Cosmic Gifts to End 2018

We are approaching the end of the challenging year of 2018.  The United States is still under the influence of Rahu, the North Node of the Moon, which started in August of 2016.  Rahu is one of the eclipse points and is known for change, chaos, deceit, media, creativity and the unexpected. Rahu’s influence is calculated by what is known as the “Vimshottari System” in which a planet, based on the Moon’s movement, becomes a primary influence for a specific number of years.  Rahu has an eighteen year influence.

A way to understand this concept is to view it as if a natal chart has moved into a town.  The town will influence the chart/person but is not the only influence– there are multiple influences coming from the planets which will affect a person’s life.  I think that New York City is a good example of living in a Rahu influenced location.  New York City is crowded, energetic, filled with people from all walks of life, creative but also driven by money and ambition. To many people it can be an overwhelming place to live and, like Rahu, can be a challenge to the nervous system.  A resident of this city knows that their entire lives cannot be ruled only by the external chaos of the energy of the city.

I lived and worked as a resident of New York for many years.  The energy was always exciting to me but I also always took advantage of the green spaces, the Hudson and East Rivers and had my home set up for cozy quiet.  I have traveled to other locations and noticed that New Yorkers generally had home spaces which were designed with an eye towards quiet and privacy as an offset to the highly charged streets of New York.  This attitude is similar to what is needed to move through the entire country living in the town of Rahu.  We are living through epoch times and what is swirling around us will continue with the losses, gains and change that Rahu signifies but we have ample opportunities to grow and blossom on the inner level of our true selves.

2018 has been challenging on so many levels but as we look towards the end of this year there are elements of the current transits which offer opportunities for growth, self-knowledge and inner peace. I think that last weeks of 2018 present us with the best days of the entire year. If we work with the transits on an inner level we can participate in the Rahu changes in a way that will benefit others and enhance our personal journey in a positive manner. One of the lessons of this time period is that we can’t control the fast paced changes in the world around us but we can control our reactions as well as the quality of our minds.

The benefic Jupiter moved into the sign of Scorpio in October and will stay in this intense water sign for a year.  All of the planets have sign placements which are considered to be friendly to the planet and Scorpio is a friendly sign for Jupiter. This is the first long term station of a planet in the sign of Scorpio since Saturn parked himself in that sign from November of 2014 and October of 2017.  Saturn is the heaviest and most serious of all the planets while Scorpio is the heaviest and most serious of all signs. Many people, especially those with strong Scorpio placements, experienced losses and challenges in their personal lives during the Saturn transit.  Every sign plays its own role in a chart and even without strong Scorpio planets most people experienced some level of challenge from this placement.  For us in the United States Saturn in Scorpio, along with the energy of Rahu, influenced the election of 2016 and the resulting chaos which defines our leadership.  The outer chaos has prevented many from experiencing a sense of relief when Saturn finally left the sign of Scorpio.

Jupiter’s ingress in Scorpio gives us an opportunity to heal and move forward from the influence of Saturn in Scorpio. Jupiter does not necessarily reverse the losses but he gives us all an opportunity to move on from the losses.  Scorpio strongly influences the subconscious mind and the desire nature. It is a deeply emotional sign with a Mars energy which lead towards dwelling on the past and looking for some type of justice in a world that often gives justice via karma rather than giving egos the satisfaction of exact justice.  This can be a hard lesson for Scorpios as they seek to move forward.  Jupiter is the planet which can bring about a change in attitude and show the way towards letting go while at the same time giving positive hope for a better tomorrow.

As the ruler of the second chakra Jupiter is concerned with the nature of our desires and will assist in letting go of desires which no longer serve us.  In addition to desire the second chakra is an important influence in healing the hurts and disappointments which are often stored in the second chakra.  It is believed that true healing does not take place without a healing of the second chakra.  Under Jupiter’s influence support is given towards techniques which work on healing – meditation, reiki treatments, therapy, massages, yoga are all favored at this time.

In addition to Jupiter being in Scorpio as we approach the end of this year we also have Mercury in the sign of Scorpio until the 31st of December.  This is a longer transit for Mercury because he will be retrograde from November 16th until December 6th. Many people are concerned when Mercury goes retrograde and while he can cause problems with contracts, technology, communication, etc., he goes retrograde three times each year and as long as we use common sense the trouble is usually a temporary annoyance.  (It is good that he will not be retrograde during holiday travel.) Mercury retrograde can be an influence on the subconscious mind and indicates a time of reflection and self-understanding.  Mercury is also, like Jupiter, a benefic planet and it is always positive to have two benefics in the same sign.  Scorpio is a water sign which is connected to the subconscious mind and can be overly emotional which often interferes with clarity of thought.  Mercury is the planet of the neutral mind and along with Jupiter is offering us all the opportunity to see clearly into the hurts and disappointment of our lives and what role we played and more importantly what we were meant to learn as we went through whatever experiences challenged us.  It is likely that during the upcoming weeks we will all have moments of memories which can be painful or even grief-filled.  With the optimistic Jupiter pushing us towards the future this is the time when we have an opportunity to let go of the pain and allow the growth to happen.  Many people live a life defined by their pain and loss when in reality the pains and losses become part of the tapestry but should not be the definition or focus of our lives.  Now is the time to drop some of those stories and break free of the grief.  A simple technique that helps the process is the take a few moments during the times of these emotional memories to chant “vam” (vahm) to release the emotions from the second chakra.

In addition to the benefic influence of Jupiter and Mercury being in Scorpio, Venus is in his home sign of Libra.  Venus entered Libra on September 1 and due to his retrograde motion (10/22 -11/17) he will remain in Libra until January 1st.  Venus is a planet of relationship and is very much at home in Libra the sign of relationship.  Venus is much more than relationship as he is considered the teacher of the “assuras” (demons in Sanskrit) – “assura” in my opinion represents the ego.  The higher principle of love is unconditional love based on compassion and the knowledge of love is the best human expression of the “self.”  Venus in this sign will assist us in releasing the fears and pain stored in Scorpio while leading us towards the understanding that we can rise above pain and reside in a place of love as being.  We can use the mantra “yam – yahm” to raise the energy of our pain – especially pain which we hang onto as a victim – to the fourth chakra/heart center.  This will balance the energy while assisting in opening the heart.

We can’t control the outer world and this is a year that has been horrifying for many Americans to live through and the planets have offered very little help until now. However, the transits of the three benefics, are gifting us with a cosmic harmony to end this year if we are willing to heal, expand and live with compassion.

Please note that all positions are sidereal based on the empirical astronomical positions.  This is always important to me for a variety of reasons but for this particular blog it is important to view these placements through Libra and Scorpio – especially with regard to the Jupiter energy.

Jupiter in Scorpio: 10/6/18 – 11/14/19

Venus in Libra: 9/1/18 – 1/1/19 – retrograde 10/22 – 11/17

Mercury in Scorpio: 10/27 – 12/31/18 – retrograde 11/16 – 12/6