Vayu: the wind and the vital breath, deity of Swati nakshatra

Who is Vayu in the Vedas?

Vayu comes from a Sanskrit root meaning “to blow”. In the Rig Veda he is the swift wind, driven on a chariot drawn by teams of horses, heard but never seen. He is often invoked with Indra, and the hymns grant him a privilege: drinking first of the soma offered at the sacrifice.

The hymn of the Purusha, the cosmic being (Rig Veda 10.90), gives his origin: from the breath of that primordial being, Vayu was born. The wind outside and the breath within are therefore one and the same force, and that is the link astrology finds again in Swati. Later tradition also makes him the guardian of the north-west, one of the eight guardians of the directions of space.

Vayu and prana: the vital breath

The Upanishads take the idea further. When the faculties quarrel over first place, speech, sight, hearing and mind leave one after another, and the body goes on living; when the breath makes to leave, all the others are torn away with it. They then acknowledge that prana is the first among them.

The Kena Upanishad tells a lesson in humility. Before a mysterious being, Agni cannot burn a blade of grass; Vayu, who boasts that he can carry off everything that exists, cannot lift it. The strongest wind draws its power from beyond itself.

The sons of Vayu: Hanuman and Bhima

The epics make Vayu a father. In the Ramayana, Hanuman, the monkey devoted to Rama, is his son: he has his speed, the leap that clears the sea to Lanka, the strength that lifts a mountain to rescue Lakshmana. In the Mahabharata, Bhima, the second of the Pandava brothers, owes him his immense strength and his legendary appetite.

The two sons express the double nature of the wind: a power that puts itself at the service of a cause, and the loyalty of a breath that does not let go. The wind is not only what scatters; it is also what carries, sustains and returns.

What Vayu gives Swati nakshatra

Vayu presides over Swati, from 6°40′ to 20°00′ sidereal Libra, ruled by Rahu. The symbol of Swati, a young shoot swaying in the wind, stages both of them: Vayu blows, the shoot bends, and it is by bending that it stays upright.

He gives it movement, a longing for space and for elsewhere, ease in exchange, the ability to carry an idea, a product or a message far from where it started. Vayu holds on to nothing: in Swati, he also teaches that freedom is best kept with a few roots.

In the order of the nakshatras, Vayu follows Vishvakarma, who shapes forms, and comes before Indra-Agni, the pair of Vishakha: the wind carries out into the world what the craftsman has completed, before ambition takes hold of it.

How Vayu shows in your chart

His breath marks the Moon, the Ascendant or any planet placed between 6°40′ and 20°00′ sidereal Libra. Then look at Rahu, the ruler of Swati: its house shows which area of your life the wind is pushing you towards.

• The Moon in Swati: a mind that needs air and freedom; your life begins in the Rahu mahadasha.
• The Ascendant in Swati: a light, courteous, mobile presence; people find you approachable, and hard to hold on to.
• Mercury in Swati: words circulate, ideas travel; a gift for languages, trade, networks.
• Saturn in Swati: exalted in Libra, the lord of time receives the suppleness of the wind; a patient ambition that knows how to negotiate.

The nakshatra calculator tells you which planets are in Swati and leads to the page on Vayu.

A simple practice inspired by Vayu

Since Vayu is breath, the simplest practice is to become aware of it. Sit for a few minutes, changing nothing at first, and watch the air coming in and going out. Then let the out-breath lengthen gently, without forcing.

When a decision makes you lean one way and then the other, like the shoot of Swati, this time with your breath lets the wind die down: the answer often comes when the air is calm again. A walk in the open air, with no particular goal, does the same job.