Kings & Crowds: Finding Dharma in a Dissolving World

On June 14, 2025 — the very day the “No Kings” protests ignited across the U.S. and a military parade for Donald Trump fizzled out — something significant happened in the sky: Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, changed signs.

This shift played out with symbolic precision. The swelling of the people’s voice (Rahu entering Aquarius) and the deflation of a would-be king’s display of power (Ketu entering Leo) mirrored exactly what these transits augur: a karmic pivot toward collective awakening and individual ego deconstruction.

Let’s explore.

UNDERSTANDING THE NODES

Rahu and Ketu are not physical planets, but mathematical points that cast shadows across the zodiac. In Vedic astrology, they form a karmic axis — revealing where we are pulled forward and where we are being asked to let go.

They are one cosmic being, split in two:

• Rahu, the head: desire, illusion, obsession, and future-bound growth

• Ketu, the tail: memory, detachment, renunciation, and soul refinement

Together, they show us:

• What we are reaching toward (Rahu)

• What we are being asked to release (Ketu)

These transits unfold slowly — spending about 18 months in each sign. Their influence isn’t a passing storm, but more like the cycles of El Niño and La Niña — subtle shifts that stir deep patterns in the ocean of the soul.

RAHU IN AQUARIUS

 

As Rahu enters Aquarius, it begins to electrify the thought currents of collective consciousness.

Aquarius symbolizes the visionary, the reformer, the outsider-turned-oracle. It rules networks, movements, and innovations meant to uplift the whole.

Rahu brings a surge of futuristic energy — powerful, disruptive, and uncontainable. The impulse is altruistic, it wants to liberate, to organize, and to rebuild. But Rahu’s craving for change can become untethered from discernment. The future may be bright, but it may also be blurry.

Rahu in Aquarius cries,

“We must change everything!”

But forgets to ask,“At what cost? And guided by what compass?”

In this place, discernment becomes dharma. The call isn’t to suppress change, but to walk with it consciously — rooted in wisdom, not spectacle.

KETU IN LEO

 

With Rahu in Aquarius, Ketu retreats into Leo — the sign of charisma, performance, and power. Ketu is the spiritual tail — the part of us that’s done with pretense and ready to let go.

This transit calls into question how we define leadership.

Who do we follow?

Why do we elevate certain voices?

What is leadership without showmanship?

Leaders who are out of alignment with dharma — seeking power without principle — may find their masks slipping.

This is not a time for spectacle. It’s a time to return to substance — to lead and be led from quiet strength, humility, and devotion.

THE NAKSHATRAS: DEEPER CURRENTS WITHIN THE SIGNS

 

Aquarius and Leo, like all rashis, are divided into nakshatras — lunar mansions that bring nuance to each sign’s expression. These constellations carry ancient stories that enrich the astrology with deeper insight.

RAHU IN PURVA BHADRAPADA

Rahu is currently transiting Purva Bhadrapada, ruled by Aja Ekapada, the one-footed storm god — a fierce form of Rudra.

This nakshatra holds the shakti or power “to raise a spiritual person” — not through ease, but through tapas, transformation, and the burning away of illusion.

This is a place where external success fails to satisfy, and where the frustration of misdirected desire can ignite real anger — in individuals and across the collective.

We may see this anger rising now:

• As wealth is glorified while wisdom is ignored

• As inequality deepens and systems fail to care

But this anger, when honored, can become a transformational flame — one that burns clean and clear, not wild and chaotic.

KETU IN UTTARA PHALGUNI

Ketu now moves through Uttara Phalguni, ruled by Aryaman, the solar deity of sacred agreements and soul-aligned support. Its gift is chayani shakti — the ability to create prosperity through mutual respect and union.

But Ketu withdraws energy from what no longer serves.We may now witness:

• Exploitative partnerships falling apart

• Institutions that hoard while denying, faltering

• A populace increasingly unwilling to accept the starvation of care and dignity

This nakshatra also expresses a feminine principle: when supported, she gives abundantly; when neglected, everything contracts.

This is a time of rebalancing — a reckoning with what real prosperity looks like.

REFLECTIONS & CLOSING

 

We are walking a karmic tightrope — between ego and ethics, spectacle and substance, power and people.

As the nodes travel the Aquarius/Leo axis, we are each being asked to reckon with how these themes move through our own lives.

Ask yourself:

• What is righteous anger trying to teach me?

• How can I refine my role in my family, community, and dharma?

• What must be offered into the sacred fire now?

These are not questions to rush. Let them ripen. Let them guide your practice — and your path.