Uttara Phalguni_ the bonds, the tribe, the family bussiness
How to create bonds that last, how to build an empire, how to rule a kingdom
Hi everyone, so this is the teased Uttara Phalguni women trope post.
A lot of these examples in media are the ones I love and have come to me in times and moments when, now I can see it in hindsight, they were relevant.
In the aftermath of claire nakti releasing her video on Uttara Phalguni men and the fairytale/story trope associated with it, I want to share my observations on this nakshatra (which is also my ascendant) and especially the women who carry it, which have been sitting and simmering in my head for a long time, longer than I knew at first, because a lot of this is kind of also my life.
I had to split this into two parts. Part 2 is right here.
This first post overviews Uttara Phalguni in general and then connects its themes to Uttara Phalguni women in various films and tv shows. The second part continues that theme, and then it ends with another review.
The main focus of these posts is Uttara Phalguni women.
Uttara Phalguni on the zodiac/nakshatra wheel
To overview this nakshatra a little but, Uttara Phalguni is a Sun ruled nakshatra in the second (out of three) stage of the civilization, bridging the signs of the Solar, fiery Leo and the Mercurial, earthy Virgo, the signs of the 5th house (pleasure, creativity, children, worship, recreation, self-expression) and the 6th house (everyday life, the mundane, health, routines, work) respectively.
The deity ruling it is Aryaman, one of the adityas, god of partnerships and contracts. Uttara Phalguni means "the latter fruitful/reddish one" 🫒, completing the fertile duo with Purva Phalguni and setting the stage for arguably the most materialistic nakshatras thematically_ Hasta and Chitra.
It's classified as warrior ⚔caste, stable/fixed in nature, and its yoni animal is the bull 🐂(male cow, yoni consort of its opposite Uttara Bhadrapada).
All of this associations have some kind of relevance to the themes I discuss later.
Setting the stage for the Uttara Phalguni story: ties, loyalties, family bussiness
5th house is coorelated to the offspring. The other two nakshatras in Leo_ Magha and Purva Phalguni, rat yonis, both relate to family trees in some way. Magha relates to them directly, connecting to ancestors and their power to give them the "claim to the throne". Purva Phalguni is about procreation and continuing the family line.
Uttara Phalguni, the last nakshatra of Leo and the first nakshatra of Virgo, is about the completion of that pattern, the fruits being ripe for harvest, the stability after the passion, the abundance and relationships within the (extended) family that carry to the work life.
Uttara Phalguni natives, having this energy in them, know and understand that all kinds of relationships should be built on honesty, truth, loyalty and support, and that takes work. They know that fun comes with responsibilities, and they know that being part of a family is a real job...
The Uttara Phalguni woman ⚔☀️🐂🫒
The family darling, the good girl, or is she?
The Uttara Phalguni woman begins as a beloved daughter or a daughter like figure in many stories. She's often privileged, good-natured and willing to help, and has the reputation of a sweet, somewhat innocent figure.
Uttara Phalguni's basis above is "wealth gained from one's family", basis below "wealth gained from one's partner", these bring about the accumulation wealth.
They are portrayed as supportive and loved by the whole family, like the person in the family that nobody can completely hate.
Despite their reputation and "princess"-like status, they always have a spirited and adventurous side to them, a strong and stubborn character that never clashes with their goodness and niceness, but, as we will see as we go on, it does often clash with her family.
We see her remain kind-hearted and sweet through time, but in almost all of their stories, she secretly (or eventually, not so secretly) feels out of place in her own family or in the imposed role.
The Sun_ Uttara Phalguni's nakshatra ruler (also its sign ruler in the Leo portion), as discussed by many in vedic astrology, is the planet of the individual in its unapologetic and radiant state. It represents the soul, as its constant and immortal. Uttara Phalguni natives live by their integrity and hearts. They have to be true to themselves, but as family and community is important to them, they never want to hurt the people they consider to be in their tribe.
This is the beginning of the dilemma of Uttara Phalguni that is the running theme in the stories discussed: do I abandon so much of what is dear to me and hurt my tribe to follow what I feel in my heart?
Her image of a "good girl" is often tied into this story. Uttara Phalguni women, as the archetype of the nakshatra on its own, are not devil-may-care femme fatales, nor are they ethereal, almost mythical feminine figures, they're not the nonchalant "black cats", skilfully/secretive and manipulative women or the completely submissive, infantilized "babygirls". They're "real", kind, open, bright, spirited and honest women with honor and integrity who know themselves and their values by heart, who follow their hearts and stick to their convictions, who stand among their tribe and support the people they love. They are driven by their personal fire and guided by their bright light within. They have generous, golden hearts, ready to give to those who deserve it, ready to forgive those who they consider family, ready to stand by their loved ones' side forever, to shower their people with happiness and beauty.
All Virgo nakshatras represent the female/feminine in the most literal, earthly sense, and Virgo women are embodyments of that. Uttara Phalguni, being the abundant and giving/ripe one out of the three, has a unique role which has to navigate both generosity and receptivity.
All of this sounds poetic and beautiful when said like this, and it's true, but those who fail to see the worth of these women often crudely label them as "boring", "vanilla" or as "good girls" who have nothing interesting to offer other than being sweet and good. Their Earthy, grounded and stable nature along with other classic indicators, often push Uttara Phalguni women into the role of a "girl next door"_ the easily available/accessible girl who is known for being "normal" (Lili Reinhart's Betty from "Riverdale", Olivia Newton John's Sandy from "Grease", Emma Watson's Hermione from "Harry Potter" films are great examples of the archetype, and all of these actresses have Uttara Phalguni in big three).
This image and role is also often unconciously imposed on her by her family, which dims her true light and consequently makes her desire to distance herself from them stronger and stronger. The role can be something considered "ultra-feminine"_ unrealistic standards that were born out of twisted masculine projections or the opposite_ something masculine and giving, where the Uttara Phalguni women constantly adjusts to male whims and dims herself, so that unhealthy masculine energy is satisfied. This can easily turn into silently tragic circumstances for Uttara Phalguni women, as I explore it in part two.
So, unfortunately, these women often feel misunderstood, used and taken for granted.
Uttara Phalguni's connection to family extends to friendships and partnerships, where they treat each relationship with serious intentions but loving, lighthearted energy. With friends, they value understanding, support and loyalty. With romantic partners, they value all those things too, but since they often feel like something is always missing when viewing themselves just as a part of their family, a romantic interest serves a different kind of role.
In these stories, the choice of her love is different than what people would expect from her. She wants to state her choice and "prove" to everyone that she's more than what most make her out to be, to be seen and appreciated for who she truly is, not for the role she was pushed into.
The interesting and extremely common pattern is that, often, her partner is the one who understands her deeply and sees her for who she actually is, and often, the partner is considered to be "less than" her in one or more ways. In a lot of those stories, a big factor or indicator of her choice between duty and self-interest is a man she chooses to love, who is in some way always less privileged and often, in one way or another, part of a completely different world.
I want to mention how perfect Saturn ruled individuals are for them as romantic partners. Saturn people, in my opinion, are really the only other planet type(this can also apply to other Sun-ruled individuals..) that notice and recognizes her for who she actually is. Refer to the Sun women part in this post to read my take on it. Saturn is also connected to hardships, representing which type of individuals Sun women feel best with, as two of the Sun and two of the Saturn nakshatras are yoni consorts.
Sybil Crawley (U.Phalguni Sun Jessica Brown Findlay) in Downton Abbey, Sarah Cameron (U.Phalguni Moon and Asc Madelyn Cline) in Outer Banks, Queen Clarisse (U.Phalguni Asc Julie Andrews) in The Princess Diaries, Elena de la Vega (Uttara Phalguni Sun Catherine Zeta Jones) in The Mask of Zorro, Princess Isabella (U.Phalguni Asc Sophie Marceau) in Braveheart, Winnie Foster (U.Phalguni Sun Alexis Bledel) in Tuck Everlasting_ all fictional women who are in love with lower class men/men considered "below them". Their love for them is clashed with their love for their family of birth or the obligations that they feel come with their status in the family.
Since her choice of a partner is often not approved, Uttara Phalguni women often fall into the trope of "dating what daddy hates", which combines her desire to follow her heart with the willingness to defy her family.
There are more examples, you'll see them throughout the post.
In "Downton Abbey" a kind-hearted daughter of an Earl falls in love with the family's chauffer. They bond over their shared ideals and values and she decides to marry him, even though she knows her father is going to disown her.
Uttara Phalguni Sun native Jessica Brown Findlay plays Sybil Crawley_ the youngest daughter of the Earl of Grantham. She's known to be kind, helpful and supportive, adored by her whole family (that is not exactly the case with her two sisters and two of them are at each others' throats constantly, but they both love her).
She treats the servants like her friends, gets interested in politics and attends rallies and meetings. She's open minded and supportive to people around her, and her traits make her parents smile at first, but later they turn into a reason for conflict.
Spoilers: she ends up marrying him and after she herself passes away, her husband becomes an essential part of the Earl's family. He also helps to save the estate and becomes a brother to her two sisters, being genuinely loved by everyone, just like his late wife wished. In the end, she brought a blessing to the family, even if it seemed like the opposite at first.
In "Outer Banks" the daughter ("kook princess") of the wealthiest man of the island_ Sarah Cameron (played by uttara phalguni moon and ascendant Madelyn Cline) falls in love with leader of the "Pogues"_ a friend group of the poor kids from the other side of the island. Her turbulent relationship with her father is one of the highlights of the show, which is not uncommon for Uttara Phalguni women in real life (I asked my followers and others publically and you can see the comments for yourself).
Like in many stories feautring Uttara Pahlguni women, she's seen as too proper or boring from distance/from most, or even seen as a spoiled and stuck-up by some. Only her love interest_ John B sees her as who she is (something that is extremely common among U.Ph women in fiction and I think in real life too): spirited, brave, compassionate and full of integrity.
Uttara Phalguni women are rarely, if ever hesitant to fight for their true values, especially when it comes to love, and they're always ready to to stand by their partner. As I have said many times, they take their bonds seriously and conciously or unconciously view all of them as "marriage", in the sense that they consider all parties bound by both mundane and cosmic law.
In Vedic texts, even on websites that can be easily found online, moon in Uttara Phalguni is considered a great day for couples to get married, one of the rare ones to be so, and according to some, the best one.
"In sickness and in health", they are ready to stand by and fight alongside their beloved. Being a fixed nakshatra, having a bull yoni and ruled by the radiant Sun, these women are steady and reliable sources for people in their lives, especially their romantic/sexual partner.
In "The Mask of Zorro" the daughter (secretly adopted) of the governor of California meets a rogue rebel and people's hero_ Zorro, falls in love with him and gets on his side, standing against the man who raised her in order to do what she felt was right.
Uttara Phalguni Sun and Ketu native Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Elena De La Vega (known as Elena Montero), daughter (secretly kidnapped and adopted) of Raphael Montero, governor of California, powerful and influential politician. She falls for a masked men fighting for the freedom of people, against the man who raised her. Once again, her love for and attraction to someone "below" her is in conflict with her traditional duties and obligations.
This story also has an important element of feeling out of place in your family, like the examples before, but here the issues with a father figure is even more apparent.
Sun rules the father, and the sign of Leo (and the 5th house), in which Uttara Phalguni begins, relates to linages and procreation. 6th house_ the house of Virgo (where most of Uttara Phalguni falls), relates to work in its traditional and hyper-mundane sense, as it's the place of "the material" in every sense of the word.
In Uttara Phalguni, there's a theme of family feeling like a job or a chore, even if money and "privileges" are theirs because of it, just because the emotional connection and support isn't there.
To go back to the "good girl" image that these women feel trapped in, Elena herself expresses her struggle during a confession:
Elena: I dishonored my father.
Alejandro (Zorro/the masked man/her love interest, pretending to be a priest): That is not so bad. Maybe your father deserved it.
Alejandro: I said, tell me more, my child.
Elena: Well, I try to behave properly, the way my father would like me to. But I'm afraid my heart is too wild.
At the end of that scene, he tells her something_ the conclusion that Uttara Phalguni natives eventually have to reach:
"Seorita, you have done nothing wrong. The only sin would be to deny what your heart truly feels. Now, go."
Catherina Zeta Jones has Uttara Bhadrapada moon too (and yoni consorts do share many traits) but in this film I think that her Uttara Phalguni Sun and Ketu are emphasized, due to the themes of her character and the fact that Antonio Banderas only has Uttara Bhadrapada (yoni consort, Saturnian) as moon.
The full scene (please watch):
The theme of complicated or strained relationships with fathers or father figures among Uttara Phalguni women is depicted really nicely in this film. This often overlaps with the theme of defining family as bound by blood or from the heart. We could also connect this to the idea of "chosen family" as family through marriage to see why exactly marriage and relations (and other gains) through it is such an important theme here ("Wealth gained from one's partner").
In "Tuck Everlasting", a teenage girl named Winnie Foster, played by Uttara Phalguni Sun Alexis Bledel, falls for a young man from a family of oucasts, despite knowing that her rich parents would disapprove. In this story too, the Uttara Phalguni heroine wants to experience something "more" than what the confines of her obligations offer, as she feels inadequate or miserable there, and in even in cases where she does not, it's still not something she's ever fully satisfied with.
A more tragic example is Princess Isabella from "Braveheart" (1995) who falls in love with a foreign rebel despite being promised to a prince.
As Uttara Phalguni women are often depicted as privileged, they're also often depicted as literal royalty, as the themes of Uttara Phalguni are all important for powerful families.
"Wealth accumulated through one's partner"_ Royal through marriage
In "The Princess Diaries" Uttara Phalguni ascendant Julie Andrews plays Queen Clarisse. She's responsible and reliable (Earth element, sthira/fixed/stable nature, Bull yoni) but also giving and kind, loved by her people (a general pattern among Uttara Phalgunis, especially women, is love from the community).
In the second film it's revealed that although her marriage was arranged (she became royal by marriage, another U.Ph theme), she and her husband King Rupert were great friends who truly cared for, supported, and in a unique way, loved each other. The Queen describes it like this: "We became very fond of each other... he was my best friend".
But all that time, she and the head of royal security_ Joe, were not so secretly and quetly in love with each other.
Uttara Phalguni women are often the embodyments of "marriage/wife material", the best candidates on the marriage market who, for one reason or another, many men want/is the best choice.
An interesting example would be Cora Crawley for Downton Abbey, played by (most likely) Uttara Phalguni moon Elizabeth McGovern. In this text she's talking to a newfound admirer who she enjoys spending time with, not because she has any ill intentions towards her husband, but because he gives her more (and much needed) time and attention than what her life as the wife of a Count and mother of grown women cannot offer. Early in the show it's revealed that Robert Crawley (played by Purva Phalguni sun Hugh Bonneville, making them a "Phalguni" pair) pursued her for money, to save the estate, but within in a year he was head over heels for her. It's shown many times and in many ways that their marriage is remarkably strong (no matter the challenges) and that Cora is incomparable as a wife and even as daughter-in-law to a notoriously harsh/critical (and a force to be reckoned with) Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (played by Uttara Phalguni moon Maggie Smith, a character who also joined the family by marriage).
The lack of true appreciation that Uttara Phalguni women get used to in their families, blood or otherwise, is shown well in her story and arc. Despite coming from privilege and marrying into privilege and having nothing but sweet intentions towards everyone, Cora is still mistreated multiple time throughout the show. She also posesses strong will and character similar to other Uttara Phalguni women, showing that despite their kindness and giving nature, Uttara Phalgunis are not the kind of women to be underestimated, underappreciated or disrespected.
Cora: London scared me at first. I'd only been in a school room a few months before. But my mother was eager. Why especially? We weren't really in the first rank in Cincinnati. Still less when we moved to New York. My father was Jewish and the money was new. But there was a lot of it and I was pretty, I suppose I can say that now I'm an old lady. She thought you'd make a better match over the Atlantic. And suddenly, here I was in these vast ballrooms, and all the other girls seemed to know what to do and what to wear and how to flirt.
Her admirer: I bet you were more beautiful than all of them. More original, more real.
Cora: I certainly got a lot of names on my dance card... Listen to me bragging! Please forgive me, I never talk about myself.
This storyline eventually ends with her husband, as he becomes extremely jealous, finally realizing that he should have been more appreciative of Cora and not taken her for granted.
The feelings or life events that Uttara Phalguni women often go through is depicted amazingly in the show "The Great" through Uttara Phalguni moon Elle Fanning's character, Catherine.
She starts of as an Austrian lady, about to marry King Peter of Russia. She seems too "sunny" and optimistic about it, maybe even naive, but when she arrives there, despite trying to stay kind and be the best wife she could, her spirit is soon broken.
Elle Fanning's moon is in Leo and so the rulership aspect of this lunar mansion is much stronger in this story.
After she realizes that she won't be treated like she wants to, she starts her search for like-minded people who can be friends/allies in that hostile environment that seemed to constantly and overwhelmingly be against her.
Catherine made the impression of a naive young woman, perhaps what people call "vanilla" today, and she was in truth sweet, but she soon learned to use that reputation to her advantage as she started plotting against her abusive husband.
"The Great" is a highly exaggerated and over-the-top dramedy that contains many themes, which include the dynamics between Sun and Saturn individuals (more specifically cow yonis as Nicholas Hoult is Uttara Bhadrapada moon), the compromise and fusion of energies through marriage (creator_ Tony McNanamara has Ketu in Vishakha) and the story of the Uttara Phalguni woman archetype as she navigates family dynamics, communities, bonds, love and personal power. Those who have watched the later seasons know that Peter is not exactly the villain, but he certainly starts out that way and for all intents and purposes, he WAS abusive to Catherine at the start.
Catherine learns to adapt (Mercury/Virgo influence) and use her cunning to gain power in little ways, through connections.
In this show too the Uttara Phalguni woman becomes royal by marriage, but even when she was the one who gained privilege and benefitted more from the marriage on paper, her partner is still the one considered "below" her, even by Russians at court, especially the ones who know Peter well: Catherine is depicted as extremely intelligent, well-read and generally more capable than Peter in many ways, while Peter is shown as contrastingly crude and dim.
Elle Fanning's Catherine is a perfect example of an Uttara Phalguni woman: kind, intelligent, beautiful, down-to-Earth, self-reliant, giving, ready to compromise, but she's also strong, unafraid to fight back, ruthless when overstepped.
Even though she started out in a weak position, barely tolerating the place, she naturally became the Queen who was truly feared and respected by her people (not unlike Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries, who reigned after her husband passed away and was greatly loved).
I highly suggest watching this show if you can.
"Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" is similar to "The Great" and shares many themes with it. The titular heroine is Queen Charlotte of England (based on the real Queen Charlotte), played by Uttara Phalguni Sun (and possibly moon too) India Amarteifio, starts out as a foreign noble lady who is off to be married to King George of England, without her consent. She feels deeply betrayed because her own brother had an active part to play in it and failed to consider her wishes.
She feels unnatural in the new country, even just because she's the subject of rude and improper discussions about her appearance. Despite this, like Catherine, she tries to settle in by beginning to find allies. She finds a lifelong friend in her servant Brimsley (although she does not know it yet) and in a new peer_ Lady Agatha Danbury, who she immediately bonds with because of their similar age and the shared struggles (being the only black women at court when it was rare and pretty much unheard of, even though they were privileged in other ways).
She's kind but sassy (like Catherine) and values loyalty in every bond she makes.
Which leads us to George_ who she tried to run away from right before the wedding.
In this story too, even though on paper she's the one who benefits more from the union, George is still viewed as someone "below" her, because of his mental health struggles. He was hidden away by his family and tortured to "heal" but Charlotte stood by him despite getting a welcome that was way less than ideal. She defied everyone who tried to "help" George and helped him truly.
Again, the Uttara Phalguni woman proves to be a real blessing to her partner and his family and in this case, his country too.
Her friendship with Lady Danbury is interesting too because it just reminded me of Catherine (from "The Great") and her friend Marial: Charlotte and Agatha befriend and understand each other easily and they are, uniquely, equals, but Charlotte is seen as more naive and "vanilla" (again, I do not know how else to describe it 😭), perhaps because she's younger. She did not even know about her "marital duties" at first. All of these were the case with Catherine and Marial.
Despite all of this, both Charlotte and Catherine find their footing and end up as beloved (more feared, in Catherine's case) and important figures. Later in her life Charlotte is shown to be exactly as sassy, kind and fun-loving as she was in her youth, but much more beloved and respected than before. Her friendships and love for George endured and the community she built is the whole backdrop for the "Bridgerton" seasons.
The beauty in this story lies with the true love that grows from their union (same is the case in "The Great" and with Lady Grantham from "Downton Abbey"): Charlotte's efforts to save and protect the marriage resulted in an enduring and unconditional love between them. As George's mental health struggles worsened with time, Charlotte became the only real person for him to rely on.
I am genuinely getting teary-eyed remembering the ending
This is another story of the Uttara Phalguni woman being a bringer of prosperity and love to their community, and another one where she did so by following her convictions and her heart.
But as much as they can give, they need the at least the same amount given back to them, which is seldom the case, especially when these women are younger. They learn lessons about reciprocity and loyalty, and they deal with heartbreak from close people (Elena from her false father, Sarah from her father, Catherine feom her mother, Charlotte from her brother...) and the betrayal cuts them deep.
End of part one, part two is here.
