The Yoga of Eclipses

(1) As with Man, so with the universe. The Man we see is like the apparent or elemental dimension of the total universe. But pervading him is the Radiant Fire of Life-Energy. And pervading that Fire is Free Consciousness or Transcendental Being. What we find in the deeper dimensions of our own existence is the same that is to be found in the depths of universal or manifest existence.

 (2) All ideas about God or the Ultimate Reality correspond to this understanding of our own depth of dimensional existence. God is Living Fire, or Light. Thus, God is traditionally symbolled as the Sun in the Sky and Fire on Earth. The Krishna of high Hinduism and every other Free Adept is the Sacrificial Fire. God is Sacrifice (since fire is always consuming itself) and God is the Place and Person and Substance of all sacrifices. The Spiritual Master, or the Living God, is the Fire of Sacrifice and the Being of Fire. The relationship to the Divine is the Ritual of Fire-Sacrifice. It is to surrender all things, all relations, and the body-mind itself into the Present and All-Pervading Fire, seeing all in that Fire, and living on the Prasad or Gift that is given by that Fire. This Sacrifice is to be performed constantly, as if sitting eternally before the Fire. It is to be done in the medium of one's own psycho-physical structures, and it is to be done in all relations of that body-mind. This is the essence of esoteric practice. Every stage is a version of this same process. Surrender the relations of attention into the Fire, and Surrender attention into the Transcendental Being Who Exists in the Fire.

 —Avatar Adi Da Samraj
The Fire Gospel

Eclipses are among the most significant astrological events to understand, because the lunar nodes are arguably the most significant points and patterns in the chart. Yet, there is minimal discussion in traditional astrological literature about the meaning and import of eclipses. This is not entirely surprising, as eclipses are by nature shadowy and obscure. Their light is not externally visible, but inwardly perceived when the shadowy mists of our unconscious parts in the clarity of consciousness. We can only understand eclipses by plunging into the level of consciousness that they affect. Therefore, this essay is an exploration of the esoteric meaning and import of eclipses. Within this essay, we will consider eclipses from two perspectives which represent the major currents of Indian philosophy and practice: the Vedic[1] perspective and the Tantric[2] perspective. In my experience, most of the philosophical disagreements found in the contemporary practice of the ancient Indian sciences (including astrology, Ayurveda, and yoga) can be reduced to the apparent disparity of the original Vedic worldview of India and its expansion in the form of Tantra. We will see how each of these perspectives understand and relate to eclipses, including the ways in which they are similar, the ways in which they differ, and why this is significant in human terms.

Eclipses in Vedic Literature

The astronomical calculations of solar and lunar eclipses are given in the Indian Siddhāntas and eclipses themselves are referred to in Purānic literature. The Mahābhārata states that two eclipses occurred within a span of thirteen days preceding the Kurukshetra War. Whether or not we view the Kurukshetra as a historical war or an esoteric mythology is not particularly significant. What is significant is that eclipses were able to be accurately predicted in ancient times, without the advances of modern technology, and that eclipses were associated with negative omens as noted in The Mahābhārata. The fact that Indian astronomers endured the immense effort of mathematically predicting the occurrence of eclipses is alone suggestive of their import. Yet, despite being anciently observed, it seems as though eclipses have remained shrouded in fear and mystery, as if to suggest that the study of eclipses has itself become eclipsed! We can find many instances where eclipses are mentioned in ancient Indian literature, but the effects of eclipses are rarely discussed in depth or detail, and thus their indications remain bound either to the limitations of ominous superstition or superficial interpretation. Varāhamihira's Brihat Samhita is the only text I have encountered that ventures to describe eclipses from an interpretive angle, but even these interpretations fall short of a modern astrologer's expectations, as Varāhamihira's discussion of eclipses reflects the traditional perspective of eclipses as a negative omen, a poisonous event, sure to be followed by disasters such as famine or war. The indications given seem exaggerated in the modern context, but we will attempt to discern the wisdom behind them from the perspective of the Vedas and then the Tantras.  

The Vedic Eclipse: Earth, Heaven, and Man
The Vedic view of eclipses is a reflection and continuation of an animistic and mythologically constructed worldview, rooted in the triad of Heaven, Earth, and Man. From the Vedic perspective, the eclipse-causing lunar nodes (Rahu and Ketu) are demons who "swallow" the life-giving Sun and Moon, robbing man of life and filling the Earth with darkness. The Vedic view thus sees eclipses as a tragic omen that may be survived if the proper offerings are made to the gods (the animating forces of life who reside in Heaven). Indeed, the Vedas view life altogether as a "loan" (or temporary process), burdened by an inherent karmic debt that must be constantly repaid to the gods. Therefore, in the Vedic world, life is sustained through complex sacrificial rituals (or devotionally oriented offerings) to the gods, enacted in precise harmony with the cycles of nature and time.

 The obligation of oblation is an exoteric illustration of the principles that later became articulated as yoga. The world "oblige" is derived from Latin obligare, meaning "to bind towards". The word "oblation" is derived from the Latin offerere which means "to offer". Obligatory oblations are the ritual offerings that bind human life on Earth to the heavenly forces that sustain it. This concept evolved into the philosophy and techniques of yoga. "Yoga" is a Sanskrit term which is most commonly translated to mean "to yoke" or "to bind again". We will explore how yoga internalized the external rituals of the Vedas shortly, but for now, let us better understand the nature and orientation of the Vedic oblations.

 The ritual offerings made to the gods of life are manifold but typically in the form of fire--a multivalent archetype that at once represents Divinity (or heaven), manifest existence (or Earth), and the personal life-force (or Man). The fire ritual is a magical ceremony which unites this essential triad. The fire itself is made in the center of a geometric altar which is considered a representation of the Earth. The enactment of the fire ritual is simultaneously its fulfillment. The puja is itself born of the life-force of those who construct and enact it. The literal offerings thrown into the fire are usually substances such as foods or grains that epitomize the principle of nourishment (or soma). In this way, the Earth is also thrown into the fire. When the "smoke" of the offering reaches the heavenly abode of the gods, then the gift (or "prasad") of life is returned, and embodied existence is enabled to continue. This is why the Vedas place such a significant emphasis on rituals--the performance of these rituals in alignment with planetary forces (cosmic gods) enables the continuation of life, from day to day.

 According to Jean Gebser's philosophy of the structures of consciousness, the Vedic culture (and all ancient cultures) represent what he terms the "magical" structure of consciousness, evidenced in the animistic philosophy of shamanism. According to Gebser, from the lens of this structure of consciousness, there is a magical relationship perceived between the subjective and objective dimensions of life. Gebser describes this as a "one-dimensional" consciousness, where the human being is differentiated from the environment but still related to it. In magical consciousness, the world is related to psycho-physically, or as an event of body and mind that are unified by the life-force(s), the animating force(s) which connects the human process to its environment. Thus, from the lens of magical consciousness, survival depends on the effective communication or exchange of life-force between the human world and the natural world. Rituals were the means for connection and communication. Gebser's concept of the "magical" structure of consciousness is best described by Avatar Adi Da in the following passage:

 The ancient Vedic tradition of India was, like the traditions that appeared everywhere in the ancient world, a development of the basic or most primitive “philosophical” consciousness of mankind. That "philosophy" (or primitive psychology) is best represented by the concept of "animism".⁠ And animism is the basis of all primitive religious and spiritual "technology" or craft--which technology or craft is generally called "shamanism".  The root-idea that developed from the primitive animistic and shamanistic culture was that of the Divine Emanation of the living world of events and beings (all of which are conceived to be inhabited and controlled by an invisible “spirit-force” or life-force, which is conceived either to be individuated as a specific and independent entities or else to be all-pervading as an Ultimate Entity). And this primitive religious and spiritual culture is the origin of all forms of polytheism, monotheism, ritual cultism, magical practice, yogic mysticism, and so forth.[3]

The animism of the Vedas is polytheistic in nature, and the primary gods of Vedic sacrifice were the seven visible planets: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. These seven planets are not only physically observable forms, but grahas--the forces which "seize" life on Earth. In the Vedas, the grahas are deified and discussed archetypally as deities, the primary trinity of which is Agni, Soma, and Indra (Sun, Moon, and Jupiter). It is Indra's lightning that is the primordial spark of Agni, the fire of life that enlivens all forms. And it is the Soma, or nourishing principle, that allows life to grow. In the ritual context, Indra is also the priest, or the one who bears the fire; Soma is the offering(s) the priest throws into the fire which feeds (or nourishes) its flame; and Agni is the fire itself. Thus, the fire ritual becomes a human enactment of cosmic principles, enabling a communication (or Communion) with the heavenly forces of life.

 In the realm of nature, it is the Sun and the Moon which nourish and sustain life on Earth. Therefore, Vedic rituals were always performed in alignment to the solar and lunar forces, or the movements of the Sun and Moon, the primary gods of the Earth. (We can note that the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar.) Now we can understand why eclipses are seen as a negative event, an inauspicious occurrence that shadows the human connection with the heavenly forces that give and sustain life. In Purānic mythology, Rahu and Ketu are the demon Svarbhānu who was cut in half by Vishnu for attempting to steal the nectar of immortality (amrita) from the gods. Having drunk a drop of the nectar, Svarbhānu became immortal in his fracture, resulting in Rahu and Ketu, the head and tail of the demon. What this myth is illustrating is that a fractured consciousness is not viable for life or the Realization of the Divine. However, in the animistic worldview, eclipses are seen as demonic when Svarbhānu takes revenge against the gods for his severing by "swallowing" the Sun and the Moon, fracturing the human connection with the gods. Vedic man always appears to be the "victim" of the environment which he constantly seeks to appease. The source of fractured consciousness is thereby projected into the environment, rather than cognized at its internal roots. Thus, eclipses are seen to occur when a demonic force is victorious (or exerts its vengeance) over the righteous forces of life. Eclipses are the dreaded communication breakdown between the human and the heavenly, the eventual result of which could only be death.  

 This philosophical orientation is the origin of all the traditional recommendations made relative to eclipses. One such recommendation is that individuals should not expose themselves to the eclipse directly by viewing it. Rather, it is recommended to stay entirely indoors, as exposure to the energy of the eclipse causes the demonic force of Rahu or Ketu disturbs or "shadows" the mind. There are also several ritual recommendations to engage before, during, or after eclipses: Up to twelve hours before an eclipse, it is recommended to begin fasting; during an eclipse, it is recommended that one cease all activities and chant mantras, praying for the "release" of the Sun and Moon from the grasps of the demon (or for communication to be restored so that life can continue; and after the eclipse, it is recommended that a householder bathe in cold water without removing clothing and then make charitable donations. Fasting is seen as a method to pause the process of consumption during the poisonous time of the eclipse, and thus remain pure. Bathing is a ritual cleansing of the life-negating "poisons" that have accumulated during the eclipse, a restoration of balance. Donations are an offering founded in the sacrificial motive that regenerates connection with the gods and thus with life itself.

 It is clear that the Vedic perspective sees eclipses as a toxin, a poison that must be avoided as much as possible, and whatever may have been "ingested" is ritually purified. After enduring such an event, one must re-establish connectedness with the life-force that was temporarily obscured. While we cannot underestimate the wisdom and deeply embedded meanings of Vedic life and consciousness, we must also explore its evolution. The evolution of the Vedic perspective is epitomized in what I refer to as the "Tantric" perspective.

 The Tantric Eclipse: Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala
Tantra considers itself a development or expansion on Vedic philosophy and practice, but from the perspective of the Vedas, it is often seen as a contradictory development. The basic shift from Veda to Tantra can be summarized as follows: What the Vedas saw and related to "without" (or externally) is what Tantra conceives "within" (or internally). The animistic lens of the Vedas sees the gods (or God) as something to be reached through the necessary performance of external ritual, and therefore as existing apart from the human. Tantra exhibits the pluralistic tendencies of the Vedas in its extensive use of deity-visualization, but the sacrificial relationship to these forces is internalized and conceived within the subtle body. The gods of the Vedas resided in the magical sky above the Earth, but the gods of Tantra are visualized within the "sky" of mind.

Tantra does not see the life-process as dependent on communication with the environment, or any exclusive force outside of the body, but on the precise cognition (and internal communication) of the universally pervasive life-force within the human body. Thus, Tantra is more concerned with the inner workings of the human body, rather than with the magical conceptions of the natural world. What the Vedic and Tantric perspectives have in common, however, is the conceptual and technical basis of alchemy. Vedic alchemy is oriented toward an external fire, a sacrificial medium between Earth and the heavens. Tantric alchemy is oriented toward an internal fire, the yogic sacrifice of life-energy in ascent to an internalized heaven in and above the crown of the head. Tantra seeks to maintain the fire of the life-force in the center of the body through various yogic techniques--and it is the austerities of such techniques that are conceived as generating a friction, or energetic heat, purifying (or "offering") the lower mechanisms so that the life-force can ascend to the coolness of heaven. Tantra no longer sees the human body as merely governed by external forces, but as a vehicle in which the forces of life can be manipulated and transcended. The fatalism of the Vedas is reversed in the Tantric notion that the human being can transcend time through yogic practices. What is poisonous in Vedic consciousness is therefore fuel for the fire in Tantric consciousness.

In the Purānic myth told earlier, Vishnu churns the ocean of milk to produce the nectar of immortality, but as with all alchemical processes, the poison must be purified in order to become a nectar. Thus, it is Śiva who is said to swallow the poison from the ocean of milk, holding it in his throat. The goal of Tantric practice is described as becoming a "second Śiva" (sadāśiva), capable of consuming poison without becoming poisoned. Therefore, for a yogi, eclipses are not an ominous event, but an auspicious occurrence. This is why Tantra often makes use of controversial "poisons" and all kinds of unconventional lifestyle practices. Such practice is attempting to demonstrate that there is no difference between poison and nectar, that when the sacrificial fire is burning within the body, then everything is consumed and only becomes a fuel for transformation. From the Tantric perspective, polarity is a paradoxical friction that generates the fire of ecstatic bliss. The yogi is no longer trying to survive, but to consciously "die" in the inner fire of Spiritual ecstasy.

At the root of this understanding is the Tantric yogi's recognition of the literal ways in which the macrocosm is in the microcosm, an understanding that appears to be uniquely exemplified and concretized in Tantra. Here, we return to our original Vedic trinity of Agni, Soma, and Indra but at another level. We saw how the Vedic deities of Agni, Soma, and Indra correspond to the Sun, Moon, and Jupiter, and we also explored their archetypal meaning in the context of the Vedic fire ritual. In Tantric literature, this same trinity is active within the subtle body of the yogi. The Sun (or Agni) is the fire of the navel; the Moon (or Soma) is the nectar of the sahasrar; and Jupiter (or Indra) is the fiery awakening of the Kundalini Shakti. We can also consider this trinity within the Tantric paradigm of the three major nadis: ida, pingala, and sushumna.

Sushumna is the central channel, the senior nadi which is traditionally conceived as being analogous to the spinal column, spanning from the base of the spine to the head. But the sushumna also has a frontal arc which flows from the head to the lower abdomen.[4] Together, these two arcs form the primary circuit of life-energy, descending and ascending, which enlivens the entire body-mind.[5] Ida and Pingala nadis run parallel to the sushumna, intersecting and weaving from left to right. The crucial intersections between these three nadis are the seven cakras. This subtle anatomical triad reflects the physical triad of nervous system: The central nervous system corresponds to the sushumna nadi and the two halves of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) correspond to the pingala and ida nadis respectively. Returning to the Vedic deities of Soma, Agni, and Indra, we can see their internal realization in Tantra through this triad of nadis. Ida nadi is the channel through which Soma flows; Pingala nadi is the channel through which Agni flows; and this polarity is rooted in sushumna nadi through which the spark of Indra flows. Ida nadi is ruled by the Moon, pingala nadi by the Sun, and sushumna shares rulership between Jupiter, Rahu, and Ketu.

The Tantric fire ritual can therefore be seen as follows: the Guru is the priest whose fire (Shakti) descends to "spark" the inner flame of the devotee; devotion is the Soma offering which enables the flame to become a powerful fire that ascends the sushumna nadi, the path to heaven. In this sense, Ida and Pingala (Soma and Agni) are offered into the central fire that is sushumna (Indra). The upward fire leads the yogi to heavenly abode above the body and mind, from which the original spark of the Guru was felt to descend. Thus, Tantra is not seeking to maintain a relationship between the body and the environment, but to sacrifice the totality of body and mind in ultimate union with the Divine Force (or Shakti) of life.

Jupiter awakens the latent potential of sushumna nadi. Until then, sushumna nadi is the province of Rahu and Ketu. In the commentary on the Kālacakra Tantra, Tibetan polymath Jamgön Kongtrul gives us a glimpse into the merits of Rāhu[6] and its relationship to the central channel (sushumna nadi):

Unlike the other planetary bodies which [appear to] move anti-clockwise [from west to east] around Mount Sumeru [i.e., the Earth] because the motions of their epicycles turn eastwards upon the [band of] constellations, the eclipser Rāhu, by contrast from the perspective of ultimate [truth], [is said to] steal the power of the other planets because it is endowed with merits, orbiting Mount Sumeru in a clockwise manner [from east to west], since it turns westwards with the motion of the wind element that propels the solar mansions. For this reason, Rāhu demarcates its longitude in reverse, starting from [the constellation] Pisces (Revatī, Nam gru) and ending with Aries (Aśvinī, Tha skar).

Furthermore, since Rāhu internally is an aspect of the pristine cognition within the central energy channel [of the subtle body], the nature of Rāhu may also be understood through the adamantine meditative stability (vajropamasamādhi) which destroys aspects of bewilderment with regard to relative [truth]. In accordance with this perspective, correlated to the external world, while the other planets demarcate their celestial longitude in an anti-clockwise manner, and are weak in power (stobs dman), Rāhu takes an opposite course because it is endowed with the higher power of merit.[7]

Köngtrul's commentary is very interesting because it is one of the only places where Rahu's power is regarded as a unique and auspicious merit. Köngtrul's commentary hints on the Vedic conception of Rahu "swallowing" or "stealing" power of the Sun and the Moon, but the Tantra regards this as a sign of Rahu's supremacy rather than its immature vengeance. Köngtrul then describes Rahu's correspondence to the sushumna nadi. In Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, Rahu is the deification of eclipses, just as he is in the Vedic Sutras. However, in the Tibetan tradition, Rahu (referred to as "Rahula") is considered protector deity, a guardian of a unique category of textual revelation known as "terma" (or revealed treasure). It is also interesting that Köngtrul describes Rahu as stealing the power of all the planets, rather than only the Sun and the Moon. In Buddhist iconography, Rahu is depicted with "the lower body of a coiled serpement (naga) and the upper body with four arms nine heads, adorned with a thousand eyes. In the middle of the stomach is one large wrathful face. The face in the stomach, belly, is actually the face and head of Rahula. The nine stacked heads depicted . . . are the nine planets that Rahula has eclipsed, or rather literally swallowed, eaten and now symbolically appearing on top of his own face and insatiable mouth".[8]  Rahu's merits are also given an astronomical basis, being the only planet which moves through the zodiac in a clockwise fashion.

The real mystery of our favorite's demons surprising merits are only fully understood when we consider the subtle anatomy of the human being and the technical processes of mystical yoga. Kongtrul continues:

Since Rāhu partakes of the nature of emptiness or vacuity within the central energy channel of [the yogin's] own body, and is unobscured and unimpeded in terms of the physical elements, its upper part (yar sna) has [the appearance of] a ball of semen (dpyid kyi gong bu), formed of the water element, and its lower part (mar sna) has [the appearance of] a blazing seed [thig le], formed of the fire element. Moreover, since Rāhu is endowed with a single purity in respect of both external and internal aspects, its body is vacuous, unobscured and unimpeded, like the space element, while its head (vaktra, gdong) is black, embodying darkness, the nature of the water element, and its tail (puccha, mjug ma) is red and fiery, [embodying] the nature of the fire element. These two [nodes--the head and the tail--] are the coarsely [appearing aspects of Rāhu], which have the power to cause [solar and lunar] eclipses.[9]

In the context of Tantric yoga, Rahu and Ketu correspond to the sushumna nadi. In the Kālacakra Tantra, the Sun and Moon correspond to pingala and ida nadis respectively, but the remaining five planets are also understood as expressions (or emanations) from either the ida or pingala nadi (or the feminine and masculine duality of nature). While it is not discussed in any traditional texts, I am putting forward the notion that the frontal (descending) arc of sushumna nadi corresponds to Rahu, as it is Rahu that incarnates us, or brings our life-force into the domain of life, always confronting the digestive capacity of internal fire. The spinal (ascending) arc corresponds to Ketu, as it is Ketu, the moksha-kāraka, that moves us beyond earthly life to the Realization of the Divine. Thus, the descending current originates in the "head" (Rahu) while the ascending current originates in the "tail" (Ketu). In light of Kongtrul's commentary, we see the characteristic sexual metaphors of Tantra, as the "coarse" appearance of Rahu is likened to the male semen. Tantric texts place great emphasis on the role of the reproductive fluids (male semen and female ovum) as the "seed" of the yogic process. The more we consider these perspectives, the more we can grasp the mystery of our dreaded demon's surprising merits. If we understand this level of esoteric yogic anatomy, then we have begun to comprehend an equally esoteric meaning of eclipses. Now we can directly consider the literal psycho-physics of eclipses.

According to the Tantras, when Rahu or Ketu "swallow" the Sun or Moon, the solar and lunar energies of ida and pingala are also "swallowed" in sushumna. If we consider this in light of the earlier discussion of the inner Tantric fire ritual, then it appears as though eclipses are a moment in which the goals of Tantric practice are naturally accomplished. From the Tantric view, eclipses are a precious opportunity for yogic practice, as the natural pattern of the macrocosm is concentrated in its essential original space, just as the natural pattern of the internal life-force is drawn into the sushumna nadi. In Tantra, the entire universe is described as arising from the space of sushumna. Thus, at the dissolution of each yuga cycle, the outer universe is said to enter a state of vacuous potentiality, analogous to the "return" of the internal life-force in sushumna. If we consider Rahu's From this anatomical understanding of the macrocosm in the microcosm, we can understand that Rahu eclipses concentrate energy in the frontal line, toward the navel, showing us what we need to bring into our life on Earth, giving us something to digest and assimilate, while Ketu eclipses concentrate energy in the spinal line, toward the head, showing us all that we need to release to heaven, what we need to purify. Eclipses therefore represent the possibility of transformation, or dissolving the past and appearing again anew, just as the universe is drawn into the centrality of its original space between each new yuga cycle of time.

While Rahu is multivalently described as the protector of scriptural revelations, the sushumna nadi, and the vital reproductive fluid, what we need to understand from these descriptions is that Rahu is intimately connected with the essence (or energetic seeds) of life. Thus, the "water" of Rahu has the "fire" of Ketu within it, the potency of the universe and the original breath of creation, with the paradoxes of poison and nectar, light and dark, blissfully alive within it.

 The Psychological Eclipse: Unconscious, Subconscious, Consciousness
We can consider the import of eclipses further in the context of Kundalini Awakening, a process which is viewed in the same polarizing light as eclipses. There are many who warn with great fervor that Kundalini Awakening is dangerous and can lead to psychosis, that one should not casually stimulate the Kundalni Shakti without the guidance of a true Guru. It is certainly true that the techniques of esoteric yoga should not be practiced outside of Spiritual Initiation from a true Guru. And this is because it is always dangerous to casually play with fire! In Vedic times, only priests performed fire sacrifices. Tantra, however, rejects the social structure of Vedic life, as yoga can be practiced by anyone who finds a true Guru. In classic fashion, Tantra transfers the concept of exclusive power to an internal possibility. But the key point is not an issue of social hierarchy. The key point is that the symptoms of psychosis seem to mimic the experiences of genuine yogic Awakening. In the 1950s, therapists initially sought to utilize LSD not as a tool for psychotherapy, but as a means for understanding the nature of psychosis, which they believed the drug accurately induced in people. In contrast, people who used to drug recreationally reported ecstatic mystical experiences. Is this dichotomy similar to the Vedic and Tantric views of eclipses? What appears as poisonous from one perspective is seen as nectarous from another.

Continuing with the comparison of psychedelics, there is a similar extreme between terrifying experiences and absolutely blissful experiences. The centerpole of this determination is entirely psychological in nature. Ketu exposes all that is repressed in us, not only in the present lifetime, but in the span of karmic patterning. This is a lot to process and requires preparation and maturity. Once Ketu has opened the vault of the unconscious, it rises to the subconscious purview of Rahu. It is Rahu that magnifies the vision of the revealed unconscious, a vision that is always hard to digest. If one is not prepared to release what is repressed and then to soberly face the vision of unconscious patterning, then the action of Rahu and Ketu become toxifying, traumatic, poisonous, and even debilitating. One is unable to integrate with the force of what is surfacing and falls into developmental arrest, the extreme of which is clinical "psychosis".

Truthfully, psychosis is already present at subtle levels, even in an ordinary functional life, and this is the human import of Rahu and Ketu. Eclipses are a time when this psychological process is stimulated and magnified in consciousness. From one view, this is a terrible event, and we should protect ourselves and avoid this maddening poison, just as a person may refuse a psychedelic trip given the potential for having a terrifying experience, or avoid confronting the psychological shadow out of fear, or as another may avoid practicing certain yogic techniques. But from another view, eclipses are an auspicious opportunity for transformation and evolution. From the Vedic view, eclipses (and Rahu and Ketu in general then) represent death, the poisoning and toxification of life. From the Tantric view, eclipses (and Rahu and Ketu) represent evolution, the death of the ego and the awakening of higher consciousness. This is not to say that Tantra (as a whole) accepts the ultimacy of ego-death, as there is another current in the alchemical yoga of Tantra that seeks to immortalize the physical body, much as Vedic rituals sought to maintain life. Both perspectives are rooted in a psychology of survival that is conceived and strategized in different terms. The Vedas seek to survive by means of lawful relationship to the forces of life, while Tantra seeks to survive by ascending above the implications of conditional life altogether. In both cases, fire is the essential symbol of life, the purifier of poisons, or the alchemical fusion that renders poison nectarous. It is the necessary sacrifice that recycles the life-force, and thus keeps life flowing. Yet, Tantra does afford a greater understanding of the internal mechanisms of this sacrifice, and the recognition that both poison and nectar are food for the fire of life.

We do not need to be Vedic priests of Tantric heroes to understand or make use of eclipses. We simply need to understand their function and action, and thus ascertain the lessons they represent for us. Ultimately, both perspectives suffer the limitations of existence conceived in terms of a dilemma of duality, but both perspectives also recognize the necessity to concentrate life in a sacred and esoteric process. The yoga of Rahu and Ketu is a deeply human yoga that cannot be biased to any part of the whole, descending or ascending. The secret of Rahu and Ketu is not in magic or mysticism, but the freedom of the heart. When the fullness of life is flowing from crown to toe and toe to crown, then we are no longer fractured, but restored to the tangible vision of intrinsic wholeness. Then the circuit of the body-mind is not seen as being composed of two halves, but as a single current that rounds the heart, the Transcendental Fire that burns in the center of the body. Life itself is the true puja, the yantra into which we must become a sacrifice in the Transcendental Fire of the heart. When we fail to live as priests, bearing the fire of the heart, then we cannot integrate with the digestive burdens that Rahu throws upon us, nor can we effectively sacrifice the things of Ketu. When the soma of our devotion is deficient, then we have nothing by which to fuel the flames of true life, and to thereby grow in Spirit. Only a digestion that is balanced can express the profound puja of a lawful life--simultaneously purifying toxic accumulation and assimilating new and higher forms of food in the feast of life. In the words of my Guru, Avatar Adi Da Samraj:

The body is a paradox of pairs, not a dilemma or opposition of two, and not a simple line from Light to Darkness. Its two potentials are not separable, and neither one of its coils is itself and independently identical to the ultimate and perfect Source that is Truth. At best we may say that a balance, a dynamic harmony of the two tendencies of the body-being, is appropriate and most conducive to a normal or pleasurable fulfillment of the life cycle.[10]

References
[1] In using the word "Vedic", I am referring specifically to the most ancient religious culture of India. This usage should not be confused with the broader cultural import it has attained in colloquial contexts to refer to all things traditionally Hindu.

[2] In some schemes, Yoga and Tantra are seen as separate streams within Hindu philosophy and practice. Yoga is defined in terms of Patāñjali's Yoga Sutras and Tantra is defined in terms of Tantras and Agamas (particularly in the sects of Saivism and Saktism). However, my intended use of the word "Tantra" (and variants) is in a broader sense that includes the schools of yoga. Tantra, in this sense, refers to the core philosophy of transformation and the technical practices of Spiritual ascent.

[3] Da Free John, Nirvanasara (Middletown, CA: Dawn Horse Press, 1982), 176-177.

[4] Indian yoga conceives of the Spiritual process in terms of mystical ascent, and so there is no discussion of the frontal arc of sushumna. However, evidence of this anatomical reality is found in the Taoist and Tibetan traditions whose yoga has a descending dimension that utilizes frontal techniques. For an in-depth discussion of the sushumna nadi, its two arcs, and its relationship to the ida and pingala nadis, see The Paradox of Instruction by Bubba Free John (Middletown, CA: Dawn Horse Press, 1978), pp. 225 - 243.

[5] For further study on the concept of the circular circuit of the body-mind, see Conductivity Healing by Avatar Adi Da Samraj (Middletown, CA: Dawn Horse Press, 2018).

[6] We should note that in traditional texts, it is rare that Rahu and Ketu are mentioned as distinctly as they are in modern parlance. Rather, the duality of Rahu and Ketu were encompassed within the single concept of Rahu.

[7] Jamgön Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge: Book Six, Part One (Boston: Snow Lion, 2012), 349 - 350.

[8] Description of Rahula iconography from https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=493.

[9] Jamgön Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge: Book Six, Part One (Boston: Snow Lion, 2012), 350.

[10] Bubba Free John, The Paradox of Instruction (Middletown, CA: Dawn Horse Press, 1978), 229.