Graha (Planet)draftschool: jyotisha· Bṛhat Saṁhitā

Moon (Chandra)

Candra

also: Soma, Indu, Shashin

gra-chandra

Definition

The Moon; governs water, white things, plants and sweet substances (XVI); shares the name Soma with the north dikpala (dev-soma) and the BS north quarter-lord.
Classical

Prāṇa relevance

Moon governs water, herbs and sweet/nutritive substances — the watery-nutritive pole opposite the Sun's fire. Constitutive link deferred to hora.

Cross-book attributes (35) — fill / concur / diverge

Dosha AffinityDiverges

Sources differ — both values shown; never overwritten.

txt-frawley-astrology-seersbook p.214, p.215Modern
kapha (water humor) — the prototypical Kapha planet
txt-frawley-astrology-seersThe Moon (book p.84), quoting Parashari 3.24Traditional
dos-kapha + dos-vata (watery and airy). Parashari 3.24 (quoted): 'The Moon is watery and airy (kapha and vata) in constitution.'

claimed-classical: BPHS 3.24. FILLS Book-1 DEFERRED dosha_affinity — which Book-1 had ANTICIPATED as 'kapha/water in hora tradition'; Frawley adds vata. See Open Questions (BS-vs-Frawley concurrence + the added vata).

ElementDiverges

Sources differ — both values shown; never overwritten.

txt-frawley-astrology-seersbook p.215Modern
water
txt-frawley-astrology-seersElements of the Planets (book p.71)Traditional
ele-ap (water — primary). Frawley: 'The Moon represents water and indicates the water element in general.' Secondary: becomes airy when weak/close to Sun; can even represent fire when combust (mutable planet).

claimed-classical table; Frawley conduit. CONCURS with Book-1 governance hint (Moon governs water, XVI) — but this is the constitutive-element claim BS deferred.

Natural SignificationsDiverges

Sources differ — both values shown; never overwritten.

txt-frawley-astrology-seersAstrology as a Spiritual Science (book pp.34–35)Modern
the essential power of nature / Divine field of manifestation / great Mother Goddess / the matrix; the gateway to the ASTRAL (subtle/dream) worlds; on its lower level = memory, the past, the karmic storehouse ('the past impressions of the Earth life are stored in the Moon') [MODERN — Frawley, spiritual significations]
txt-frawley-astrology-seersKey Indicators (book p.75) + The Moon (book pp.84–87)Modern
Mother, emotions, personality, sociability, happiness, home, popularity (key-indicator list, p.75); also: the mind (manas)/astral body/past-karma indicator, water in body & world, birth, the masses/social status, nurturing & receptivity.

Frawley's karaka synthesis. NEW field.

AdhidevataFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
Apas, the Water Goddess (ruling deity / adhidevata)
Benefic Or MaleficFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
General Benefic (natural status); malefic when close to Sun / waning / dark. Frawley's specific rule: malefic within 60° before to 30° after conjunction with Sun.
Bija MantraFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
OM SOM; also CHAM (chum); also SHRIM (shreem), the main Goddess mantra
Chakra RulershipFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
co-rules the Third Eye (Ajna) center with the Sun — the Moon is the left eye to the Sun's right; ruling sign-pair of the third eye is Cancer/Leo (Moon rules Cancer)
DebilitationFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
03°00' Scorpio (Vrishchika)
Direction GovernedFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
Northwest (worship scheme); Southeast (yantra/altar scheme)
Direction Governed SvobodaFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
NORTHWEST — 'Northwest is presided over by the Moon.' Moon is regent of the NW, 'the province of Air' (Moon-NW=Air). [graha-dik roster]
Directional ConfluenceFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
The Moon rules the NORTHWEST corner-confluence: NW = Air + rajas + Moon ('the ruler of the mind'); NW light has 'the rajasic flavor of the capricious moon'. NW shows 'clear vāta predominance' (Moon + Saturn + Mercury all vāta), softened by 'Moon's secondary kapha'. The Moon is the planet of changeability, mind, imagination, caregivers; rules plants' succulence and water-creatures. NW décor: white (lunar), green frills (Mercury), dark trim (Saturn); weekday Monday; Moon's animals partridge, crane, antelope, hare.
Dosha Affinity SvobodaFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
vāta and kapha
ExaltationFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
03°00' Taurus (Vrishabha)
GenderFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
feminine. Frawley: 'the Moon indicates the cosmic feminine force… the Sun is the Deva and the Moon is the Devi.'
GunaFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
gun-sattva (primary, 'a Sattvic or spiritual planet'); 'has some Tamas or cloudiness to it' (secondary).
Guna SvobodaFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
sattva (trending toward rajas)
House Significator OfFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
4th house (mind, emotions, mother)
MulatrikonaFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
4°–20° Taurus (part of its exaltation sign — the Moon has no odd/positive sign of its own)
Name MantraFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
OM SOMAYA NAMAHA; also OM CHANDRAYA NAMAHA
Numerology NumberFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
2 (duality; basis of mind & emotion; relationship, balance, interchange)
Permanent FriendsFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
friends: Sun, Mercury; neutral: Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn; enemies: None
PratyadhidevataFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
Parvati, The Great Goddess (over-ruler)
Psychological SignificationsFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
The MIND faculty: 'the mind or consciousness generally (Manas)', our feeling potential. The main lunar issue is PEACE and RECEPTIVITY of the mind — achieved by surrender of the mind to the Divine, not by mental activity/achievement nor surrender to any personal/social force; feeling-sensitivity need not be denied or controlled, only directed to 'the presence in things, the Divine significance of each thing and each moment.' In the reintegration Yoga the Moon is harmonized FIRST: it is 'the indicator of our receptivity', to be made receptive to the inner Sun of truth rather than the outer world; one must 'realize the limitations of the mind, or conditioned consciousness, and not take its fluctuations for our true awareness.'
Remedial ColorFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
white (best); white shades of blue/green/pink, somewhat bright; avoid dark/cloudy, gray/black, too much red/fiery, overly transparent
Remedial FingerFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
ring finger (worn for the Moon; the Sun's finger — Moon worn there too)
Remedial GemFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
mat-pearl (pearl; ≥2 ct, silver, ring finger of left or right hand; natural preferred); substitute cultured pearl or moonstone (larger, 3–5 ct)
Rules SignsFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
Cancer (Karka) — one sign only
Significations SvobodaFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
rules: Monday; milky white; the senses and the emotions; the mother, females, farmers, gardeners, caregivers; the sense of taste; silver/bronze/pearl/moonstone; receptivity, sensitivity, imagination, good memory, good habits. (number 2)
Special AspectsFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
7th sign only (drishti) — general full aspect; no special aspect
Worship DeityFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
the Goddess / Divine Mother (Mahadevi, Mahashakti, consort of Shiva); forms Parvati, Lakshmi, Tara, Kwan Yin, Isis, Virgin Mary
Worship GrainFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
white rice
Worship SymbolFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
crescent Moon
Worship WeekdayFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
Monday (or evening; esp. around the full Moon)
YantraFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
numerical yantra based on number 2 (Moon=2 at upper-center); lines sum 18, total 54; Sri Yantra / Lakshmi Yantra also used
Yogic SignificationFilledper txt-frawley-astrology-seers
the receptive/feminine pole of basic consciousness (feeling, emotion); governs inhalation and the lunar (cooling, anabolic, tissue-building) half of the breath that rises up the spine Aquarius→Cancer; exalted in Taurus at the HEART center (greatest receptivity/openness)

Connections (19)

corresponds-to · 10
  • ↔Water (Ap / Jala)Traditional
    Frawley's element table makes the Moon the planet of water ('represents water and indicates the water element in general'); becomes airy when weak, fiery when combust (mutable).
  • ↔Kapha (Water humor)Traditional
    Parashari 3.24 (quoted): 'The Moon is watery and airy (kapha and vata) in constitution' — kapha is the primary watery dosha component.
  • ↔Vata (Air humor)Traditional
    Parashari 3.24 gives the Moon a dual constitution: watery AND airy = kapha AND vata; the vata (airy) component is the second dosha edge.
  • ↔SattvaTraditional
    Frawley's guna table places the Moon among the Sattvic planets ('a Sattvic or spiritual planet'), with secondary tamas ('has some Tamas or cloudiness to it').
  • →Taurus (Vrishabha)Traditional
    Exaltation: the Moon is exalted at 3°00' Taurus (book p.125); its debility/fall is the opposite, 3°00' Scorpio. The Moon's mulatrikona uniquely also lies in Taurus (its exaltation sign), as the Moon has no odd/positive sign.
  • ↔Kapha (Water humor)Modern
    The Moon is a prototypical Kapha/Water planet: grouped with Venus and Jupiter (book p.215); Water types' nature owes to 'the influence of the Moon or Jupiter which rules them' (book p.214). CAVEAT (Frawley, book p.217-218): the Moon takes the humor of its sign — Moon in Scorpio is usually Pitta (hyperacidity), Moon in Cancer in the 6th gives good health.
  • ↔Manas (the sensory-emotional mind)Modern
    Frawley reads the Moon AS the mind-faculty manas: 'The Moon represents the mind or consciousness generally (Manas), our feeling potential' (book p.226, verified p221.png). The Moon is the psychological significator of the sensory-emotional mind, its receptivity and feeling-sensitivity; the lunar 'fluctuations' are the citta-vritti to be stilled. The correspondence is symbolic/structural (a graha standing for a faculty of the inner instrument), hence corresponds-to rather than governs.
  • ↔Heart Center (Anahata chakra)Modern
    The Moon is exalted in Taurus — the sign of Venus (lunar half) and the heart. The Moon's connection with the heart is well-known; this is 'the place of greatest receptivity and openness'.
  • ↔Vata (Air humor)Modern
    NW doshic composition: 'Northwest displays a clear vata predominance, for Moon, Saturn, and Mercury all indicate vata' (PDF p.195) - the Moon is the vata-bearing planet of the NW confluence. Mints the planet->dosha edge the NW confluence rests on.
  • ↔dir-vayavyaModern
    NW confluence: 'Northwest is the direction... of the Moon, the ruler of the mind' (PDF p.194). The Moon + Saturn + Mercury give NW 'clear vata predominance'. The planet leg of the NW confluence. CONCURS with the standard graha-direction roster (Moon-NW).
governs · 7
  • →Cancer (Karka)Traditional
    The Moon rules Cancer alone (an even/negative sign); the Sun and Moon, as 'one planet', each hold one sign of the Cancer/Leo solar pair (book p.107-108). scope: graha-rashi (flagged QF-SN-1).
  • →Fourth House (House of Home and Happiness)Traditional
    The Moon is the karaka of the 4th house as significator of mind, emotions and the mother (book p.154).
  • →HastaTraditional
    The single worked nakshatra→dasha-lord datum Frawley gives inline (book p.198): the nakshatra Hasta is ruled by the Moon, so a person with the natal Moon in Hasta begins life in the Moon Maha Dasha. This records the one explicit graha-rulership of a nakshatra in this theme's pages (the rest of the 27-row table is at the out-of-range p.133). This is the Vimshottari dasha-lord assignment (graha-rules-nakshatra), distinct from BS-core's varna-class of Hasta (vaishya).
  • →Third Eye (Ajna chakra)Modern
    The Moon co-rules the Third Eye / head center (Ajna) with the Sun — the Moon is the left eye to the Sun's right, the second petal of the Ajna. The Moon shows the receptive / feminine pole of basic consciousness — feeling and emotion. Ruling sign of the Moon's side of the third-eye pair is Cancer.
  • →dir-vayavyaModern
    In Frawley's worship scheme the Moon is assigned the Northwest. (The yantra/altar scheme instead puts Ketu at NW and the Moon at SE.)
  • →dir-vayavyaTraditional
    Svoboda's roster assigns the Moon to the Northwest, 'the province of Air' (Moon-NW pairs with the NW's Air element). The lunar, rajasic, midnight quarter; aligns the Moon-planet with the Air-NW element scheme and the Vāyu-NW dikpāla.
  • →dir-vayavyaModern
    Svoboda's climate rule: the Moon (a kapha-vāta graha) rules the northwest; grounds the advice that kapha people avoid the humid NW. Graha→direction governance at the climate layer.
influences · 1
  • ←Chart indicators of psychological disorder (Moon, Mercury, Ascendant, 4th house)Modern
    Per Frawley's Vedic psychology, psychological disorders (incl. insanity) arise from disrupted soul-connection, shown in the chart by afflictions to the Moon (among Mercury, the Ascendant, the 4th house and their lords) (book p.222). The Moon's affliction influences mental health because the Moon is the manas/mind significator. Tagged influences because the source asserts a correlational disease-tendency, not a specific governs/disturbs mechanism between two entities; justified per §4 'residual causal claim'.
supports · 1
  • ←Pearl (Moon's gem)Modern
    Pearl is the Moon's remedial gem; worn (silver, ring finger) it strengthens a weak Moon's emotional stability, contentment and receptivity. Not under high Kapha.

Sources

  • txt-brihat-samhitaXVI.9–10Classical✓ verifiedgovernance incl. water, white objects, herbs, sweet things, Brahmanas, women

Notes from other books

  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersMoon: 7th aspect only. Central to the Lunar yogas — gregarious, 'does not like to be alone'; an unassociated Moon is generally inauspicious; Keshari Yoga = Jupiter in a kendra from the Moon (book p.178). Combust orb 15°. Dig Bala strong in the NORTH / 4th with Venus. Dasha 10 yrs. The natal Moon's nakshatra fixes the starting Vimshottari dasha (worked example: Moon in Hasta → Moon dasha).
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersFoundations-specific Moon significations (NOT the Planets-theme kapha/water/sattva patches): the Moon is "the gateway to the astral worlds", the conditioned lunar realm where the mind is trapped between lives; "we become food for the Moon" in ignorance. MODERN esoteric framing.
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersThe Moon is the natural karaka of the 4th house (mind, emotions, the mother). The Moon also functions as an alternate Ascendant (Chandra-lagna) for house reckoning (p.140–141). [MODERN — Frawley]
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersFrawley groups Moon with Venus and Jupiter as Kapha/Water (book p.215); Water types' nature owes to 'the influence of the Moon or Jupiter which rules them' (book p.214). CAVEAT (Frawley's own, book p.217–218): the Moon is variable — Moon in Scorpio is 'usually Pitta (fiery and agitated)'; Moon in Cancer in the 6th gives good health but in Scorpio causes hyperacidity (Pitta). So the Moon's base humor is Kapha but it takes the humor of its sign. CONFIRMS BS's deferred kapha note.
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersMoon = mind (manas), feminine/Shakti pole to the Sun's Shiva/Atma. The kapha+vata dosha closes the Book-1 DEFERRED field that had pre-guessed 'kapha/water'; Frawley's actual quoted verse adds vata, a finding (Open Questions).
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersMoon = manas restates (in the psychological field) what the Planets theme carried inside natural_significations ("the mind (manas)/astral body"). Same identification, different field — concurrence flagged, not merged. The Moon's "fluctuations" / "conditioned consciousness" echoes the Yoga-Sutras citta-vritti theme (rul-yoga- psychology-vs-modern). Manas modeled as pra-manas (stub) — entity-vs-field is an Open Question for the schema owner.
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersWorship deity is the Goddess (feminine) though the planet/adhidevata Apas is also a goddess; Yoga prescribed: Bhakti Yoga / devotion.
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersFrawley (MODERN — Frawley): Vedic astrology sees Sun and Moon as 'in essence one planet' — the Moon is the feminine, Earth-facing emanation of the Sun, the incarnation of the Divine Mother who dwells in the Sun; it holds water on Earth and maintains the oceans/fertility (book p.108). The Moon's mulatrikona uniquely lies in its exaltation sign Taurus, since it lacks a positive/odd sign.
  • txt-frawley-astrology-seersFrawley: the lunar half of the zodiac (Aquarius→Cancer up the spine) "governs inhalation and the development of lunar energy ... cooling ... builds up the tissues" (book p.230). Moon exalted in Taurus (heart) — "The Moon's connection with the heart is well-known ... the place of greatest receptivity and openness" (book p.231). Table number (6) = Moon rules chakra 6.
  • txt-svoboda-vastuThe Moon is the NW confluence-planet; its secondary kapha is what keeps the Air-corner's vāta from being 'purely erratic'. [MODERN — Svoboda]
  • txt-svoboda-vastuMoon-NW CONCURS with Frawley worship scheme and the BS-unpinned roster. The Moon's NW = Air pairing aligns Svoboda's graha roster with his own ch.6 Air-NW element scheme (the NW is the lunar, vāta, rajas, midnight quarter per the pilot's dir-vayavya patch). [TRADITIONAL roster; MODERN attrs]

Other attributes

Governed Domains
{"elemental":"water; salt","substances":"jewels, conch, pearls, aquatic products, rice/barley/wheat/herbs, white objects (silver), flowers, fruits, sweet things, clothes, eatables","persons":"Brahmanas, young women, beloved persons, lovers, commandants, agriculturists, Soma-drinkers, the sacrificially learned","fauna":"horses, horned animals","regions":"ocean, water-barriers, islands, Kosala, etc. — promote? (water-associated)"}
Weekday
Monday (Somavara)
Identity Note
Soma the Moon (graha) vs dev-soma the north dikpala/pada-deity (Steps 1,4): same name Soma, distinct roles — keep separate per §8 scheme-discipline; cross-ref, do not merge.
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