Hypnotic, penetrating, and shrewd — you read what others hide. Your insight can heal or entangle; wield it with clean intent.
| Number | 9 of 27 |
| Span | 16°40′ – 30°00′ of Karka (Cancer) |
| Ruling planet | Budh (Mercury) |
| Deity | the Nagas — serpent spirits |
| Symbol | a coiled serpent |
Your birth nakshatra decides where the Vimshottari cycle starts for you. With the Moon in Ashlesha, life opens in a Budh mahadasha — 17 years of a quickening of mind, communication, and clever, skillful work.
You are rarely born at the very beginning of it. The Moon’s exact position inside Ashlesha decides how much of that 17-year period was already spent before you arrived, which is why two people with the same nakshatra can still change chapters years apart. How the 120-year cycle works →
Is your Moon actually in Ashlesha? Find out free.
Reveal my timeline ✦ Computed live · nothing leaves your deviceHypnotic, penetrating, and shrewd — you read what others hide. Your insight can heal or entangle; wield it with clean intent.
| Lean into | Watch for |
|---|---|
| Use your insight to heal, not to entangle | Don’t read everyone’s motives and end up trusting no one |
Every nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′ each. Which pada the Moon occupies refines the reading further.
| Pada | Degrees |
|---|---|
| Pada 1 | 16°40′ – 20°00′ Karka (Cancer) |
| Pada 2 | 20°00′ – 23°20′ Karka (Cancer) |
| Pada 3 | 23°20′ – 26°40′ Karka (Cancer) |
| Pada 4 | 26°40′ – 30°00′ Karka (Cancer) |
Budh (Mercury). That matters for timing as well as temperament: if your Moon sits in Ashlesha at birth, your life opens in a Budh mahadasha, which runs 17 years.
Ashlesha spans 16°40′ – 30°00′ of Karka (Cancer). Every nakshatra is exactly 13°20′ of the 360° zodiac, and the 27 of them divide it evenly.
The symbol is a coiled serpent and the presiding deity is the Nagas — serpent spirits.