The Moon as a Goddess in Vedic Astrology

The Moon cycle is divided into three parts and the Tri-Devi are seen according to the Moon phase. From Shukla Pratipad to Sukla Dashami the Moon is ruled by Durga. Dashami to Krishna Panchami is ruled by Laksmi, and Panchami to Amavasya is ruled by Kali. In determining the Devi (goddess) according to ones natal Moon only two forms of the Goddess are used (Durga and Kali). Laksmi is taken as the planet Venus. The Moon can be either Kali or Durga in a specific chart depending on multiple factors. All these factors have to be taken into account with the proper understanding of the factors influencing the Moon.

I. Prasna Marga
Prasna Marga says that if the Moon is strong it is Durga and when weak the Moon is Bhadrakali, if it is weak and in a Mars sign then the Moon is Chamunda with dark attributes.

Mythology:
Durga is a benefic form of the goddess with multiple hands riding on a tiger. She has always been and is all that is. Her physical manifestation took form when there was a demon that was so powerful that all the gods could not defeat it. All the gods put there Shakti together and gave manifestation to Durga. Shakti is a concept that cannot be translated into one word. Sanskrit is a conceptual language (not like English). One level of Shakti means the female counterpart of a god, for example, the counterpart/shakti of Visnu (god of sustenance) is Laksmi who is the goddess of wealth/money. Sustenance works through wealth. Shakti also means the power/energy, and wealth is the power of sustenance. So the Shakti of a god is their power/energy which is represented by their female counterpart. The weapon a deity holds is symbolic of the shakti/powers that the deity has; what it can do. So when all the gods put their Shakti together, it means that all goddesses merged into one, or the power of all the gods merged into one. She has many arms and holds the weapons of all the gods, showing she has the power/shakti of all the gods. She is all gods and goddesses in one form, called Jagadambe (jagad-universe, ambe-mother = Mother of the Universe). Did She come from the gods or did they come from Her? It is an interdependent universe and She is the Universal Mother. Kali came about when Durga became angry. Durgas face turned black and the darkness condensed in her third eye out of which jumped Kali. So Kali is a fierce, angry form of Durga. Bhadra means auspicious, and Bhadrakali is an auspicious form of Kali. Kali went to battle with the demons Chanda and Munda. They represent the minds state of revolving between too little and too much, constantly discontent. Kali had to become ferocious to kill these demons. When She bit their heads off, Durga said that since she had killed Chanda and Munda She would then be called Chamunda. So Chamunda is the cruel form and Kali who is a fierce form herself. She is often depicted with her ribs showing, looking very intense. More stories and information about Durga, Kali and Chamunda can be found in the Devi Mahatmya, which is available in numerous translations.

II. Rasi
Form of the Mother when the Moon is placed in:

Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces

-Chamunda- Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundaye Vicche - Durga (Rahu Mulatrikona) - Durga (Rahu exaltation) - Kali (natural house of Kali) - Kali - Durga - Kali - Kali (Ketu own sign) - Kali (Ketu exaltation) - Kali - Durga and Her alone (Rahus own sign)- darkest sign of the zodiac (where the ghosts are) - Kali (Mulatrikona of Ketu)

III. The Mothers Mood 1) Moon going towards Ketu (Kali) or Moon going towards Rahu (Durga) Sukla Paksha- Durga Krishna Paksha- Kali Debilitated Moon- Kali Exalted Moon- Durga Conjunct day strong planets- Durga Conjunct night strong planets- Kali (except Mercury-strong day and night- Lalita=Lalita Sahasranam)

2)

3)

4)

IV. Yogas There are certain yogas that indicate specific goddesses. Mars with the Moon shows Chamunda, Moon with Saturn is Kali, Moon with Rahu is Durga, Moon with Mercury is Tripura/Lalita. Mars and Rahu together is called Vijaya yoga and with Moon is Vijaya Durga. This is the form of Durga worshiped on the tenth day of Navratri. It is the celebration of the goddess conquering the demon for which she was born to destroy. New Moon is associated with Kali, Full Moon is associated with Tripura Sundari/ Sodasi (as well as Laksmi).

Analysis Factors I to IV need to be analyzed, and the strongest indications taken. To pick the Devi rupa (form) for the Moon is very important, especially when the Moon is afflicted and needs to be made stronger or propitiated. All the Planets as the Goddess From the Arudha Lagna, all planets can be seen as different forms of the Goddess. The Arudha Lagna is Maya, which is Shakti. From Arudha there is only Kali or Durga (no bhu shakti-laxmi). The two fold division is ruled by the Moon; Durga- Sukla Paksha, Kali- Krishna Paksha, (Three fold division is ruled by Jupiter). Shiva is worshipped from the Lagna (Sun karaka), Visnu is worshipped from the Paka Lagna (Jupiter karaka), and Shakti is worshipped from Arudha Lagna (Moon karaka). To use this system properly it is imperative that one understands the houses from the Arudha Lagna (Maya). When this is fully understood then the planet can be either Nila Shakti (Kali) or Sri Shakti (Durga). Planets according to Sri Shakti: Navadurgas Sun Moon Mars Mercury Jupiter Friday Saturn Rahu Ketu -Shailputri (daughter of the Mountains) - Mahagauri (The Great White Mountains) - Skandamata (Mother of Lord Skanda) - Kaatyayani - Brahmacharini - Kushmandi - Kalaratri - Chandraghanta (bell of the Moon) - Siddhidatri (giver of siddhis)

Planets according to Nila Shakti: Mahavidyas Sun Moon Mars Mercury Jupiter ` Venus Saturn Rahu Ketu - Matangi - Bhuvaneshvari - Bhagalamukhi - Tripura Sundari - Tara - Kamala `- Kali - Chinnamasta - Dhoomavati

Lagna- Bhairavi Remember, if you use the wrong goddess, it is dangerous. In western culture, everything dangerous has been thrown out, so the westerner generally doubts that the goddess can be harmful, but remember she is Shakti, Prakriti, she is Nature. If you play with Nature, it plays with you. Play with it right and you will be well, play wrong and know that water drowns and fire burns, Jai Mata. Vimshottari dasa is connected to the Arudha Lagna (the Moon and perception). The Mahadasa is ruled by the Sun, and the Moon rules the antardasa. The antardasa is very important to interpret from the Arudha Lagna, and it is the crucial place to apply Shaktis. Determine where and how the Antardasanath is placed from the Arudha Lagna. This is used to indicate which goddess to use for which antar dasa (time period of the life). Conclusion: The Goddess is very important in ones life. She is that which gives us direction (gati) in life. From the Moon, the Goddess guides the mind in the right direction. From the planets, the Goddess is uplifting (Durga) or purifying (Kali) the planets and their effects. One should be competent in reading a chart and understand the deities and what they will do before recommending these goddesses as remedies. The worship of the Goddess is very powerful and gives results quickly, relative to the indications of the chart. This knowledge comes from the astrological traditions in the state of Orissa. In East India (Orissa, Bengal, Assam), there are many ancient traditions of goddess worship still fully alive. Aum Guruve Namah

SIGNIFICANCE OF NAVADURGA (Ref : Information Collected from Various Sources)

Goddess Durga is worshipped in different forms . She is a form of Shakti" .The evolution of Shri MahaSaraswati, Shri Mahalaxshmi & Shri Mahakali (the main 3 forms of Shakti) took place from Shri Brahma, Shri Vishnu & Shri Mahesh respectively. Each of these 3 deities gave rise to 2 more forms. So, in all, these 9 forms together are known as Navadurga ". Long back there lived a daemon king named Mahishasur (also called as Daemon with a face of buffalo) who was very strong. He harassed God Indra, fought with him and captured his throne. He was very proud of his strength. Indra went to the almighty gods - Brahma, Vishnu, & Mahesh, for help. These gods decided to teach a lesson to Mahishasur. They unitedly created a goddess "Shakti" and offered her their weapons to fight Mahishasur, who had become untolerable. Goddess Shakti fought with Mahishasur for full 9 days and ultimately killed him with her spear. Hence Durga is also known as Mahishasur-Mardini ". The 9 days for which the goddess fought & killed the evil daemon Mahishasur are celebrated as a major festival called Navaratra". This festival is celebrated in a big way all over India in the month of Aashwin" (as per Hindu Calendar) for the first 9 days.

9 Names of Navadurga: Shailputri Brahmaputri Chandraghanta Kushmanda Skandamaata Kaatyayani Kaalratri Mahagauri Siddhidatri

The Navaratri festival is celebrated by establishing Kumbh (Ghata), devotion, recitation, homage, fast & Vratas. "Nav" means new and nine. There fore it is very proper to celebrate the festival of Nav Durga in the beginning of New Year. In both the Navratris in a year, the devotees worship "Parashakti" with face dedication. Following are the nine forms in detail:

(1) Durga Shailputri (Daughter of Mountain) She is a daughter of Himalaya and first among nine Durgas. In previous birth she was the daughter of Daksha. Her name was Sati - Bhavani. I.e. the wife of Lord Shiva. Once Daksha had organized a big Yagna and did not invite Shiva. But Sati being obstinate, reached there. Thereupon Daksha insulted Shiva. Sati could not tolerate the insult of husband and burnt herself in the fire of Yagna. In other birth she became the daughter of Himalaya in the name of Parvati - Hemvati and got married with Shiva. As per Upanishad she had torn and the egotism of Indra, etc. Devtas. Being ashamed they bowed and prayed that, "In fact, thou are Shakti, we all - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are capable by getting Shakti from you."

(2) Brahmacharini The second Durga Shakti is Brahmacharini. Brahma that is who observes penance (tapa) and good conduct. Here "Brahma" means "Tapa". The idol of this Goddess is very gorgeous. There is rosary in her right hand and Kamandal in left hand. She is full with merriment. One story is famous about her. In previous birth she was Parvati Hemavati the daughter of Himvan. Once when she was busy in games with her friends. Naradaji came to her and predicted seeing her Palm-lines that, "You will get married with a naked-terrible 'Bhole baba' who was with you in the form of Sati, the daughter of Daksh in previous birth. But now you have to perform penance for him." There upon Parvati told her mother Menaka that she would marry none except Shambhu, otherwise she would remain unmarried. Saying this she went to observe penance. That is why her name is famous as tapacharini - Brahmacharini. From that time her name Uma became familiar.

(3) Chandraghanta The name of third Shakti is Chandraghanta. There is a half-circular moon in her forehead. She is charmful and bright. She is Golden colour. She has three eyes and ten hands holding with ten types of swords - etc. weapons and arrows etc. missiles. She is seated on Lion and ready for going in war to fight. She is unprecedented image of bravery. The frightful sound of her bell terrifies all the villains, demons and danavas.

(4) Kushmanda Name of fourth Durga is Kushmanda. The Shakti creates egg. I.e. Universe by mere laughing .She resides in solar systems. She shines brightly in all the ten directions like Sun. She has eight hands. Seven types of weapons are shining in her seven hands. Rosary is in her right hand. She seems brilliant riding on Lion. She likes the offerings of "Kumhde." Therefore her name "Kushmanda" has become famous.

(5) Skanda Mata Fifth name of Durga is "Skanda Mata". The daughter of Himalaya, after observing penance got married with Shiva. She had a son named "Skanda." Skanda is a leader of the army of Gods. Skanda Mata is a deity of fire. Skanda is seated in her lap. She has three eyes and four hands. She is white and seated on a lotus.

(6) Katyayani Sixth Durga is Kaatyayani. The son of "Kat" as "Katya". Rishi Katyayan born in this "Katya" lineage. Katyayan had observed penance with a desire to get paramba as his daughter. As a result she took birth as a daughter of Katyayan. Therefore her name is "Kaatyayani. She has three eyes and eight hands. These are eight types of weapons missiles in her seven hands. Her vehicle is Lion.

(7) Kalratri Seventh Durga is Kalratri. She is black like night. Durga hairs are unlocked. She has put on nickels shining like lightening. She has three eyes which are round like universe. Her eyes are bright. Thousands of flames of fire come out while respiring from nose. She rides on donkey. There is sharp sword in her right hand. Her lower hand is in blessing mood. The burning torch (mashal) is in her left hand and her lower left hand is in fearless style, by which she makes her devotees fearless. Being auspicious she is called "Shubhamkari."

(8) Maha Gauri The Eighth Durga is "Maha Gauri." She is as white as a conch, moon and Jasmine. She is of eight years old. Her clothes and ornaments are white and clean. She has three eyes. She rides on bull She has four hands. The above left hand is in "Fearless - Mudra" and lower left hand holds "Trishul." The above right hand has tambourine and lower right hand is in blessing style. She is calm and peaceful and exists in peaceful style. It is said that when the body of Gauri became dirty due to dust and earth while observing penance, Shiva makes it clean with the waters of Ganges. Then her body became bright like lightening. There fore, she is known as "Maha Gauri.

(9) Siddhidatri Ninth Durga us Siddhidatri. There are eight Siddhis, they are- Anima, Mahima, Garima, Laghima, Prapti, Prakamya, Iishitva & Vashitva. Maha Shakti gives all these Siddhis. It is said in "Devipuran" that the Supreme God Shiva got all these Siddhis by worshipping Maha Shakti. With her gratitude the half body of Shiv has became of Goddess and there fore his name "Ardhanarishvar" has became famous. The Goddess drives on Lion. She has four hands and looks pleased. This form of Durga is worshipped by all Gods, Rishis-Munis, Siddhas, Yogis, Sadhakas and devotees for attaining the best religious asset.

Om Tat Sat