Astrological Influences to the Collective Mind
It’s been almost three years since I’ve written a journal entry! I have missed sitting down and taking the time to go into depth with the many moods of the sky and the impacts here on earth. So, I’ve decided to make an attempt at rescessitating this journal , for both myself and anyone who might benefit from reading regular, detailed analyses of the psychological, physical and spiritual implications of the movements of karma being carried by planets as they transit the 12 signs and 27 nakshatras.
In the years since I last wrote, the world has been experiencing some of the fallout of the collective karma that was initiated in 2020 with the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction in Capricorn, whose significance I cannot overstate (see https://www.maggiehippman.com/journal/2020/2/29/the-era-of-earth for more details).
This conjunction ushered in a new era (“The Era of Earth”) which necessarily requires some reconfigurations on the part of humanity. These are 200 hundred year cycles, so we have not really even gotten our feet here yet, but you can feel how the nature and quality of Time itself has changed since 2020. Significant changes in the course of history are marked by these Jupiter-Saturn cycles, so it is not so surprising that many people feel that the world has changed drastically, even in a few short years.
For the moment I’d like to focus on some of the smaller (but still very significant) transits that are directing the focus inside this larger change that has occured.
We can think of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction as the field or container inside which other transits will be operating for the next while. It opened the doorway and set the underlying tone or theme for what is to come, and transits which follow direct the details of this overarching change. Because the conjunction ushered in substantial change, I see the transits which follow as dolling out the specifics within that larger theme of foundational change. You may notice this in your life as well: a continual shake-up in one or more areas of your life, contributing to larger changes that may occur more quickly, and effect you more deeply, than previous changes in your life.
Recently, this disturbance has been fueled by a transit that began October of 2023 and will persist through December of 2026, with the expected peak coming in March of 2025.
I think it is important to note, right off the bat, that disturbance is not inherently negative, and is sometimes necessary for evolution and growth. I do believe that’s the ultimate aim of these transits (and of the entire system of karma in general), but the human creature will generally experience a resistance to disturbance and change, even if their current situation is dysfunctional. This is where equanimity—a specialty of the Buddhists—really saves the day. The higher the rate of change and potential chaos, the more an internal type of stability or equilibrium is required, which may be one of the reasons why the epoch of humanity that we’re currently in—called Kali Yuga—is a disaster for dharma (morality, spiritual laws, healthy functioning of the social order) but presents a rare opportunity for moksha or spiritual realization. The insanity of outer circumstances continually pushes us back toward our own center and connection with whatever form of divinity we subscribe to, which is really the only true refuge we have in a world that is so unpredictable. In a way, the reality of spiritual experience begins to become more real than the surreal circus of the world around us.
I do encourage the least possible resistance to whatever is written in Time by the stars, the sky, the planets, and our own collective and individual karma (the later being delivered by the former). Astrology is helpful here because it gives us a map of time, and shows us very clearly that the chaos is not letting up any time soon. It is better to practice your spiritual pliability in order to adapt to the continual change which is upon us (which was always the bedrock of reality, anyway) than to deepen your resistance to what is. You will tie yourself in knots that way. Better to let the grief of your disappointment and devestation wash over you and dissolve whatever hardness has built up in your system over the last few years (or decades), so that you might see things more clearly and position yourself accordingly.
Onto the transit itself:
What we’re looking at (and have been looking at for many months, now) is a sort of congealing of the energies of Rahu and Saturn in a certain corner of the zodiac.
Rahu and Saturn have a lot of similarities as planets: they both govern air, and are cold planets which can tend toward numbness and callousness, In some ways, Rahu is an amplification of Saturn’s energy. Saturn brings distance, separation and the resultant grief. He also requires us to work hard and endure, and will generally cause either physical or psychological pain, particularly if he is otherwise afflicted. He is also the planet associated with genuine spiritual maturity, which can result from pain, suffering and separation, as well as bearing the burdens he gives well.
Rahu rules disturbance and trauma, and tends to create situations that are feel ‘wrong’ and go against the natural order. He is disorder itself, shaking things up wherever he goes.
When these two get together they create what is called ‘storm yoga.’ They are a sort of tornado, with their wind combined and their tendency to create separation and disturbance. They have not been together in transit recently (since since 2013, when they conjoined in Libra), but they have been creating a line-up in the zodiac which is called ‘mala yoga,’ which basically means ‘bad combination',’ and has the impact of afflicting the sign that follows them, which in this case is Aries. Because of the year and a half long transit of Rahu to Aries that preceeded the mala yoga created October 2023, Aries has been afflicted in some way since the spring of 2022, and will continue to be until 2026.
The specific nature of the affliction is one of air, with the added flavor of tamas, which is type of experiential state associated with heaviness, lethargy and lack of clarity. This is very relevant to the collective as well, since Aries is the sign signifying the head and brain. The long-standing affliction in this specific area suggests deficits in thinking, discerning and remembering. It actually suggests some wide-reaching influence that is impairing brain function for everyone, which would have begun in the vicinity of 2022.
The transits also suggest that we will all be thoroughly exhausted, and somewhat disturbed, in whatever area of life Aries governs in our personal horoscope. Collectively, we may be exhausted from thinking about the various difficult realities we’re all facing, which will shift slightly as Rahu and Saturn move signs, but will remain influences that bog down the mind and make it difficult to be clear.
The specific line up of events that precipitate the disturbance in Aries can be seen from the sign (and house, in an individual’s chart) placement of Rahu and Saturn. Saturn in Aquarius shows events in the social and collective sphere, revolution, and all of the social containers that divide society into different camps: all of which can become polluted or outworn in their own way, but which are also necessary for the world to go on functioning in a way that make some sense. Saturn’s influence here over the past two years has created some positive changes which may have actually lifted up those that have been downtrodden or disadvantaged, but may have created other problems related to equality. The issue with Saturn’s democratic approach is that it is often more about destroying people in power or rebelling against any kind of authority (some of which is actually quite useful) than a genuine desire for equality, so some of that may have become confused here in collective sphere, as well as in your own personal life.
All of this is the antecedent to what Rahu in Pisces amplifies, which is a certain kind of foggy and largely unconscious confusion in what Carl Jung has called the ‘collective unconscious.’ I see this as coming from the pool of collective karma, possibly related to various disturbances of and pollution of nature and the earth, and/or ancestral traumas that are beginning to surface and disturb almost everyone on some subtle level that is not necessarily discernable or tracebale (yet).
Taken together, this means that there IS social disturbance, unrest and various reconfigurations of the collective public sphere that have caused separation and division (something that Saturn is very good at) and pain and disorientation in that area, AND the way that we’re all processing and understanding that is further disturbed by this unconscious influence from somewhere in the collective past which has the effect (in the sign of Aries: the mind) of disturbing our thinking, decision-making, memory, etc. This can manifest as something as apparently innocuous as brain fog or as serious as actual memory impairment or overwhelm that prevents normal functioning, as well as other issues for the physical brain itself.
Moving forward, what we need to know if that in the spring of 2025, Rahu and Saturn will come together in Pisces, to bring their windy forces together and create an even more potent form of that ‘storm yoga’ I mentioned earlier. This does not bode well for Pisces-type of envrionments like coastal places, islands, and anywhere near the ocean (environments associated with Pisces), or for natal placements in the sign. Luckily, it is a relatively brief transit, from late March to mid-May. But even after that, Rahu and Saturn will still be forming their ‘mala yoga’ that hits Aries, only now they will have switched positions, with Rahu retrograding back into Aquarius, and Saturn in Pisces. The effects of this will be distinct from the earlier transit, but will still continue to wear down Aries and planets in it.
In addition, there will be an eclipse cycle around the time that the conjunction in Pisces begins, which can create a bit of further chaos.
In terms of fortifying practices and ways to combat the negative influences of these transits, it is extremely important to engage in regular practices that you find work to clear your mind and strengthen your focus. This could be meditation, herbal formulations which help brain function (I do recommend taking care with this, since these generally need to be individualized to prevent unwanted side effects and unsure efficacy), time in nature, reduction of distracting influences, etc.
For those with natal planetary placements in Aries (or Aquarius and Pisces, for that matter) individualized recommendations can be made in the context of a personal consultation.
The next write-up will include more information about the conjunction in Pisces and the subsequent transits.