Full Moon in Āśleṣā
Artowrk: Rita Dixit Indian Miniatures Asavari Ragini: A Painted Melody Murshidabad, Bengal, India c. 1780
The Full Moon (Pūrṇimā) of Māgha (Jan/Feb) rises in the Vedic lunar mansion of Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा). Situated from 16°40′–30° of Kāraka Rāśi (Cancer), the embracing and entwining star appears as a coiling ring of stars in the constellation Hydra. It marks an alchemical threshold where viṣa (poison) becomes amṛta (nectar), drawing awareness toward the subtle work of inner transformation.
Āśleṣā, one of Ketu’s birth stars and the nīca point of Maṅgala (Mars), initiates the gaṇḍānta juncture — the karmic knot between water and fire, Mokṣa and Dharma. Its Devatās are the Nāgās (Sarpas), guardian serpent beings of primordial wisdom. Its animal yoni is the male cat — a nocturnal guardian of thresholds, moving in silence between worlds, master of stillness, instinct, and unseen passage.
Artowrk: Pinterest
Āśleṣā holds the energy of Viṣāśleṣaṇa Śakti — the power to inflict poison, to penetrate and bind at a subtle level — revealing how venom, when rightly handled, becomes medicine, mirroring the inner path where shadow is transmuted into healing. Just as the coiled energy at the base of the spine yearns to merge with its beloved in the crown, Āśleṣā stirs the curiosity to delve deeper and unite with one's desired outcome, weaving disparate elements into coherence and granting true inner authority through the patient art of alchemy.
Āśleṣā is linked with Ādi Śeṣa and Sage Patañjali, pointing to the serpent power of consciousness that binds and releases. Its medicine lies in yoga, mantra, and disciplined inner awareness — the same forces that can entangle the mind become, when refined, the means of profound purification and healing of citta, speech, and body.
What old skin is ready to be shed?
Lalitā Jayantī
Artwork: Mahāvidyā Tripura Sundarī National Museum, New Delhi
Lalitā Jayantī commemorates the appearance of the Goddess in her supreme form as Mahāvidyā Tripura Sundarī, the third of the Daśa Mahāvidyās — “Beauty of the Three Cities,” harmonizing the three worlds and the three states of consciousness — who embodies supreme beauty, clarity, and the power of refined discernment.
This observance honors her as Lalitā (the playful one), Śoḍaśī (ever-perfect youth), Kāmakṣī (she whose gaze bestows grace), and Rājarājeśvarī (the Supreme Empress, sovereign of sovereigns), the radiant fullness of consciousness abiding in effortless grace and wisdom.
All my Relations, Tulsi
Full Moon Timing: 02.01.26 14:09 PST | 02.02.26 3:39 AM IST
The degree to which a person can grow is directly proportional to the amount of truth he can accept about himself without running away.”
― Leland Val Van De Wall
