The 28 lunar mansions · 7th of 28
Al-Dhirāʿ الذراع
The forearm. A theme of reaching out and reconciliation; extending the arm in goodwill.
- Its stars
- Castor and Pollux (α and β Geminorum), the heads of the Twins
- Where it lies
- 17°09′ Gemini to 0°00′ Cancer, as Baghdad counted it
- How often
- The Moon passes through about every 27⅓ days and stays roughly a day
- Next visit
- Calculating…
Born with the Moon in Al-Dhirāʿ
You reach out. 'The forearm' was the station of extending the hand, and you have a natural gift for mending things between people.
Gifts
Warmth, diplomacy, a talent for reconciliation
Watch for
Giving more than you ask for in return
A theme your life returns to. Bridges are your theme. Again and again you find yourself between people or groups, and you make the connection hold.
A night in Al-Dhirāʿ
The astrologers of Baghdad chose the night for a task by the Moon's mansion. For Al-Dhirāʿ the old lists say:
Good for
- ploughing and sowing
- trade
- reconciliation
Better left for another night
- travel (except last third of the night)
- buying property
A thought for the night I reach out to someone with a small gesture of goodwill.
The readings are modern, drawn from each station's traditional name and meaning. They describe tendencies, not events, and are offered for reflection and fun.
Sources
- Al-Bīrūnī, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (1029), the chapter on the lunar mansions. Translated by R. Ramsay Wright (1934).
- Picatrix (Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm), Book I, chapter 4: the 28 mansions and the works begun in each.
- Ibn Abī l-Rijāl (Haly Abenragel), The Distinguished Book on the Judgements of the Stars, Book VII: elections by the Moon's mansion.
- Star identifications follow Paul Kunitzsch, Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber (1961), and the usual modern lists.
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