Scorpio (Vrishchik)

Number

8

Element

Water

Ruler

Mars

Astronomical Introduction

The constellations of this rashi (the zodiacal sign) form a strikingly beautiful and arresting sight in the sky, so Vrishchika is easily recognized overhead in the shape of a scorpion. It occupies a fairly large region of the heavens. The four bright stars of the Vishakha and Anuradha nakshatras (lunar mansions) appear to form the scorpion's face; the stars of Jyeshtha form its belly; and the stars of the Mula nakshatra form its raised, curved, stinging tail. The single most important star of this rashi lies in its belly, a star 285 times larger than the Sun and giving off thirty thousand times more light. In truth, by the actual positions of the stars, the stars of Mula too fall within this rashi. By convention, however, Vrishchika is taken to contain the Anuradha and Jyeshtha nakshatras together with the final quarter of Vishakha, so that exactly two and a quarter nakshatras fall in each rashi.

Mythological Account

From Mithuna (Gemini) onward through Vrishchika, indeed reaching as far as Dhanu (Sagittarius), a long serpent-constellation called Hrid-Sarpa lies spread across the sky. This serpent is held to have seven heads. When the Sun, in the form of Vishnu, passes through these signs, it is reckoned as devashayana, the season of the deity's cosmic sleep, as though Lord Vishnu were reposing upon the couch of Ananta Naga, the endless serpent.

In Greek legend, when Phaethon, son of the Sun-god (Apollo), was driving the chariot of the Sun, a scorpion frightened him. In another tale, at the prompting of Juno, queen of the gods, a scorpion stung Orion; the scorpion was afterwards granted a place among the signs of the sky. And in the Egyptian tradition, scorpions are found as the companions of their goddess Isis.

Nature

Golden in color, this rashi is shaped like a scorpion. Its lord (swami) is Mangal (Mars). The Moon (Chandra) stands debilitated (neecha) here, and no graha (none of the grasping planets) attains exaltation (uccha) within it. In the body it governs the anus, the penis, the vulva, the testicles, and the bladder. Being of kapha (phlegmatic) constitution, its temperament is clear-minded, firm in resolve, and plain-spoken. In its corrupted form it breeds obstinacy, arrogance, destructiveness, and violence.

Places

This rashi resides in burrows, holes, stones, hiding-places, mounds, battlefields, ruins, and cellars.

Objects

Sugarcane, mango, pineapple, ripe fruit, fresh vegetables; hides and garments of hide; poison (chemicals), mineral substances, explosive materials; serpents, scorpions, lizards, and the mongoose.

Effects

If the janma rashi (the birth sign) or the naam rashi (the name sign) is Vrishchika, the native (jataka) has a broad chest, large eyes, and rounded thighs. He is self-reliant, valiant, and industrious, a destroyer of his enemies. He keeps many servants and attendants, and shows skill in war. Winning honor and respect, he becomes a special recipient of the king's favor. The native's wife is pativrata (devoted and faithful to her husband), while the native himself takes no particular interest in sexual relations. He earns gains from foreign lands and from trade.

For a native of this rashi, people of the Mesha (Aries), Karka (Cancer), Simha (Leo), Dhanu (Sagittarius), and Meena (Pisces) signs prove excellent, but there is antagonism with those of Mithuna (Gemini) and Kanya (Virgo). Under inauspicious influence the native turns wrathful, quarrelsome, given to intoxicants, deceitful, treacherous toward friends, and apt to throw obstacles into work that is on the verge of success. Death comes through some prolonged illness, and there is the likelihood of harm from thieves, weapons, and fire.

Diseases

Injury by weapons, surgery, lower-back pain, trouble of the spine, hemorrhoids, itching, retention of urine, and phiranga, that is, the secret venereal diseases.