Chitra Nakshatra
Chitra nakshatra is fourteenth among 27 nakshatras. The first two quarters of this nakshatra fall in Virgo whereas the last two quarters fall in Libra.
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 nakshatra has a lot to do with beauty in one form or another.
Vedic astrology assigns the symbol of a bright shining gemstone to Chitra nakshatra. This symbol indicates that Chitra nakshatra 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 nakshatra 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 nakshatra exhibits characteristics of dealing with arts and crafts, somewhat like the previous nakshatra, Hasta.
A Pearl is assigned as an alternative symbol to Chitra nakshatra. 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 nakshatra exhibits the characteristic of creating beauty under intense circumstances. It means natives under strong influence of Chitra nakshatra 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 nakshatra 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 characteristics of Vishwakarma are exhibited by Chitra nakshatra. As a result, natives under strong influence of Chitra nakshatra may be skilled at the art of creating beautiful and grand pieces of creation or structures. Since Chitra nakshatra deals with mysteries of creation; natives under its influence may have very good sense of mysterious elements working behind many types of creations. It means such natives 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 natives to match or copy the creations of Chitra natives. In simple terms, natives under strong influence of Chitra nakshatra may hold unique skills and deep sense of creation, in whichever fields they may be working; depending on their horoscopes. Due to these characteristics; Chitra natives may hold special places in their respective creative fields of professions.
Vedic astrology assigns Mars as the ruling planet of Chitra nakshatra. Mars is considered as a planet of energy. Hence the influence of Mars on Chitra nakshatra 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 nakshatra by providing abundant energy to it.
The first two quarters of Chitra nakshatra 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 nakshatra with their respective characteristics. This makes Chitra nakshatra 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 natives 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 natives with wonderful creative skills and they may create beautiful things with ease.
Hence Chitra natives may at times create beautiful things and they may at times get lost within themselves; often finding it difficult to handle intense emotions. Chitra natives may have special affinity with completion; and anything incomplete may trouble them. In its positive aspect, this characteristic may help them finish beautiful pieces of art in splendid manners. In its negative aspect, this characteristic of Chitra natives 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 natives 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 nakshatra.
Chitra natives may be creative on one level or another, as creativity is the keyword for Chitra. These natives 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 natives.
In today’s world, Chitra natives 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, natives under strong influence of Chitra nakshatra may be the ones to look into the secrets, mysteries and illusions of the supernatural realms and connect themselves to these realms.
Chitra natives 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 natives may have the tendency to surprise people with their creative abilities.
Looking at professions, natives under strong influence of Chitra nakshatra may achieve success as architects, interior designers, professionals dealing in gemstones and products made with gemstones, painters, artists, sculptors, fashion designers, photographers, composers, ornament makers, actors, musicians, singers, writers, dancers, poets, politicians, government officers, astrologers, orators, consultants, healers, psychics, doctors, therapists, software developers, website developers, professionals dealing in media industry, fashion industry, movie industry, hotel industry, entertainment industry, television industry, gemstone industry, jewellery industry, airline industry, automobile industry, industries for various types of tools; and many other types of professionals.
Let’s look at some other facts associated with this nakshatra. Chitra is considered as an active and tender nakshatra. It is considered as a female nakshatra. Vedic astrology assigns Farmer Varna and fire element to Chitra nakshatra. The Gana assigned to Chitra is Rakshasa and the Guna assigned to it is Tamasic. It is a level nakshatra and its Yoni or animal symbol is Tiger.
Himanshu Shangari