Author: addittya tamhankar

Mercury entered Cancer on 22 June and will remain there until 30 August—a rare 68-day sojourn. Even more noteworthy, Mercury goes retrograde from 18 July to 11 August, inviting us all to pause, reflect, and rewire our thoughts.

Mercury is the guru of Rahu, and its guru is the Moon. Now Mercury rests in the sign of its own teacher—the nurturing, emotional waters of Cancer. First comes the mind (Moon), then comes Mercury’s processing, and finally Rahu’s restless desires. If the Moon is disturbed, the mind grows chaotic, and people take cheap pleasure in hurting others with offensive comments—accumulating negative karma. So when Mercury in Cancer rules our thoughts, let us tend first to the Moon, then to Mercury, before Rahu ever stirs.

Mercury in Cancer: The Emotional Mind

• Not the Debating Mercury. This is the Mercury that feels before it thinks, that speaks in whispers, that holds nostalgia like a poem.
• Moody, Tender, Romantic. People with this placement are gentle and trusting—but also vulnerable. They live by rhythm, not by rules.

Key Themes

• Communication becomes heart-centered.
• Decisions flow from intuition and memory.
• Retrograde (18 Jul–11 Aug) asks us to listen inwardly, not react hastily.

Sign-by-Sign Forecast

Aries

• 22 Jun–17 Jul (Direct): Focus on home, family and emotional healing (4th house). Career slows for inner stability; avoid property deals.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug (Retrograde): Family disagreements or past issues may resurface. Sit quietly, let tears flow, and heal mother-wounds.

Taurus

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Mercury lights up your 3rd house of siblings, short trips, and creative expression. Speak your truth—“I love you.”
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Expect delays in communication or travel. Practice patience, listen more than speak.

Gemini

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Activates your 2nd house of income and values. Reevaluate how you earn, eat mindfully.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Financial confusions may arise; avoid lending or big purchases. Affirm daily:“I am enough. I deserve to receive in ease.”

Cancer

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Mercury in your own sign makes you the soulful communicator. Career and romance deepen through authenticity.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Self-doubt may creep in. Avoid major changes—turn inward, journal, and honor your inner voice.

Leo

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Activates your 12th house of rest, retreat, and spiritual cleansing. Work behind the scenes; embrace solitude.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Secrets, inner fears, or travel delays may occur. Remember, rest is not laziness but medicine.

Virgo

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Mercury in your 11th house brings gains through friends and networks. Your words inspire community projects.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Old friends may return; teamwork may stall. Listen more than you speak and revise your vision.

Libra

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Shines on your 10th house of career. Diplomacy at work brings reward.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Career miscommunications may arise. Let actions speak, not words.

Scorpio

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Stimulates your 9th house of higher learning and travel. Embrace new philosophies; work gains through foreign ties.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Belief systems may shake. Avoid preaching; instead, listen and question your own assumptions.

Sagittarius

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Lights your 8th house of transformation, shared resources, and intimacy. Joint ventures prosper.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Hidden truths resurface. Postpone major financial or intimate decisions; allow healing.

Capricorn

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Activates your 7th house of partnerships. Deep talks enrich marriage and alliances.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Relationship issues from the past may flare. Avoid signing contracts—see your partner as a teacher.

Aquarius

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Focuses on your 6th house of work and health. Efficiency rises; a structured routine heals.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Office misunderstandings may occur. Revisit your habits—routines can be blessings, not burdens.

Pisces

• 22 Jun–17 Jul: Brightens your 5th house of creativity, romance, and children. Play, create, and rejoice.
• 18 Jul–11 Aug: Past lovers or creative blocks may return. Embrace your inner child—joy is your healer.

Universal Remedy

1. Chant the Vasudeva Mantra: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya 108 times every Wednesday (preferably at sunrise & sunset).
2. Wednesday Ganesha Puja
   • Offer 1 kg green lentils (mung dal)
   • Sweet modaks
   • Five red hibiscus flowers
   • One tender coconut
   • Incense sticks
   • Avoid non-veg on Wednesdays until Mercury enters Leo on 30 August.
3. Meditate Daily
   • Sit silently by the “stream of your mind” (as in the Buddha & Ānanda story).
   • Observe thoughts without reacting—clarity arises when you stop feeding chaos.

The Buddha & Ānanda: A Teaching on Mercury in Cancer

When Ānanda found a river too muddy to drink, the Buddha told him to sit by its bank, watch, and wait. Slowly the mud settled and the water cleared. Likewise, Mercury in Cancer (especially retrograde) asks you to observe your mind—don’t plunge in and stir it up. Clarity comes when you stop reacting and simply bear witness.

This transit is not just astrology—it is meditation. Mercury in Cancer teaches the sacred art of stillness. Pause, feel, and watch. When the mind calms on its own, you’ll return like Ānanda, dancing with quiet joy.

Jai Sri Ganesha. Jai Guru.

In Aries, that is in Ashwini, Ketu is very adventurous, very playful, very straightforward—it can even die for someone, and if required, can even take someone’s life. In Magha, Ketu is very creative. Creative intelligence excels in performance. By the time Ketu comes to Mula, Ketu is completely matured and now is focused on life’s philosophy and the spiritual path. That is why Mula Nakshatra natives are highly spiritual by nature: their entire focus is understanding life’s purpose and finding its meaning. A person with Moon in Mula Nakshatra is definitely not shallow but possesses immense depth of understanding. Never take a Mula person lightly—they carry profound wisdom.

It is possible that early in life they may seem foolish. Just as it happened with Kalidas: in his early days he was considered an idiot. His princess wife discovered his supposed stupidity the next day and kicked him out of the palace. Homeless, he wandered through towns and villages until he reached a Kali temple. There he performed penance for years without result. Finally he resolved to cut off his head. As he raised the knife, Goddess Kali appeared and blessed him with wisdom and love. The same Kalidas whom the world mocked became the Shakespeare of India—one of the nine gems of King Vikramaditya’s court. Initially ignored and condemned, he rose to such heights that even today we remember him as India’s greatest poet.

Never underestimate a Mula Nakshatra person. Always remember: a lake is large but shallow; a well is small but deep. People draw from the well, not the lake, because a well has depth that a lake lacks. Only Mula Nakshatra has that depth, which is why I love it. Here, Ketu spreads its wings and enables the evolved soul to progress on the spiritual path. To progress spiritually, much must be cut away—only the essential remains. You must become increasingly detached, and Mula is the perfect place to attain that state.

Mula: The Destructive Path to Enlightenment

Ketu matures in Mula—its ultimate state of enlightenment. But remember, enlightenment happens only when you become zero. To become zero, you must endure upheavals, shedding all but the essential. Enlightenment is destructive: it crumbles away untruth and eradicates everything we imagined to be true.

Mula is closely connected to Lord Ganesha. If you offer sweets to Ganesha on Mula Nakshatra and recite the Ganesha mantra

nginxCopyEditOm Gam Ganapataye Namah

daily for twelve years, the malefic effects of Mula are nullified.

Ketu is wisdom, and wisdom is intelligence. Mula is the epitome of intelligence, since Ketu is exalted in Mula (the first pada of Sagittarius). Natives born with Moon in Mula are passionate and intense, with the ability to go to the depths of any matter. Hence many great doctors, investigators, scientists, scholars, and pundits have Moon in Mula Nakshatra.

Ketu is devoted to Lord Shiva. Mula natives are often ardent devotees of Shiva. Yet Mula’s fiery nature demands balance: worship both Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesha to temper intensity with calmness.

One beautiful quality of a Mula native is that they will not overthink—they follow the voice of their heart. That reminds me of a story close to my heart:

The Story of Mojud

Once there lived a man named Mojud, a lowly clerk destined to end life as an inspector of weights and measures. One day, while walking through a garden, Khidr, the Sufi guide, appeared and said, “Leave your work and meet me by the riverside in three days.” Mojud obeyed, quitting his job amid the townspeople’s ridicule.

On the appointed day, Khidr told him, “Tear your clothes and jump into the stream—perhaps someone will save you.” Mojud, though puzzled, obeyed. He drifted until a fisherman rescued him, bringing him to his hut. There Mojud learned to read and write in exchange for his labor.

Months later, Khidr called him again: “Leave and walk to Mosul. Use your savings to become a skin merchant.” Mojud followed, saved, then gave his money away at Khidr’s command, moving on to Samarkand to work for a grocer.

There he healed the sick, served others, and his wisdom deepened. Scholars visited him, asking his teacher’s name. “I started as a small official and simply obeyed,” he said. Their biographies spun exciting legends, but Mojud’s real story was one of faithful surrender and courageous leaps into the unknown.

Mojud’s life mirrors Mula: he jumped into the unknown again and again, guided by faith. He believed in Khidr and in himself. Only one who truly believes in themselves can believe in God (Swami Vivekananda).

Mula natives can achieve the unbelievable through faith and willingness to risk. They live like rivers—flowing without fear of destination.

Remember: allow life to take you where it must. Be courageous; don’t let fear bind you. Mula Moon natives possess faith, risk-taking, and the ability to follow the heart beyond the mind. That is the divine way.

Jai Sri Ganesha. Jai Guru.

In Aries, that is in Ashwini, Ketu is very adventurous, very playful, very straightforward, can even die for someone. And if required, can even take somebody’s life. In Magha, Ketu is very creative. Creative intelligence is excellent in giving good performance. And by the time Ketu comes in Mula, Ketu is completely matured. Now Ketu is more interested in the philosophy of life, exploring the spiritual path. That is why Mula Nakshatra natives are highly spiritual by nature. Their whole focus is understanding the purpose of life, finding its meaning. A person with Moon in Mula Nakshatra is definitely not shallow but has immense depth of understanding. Never take a Mula person lightly—he or she carries great wisdom. In early life they may appear foolish; people may call them stupid, just as it happened with Kalidas. In his early days, he was considered an idiot, then married to a princess who quickly discovered his foolishness and expelled him. Homeless, he wandered through towns and villages, where people threw stones at him. But he was not mad.

Finally he came to a Kali temple and began penance. After years with no result, he resolved to cut off his head. As he raised the knife, Goddess Kali appeared and blessed him with wisdom and love. The same Kalidas whom the world had mocked became the Shakespeare of India—one of the Nine Gems of King Vikramaditya.

Kalidas may well have been a Moon-in-Mula native. Initially ignored and ridiculed, he was thrown out on the street, yet he rose to such greatness that we still celebrate him. So never underestimate a Mula Nakshatra person. Always remember: a lake is large but shallow; a well is small but deep. People draw from the well, not the lake. Only Mula Nakshatra has that depth, and that is why I love it. Here Ketu spreads his wings and enables the evolved soul to progress on the spiritual path. To progress spiritually, much must be cut away—only the essential must remain. You must become more and more detached, and Mula Nakshatra is the perfect place to attain that stage of detachment.

It is said that a young man lost his entire family—wife, son, daughter—in an accident. Dejected and depressed, he took to alcohol. The villagers labeled him a drunkard, threw stones at him, beat him, called him evil. One day, torrential rains flooded the village for six days. Homes, cattle, children were lost; the village cried out in sorrow. Rituals failed to appease God.

Then the drunken man appeared, bottle in hand. He sensed his fellow villagers’ pain. Looking up, he said, “God, if you stop the rains, I will give up alcohol until my last breath.” Immediately the rains ceased. The villagers apologized for their cruelty; he replied, “I am not great—God is great. If He heard me, I will honor my vow.” He left the village forever, thirsty for divine love, longing for God. He sang on his path:

On the great high mountains dwells my Lord Shiva.
Innocent and lovable, I am His devoted lover.
This world is a pretence; I love only Shiva.
I know not how I became His devotee,
But now I sing and dance in His holy name.

That is how Mula becomes a blessing in disguise. Through one hand it may take away something, but with the other it gives something far more beautiful and divine. The man lost his family but gained divine wisdom and love of Lord Shiva. He became a monk whose journey became the destination.

In simple words, Moon in Mula suits those willing to walk—or already walking—the spiritual path. Its intensity and power are too great for the shallow soul, but for the evolved, Mula is a profound blessing.

Jai Sri Ganesha. Jai Guru.

Bharani is a highly materialistic, worldly Nakshatra. It is a Sansaari Nakshatra—but Sansar does not mean “world.” Let this be very clear: Sansar means the repeating wheel, the same repeating pattern. Even if you leave your wife and go to the Himalayas, you are still part of that same wheel, repeating again and again. You may think you have left everything behind, but you haven’t. Past lives may have seen the same patterns. Nobody escapes Sansar until you bring more and more awareness to your being so that old patterns can change. Life continues to repeat mindlessly until you become mindful.

Bharani is such a Sansaari Nakshatra. It is materialistic, ruled by Venus, and happy enjoying the many pleasures of human life.

A Story of Total Presence

A great warrior returned home and was shocked to see his daughter with her lover. He could have killed the young man on the spot, but he decided to follow custom: a fair trial. He told the youth, “Tomorrow morning you will fight me. If you win, my daughter is yours. If not, you die.”

The young lover, a poor farmer who had never held a sword, pleaded for two days to train. The warrior agreed. The youth found a Zen master in a nearby monastery and begged for instruction. The master said, “Even years of training won’t help. Your father-in-law is the country’s second-best warrior. But there is one advantage you have: your death is certain. You have nothing to lose. He has everything to lose—his daughter, his prestige, his land. His mind cannot be fully present. But you can be total. One moment of unawareness, and you’re gone. That makes this the right moment to fight.”

The young man returned almost immediately. The next morning, tradition demanded the warrior and his challenger bow to each other. Then, without technique but with total presence born of loving desperation, the youth attacked. Every strike landed where no expert would ever expect. The warrior, unprepared for this fearless awareness, found himself backed into a corner.

Eventually, trembling with fear, the warrior conceded. “Take my daughter, take my property. I renounce the world and become a monk.” Neither man understood exactly why—but in the face of true love, courage arises without training.

Bharani and Love’s Power

What takes years to learn in disciplined training, love can teach you instantly. Love’s power is more electrifying than any technique. Venus rules love, and Bharani is the most romantic Nakshatra—Venus placed in the adventurous, fiery sign of Aries.

When the Moon occupies Bharani Nakshatra, that same intensity of loving totality can awaken within you. You move beyond repeating patterns to a mindful presence.

Jai Sri Ganesha. Jai Guru.