Rahu and Ketu

In my own astrology practice, I consider Rahu (the north node) and Ketu (the south node), the nodes of the moon, to be the most important celestial objects of all, holding the key to understand the traps laid out by life, the lessons the native needs to learn, what the destiny of the native is, what they need to follow to get the best results in their life.

Rahu and Ketu are shadow planets, and they’re calculations of when an eclipse will happen. Shadow planets meaning, they do not exist, they are not physical objects. All the other planets, including the luminaries, are real objects in space, and Rahu and Ketu are not.

Mythology

Rahu and Ketu are calculations of the eclipse, and so, are inextricably tied to mythology of eclipses. In vedic mythology, Rahu and Ketu are Swarbhanu, the Asura.

The story of how he was beheaded goes like this; When the ocean was churned, it was done with the help of the Asuras. One of the treasures that came out of this churning was Amrit, the ambrosia. The gods had promised to share this ambrosia with the asuras, but tricked them in the last moment. However, because Svarbhanu did not trust the gods, he stole some of the ambrosia, and was promptly beheaded by the Mohini form of Vishnu, because Mohini was in charge of equitable distribution of the Amrit. 

By this time, he had already gained planethood status, and this event made him into two separate forms, Rahu, a disembodied head, and Ketu, his beheaded body. While he gained immortality, he also lost his sense of balance. There are many other beliefs about the nodes.

Understanding the Nodes

Tropical Astrology sees the North Node as the destiny, and the South Node as past life objects one clings to. Vedic Astrology sees the North Node as the false desire, and South Node as the path to liberation. To me, both of these perspectives are too simplistic.

Rahu and Ketu represent the dualistic philosphies. Masculine/feminine, Yin/Yang, Material/Spiritual. Rahu is the material aspect. Rahu is what exists, what is tangible, what is real.

Rahu and Ketu are always diametrically opposed, both in how they are seen, and in charts. The most common understanding of Rahu and Ketu in vedic astrology (and within gnosticism), comes from understanding the material world as a big illusion, one that is created by an evil, or a trickster entity, by Rahu, and understanding spirituality, or a benevolent god, Ketu, as the way to escape from this illusion. This is the dualistic idea.

Then, there is the advaita, or the non dualistic idea, the idea that Rahu (the material) and Ketu (the spiritual) are the same, and we, as humans, see them as different from one another. I talked about advaita vedanta, as it relates to Uttara Ashadha, and rituals, and it’s extremely relevant for Rahu and Ketu as well. Understanding Ketu as the body that makes Rahu’s vision come true gets to a deeper reality, and helps in bringing these planets to life.

Interpreting the Nodes

In real life, the nodes play out in a pretty specific way.

Rahu

The house and sign of Rahu becomes an obsession for the native, and it is seen as attractive, glamorous, and something to chase after. Rahu is associated with vayu, and with vata. Because Rahu is the head, this is also where the native overthinks, where they rationalise their inadequacies, and where they can talk and seem very impressive. This house is where the native is seen, noticed, and appreciated, because of the talking figurehead of Rahu. It can be considered full of gas, no substance to it.

Because Rahu is the head, it is easily attracted to sensory pleasure of the eyes. Optics is very important for Rahu. Rahu is what is seen, but, the native cannot truly interact with the house, sign, or planets that rahu sits with. It tries to consume and eat these things, but there is no stomach to digest these things. Feeding Rahu only gives taste, not satisfaction.

Ketu

The house and sign of Ketu is what the native doesn’t notice, what is taken for granted, and what is just not seen. Ketu has no sense, aside from touch. It cannot see, smell, hear, or taste, it can only feel. It has no head, to interpret what it feels. Ketu can often look irrational or insane. People are not attracted to Ketu, because there is no conversation to be had with Ketu, so Ketu lives in isolation. Rahu can entertain through words, Ketu cannot entertain.

However, ketu has muscle memory on its side. Ketu has an intelligence and awareness of it’s surroundings that is very tactical, and difficult for others to cultivate. It is associated with fire, and it specifically talks of the digestive fire of the stomach. Ketu churns the matters of the house it sits in, purifies it, absorbs only the nutrients, and lets go of the waste. Because it can purify, and because it has hands and legs, Ketu acts in a way that fits the environment. Ketu often gives intuitive genius in the house that it sits in. Feeding Ketu is a bland affair, because Ketu has no tastebuds, but it provides satiety to the native. If Ketu is not fed well enough, it begins to digest and get rid of everything in the native’s life.

Working With The Nodes

Working with the nodes is always a spiritual affair. This is because the goal of working with the nodes requires the native to prioritize Ketu, and Ketu always looks insane and irrational. Many times, to go after Ketu means to sacrifice Materialism, and what you have collected through Rahu. Your goals, your degrees, your desires, what you are proud of. It is not easy.

When a native goes after Rahu, and neglects Ketu, the native is often not able to sustain the pursuit of Rahu. Aside from the mental effects, the overthinking, the stress, the anxiety, this also leads to frustration, because the native starts finding it impossible to get what they need. Not only that, when it goes far enough, and you neglect ketu completely, all that you build will fall down.

Choosing Ketu, choosing non attachment, to fulfil your spiritual needs, not chase after the material, requires sacrifice, but also, in the long term, can build a very sustainable material life. Rahu gives material gifts that lives on a house of cards, and so, it creates an environment where the native is constantly anxious. Ketu gets rid of these anxieties, and once the native goes after and fulfils ketu aggressively, ketu works like magic, to fix any problems that may exist, and gets rid of obstacles that seemed permanent.

This is why Ketu is associated with Ganesha, the god of obstacles, and destroying obstacles. Praying to Ganesha is a good way to start fixing ketu, and the importance of Ketu is shown in how Ganesha is worshipped first before worshipping any other god.