Krishna often pairs the Sun and Moon—Shashi and Surya—together in his dialogue with Arjuna. In verse 7.8 He tells Arjuna, prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ: “I am the light or prabha of the Moon and the Sun.” Here the Moon is called Shashi because the Moon appears to have a rabbit or shasha engraved upon it. Krishna also explains that the Moon is one of the stars in 10.21 when he tells Arjuna nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī: “Among the stars I am Shashi—the Moon.” Again, in 15.12 the Supreme Lord emphasizes that both Aditya and Chandra represent Him:
yad āditya-gataṁ tejo
jagad bhāsayate 'khilam
yac candramasi yac cāgnau
tat tejo viddhi māmakam
“The splendor of the Sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendor of the Moon and the splendor of fire are also from Me.” Submissively, Arjuna speaks in wonder in: ananta-bāhuṁ śaśi-sūrya-netram, “You have numberless arms, and the Sun and Moon are among Your great unlimited eyes.” (11.19) Understanding the Lord’s glories in the Universe, Arjuna exclaims: vayur yamo ‘gnir varunah shashaṅkah: “You are air, fire, water, and You are the Moon!” (11.39) Finally the Lord explains to Arjuna a great secret of His potencies in a verse that is actually the most important in all astrology--jyotisha. He reveals,
gām āviśya ca bhūtāni
dhārayāmy aham ojasā
puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ
somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ
“I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the Moon and thereby supply the juice of life (the rasa) to all vegetables” (15.13). Why do we see this verse as so important? Before Shrila Prabhupada came to the West with the actual teachings of Vedic science, philosophy and religion, no one understood the secrets of the Moon’s potency or how the planets stay in orbit. Of course everyone appreciates the Sun because his presence in the sky is so obvious. But as far as the Moon is concerned, many bluffer “scientists” speculated that it was merely a dusty rock spinning in space that “might have broken off from the earth only to be captured by the earth’s gravity.” (If the earth’s gravity is strong enough to hold the Moon in orbit hundreds of thousands of miles away, how did it break off in the first place?). By understanding that the Moon is one of the eyes of the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna, and that he has a function in the maintenance and development of the universe, a higher consciousness arises, Krishna says in this verse, that through His energy He personally nourishes all vegetables and supplies the juice of life to them. The word pushnami or “nourishing” is significant— through the agency of the Moon, Krishna nourishes the Universe. As such, through an extended understanding of the importance of this verse it becomes clear that Lord Krishna—through His representative the Moon— supplies the life force to all individual entities who take birth in this world. And this is the secret of Vedic astrology, a secret that is told in none of the “how to” jyotisha-shastras that specifically deal with the technicalities of the science.
In the genuine form of astrology—the original system that has come to be known as Vedic astrology—the Moon sign is of primary importance. And the reason for that is given in this verse. Apparently the “Father of Vedic Astrology” (Parashara Muni who wrote Shri Parashara Hora Shastra) left it to his son (Shrila Vyasadeva) to explain the philosophical and scientific substance of astrology. While the father gave the formulas, the son presented this knowledge embedded in his Puranas and Mahabharata. This was done apparently to keep unqualified and vainglorious status seekers— those who would use astrology to leverage their own name and fame— separate from the genuine teachings of the Vedas. Today in the West although there are thousands eagerly claiming to be “Vedic astrologers,” only a precious few of them have a clue about Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
Thus through the insight and vision of Shri Parashara Muni and Shrila Vyasadeva the actual teachings of the shastras remain protected from the unqualified. This verse conveys the understanding that since the Moon is the planet of nourishment—pushnami—therefore the Moon sign holds primary importance. This is confirmed in the Shrimad-Bhagavatam (SB 5.22.9-10): “…The Moon is the source of nectarean coolness that influences the growth of food grains, and therefore (Soma) the demigod of the Moon is considered the life of all living entities. He is consequently called Jiva, the chief living being within the universe. “Because the Moon is full of all potentialities, he represents the influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Moon is the predominating deity of everyone’s mind, and therefore the Moon-god is called Manomaya. He is also called Annamaya because ‘he gives potency to all herbs and plants,’ and he is called Amrtamaya because he is the ‘source of life for all living entities’. The Moon pleases the demigods, pitas, human beings, animals, birds, reptiles, trees, plants and all other living entities. Everyone is satisfied by the presence of the Moon. Therefore the Moon is also called Sarvamaya or ‘all-pervading’.”
Just as the Sun is the atma-karaka, so the Moon is astrology’s manasakaraka or “planetary deity of the mind.” Furthermore the Moon is also considered the most important planet in astrology because the Moon is the most changeable of all the nava-grahas. Not only does the Moon move the fastest—circling the twelve signs of the zodiac in twenty-eight days, a feat which takes the Sun 360 days—but the Moon also waxes and wanes and thus creates different effects at every second. Therefore, more than the other planets, the keys to individuality in a chart are found in the Moon’s position. The Sun and the Moon are like the father and mother of the universe. In almost any household, the silent and patient presence of the mother is actually greater than that of the father’s—although the mother is generally less visible. In the same way, in the universe the silent, subtle and soft Moon quietly nourishes and cares for all living entities and thus acts as the life of the Universe.
The different tastes of fruits and vegetables, the healing properties of herbs, the individual natures of living entities and the difference in personalities of all creatures are due to Lord Krishna’s influences through the Moon. Therefore, in a nutshell, this is why the Moon and not the Sun is the key planet or “sign” (rashi) in astrology. Lord Krishna emphasizes the movements of the planets at the time of passing away also. Just as the stars at the time of birth—the birth chart— speak of the karma-phala that the entity has brought to this lifetime, so also the horoscope at the time of leaving the body speaks of the entity’s next destination. The Lord tells Arjuna (Bg.8.24):
agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ
ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam
tatra prayātā gacchanti
brahma brahma-vido janāḥ
“Those who know the Supreme Brahman (Krishna) pass away from the world at an auspicious moment: during the influence of the fiery god (Agni), in the light (jyotir aha or in the daytime), during the waxing fortnight of the Moon (shukla meaning shukla paksha) and the six months when the sun travels in the north (uttarayana or the region of the devatas).” Of course, the exception to this instruction is also given in Bhagavad-gita (11.55) wherein Krishna assures Arjuna: “My dear Arjuna, one who is engaged in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of previous activities and from mental speculation, who is friendly to every living entity, certainly comes to Me.”
That is why Shrila Prabhupada has called Krishna consciousness his “back to Godhead” movement. Through the divine dispensation of the Lord’s Holy Names by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu a new dawn is spreading over the planet. For the devotee who remembers of the Lord’s holy names—Hare Krishna—at the time of leaving this world he is promoted to the Spiritual Sky, to Goloka Vrindavana, never to return to this miserable world of birth and death.