Cycles within cycles

Have you ever noticed the shapes that surround you? The shape of the house you live in? The shape of the city roads you walk on? The shape of the building that you enter?

Have you noticed that a path created by man has straight lines but a path created by Nature is all undulating, curvy and build in arches?!

Life is not linear. Nothing about our experience of life is coming in a straight line.

Of course, we would love for everything to be as straight forward as the motorway we drive on, but even then, to get to our destination we have to come down the motorway and take a few turns to reach where we are supposed to be.

Whenever I drive to the coast, I always end up picking the drive which will take me through the countryside, those roads which are man made but in alignment with how Nature grows. My mind gets bored when I go in a straight line for too long and I quickly loose interest. Once I get to the parts of the trip which begin to take curves and are built of arches, then my attention is peaked and it requires of me to be more engaged and present, and I like that. I want to be engaged with my environment at all times.

Our experience of life is not linear. It is defined by the curves and loops we move through, and the path though it may be outlined by Karma, the unfoldment of the journey depends on how you move and where are you going. The actions you take now, will determine the shape of your path.

Are you adamant to go in a straight line, or are you ready to allow Nature’s curves to take you where you have to go?

Some of us may even come off track, intentionally, so that we can get lost for a bit when we are unsure of where to go. They say that some get lost only to be found again, and I believe that to be very true.

Nature not only manifests in curves and undulating lines, but it also moves within cycles. Nature blooms in spring, flourishes and reaches its peak of manifestation during summer, and then sheds during autumn so that it can die again when the cold winter come.

We also move in cycles, aware or not, and our organism moves in cycles as well. Time moves in cycles, and cycles are really a way to measure time. We wake up in the morning to the birth of a new day, and we get on with our day only to realise that soon it’s dark and we have to go to sleep. The day is born, it manifests and then the day dies turning into night, only to become day once again. We might take these things for granted, but if we pay attention, we may notice that we also are born every day, only to die again every night. Some may just push on through their day, without engaging or enjoying the light of the day and what it has to offer, and that can be said of how some of us experience life. Like you are just pushing through, without engaging, without stopping to admire where you are, without going back to pick up what you left behind, or maybe without moving forward, without taking action and just letting the days become nights and nights become days.

As a society and culture we are going through a period which is dominated by being driven by strong desires. It’s easy to not even realise how strong our likes and dislikes have become, as we can’t wait to change our phone and eagerly await for the launch of the new iphone model, looking to buy the latest gadget that promises to bring us happiness. We are surrounded by temptations as we become one of the fastest pace generation of humans. Everything is moving fast, from the way our food arrives on the plate, to the way technology and science advances. From conversations, to actions, only to be rewarded for how fast we act and get through experiences. Our hands move faster and faster, our minds capable of the unthinkable, faster and faster. Our breath moves faster and faster. We want to get to where we think we should be, faster and faster.

My question to you, is where are you hurrying?

I am very traditional but with a “Go!” attitude. I used AI the other day to write something about my online yoga classes, and I was dumbfounded by how beautiful it was. My 65 year old colleague in Sanskrit classes is using AI chat box to learn more about the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. What?!?!?!?!

Ayurveda defines Vata dosha as a combination of Air and Space, and it is responsible for movement in nature and it governs all movements in the body, from thinking, to breathing, to the way we express our thoughts in actions. We are living in a Vata Era, a somehow deranged Vata, out of balance, moving too fast, loosing the meaning, allowing for strong desires to get us attached to things. Then we have Pitta, which is Fire and Water, which is defined by movement. It governs all the transformational processes in nature and your body. Fire brings ambition, strong desires, intense heat and a “Go! Go! Go” attitude.

Let’s not forget Kapha, the grounding Earth and Water energy, which is heavy, solid and it repesents inertia. As we move through life faster and faster, we also end up stoping completely, to the point of not being able to pick ourselves up, we reach the point of being unmoved, and these processes though are natural, are happening at an unusual speed rate.

Within the cycles of Nature, we are now at a point of transition. Not only autumn to winter, but also as we closed off the Eclipse season on 28th October, another important move happened, something that astrologers say happens once in a blue moon.

The Cosmic Serpent ends its 18 years cycle of movement through the 12 signs of the zodiac.

The Cosmic Serpent is formed by the two lunar nodes. These are planets without a mass, as they are mathematical points in the sky. The North node is called Rahu, and the South node we call Ketu. Their energy can be very strong and though they have no mass and no matter, they are the troublemakers of the sky. They have qualities of their own, but as they move through the signs of the zodiac, and they do that moving backwards (everything about them is excentric), they take on the qualities of the signs they are in and the planets rulling those signs.

The story of the how the Lunar Nodes are formed is shared through the epical story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk,

“The churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan in Sanskrit) is perhaps one of the best-known episodes in Indian mythology, appearing in several texts such as the Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana. Mythologists such as Georges Dumézil and Jarich Oosten compared the churning of the ocean to obtain nectar (amrita) with European myths about ambrosia.” M.D. Muthukumaraswamy

In the eternal struggle between good and evil, came a point when all manifestation was in danger of being destroyed. The good is represented by the Devatas, translated as Gods, but what it really represents, is all of those beneficial qualities that support manifestation and your journey towards light and truth. The evil is represented by Asuras, demons that really represent all of those obstructive qualities that stand in the way of manifestation manifesting, the shadow covering the light, the truth covered by a veil.

To save the world from peril, the two camps had to cooperate. They were instructed tho begin churning the Ocean of Milk {The Ocean of Consciousness} until the nectar of Immortality - Amrita - would come out which would save all manifestation.

They used a mountain as their churning stick, a symbol for the spine, and they used the serpent Vasuki, a symbol for the spine, to move the mountain. The story is rich with meaning, and these few lines don’t do it justice, but to better understand the Lunar Nodes and how they act, it is important to have some of the background story.

After hours of churning the first thing that came out was a poison that almost killed everyone. With some divine intervention, all was well and they continued churning. Many things came out, including the wish fufilling Cow, Goddess Lakshmi as Mother Earth and then finally the Amrita came out, the sweet nectar of immortality.

The demons got their hands on the nectar, but again thanks to Divine Intervention thing got under control. The principle of Sustenance stepped in. Lord Vishnu who had been so far the Devata’s guide, took of form of Mohini, the Enchantress. With her full form and extraordinary beauty she took the nectar and convinced everyone that She would distribute the nectar, equally to every devata and asura. The asuras acquiesced, the devatas knew the truth.

As Mohini was serving all the nectar to the devatas, that was the plan all along, someone from the asuras camp was not enchanted by her at all. Someone had their eyes only on the nectar. Someone saw the truth behind the veil. The demon Svarbhanu saw what was happening and because he was so adamant to have the nectar, he disguised himself as a devata and sneaked into their camp, pretending to be one of them.

When Mohini came to him to serve the nectar only a few drops managed to reach him before the demon was cut in half. PUF! gone in a moment after tasting the sweet nectar.

The Sun and the Moon recognised the demon under the disguise and they called him out. Mohini instantly produced the Chakra of Vishnu and cut the demons head off. By then Svarbhanu already had some of the nectar, so he didn’t die, instead he becomes a serpent head unattached to its body and tail. The head becames the North Lunar node - Rahu, and the tail becomes the South Lunar Node - Ketu, and together they swear veangeance on the Sun and Moon for revealing his true identity. He swears to eat the Sun and the Moon, so whenever the Sun and the Moon meet on this mathematical axis formed by the Lunar Nodes, we have an eclipse. A time when the natural Light in the Universe is being shadowed by these planets without a mass, bringing with them periods of intense change and sudden upheavels.

The Eclipses in October 2023, have been extremely intense, not just because of the Lunar Nodes, but also other factors playing in, like starting the Eclipse season with the two warrior like planets Mars and Ketu together. We had a lunar Eclipse on October 28th which closed this eclipse season, but wait there is more. On the 31st October, Rahu and Ketu change signs and they end their 18 years long journey through the 12 signs of the zodiac. This is a big shift and why is it important? Well because it might take another 1000 years for this configuration to be in the sky again, an eclipse followed by a new cycle through the zodiac. A huge transition and we are in the midst of it right now.

If you have been feeling tired, overwhelmed, grieving, know that you are not alone. We all have Rahu and Ketu in our lives, and it’s not all bad, but they do represent that which is in hiding, that which is obscured, that which is in disguise.

Happy Haloween, what perfect alignment.

The head wants what every head wants, EVERYTHING! and all at once s’il vous plait. Rahu represents the itch you can not scratch. It is associated with ambition, drive, intense desire, obsession, technology, innovation, scheming, it is associated to that which is hidden, the shadows. Svarbhanu was the only one that had his focus on the nectar, sharp and fully aware, he manages to disguise himself as a devata and sneaks into the camp. He almost succedes with his plan. Since he had a few drops of nectar, he doesn’t die. Ketu, the tail of the serpent is all of the above, only since it doesn’t have a head, it has more of a “all or nothing” attitude. The South Node wants liberation, nothing else. It wants freedom and it will do anything in its power to get it. In Jyotisha we say Rahu acts like Saturn and Ketu acts like Mars.

Look around you. Do you recognise Rahu and Ketu?

They are unusual and excentric, full of drive and capable of bringing revolution, change, upheavel and transformation. With this 18 year cycle being closed it may be a good time to reflect on where have our desires brought us now?

Where where you 18 years ago?

What has been the fuel driving you?

Where were you driven? Where did you drive? Did you ever get there?

How was it?

What kind of costumes have you been wearing?

What kind of costumes are you ready to wear again?

What is that itch that you can not scratch?

Rahu will move into Pisces, a sign of Jupiter. It already has a Jupiterian flavour to it since the two of them have been travelling together since April this year. Pisces is a watery sign, sweet natured, dualistic, philosophical and concerned with connecting to other realms. Ketu is moving into Virgo, a sign ruled by the planet of communication, Mercury. Virgo is an Earth sign, concerned with health, dualistic in nature, perfectionist and very mental.

As Rahu and Ketu begin their new cycle of 18 years {that’s freaking long} take a moment to pause. You are beginning a new cycle of 18 years as well.

You see, we always move in cycles, whether we are aware of it or not. I think it is best to know about those cycles and adapt to them, learn to move with the cycles and within them.

Be like water my friend.

With love,

Gabriela

OM TAT SAT

Mrs Parsley and I, before I would learn what the Cosmic Serpent can really do