May 8th, 2025 - St, Peter’s Square, Vatican City, Rome, Italy. A little less than 3 weeks after the death of Pope Francis on April 21st, 2025, and only 2 days after the Cardinals went into Conclave, the world saw what it had been waiting for - white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel signaling that a new pope had been chosen. Over the course of these days, several Cardinals names kept recirculating as to who would be the next pontiff to follow the wildly popular late Pope Francis. The man who stepped out on the balcony was not one on this list. The immediate response and ripple effect of the news was one of shock, but also one of excitement and innovation. For the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the 267th Pope in the line from St. Peter was a Cardinal from the United States. This innovative and exciting choice for the new pope is apropos considering the chart of this 69 year old from Chicago, Illinois - Cardinal Robert Provost who announced that from here on out, he would be known as Pope Leo XIV.
First of all, we don’t have an exact birth time for Pope Leo, so I am using noon as a birth time. The Sun is connected to leaders and leadership, so it would be fitting for someone in Pope Leo’s position to have been born when the Sun is at its highest point of the day. As we will see, using this time gives Pope Leo a Scorpio/Vishaka ascendant which works very well. Even without a verified birth time, his planetary placements, dignities and yogas show that Pope Leo has the deep spiritual qualities and a strong but gentle heart befitting a great servant-leader who is the inspiration and caretaker for a worldwide religious institution. Since being elected Pope only happens to a rare few in this world, we would expect to see some extraordinary alignments. In this article, we will specifically look at the role that Rahu and Ketu has played in Pope Leo’s life, and examine yogas connected to them. We will examine other yogas and planetary dignities in another article.
What are Rahu and Ketu?
Rahu and Ketu represent the karmic axis of a person’s life. Rahu, the north node of the moon, shows the desires of the soul coming from a place of lack, indicating a place the soul is hungry to explore in this lifetime. Conversely, Ketu the south node of the moon Ketu reveals the lessons and tendencies carried over from past lives. Always opposite one another, the tension created shows the places where we are fated to grow, struggle, and ultimately find deeper balance on our spiritual path.
The houses Rahu and Ketu fall in will tell the first part of the story. Pope Leo’s Rahu falls in his 1st house, putting Ketu in the 7th house. This shows the main axis of tension throughout his life is centered around uncovering his true identity versus what he is willing to compromise for the sake of relationships. Rahu is often known to be unconventional, so those who have this in the 1st house of identity can lead lives which don’t “follow the norms.” Those who knew him as a child say that Pope Leo always wanted to be a priest. So, it was no surprise to anyone who knew him that Robert Provost entered the Augustine Order as a friar in 1977 when he was only 22 years old. To pursue his true identity (Rahu in 1st house) he had to choose a less common path of celibacy with no partners (Ketu in the 7th).
What do the nakshatras the nodes are in have to say about Pope Leo?
His Rahu is located in Scorpio/Jyestha, which is a combination of feminine Mars and Mercury energy. Rahu is a place of endless fascination, even obsession. In this nakshatra, this shows uncovering the truth about himself is a huge driving force in his life. Because this is in the fixed water energy of deeply spiritual Scorpio, this placement can often be quite intense and requires courage to uncover what is hidden by diving into the murky waters. Because so much of his energy is focused on this search for his truthful identity (1st house), it can leave little energy for being deeply connected to a partner (7th house), and is fitting someone living a celibate life. There is a very mystical and spiritual side to Jyestha with Mars giving internal courage, and Mercury gives the ability to communicate. He can lead by example and virtue instead of manipulation (the dark side of Jyestha) is available to Pope Leo because his ruling planet Mars is strong in the leadership sign of Leo, and his Mercury is strong in its own sign of Virgo - a great combination for someone leading a worldwide religious organization.
His Ketu is located on the Taurus side of Mrigashira, this giving him a combination of feminine Venus (Taurus) and Mars energy here. When Mars and Venus are together, there can be a great drive for material pleasure. However, Ketu is a place where we feel as if we’ve “been there and done that.” In the 7th house, this suggests that in past lives he was more occupied with the comfort and enjoyment available in romantic partnerships, and in this life he has chosen to focus more on his personal spiritual development. Mrigashira is called the “Searching Star,” and tells the tale of leaving the comforts of home to go on a spiritual quest. Since he came into this life with this search in the past, no wonder that from a very early age, Pope Leo knew the trajectory of his life would be one of solitude and service that comes from a life as a celibate priest. This is also further shown by the natural “war” that happens when Mars and Venus are together in any situation. In Pope Leo’s case, Mars wins this battle easily as his debilitated Venus in Virgo is no match for his Mars in Leo.
Because Rahu and Ketu are always opposite one another, they create tension which calls us to work out the opposing forces. There is usually an outlet for this using a technique which finds the common ground between the two placements. However, because Pope Leo’s is along the 1/7 axis, there is no such outlet - the only way out is through - and with Rahu leading this tension in the 1st house ruled by Mars, the warrior, he is up to the challenge, willing to fight his internal battles (Scorpio is feminine Mars) in order to be a leader (Mars in Leo). This is made even stronger by looking at Pope Leo’s Atma Karaka which just so happens to be Rahu.
Rahu as Atma Karaka
Atma means the soul and karaka means significator, this shows the main desire of the soul and what most needs to be developed in this lifetime. The house the Atma Karaka occupies shows where Pope Leo is to develop these skills. For Pope Leo, his Rahu in the 1st shows how he came here to purify his identity and to develop leadership qualities. With Rahu in Jyestha, he will purify himself by leading with the spiritual intelligence he has developed because he has taken his own spiritual growth very seriously. Whenever a dasha cycle activates the Atma Karaka, magical things can happen. Especially considering the innovative and sometimes shocking things which Rahu can bring about, it is no surprise that Rahu is a major factor in when and why he was elected Pope, something which almost no one saw coming, probably even himself. But taking a deeper dive into the energy surrounding his Rahu/Ketu, we see something even more powerful and shows that becoming Pope was part of his destiny.
Pressure from the “Serpent of Time”
When all the planets fall between Rahu and Ketu, the chart takes on what is known as Kala Sarpa Yoga, or the “Serpent of Time.” This configuration can give a feeling that the soul is tightly bound by past karma, and life will unfold in a way that feels fated, intense, and often filled with extremes. An extreme we can see in Pope Leo’s life would be the contrast between his life as a priest in Peru and his current situation in Vatican City. In Peru, he lived among his parishioners on the outskirts of town in austere quarters. Fast forward to the present, he is now living in the lap of luxury at the Vatican, with every material comfort available. With all of the planets hemmed in by Rahu/Ketu, someone with this configuration can experience a deep sense of pressure and urgency to fulfill a destiny. Likened to a snake coiled around the planets, this squeezing has been present in Pope Leo throughout his life, leading him to walk the path laid out by what Rahu and Ketu represent in the chart. In this case, rejecting the pleasures and comfort of domesticity with a partner (Ketu in Taurus in the 7th) to pursue a life of service driven by the desire for personal spiritual purification (Rahu in Scorpio in the 1st). The chances for being successful in achieving the goal are increased if the planets located within Rahu and Ketu are strong and in good dignity, which Pope Leo definitely has (more on this in another article). “Kala” means “time,” so the effects of this yoga also indicate that this destiny will be fulfilled later in life after stepping on this path when they were much younger. It has taken 47 years for Pope Leo to take the journey from joining the Augustine Order as a Friar to becoming the leader of the Catholic Church as the Pope.
When Dashas activate the Nodes
Rahu and Ketu have played a major role in Pope Leo’s path to the Papacy. In particular, Rahu, his Atma Karaka has been “lit up” every time he has had a change in identity which heightened his status and gave him more power in the Catholic Church. Rahu and Ketu dashas are known to be especially intense, times when we are being given transformational karmic lessons we cannot avoid. Let’s examine in more detail:
Joining the order of Augustine Monks - 1977: Pope Leo was in Venus/Ketu when he first stepped on the path to become a priest. This lit up his 7th house ruler Venus where his Ketu in Mrigashira is. Ketu has a “rejecting” energy, shown here by abandoning comforts and pleasure (Venus) he could have derived from partnership (7th house) to go towards his true passion and identity (Rahu in the 1st).
Ordained as a priest in the Augustine Order - 6/19/1982: He was in a Sun/Mercury dasha when he officially became a priest. The Sun lit up his 10th house where his Moon in Magha is located. Magha is ruled by Ketu, indicative of being connected to and benefitting from a lineage, in this case, the Catholic Church. Mercury lit up Rahu in the 1st, indicating a change in his identity, which in this case included adding the title of “Father” to his name, made even more appropriate by the fact that the Sun/Leo both represent the father archetype. This could show an astrological connection to the name Leo, the name he chose for himself.
Promoted to Bishop - 12/12/2014: Now in Rahu/Venus dasha, once again his Rahu in the 1st comes into play with another title change, and the house where his Ketu is which shows he is being given more responsibility. Now he is going deeper into the surrender (Ketu) which is required of someone in this position. Rahu as his Atma Karaka, with the added pressure of his natal Kala Sarpa Yoga is pushing him harder and faster than ever.
Promoted to Archbishop 1/30/2023 & then Cardinal 9/30/2023 - Pope Leo is now in his Jupiter Mahadasha where he begins to reap the rewards of all he pursued during Rahu Mahadasha. Specifically he was in Jupiter/Saturn. Jupiter lit up his Ascendant in Vishaka/Scorpio, where his Rahu is located. More shifts in identity, getting closer and closer to his ultimate goal.
Elected Pope - 5/8/2023: A Jupiter/Mercury dasha in part returns Robert Provost to where he began. His first title/name change to Father began under another Mercury sub dasha, activating his Rahu Atma Karaka. The pressures of his natal Kala Sarpa Yoga, as well as the pressures from the Kala Sarpa Yoga transit are combined, resulting in Cardinal Robert Provost being transformed into Pope Leo XIV, thus fulfilling his karmic destiny..