Mrigashira is the deer's head, and the deer is always looking. Its deity is Soma, the nectar and the Moon's gentle aspect, and the nakshatra stands for the search — for beauty, knowledge, a partner, the next place. People with the Moon here are curious, quick, sensitive and easily startled; they are gentle by nature and can be timid, and they wander, in mind or on foot, until they find what they did not know they were looking for.
Mars rules the nakshatra and gives the deer its speed and a surprising nerve; the star straddles Venus's Taurus (padas one and two) and Mercury's Gemini (three and four). In Taurus the search is for beauty and comfort; in Gemini, for words and ideas. A Moon here starts life in the Mars mahadasha, seven years, and Rahu's long period follows.
The four padas of Mrigashira
Each nakshatra is divided into four padas of 3°20′. The pada says which sign the Moon is in when a nakshatra straddles two, and which navamsa (the ninth-harmonic sign) it falls in — the finer grain astrologers read for temperament and marriage.
| Pada | Span | Sign | Navamsa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23°20′–26°40′ | Taurus | Leo |
| 2 | 26°40′–30°00′ | Taurus | Virgo |
| 3 | 0°00′–3°20′ | Gemini | Libra |
| 4 | 3°20′–6°40′ | Gemini | Scorpio |
Mrigashira in kundli matching
Three of the eight kootas of guna milan are read from the nakshatra alone. Yoni (Serpent): the instinctive match by the nakshatra's animal — Horse and Elephant are its friends; the Mongoose is its enemy. Gana (Deva): godly — gentle, giving, at ease with others; the same or a compatible gana scores in full. Nadi (Madhya): the middle pulse, pitta; two Moons in the same nadi are the heaviest dosha, with the classical exemptions. Check a match to see all eight for two charts.
Born under Mrigashira
The Vimshottari dasha starts from the nakshatra of the natal Moon. A Moon in Mrigashira begins life in the Mars mahadasha of 7 years, less the part already spent by the Moon's degree within the nakshatra; the further into Mrigashira the Moon stood, the shorter the balance at birth. The exact balance needs the degree, which your free kundli gives.