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November often brings storms, reminders that change and letting go can be intense. The stars this November also point to deep change, both in our own lives and in the world.
In early November, Jupiter and Ketu meet in Magha Nakshatra for the first time in 130 years, and Mars joins them on November 14 to form a rare triple conjunction.
Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, also change signs this month. These two points, where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's, express both personal and collective karma, and they will remain in their new signs for the next 18 months.
Much karma is unraveling at the cusp between Cancer and Leo. This cusp is a Gandanta zone, one of three places in the zodiac where a water sign meets a fire sign. These junctions are sensitive points, associated with transitions, release, and the untying of karmic knots.
As November begins, Jupiter and Ketu are both at one degree of Leo, in Magha Nakshatra. Magha is associated with ancestors, lineage, and tradition. The Jupiter/Ketu conjunction becomes exact on November 11. These two planets haven’t conjoined in Magha since 1896.
On November 14, Mars also moves into Leo. From November 14 to November 25, Mars, Jupiter, and Ketu form a tight triple conjunction in Magha Nakshatra. Their triple conjunction is exact on November 15. This extremely rare conjunction hasn’t taken place in Magha Nakshatra since 1635. Mars and Jupiter come within one degree of each other, which means the two planets compete for influence.
Leo is ruled by the Sun and is dramatic, creative, and outgoing. It expresses independence, confidence, individual power, and leadership.
The Sun also represents our core identity, while Ketu expresses non-attachment, loss, and change. With Ketu in the Sun's sign, our sense of who we are can loosen. We want to know ourselves, yet we may also need to redefine ourselves as the world around us changes at a pace that is hard to follow.
This is where Jupiter helps. Together with Ketu, he can give us inner discernment and insight, helping us navigate these turbulent times wisely. Their meeting in Magha can also spark an interest in spiritual teachings, ancestors, and history. You may find it rewarding to give yourself space to grow, to connect with a spiritual lineage, and to explore your own ancestry.
The last time Jupiter and Ketu met in Magha, in 1896, Jupiter's knowledge and Ketu's ability to look beyond the visible were reflected in the announcement of X-rays and the discovery of radioactivity. Both revealed forces that had always been present but unseen.
Mars, the planet of action and militant energy, sets much of this month's tone.
Before moving into Leo, Mars completes its passage through Cancer, where it is debilitated. In Vedic astrology, a planet is debilitated in the sign where it is weakest and least able to act freely. A debilitated Mars tends to express its energy through frustration rather than clear action.
On November 3, the day of the US midterm elections, Mars crosses the exact degree of the August 12 solar eclipse, which also took place in Cancer. Eclipse points remain sensitive for months, and a planet passing over one can reawaken the eclipse's energy. A frustrated Mars is especially likely to stir it up.
As a fiery planet in a water sign, Mars in Cancer can coincide with natural disasters, especially flooding, storms, and tsunamis. Mars is also associated with the police and the military, so this period carries the potential for demonstrations and war.
From November 14 to November 25, Mars, Jupiter, and Ketu stand together at the Gandanta point, with Mars and Jupiter at war. A close Mars/Ketu conjunction can bring sudden conflict and violence, and with Jupiter involved, that tension can extend into the political sphere.
Ketu is often called the "headless" planet. In Vedic mythology, Rahu and Ketu are two halves of one demon: Rahu is the head, and Ketu is the body without it. In Leo, the sign of leadership, and in Magha, a nakshatra associated with the throne, Ketu may show up as leaders who lose their heads. They may act rashly, react rather than reflect, and lose the clear thinking their roles require.
During these days, we can do our part by staying calm and centered and not letting ourselves get swept up in the reactions around us.
On November 13, the day before Mars enters Leo, Mercury and Venus both turn direct. During a retrograde, a planet appears to move backward from our view on Earth, and it is often a time of review, delays, and second thoughts. When the planet turns direct, its energy flows forward again.
Mercury is in Libra, a sign ruled by Venus, while Venus is in Virgo, a sign ruled by Mercury. This mutual exchange, called a Parivartana Yoga, strengthens both planets until Venus leaves Virgo on November 22. The exchange especially helps Venus, which is debilitated in Virgo. Communication, decisions, and relationships that felt stuck in recent weeks can begin to move forward.
On November 25, Ketu moves from Leo into Cancer, where it will stay until May 24, 2028 ( true node).
Cancer represents home, family, belonging, protection, and nurturing. Ketu, however, expresses non-attachment, renunciation, and spiritual liberation. Together they create a paradox: we may long for close, nurturing family ties while also feeling detached from them.
Ketu was last in Cancer in 2008 and 2009, the years of the financial crisis in the United States. Fittingly for a sign so closely tied to home, that crisis centered on the housing market.
Ketu in Cancer invites us to find inner security and to let go of our need for outside validation. We may need to redefine what home means to us. An inner sanctuary and a sense of spiritual community may matter more than a traditional home.
Listen! Listen! Whispering within your soul: Hints of laughter, hints of joy; Sweet songs of sadness, of quenchless yearning For the Light, For My love, your true home.
-Swami Kriyananda, God’s Call Within
Jupiter's stay in Leo is brief. He moves only a couple of degrees into the sign before turning retrograde on December 12, and he returns to Cancer on January 24, 2027. There, he and Ketu will travel close together until June 25, 2027, when Jupiter moves into Leo again.
Cancer is the sign of Jupiter's exaltation, where he is at his strongest. With Ketu beside him, Jupiter can guide us through inner wisdom and intuition, the qualities we most need as we redefine what home and security mean to us.
Rahu is always directly opposite Ketu, and its meaning is the opposite as well. When Ketu moves into Cancer on November 25, Rahu moves into Capricorn, where Rahu will also stay until May 24, 2028.
Rahu expresses ambitious desire and draws our attention to new and foreign inventions. Capricorn represents structure, discipline, and long-term foundations, and its energy is focused and organized. Rahu begins this transit in Dhanishta, a nakshatra associated with wealth and abundance.
While Ketu looks to the past and to liberation, Rahu looks to the present and the future, attracting new karma. Ketu draws us toward spirituality and ancient philosophy. Rahu, unfortunately, can also fuel greed, and with Rahu in Dhanishta, we may see that tendency grow.
Rahu and Ketu express both personal and collective karma. With so much darkness in the world right now, our challenge is to balance what we need to release with what we need to build.
November 8 brings us a New Moon, and the darkest night of the lunar month. Fittingly, Diwali (an Indian festival of light) is celebrated on the New Moon, honoring the triumph of good over evil, of dharma (right action in harmony with divine law) over adharma.
Amid this month's turbulence, Diwali comes as a timely reminder. The planets describe the conditions we face, but they cannot dim the light within us. Whatever November brings, our own effort, awareness, and attunement with God determine how we meet it. As we release and rebuild, that inner light is always ours to turn toward.
Swami Kriyananda expressed this in A Festival of Light:
The birth of life, and, with life’s birth, the dawn of self-awareness: passage through dim corridors of waking consciousness to emerge at last into infinite light- into perfect joy!
O Children of Light, forsake the darkness! Know that, forever, you and He are one!
Blessings,
Lina
The first week of October brings two exact oppositions and a planetary war. Over the month, Venus and Mercury turn retrograde, and Pluto turns direct.
The heightened energy from the two eclipses in August still lingers this September.
The most significant astrological events in August are the last two eclipses of 2026.
