Rahu and Ketu

Rahu and Ketu – The Core of Karma

In Vedic astrology, the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter are considered as seven real planets while Rahu and Ketu are only used to analyze a horoscope chart. At the time of our birth, the arrangement of these planets is our birth chart and it has a lot in deciding our soul’s earthly journey. This chart reveals our personality, relationships, career, health issues, finance and many other things we are going to encounter in life. The period of our lives when karma begins its work can also be obtained from this Vedic system.

Unlike the other real and physical seven planets, Rahu and Ketu are just a mass of energy, filled with mystic power and of great significance. These two powers are the point where the orbits of the Moon and Earth cross each other. At this very point of intersection, an electromagnetic disturbance is created because these are in direct opposition to each other. This imbalance is what has been termed the Moon’s nodes otherwise known as Rahu and Ketu in Vedic astrology.

The collective Sanskrit name given to the combination of the nodes of the Moon is Rahu-Ketu. Rahu is the north node, and Ketu represents the south node of the Moon. Both of the nodes are the direct opposite of each other with 180 degrees in-between them. In Vedic astrology chart, these nodes together are the karmic axis which shows the kind of karma each individual is going to come across in life. They also reveal the aspects of life where you will put in more effort or strive for excellence.

Mythology

In Indian mythology, there is a story that Lord Vishnu’s wanted to grant immortality to the seven planets or deities. He, therefore, stirred the sea to obtain amrita nectar believed to be sacred with which to make planetary deities live forever. In response, all the deities presented themselves to receive the nectar potion from Vishnu. Unaware to Vishnu, Rakshasha, a demon that looked like a dragon, had infiltrated the line and pretended to be one of the gods just to share the immortal life.

When Vishnu found out, it was too late and the demon had already received power to live forever. Consequently, Vishnu took his sword and cut the demon in two. The head of the demon became Rahu and the tail was named Ketu. However, it was no more possible to permanently kill the two entities because they took part in taking the potion.

Vishnu’s anger was so great that the nodes, Rahu and Ketu, had to beg him for mercy. Their penance was accepted, so they were made planetary bodies. From that time on, Rahu and Ketu came to be the power behind karma which works in the lives and situations of individuals through the karmic core. Thus, the dragon’s head is the symbol of Rahu, while its tail represents Ketu.

In Vedic astrology, the major angle of focus for a person depends on the position of Rahu on the chart. For instance, a person whose ascendant sign or first house is Rahu will often live for himself and will seem to be selfish to other people. However, the individual has to accept his fate but also strive to strike a balance between his needs and those of others close to him. On the other hand, people with Rahu in their tenth house will have a strong love for their career and a desire for recognition, fame, and power.

For those who have Rahu in their sixth house, selflessness, service and the capacity to offer help and bring healing to humanity will be dominant. To have Rahu in the fourth house means a strong attention to the home environment. Whichever way, the Rahu-Ketu axis is useful in showing different shades of meaning on the chart and will give direction and purpose to the life of each individual despite other factors such as their rising sign, Sun or Moon sign.

Rahu stands for focus, insatiable desire, and what a person is likely to spend all his life pursuing. The only challenge the person will have to contend with all the time is trying to control and balance his desires. Rahu in the tenth house signifies the possibility of preferring work to other things, which if left unchecked can make one a workaholic. Spending too much time working can cause a lot of problems and dissatisfaction in the home, relationships and between partners. It means that what we are passionate about can turn out to become a problem we will continue to battle within our lives. Prosperity and wealth is another symbol of Rahu and these are the reasons people like the Chinese are devout worshippers with an aim of enjoying a life of prosperity.

Unlike Rahu who bestows individuals a life of material wealth and earthly riches, Ketu is all about transferring the knowledge of relevant past lives of individuals into their present life with the hope that they can learn to release themselves from emotional pains and baggage. It is a life that quits using mere intellectual reasoning and clings to faith.

Ketu holds the power to make our lives full of pains and hindrances with a plan to move us to change the way we think. It can present itself as a baseless fear just to make us explore our subconscious mind and experience significant changes and evolution. The level at which Ketu operates holds great ideals because it is more concerned about transforming our lives through the surrender of our ego for a higher cause which ultimately leads to enlightenment.

So we can see that on one hand, Rahu is interested in the physical and material world, and on the other hand, Ketu focuses on the spiritual realm. These two planetary bodies or deities work simultaneously together to stir up our life ambition and encourage us to forsake involving in the things of this world. That is the reason why we experience these internal struggles that are part of the human dilemma. 

In addition, Rahu is a symbol of all our inner and bodily desires, and it encourages us to seek for ways to satisfy these desires for success, power, and fame in those specific areas of our lives. In our journey to obtain what we want, we may be deceived into thinking that we are also concerned about the welfare of others and not just our own selves. That is why politicians are believed to possess a very strong Rahu. In most cases, we find it difficult to see the outcome of our actions because Rahu works from deep down inside our subconscious.

For this reasons, an individual is advised to place himself under the guidance of a Guru in the journey of renunciation in accordance with Yoga and Vedic tradition. Ketu is the symbol of self-abnegation and freedom from the entanglement of this material world and, at the same time, Ketu is a symbol of the soul.

If along the way Rahu shifts its focus on material things and joins as one with Ketu, then a Kundalini is born. Rahu can raise itself from its root chakra, and become one with Ketu in the crown chakra, thus completing the full cycle of unification and enlightenment. As a matter of fact, we need to follow the leading of our Rahu so we can experience more of the situations and thrills in each incarnation while keeping in mind that we can find neither lasting peace nor fulfillment in those things. When we have dug deep into our Rahu, we can then begin to shift our focus on using the energy of both Rahu and Ketu to achieve better things and finally reach Nirvana.