Article by Chiria, USA

Copy Editor: Andree Leclerc, Canada.
Rahu
ahu, or the Moon’s North Node, is often compared to Saturn, but I could never see this in regard to behavior or personalities. Recently, I ran across something that suggested that Rahu may function like a negative Jupiter. This validates what I’ve always observed. Although, like Saturn, Rahu can have disastrous effects, psychologically and even physically, it has similarities to the greater benefic in that it has to do with expansion. Saturn, on the other hand, hasto do with lack or limitation. Of course expansion can lead to limitation, as when overeating leads to disease or disregard for the law leads to prison time, but psychologically it’s still expansion. Jupiter, then, has to do with overall good fortuneand privilege, while Rahu’s connection is with possibly ill-considered “I want what I want now” attainments. Rahu could be symbolized by a baby bird with its beak wide open, demanding to be fed at all times.

Like Jupiter, Rahu has to do with “much-ness”. People with Rahu on the ascendant are often physically large. I know one man with such a placement who is six feet, eight inches tall. Three female acquaintances of mine with that placement are all well over six feet, un usual for women. There can also be heaviness and large bones. Richard Houk, on page 290 in his book The Astrology of Death, cites the example of a man who had Rahu above and in the same sign with the ascendant and conjunct Venus, a sensual planet. This man weighed over900 pounds.

Rahu often seems to have to do with unusually strong desires. Though Saturn is often blamed for many negative human traits, I haven’t observed this to be one of them. People with Saturn strong, particularly if on the ascendant, tend to be simple and humble. They do not demand a lot materially from life. They may be depressive and have inferiority complexes, but they are not materially avaricious. Rahu is the “wanter”, whether that wanting is for goods, money, power, fame, success, food, sex, excitement, or experience. There is a sense of boundlessness, but it’s often combined with a lack of discipline and willingness to do the work that’s necessary to gain that which is desired. That’s why, in very extreme cases, Rahu is associated with crime or moral wrongdoing.

Often a person with Rahu rising will own much more than is needed for a satisfying life and have a hard time parting with things that have outworn their purpose.

Where there is a desire for power or control, Rahu may be observed conjunct the Sun, Moon, or ascendant. Several well-known American cult leaders who have brought about the deaths of many of their followers as well as themselves through their irrational activities have had this node in a prominent position.

A young man who is frequently in a state of frustration and anger if things don’t go his wayor he doesn’t get what he wants has the Sun, which is his ascendant ruler, conjunct Rahu.

Rahu conjunct Mars, if there are other indications as well, can be violent. With Venus conjunct, established relationships may be suddenly thrown away and replaced by new ones.

Rahu can also have to do with fame, though usually of the short-lived variety. Once, when it was transiting my 3rd house (communication) cusp, I made a brief appearance on the TV news.

Rahu has a connection to aviation. The six feet, eight-inch-tall man mentioned in the second paragraph obtained his personal pilot’s license after a mere four hours of training. John F. Kennedy Jr. had Rahu rising, and he was also a private pilot. In his case it unfortunately ledto an early death, possibly caused by carelessness.

An interesting point is that Rahu in one person’s chart conjunct the Sun in the chart of another can have a positive effect on both parties. The two can be supportive of each other and productive as a team in business or some other endeavor. I’ve observed that it’s not uncommon in a marriage for one partner’s Rahu to be in the same sign as the other partner’s ascendant. This can be in the natal or navamsa (9

thermionic) charts or cross over from one to the other. This may point to a karmic tie, though there’s no way to prove it.

So, is it always disastrous to have Rahu in a strong position in the natal chart? No. Rahu is adventurous; it forges forward, and creates new experiences. The important thing is for it to be controlled and not do the controlling. In many cases, as a person ages, he or she will learn to let Rahu work for them and not allow its more reckless qualities to dominate. As with everything in astrology the entire horoscope has to be examined and analyzed.

Ketu
Ketu, or the south node of the Moon, is Rahu’s spatial opposite, and is supposed to be opposite in its nature as well, though they are both considered to be malefic.

I find it more difficult to pinpoint the effects of Ketu than Rahu on the psyche, so I’ll haveless to say about it. But while Rahu seems to exaggerate, intensify, and expand, Ketu seems to take away from, diminish, or make invisible. In this way it strikes me as being more similar to Saturn and this is also why it’s more difficult to observe.

Ultimately Ketu is supposed to relate to attaining enlightenment and saying goodbye to worldly attachments, but that’s theoretical and probably works that way only with a small minority who has it in a prominent position.

I know one young man with the Moon on the ascendant in the sign of its rulership, Cancer. Taken by itself, this should describe a person who attracts attention and is very visible, butthe Moon is conjunct Ketu. When he was a student his class put on a play and he was the only one who chose not to have a role. Instead, he chose to be a stagehand. This fellow is extremely handsome and has the build of an athlete, so he had nothing to hide, but Ketu makes the native either want to go unnoticed, or circumstances make it so that that will be the case. Ketu seems to desire to, or is made to, blend into the background.

In Western astrology Ketu is supposed to have to do with past incarnations, and I have noticed that people with it prominent seem to be connecting with a past era, but it’s something that can’t be proven empirically. I knew a man whose Sun was conjunct Ketu in the 10th house. He was a university professor and his area of expertise was 18th Century German literature. He called himself an “18th Century man”, and would have gone back to that time if only there were a time machine to take him there. He scorned modernity and especially the technology that had been brought about during the 20th Century.

I have a female acquaintance with Jupiter and Ketu on her navamsa ascendant. In the natal chart Jupiter rules her 2nd house of support systems and wealth. Although neither rich nor from a privileged class, this woman spends as much money as she has to make her surroundings look elegant. She also has a spectacular wardrobe, even though she rarely goes out of the house. She relates to others, especially men, as though they were servants, giving orders and becoming critical if things aren’t done to perfection. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that this woman was very wealthy in a past incarnation and did indeed have servants to wait on her. As you can imagine, these traits don’t work in her favor this time around, and she finds it very frustrating.

I’ve observed that people with Ketu in conjunction with Mercury will often be less than truthful. Whether this means that they deliberately lie, or just that they perceive, process, and relay information in a distorted way, I don’t know.

As can be expected, Ketu connecting with the 7th house or Venus may wreak havoc with relationships. Perhaps there’s karma to be worked out in this area.

A strong link between one person’s Ketu and the Sun, Moon, personal planets, and possibly ascendant in another’s seems to have a negative effect. It’s as though the Ketu sucks the energy from the planet it contacts, which is quite the opposite of the effect of Rahu in inter chart comparisons that I mentioned earlier.

As Rahu reminds me of a baby bird in the constant act of receiving nourishment, the picture that comes to my mind symbolizing Ketu is of a drain with the plug removed, ever in a state of being emptied.

Both nodes seem to indicate a lack of consciousness in the area they affect. We all have the nodes somewhere and we all have our quirks and unbalanced areas, but if those nodes are prominent, there tends to be compulsive behavior and distorted perception. In extreme cases this can point to personality disorders. But it would seem that objective self-awareness and insight could be the best antidotes to the negative influences of Rahu and Ketu.