Magha nakshatra

Magha is the 10th of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 0°00' Leo to 13°20' Leo in the sidereal zodiac. If the Moon stood in this stretch of sky at your birth, this is your Janma Nakshatra, your birth star.

What is the character of Magha?

The traditional reading is: proud, dignified, honours lineage and tradition, wants respect.

The behavioural marker most often named: carries itself like royalty and cares deeply what its name and ancestors stand for.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Magha it is leave the body (ancestral, and the deity the Pitris (ancestors) and symbol royal throne carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Magha?

Every nakshatra is quartered. Each quarter, a pada, is 3 degrees 20 minutes wide and maps onto a navamsa sign, which shades the reading:

Pada	Span (sidereal)	Navamsa sign
Pada 1	0°00' Leo – 3°20' Leo	Aries
Pada 2	3°20' Leo – 6°40' Leo	Taurus
Pada 3	6°40' Leo – 10°00' Leo	Gemini
Pada 4	10°00' Leo – 13°20' Leo	Cancer

Because a pada lasts roughly six hours, you need your birth time to know which of the four is yours.

Which planet rules Magha, and why does it matter?

Magha is ruled by Ketu.

Because Magha is ruled by Ketu, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Ketu period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 7 years. That starting point shifts the timing of every period that follows, which is why two people of the same age can be in completely different chapters.

Common questions

What is the Magha nakshatra?

Magha is nakshatra number 10 of 27, spanning 0°00' Leo to 13°20' Leo in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Ketu, its presiding deity is the Pitris (ancestors), and its symbol is royal throne.

What are the padas of Magha?

Each nakshatra is quartered into padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. For Magha the four padas fall in the navamsa signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, in that order.

Which planet rules Magha?

Ketu rules Magha. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Ketu period lasts 7 years.

Where these details come from

The span and the pada boundaries are arithmetic and exact. The lord, deity and symbol follow the classical sources and vary little between them. The character reading renders the shakti, deity and symbol in plain words; the classical texts themselves are terse here, and anything longer is later compilation.

Recorded source for this entry: BPHS; shakti to leave the body (ancestral); deity the Pitris (ancestors), symbol royal throne, lord Ketu