Navigating the Nodes

A big shift in the celestial weather happened earlier in January. Have you felt the stirrings of change in your life?

I have!

It’s hard to say at this point where I’m going. But the ground beneath my feet feels quite unstable, and life as I’ve been used to just might be in for some major restructuring. Meanwhile, I’m trying to make sense out of the shadows.

And it is precisely the planets of shadow that have shifted in the heavens. In my case, they have returned to their natal position, in reverse. For some of you, this will be a secondary theme, but for me the storms these planets bring are gathering over some very primal areas of life.

If you have your Vedic chart, look at it.

On 9 January the nodes of the Moon, Rahu and Ketu, moved into the Vedic signs of Leo and Aquarius respectively. Likened to serpents because of their circuitous movement through the heavens, the nodes represent the epic struggle between darkness and light, and they are powerful forces present in everyone’s life, whether you acknowledge their existence or not!

Like shadow, the nodes distort. Things are not what they appear to be. The archetypal categories of light and darkness, which belong to the Sun and Saturn, become confused when the nodes are powerful, because the nodes embody them both. You need strategy to negotiate your way through these shadows, a strategy equal to the confounding illusions the nodes can generate.

Of all the grahas, Rahu has the potential to become the most powerful, because he has the power to eclipse the Sun, the usual power point of light in the heavens. Eclipses, both solar and lunar, occur along the axis the nodes form. This spring, watch the storm patterns escalate both in yourself and our world as we experience the upcoming eclipses, total solar eclipse on 8 March and lunar eclipse on 23 March.

Rahu is the power that can erupt at times to supersede the Sun. Despite his wrathfulness, he is revered as protector and defender in Tibetan Buddhism; and in Hindu mythology he is the demon who swallows the nectar of immorality in the epic struggle between the devas (gods) and asuras (demons). Vishnu severs the demon’s head, which then becomes immortal. Rahu is the head with no body, pure astute intelligence, limitless desire, acuity with agenda, particularly of a political nature. And Ketu is the headless body. They are with us both until the end of time. No matter what story you attach to them, the nodes represent a formidable force in our lives.

Graha is the Sanskrit word for planet, and it means literally a “force that seizes you”. A graha is an archetypal energy, and the unique configuration of energy formed by the position of the grahas in the heavens at any given moment, compared to the position of the grahas in your natal chart, provides a key to how that energy will affect you personally.

It is interesting to see how the close bond between Yoga and Jyotish extends all the way down to their core terminology. The word “graha” is related to certain words from Yoga and Sankhya philosophy, namely those pertaining to categories of cognition. “Grahana” means the “grasper of knowledge”, “grahir” means the “knower of knowledge”, and “grahya “means that which is known”, all seminal concepts in the Yoga Sutras. Out of this Sanskrit root “gra” comes also our English word “grab”. Quite literally, the reality you perceive, the reality you embody, the reality that seizes your consciousness, mirrors these celestial forces known as grahas.

Of the nine grahas in Jyotish, only five are “planets” in the common understanding of that word. Two are in fact luminaries, Sun and Moon. And the remaining two, Rahu and Ketu, are powerful points in space. They represent shadows, storms, sudden change, intoxication, artisans and outcasts . . . all with the potential both to obscure the truth as well as create powerful breakthroughs in vision.

Under the shadow of the nodes, time curves in a circuitous manner, serpentine like a snake. Light is linear (apparently). But shadow has curvature. We never know in which way it is going. Part of the delusion of the modern mind is that time is linear. We feel that we are moving forward on a trajectory. The nodes can free us of this delusion of linearity. They return us to cyclical patterns, which are the cosmic reality, where going round is also going forward, in the way of a spiral.

What does this all mean for you?

It means you have the power to change your story! Or more precisely, your story will change, and you have the power to acknowledge and integrate that change. Or not. With Rahu and Ketu prominent, your demons and shadows will confront you with storm-force momentum. If you embrace the inevitable pruning, you emerge resilient, with a new shape, new story, new vision and new life. But if you cling to the dead wood, the opportunity for transcendent re-visioning passes you by.

What will it be?

We can all go along for a time in delusion, intoxicated by Rahu’s tendency to inflate our lust for material aggrandizement or Ketu’s tendency to unhinge our orientation to the here and now. But sooner or later, the moment of truth will break through; the nodes will shatter whatever container we find ourselves in, comfortable or not.

When the nodes become activated in our lives, complacency about anything becomes no longer possible. Their serpentine trajectory presents us with knots of complication. Storm systems gather over certain areas of our lives, tearing apart old ways of being, bringing breakdown or bringing breakthrough, to relationships, careers, homes, family.

The nodes represent hidden forces, no less powerful because not visible to the physical eye. Most of the grahas have an anchor in physical reality, but Rahu and Ketu exist entirely on the subtle realms. Consider what they actually are: the intersection of the two most significant trajectories of cosmic light, from our perspective upon planet earth that is.

The nodes are in fact mathematical points, and like points, they have no extension in space. The orbit of the earth around the Sun (the ecliptic) intersects the orbit of the Moon around the earth at two points, exactly 180° apart. The north node is Rahu; the south node is Ketu. Unlike the other planets, the nodes usual movement is retrograde, slipping always into a sign through the “back door”. Their shift into Leo and Aquarius creates a major shakeup in the way we experience this energy of change.

When slow moving planets change signs, they create a pattern that lasts a long time. Rahu and Ketu will remain in Leo and Aquarius for a year and a half. For those with significant planets in these constellations (remember, in your Vedic chart, which uses the sidereal zodiac), you can expect challenge that might test you to the limit, or opportunities that might take you beyond your wildest dreams!

Which will it be? That is always the question!

The effect of other planets upon the nodes and the position of the nodes in your natal chart are important factors. Planets of light have an uplifting influence upon the nodes, as indeed upon all malefic forces in the chart. Jupiter, the greatest light after the Sun and a bright Moon, is presently in Leo and will remain there with Rahu until midsummer, bringing luminosity where Rahu casts shadow.

Jupiter represents expansion, creativity, children, growth and higher mind. A high brahminic influence, the grace of Jupiter ennobles whatever area of life it touches. It instils us with confidence, courage and trust. However, the heady combination of Rahu and Jupiter, where unbridled desire blends with buoyant optimism, can be a dangerous cocktail. Prosperity and fortune can inebriate us, can easily become the proverbial “pride that cometh before the fall”. (Consider the sudden downfall of the “Celtic Tiger”, when Jupiter was conjunct Rahu, and also debilitated, in 2009.)

So it is actually not entirely a bad thing that Saturn will aspect this current conjunction of Rahu and Jupiter throughout its duration. Saturn brings sobriety, austerity and contraction, exactly the restraint necessary to keep the Rahu and Jupiter energy from overexpansion that can implode into disaster.

However, when Jupiter leaves Leo in midsummer, Rahu and Ketu will no longer benefit from the grace of beneficent light, which is the dominant feature of Jupiter’s association with these grahas. Saturn’s gaze will remain upon Rahu, unmitigated by any beneficence, and the repercussions could potentially be quite harsh.

In addition, the malefic influence of Mars will enter into the dynamic. Mars enters Scorpio in mid-February, and stays there until mid-September! Though he retrogrades back into Libra for a time during that period, for most of the spring and summer the energy of determined, fiery and impetuous Mars will be commingling with the energy of sombre, cold and constraining Saturn. For those with Scorpio significant in the chart (i.e. me!) this portends a period of frustration, delays, obstacles and challenges. But all of us will feel the effect of this energy to some extent. So expect a rocky road ahead, with hurdles to surmount and delays to ramrod you off your tracks. Patience and steadiness are the virtues to cultivate in the months ahead.

As all things, this one too will pass. Mars leaves Scorpio mid-September, though the nodes remain in Leo and Aquarius until summer 2018. Afterwards, they then move into Cancer and Capricorn, and a new area of life will then be their target, relief for some of us, and fresh onslaughts leading to life-changing shifts along the path of evolution for others.

What is important to remember, is that the nodes are always somewhere! They lie upon an axis in everyone’s chart. And they are somewhere in the heavens at any given moment. Storm patterns will continue to batter our lives at various intervals no matter what. It is the nature of our bodily existence, where we remain bound by time between birth and death. Do not be afraid of them. They serve a vital purpose in our evolution, even though the specific nature of that purpose can remain hidden in the shadows for a long time.

That is where I am right now. The storm is building momentum, and I am not at all sure where I’ll be when it passes.

Yes, I can see the map of destiny depicted in my Vedic chart, the karmic patterns indicating the shifting moods of God. It is a powerful tool for navigating my way!  But the shadows are still real. And the mood of God is by definition a mystery beyond the potential of any human mind to fathom.

But that is OK. It is the not knowing that gives life its zest.

(Photo credit: Unsteady Ground: Paige Nelson)