Eclipse Seasonal Affective Disorder Pandemic Prescriptions and Prayers

On Monday, November 30, between approximately 3:30am EST and approximately 7am EST, as the Earth’s satellite Moon reaches its apex of full reflection of Sunlight, the convergence of the Earth’s solar orbit will completely eclipse the Moon’s access to it’s source light. In the ancient world, such eclipses were the most dramatic occurrence in the cosmic theater. In societies more inherently connected to the laws of nature, such a bold interruption in the expected relational order of the Earth, Sun and Moon commanded an automatic reverence, and the arbiters of the culture responded accordingly. Eclipse seasons occur every six months, and are usually two eclipses — solar and lunar — two weeks apart. In the Vedic tradition, the first eclipse is the opening of the portal between the worlds seen and unseen, and the time/space in-between allows a flood of invisible light to enter our realm from the void of dark matter, until the portal closes two weeks later at the second eclipse and the light of our visible spectrum world is once again recharged with infrared and ultraviolet light spirit.

Ancient cultures steeped in the numinous beheld an eclipse occurrence as a time to go inward and work with the inner light, as the sources of outer light are interrupted. My colleagues remind us that in classical Indian thought, the Sun is associated with righteousness, rational thinking and authority, while the Moon is connected to compassion, emotional process and nurturance. The distortion of these sources of natural light creates a disruptive excitement, which is a natural time for people dedicated to growth and altruism to orient themselves toward their motivations and take action toward their deeper aspirations. Hedonistic activities and indulgent behavior are never advised during an eclipse, and withdrawal from external/social pursuits is recommended. Traditionally, people do not look at the Sun or Moon while an eclipse occurs. Lighting candles to invoke more natural light and activities of individual prayers and communal rituals are common in many indigenous cultures, including the natives of this land.

This eclipse cycle relates to the governance of this land in a very unique and distinct way, as the celestial spheres involved are highlighting all the major players on the main stage of rulership of the executive office: the Presidency. Both President-Elect Joseph Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris are strongly channeling the forces of Rahu, the eclipse-causing north node of the Moon, who is anthropomorphized in the mythological tales as the shady master-of-disguise henchman who gets the job done by hook or crook, come hell or high water. The sitting President Donald Trump is strongly conditioned by Rahu, as he channeled Rahu’s energy for the 17 years prior to his election in 2016, and most notably, Trump was born on the day of an Eclipse, which makes him Rahu incarnate, a slippery agent of chaos with a preternatural gift for avoiding the obvious consequence of scandals unfolding in his wake.

During an eclipse, Rahu becomes super-strong and the Sun and Moon become very weak. As this force relates to the players in competitive dispute of the Presidency, it’s pretty much impossible to determine which side has more eclipse-augmented Rahu power on it’s side of the tug of war. Presently, Trump is also experiencing the transit of a Rahu return to the exact degree of its natal position in his birth chart which is a once-in-an-18-year occurrence. His ascension from the soft and coddled wealthy child of a highly-questionable real-estate magnate to the American Presidency is proof itself of the unpredictable and unbridled power of Rahu in such an eclipse, and is particularly interesting as Trump’s rise to power was on an island famously and ignorantly culturally-appropriated from the Lenape Indians by the Dutch for a pittance. Art of the Deal indeed. I’d like to highlight that although Trump was also born the day of a lunar eclipse with Rahu in the exact same position as it is now, the Sun and Moon are in opposite constellations, which is a reversal of his birth karma, and signifies as rapid and sudden of a descent as was his rise four years ago.

The context of the current eclipse season has a few mitigating factors I would like to unpack and discuss. Rahu is two months into 1.5 years of being constrained by it’s transit in Taurus. Rahu is the force of chaos, invisibility, unpredictability, insatiability, restlessness and relentless pursuit of desire, and DOES NOT like being confined, AT ALL. Rahu is the ego force that causes us to be attached to the trappings of this realm, as Rahu symbolizes our tendencies and proclivities that NEED to be expressed. Rahu is simultaneously our super-power and our achilles heel; the paradox which allows us to exist in this world rife with duality and contradiction. If any celestial orb personifies narcissism, it’s Rahu. Wherever Rahu sits in our birth chart is our kryptonite; we can deeply feel our limitations and circumvent them to become super men and women, as we are not subject to the laws of mere mortals. But when it touches a powerful crystal from its home source, we lose all of our super powers and begin to feel the agony of homesickness, as our separation from our source becomes too painful for us to bare.

D uring a week-long course on Rahu I attended in 2012 in Toronto with my teacher Hart deFouw, his wife Aletha said that “everyone is weird, because everyone has Rahu SOMEWHERE in their chart”. I often say to clients: “this is Rahu’s world, and we’re just living in it”. As a spiritual aspirant on the path toward growth and realization, I have no choice but to stop resisting the darkest most repulsive parts of myself, and to love and accept them, so that they lose the power created by my resistance as they disappear into the undivided whole. I love Rahu, as I have no other choice in my quest toward unity.

In case this is only implicit to you, I will state it clearly and explicitly: Rahu is considered a negative force in our lives, and when these negative forces are constrained, they don’t lose power. Rather, they gain power and become more malevolent, uncontrollable and unpredictable. When we are dealing with Rahu, which is the duality-cementing force of chaos and unpredictability itself woven into the fabric of the unitive field to create duality, any augmentation of it’s already formidable power is not to be trifled with, as there is no known strategy able to handle and control its ungraspable potency.

There are more contextual factors about Rahu’s current placement that I would like to point out. Rahu casts a trinal aspect and gazes 120 degrees and 240 degrees into the fifth and ninth constellations away from it’s position and infuses those spaces with it’s power. In this case, the ninth constellation from Rahu is Capricorn, where the two other heavy-hitting planets currently reside, Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter symbolizes the benevolent gift of wise counsel, and Saturn represents the imminent wisdom of renunciation and detachment, and so they work very well together spiritually. As they relate to our topic at hand, Jupiter and Saturn are the planetary forces Trump is channeling primarily, as he is in a Jupiter cycle and a Saturn sub-cycle, while Biden is channeling Jupiter and Rahu primarily, as he is in a Jupiter cycle and a Rahu sub-cycle.

It should be noted that this Rahuvian force is what I believe has been destabilizing Trump’s incessant desire to hold onto the Presidency. Prior to election day, I predicted Biden would win, as well as the nature of this post-election day conflict we are about to witness far more in the next month. I believe Rahu’s destabilizing force presents through Biden and Harris and will keep Biden in office. Rahu’s potency signifies that Trump’s reservoirs of internal energy siphoned from his base are nearly depleted and his make-shift rag-tag gold-painted external infrastructure is on the verge of crumbling, as his cult-of-personality corporate brand can no longer prevent the establishment’s attempt to unseat him. I must repeat that this is truly astrologically unpredictable, and a deeper sense of energy awareness is required for me to be truly confident that my perception is correct. So far, it is proving so, but there are no guarantees with Rahu.

This Rahu aspect on Jupiter and Saturn in Capricorn is highly significant, as from December 12 until December 30, Jupiter and Saturn will enter the same degree of the zodiac, and essentially duke it out in what is known as a planetary war. This war compromises the strength of both planetary forces, and creates even more confusion for the interpreter of these movements. Saturn is currently strong in it’s own home sign of Capricorn, and Jupiter is weak in it’s constrained constellation of Capricorn. Jupiter, as a beneficent force, is not malevolent when it is weak. Rather, Jupiter’s weakness limits its ability to help, yet it’s placement in Capricorn augments the strength of Saturn, which is comfortable in it’s own sign. In it’s comfort, Saturn inhibits Jupiter’s ability to do good in any other way.

This is to say that Jupiter is limited to only bring good to the areas where it sits and it’s advice is only useful if it is followed as rigorously as possible, as Saturn’s restrictions create the disciplined container that allows Jupiter to distill it’s benevolent force into a greater potency, wherever it acts. These transits last until November 2021 (with a five month pause between April and September, when Jupiter leaves Capricorn), and taking into account the above labyrinthian energy lanyard, we all must look at what we want to do over the next year and be disciplined and prioritize our goals so that we don’t lose our potency in our efforts to bring stability into our individual worlds. This is most definitely possible as the lunar constellation that houses this Saturn/Jupiter planetary war is one that supports pulling back into a sustainable expansion while cultivating a dispassionate earthy composed patience, and aiding the development of a “nose-to-the-grindstone” commitment to continual improvement of health.

It’s also important to note that the ancient scriptures state that Saturn and Rahu work well together, and when Saturn is well-placed as it currently is, Rahu becomes more potent as well. When we add to this concoction the Rahuvian infusion of it’s potency into Saturn and Jupiter, we must also highlight the importance of remaining humble and disciplined in our efforts to perform expansive thoughts and actions, as the forces of chaos and unpredictability are at an all-time high. We can see this in our culture with the pandemic. Rahu represents the invisible unpredictable force that is bringing about Covid-19, and Saturn indicates the might that is forcing all of us to cultivate humility, set up disciplined routines, and remain isolated as we move slow and eat crow as our economy predictably diminishes, and the working-class — signified by Saturn — loses its power to the virtual tech-world — signified by Rahu — and Jupiter — the force of wisdom and light — is trapped behind Saturn’s iron bars, unable to escape for the next season without Saturn’s consent. Jupiter only gets to walk around the courtyard a handful of times each day and month with the Moon’s angular positional reflective help.

In the Vedic culture, Saturn is known as The Lord of Karma, and this Earth exists in the realm of Karma in which we lose and find ourselves. Karma is one of those words so frequently misused that it needs to be defined. As I was trained, Karma is the chain of cause and effect without beginning and end. In this realm, everything is Karma, as cause is effect concealed, and effect is cause revealed. Our ability to see things is limited by our perspective, and Saturn is a symbol of the slowest moving forces of this realm. If Saturn doesn’t want us to see something, we will not see it. Saturn didn’t want us to see the pandemic, even as we could easily predict Saturn’s ability to cause the effects of the pandemic. The virus itself is an invisible mystery, which fits our description of Rahu to a T. There is so much being controlled that is yet to be revealed, and will only be revealed when the passing of time allows it to be revealed. Due to the condition of Jupiter in the next 1.5 years, it is not the time for natural wisdom to be revealed and recognized by the greater world until spring 2022.

As it relates to the eclipse season, get ready for an infusion of unpredictable chaos into our America realm. The next two weeks will be a dog-fight in which Trump, who is still unwilling to concede the election, will do whatever he can do in his power to hold onto the position. This may include starting a war with Iran, which is terribly frightening, but looking more and more like a possible reality, with the aid of Israel, which has its own dealings with Rahu. Keep in mind that unpredictability is at play in unforeseen ways in the next few weeks, and some of my Vedic astrology colleagues still believe he will succeed in holding onto the Presidency. I feel confident he will not be successful, for a number of sound Vedic astrological reasons rooted in principle, and most significantly: the Rahuvian force of chaos and unrest is infusing both Jupiter and Saturn — his dominant planets — with the chaos necessary to unseat the reigning king of chaos. It’s significant to note that the Solar Eclipse takes place on December 14th, which not coincidentally is the day the Electors cast their votes for the Electoral College, which Trump goes back and forth between saying he will/will not obey and leave office if he doesn’t win the Electoral College vote.

What a glorious unpredictable shit-show! There are few other astrological factors of which we must make note, before we get to the inspiring good news that we will all be able to utilize as we ride the wave of de-spirited deflation into the next phase of what looks to be the two decade long pandemic age of the anthropocene. First, this planetary war between Jupiter and Saturn in Capricorn is a crucial time for all of us to decide what qualities we want to grow in our lives. During these times of planetary war, I’ve experientially discovered in the last decade of practice and study that the soil of this realm is incredibly fertile, and the seeds we plant will definitely bear fruit. In this case, the seeds we plant will bear fruit in ways in which we are currently unable to conceive, as the players of Jupiter, Rahu and Saturn are the slowest-moving forces around the zodiac. Their cycles are long — 16, 17, and 19 years respectively — and their complete transits through all of the constellations take 12, 18, and 28.5 years respectively. The effects of the actions we take in December will not fully be revealed for longer lengths of time than our limited minds are able to imagine, but our unlimited bodies are able to feel.

What I am about to write is not scientifically-determined in this spiritual science of Vedic astrology, however I strongly feel that whatever actions we take during this time — whether internal micro-actions or external actions — will bear fruit for the next 10–20 years, as our individual karmas are being removed from the fields of collective karma, and we are all in the process of being subsumed into the forces of universal karma. You may individually feel strong urges to repeat your limiting patterns by planting negative seeds that will cement your negative patterns, as it feels good and familiar to your ego to do so. Do your best to resist the urge to take the cheap karmic drug high. Practice abstinence and discipline in your directive to be the best version of yourself, while putting as little pressure on yourself as possible. Let yourself be the best YOU you could ever imagine, and without undue pressure and judgement, let that YOU flow out of you naturally, with ease and joy in your heart. Let your ego get out of it’s own way, as you surrender to the greater powers which unconditionally always have your best interests in mind. The you that you “think” you are is so much smaller than the YOU that the grand natural plan for the greater good has in store for us all. Don’t let your small mind fall pray to the divide your ego wants to concretize, so that “you” “know” who “you” are and “your place” in the world, in relation to “others” who are “wrong”, while you are “right”. Cultivate a deeper faith and trust in the process of unfoldment into the unknown and grand wonder which always supports and loves us.

Easy, right? Haha! Yeah, right! If not so easy for you, then focus on December 12–14th, when the energy will be super potent and fertile, and the prescribed time to focus your internal awareness towards having cohesive thoughts, feelings and actions will be December 14, 8:30/9:30am–1:00/2:00pm EST. To reiterate, there is an energy portal open between the two eclipses early Monday morning November 30 until 2pm Monday December 14th, and the two days prior have the fertile ground to plant the seeds of positive, expansive change. The portal then opens again for the Winter Solstice on Monday December 21st, which coincides with the tightest conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. This is the day to once again unite your thoughts, feelings and actions and propel the most cohesive, inclusive version of YOU toward the most expansive direction of the greatest realization of your potential. You have the ability to make whatever changes you want to make on these days, as the opportunity is so ripe and open for anyone not distracted by the sensationalist externalized circus show. There is a natural turning toward the light on the Winter Solstice, and your discipline and direction will pay off.

The beautiful and most bright quality of this time is that this lunar eclipse begins an offering of greater inspiration, as the full Moon occurs with great potency in the Moon’s favorite lunar constellation. This is the most cherished placement of the Moon, which will be bright and lifted into a strength which allows our senses and emotional well-being to inherently open up into creativity, service and love. Previously obscured feelings of creativity and passion will unfold for all of us who cultivate our deeper longing, which might be the definition of romance. Rahu’s unprecedented potency hyper-charges the Moon’s ability to open the heart and the unfold the creative process into a greater devotion to humanity. The relationship between Rahu and the Moon — between desire and emotions — will psychically augment and magnify our artistry, as all of our natural thoughts and feelings will develop into deeper romantic loving-connections this December, whether we have a partner or not. We will truly see how our ability to fluidly open into the creative soul is automatic, as we recognize it and allow it to be so. Our ability to highlight these capacities now is very important, as from January 2021 through Mid-April 2021, there will be an astrological imbalance adding pressure to those of us who aren’t charged enough to go with our personal flow, as difficulties will arise in the greater world as the pressures of a daunting pandemic winter present themselves.

It’s very important to note that the energy will be very charged during the first two weeks of December, and it crucial that we all power up with this energy and store it. We will need to access it in the challenging months ahead so we are not too easily distracted by the external show put on by the politicians and businessmen who are so pathetically disconnected from the plight of the common people that they are currently woefully unable to put in the natural effort required to take care of the people of this land. Without reserves of energy to share, any attempts we make to open to the fields of suffering people around us will be too much to for us to bear. If we approach this winter while depleted, strong ego reactivity and further division is a risk for all of us.

In August 2017, there was a solar eclipse that crossed the entirety of the United States land, and there will be two more, in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. When solar eclipses like this occurred in the past, the indigenous people of this land performed rituals, dances and prayers to ward of ill-effects of the negative dark spirits, as the path of the solar eclipse is not an auspicious sign on whichever land it casts its shadow.

If we take into account the fractal nature of reality, we are now in between two very challenging eclipses which will cross this land and put its inhabitants in great peril, as we no longer live in accord with nature. The indigenous tribal conflicts of this land’s history pale in comparison to the sacred alignment with the natural world we are all dangerously perched on the precipice of losing, as our American collective karma unseats our natural universal karmic balance. The politicians and bureaucrats who call the shots have such limited experience and exposure to the wisdom and peace of living in harmony without division, and they continue to carelessly and wantonly compromise the unity valued by so many Americans as our living and breathing birthright.

My prayer for everyone who reads this is that we all find the inspiration to awaken the noble urge within ourselves to care for the parts of us we are judging and rejecting, as we heal our internal divide and accept ourselves completely. May we work together in harmony to insure we are able to access the strength we already hold, in our natural effort to abstain from reflecting any animosity directed toward us. May we be empowered to transform these formidable energies of resistance, as we work diligently and joyfully together to transmute the enmity of all the people around us, as we feed the worn hungry bodies and heal the fallen broken spirits of each of our beautiful sisters and brothers — and all of our inner and outer children — in the coming months and years.