The old world science of Jyotiṣa is comprised of 6 different branches, or limbs. Each one of these limbs offers a different understanding of how manifestation unfolds, and how we can tune into that unfolding to support the human condition.
Muhūrta, one of these limbs, is possibly the most fertile of these tools. Muhūrta settles time.
It enables us to know precisely when the environment of the world in which we exist will align with the greater environment to make use of moments which will bear optimal fruits. As the saying goes: “Right time, right place”.
Just as when planting a seed we want to make sure we plant that seed at a time when the external circumstances of temperature and humidity and light and season will enable the seed to sprout and survive and flourish into a magnificent plant, just so with commencing our own actions, we want to align with the Universe in a way that gives those actions the most potent possibility to grow and give fruit. We can accomplish this through Muhūrta.
In India, knowledge of how to select auspicious moments, how to find those blessed instances assuring the best possible outcomes for our undertakings, has been celebrated throughout time. We could even say that thousands of years ago this use of Jyotiṣa was more widely invoked than the relatively self-absorbed navigating of one’s own personal horoscope. When do we inaugurate the temple that is going to bring protection and blessings and abundance to our community? When do we lay the foundation to that house that is going to be an abode for my family for the next 7 generations? When do we commence that journey so our travels will be supported by our environment?
A proper muhūrta is like a seed planted in time to live the best life possible. The more important to you an inaugurating event is, the more so you want to be compelled to align yourselves with the waves of destiny just like the surfer in the ocean waits for just the right time to ride that wave to shore at the end of the day.
Muhūrta is a labor-intensive process that integrates your own personal astrology with what is happening in the skies and looks for the most auspicious time to begin an undertaking.
What sort of events can benefit from selecting a muhūrta? Any type of commencement, any beginning of an activity.
From potentially life-long contracts like marriage to starting a business to laying the foundation of a house, to more temporal but equally important things like starting an education in some specific field to selecting when to send that announcement about your new product.
Any situation where you are starting something and you want to start off with the most possibility for success of that which you are starting.
The ultimate power of muhūrta is that no matter what the circumstances of our natal birth chart are, we can align with time in taking important steps in our life so as to invite the best possible support from the cosmos.
Recent muhūrta I have set have been for: when to commence my 6 month travel through Asia, when should I have my book-launching party, when should I send out that job application, when should I put my house on the market, when should we do our big yearly festival, when should I submit my child’s school applications, when is it best for me to have that talk to break up with my boyfriend, when should I move, and so on and so forth.