(This Content is Extract From My Book "Vedic
Astrology: The Light of Wisdom")
The Lunar Nodes - Rahu and Ketu
According to mythology, Lord Vishnu beheaded a demon
named Swarnabhanu while he was sitting by the side of the gods at the time of
distributing amrita (nectar). At that time, Swarnabhanu knew that the gods were
not going to fulfill their promise of equitable distribution of nectar. He
changed his entire outfit, began to look like a deity, and sat on the side
where the deity was sitting to drink the nectar. But Sun and Moon recognized
him that he is not a deity, he is a demon and they informed Lord Vishnu.
Immediately Lord Vishnu beheaded him but before that, he had drunk a few drops
of nectar. That's why he became immortal. His head is called Rahu and his
headless body becomes Ketu. The energy of these nodes is strange and mysterious
and they always move in retrograde motion.
In Indian astrology Sun, Earth and Moon; three planets
are involved to create the energy of Rahu and Ketu. The ecliptic is an imaginary
line on the sky that marks the annual path of the Sun. The movement of the
Earth and the Moon on their path produces enormous energy. The motion of the Moon
when intersects this path, disturbs this energy. When the Moon’s orbit crosses
the ecliptic to the north, that point of intersection is called Rahu. Ketu is
the point 180° apart from that intersection. Thus, Rahu and Ketu are the two
imaginary points without any shape. This intersection creates the disturbance
of two massive energies, any planet near these nodes gets disturbed and creates
unusual events in the life of the native.
When a planet in transit crosses these nodes in the
birth chart, there is a disturbance in the matter related to the respective
house.
Some scriptures say that Rahu is exalted in Taurus and
debilitated in Scorpio and Ketu is vice-versa. While some other classics say
that Rahu is exalted in Gemini and debilitated in Sagittarius. Rahu is the
co-ruler of Aquarius and its Mooltrikona sign is Virgo, while Ketu is the
co-ruler of Scorpio and its Mooltrikona sign is Pisces. Both nodes represent
tall in height and age of 100 years.
Rahu
Rahu - the north node of the Moon is a shadowy planet.
The direction of Rahu is South-West and stays 18 months in a sign. The caste of
Rahu is Malechha (outcaste) and it represents all foreign elements like a
foreign land, foreign caste, foreign people, etc. Rahu represents those
reptiles having poison in their mouths like snakes, while Ketu represents those
insects and creatures having poison in tails like scorpions. Rahu’s gemstone is
Gomedha.
The above mythology is very important to understand
the characteristic of Rahu. Like Swarnabhanu had an intense desire to drink the
nectar at any cost. Rahu signifies passion and obsession. To achieve this
burning desire, he changed his face, his clothes, left the side of demons,
joined the side of devatas, and took big risks with only one goal or better we
can say with only one obsession – “I want this nectar at any cost” and he
achieved it. But after achieving this, he lost his body shape.
The behavior of the person having a strong influence
on Rahu is also the same. They are extremely obsessed to achieve their desire.
For that purpose, they can cross any limits and don't care about the outcome
and suffering. Just as Swarnabhanu lost the shape of his body in the end,
similarly a person following the path of his obsession has to lose a lot from
his life. One day he will get what he wants but for that, he will have to pay a
very high price, like Swarnabhanu paid the price.
Mythology says that the Sun and the Moon recognized
the demon sitting by the side of the gods and informed Lord Vishnu. After that,
Sun and Moon became strong enemies of Rahu and Ketu, eclipse caused due to the
transit of Rahu & Ketu and they have complete power to engulf Sun and Moon.
Sun and Moon represent our soul and mind. It means that if you run after
your materialistic desire your soul and mind will become weak, your vision will
become blurred and you will not be able to identify the truth. The smoke of
materialism will gradually surround you and it will take over your soul and
mind. But if your soul and mind are strong then you can recognize the illusion
created by Rahu. The person who has strong Sun and Moon in his horoscope can
easily catch the hidden motive of the mischievous persons and keep himself away
from all these. This is one of the many reasons, we worship the Sun and the
Moon in Hindu culture so that our spirit and mind are strong and not eclipsed
by material desire in the mundane world.
Rahu has only a mouth but no body. It indicates that a
person with a strong influence of Rahu has a great desire but does not have the
ability to digest it. Rahu always thinks about the future and its position in
the horoscope indicates that the person wants to experience things that he does
not have till now. Rahu means imbalance, mistakes; Where a person learns from
his experience. The Rahu-Ketu axis reflects the karmic balance that we carry
from our past lives – what we did and what we want to achieve. Rahu is such a
power that does not listen to anyone's advice and is ready to cross any limit
to fulfill his intense desire. Such natives do not care about the result, even
if their head is cut off like Swarnabhanu.
Rahu is an airy and lawless planet. Rahu does not like
any boundaries. A person having a strong influence of Rahu behaves the same.
They don’t want any control over themselves, they are ready to break any rule,
and sometimes their behavior is over expansive. They don’t like any questions
and they don’t want to give any explanations. They wander here and there like
air and waste their time and energy.
Rahu indicates name, fame, overnight popularity,
glamour, media sensation, material success, etc. All these represent illusion
to the material world, and Rahu is the lord of all illusion. Due to the effect
of Rahu, the person will show his face to the world and become popular. It
controls the film and cinema industry, advertising industry, all modern
computers, television, etc., and those jobs where a person is showing their face
to the masses.
Rahu represents smoke, materialism, drugs, dark, and poison. Rahu is
subtle, insensitive, deceptive, telling lies, harsh and voluptuous planet.
Malefic Rahu indicates the person who will not think even twice of betraying
his most trusted person. He can go to any extent to fulfill his desire.
Ketu
Ketu - the south node, is the shadow planet of sudden
and unexpected things. It also represents the experiences of our past lives,
which we learned at a very high level and with mastery. It also represents a
rigid and critical mindset where perfection is the highest goal at any cost.
Ketu gemstone is Cat’s eye also known as Lehsunia.
The symbol of Ketu is a flag that always stands vertically indicating
the direction of the planet. A flag represents victory, but victory is not
easy, victory on the battlefield is followed by great bloodshed and great
sacrifices. The position of Ketu indicates that the native will get a victory
after a lot of hard work and great sacrifice. Ketu provides clairvoyance and
wisdom but after sufferings.
A strong Ketu blessed the native with powerful insights. It gives a power
of intense concentration and deep penetration. This also represents vaccination
where medicine is injected into the body. Ketu represents strong intuition,
isolation, mediation, deep research, scientific jobs, drilling activities, etc.
It belongs to those jobs where a person does with full concentration, to
achieve their goal the person leaves the rest of the world and forgets
everything. A strong Ketu is necessary to sit in the meditation for long hours.
Ketu is a planet of seclusion and has no interest in the material world, the
higher aspect of Ketu is salvation (Moksha).
Ketu represents inertia and strong attachment towards the past. It also
represents a tendency where people want to live in their own world and do not
want to change anything. Ketu also represents Infra-Red Light, which is also
not visible to human eyes represents the mysterious functioning of this planet.
It belongs to those diseases that are hidden and not easy to identify.
Ketu denotes separation, in which Ketu is placed it indicates separation
from all materialistic things related to that house. Ketu is a planet of sudden
events; a person has to face sudden changes in his life related to the matter
of the concerned house. A malefic Ketu represents false sainthood, false
knowledge, cheating, and humbugging profession, jealousy, hatred, deceit,
murder, low-class sinful habits, etc. These nodes indicate all hidden criminal,
anti-social activities that are done mostly at night.
Difference in Desire of Mars and Rahu
Mars is desire, and Rahu is also desire. Due to Martian energy, we move
in this world and run behind our desire. So, what is the difference between
these two desires?
Mars is a push. When a person runs behind his desire and utilizes his
energy in a positive way, such desire is Martian. One works hard to fulfill
such desire. But when a person does not want to work hard and wants to fulfill
his desire by immoral means, that is Rahu.
Rahu is a criminal, Rahu is an illusion, Rahu is deceit, Rahu is an
obsession, and Rahu does not want to listen to anyone’s advice. Remember the
story of Samudra Manthan (Churning the Ocean), Swarnabhanu wanted the nectar at
any cost and he is not afraid of any punishment and cutting his head. He wanted
to fulfill that desire by hook or by crook and he achieved that, but later he
paid a very high price of separation of his head from his body. The chopped-off
head of the Swarnabhanu is the final result of Rahu’s obsession.
For example, if a student is working hard to clear an exam, he is
utilizing Martian energy in a constructive manner. While another student is
using deceitful methods to clear it, that is Rahu.
A person is working hard to get money, so he is improving his skills,
such is Martian desire (a push to achieve something), while the other person
decides to cheat people, indulge in fraudulent activities, indulge in theft and
robbery, all such desires and activities are Rahu.
A person is looking for a promotion and to achieve such desire he starts
working hard, he is improving his skills, he is learning new software, he is
putting his Martian energy to achieve such an objective. On the other hand,
there is another person who is using flattery to get a promotion rather than
improving his skills. He starts using unethical means to fulfill his desire,
that is Rahu.
Like Swarnabhanu had changed his face and even demi-gods were unable to
recognize him, other than the Sun and the Moon. The person influenced with Rahu
will change his face several times to fulfill his desire, and every face looks
so real that it is very difficult to recognize such person’s real face. Rahu
has only one objective – "I want to fulfill this desire at any cost, and I
am not afraid if my head is cut off for the fulfillment of such purpose."
Remember, Rahu has no limit, he can cross any limit to fulfill his desire.
Rahu is temptation and false attraction. Rahu knows that my wish will
not come true if I tell the truth. So, he always shows a rosy picture which
attracts the temptation of the person. Rahu makes false promises, in fact, he
does not care about promises, he only cares about the achievement of his
objective. The words spoken by Rahu have no meaning, he can turn at any time.
But Mars is loyal, committed and never makes false promises.
Rahu always laughs how clever he is in deceiving others, how he fools
others on false promises. But if Mars is unable to fulfill a promise, he
regrets it and immediately says sorry to that person.
Rahu wants to enjoy on the wealth of others, and will fight how not to
give. But Mars, the sibling of Earth will never enjoy the wealth of others, and
just as Earth has the quality of giving, Mars has the same quality. He returns
the others possessions with full honesty.
Mars is the protector, who uses his force and weapon always for
protection. But Rahu always uses his power only for the fulfillment of his
desire. Mars, the brother of Earth is ready to sacrifice himself for others,
Rahu is also not afraid of death but only to fulfill his desire.
Rahu is not afraid of dying and being killed, but his purpose must be
served. But Mars, the protector will leave the path if he finds that the
purpose is wrong.
Mars always thinks about others to protect and is ready to give. Rahu
never thinks about others and is always ready to snatch from others.
When a person uses Martian energy to fulfill his desire, which is a
constructive path, he feels rejoice and shows his achievement to others. When a
person uses Rahu’s energy to fulfill his desire, immediately after getting the
desired object he disappears. Others come to know his true face only when his
desires are fulfilled.
