“Time has for its nature, to bring what is to pass. An event begins only when the commencement of its alloted time arrives, and ends when its time has run its course. The science of knowing the nature of an event from the moment of its beginning is Muhurta.” – Ernst Wilhelm from Classical Muhurta

Moving and making the long drive from one corner of the United States to the other is no easy task, even with the best Muhurta. When I did it the first time around, I was young and driven by the intensity of my pain and emotional confusion so…of course it seemed like an exciting thing to do. It also felt like I was caught in the grip of something that I now understand as “seizing”. “A planet is called a Graha since it seizes man (as well as other things) and puts him on his astrologically fated destiny,” Ernst Wilhelm, Graha Sutras. This can also be thought of as an archetypal energy arising from the unconscious or when you feel swept up in a stream of events that are out of your control. Of course there is always some amount of free will, but very little when you are unconscious and a slave to your desires, which I was at the time.

Arriving in Florida, I felt so far from everything that meant anything to me. I kept my focus on completing my education, but I went through some challenging times and poor decisions before eventually finding myself again. I was wounded and had not yet found the means to heal myself. I recognized I was not happy and decided to start doing things differently. I experienced the “fall” that comes with a Sagittarius lagna (according to Jaimini). I found inspiration in the famous Rumi quote, “You’ve seen my descent, now watch my rising”. I found a safe place to get comfortable and settle down to do the real work of healing. I practiced therapy which allowed me to learn a lot about myself through working with others and through teaching the skills that I practiced. I discovered yoga which helped me heal through the body and Vedic Astrology which helped me heal my relationship with the past and my spirituality. I immersed myself in self-discovery and devotion to helping others. I desired true authenticity and the ability to heal by example. Living this way was truly satisfying. I made a safe place for myself after years of struggling and I finally felt good.

But eventually I grew restless. I began to feel as if the path I was walking was evaporating under my feet, leaving me treading water in a deep pool. While this provided me the necessary environment to dive “deep”, I soon realized there was no forward movement and I wasn’t ready to let my roots become permanent yet. I had learned to manage my strong emotions, become “the witness” and not be overcome by my desires. I had healthy relationships with almost everyone and everything in my life. In the wisdom traditions, desire is often viewed as something to be mastered or overcome. I needed this lesson because I was full of rajas and a slave to my feelings which meant I was blown all over the place by outside circumstances. I learned to control the inside and let the outside take care of itself. I sought to detach from my desires and I became so stable, consistent, and reliable that I eventually found myself somewhat stagnant and understimulated. I had been viewing desire as a negative thing to be avoided due to how it had lead me astray in the past. Then I read about Evolutionary Astrology, which believes desire is the driving force and catalyst that motivates the soul to become. This resonated with me. Through my fostering of security, safety and responsibility, I had disconnected from desire. I didn’t know what I desired anymore. But I knew that, as much as I loved my home and my life,  it was not the end destination for me. My passion and desire (Venus in Scorpio) had always been such a huge part of who I am. Those aspects needed integration or I risked moving into shadow territory and Rahu maturation was just around the corner.

I looked around at my beautiful and comfortable life and I was sad knowing that I had to leave it. It was confusing and difficult to hold so many conflicting emotions simultaeously. My time in Florida was coming to a close and in my soul I “knew” I couldn’t stay. It was too comfortable and secure. I didn’t see how I would be challenged in the ways I required to continue growing. I had been in Florida for 9 years, 9 being the number of completion. It was time. I left under Mercury/Ketu dasha which seemed fitting. I needed to reconnect with my desire and it seemed the best place to start would be returning to my roots. Reconnecting with my family and returning to the Pacific Northwest, which I felt was the “home” I had been longing for since leaving it many years ago. Perhaps again, I was under the influence of forces beyond my control. Perhaps my time in Florida had simply ended and it was time to go home. This time I would face the task with conscious effort and the skills I now possessed to work in harmony with my destiny.

I had been studying Vedic Astrology for a few years and I decided if I was going to make the cross country journey again from Orlando back to Seattle, I would need the divine assistance of a good Muhurta. A Muhurta can be easily purchased from a skilled astrologer but this was a chance to test my own skills and intuition. I chose some dates that resonated with me and began to narrow it down using the skills I was learning. I experienced a lot of setbacks and obstacles and had an insanely difficult year leading up to this and I wanted a smooth path. Making the trip the second time around, it sounded harder and a little scarier because I lacked the recklessness of my youth so I wanted a good Muhurta to ease the way.

I eventually decided on 8/18/18. I read recently that this date was the top date for weddings this year, partly because the number is a palendrome. It ended up being a great date for me, evidenced by the ease and success of my trip. It couldn’t have gone smoother or worked out more perfectly. I was unsure at first about Mercury being retrograde since it isn’t good for traveling, but it went direct later that day and I experienced no issues. There were actually numerous retrograde planets in this Muhurta including Mars and Saturn, but given the nature of my activity (going “back” to a place from the past) I found it appropriate on a symbolic level. On my journey I made good time, my car didn’t have any problems, my family visits were all argument and drama-free, I missed all the fires before and after my passage through California, and avoided any extreme weather. Given how difficult my year had been up to this trip, this was definitely a message to me that I had made the “right” choice and was in synch with the forces beyond myself. The Muhurta I chose for entering the city and beginning my new life was under Ashwini. All the Grahas were in friendly positions and the chart really resonated with me. I believe it holds good things for my future. I recommend finding a good Muhurta for undertaking any significant activity, and I hope that my new surroundings will be both challenging and supportive of my future growth and practice of both therapy and astrology.