On September 24th at 6:34 am EDT Mercury enters Hasta Nakshatra. The planet of communication, commerce and exchanges enters the asterism of craftsmanship where it accesses the Shakti power to manifest and gain what we seek. Hasta follows the Phalguni Nakshatras which possess the power of union, procreation and wealth from those unions. In Hasta the procreations take form. Hasta’s symbol is the hand and the presiding deity is Savitri, the daughter of the Sun in the form of Savitur.
Mars out-of-bounds ends on September 24th around 5:20 pm EDT when he reaches 23-S-26 declination. While the Earth’s axial tilt relative to the Ecliptic plane varies over large time periods, it is currently at 23°26’. This is the declination of the Sun at the solstices and defines the in-bounds area for a planet’s declination. Planetary energy is said to be exaggerated or uncharacteristic when out-of-bounds.
The Full Moon on September 24, 2018 at 10:52 pm EDT occurs in the Nakshatra of Uttara Bhadrapada. This marks the culmination of the cycle that began at the New Moon in Purva Phalguni. Here we see another nakshatra pair, with Purva Bhadrapada. The couch or bed are symbols for both Bhadrapadas and both Phalgunis, and the Aim of Life is again Kama. The gunas of these Nakshatra pairs differ. The primary and secondary guns of Uttara Bhadrapada are sattvic; purity, light, goodness, spirituality. The personal perspective of one on one unions (Phalgunis) shifts to universal perspective with unions of a more collective nature (Bhadrapadas). The stars of the Great Square of Pegasus mark the two Bhadrapada nakshatras. Algenib and Alpharatz on the eastern side of the square belong to Uttara Bhadra. The ruling planet is Saturn and the Ruling Deity is Ahir Budhyana a serpent of the deep. The Shakti Power of the Full Moon in Uttara Bhadrapada is growth and perspective from divine grace. Here we see growth of the seeds we planted and unions that we formed at the New Moon, and gain a broader perspective of the role in the collective.
On September 25, 2018 at 8:54 pm EDT Mars enters Shravana Nakshatra. The planet of courage, strength, action, assertion and self-projection taps into the Shakti Power to connect diverse elements through listening, understanding & aspiration. Shravana is dubbed the star of learning and is presided over by Vishnu. This is a nice compliment to the Full Moon in Uttara Bhadrapada where we gain a universal perspective of what we have created with others since the New Moon. Mars in Shravana asks that our actions are toward finding connections and common ground where we may have previously found ourselves involved in power plays while it was out of bounds in the prior Nakshatra. It gives us the strength and courage to listen and understand what the collective needs and project our aspirations accordingly.
On September 26, 2018 at 9:55 am EDT Ketu retrogrades into Uttara Ashada. This is using the True Node position. Using the Mean Node position Ketu has been in Uttara Ashada since August 30th. Ketu is the south lunar node. In Vedic Astrology Ketu is said to be like Mars and it is a planet of Moksha or liberation, where energy turns inward after being disillusioned by the trappings of the ego in the material world. Ketu and Mars have been in close proximity for a while due to Mars retrograde going forward, backward and forward over Ketu and back and forth between Shravana and Uttara Ashada accessing the Shakti powers of unchallengeable victory, strength of gods & alliances (Uttara Ashada), to connect diverse elements through listening, understanding & aspiration (Shravana). Over this past summer we have seen how the collective shadow of Ketu has amplified and taken on Mars energy, which was already extreme by being out-of-bounds. As their conjunction separates, with Mars now in-bounds and in a Nakshatra that promotes listening and understanding, we should use Ketu in Uttara Ashada to form the right alliances according to our own Dharma and the collective Dharma in the right way to attain the right victories for humanity as a whole and in our personal lives.
On September 27, 2018 at 2:33 am EDT the Sun moves into Hasta. This is daughter’s Nakshatra, Savitri. The Sun is the planet of the Atman or Jiva giving our vitality and illumination of Spirit. In Hasta the Sun can access the Shakti power to manifest and gain what we seek. Tuning inward to illuminate our dharma, and to seeking to further our spiritual development and self-realization is one of the highest ways to use the energy of the Sun in Hasta on the spiritual level. On the physical level, it asks that what we create or manifest comes from our heart space in order to gain what we truly seek.
On September 30th at 10:01 pm EDT Pluto stations direct in Purva Ashada. The planet of power and transformation stations in the Shakti Power to purify and invigorate the cosmic waters. Pluto has been in this nakshatra since 2012 and remains there until January of 2019. Today he stations direct for the sixth time in this nakshatra (in 2012 he retrograded into Mula for his direct station), but not his last because he will retrograde back to this nakshatra again for his final direct station in Purva Ashada in October of 2019. Pluto is a collective planet and we have seen the metaphorical waters invigorated for sure! In the story of the churning of the ocean of milk to obtain the immortal nectar amrita, toxins and muck floated up as well. Pluto’s nature is also one of going to the depths of our own being to bring up the toxins in the shadows of our mind so we can neutralize them by bringing them into the light of awareness. On a personal level, this Pluto station in Purva Ashada is good time to look deep within for the emotional or mental toxins we are carrying around that are causing us difficulty. These are the toxins we are being called upon to release and purify as Pluto moves forward.