The literal meaning of the word Chitra is ‘beautiful’. Vedic astrology associates this nakshatra with meanings like beautiful, bright, shining and glittering. The above meanings indicate that Chitra has a lot to do with beauty in one form or another.
Vedic astrology assigns the symbol of a bright shining gemstone to Chitra. This symbol indicates that Chitra exhibits beauty and art; especially the beauty or piece of art which has been formed or created under intense conditions. This is because gemstones are created over a long period of time within the crust of earth, facing many biological and chemical factors like heat, pressure and the action of certain microorganisms.
In the same way, Chitra may represent the beauty or a piece of art which has been produced by the artist under intense conditions of his mind or intense levels of creativity. Gemstones are used in making artistic and crafty ornaments. Accordingly, Chitra exhibits traits of dealing with arts and crafts, somewhat like the previous nakshatra, Hasta.
A Pearl is assigned as an alternative symbol to Chitra. A Pearl is formed as a defense response of the oyster when some foreign element enters between its outer shell and mantle. Such foreign element irritates its mantle and the oyster releases a valuable substance called Nacre to cover up the foreign element. Nacre gets deposited over the foreign substance and a Pearl is formed in the process. It means Pearl which is considered as a beautiful creation is in reality created by an oyster when it is irritated and under pressure.
Hence Chitra exhibits the trait of creating beauty under intense circumstances. It means people under strong influence of Chitra may bring their best creations to life; when they may be under the effect of intense types of emotions. Whether such intense emotions cause happiness or sadness, cheerfulness or depression; depends on placements of various planets in Chitra as well as on the overall horoscope of the native under consideration.
Vedic astrology considers Tvastar, commonly known as god Vishwakarma in Vedic mythology, as the ruling deity of this nakshatra. Vishwakarma is a celestial architect who is expert in creating beautiful, grand and wonderful structures out of nothing in short periods of time. Vishwakarma is considered to have mastery over the mystery and Maya aspect of nature and he knows all secrets of creation.
These traits of Vishwakarma are exhibited by Chitra. As a result, people under strong influence of Chitra may be skilled at the art of creating beautiful and grand pieces of creation or structures. Since Chitra deals with mysteries of creation; people under its influence may have very good sense of mysterious elements working behind many types of creations. It means such people may be very good at grabbing the core elements which form the basis of various types of creations.
Accordingly, it may become difficult for many other nakshatra type people to match or copy the creations of Chitra people. In simple terms, people under strong influence of Chitra may hold unique skills and deep sense of creation, in whichever fields they may be working; depending on their horoscopes. Due to these traits; Chitra people may hold special places in their respective creative fields of professions.
Taking an example, if a native under strong influence of Chitra becomes an architect, he may build beautiful and grand structures. Such structures may display very good understanding of core elements of architecture and they may be very creative at the same time. There may also be a touch of mystery associated with these structures. It means even some professional architects may not understand how certain specific aspects of such structures were created.
Hence these structures may be beautiful, grand and unique in their own ways, and they may not be recreated by other architects for many years to follow. Due to good understanding of deepest elements of creation, Chitra people may be good at the art of improvising. It means such people may use new techniques or new objects for their creations, where such techniques or objects may not be the standard ones.
Chitra people may create such techniques or think of using such objects, as and when the need arises during their acts of creation. For example, if a native under strong influence of Chitra becomes a musician, he may at times create music using certain objects of day to day use; instead of using traditional musical instruments. It means this Chitra native may have such good understanding of music that he may see music hidden in each and every object around him. Therefore, he may use a table, a glass, a spoon or something else, to create some special musical effects in some of his creations.
Taking another example, if a native under strong influence of Chitra becomes an actor, he may be very good at his job. Such native may not need many retakes to deliver his shots, as he may be skilled enough to complete most of them in the first or second attempt. At the same time, such Chitra native may be good at the art of creating. It means he may understand, capture and display such emotions with ease and in little time; which he may himself not have experienced during his life. Chitra is one of the best among nakshatras, when it comes to finishing and details; particularly the Virgo part of this nakshatra.
Vedic astrology assigns Mars as the ruling planet of Chitra. Mars is considered as a planet of energy. Hence the influence of Mars on Chitra provides it with the energy required for its creations, as energy is a very important factor while creating something. Therefore, Mars enhances the creative aspect of Chitra by providing abundant energy to it.
The first two quarters of Chitra fall in Virgo ruled by Mercury and the last two quarters of this nakshatra fall in Libra, ruled by Venus. Accordingly, Mercury and Venus also influence Chitra with their respective traits. This makes Chitra more creative, as Mercury and Venus are associated with creativity on one level or another.
Combined influences of Vishwakarma, Mars, Mercury and Venus make Chitra a creative nakshatra. At the same time; so many different types of influences make Chitra a complicated nakshatra. As a result, Chitra people may go out of balance at times, often feeling trapped in intense emotions. On the other hand, the combined influence of so many energies can bless Chitra people with wonderful creative skills and they may create beautiful things with ease.
Hence Chitra people may at times create beautiful things and they may at times get lost within themselves; often finding it difficult to handle intense emotions. Chitra people may have special affinity with completion; and anything incomplete may trouble them. In its positive aspect, this trait may help them finish beautiful pieces of art in splendid manners. In its negative aspect, this trait of Chitra people can make them feel intense pain or sorrow, when something is incomplete and they are not able to complete it.
Due to influence of Mars on this nakshatra, such incompletion generally comes through their personal spheres, instead of coming through their professions. It means Chitra people may be capable of completing or finishing their creations in most cases. However when it comes to relationships, they may be left unfinished or incomplete. This tendency may be higher in Virgo part of Chitra.
Hence people under strong influence of Virgo part of Chitra may suffer from incompletion in their relationships, and such incompletion may push them into intense emotional states, in many cases. Mars doesn’t promote wellbeing of a number of relationships and it may be especially bad for the ones like love affair and marriage.
Mercury is a planet of intellect and intellect also doesn’t help much with relationships. In fact, it makes things worse in most cases. It means people under strong influence of Virgo part of Chitra are under the influence of aggression and intellect, represented by Mars and Mercury respectively. Since both these traits are bad for relationships like love affair and marriage; such Chitra people may perform poorly in these fields.
It is easy to understand how physical aggression may spoil relationships. When it comes to intellect, it tries to analyze everything in order to understand it. The need to understand rises because intellect wants to control. It means both Mars and Mercury have a general tendency to gain control, though they do it in different ways. Mars tends to control through physical aggression or physical dominance which is a more obvious way.
Mercury tends to control through mental aggression as it tries to invade private sections of partner’s personality. This is why Mars breaks relationships through too much physical aggression whereas Mercury may do so by making the partner uncomfortable with never ending series of annoying and investigative questions. As a result, both these planets may not be good for relationships like love affair and marriage. When a combination of them happens in a horoscope in a relevant house; it may become difficult for the native to complete delicate relationships like love affair and marriage.
A relationship like love affair or marriage survives on care, feelings, emotions, understanding, sharing and respect; though dutifulness and patience may also prove important in many cases. Among navagraha; Moon represents care, feelings and emotions; Venus represents sharing, understanding and respect; and Saturn rules traits like dutifulness and patience.
Therefore, relationships like love affair and marriage are better handled by Moon and Venus, though Saturn may also do satisfactory job. This is because patience and dutifulness alone may not be sufficient to have enjoyable love affair or marriage. On the other hand; care, feelings and emotions may alone be sufficient in many cases to enjoy such relationships. Likewise; sharing, understanding and respect may also perform well on their own, in such relationships. A balanced mix of these three planets is generally very good for relationships like love affair and marriage.
It should be noted that the trait of understanding exhibited by Mercury is different from the trait of understanding exhibited by Venus. Mercury tries to understand so that it may reach to the root of the matter, in order to be in a better and controlling position. Venus tries to understand without bothering about the root cause of problem. It means Mercury wants to find and fix the cause whereas Venus is happy living with the effect; without bothering about the cause.
Hence the understanding represented by Venus is more like accommodating. Taking an example, if the partner yells or shouts at times; a native under strong influence of Mercury may want to understand and fix this problem. In order to do so; he may need to engage in many enquiries and he may also need to change his partner. Since inquiring and changing someone are aggressive acts; the partner may get offended and the relationship may break; if this keeps happening time and again.
In the same situation, a native under strong influence of Venus may do nothing to understand or change. Instead, the native may accept such behavior of his partner and he may wait for such intense emotions to go away.
Since the native is not trying to counteract or change his partner and at the same time, he is fine with intense emotions or mood swings of his partner, he’s helping the relationship. The intense emotions may subside and the partner may realize she has taken a lot of anger out on the native; some of which may be undue. This may create respect in the mind of such partner for the native, since he accepts the unpleasant sides of her personality also, along with the pleasant ones.
This is why Venus is considered as the planet which rules love affairs and marriages across the globe, since no planet is as good as Venus; when it comes to understand the feelings of the partner and accommodate them. When it comes to Moon, it is higher and purer than Venus but the love generated by Moon is different type of love, like the love of a mother.
It means people under strong influence of Moon may not even need to understand and accommodate. Such people are able to see pleasures even in unpleasant acts of their loved ones. Hence they don’t feel the need to change anything or accommodate anything, since they may simply embrace everything. Mercury tries to change, Venus tries to accommodate and Moon simply embraces.
This is why the love of a mother is unmatched in the world, as she embraces everything her children may have. Since this type of love is difficult to find in relationships like love affair and marriage; Venus becomes the best possible option for such relationships. Apart from that, Moon type love is generally not much interested in physical relationships whereas Venus puts such relationships on priority. Hence Venus gains extra points when it comes to relationships like love affair and marriage.
Looking at Sun, it is comfortable in relationships like marriage, as long as it gets the bigger share. It means Sun may adjust and accommodate as long as it is benefitting more than making such adjustments. If such adjustments outweigh the benefits; Sun type native may walk out of the relationship. Hence Sun may do all right in such relationships but it is not the ideal choice.
When it comes to Jupiter, it represents the highest form of love, which is not only very difficult to embrace but also difficult to even understand. Jupiter’s love is divine love and it surpasses the love of a mother also. A mother may be able to embrace her children with all their merits and flaws, but she may not be able to do so with everyone else. It means the love of a mother may be pure, but only for her children.
When it comes to Jupiter, it can embrace the entire humanity/universe with the same ease, as a mother embraces her children. Though this love is divine and it is the highest form of love; it doesn’t help much in relationships like marriage. This is because marriage is a relationship where the partner expects you to shower most of your love on her. Since Jupiter in its purest form doesn’t discriminate; it may love everyone else like it loves the partner.
When that happens, the partner may lose that feeling of being special since she’s being treated like everyone else. This may cause concerns and hence Jupiter in its purest form is often unfit for relationships like marriage. It should be noted that people under strong influence of this type of Jupiter may still love their partners more than Venus and Moon type people. However, their love may not be exclusive for their partners and in fact; it may not be exclusive for anyone. Since marriage is an exclusive type of relationship, Jupiter in its purest form is often found unfit for marriage.
Coming back to Virgo part of Chitra, it may be troublesome for relationships like marriage. Therefore, placement of malefic Mars in Virgo in Chitra in relevant houses of a horoscope may easily break one or two marriages of the native. The Libra part of Chitra does better in this domain, due to influence of Venus. Hence people under strong influence of Libra part of Chitra may be able to fulfill or complete their relationships. As a result, they are not likely to go through such intense emotional states, experienced by people under strong influence of Virgo part of Chitra.
Chitra people may be creative on one level or another, as creativity is the keyword for Chitra. These people may have special interests in solving mysteries behind beautiful creations of nature. They are generally good at understanding the complex and mysterious details of things much faster than many other nakshatra type people.
In today’s world, Chitra people may be found behind some of the most beautiful architecture, the world of fashion and glamour; and other such fields where creative imagination is the primary element. Under specific conditions in horoscopes, people under strong influence of Chitra may be the ones to look into the secrets, mysteries and illusions of the supernatural realms and connect themselves to these realms.
Chitra people may have some type of mystery element involved in whatever they do and this element of mystery may be difficult for others to understand. For example, a Chitra native working on one of his creations may look like an utter mysterious character to people around him. This is because whatever he is visibly doing, may not make much sense to such people. Accordingly, they may be very much surprised when such native comes up with a brilliant creation which seems to appear out of almost nothing. Chitra people may have the tendency to surprise people with their creative abilities.
Though Chitra exhibits a number of traits, different people may embrace different traits, depending on placements of various planets in this nakshatra as well as on their overall horoscopes. Looking at planets; Mercury, Moon and Rahu may perform better in Virgo part of Chitra whereas Saturn and Venus may perform better in Libra part of Chitra. Saturn is exalted in Libra and Venus is debilitated in Virgo.
Sun performs better in Virgo part of Chitra since it gets debilitated in Libra. Jupiter, Mars and Ketu may perform better in Libra part of Chitra. Jupiter and Mars may do better in Libra than in Virgo whereas Ketu is debilitated in Virgo.
Placements of malefic planets in Chitra may weaken or corrupt the traits of this nakshatra, depending on the overall horoscope of the native under consideration. For example, if malefic Sun is placed in the seventh house of a horoscope in Virgo in Chitra, the native may suffer from serious problems in his marriage. In an extreme case when supported by other malefic planets; such malefic Sun in Chitra may break two or three marriages of the native; on account of serious misunderstandings and disputes with his partner.
Let’s look at performances of various planets in various navamshas of Chitra. Starting with Leo navamsha; Mercury may perform very well in this navamsha whereas Saturn and Rahu may perform well but not very well here. Rahu is not strong in Leo and Saturn is weak this sign. Sun may perform above average or well here; since it is strong in Leo and comfortable in Chitra.
Mars may also perform above average or well in this navamsha; since it is strong in Leo and it has great comfort in Chitra. Jupiter may perform above average but not well in this navamsha; since it doesn’t have as much strength in Virgo as Sun and it is not as good in Chitra as Mars.
Moon may perform on average or above average here, since it is not much comfortable with the energy of Chitra. Venus may perform below average here; since it is debilitated in Virgo and not strong in Leo. Ketu may perform on average here; since it is strong in Leo but debilitated in Virgo. Among navagraha; Mercury may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Venus may be the weakest.
Looking at Virgo navamsha; Mercury, Rahu and Saturn may perform very well here. Mercury and Rahu witness double exaltation in this navamsha. Among all 108 navamshas of 27 nakshatras; Mercury may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Rahu may be the strongest in Taurus navamsha of Hasta; within the sign of Virgo.
Moon may perform on average or above average here; depending on the overall horoscope. Sun and Mars may perform above average here. Jupiter may perform below average here; since it doesn’t have sufficient strength in Virgo. Venus and Ketu may perform poorly or very poorly in this navamsha. Among all 108 navamshas of 27 nakshatras; Venus may be weakest in this navamsha. Among navagraha; Mercury may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Venus may be the weakest.
Moving on to Libra navamsha; Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Rahu may do very well in this navamsha. Saturn and Venus may do better than Mercury and Rahu here; since both of them are stronger in Libra than Mercury and Rahu. Moon and Jupiter may perform on average or above average here; depending on the overall horoscope.
Mars may perform above average here; since it has great comfort in Chitra but it is not strong in Libra. Ketu may perform on average in this navamsha. Sun may perform poorly in this navamsha; since it is debilitated in Libra. Among navagraha; Saturn and Venus may be the strongest and Sun may be the weakest in this navamsha.
Considering Scorpio navamsha; Venus and Saturn may perform well or very well here whereas Mercury and Rahu may perform well but not very well in this navamsha. Rahu is debilitated in Scorpio and Mercury is not strong in Scorpio. Mars may perform well in this navamsha; since it has great comfort in Chitra and it is strong in Scorpio. Within the sign of Libra; Mars may be the strongest in this navamsha.
Ketu may perform above average here; since it is exalted in Scorpio but it doesn’t have much strength in Libra. Jupiter may perform on average or above average here. Sun may perform relatively better in this navamsha but it may still be below average. Moon may perform below average in this navamsha; since it is debilitated in Scorpio and not much comfortable in Chitra. Among navagraha; Venus may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Sun may be the weakest.
Himanshu Shangari