South Node/Ketu Conjunct Galactic Center
We are entering into a powerful astrological transit as a collective. The south node of the moon is approaching the zodiacal degree of our Milky Way’s center (perfecting August 20th). Known as Sagittarius A*, our Galactic Center is home to a supermassive black hole, having 4 million more times the mass as our sun. From this gargantuan, all-consuming vortex, we, the inhabitants of the Milky Way, turn . Our sun takes about 230 million years to complete one revolution around Sagittarius A*. Our’s is but one star in hundreds of billions, locked within the magnetic allure of our resident black hole. The Galactic Center is a gargantuan, devouring creatrix, whose gravity is so powerful that no light can escape and whose laws of existence defy most human comprehension. We can only theorize about what lies beyond the event horizon of a black hole—the boundary around the black hole from which nothing can escape. From this mighty place in our galaxy, we are magnetized into a web of interconnection.
The nodes of the moon are the intersections of the moon’s orbital path with the earth with the sun’s orbital path of the earth. The South Node is the point where the moon enters the southern ecliptic hemisphere; the North Node is where the moon enters the northern ecliptic hemisphere. The nodes are said to be the head and tail of a great dragon in Vedic/Indian astrology. The South Node is the tail and named Ketu; the North Node is the head, with the name of Rahu. Like a dragon, the nodes can be both destructive and transformative; they are catalyzing forces of both madness and of genius. They are responsible for our eclipses on Earth, and in astrology, are thought to represent the pathways to our collective karmic destiny.
The South Node/Ketu has to do with realizing and expressing the karmas ripe enough to be expressed in the current time, stemming from a backlog of the deep past. The ”Tail of the Dragon” is forever looking towards what was before, carrying both the wisdom and the shortcomings of prior experience. The South Node can devour and extinguish that which is no longer necessary, creating the space for that which is ready to be born. A paradoxical point, the South Node/Ketu is a fiery furnace, capable of total destruction, and is like the vast ocean, filled with the knowledge and memory of all creation.
The nakshatra (the term for a section of the lunar zodiac in Vedic astrology corresponding to one or more stars) home to the Galactic Center is known as Mula, meaning “the root.” The symbol for this nakshatra is a tied up bunch of roots, and the presiding deity is the goddess Nritti, whose name means “calamity.” The primary stars of this nakshatra make up the stinger of the Scorpius constellation; the brightest one is named Shaula. The celestial scorpion has long been associated with death and the underworld, due to its powerful venom, as well as the passionate instinct for survival. The stinger delivers its penetrating death blow. The stars of Ophiuchus, (the Snake-Handler constellation) also surround the Galactic Center and are intrinsically connected to the stars of Scorpius. The Snake-Handler is master of the serpent mysteries, with the ability to transmute poison of the snake into medicine. Ophiuchus, standing over Scorpius, carries forth the healing potential that arises from the deep waters of this subterranean dweller. Sagittarius A*, clearly, has the Sagittarius constellation in its name. The Archer that is Sagittarius points his arrow directly towards this center of our galaxy; he aims it towards this immensely powerful blackness, firing into the center of the great unknown. These constellations echo the reality of destruction/calamity within the black hole, as well as the profound mystery within this massive root of our galaxy.
As the south node meets the Galactic Center, a non-negotiable recalibration is occurring. We are being called to examine our current world and the past upon which it is built. What needs to be incinerated by the forces of the dragon and the black hole? What excrement needs to be expelled through this cosmic toilet? What poison lies at our collective root and how can we find healing through these revelations? What is awaiting rebirth through all of the “calamity” and upheaval happening in our world?
We are, currently, living through a bridge time, between the Ages of Pisces and Aquarius. The choices made on Earth reverberate throughout all of the galaxy, and, thus, the universe. The Tail of the Dragon, in fiery Sagittarius, provides the flames of liberation as it meets the Galactic Center. The noxious and unsustainable paradigm of our current reality is collapsing. The dragon’s future-visioning head, Rahu, is in direct opposition to Ketu, at the Galactic Anti-Center. From this window of our galaxy, where the constellations of Taurus, Orion, and Gemini meet, new ideas and forms are available to be glimpsed. The earth and air energies of these constellations balance the fire and water constellational energies at the Galactic Center. Rahu, too, is said to be most like earth and air, while Ketu is like fire and water. Thus, the head and the tail are intrinsically aligned during this potent transit. May we utilize this time to shed the hindrances to our evolutionary destiny, as we open ourselves up to this vision of the new world to come. May we remember the depth of ourselves, across the aeons, and utilize this wisdom to enhance and revolutionize the ever-turning spiral of existence.
References:
Trivedi, Prash. The Rahu Ketu Experience. Sagar Publications. 2002
Wikipedia contributors. Sagittarius A*. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. July 15, 2020, 14:12 UTC. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sagittarius_A*&oldid=967818989. Accessed August 9, 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. Galactic Center. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. July 23, 2020, 11:43 UTC. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Galactic_Center&oldid=969100136. Accessed August 9, 2020.
Artist’s conception of the Milky Way. Credit: NASA