Lunar Shaktis, Dakini Shift
March 2011 to Present
* inventory and chronology *
Introductory Notes
| DATE | SUNSET CRESCENT | SHIFT |
| day-month-year | where sighted or pictured | Dakini or Mahavidya |
| first day of shift | constellation viewed | devata on shift |
NOTE: The first day of each new shift comes immediately after the day of the new moon that marks the completion of the previous shift. For example, the first day of the Swan Deva shift in March 2011:
5 March 2011 FISHES Nairatmya, Swan Deva
The previous new moon (March 4) in 14 Pisces or 344 ECL was in the Manitu (Waterbearer), as can be noted from an ephemeris. The event of the new moon is also called “the lunation.” You find position of the non-observable new moon on the twelve-sector framework of the astrological signs (14 Pisces) or the equivalent ecliptic scale of 360 degrees (344 ECL). Using the rimsite design of the Star Zodiac, which presents the ECL/sign framework aligned to the visible constellations, you can easily picture the exact location of the new moon wherever it lies in the panorama of the thirteen constellations. Just draw a line from the center of the format through the ECL degree and extend it into the visible constellations.
The Rimsite Model of the Star Zodiac or Stellar Zodiac
The new moon cannot be observed because at that exact moment the moon stands between the earth and the sun. As the moon edges away from this position, the sunset crescent eventually appears, signaling the new shift. The earliest sighting of the sunset crescent usually comes about 40 hours after the exact time of the lunation, but it can be as little as 36 hours. Assuming the mean rate of about 2 hours for each degree of lunar motion viewed from the earth, this lapse of time amounts to a separation of 18-20 degrees from the sun. 36 hours is an extremely young crescent, a mere sliver.
NOTE: Traditionally, lunar cycles have been observed to commence at the lunation, the moment of the new moon. By that rule, the lunar cycle of March 2011 would have begun on March 4th, the day of the exact new moon in 14 Pisces.