Shift of the Nodes

Shifting of the poles

The nodal shift happens once every 1.5 years, and tends to cause some amount of disturbance in the collective. It is, essentially, a recalibration of the polarities which are represented by the nodes.

Rahu (north node in western astrology) shows an obsession—what we may seek compulsively and therefore not be very clear-headed about. Rahu tends to consume wherever he is and whoever he’s with, which is why he is associated with addiction.

Ketu (south node) shows detachment, renunciation and blind-spots. His position shows an area we’d rather not focus on, and which we may ‘miss’ because of this—we can make mistakes here due to lack of attention and care.

In a natal chart, these will be fixed placements where we can tend to go to extremes. If Rahu is in a sign of Venus, for example, we may become obsessive about love and relationship. If Ketu is there we may ignore it completely.

In transit, these planets show places where the collective is fixed or detached.

Rahu has been in Aries for the last 1.5 years, bringing an attachment to thoughts, thinking, and our own illusions (Aries rules the head). There is also a general combativeness to Rahu in Aries, since the ruler Mars is a fighter by nature, and in this case Rahu is becoming obsessive with arguing and fighting. This placement can make people very strong-headed convinced of their own correctness. Because Aries represents the beginning of the zodiac and is a place where new ideas and ideals can be born, Rahu here may have ‘innovative’ and unconventional ‘solutions’ which are likely to actually become problems, due to the fact that Rahu is an obstacle causing planet in general and especially for Aries.

Ketu has been in Libra, showing a greater distance from ‘other people’ in general, or a tendency to ‘other’ other people, as in alienate them or feel alienated by them. This can show up as divisions in the population due to fundamentalism or dogma. In personal relationships this can show a tendency for mistakes or misunderstanding due to lack of attention or misplaced attention (looking in the wrong direction).

You can see that this particular nodal transit has not been good for the general peace and disturbs the healthy interaction of people in the world in general. This phenemona is observable in the somewhat recent occurences of average people having loud outbursts and conflicts in public places with some frequency.

Rahu and Ketu always move backward (they are rebellious like that) through the zodiac, so that Rahu will move into Pisces and Ketu in Virgo. I will get into these new placements next month, but for the time being the more important point to note is that from mid-October to mid-November there will be some collective churning which could feel slightly volatile at times. The volatily has to do with the polarities that these planets represent, which can flip suddenly from attachment to aversion and vice versa. The notion of equanimity really finds its stride in times like these, where the only place to be is in the observation of the continually changing nature of desire and repulsion.