Swati nakshatra

Swati is the 15th of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 6°40' Libra to 20°00' Libra 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 Swati?

The traditional reading is: independent, adaptable, restless, needs freedom.

The behavioural marker most often named: bends and moves with the wind and pulls away the moment it feels tied down.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Swati it is scatter like wind, and the deity Vayu (wind) and symbol young sprout in the breeze carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Swati?

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	6°40' Libra – 10°00' Libra	Sagittarius
Pada 2	10°00' Libra – 13°20' Libra	Capricorn
Pada 3	13°20' Libra – 16°40' Libra	Aquarius
Pada 4	16°40' Libra – 20°00' Libra	Pisces

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

Which planet rules Swati, and why does it matter?

Swati is ruled by Rahu.

Because Swati is ruled by Rahu, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Rahu period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 18 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 Swati nakshatra?

Swati is nakshatra number 15 of 27, spanning 6°40' Libra to 20°00' Libra in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Rahu, its presiding deity is Vayu (wind), and its symbol is young sprout in the breeze.

What are the padas of Swati?

Each nakshatra is quartered into padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. For Swati the four padas fall in the navamsa signs Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, in that order.

Which planet rules Swati?

Rahu rules Swati. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Rahu period lasts 18 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 scatter like wind; deity Vayu (wind), symbol young sprout in the breeze, lord Rahu