Boundless Boundaries

Boundaries have been a hot topic for me for the past few months. I saw somewhere on the internet that having the North Node in Aries and the South Node in Libra is a time where collectively, we are moving towards individuality, towards Aries. To place boundaries that are going to allow your individuality to be expressed. In Vedic Astrology, however, we call the North Node, Rahu, and the South Node, Ketu. Rahu and Ketu in Vedic Astrology have cruel influences on the birth chart, wherever they are placed. Causing difficulty, hardship, and stress. Cruel planets typically operate in a fashion of all work and no play.

Rahu or the North Node is feminine, meaning an internal fulfillment wants to be expressed in the area of life where Rahu is placed. Rahu is known as an outcast and points to an area of life an individual doesn’t have much experience and can easily get tricked and misled. It’s also important to consider that Rahu is a Tamasic planet, meaning that the motivation of Rahu stems from a heavier side of life, a side of life where there is more suffering, confusion, and problems. The motivation of Tamasic planets is to help us get away from suffering by dealing with the problems and attending to them. Rahu specifically as a tamasic planet is showing us where there are imbalances within us that need to be healed. Essentially purging ourselves of the confusion and mental toxicity being held within our consciousness. Rahu is also a dark planet that allows us to explore the darker areas of our consciousness. We see our weaknesses and deficiencies and where we need to improve our skills because naturally, Rahu is always looking down on all the problems, seeing all the negative.

Ketu or the South Node on the other hand is a neuter planet, meaning that it has both feminine and masculine qualities. Ketu is looking for inner fulfillment through having something perfect in the external world. This is an area of life where there is imbalance and a hyper-focus to control. Almost like an unfathomable need that cannot be met no matter how hard we try. Ketu is also a tamasic planet, highlighting an area where life might feel a bit heavier, there is more suffering and more problems. These are going to be the issues that we haven’t worked out yet and there is unfinished business in life. There are natural skills in this area, however, there is a weakness that hasn’t been addressed. So, Ketu in general is pinpointing a place where balance is needed and will require hard work to uncover what is creating this imbalance. Ketu is pointing out a deficiency in our life that we would rather ignore and sweep under the rug and not deal with. Showing us where we have an attachment to something hidden.

So, in thinking about Rahu from a Vedic Astrology perspective, having Rahu in Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac, it would make sense that naturally during this time there is an internal desire to be a strong “I”. Aries is where awareness begins, it’s the beginning of the path, and there is a strong will to act and do. Aries is a warrior by nature and wants to fight for something. Aries needs a purpose to continue down the path but Rahu has no experience here, this is brand new territory. So, this new thing coming to fruition is bringing up problems that need to be tended to. This idea of Rahu in Aries has me wondering if as a whole we are too concerned with being an individual rather than just being our unique, authentic selves. To me, it feels like there is a strong push right now to be something or someone important in this world. That my individuality needs to be seen and heard! I feel like there is a difference between our individuality and our unique, authentic expression. This is where I feel that Rahu is confusing us in these moments and I’m wondering if collectively, we are just so concerned with “I”, that we are forgetting our connection to the whole. Is there a correlation to the problems happening all over the world due to the “I” so desperately wanting to outshine the “we”? Are we so focused on ourselves right now that we are neglecting our innate human desire for connection?

This idea of boundaries is something I hear so much talked about in spirituality, and it only occurred to me recently that what if boundaries or what we consider boundaries in this modern world are coming from an egoic place? After all, the ego is the sense of self, the “I” that has boundaries because it is attached to this world. While the higher self is boundless, our higher self understands the deep connection to everything. Individually, we are all having an impact on the collective consciousness whether we want to believe it or not. We all know that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So, now I’m confused. Have I been misguided by this idea of boundaries that are contributing to the global issues of who owns what in the world? Am I getting swept up in this collective consciousness of individuality to the point where I’m stuck only thinking about myself?

In some ways, I feel like this fast-paced world we’ve created where everything happens at the click of a button has led us away from facing our weaknesses and into a place where we can easily avoid whatever problem arises in our lives. It’s so easy to tune into a digital reality that we don’t know much about in these current moments of existence. Don’t get me wrong, I do find a lot of value in having these technologies, I am only inquiring if these technologies are interfering at all with our ability as humans to solve problems on our own.

Now having Ketu in Libra, the sign of balance and energy exchanges, gives some indication that collectively, we are looking for inner fulfillment through controlling something in the external world regarding our interactions with others. There is unfinished business that we need to dig deep within ourselves to find. This brings me back to the boundaries. Are we using boundaries as a way to control others because we fear being seen? Have we become so disconnected from ourselves that we need to create boxes for our interactions? Are these boundaries robbing us of what it means to be human? I’ve experienced the most growth in my life when I’ve stepped outside of my boundaries, so it’s interesting to think about this new-age concept. This has me thinking if collectively, are we missing the mark fighting over where boundaries begin and who owns what. Are we desperately trying to control trade that we are willing to sacrifice other humans in the process? Are we limiting ourselves by demanding that our boundaries be met? Are these global issues something new or have we been here many times in the past?

When I take myself out of my current reality, where I so desperately need to maintain my inner peace, I remind myself that I live on a planet that has gone through many iterations of boundary lines. I can’t help but get curious if this idea of creating boundaries is truly working for the world or not. I guess what I am considering now is that maybe this idea of having boundaries is something our ego does to feel safe in the world. Having hard boundaries might mean that we are acting from a place of ego rather than the boundless higher expression of our soul. Now I am developing a deeper understanding of why the 8 limbs of yoga begin with the Yamas, which are a set of 5 moral values on the yogic path. The first of the yamas is Ahimsa, which translates to nonviolence.

So maybe it’s not necessarily about setting boundaries as much as it is about not being violent to yourself or others, because I know for myself, that the boundary I said I needed last month has completely shifted this month. I’m starting to feel that these boundaries are more like little boxes we are keeping ourselves in, that are inhibiting us from expanding into the boundless souls that we truly are. I’m curious how honoring this idea of Ahimsa, nonviolence, would play out in my own life instead of creating all these boundaries that then I must exist within. If I place nonviolence as a value that I live by, then naturally I won’t even need boundaries because I am giving myself the freedom to flow with my energy. I’m still honoring what my needs are because I am choosing not to be violent to myself or others. I can’t help but question what might happen in our collective world if instead of setting clear boundaries, we chose to honor Ahimsa in our lives. How might this small shift impact the world around us?