• Span: 26°40′ Leo to 10°00′ Virgo
  • Deity: Aryaman
  • Dasha Lord: Sun
  • Symbol: Symbol of the 4 legs of a cot/bed
  • Animal (Yoni): Cow (male)
  • Shakti or power: chayani shakti = power of prosperity

Aryaman is one of the 12 Adityas, which are solar deities, the offspring of the goddess of infinity Aditi. Aryaman is said to rule over kindness and cooperation. He is said to be the deity of customs and hospitality, ruling over the general well-being and functioning of people as a society. The name Aryaman can be translated into “close friend”, “companion” or other words related to friendship.

His depictions usually represent him as a benevolent ruler. Of course, enforcing rules and order will never be something completely lighthearted, as you need to act decisively at times. But Aryaman is depicted as an adviser, an elder, a friendly coach; not as a brutal leader. He is sometimes described as the leader of the Pitris, or the ancestors. Again, reinforcing the idea of an elder, as he is heading the ancestors and their wisdom.

The name starts with the word “Uttara” which denotes the former, this word shows up in other nakshatras, with “Purva” (former) and “Uttara” (latter) pairs of stars. The word “Phalguni” refers to a fig tree or the color red. From that, two interpretations arise. The first one deals with fruitful, with fulfillment of desires, or the creation of things. The second one deals with the color red and its meanings, in regards to passion, and all the characteristics related to this color.

The Phalguni pair of stars deals with passion and fruitfulness, the realization of desires, in their different phases. Purva Phalguni deals with enjoyment, opulence and a quest for pleasure. Uttara Phalguni deals with a more productive aspect of this, where a native seeks to create and mold the world towards his passion.

Speaking of the pair, the main symbol of both stars is shared, which is a bed. Purva Phalguni is said to represent the front legs of a bed, while Uttara Phalguni represents the back legs of a bed. The front of the bed represents the start of rest, while the back represents the ending of it. After a nice rest, we are good to work and produce, which is why Uttara Phalguni represents the more productive aspect of things.

Understanding this nakshatra becomes easy when we think of the process of the Leo nakshatras as a whole. Magha shows the throne, meaning victory or achievement. Purva Phalguni shows rest and enjoyment, as the immediate state after a great conquest, with celebration and a needed brake. Uttara Phalguni shows the maintenance, the work of managing the throne achieved in Magha.

Taking an example, let’s say we were talking about a lottery prize. Purva Phalguni shows the needed enjoyment and celebration, its the day after. Uttara Phalguni shows the thousands of days after the day after. Its the life after. There is still enjoyment, party and lightheartedness. But it isn’t all about this anymore. The native has to concern himself with managing and taking care of what was earned, making sure that he doesn’t lose it, making sure that things can grow and last.

Considering this, a lot of the characteristics of the Phalguni stars can be shared. Things like fun, enjoyment and an overall light approach to things. But Uttara Phalguni has a more serious side or demeanor, being more focused. The laziness of Purva Phalguni is not present here, along with the feisty moods and occasional selfishness of the previous nakshatra.

This stems a lot from the deities of these two stars. Bhaga, the god of wealth, ruling Purva Phalguni. His main mission deals with making sure that people get their share of goods and enjoyment in life. While Aryaman, ruler of Uttara, deals with companionship, collaboration and with the maintenance of societal customs. His mission is much bigger, also a lot harder.

Aryaman and Bhaga have a shared role, being invoked during marriage ceremonies, representing the well wishes for the couple. The idea that they will gain prosperity and enjoyment, through the realm of Bhaga. And that they will find companionship, collaboration and respect through Aryaman.

Giving enjoyment, or giving money, is much easier than trying to promote things like peace and collaboration. As such, Aryaman’s role is a lot more expanded in mythology. Once he was asked to replace Lord Yama, in his role as the god of death. This happened at a time where Yama was being punished for being considered unfair, Aryaman came as a level-headed temporary replacement. As fair as you can be, this is still not an easy role. Having to enforce death and karma is a tough job. You can’t be excessive, but you have to give everyone their fair share, good and bad.

In some other instances, Aryaman has been ascribed a role similar to Vishnu’s role in the Bhagavad Gita, talking to Arjuna. In that case, Vishnu was talking to a hesitant Arjuna, weary about fighting a complicated war. Similarly, Aryaman has been assigned the role of talking people out of despair or desolation.

So while Purva Phalguni gets the enjoyment qualities of Bhaga, Uttara Phalguni gets the leadership and stronger role of Aryaman.

Through that, Uttara Phalguni natives tend to have a much more serious demeanor. They tend to impose respect, rather than appearing relaxed and easy going as the Purva natives. They also tend to be much more generous and giving to others, again, dealing with the qualities of collaboration of Aryaman. Uttara Phalguni natives are usually very helpful and willing to lend a hand to others.

Activity wise, Uttara Phalguni is the king ruling and working, so these natives tend to be very active. They tend to work hard towards their goals, and get involved with many projects. These natives are unstoppable when they get going, and they are vastly motivated by their past accomplishments. Usually, this nakshatra tends to be seen in leadership or advisory roles. At some point, these natives are lead towards commanding or leading others.

Overall, Uttara Phalguni shows natives with great ambition who tend to follow a righteous struggle through life, as they reach their goals. They have great executive ability, being excellent planners and organizers. They help and receive support from others frequently.

Some loose notes:

  • Very ambitious.
  • Good leaders, advisers.
  • They tend to achieve a lot.
  • Strong will, independence and self-reliance
  • Helpful and generous, they could be sough by others for help.
  • Similarly, they could get help and support when needed.
  • Great at making friendships, maintaining peace and relationships with others.
  • Great planners and organizers. They act in precise and well thought out ways.
  • They could suffer from sex or love scandals.
  • They could get married for money, or their partner could marry them for their money. Finances tend to be central in their relationships.
  • Very attractive individuals, sex symbols, specially the men.
  • They tend to assume hard responsibilities or tasks, that nobody else would take. There is a heroic or martyr quality here, that tends to be rewarded.
  • At times, these natives could deal with isolation or loneliness.
  • They could have some issues of addiction.
  • Career wise:
    • Anything dealing with leadership roles or managerial roles.

Both of the Phalguni stars tend to be prosperous towards marriage and relationships, although the Virgo portion of Uttara Phalguni could have some difficulties in this regard. At times, these natives could deal with sex scandals or love related troubles. Maybe a lover causes a fight with the native’s family, maybe a sexual relationship causes trouble, or other related issues.

In some cases, Uttara Phalguni’s marriage can deal a lot with money. Either with the native himself marrying for monetary reasons, or with a partner that wants his money. The Phalguni pair of nakshatras is all about prosperity and relationships. As Uttara is the more practical side, a practical approach to relationships could arise.

Getting into some shadow issues, this nakshatra at times can deal with addiction to alcohol or other drugs. As I’ve said above, the deity of this nakshatra deals with harsher matters and complicated missions, so a need for escapism arises out of this. Not every native will deal with addiction, but this could come, specially with malefics here.

As usual, the shadow issues deal a lot with the excess or the overplay of the meanings of this nakshatra. Excessive ambition could lead to ruthlessness, their desire to manage others could turn into bossy or demanding personalities. As well as other excesses related to power. However, generally, this is a star with very positive connotations. This rougher side only tends to come out with malefics or other factors influencing the chart.

→ Favorable activities with Uttara Phalguni: favorable for all kinds of beginnings. Great for dealing with authorities or getting favors. Great for all kinds of ceremonies. Great for marriages. Good for promoting peace, tact and diplomacy. Great for planning and organizing.

→ Unfavorable activities with Uttara Phalguni: unfavorable for harsh activities, like fighting, scheming, confrontations, or inflicting harm to others.

Predictively, Uttara Phalguni tends to indicate strong personalities, leaders, those in charge. A 10th lord here would show someone that tends to be assigned leadership roles, or be the main person in their job. A 5th lord here would indicate ambitious and very directed children. It generally indicates affluence to anything placed here.

Examples:

  • Tiger Woods (Uttara Phalguni Ascendant at 0° Virgo): American professional golfer
    • Sex/Love scandals: In 2009, an extramarital affair became public, derailing his career and public image. He lost sponsorships and truly went through a turbulent time.
  • Steve Jobs (Uttara Phalguni Ascendant at 29° Leo): founder of Apple
    • Leadership and Initiative: Jobs is mostly known as the head of Apple, where he was fundamental to the current success of the company. But he also headed Pixar and other companies.
    • Shadow: Jobs was known for feisty moods and a complicated temper, which relates a lot to the shadow of this star.
    • Sex/Love scandals: He had a daughter which he refused to recognize for years, only acknowledging her years later.

See more Nakshatra posts here