Ardra nakshatra: lord, deity and symbol
Ardra is the sixth nakshatra, ruled by Rahu, and its traditional name means moist or tearful.
What it is
Its symbol is a teardrop or a diamond, and its deity is Rudra. Its lord Rahu has a dasha of 18 years. Ardra starts at 66 degrees 40 minutes, in Mithuna.
How it is worked out or read
Each nakshatra spans 13 degrees 20 minutes of the sidereal zodiac and has four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes each. Ardra covers 66 degrees 40 minutes to 80 degrees, all in Mithuna.
Where it appears on this site
The Rahu-ruled nakshatras are described in the dasha years article, which gives Rahu's 18 years.
Span and position
Ardra is the sixth nakshatra, lying entirely within Mithuna from 66 degrees 40 minutes to 80 degrees. Its four padas each cover 3 degrees 20 minutes. Because it sits in the middle of Mithuna, a planet in Ardra is well inside the sign, which makes the sign itself easier to fix than for nakshatras that cross a boundary.
Its lord and dasha
Rahu is the lord of Ardra, and the Rahu dasha lasts eighteen years. A birth with the Moon in Ardra begins the sequence with Rahu, and the balance is the part of the eighteen years still to run. Because Rahu's period is long, the early timeline of an Ardra birth is dominated by Rahu's themes for many years, and the reader should keep this in view when reading the dasha.
Symbol and deity
Ardra is shown as a teardrop or a diamond, and its presiding deity is Rudra, the fierce form of Shiva in the classical texts. The teardrop is read as moisture and sorrow, and the link to Rudra connects the nakshatra to storms and to the power of change. The name is often translated as moist or tearful, which is the basis of the symbol.
Using Ardra in a reading
A reader who meets Ardra as the Moon's nakshatra should note Rahu as the lord, the long dasha and the deity Rudra. The nakshatra is read in the classical view as one of intensity and of sudden change, and the reading depends on the Moon's sign and house. Ardra's traits are shown in the nakshatra page, and the chart shows where the Moon places them.
Ardra and turning points
Ardra's association with storms and with Rudra makes it a nakshatra that readers associate with turning points, sudden changes and the release of pent-up energy. The classical view reads it as a time of intensity, in which events can arrive quickly and with force. For that reason some traditional calendars treat Ardra with caution when a calm, settled start is wanted, and others consider it suitable for decisive action that has been prepared for.
A reader who wants to understand an Ardra Moon in a chart should look at the lord Rahu and at the house Rahu occupies. Rahu is read as amplifying the themes of its house, so the Moon's Ardra character may take on the colour of that house. The reading is strongest when the Rahu placement and the Moon's sign are considered together, rather than the nakshatra alone.