Ketu in Vedic Astrology

Ketu or Dragon’s tail is one of the most mysterious planet in Indian Vedic astrology to understand. Deciphering the results of chaaya grihas (shadow planets like Rahu and Ketu) has always kept the astrologers into dire straits. Understanding of these principles of phaladesh (prediction) keeps on developing either when we go through works on classical textbooks or by analyzing and observing closely the events in the lives of people around us. The second way of analysis, observation and the discussion makes the understanding more profound. The story of Rahu Ketu starts from Samudra Manthan when Lord Vishnu slayed the demon Swarnbhanu into Rahu and Ketu with his formidable Sudarshan Chakra. And Rahu became the head and the body became Ketu. Subsequently Lord Vishnu had to give them the place in the Navagrahas because of the cosmic nectar consumed by the demon. So what pops in my head as I think of Ketu. Ketu is roots, Ketu connects to your inner being, Ketu acts as a filter, Ketu is separation, Ketu is meditation, Ketu is liberation, Ketu is like being grounded, Ketu is intuition, Ketu is the originality, Ketu is quiet, Ketu is passive, Ketu relates with spirituality, Ketu is mountains, Ketu is flag, Ketu is the reference point - an absolute Zero. Ketu is starting afresh. Ketu is mystical. Ketu Mahadasha/Antardasha Ketu Mahadasha or Antardasha is mostly perceived to be very challenging, irrespective of the placement it holds. Ketu filters everything unnecessary or every unnecessary thing/people you are holding on or attached to. Because this time that Ketu is ruling is actually for cleaning and deleting everything from your life that is required for you to come close to your own self. Now that is the whole point why Ketu’s energy or Dasha is not liked by common man. So either you embrace the Ketu’s energy or let Ketu do it for you in its own way. Believe me, the former way is easier. Now what I have observed is that people face a lot of obstruction in career growth or have a hard time with their bosses or colleagues during Ketu’s Dasha. People generally lose interest in their work. The reason is simple, Ketu is a mokshakara planet and it would never excite you to achieve and excel in materialistic life. That is another struggle. So one advice - keep visiting temples, keep meditating and keep a low profile in Ketu’s Mahadasha and behave the way Ketu wants and that would exhaust Ketu’s energy and eventually give you some relief. You will find a lot of time for yourself when Ketu Dasha hits. Either you can sit and cry for your breakups or silently work hard on skills/personality/mind etc. The choice is yours. As this is the time nature gives us to focus on our own selves. Spirituality, research, yoga, meditation, exploring places, trekking or solo travels are some of the best things to embrace during this period. And it is also true that you will not find peace in crowds, or in socializing during Ketu’s Dasha. Ketu’s Placement in Horoscope Ketu when influencing the Ascendant (Lagna or Lagnesh) makes a person very unaffected by the worldly affairs around them. Ketu basically makes such natives very humble, sometimes feeling less. Ketu here influencing the Lagna and Lagnesh makes one disinterested in many things. No ego and sometimes a low self-respect also (depending on other factors in the chart), Ketu here gives very good intuition as well. Ketu in association or trine to your Ascendant lord or Ascendant (1,5,9 houses) would certainly show these results in your personality to the extent it can, depending on its actual placement. For male charts, Ketu when in trine to Venus (1,5,9 houses from Venus) creates some difficulties with relationships. Either you find a girl with Ketu’s qualities or be careful in your relationship as it might create a lot of friction. So here a highly conscious spiritual approach is required to maintain a good relationship. For female charts, Mars when in trine to Ketu gives the same results as mentioned above. Now Saturn when in trine to Ketu, people face obstruction in maintaining a stable job (until and unless their work is related to Ketu). I have seen many Saturn-Ketu people disinterested in doing routine jobs and mostly hustling to do something of their own. Ketu-Sun makes a personality very pious but makes you relatively less social. Irrespective of the work you do, there is always a feeling that you are neglected or do not receive the attention you deserve. But that is completely fine with these people. Sometimes there is a struggle for them to prove themselves. Ketu-Moon makes the mind lost, a bit insensitive and at the same time very isolated personalities. Also, Ketu-Moon are some of the most highly intuitive people. Ketu-Jupiter makes a sincere spiritual seeker, a blessed personality and a very wise person to be around. And very genuine people. Ketu-Mercury when in trine to each other, the person learns many languages, is interested to talk about mysterious things, they speak less and precisely, and in their learning phase they face problems grasping things. Ketu when positioned with the functional benefics gives some positive results along with its natural significations. That is there. The house where Ketu is positioned makes the native very casual or carefree regarding the significations of that house. And at the same time we should remember that Ketu is a malefic planet and wherever it is positioned and whichever planetary conjunctions it is involved in, will give a tough time to the native regarding those significations. Once the basic understanding comes in, anyone could decipher the results of Ketu in any sign and house. I believe this information will be helpful for our community to understand this subject matter more profoundly.

Rahu Mahadasha

Rahu is responsible for sheer materialism and illusion, that it brings during its dasha. And especially for youngsters, the momentum of prior Mars dasha is enough for one to get trapped in the vicious trap of Rahu. If someone is undergoing Rahu's Mahadasha, first you should understand about Rahu — what Rahu is and how it is going to influence your life. And then you will be in the right consciousness to tackle this illusion created by Rahu. Fear, mental anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, provocation towards bad habits, disharmony in life, loneliness, everything going topsy-turvy, delusion etc. are some of the things that I experienced, and everyone undergoing this phase might have experienced. Rahu is the demon (the head part), and it makes one experience hardcore materialism. No matter how well your Rahu is placed, still it is inevitable to escape the malefic results of Rahu. And typically in the age group of 15 to 25, it is seen that most people suffer in their Rahu's Mahadasha. But if someone is in their 40s and enters Rahu Mahadasha, there are not much sufferings because at that age the person is mature enough to handle the materialistic thrust of life. Now some practical tips that you can follow to control the malefic effects of Rahu: You need to channelize Rahu's energy in your life. Rahu is a significator of foreign connection. And if you are running Rahu’s time period (Mahadasha), go away from your homeland and try your luck in foreign places. That way you are now executing Rahu's energy. So now, because you have already executed Rahu's influence by going to foreign lands, this Rahu now won't be as malefic because a part of its energy is already exhausted by you. Rahu is a demon, and it is Goddess Durga who is responsible for subjugating all demonic forces in nature. So the point is simple: Worship Goddess Durga. Chant Durga Kavach. Chant names of Goddess Durga. And it will give you enough willpower to overcome the malefic energy of Rahu. According to Hindu mythology, it is well known that Lord Vishnu, by using his Sudarshan Chakra, cut off the head of demon Swarbhanu as he illegally sat with demigods to drink nectar. The head part of that demon became Rahu and the other half became Ketu. So it is Lord Vishnu whom this demon fears. And so, chanting Vishnu Sahasranama is also an excellent way to minimize all negative effects of Rahu. All those who know astrology might be aware of the fact that Rahu considers Sun and Moon as his bitter enemies. That's why any time when the Rahu-Ketu axis conjuncts Sun and Moon, we see an eclipse in the sky. So the point is that whenever Rahu's influence is strong on the native, the impact of Sun (soul) and Moon (mind) becomes weak. And in astrology, Sun represents father and Moon represents mother. So anytime you are feeling low due to Rahu, just go towards your parents. Being with your parents, this Rahu's energy would not trouble you much. And you should know that Rahu represents all the materialism in life. Now that materialism, on one hand, includes all bad things like provocation to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sensual indulgence, falling prey to bad habits. And on the other hand, all the success factors like wealth, fame, etc. are also part of this very materialistic world. Rahu is a materialistic planet itself. So it is your free will now, where you want to mold this materialistic energy of Rahu — either in a bad way or in a good way. The more you are able to control yourself against bad stuff in Rahu Mahadasha, the more your chances to succeed materially with Rahu. That is why self-discipline is important in Rahu's Mahadasha if you want to make it big. Because no other planet can match the power of giving material success as Rahu can in this Kaliyuga.

Virgo Ascendant

Virgo is the sixth sign of the natural zodiac. People born in Virgo ascendant (Kanya Lagna) show natural traits of the 6th house of the zodiac (in kaalpurush kundli) and display strong mercurial traits in their personalities. They are the ones who are natural doctors, meaning they have strong intuitive skills about any disease, and they themselves know how to treat their own diseases and problems and are in general their own doctors. These people have most naturally gifted decision-making skills. They are the ones with the most practical approach related to making any financial decisions. They are very intelligent by default and have natural belief in themselves and their own decisions. As Mercury is also a significator of astrology, so you will find maximum Virgos interested in astrology and numerology. Virgos make very good mathematicians, astrologers, accountants, sales and marketing experts. Virgos know when to speak and what to speak precisely. These people are very intelligent in speaking, decision-making, and planning by default. These are the general characteristics of those born in Virgo lagna. You will see these people doing well in trading, financial brokerage, stock market expertise as well. Logical and rational thinking is an inherent nature of their personality. They have a strong tendency to identify themselves by their career, i.e., they always carry their career image with them because Mercury that rules their ascendant also rules their 10th house. So it is very natural for them to identify themselves by their career/job profile, etc. So they are always concerned about their career naturally, as they identify themselves naturally by their careers. Now, looking at the inherent characters of Virgo, we can see that as they have Libra falling in the second house, they are naturally gifted with a good face and soft and balanced spoken skills. Now this is their general nature, as they always try to be soft-spoken and speak in a balanced and beautiful way, but how this will be executed will depend on the benefic and malefic influence on their second house. For example, if someone with Virgo ascendant has malefics in the 2nd house, they will try to speak in a soft and balanced way (because of Libra in the 2nd) but actually it will turn out to be a harsh speech for others due to the malefic influence in the 2nd house. So you see how things have to be perceived for predictions. Similarly, we can see more about their general nature on the basis of different signs falling in different houses. For example, because Pisces falls into their 7th house, the inherent nature of their partners will be very spiritual, knowledgeable, wise, etc. And at the same time, we know Mercury is debilitated in Pisces, so these Virgo people do not naturally feel good while dealing with 7th house matters where the Pisces sign falls. In general, they are not so fond of marriage; they do not like the idea of pure divine love (Pisces is the debilitation sign of Mercury). So this is their inherent nature, but the final result that they will be getting will certainly be based on malefic and benefic influence over those houses, irrespective of their inherent nature. So similarly, we can judge much more about their inherent nature by similar analysis with each sign and house. Now, some more information that I can add about Virgo ascendant people is that because Venus is a strong functional benefic planet for this ascendant, and we know the maturity age of Venus is 25 for a native, they experience a rise in luck at the age of 25.