The Werewolf Nakshatra & Planet Type
- Claire Nakti
- Oct 30
- 11 min read
I surveyed the birth charts of 175 actors who have portrayed werewolves to find the astrological energies that most resonate with channeling this archetype.
TOP NAKSHATRAS
Combining primary placements, Sun, Moon, and Ascendant, one nakshatra arose the highest: Dhanishta (23° 20′ Capricorn – 6° 40′ Aquarius). However, not only do Dhanishta actors most often step into these roles-- the werewolf’s cultural & literary evolution itself is deeply tied to this nakshatra. The gothic horror novel The Werewolf of Paris was written by Guy Endore, who can have Dhanishta Moon, and it’s considered the “Dracula of werewolf fiction”. In other words, it served as the defining work that cemented the werewolf as a modern archetype, giving the creature its enduring psychological & cultural shape. The first film adaptation of The Werewolf of Paris, titled The Curse of the Werewolf, featured Dhanishta Sun Oliver Reed in the lead role.
Yet it was Dhanishta Sun Lon Chaney Jr. who most definitively shaped the werewolf’s cinematic image in the 1941 classic The Wolf Man, the version that set the visual and emotional template for every portrayal that followed. That role was reprised this year by Dhanishtha Sun Chris Abbott, just like both the iconic Teen Wolf of the 80s (Michael J. Fox, Dhanishta ASC) and 2010s (Tyler Posey, Dhanishta Moon*) are Dhanishtha actors.
After Dhanishta arose Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra. I have explored before this nakshatra’s strong connection to uncontrolled beast-transformations, and this casting comes through more from the resonance with ideas like body-horror, watching the form/shape change as control is dissolved-- the idea of the Self being consumed by the animal impulses, etc. Purva Bhadrapada is the deathbed nakshatra, so the themes involve dissolution and disintegration of form (symbolizing philosophical limitations dissolving). Oppositely, Dhanishta represents & deals with the mastery of physical form and the well-timed inner & outer flows of energy of the body.
Dhanishta is Purva Bhadrapada’s yoni consort (both Lion yonis) and Dhanishta’s thematic connection to the werewolf comes more from Mars’ traditional rulership over anger. Fascinatingly, while Dhanishta & Purva Bhadrapada were the # 1 and # 2 nakshatras, both of the other Mars-ruled nakshatras, Mrigashira & Chitra, ranked on the # 3 tier. This overlap suggests that the Mars nakshatra rulership itself is a main deeper connective thread behind the werewolf archetype. In other words, while Dhanishta provides the most complete expression of these traits, the appearance of all three Mars-ruled nakshatras indicates that it’s Mars’ temperament-- its heat, strength, and aggression-- that defines much of the core of this mythic pattern.
As Mars’ final nakshatra & where Mars finds peak exaltation (at 28° Capricorn), Dhanishta is where Mars’ strength & emotion (of body, and of mind through intellect) is applied in the highest way. This is the refinement of Mars’ Ayurvedic principle, Pitta (also associated with the hot planets Sun & Ketu), which ties to muscle & intellect, as well as to fiery emotions like anger. Pitta’s subtle essence, tejas, is also linked here: the radiance that transforms bodily fire into clarity and brilliance of intellect. Dhanishtha embodies this process of the elevation of heat into luster, strength, and intelligence.
Just as I’ve explored how Dhanishtas often have iconic lustrous “hair-flipping” scenes— and that this nakshatra is said to grant luster when offerings are made to ancestors during its transit-- Dhanishta is all about the powerful display of the inner fire force refined & brought to its full manifestation in form and intellect. Anything associated with Mars is perfected, “shown off” here, and offered to society as a service, whether that connects to this nakshatra’s
prominence among shapely models or its strong & bold presence in high-IQ subject areas and the field of law. For the latter, a name for Mars is Tarkika, meaning “Logician", which shows that they also learn to attack or defend effectively through this refined sharpness of mind, seeing & attacking errors in logic and flaws in arguments to overcome enemies and dismantle threats. If you’re interested more in that idea, check out my Patreon analysis + video compilation of Dhanistha’s strong prominence as lawyers, those who step forward on the contentious stage of court to defend the rights of their client.
MARS, THE PROTECTOR
Mars-ruled nakshatras, reaching their pinnacle in Dhanishta, have a strong capacity to be both a safe haven and a true protector for the people they love. These nakshatras often appear in films that highlight or focus on perfecting the protective role of a father or guardian. Mars itself is concerned with this task; one of its names, Supratipaya, translates as “The Best Protector” (Andrew Foss). The werewolf trope deals with this same idea (such as what is symbolized in The Wolf Man 2025)-- channeling anger in a disciplined way within tight boundaries and in specific contexts… learning to move between genuine love and empathy (the human form) and the controlled use of strength and aggression (the werewolf form) to defend the innocent, but never to let those urges become confused into harming what is gentle, vulnerable, or close to you. The same fiery power that defends the home and those within it must not cause harm within the home.
In reference to the image: In Love Lies Bleeding, Dhanistha Sun Katy O'Brien has similar werewolf-like hormone-induced transformations into a protective state of anger & fierceness for her love interest (played by Kristen Stewart). In Jack and Diane, Juno Temple's (Dhanistha Moon*) transformations into a werewolf symbolize the growing intensity of her emotions as she falls in love.
At the same time, Dhanishta stories often warn of the opposite danger too-- of people becoming too restrained, too “human,” when real threats arise. Dhanishta films often explore this dual challenge: knowing how to fully awaken one’s protective fire without ever letting it channel in the wrong direction.
For example, on the villainous flipside of this contemplation, in the horror film Speak No Evil (2022), the Danish couple Bjorn and Louise (with their daughter) accept an invitation to stay with a Dutch family they met on vacation. Once there, the hosts, Patrick and Karin, begin deliberately crossing boundaries, becoming invasive, manipulative, and increasingly aggressive towards the Danish adults & their child. Patrick (portrayed by Fedja van Huet, a Dhanishtha Moon* with Mrigashira Sun) emerges as the dominating father who relentlessly provokes the visiting husband to act, then brutally punishes his weakness when he fails to defend his family. In one scene, he even takes the husband into the wilderness to urge him to scream (scenes below), an attempt to awaken a primal assertiveness that never really arrives. The Dhanishta quality to this role is affirmed through the 2024 English remake (which has a slightly different ending), where Dhanishta Moon James McAvoy steps into the same Patrick role. A key quote from the scene I included above: The Danish father asks: "Why are you doing this [harm] to us?" And the Dhanishta replies, "Because you let us."
Likewise, in Nocturnal Animals (which has a title that loosely echoes these same werewolf themes though is not directly alluding to that), Dhanishta Moon & Mrigashira Sun Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a calculating, sadistic antagonist whose prodding cruelty forces the protector figure to confront his inability to defend those closest to him. I have included two selected video scenes that show the comparison.
The Dhanishta villains in both films prod in a confusing way that is exactly the same; they act direct, angry, & aggressive one moment, and then happy or helpful in the next moment. This is to see if he can disarm the father again & invoke his social nicety; the villain’s confusing flip between unhinged aggression and then unhinged friendliness pushes the father he’s testing back into a “comfort”, tempting him to give back into passivity and “put his guard down”, even when the father & his wife & daughter (in both cases) intuit the danger strongly. It’s the father in both films who is more tempted to believe “everything will be okay”, and opts to play it safe and act more socially normal, while the women in the family are begging him to take more decisive & aggressive action. In both films, the man fails to sacrifice his safety when the right moment to step up for his family comes, and suffers the physical or psychological consequences.
So, Nocturnal Animals & Speak No Evil (especially the 2022 foreign language version) viewed as a double feature, reflect a core Dhanishta theme: the domestic threat-- the question of whether the protector can act decisively when danger enters the “home” (Dhanishta’s primary cinematic “battlefield”). WARNING: Both films are very disturbing.
A similar dynamic & arc appears in the Black Mirror episode “Beyond the Sea”, where Josh Hartnett’s (Dhanishta Moon*) character slowly encroaches on the home and wife of Aaron Paul’s restrained protagonist, slowly crossing more and more boundaries and testing Aaron’s ability to defend what he loves. Again, the story turns on the Dhanishta question: what happens when protective force is withheld until it’s too late? Whether cast as hero or villain, the Dhanishta character circles the same moral center and focuses on the same cosmic concern: the defense of family. Even in these brutal & horrific ways, the Dhanishta villainous characters are inherently testing the father and his worth as a protector-- seeing how far he can push him before he'll truly sacrifice his safety & even life for his loved ones.
RHYTHMIC & TIMED ATTACK 🥁
So Dhanishta’s arc involves these ideas: harnessing the natural human emotion of anger (distinct from the rage from repression of Jupiter-ruled Nakshatra themes) and channeling it at the right times & within the right boundaries. The perfected werewolf directs its aggression into the outer world’s darkness rather than the sanctity of one’s home & community, and ideally channels its heat fully towards creatures that are threats and not towards the innocent. This is Dhanishta’s crucial balance: how love and aggression arise together in the act of protection. Becoming a parent, for example, awakens both instincts more strongly, and Dhanishta speaks to the challenge of holding these opposing forces in harmony & awakening them at the right times (not too little or too much) while safeguarding what one loves.
A small excerpt from my larger Patreon lawyer analysis: “Dhanishta, as the height of Mars (outflowing of energy) in a Saturn-ruled rashi (withholding of energy), tends to grant its natives deeply balanced, rhythmic energy that knows when to withhold or discharge correctly & harmoniously, like its symbol the drum, which keeps a steady beat. In daily life, they tend to not be overtly confrontational and generally even have a sweet constitution. This is due to the sacredness with which they hold contention, which they have a mastery over; they withhold their energy fiercely from things undeserving of their attention or discharge, but allow their energy to flow devotedly & powerfully towards things they support and defend. In other words, they preserve their energy carefully for the 'right battles'.”
This is quite akin to Dhanishta’s werewolf archetype; they are human
during every other moon phase, but able to harness an animalistic level of power to attack & defend one day per cycle, rhythmically. So, the transformation inherently is not random, unpredictable, or uncontrolled; it’s bound to timing, to Lunar rhythm, reflecting Dhanishta’s interest (and cosmic challenge) in developing mastery over when to withhold fiery energy and when to release it in full force.
LOWEST NAKSHATRAS 🐍
Fascinatingly, the lowest nakshatra in the survey is Uttara Bhadrapada, so a quick flip of energies happens between the Bhadrapadas. The 2nd highest for this survey forms a pair with the very lowest: the former and latter blessed feet. The Bhadrapadas quite tangibly display the difference in influence of rashi versus nakshatra lord, with nakshatra lord appearing as a more forward force acting upon the broader backdrop of the rashi lord energy. Purva Bhadrapada displays Jupiter’s boundlessness even while largely in a Saturn-ruled rashi, dissolving Saturnian limitations to explore morals & philosophies. Uttara Bhadrapada applies Saturnian self-control and limitation even while in a Jupiter-ruled rashi, controlling massive Jupiterian growth to gain stable power.
I mention this note to muse on how Uttara Bhadrapada showed up the least in this survey; stepping into any roles where a sense of “self-control” is lost goes against their nature and typecasting. Their primary strength & defining trait of this "strong foundation" nakshatra is maintaining composure & coolness even in the harshest of circumstances. When a “monstrous” form is taken by an Uttara Bhadrapada then, it is something that alludes to its deeply cold & constricted power, like a reptile or dragon, similar to Ashlesha (the early stage snake) which was tied as the third lowest nakshatra in the survey. I explore Uttara Bhadrapada's intense & powerful composure here.
MULA "BEAUTIES" & THE WEREWOLF
Above are some examples I removed from 2023's Mula/Ketu Final Girl video or only briefly mentioned to save for when I would explore Dhanishta & its link to werewolves; I didn't want them to get too lost in the similar but distinct Jupiterian "beast" archetypes. Mula & Dhanishta both have a purpose tied to aligning violence/aggression with truth, and the Mula women in these works often try to keep the "monsters" aligned with goodness & Universal truth, whether it is manifesting more specifically as a Mars (which rules anger) or Jupiter (which rules rage-- a form of repressed anger) archetype.
Therefore, just as Mula women are found with Jupiterian beasts (who are dealing with controlling growth/excess/offshoots from truth & repression/inner division), they are also found with Mars "beasts" (who are specifically learning to channel aggression, as tied to their cosmic role). Ketu, Jupiter, and Mars are all hot planets; Ketu is neuter while Jupiter & Mars are masculine. Ketu is the hottest planet associated with liberation and Universal truth, so its inhaling energy helps to pull in and balance/direct other forms of heat. Sun, however (the outlier hot and masculine planet) is more self-directed.
To the left I have included Mula women's repeating theme in which two "monsters" fight over her romantically. Stephanie Meyer, with Mula Sun & Moon*, wrote Twilight which centers on this completely-- the protagonist Bella is fought over by a vampire and a werewolf (Edward and Jacob). This is extremely similar to Penelope Mitchell's role as Letha Godfrey in Hemlock Grove. A vampire & werewolf both fight for her love as well (Roman & Peter). In The Vampire Diaries, two vampires fight over Elena, played by Nina Dobrev who may have Mula ASC (she gave a tropical "Sagittarius ASC" birth time-- so did Julia Garner).
Trine Ketu-ruled examples include the way vampires Angel & Spike fight over Buffy (Ashwini Sun Sarah Michelle Gellar), and the way many monstrous suitors (such as the Mula Moon vampire Dracula & the Dhanishta Moon* werewolf Ethan), fight for Vanessa Ives' love in Penny Dreadful. Vanessa is played by Eva Greene, an Ashwini Moon & Magha ASC native.
Happy Moon in Dhanishta today & Happy Halloween tomorrow! 🎃Here is a youtube-short version of some of this content. I’ve also previously done a survey like this on 200 vampire roles in films (youtube).
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*NOTE: Dhanishta is transliterated as a few different spellings so I used a few spelling variations throughout this post for SEO purposes :)
Eva Green has Ashwini Moon! I new it! Her mom has also stated she gave birth to her daughters (Eva and her twin sister) on July 6th and not on July 5th like Astrosage says. But that time on July 6th gives Ashwini Moon/Magha ascendant, which makes so much sense for her.
Few days after your article I was researching (unrelated) the story about Edmund Kolanowski, polish serial killer, necrophile. His former colleague from his work said that he had on his locker room a picture portraying the sexual act between a woman and a werewolf. He also went one day to the cinema and watched 1983 polish movie "The Wolfess" after which he was inspired to digging graves and 'hunting' after young females. He was Dhanistha Moon. The actress from this movie has Rahu in Dhanistha.
Damn this sucks for us Dhanishtas LOL. Not what I would've chosen 😖