Mula Nakshatra (मूल)

Mula belongs to Nirriti, the goddess of dissolution, who presides over decay and destruction. Its symbol is a bundle of roots tied together. It lies at the centre of the galaxy, and it is the nakshatra of getting to the root of things, which sometimes means tearing them up.

Your janma (birth) nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied when you were born. It is read as the clearest picture of the mind and temperament. When the Moon is in Mula:

A seeker of root truths, you dig beneath the surface to find what is real. Life may uproot you so you can rebuild on firmer ground; research, philosophy and healing suit you.

Mula natives go to the bottom of whatever they take up. They are investigative, philosophical and uncompromising, interested in causes rather than surfaces. Their lives often involve losing something and rebuilding, and they come out stronger.

The nakshatra is one layer of a chart. The sign the Moon is in, the planets aspecting it and the rest of the chart all change how these traits show.

Research and investigation, medicine (especially herbal), philosophy, law, and anything that requires getting to the bottom of a problem.

Sincere and intense. They want truth from a partner and are uncomfortable with pretence.

Each nakshatra is divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Each pada falls in a navamsa sign, which colours the nakshatra with that sign's temperament. This is why two people born in the same nakshatra can read quite differently.

In the naming tradition (namakarana) followed across India and Nepal, a child's name begins with the syllable of the pada the Moon occupied at birth. For Mula the four syllables are:

You need the pada, not just the nakshatra, so the birth time matters. A few panchangs differ by a syllable, so families often follow the one their priest uses. Find the nakshatra and pada for a birth.

The average guna milan score between Mula and each other nakshatra, taken over every Moon position in both and counted either way round. A real match depends on the exact padas and on who is the bride, so use these as a guide and check the exact pair.

The Vimshottari dasha, the most widely used timing system in Vedic astrology, starts from the Moon's nakshatra. If you were born with the Moon in Mula, your first mahadasha is Ketu's, which lasts 7 years in full. Only the part the Moon had not yet travelled through Mula remains at birth: a Moon early in the nakshatra leaves most of the period to run, and a Moon near its end leaves little.

Calculate your own dasha periods with exact dates, down to the prana dasha.

Rakshasa gana. The name sounds harsh, but it describes intensity rather than wickedness: an independent, strong-willed and self-protective temperament.

Its yoni, the animal that stands for a nakshatra's instinctive nature, is the dog. Both gana and yoni are among the eight factors (kootas) compared in traditional kundli matching. Mula shares the dog yoni with Ardra, the best yoni match. Its sworn enemy is the deer, the yoni of Anuradha and Jyeshtha, which scores no yoni points in matching.

In muhurta, the choosing of auspicious times, Mula is classed as sharp (tikshna): suited to ending, severing and intense practices.