers of gossip. Still she embodies the higher qualities of Venus and real love and compassion.
One personality quality that this constellation has is that it feels it cannot lose or that she is invincible. She embodies the traditional qualities of Sagittarius of wild, ambitious spirit, wanderlust and it can most easily deal with setbacks. Hence if Venus is out of balance in the chart, it can lead to unrealistic ideals and ambitions. Hitler had a moon in this nakshatra and he started a war he thought he could not lose.  Hence the dark side of this constellation is that it may be cruel and ignore others feelings or concerns. It ends up going overboard, once it has jumped into the fray. With the strong Jupiter association, people with moon, sun or ascendent in this constellation are able to hold onto the key to joy and happiness and the joy of living.  They are often born show-offs but that is their nature. They strive to maintain a position at the top of society and maintain a luxurious existence and are a sucker for the the good things in life.
The Sagittarius quality that comes out most strongly is loyalty and giving great support to those they admire and fighting injustice with heroic valour.
Mars finds weakness and strength in this constellation. It can bring out strong passion and sexuality which may hamper spiritual aspirations but on a positive note may be inspired toward deep spiritual progress and action toward benefiting humanity. Individuals born with Mars in this constellation may be good fighters in the military or police force, self-respecting, proud and clean living individuals and the perfect spiritual warriors on the fight for a just cause.
Mars is channeling Venus’s energy in Libra during the first part of this transit through Oct. 13th and it brings in the positive qualities but the 5th house aspect of Rahu is bringing out Mars’s angry passionate nature and that may dominate as Venus moves into Scorpio and takes on a darker quality.
Overall this transit is a good combination of Mars/Venus/and Jupiter and is a welcome change to the transit through Mula which we saw first in late September. I suspect its important to channel the higher qualities of Mars and Venus which might involve creative dance and passion for artistic creation or generating enthusiasm for charitable work. Probably the highest aspect of this transit that we can take on is to live with joy so beautifully embodied in our picture above and that is the best example that this nakshatra wants to teach us.
All gratitude to Prash Trivedi and Komilla Sutton for their insights into this constellation.
