Mula

Mula (mūla) is the nineteenth nakshatra; its name means "root". It is lunar mansion No. 19, ruled by Ketu. Mula is about digging down to the very essence, to the roots of things, and about breaking down the old for the sake of a new beginning.

Place in the system

Mula occupies 240°00′–253°20′, at the beginning of Sagittarius, and divides into four padas of 3°20′ each: its first pada begins exactly at 240°, where the sign itself begins. In the Vimshottari system it is ruled by Ketu, and together with Ashwini and Magha it forms the trio of "Ketu" nakshatras.

Mula's beginning coincides with a gandanta junction at the passage from a water sign to a fire sign, so its first degrees are considered especially sensitive. As the first nakshatra of philosophical Sagittarius, Mula reaches for the very foundation of things.

Practical meaning

Mula's symbol is a bundle of roots tied together: what lies at the base and feeds unseen. The Brihat Samhita (XV.17) assigns to this mansion physicians, group leaders, dealers in flowers, roots, and fruits, wealthy people, and those living on roots and fruits; also medicines and seeds. This is a recurring theme of the mansion, not a portrait of any one person: classical lists describe tendencies, not fate.

This is a nakshatra of searching for the first cause and of clearing the ground: to plant something new, Mula uproots the old, and for that reason its action can be abrupt. Ketu as ruler adds fearlessness before endings and a readiness to go down to the very root, whatever it costs.

In daily practice

When the Moon moves through Mula, the day is good for investigation, digging to the bottom of things, letting go of what has outlived itself, and an honest examination of causes. This is a time to dig down to the base rather than lay something new: the ground has been turned over. Matters that need level footing suit such a day less.

How favorable such a day is for you personally is refined by Tara Bala, counted from your birth nakshatra. Mula in the day is a sign that it is time to reach the root of a problem, though decisions that cannot later be undone are better not taken in the middle of the digging.