Ketu in Virgo

The astrology of holding on and letting go:

Last month we discussed some of the implications of the lunar node Rahu’s transit to Pisces. Ketu, being always in the sign opposite Rahu, now falls in Virgo for the next year and half. These positions are considered by some to be the debilitation placements of the nodes. This is because they are each exalted in the opposite sign: Rahu exalts in Virgo, and Ketu exalts in Pisces. Being that they are flipped from their preferred positions, they are more likely to give some challenging results.

If we think of each sign as a container of sorts—like a home—if a planet is in a home that is in any way antagonistic to its nature (as is its sign of debilitation), that planet is likely to struggle and therefore show some of the less desirable aspects of its archetype.

That being said, a lot of what fructifies from a transit placement on a personal level will depend on how that planet is interacting with natal placements, where it lands, and what the underlying nature of each an individual’s horoscope itself is (for someone with a negative Saturn a difficult Saturn transit could be disastrous, but for another whose Saturn is not much of an issue they may barely notice a negative Saturn transit.)

Rahu dislikes Pisces in part because it is a sign of letting go and release, which is the impulse in exact opposition to Rahu’s nature, which is compulsive, greedy, acquisitive and manipulative. In Pisces he will continually be put in positions that require letting go in exactly the places he wants to hang on. You will encounter this dynamic in whatever area of your chart Pisces falls, and it could at times feel traumatic or disturbing.

Ketu is uncomfortable in Virgo for the opposite reasons: Virgo is a neat, cleanly, organized sign which relates to growth and building. Ketu is the planet that wants to let go, surrender, go beyond bounds, achieve liberation and not really participate in the material aspects of life. During this transit, Ketu will continually be put in positions where exactly when he wants to let go and drift from a material focus, circumstances will demand that he hang on in order to figure out logistics or finances or other practical aspects of life to which he is naturally averse.

So this reverse polarity is building in the collective psych at the moment: we must hang on precisely where we want to let go, and we are asked to let go exactly where we’d like to hang on. The consequences of any internal tension generated from this transit are likely to create some widespread stomach problems (Virgo being associated with the stomach, Ketu tending to cause mysterious health issues wherever he goes), and sleep disturbances (due to Rahu in Pisces) along with a generalized unsettled feeling. They may also have more specific physical effects based on house placement in your personal chart.

The lessons that the nodes intend to teach in such a position, I believe, can wake us up to some of the dynamics fundamental to human psychology and consciousness. These involve the continual push and pull between attachment and aversion and the ways in which these forces can lead us deeper into illusion and away from ourselves. The futility of Rahu attempting to hang on to the ocean that is Pisces, and the ascetic Ketu trying to organize the material acquisitions in Virgo is almost comical. And the ludicrous nature of the situations this will provoke—as well as the concomitant frustrations of not really getting what we want— may push us into a deeper awareness of the power of the karmic forces which are not a subtle or superficial influence on our lives, but which move us around from inside our own bodies and minds.

Despite the frustration this particular dynamic can create, it may have the net result of modulating the extremes. Because the nodes are extreme by nature, when they are put in positions of exaltation they can be extra extreme, because their nature is supported by their environment. This has both costs and benefits. But when in debilitation, the particular extreme of that node is blunted, to a degree, by the fact that it’s environment by sign is not supportive of its desires.

Likely this will create a lot of internal tension over the course of the transit, but the outcome can actually be that we all find a little bit more middle ground in our lives and in relation to one another. This is an excellent time for Buddhism, or other spiritual disciplines which support the ‘Middle Way.’ Attempts at extremes on all fronts are likely to be met by frustration.

If I had to sum up the two nodal placements in a phrase each, I would say that Ketu in Virgo gives us surrender to the necessity of organization, while Rahu can give us an attachment to letting go.