Nakshatra #9 of 27
Ashlesha
"The embrace" / "the entwining"
Ashlesha is perceptive, magnetic, and a little inscrutable — capable of deep insight and quiet persuasion, but also of holding on (to grudges, to people, to old wounds) longer than is comfortable.
Ruling Planet
Mercury
Deity
The Nagas
Gana
Rakshasa
Nadi
Antya
Yoni (animal)
Cat (male)
Zodiac Span
Karka (Cancer)
Classical Symbol
A coiled serpent
An embrace and a constriction can look identical from the outside — Ashlesha lives in that ambiguity.
Why is it called Ashlesha?
"Ashlesha" means to embrace or entwine tightly, evoking a coiled snake — its classical symbol. Its deities, the Nagas (serpent beings of Hindu myth), reinforce this: serpents that can protect a hidden treasure or strike without warning, embodying both the nurturing and dangerous sides of a close embrace.
Is the Moon in Ashlesha right now?
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