An Inner Momentum

We’ve just passed through the center of the tropical year, when the quality and quantity of sunlight changes. In fact, our entire relationship with the entity we call the sun shifts at this time of year. If you’re sensitive and paying attention you will feel the way the sun changes. There is a moment (particularly if you’re inhabiting a desert, like I am for the time being) when you realize that instead of hiding from the intensity of the sun’s rays at midday you seek them out for their warmth. The planet that was cruel in the summer becomes friendly in the winter. And this is the case astrologically as well, as there is a principle in Vedic Astrology that after the spring equinox the sun and the other malefic planets (mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu) function as malefic in the sky, generally creating disturbance and suffering in our lives (as well as some positive experiences like an ability to work hard and bring healthy discipline into our lives), but once the relationship between earth and sun shifts after the autumn equinox these “malefic” planets actually function as benefics and vice versa (benefic planets—Venus, Jupiter, moon and mercury) behave more like malefics.

This is interesting for several reasons, one being the way it shows us the inherent relativity of ideas of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ or ‘benefic’ and ‘malefic.’ It reminds us again that everything should be contextualized. Ayurveda (the system of health associated with both Yoga and Vedic Astrology) says the same thing: one person’s food can be another’s poison, depending on individual constitution, environmental factors, stage of life and even ancestral diet. It would be too easy to categorize everything on earth as either inherently good or inherently evil (as many religions are fond of doing).

I see the way this principle can work just by observing how life can change in the colder seasons. We generally need to put forth more effort (to stay warm, to shovel snow, to navigate different roads, to handle the relative lack of sunlight, etc) and so the malefic planets which bring effort into our lives (mars with physical exertion, Saturn with discipline and limitation, Rahu with creativity and a certain unruliness, and Ketu with spirituality) help us to survive this challenging season. In this way they become our friends. Conversely the benefic planets which are more concerned with enjoyment (Venus), peacefulness (Jupiter) and the intellect (Mercury) are not going to be of all that much help when it’s 5am and you need to leave for work amidst a snow storm with your car plowed into the curb (for example).

We are entering the season in which nature seems to be asking us to build an inner strength. Fall, in particular, can be a time of adjustment to this new calibration of effort, so allow yourself some time to consider where you want to put your efforts in the coming months (maybe challenging yourself in ways you neglected in the warmer months, or confronting some fears that have gone un-checked) to make the season not one of suffering (for those who hate winter) but one of inner growth.

Consider facilitating this process on a physical level through a gentle cleanse to reset your digestive fire and clear away whatever internal confusion which might have accumulated during the indulgences of summer. It’s always nice to wipe the slate clean in the transition months of spring and fall, when the body naturally wants to detoxify.