Don’t Think About a Pink Elephant
Bridging Desire & Being
The North and South Nodes — known in Vedic astrology as Rahu and Ketu — have been surfacing constantly in client work lately. And I’ve started to think: maybe we’ve been hacking the whole “release and let go” thing backwards.
Behavioral studies show people don’t overcome dysfunctional habits through mythical “willpower.” They succeed by redirecting their attention. They don’t resist the chips in the pantry — they don’t buy them in the first place. (Chips in my house are an endangered species — ask me how I know.) Or they explore the emotional impulse behind the craving and find a more nourishing way to cope.
Same with toddlers. You don’t teach a toddler to stop climbing by scolding them. You redirect the impulse: take them to the park, hand them a jungle gym, let their Neanderthal nervous system learn through movement.
You get where I’m going.
The South Node Isn’t Obsolete. It’s the Key.
Astrologers often frame Ketu, the South Node, as the past — something to leave behind. But telling someone to “let go” of a Ketu theme is like saying, don’t think about a pink elephant.
Spoiler: they think about a pink elephant.
What works instead is strategic redirection. You’re not erasing Ketu. You’re discharging it — using lifetimes of experience and intuition to fuel your journey toward Rahu, the North Node. Rahu represents the growth edge, the obsession, the reason you incarnated in the first place.
“When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.”
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Rahu and Ketu Are Always a Team
The lunar nodes are an axis. You can’t work with one without activating the other. So the goal isn’t to suppress Ketu — it’s to redeploy its instincts in service of where Rahu is trying to grow.
Let’s apply this idea to the current sidereal nodal transit:
Rahu in Aquarius / Ketu in Leo | May 29, 2025 – November 25, 2026
Desire vs. Being: Rahu’s Obsession, Ketu’s Discharge
In Jaimini astrology (a branch of Vedic thought), Rahu casts “desire-oriented” aspects to the 5th, 7th, and 9th houses from its position.
For Rahu in Aquarius, that points to:
Gemini (5th from Aquarius)
Leo (7th — its mirror)
Libra (9th from Aquarius)
These aspects don’t represent power — they represent projection: where Rahu seeks support, stimulation, or approval. Think of these as mirrors Rahu tries to impress.
The 5th house: Innate skills from previous lifetimes. They’re ready out of the box.
The 9th house: Learnable talents that need mentorship or tuition to activate.
The 7th house: Witness and audience — the "other" who reflects your impact.
So Rahu in Aquarius wants to perform for Leo: gathering data (Gemini), idealizing fairness and beauty (Libra), and hoping Leo buys in.
But here's the thing: Rahu is all craving, no wisdom. Without grounding, it obsesses itself into oblivion.
Ketu in Leo Knows What Rahu in Aquarius Needs to Synthesize
Ketu in Leo has been there. It’s the leader, the artist, the one who shines naturally. But great leadership requires exactly the skills Rahu is chasing:
Communication (Gemini)
Strategic partnership (Libra)
Adaptive action (Aries)
Emotional attunement (Cancer)
Harmonious interdependence (Libra again)
Ketu has done the work Rahu must now learn to employ.
Summer books are open!
If you’d like to get the most out of the current nodal transit and eclipse story, let’s reconnect for a session!
Rahu’s Real Growth Happens in Aries, Cancer, and Libra
Here’s why: in Jaimini astrology, Rahu’s real impact shows up in the signs it aspects, not the ones it’s obsessed with. That means Rahu’s transformation is meant to unfold in:
Aries: Initiative and agency
Cancer: Emotional intelligence and nourishment
Libra: Relational equity and co-creation
Rahu dreams of being a leader of change. But unless it integrates Ketu’s embodied knowledge and lives it in these signs, it spins its wheels.
Your Personal Rahu–Ketu Mission
1. Discharge Ketu in Leo:
Stand in your light and share it to uplift others.
Channel your leadership and creativity toward collective good.
Exercise true authority: accept responsibility, protect your team, and win or lose together.
2. Explore Rahu in Aquarius:
Think systemically.
Collaborate with networks and stakeholders.
Dream boldly and serve the common good.
Build things that challenge you to relinquish your ego.
3. Do It Through These Signs:
Gemini: Use what you instinctively know — communicate, adapt, and connect.
Libra: Learn to harmonize and co-create fairly and beautifully.
Aries, Cancer, Libra: These houses show where Rahu will challenge your identity, values, and behavior. Let it.
Why This Transit Feels So Potent
Rahu is the co-ruler of Aquarius — the sign of vision, rebellion, and collective longing. Ketu is friendly with Leo’s ruler, the Sun — both are fiery, both seek truth and purification. This makes the current nodal axis one of the most constructive for spiritual growth and legacy building — if approached consciously.
Eclipses: Acute Activation Windows
Eclipses hit fast and hard. They trigger nodal themes through sudden clarity, closure, or recalibration.
Upcoming Eclipses Related to This Axis in 2025:
March 14, 2025 – Total Lunar Eclipse (Sidereal Leo/Uttara Phalguni nakshatra)
March 29, 2025 – Partial Solar Eclipse (Sidereal Pisces/Uttara Bhadrapada nakshatra)
September 7, 2025 – Total Lunar Eclipse (Sidereal Aquarius/Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra)
September 21, 2025 – Partial Solar Eclipse (Sidereal Virgo/Uttara Phalguni nakshatra)
For a step-by-step eclipse processing guide, check out my post Act III Page 85.
WORKSHEET COMING SOON
I’m putting together a rising- and moon-sign–based worksheet to help you map these themes to your chart — and create an action plan grounded in your real life. Stay tuned.
Want to Go Deeper?
If you want to know how this nodal axis is working in your life — or how your natal Rahu and Ketu shape your path — book a session. We'll map your karmic cycles, current growth edges, and next right moves.
A Time to Serve
The SoCal fires —in place where I worked and lived for decades — have forced a violent paradigm shift.
Having experienced the cataclysm of unexpected homelessness myself, my heart goes out to those rebuilding their lives.
To be of service, readings are free to anyone being displaced by the fires. Additionally, 3% of my proceeds for sessions throughout Q1 2025 will go to Baby2Baby to aid their support of young children affected by this disaster.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
BRIDGE DESIRE + BEING: Desire fixates on outcomes; being calls forth the version of you who brings them into reality.
RELEASE THROUGH REDIRECTION: Ketu doesn’t want abandonment. It wants utilization. Use what you’ve already mastered to reach your hands into the darkness and pull out the you who you came here to experience.
If this newsletter in any way feels like it’s been of service, please consider making a donation that will enable me to keep writing this content here.
Lots of light,
Anak.
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