THE SNAKE IN TIME: KALA SARPA YOGA IN TRANSIT 2018
August 11, 2018 – August 24, 2018
September 7, 2018 – September 20, 2018
October 4, 2018 – October 19, 2018
Kala Sarpa yoga is when Rahu and Ketu contain all the planets between them inclusively in the zodiac and when Rahu and Ketu are in moveable signs like Cancer, Capricorn, Aries and Libra. But a single planet going out of the axis negates it. So, until Oct 19th , whenever the moon is between Cancer and Capricorn all the planets are hemmed in between Rahu in Cancer and Ketu in Capricorn. The yoga is broken when the moon goes into Aquarius and until it gets past Rahu in Cancer every two weeks.
While not normally included, Pluto and Neptune are also part of this combination and only Uranus in Aries is out of the snake “biting its own tail” configuration. It will happen again 1 or 2 times in 2019 before Saturn transits past Ketu in Sagittarius.
Kala Sarpa Yoga is controversial because it is not included in the traditional Vedic literature. Raman thinks it is very important in mundane astrology but that it does not impact people as much. My experience is that it can create great intensity in people and in the world with too much solar energy. Prash Trivedi thinks there is a messy imbalance of solar and lunar energies that create either aggressiveness or passivity.
The energies in August are rather intense anyway with the eclipse and Mercury and the Sun in Ashleasha and Mars still close to Ketu and intensity is also there during September 2018 and October 2018
People I know with this configuration tend to be aggressive.
Kal means time and Sarpa means snake. The yoga or special planetary combination refers to the subconscious caught in its rope of karma, unable to pull free. This creates a psychological impact of being caught in destiny — kind of like wanting to desperately wake up from a nightmare. This analogy falls short but suffice it to say that a lot of intense events keep happening and it’s hard to prevent them from manifesting.
If you have this combination in your natal chart, it could be felt strongly through the August and September and October transits and particularly if you are running Rahu or Ketu periods on the first few levels of your dashas. Some people may not notice it at all. The impact of this yoga is not felt as much once Rahu matures around the age of 44.
The karmic access involved depends on what houses Cancer and Capricorn represent in your life. For example, if you are Libra rising, then the 4th house of mother and home is impacted, as well as, the 10th house of career and status. If you are Cancer rising, then marriage may be impacted with the 1st and 7th nodal axis. There are mitigating factors impacting the natal chart if the house lords are strong and well placed. The bright side of this yoga is that it can make people industrious, hardworking and aware of one’s talents despite continual restlessness. Still with the wrong placement it
can lead to betrayals from friends and relatives if the 2nd and 11th houses are impacted, which would be the case for Gemini rising or Virgo rising. Again, the transits will trigger the yoga particularly if you are born with this combination in your natal chart and you are running a Rahu or Ketu period.
Many will not notice it but it is still an intense time for the world. Most mundane astrologers note that major events happen during this transit and now we have the Middle East war tensions bubbling up and also the situation in Europe and the UK bubbling up because so many of those countries have Cancer rising on the axis. This yoga will fuel violence with the snake likely intensifying the situation.
The Rahu/Ketu emphasis from Cancer/Capricorn will also favor rises in mundane matters and will greatly affect the political scene. The Capricorn urge to get out in the world and work hard to gain status will be a huge focal point for everyone challenging the natural 4th house of Cancer, where home and security are strained by the natural disasters and most recently, the California fires where so many have been displaced and are facing insecurities around housing security and safety. Continue to open your pocket books to help those impacted by these natural disasters in the spirit of seva.
The bright side of this yoga is discussed by my friend, Juliana Swanson of Astral-Harmony when she writes about it:
“This combination can tend to remind us of what is missing in our lives, that which is needed to find more harmony and balance. This dynamic can have an all or nothing flavor to it. Key words are ‘intense, sensitive, extreme, fixated or obsessive’.”
Again, donate and help people in need, do your spiritual practices and turn to spirituality during this time. This yoga can be a wake-up call that all the material success or frustration cannot satisfy the intense longing for the Divine and it could propel you deeper in your search and that is ultimately a good thing. For consultations on the impact of this on your chart, sign up on the Reading Section at Applied Vedic Astrology or visit: https://www.appliedvedicastrology.com/
Astrologers Note: Some astrologers interpret this yoga as a Kala Amrita yoga because of the way that the planets are moving toward Ketu which means it promotes more spirituality. My experience with the yoga last year is that it just increased solar energy too much and too much drive in the solar plexus and it can help one get a lot done but destroy a lot of people in the process.
Special thanks to Komilla Sutton and B. V. Raman and Juliana Swanson for their discourses on this subject
