The Medicine of the Moment

This seems like an appropriate moment to talk about setbacks, obstacles, enemies and disturbance. With the planet of obstacles and disturbances—Rahu—being exalted in the sky (since March of 2019) we are all no doubt becoming familiar with the amount of flexibility required to adapt to thwarted plans, and also the toll it can take emotionally and psychologically.

At some point I think we will have collectively encountered enough disturbance to be interested in an altogether different approach to time and experience—one that is less concerned with accomplishing aims and more interested in being educated by circumstance. This seems to require a wide-angle lens on life, which I think astrology does a pretty good job of offering. The mythologies surrounding the planets, in particular, are hugely helpful in granting context to personal setbacks.

The best way of describing the benefits of agitation may be seen through the alchemical story of the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean, from which the Soma or nectar of immortality was mythologically extracted. This story shows up in many different traditions, with variations in names and nuance.

In the Vedic story, Rahu and Ketu (the lunar nodes in astrology) form mythological snake whose body was wrapped around the tip of a mountain and pulled on each end by the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) in order to agitate the ocean so that it might produce this coveted nectar. The whole process is much like the old fashioned way of churning butter, or making fire with a spindle and fire board. In both cases friction and disturbance are necessary to produce the birth of something new.

As concerned as we might be with the idea of a Nectar of Immortality (i.e. the end result of the efforts) we might not normally consider how the rope used to turn the spindle feels during this process, or the experience of the Ocean itself, as its being disturbed through the continual spinning of the mountain inside its waters. Most processes in nature which produce a ‘desirable’ outcome are uncomfortable for the elements of nature involved. Think of the intense pressure and time required to form a diamond, for example, or the energy that must be put forth for a seed to burst open underground to produce a sprout. That seed opens into its own death so that it might eventually produce something which feeds life. This is a reminder of why a culture focused on comfort is almost automatically antithetical to life.

If we consider disturbance inside this larger context of Nature’s aims, we might be able to relax into our own process and wonder into what Nature might be making of us.

Even this agitation that we’re all confronting on a large scale may have a larger intended aim. Being agitated is by nature confusing, that is the point. it’s okay to be confused right now, and disturbed. If you can allow yourself that you might be able to get inside the flavor and texture of the moment enough to let it teach you something. From the perspective of Nature you are one small component of a much larger process with aims that are unknowable even to the human imagination.

I think what I’m attempting to get at with the help of the mythology is that although disturbance, setbacks and even enemies may appear to be categorically ‘bad',’ at some point we have to ask: “from whose perspective?”

Maybe our aims were misguided in the first place and they should have been thwarted. Maybe the clearly inauspicious omens of all hell breaking loose on a world-wide scale are letting us know in a not-so-gentle way that we we’ve been moving in the wrong direction. And we can see that such loud warnings were actually required because even still it looks as though we will, as soon as possible, proceed with business as usual as long as we can get away with it.

It’s hard for me to see any part of astrology (or life, for that matter) in terms of good and bad. So even a planet like Rahu, who has been demonized even within the Vedic system is a shadowy teacher. And in fact, Rahu and Ketu are the mythological snake which is related to the Dragon which is Her in many of the old stories. They can be considered the body of the goddess, who has historically been demonized as a way to undercut her power. If we experience the workings of this dragon-snake as disturbance, it may be because we are now at odds with her intentions which always have to do with ensuring that the heart of Nature (which is also the Soma) can go on living.

Because Rahu and Ketu are both in exaltation right now, we could surmise that this historical moment is a ‘win’ from the larger perspective of nature and the deities in the sky, who are interested in making some large-scale medicine. Whenever a dragon is exalted—as you can imagine—it is best to get out of the way and let her go to work and allow yourself to be churned. At various moments you may be the head or tail of the snake, the mountain being spun or the ocean itself in full-blown agitation. Eventually you may also be the nectar.

In terms of practical advice regarding how to step into the churning, the story again advises: Rahu and Ketu represent extremes of the mind, with Rahu being excessive attachment and desire and Ketu being non-attachment and liberation. In the astrological chart they pull us between mental/emotional extremes—they are the lunar nodes after all, and affect us primarily on a mental/emotional level (moon being the indicator for mind in the chart).

The medicine is actually made in the place where the two meet: the middle ground, so to speak, which translates fairly well to the '“middle path” of Buddhism. The basic idea, as far as I can tell, with the Buddhist approach is to witness the internal field of experience without either attachment or aversion. Eventually this can draw you into the resting place between extremes where you are actually inside the body of life, expertly riding its currents without being consumed by its diversions (anyone who has been here can attest to the fact that this experience itself tastes like Soma; is deeply nourishing).

This objective perspective can allow obstacles and setbacks in an entirely new light: as messenger of Nature herself, carrying critical information which will be completely missed if met with aversion.