Ketu and the wounded lion
Lion Of Lucerne
Ketu and the Wounded Lion
I started learning about Vedic Astrology about 8 years ago. I am a very slow learner, and I tend to miss stage que’s when playing live music, if it’s my time to sing I don’t. I get lost in the music. It does not bother me a bit but I’ve noticed other musicians and audiences don’t feel the same way.
So in my learning of the subject I discovered I am Simah Rashi (Leo Rising) and my moon is Kanya Rashi (Virgo Moon). There are shadow planets in astrology, the north and south nodes of the moon. Rahu and Ketu. Lord Vishnu cut the demon (who’s name we shall not mention here) in half with a flying discus due to drinking the nectar of immortality the head is Rahu and the body Ketu.
Rahu is symbolized as a head with no body thus an appetite that can never be satisfied but Rahu is also expansive. Ketu is the body with no head so it can’t really see where it’s going at times so of course you’d rely on your intuition and senses. Ketu is powerful as is Rahu but we all focus on Rahu due to it’s wealth ability-but I have a hunch Ketu is more powerful as it likes spirituality which does not require the material world and that is huge.
My Ketu is placed in the 8th House of Scorpio. Thus my writings of mysteries not even under my name but my nom de plume P. Benjamin Mackey fit’s this perfectly.
Scorpio’s Mystery and Noir …never met one I did not like a lot.
Ketu has been crossing the 1st house of Leo Rising for most of this year; it ends in December. Leo the Great Lion, The Sun (Surya) The Giver has been debilitated all year thus the Gold of the Lion is not found in society right now. The Illumination that the Sun brings is energetically low while traveling through Vedic Leo due to Ketu’s presence. These are just my ponderings. I am no astrologer but I’m a good observer.
My wounds came at the same time as the world’s wounds. As upheaval spread across the world due to the lack of an EXAULTED LEO I too was not spared.
My first world wounds were fucking real to me nothing like a few teeth implants and root removals to understand what it’s like to bleed for days -but others in the world were bleeding to deeper cuts than mine.
3 weeks ago it hit. My back out of the blue - went out completely. I exercise more than I’d like as the San Francisco hills are a workout and I’m grateful to even be able to climb that bad ass hike from Pine to California via Taylor Street. It's a doozy!
So there I lay on the floor, my dog thinking this was fun I however was worried. I got the strength to get up, get dressed and walked down to Chinatown and went to a Cantonese HEALER on Clay Street. Strange smelling oils and roots on my back, smoking suction cups to break up the stagnant chi flow. After an hour or so of this I was not completely healed but the shooting pains all stopped and the real pain was now concentrated to one spot.
I knew I needed chiropractic but somehow I find it very intimate and when you're wounded and someone has their hands all over your body it better be the right person. I got very lucky, found a healer and after several treatments I’m getting much better.
While all this was going on I was thinking about the world. We all know it could be better. I don't know why Clean Air, Clean Earth and Clean Water should be so difficult to steward but it is. I am optimistic that when Ketu leaves Leo in December that the winter light will be brighter and the truth will be in our faces and we will welcome it. The universe has beaten down the Lion and people don’t really treat Lion’s very well and we could all do better at that so the Kevin Richardson Foundation link is in my instagram bio @nicholasvitaleofficial use it please.
I have notes about Leo Rising.
1. Lion on the Rock (The Sovereign Peak): The outward-facing, visible authority—holding court, leading projects, running the kitchen at full capacity, and standing tall in full view.
2. The Wounded Lion (The Ketu Interruption): The sudden pause—whether through physical back pain, karmic friction, or the humbling realization that physical energy has limits. Ketu forces the lion off the rock and into isolation, stripping away external pride to heal the core.
3. Lion in the Grass (The Wise Observer): The healed, patient predator lying low in the tall grass—observing quietly, gathering strength, handwriting pages, letting others act while working with quiet, strategic precision behind the scenes.
I like these 3 versions of the Lion. That humbling realization that physical energy has limits is profound for me.
Here is a quick overview of 3 historic world events that took place during the Ketu Leo Transits in the past. There are echo’s of this energy on the planet today. What we do with this will and can be different. We are creators, all of us have huge powers of love and empathy and we are all
LIONS ON THE ROCK
Nicholas Vitale San Francisco August 2026
Ketu (the South Node) through Leo that fit the theme of sovereignty being tested, stripped, or transformed:
1. The Fall of the Russian Empire (1917)
The Global Event: When the South Node entered Leo in 1917, Tsar Nicholas II—the ultimate symbol of royal, sun-king Leo authority—was forced to abdicate, ending over 300 years of Romanov dynasty rule.
The Analogy Fit: The ultimate "Lion on the Rock" losing its crown overnight. It marks the moment when absolute outward power is forcibly dismantled, proving that no king is immune to sudden, structural clearing.
2. The Resignation of Richard Nixon & The Watergate Peak (1974)
The Global Event: In 1974, as Ketu moved through Leo, the American presidency faced its most dramatic crisis of authority. President Nixon—holding the most powerful executive seat in the world—was forced to resign, stepping down from the political stage under intense scrutiny.
The Analogy Fit: A classic picture of Leo energy under Ketu friction: the absolute center of authority feeling the ground collapse beneath it, forcing a sudden retreat from public view into quiet isolation.
3. The End of the British Raj in India & Post-War Rebuilding (1947)
The Global Event: In 1947, during another Ketu-in-Leo alignment, the British Crown officially withdrew from India. The vast imperial empire, symbolized by the British Lion, was dismantled as nations reclaimed their independence and shifted into new, self-contained identities.
The Analogy Fit: The royal lion stepping back from international dominion to heal, restructure, and learn how to exist without needing to control an empire.