The Hindu Lunar Mansions form the basis of vedic astrology and are used extensively in all of its forms including in natal, electoral, horary and even in mundane astrology, which deals with entire countries and nations.
Due to their extensive application, the lunar mansions received various attributes to help with their meaning in the different astrological contexts. For example, the direction of a lunar mansion usually has no significance in natal astrology, yet is very useful for finding a lost object through horary astrology or for deciding on a good date to start construction on a high-rise building using electoral astrology.
So what are the different properties of the lunar mansions and what do they mean?
Activity level
The activity level indicates whether a mansion represents acting and initiating an event or is of a reactive\passive nature. For example, Pushya is a passive mansion so it tends to represent mellower natives and doesn’t support radical events, while Mula represents people who prefer to act rather than wait and on the mundane level can include quite a few upheavals to say the least.
Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic
The tamasic mansions focus mainly on survival and basic needs, and represent a willingness to achieve at all costs. The rajasic mansions are goal driven, dealing more with ego gratification and self-realization, and signify a readiness for compromise and diplomacy. Sattvic mansions deal more with caring for others and signify a willingness to share and even sacrifice for the greater good.
Primary Motives
In Hindu philosophy there are four primary motives in a person’s life. The first is Dharma, which can be interpreted as the desire to do what we thing us right, just and proper. The second is Artha, which can be understood as the desire to provide sustenance or to fulfill basic needs such as food and shelter. The third is Kama, which can be translated as bodily pleasures such as tasty food, music, arts, sex or leisure. The last one is Moksha, which can be viewed as the desire to be free or to escape responsibilities and limitations, including the cycle of life. Each lunar mansion represents a different motive, which helps in understanding a person’s natal chart and his primary goal in every area of his life.
Angel, human and demon
The lunar mansions are divided into three species – angels, humans and demons. The angel mansions do not necessarily represent kindness or a helpful nature, but rather adherence to the law and to social standards. The opposite is true of the demon mansions, which often represent a non-conformist and rebellious nature but not necessarily a malicious one. The human mansions represent a balance between the obedient and the rebellious, but they are the only ones capable of true extremes both in good and kindness and in evil and malice.
Social Castes
The lunar mansions are divided into six social castes – Priest, Warrior, Trader, Laborer, Butcher and Foreigner.
Foreigner mansions – these mansions represent people with a non-conformist and often rebellious nature, who are able to think outside the box but often find it hard to fit into society, like many artists, designers and inventors.
Butcher mansions – these mansions represent people with a high tolerance for sights and smells which others can’t handle such as butchers, paramedics, surgeons, nurses, sewage workers and undertakers. On the negative side, this tolerance often comes at the cost of emotional distancing or blockage.
Laborer mansions – these mansions represent people with extraordinary physical endurance who can work or exercise for longer than anyone else and still stay on their feet, like professional sportsmen or construction workers. On the negative side, despite their physical attributes they shy away from taking the lead or making decisions.
Trader mansions – these mansions represent people with a golden tongue and extreme personal charm such as businessmen, actors, entertainers and celebrities. On the negative side, they usually refrain from commitments and settling down.
Warrior mansions – despite their name, these mansions mainly represent leaders and decision makers rather than soldiers or sportsmen because they are the first to take responsibility and to assume the lead role, especially in emergency situations. The easiest way to tell them apart from the others is their legendary endurance to pain, as outlined in the mythical story of Karna and Parashurama. On the negative side, they are often hot headed and reckless.
Priest mansions – these mansions represent people with impressive memories and concentration skills such as librarians and archivists, teachers and lecturers, accountants and lawyers. On the negative side, they tend to be arrogant and condescending, and their greatest weakness is their lustfulness which often leads to affairs, scandals and sexual addictions.
Animal and Gender
Each lunar mansion has an associated animal species and a gender, and these are mainly used in relationship and sexual compatibility analyses, though the personality of the native us often comparable to the corresponding animal. To find out more about the animals and their meaning please click here.
Special Power
Each lunar mansion has a special power attributed to it, which represents the main difference between it and every other mansion. This special power not only symbolizes the most important attribute of the mansion and its natives, but also part of its significance in horary and mundane charts. In Hindu belief, the appropriate offering to any lunar mansion will grant the worshipper the special power of that mansion.
“For all a time, and an hour to each object under heaven.
A time to birth, and a time to die.
A time to plant, and a time to uproot.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to burst, and a time to build.
A time to cry, and a time to grind.
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to hurl stones, and a time to gather stones.
A time to hug and a time to shy from hugging.
A time to ask and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to discard.
A time to rend and a time to sew.
A time to whisper and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time of war and a time of peace.”