Chitra

The arrival of Chitra nakshatra marks the mid of the journey which starts from the
first nakshatra Ashvini and which completes at the last nakshatra Revati. Chitra is
taken as the fourteenth nakshatra among the 27 nakshatras which are considered
important in Indian Jyotish for making calculations from horoscopes based on Vedic
astrology. And as Chitra is the fourteenth nakshatra among the 27 nakshatras, so it
marks the mid of the journey by having 13 nakshatras before it and 13 nakshatras after
it. The literal meaning of the word Chitra is beautiful and Vedic astrology associates
this nakshatra with the meanings like beautiful, bright, shining and glittering. The
above meanings clearly show that Chitra as a nakshatra, has something to do with
beauty in one form or the other. Most of the Vedic astrologers practicing in Indian
Jyotish take the symbol of this nakshatra as a bright and shining gemstone and this
symbol again shows that Chitra exhibits beauty and art and especially the beauty or
piece of art which has been formed or created under intense conditions, as the
gemstones are created over a very long period of time lying underneath the earth and
facing many biological and chemical factors like heat, pressure and the action of
certain micro organisms. In the same way Chitra represents the beauty or a piece of
art which has been produced by the artist under intense conditions of his mind and
intense level of his creativity. Gemstones are also considered as a piece of art and craft
and are used in making artistic and crafty ornaments and accordingly this nakshatra
also has a lot to do with arts and crafts in somewhat similar manner like its previous
nakshatra Hasta.
Some Vedic astrologers assign a Pearl as an alternative symbol
of this nakshatra. A pearl is formed as a defense response of the oyster when some
foreign element enters between its outer shell and mantle which 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. So it can be noted here that a Pearl which is considered to be a very beautiful
creation of nature is actually produced by the oyster when he is very much irritated
and under pressure to get rid of the foreign substance. Similarly, Chitra can also
represent great pieces of art and beauty which have been produced when the artist was
irritated, depressed or under some other intense kind of mood. Moving ahead, Vedic
astrology considers Tvastar, commonly known as Vishwakarma in Vedic mythology, as
the ruling deity of this nakshatra. Vishwakarma is considered to be a celestial architect
who is expert in creating beautiful and wonderful things out of nothing and in a very
short span of time. Vishwakarma is considered to have mastery over the mysteries and
Maya aspect of nature and he knows all the secrets of creation. Hence the influence of
Vishwakarma on this nakshatra make this nakshatra produce gems and arts of
brilliance, seemingly out of nothing and with a factor of mystery attached to them. So
Chitra can be considered as a nakshatra which has its reach inside the mysteries and
illusions of nature and accordingly it can use this reach and knowledge to produce
beautiful things which are very difficult for the others to imagine and produce. Hence
this nakshatra clearly relates to brilliance drawn from the mystery and illusion side of
nature.
Vedic astrology considers Mars as the ruling planet of this
nakshatra and as Mars is considered as a planet of energy in Indian Jyotish, so the
influence of Mars on this nakshatra provides it with the energy required for its
creations as energy is a very important factor in order to create something. Hence the
Lordship of Mars enhances the creative aspect of this nakshatra by providing
abundant energy to it. The first two parts of this nakshatra fall in the sign of Virgo,
ruled by Mercury and the second two parts of this nakshatra fall in the sign of Libra,
ruled by Venus and accordingly, Mercury and Venus also influence this nakshatra
with their respective qualities which makes it further more creative and complicated
nakshatra as both Mercury and Venus are associated with creativity on one level or
the other. Some Vedic astrologers believe that Rahu also has its influence on this
nakshatra as Rahu is considered as the Co-Ruler of the sign Virgo according to many
Vedic astrologers. So the influence of Rahu brings the mystery element to this
nakshatra as Rahu is considered as a planet of mystery and illusions in Vedic
astrology. Therefore the combined influence of Vishwakarma, Mars, Mercury, Venus
and Rahu makes it a complicated nakshatra which can at times go out of balance due
to the influence of so many different energies on it while on the other hand, the
combined influence of so many planets on this nakshatra help it produce the brilliant
pieces of art which are associated with it.
The natives under the strong influence of this nakshatra are
creative on one level or the other as creativity is the keyword for this nakshatra.
Chitra natives has a special interest in solving the mystery behind beautiful creations
of nature and they are usually very good at understanding the complex and
mysterious details of things much faster than many other nakshatra type natives. In
todays world, Chitra natives can be seen as the ones behind beautiful architecture, the
world of fashion and glamour and other such fields where creative imagination of the
native is the primary quality required. In its higher aspects, Chitra natives can be the
ones to look into the secrets, mysteries and illusions of the super-natural realms and
connect themselves to these realms. Chitra natives usually have some kind of mystery
element involved in whatever they do and this element of mystery can be very difficult
for the others to understand. For example, a Chitra native working on some of his
future creation may look like an utter mysterious character to the people around him
as whatever he is visibly doing, may not make much sense to such people and
accordingly they are very much surprised when such natives comes up with a brilliant
creation which seems to appear out of almost nothing. Chitra natives have a strong
ability to surprise people with their creative abilities.
Vedic astrology associates many kinds of professional spheres
with this nakshatra as it works under the influence of many different energies at the
same time. According to many Vedic astrologers, natives under the influence of this
nakshatra can be seen practicing in various professional fields practicing as Architects,
dealers in gemstones and products made by gemstones, painters, artists, sculptors,
fashion designers and other people dealing in fashion industry, photographers,
composers, Interior designers, ornament makers and many other kinds of people in
many other kinds of professions which are related to creativity on one level or the
other. Some Vedic astrologers believe that the natives under the strong influence of
mysterious Rahu on this nakshatra can be seen practicing as astrologers, psychics,
spiritual people, magicians and other people dealing with the mystery and illusion
aspect of nature.
Looking at some other facts associated with this nakshatra
which are considered important for making calculations like gun Milan for the purpose
of horoscope matching for marriage, Vedic astrology considers Chitra as a Female
nakshatra and though some astrologers associate this classification with the fact that
Chitras creativity is more of feminine creativity than masculine creativity, but no
solid explanation is available so far, for this gender classification of Chitra. Jyotish
considers Chitra Tender in nature and soft in functioning and these classifications can
be understood by looking at the working of this nakshatra. Vedic astrologers assign the
Varna of Vaishya to this nakshatra which can again be understood on the basis that
creations are most of the times made by working class people and working class people
are considered as Vaishyas in Indian Jyotish. Vedic astrology assigns the Gun of
Tamasic to this nakshatra and the Gana of Rakshas is assigned to this nakshatra. Many
Vedic astrologers associate the above mentioned classifications of this nakshatra, with
the fact that Rakshasas are far better in understanding the mysteries of Maya or
illusions, than Dev or Manav and since Rakshasas are considered Tamasic in Gun, so
this nakshatra has been classified as Tamasic in Gun and Rakshas in Gan, by ancient
Vedic astrologers. The element assigned to this nakshatra is Fire which helps this
nakshatra make its creations as fire is a direct form of energy and the ruling deity of
this nakshatra, Mars is considered as a direct signifier of Fire and Energy in Indian
Jyotish.