HASTA

sidereal: 10⁰ ♍︎ - 23⁰20' ♍︎
tropical: ~3⁰ ♎︎* - ~16⁰ ♎︎*

* - approximate for primary demographic of this app & the ayanamsas for that time frame https://twitter.com/lovejustlied/status/1336481349146976263

in this progression of the nakshatras, where tamasic energy (energy directed towards control of the material world) is at the base of the motivations at the stage of this cycle, hasta is the point where one understands how best to play their hand in order to get what they want.

hasta is the "hand". our hands are our primary bodily means to have control over the material world - to touch it, to grab it, & to mold it into what we wish.

it is with human hands that forces of industry & craftsmanship are born. in hasta, the natives are shrewd & have their wits about them, knowing the skills in their arsenal that can make magic happen.

the hand symbolism is directly tied to the vedic imagining of the five fixed stars related to hasta being the five fingers of a hand. in the western imagining, we know this as the crow constellation, corvus, with specific attention made to the fixed star, algorab.

funny enough, this element of grabbing onto what one desires is a theme that runs across star lore, as corvus was a crow that was sent out to grab something by the god apollo. this crow was punished for trying to scheme his way out of punishment for the task's tardy completion.

this is a major lesson for hasta natives who are capable of utilizing their wits & calculations to accomplish their ends but may take questionable short cuts to achieve those ends, warning of inevitable exposure for their machinations.

furthermore, algorab as a fixed star imbues the natives with craftiness and ingenuity, but can also be liable for being deceitful & being the weaver of a web of lies that one can get too entangled in, a trait that hasta has to be careful of falling into.

despite having indicators of a trickster/magician like nature where manipulation of material circumstances takes precedent, the deity associated with hasta, savitar, calls us to remember that the higher basis of this comes from the innate brilliance that is the hasta mind.

savitar is the god of the rising sun - he is the sun who peeks out from the horizon and reveals his light to the world waking it up & making what is in the material world visible.

knowledge really is power here. the strength of hasta natives lies in their alert awareness of the world around them & honing their own skill set from that understanding to bring about mastery over the world around them

on a wider level, this nakshatra is a breeding ground for innovation, solutions, and contributions in society to bring about better understanding & utility of the world that can allow everyone to benefit.

on the more personal, it gives hasta natives the creativity to turn mere survival skills into trades that allow them to thrive, as well as the sense of goal orientation that enables one to not be afraid to get their hands dirty.

the instinctual understanding of the interconnected nature of the material world is derived from hasta being the maturation point in the cycle of lunar energy.

in rohini, the birth point of lunar energy, the native is a vessel for rich experience & expression of their internal life, a reflection of what the material world has given to them.

here in hasta, there is more ability to hone in and specify what exactly it is about the material world they want to take in, because there is a coolness, a rationality, & discernment brought about by the influence of mercury, the ruler of sidereal ♍︎.

similar to ashlesha where mercurial focus comes through the use of one's lunar sensitivity, the converse occurs in hasta where one's lunar connection to the material & sensual is materialized through mercurial skill (both are known for charm/deceit).

hasta, though most notably known for their mercurial qualities as they are the most evident, is first and foremost a lunar vessel of receptivity that is attached & connected to the physical material world in an intimate way.

it is bc of that connection to the material world, its desires & its whims, that allows for hasta natives to have mastery over it. and it is in this respect where their own sensory desires can engulf them resulting in the use of cold skillful calculation to feed their own greed.

savitar, being the deity of this nakshatra, reminds us that darkness/illusion is dispelled in the light of knowledge & should be utilized to come to deeper understanding of the world that can be of use to others & not just oneself bc light must shine outward & not be contained.

it is by the instrument of our own hands that we are able to practice the intellectual capabilities of our mind in a tangible way. in hasta, there is the choice -

whether to selfishly take from the world through tactics of our own devising OR to partake in mutual exchange with the world, where it feeds you knowledge providing the ability for you to have a hand in really building a world where you are one with it & not at odds with it.

NEXT UP: CHITRA