(My obeisance to Sage Parasara who gave us the treatise Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra; Sage VarahaMihira who wrote the Brihat Samhita Hora, and the current astrologers Joni Patry, Komilla Sutton, Satish Menon and a host of other experts who have made astrology comprehensible to the layman. I am attempting this essay only because of them. Any errors are only mine)

Three very significant planetary transits are going to take place in and towards the end of September 2020. In Vedic astrology these continuous planetary transits are termed as ‘Gochara’- where we approach these movements in a geo-centric approach.

1. September 13^th – Jupiter, who is transiting Sagittarius (Dhanur) goes direct after being retrograde since May 15^th, this year. And at this point we also see that Ketu will leave Jupiter alone in the sign and hence Jupiter his bound to get his power back. We can feel optimistic that he will get back to resolving pending situations with his full potential. The last time Jupiter transited over this degree was around February 20, 2020.
2. September 23^rd – Rahu and Ketu will be changing their signs from Gemini and Sagittarius to Taurus and Scorpio respectively after 18 years and will remain here for 18 months. Rahu is exalted in Taurus. Ketu will be in his own sign and hence exalted. However, Ketu will be in the Gandanta point in this transition on 7^th September to 7^th October. (This is in accordance with the calculations of the Mean Node, according to True Node it will be 4^th September- 4^th October).
3. September 29^th – Saturn turns direct after being retrograde since May 11^th. So when Jupiter begins to go direct- Saturn is simultaneously slowing down to go direct later in the month in Capricorn. This means we could slowly prepare yourself to get back to normalcy. Please do observe if this will happen in your individual lives. Saturn stationing direct could be a strong indication that the economy will improve and countries will become prosperous. But as far as India is concerned, it is only when Saturn reaches 7 degrees in Capricorn opposite the house of the natal moon of India only on January 1^st 2021, that we can expect some significant relief! Until then we have to still be strong and resilient – and more importantly do the right thing.

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In addition, these are the other transits.

4. September 1^st: Venus rushes through two Zodiacs through Cancer and then into Leo on September 28^th. Another Gandanta point. Venus represents women and in India’s horoscope, women may be targeted in scandals and controversies. A challenging time for women depending on individual horoscopes.

The full Moon on September 1st is in the Shatabisha Nakshatra. Shatabisha Nakshatra , literally means a ‘Hundred Physicians’. A group of faint stars, completely within the sign of Aquarius, form the Nakshatra Shatabhisha. When gazing at this nakshatra in the sky, Sadalachbia (Gamma Aquarii) is the brightest star of the group.

Mercury in Virgo is another strong indicator this month in the area of finding cures for disease. Mercury is the planet for communications and connections. Virgo is the sign for health and healing and this empowers minds in a way that healing and better communications are sought around the world.

5. September 10^th: However, Mars which is transiting in Aries (Mesha Rashi) in Ashwini Nakshatra – goes retrograde and may create issues – even though it comes out of the Gandanta Pada. Mars is the planet of war, anger, and violence, and the sign Aries fans this impulsive energy more. For India, we have to be careful with our neighbouring countries.  The nakshatra Ashwini pertains to healing and travel, and issues regarding them will need to be worked out.

Mars will aspect Venus, so matters of luxury needs to take a backseat. Money can however be spent for rejuvenation.  Venus is thus afflicted – hence you need to be more practical than emotional. So if your head rules the heart – you are in good place. But if it is the converse, then you must take care and be aware and check your emotions.

• However, amongst these transits, the most important transit is when Rahu and Ketu will change its sign. This transit is happening after 18 years and will remain here for 18 months. In this shift, we are going to see that they will both be exalted.
• In Mundane astrology (that which affects a country) or Medhini Jyotish, as it is known, Rahu represents diseases that cannot be cured/ it represents cheats and / selfishness; and Ketu represents epidemics, medicines, and inflation. So how will Rahu in Taurus and Ketu in Scorpio (in Jyeshtha) will affect India and the world?

• When Rahu enters Taurus (Vrishabha) it goes into a sign that is governed by Venus or Shukra. Shukracharya, according to religious texts like the Srimad Bhagvatham, was the guru or teacher of the Daityas, Danavas and Asuras – the inhabitants of the nether world.  Shukracharya also received the Mrit Sanjivini Mantra from Lord Shiva, that had the potency to revive even the dead. Hence, we see that Rahu – a malefic has entered his Guru’s house and is in a house associated with curing, healing and administration of medicines. In addition, Rahu in Taurus is also aspecting Virgo, which is the natural house of diseases or Roga sthana.
• Ketu is also entering Scorpio or Vrischika, the natural 8^th house ashtham-sthan associated with research and discovery. Ketu is now in the house ruled be Mars, who is his friend.  The Scorpio sign is strongly associated with mystery, depth and complexity and so is Ketu. This will help progress in research and augurs well for dealing with the current pandemic. Incidentally, astrologers say that those individuals with Ketu in Scorpio makes them good researchers, especially in the medical field.  This Ketu transition is into the 30 degrees of Jyeshtha Nakshatra in Scorpio from Mula in Sagittarius- hence it transits into the deep end of the sign (retrogression). This has a global impact rather than individual impacts.

Now let us see in history about discoveries when Rahu was in Taurus and Ketu in Scorpio. For this we need to go back for periods of 18 years. While vaccines and discoveries are an ongoing process, astrologers find that a breakthrough or an implementation has happened when the two lunar nodes are in this particular axis.

• For instance, 2002 saw the development of Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine or MCV4 that was finally approved in 2005.  Meningococcul disease is an infection caused by a strain of bacteria called Neisseria meningitis. This invasive bacteria is one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis in children aged 2 to 18. This prevented 100s of thousands of deaths across many continents.
• In 1981-83, Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced. This paved way to the recombinant vaccine that was developed by inserting the HBV gene that codes for the surface protein into the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This allows the yeast to produce only the non-infectious surface protein, without any danger of introducing actual viral DNA into the final product. This is the vaccine still in use today. A vaccine for Measles was introduced during this period.  Sweden was the first country in the world to introduce a two-dose programme of vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella with a combined vaccine (MMR). It was commenced in 1982 and the vaccination was carried out at the ages of 18 months and 12 years. Measles – a highly contagious disease caused by a virus was controlled by the development of this vaccine. In the decade prior to the introduction of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) combination vaccine in the United States, it’s estimated that more than three million people were infected with the measles each year. The very first pneumococcal vaccine was made in the early 1980s. The Pneumovax 23 vaccine is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 23 serotypes of pneumococci bacteria.
• Between 1964 and 1966, about 100 million Americans (roughly 56% of the population at that time) received the Sabin Oral Polio vaccine. The result was a substantial reduction in the number of poliomyelitis cases, even from the much-reduced levels following the introduction of the Salk vaccine.
• Between 1947-48, the Tuberculosis campaign achieved momentum. A total of 8 million babies and nearly 14 million people were given the BCG vaccine in the International Tuberculosis Campaign, which ran through 1951.

Disclaimer: A breakthrough does NOT happen right on the day of the transit, but it is the time period that is important. Just like Rahu entered Ardra Nakshatra in Gemini on September 26^th in 2019, the effect of the pandemic took a few months to manifest. Also, though other medical breakthroughs have happened in other periods of time, you can be rest assured that Rahu and Ketu had given significant aspects to other planets to make it happen. So, it is our prayer that this will happen this time too.

Added to the above facts is that Taurus sign is an Earth sign – which indicates stability. From where we see stability seems a far cry- but as history has shown that events are cyclical and after despair it is the turn of positive events. There may be bumps, but we will make it through. Hence, this transition of the lunar nodes for one and half years is extremely important and one that promises a major transformation for humankind. 18 years down the line – you will look back to this new transformation in history.

As mentioned in point no.3 Saturn – the Karmakaraka (or the judge) will keep India on tenterhooks till the end of the year, till it reaches 7 degrees in Capricorn right opposite the Moon in Cancer on 1st January 2021. This will be the time when it will loosen its grip on the Moon. This month it will reach 1 degrees in Capricorn at end of September just like it did close to March 1st, 2020 when the entire country went into a frenzy due to the Coronavirus. On September 29th, it will finally go direct and we have to patiently wait till it reaches the 7 degree mark and beyond. A look at the natal chart of India will be required but we will discuss that for another day. The association of Moon and Saturn has always given a new order for India- something I will discuss in another article.

So as individuals, our responsibility right now is to rise the collective consciousness. The Ganesha festival has just gone by and this month is the apt time to invoke his blessings along with chanting of Aditya Hridayam. I have given links to Aditya Hridayam, Narayana kavacham and Sri Suktam in my past articles. Do take time to chant them.