Season of the Serpent

Take cover. It’s Kala Sarpa season.

While everyone was focused on the solar eclipse of August 21st, another significant phenomenon was taking place on the same day. Ever since the Rahu/Ketu axis had shifted into Cancer/Capricorn on August 17th, only one other element remained to put things in play. So when, in the early hours of August 21st, Venus moved from Gemini to Cancer, the setup was complete. We are officially now in Kala Sarpa season.

The broadest definition of Kala Sarpa is when all planets occupy the span of seven signs from Rahu in Cancer to Ketu in Capricorn, even if one or more planets is earlier or later in the same sign as a lunar node. Stricter definitions do exist for three other categories of Kala Sarpa, which require all planets strictly on one side of that nodal axis. But broadly defined, we’ve been in Kala Sarpa mode since August 21st, as shown in the chart below.

How long will it last?

Two weeks at a time. That’s because in two weeks from August 21, the Moon will cross from Capricorn into Aquarius, thus putting it on the “other side” which effectively nullifies the Kala Sarpa pattern. But two weeks later, it’s back in Cancer again, and then we get another two weeks of Kala Sarpa.

But how long will that last?

Kala Sarpa will keep recurring in alternating two-week periods until some planet other than the Moon works its way through the signs from Cancer to Capricorn and comes out on the “other side” in Aquarius. But which planet has the best chance of doing that?

Although Saturn and Jupiter are closer to Aquarius, they’re way too slow.

But at a glance we can see the Sun has 26 more degrees to leave Leo, and then five full signs (5 x 30 =) 150 degrees to get into Aquarius, for a total of 176 degrees of solar motion. That will happen in a bit less than six months, say early February 2018.

Is there another horse in this field that can beat the Sun into Aquarius? Certainly not Mars in the backfield, but because the inferior planets are capable of getting ahead of the Sun by zodiacal position, we’d actually have to look at the situation in February 2018.

As it turns out, by 6th February 2018, Venus will have moved ahead of the Sun and crossed into Aquarius, and Kala Sarpa season will be over. By coincidence, Venus was the last one to leave Gemini in August 2017 and start the season. And Venus will be the first one to leave Capricorn in February 2018 and end the season.

What can we make of that?

Venus is karaka for the arts, fashion, vehicles, luxury goods, and relationships of every kind. Upon the onset of Kala Sarpa, Venus was with a dark Moon and a debilitated Mars in Cancer. And since the nature of Kala Sarpa is to take whatever is available and use it for its own purposes, we might consider this a sign of things to come in these next six months

So in the arts we could see some radical new development or innovation – in dance, fashion, film, music, photography, etc. There could also be major scandals involving artists – divorces and separations, substance abuse crises, if not outright tragedy in some form, eg, a terrorist attack at a concert.

Why so negative for Venusian people? Because Venus at the outset of Kala Sarpa season is afflicted by three malefics – a mixed condition Moon (in its own sign, but at the very end of its dark lunation cycle), a debilitated Mars, and the Rahu/Ketu axis itself.

For similar reasons, we might anticipate problems for vehicle (eg, car, train, ship, plane) manufacturers/operators of some sort – bankruptcy, major model/product recalls, transportation accidents or disasters of some significant magnitude.

In luxury goods, there could be a spate of counterfeits, a scandal in which some major retailer is revealed to be selling knockoffs, or there will be attempts at legislation to curtail the copyright theft and bootlegging of music, film, art work, fashion accessories, etc.

Last but not least, relationships themselves may come under fire. We are already seeing this in the USA, where women’s rights are being trampled upon, and where the LGBTQ community is being vilified by a Trump administration enabled by evangelical Christians. In light of rising activity among white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the KKK, we could also anticipate physical attacks on people and institutions associated with same-sex relationships, or interracial marriage.

Equally unsettling, this period could erupt in scandals involving sex tourism, sex trafficking, and/or a surge of sexually-transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, hepatitis, syphilis, and HIV.

If it’s any comfort, the worst of this season may lie in the first two months, while Saturn remains in Scorpio. That’s because Saturn currently aspects Ketu, contributing its malefic influence to the potential virulence of the Kala Sarpa configuration. After October 27th, when Saturn leaves Scorpio and enters Sagittarius, some of that toxicity may dissipate.

Praise the Lord and pass the soma.

~~~

Alan Annand is a graduate of the American College of Vedic Astrology and a former tutor for the British Faculty of Astrological Studies. His New Age Noir crime novels (Scorpio Rising, Felonious Monk, Soma County) feature astrologer and palmist Axel Crowe, whom one reviewer has dubbed “Sherlock Holmes with a horoscope.”

He’s also the author of several non-fiction books. Stellar Astrology, Volumes 1 & 2, offer a wealth of time-tested techniques in the form of biographical profiles, analyses of world events, and technical essays. Parivartana Yoga is a reference text for one of the most common yet powerful planetary combinations in jyotish. Mutual Reception is an expanded companion volume for western practitioners, covering the same subject of planetary exchange through the lens of traditional astrology.

Websites: www.navamsa.com, www.sextile.com

You can find his books on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.