New Moon in Shravana Nakshatra
A time for quiet contemplation
On January 28/29, the moon is resetting its cycle in Shravana Nakshatra. Shravana is a nakshatra tied to deep listening and learning.
Let’s face it, we live in an increasingly noisy world. We are barraged with information from every direction, and much of it these days is filled with worry, alarm and uncertainty.
The energy of this new moon invites us go within and listen to what truly matters. It provides a cosmic set of noise reduction earphones that allows us to reconnect to our intuition and the essence of our soul.
This time is therefore ideal for quiet contemplation, meditation, writing and tuning into the wisdom and pulse of the universe we often can’t hear over the clamor and commotion of our modern lives.
The significance of Shravana new moon in India
In the Vedic calendar, Shravana new moon is called Mauni Amavaysa, or “silent new moon.” Traditionally, a vow of silence is taken on this day so you can listen to the voice of higher guidance. It is also one of the most significant days in Kumbh Mela, or festival of the Sacred Pitcher, when it is particularly auspicious to take a dip in one of the sacred rivers. Bathing in these rivers is considered an act of atonement and penance for past mistakes, both intentional and unintentional. If you enter with the intention to voluntarily accept your errors and misdeeds, the waters are believed to wash away your sins and undo or reduce the negative karmic consequences.
This reminds me of my own powerful encounter with the Ganges river on my trip to Varanasi at the end of 2023. When I was there, I woke early every morning because of my jetlag and walked alone to the banks of the river for quiet meditation before the city fully breaks out into its daily chaotic madness.
From the start, I was deeply drawn to the river. When I gazed over her, the Ganges seemed to be calling to me: Come into my waters my child, and be cleansed.
As evocative and beautiful as this call was, my rational mind soon set in. They toss everything into the Ganges in Varanasi, and I mean everything. Although thousands of people bathe there every day, and some even drink the water, without any problems, some also get (very) sick – particularly tourists like myself.
At first I tried to play it safe by just sprinkling a little of the river’s water on my head or wading in just past my ankles. But towards the end of the trip, I realized that I would deeply regret it if I didn’t take a dip since the river’s call had been so clear and powerful.
I read up on all the ways one could get sick from bathing in the Ganges so I’d be ready to deal with it if the symptoms came. I then took a dip on two days at dawn, once with another woman from California, and once with a woman from India who taught me the poems I should say, as well as other aspects of the traditional ritual.
I never got sick and now believe my dip(s) in the Ganges were a particularly powerful moon remediation for me – one that I really needed since the moon is crushed in my chart. In fact, sometimes I wonder if this experience with the river, and not the Jyotish course, was the reason I went to Varanasi in the first place – although I certainly didn’t know that at the time.
Either way, I will be eternally grateful to Mother Ganges and hope to gaze upon her waters again someday.
Jai Ganga Ma.
Michelle R. Dean is a Vedic astrologer and writer based in Berlin. To find out more about Michelle, swing by here.