The Moon (Chandra)

The Quiet Mind: Chandra in signs, houses and conjunctions

About the book. "The Moon (Chandra)" — The Quiet Mind: Chandra in signs, houses and conjunctions. A book for astrologers on Vedic astrology (jyotish). Author — Andrey Drobotin, teacher at Atma School. Read online and download the PDF — for a donation from $5.

A book for astrologers

Andrey Drobotin

Introduction

This book is about the Moon. In Sanskrit it is called Chandra. When I start the Moon topic on the course, I know in advance that everyone will love it. Because the Moon is the mind, and everyone has a mind and lives with it somehow: sometimes as friends, sometimes at war.

Why do you need this book? Almost any question a person brings to an astrologer starts with the Moon. No money, health problems, fears, panic attacks, falling under someone else's influence or getting tangled in some philosophy — the first place I look is the Moon. First my own, then the client's. Once the mind has been worked with, everything else falls into place. The Moon stands at the start of the chain: you thought, you desired — and you went to act.

The book is written for astrologers, but someone just getting to know jyotish will also find a lot about themselves here.

What you will get in practice:

• learn to assess the Moon with a twelve-point plan and separately by phase, waxing or waning;
• understand how the Moon's strength differs from its beneficence, and stop being scared by the wording in books;
• see the Moon in the three gunas — what the mind is like in goodness, in passion and in ignorance;
• learn to read the chart from the Moon: what a person really wants and where they fulfil it;
• work through the Moon in the twelve signs and get a simple scheme for bringing the mind out of a crisis through the opposite sign and the trines;
• find out how the Moon behaves next to other grahas.

And most importantly: the Moon doesn't need "fixing". The channel of perception you were given cannot be remade. You can understand it, learn to use it and raise it into the guna of goodness. That is what the whole book is about.

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Chapter 7. The Moon's meetings

The Moon's conjunctions are covered in detail in the book "Meetings of the Planets". Here I'll give the essentials — what to keep in mind when you look at the Moon.

A mirror that takes the shape of its neighbour

The Moon shines with reflected light. So when it joins another planet, it plunges completely into its affairs. The mind becomes focused on whatever the neighbour is responsible for. Next to Venus it thinks about pleasures, next to Saturn about limits, next to Rahu about what is still missing.

At a consultation a person with the Moon in conjunction is often sincerely sure: "That's how the world is." But that's how their channel of perception is. When you show them this, they'll have a choice.

We spoke about the Moon with the Sun, amavasya, in chapter two: it's one of the Moon's weakest positions, but for intuitive work, psychology and helping people under stress a worked-through amavasya can be good.

With Mars: Chandra Mangala yoga

If the Moon and Mars are closer than twelve degrees, it's a strong conjunction. Five to ten degrees is the most powerful, Chandra Mangala yoga. The classics promise leadership, a managerial post. But the yoga gives its blessings only if the Moon and Mars rule favourable houses. For Cancers, where the Moon is the lagna lord and Mars is the yogakaraka, it gives everything promised.

If the Moon goes first (its degree is lower), it softens Mars: there are passions, but not destructive ones; energy goes to peaceful aims. Such people are sociable, expressive, attractive.

With Mercury: a feeling that can speak

Without malefics: polite people who can speak well and correctly and build relationships warmly. Writers, actors, teachers, mathematicians, chess players. In kendras the conjunction gives fame and learning. In dusthanas and under malefics thinking can suffer: irrationality, difficulties with speech. If the Moon goes first, the person is especially vulnerable and communicates on the level of feelings; in water signs the emotions are even stronger.

With Jupiter: the one who never loses heart

The person sees good in everything, supports others, is wise, gives good advice, listens to teachers. The mother is kind and spiritual. In the fourth house, especially in Cancer: luxury, houses, comfort. In dusthanas and in Capricorn, where Jupiter is debilitated, the good effects weaken.

With Venus: a mind that needs love

Charm, tact, creativity, music. Such people need to feel love constantly. If they don't get it, they look for it elsewhere. It's especially important for them to understand: love isn't only flowers and romance; it's also work. Look at the dispositor: if it's strong, the person will invest in the relationship.

With Saturn: a channel you cannot remake

The Moon's hardest conjunction: as if the person were in permanent sade sati. You want something — and there's a limit at once. The limit moves back after the age of thirty and thanks to spiritual practice.

Here is the principle for this whole book: the Moon is not strengthened. It's a channel of perception. Strengthen it and you'll feel the world even more sharply through the same channel. Harmonizing means working with other elements of the chart. For the Moon with Saturn, that's Venus (learning to open up, to ask for help) and Mercury (putting your fears and limits into words, turning them into concrete actions).

With Rahu: a mind that never has enough

Non-standard behaviour patterns, an extreme mind, dreaminess, eternal dissatisfaction alternating with emptiness. The mother is bright and extraordinary, or there are difficulties with her health. The relative signified by the house of the conjunction becomes materialistic. Harmonization: spiritual growth, carefully watching what gets into the mind — no horror films or alarming news. And asking loved ones more often: "Are you comfortable with me?"

With Ketu: a headless chicken

The mind sees no way out and runs in circles, constant inner analysis: "Am I going the right way?" The mother may not have had enough attention for the child. In the fifth, eighth or twelfth with a good Moon: a deep researcher, a spiritual person. Harmonization: seeking inner peace, moving away from the illusory, respect for the mother and care for people around.