Analysis of the relations of Rahu and Ketu with other planets

An objection against Astrology raised by some people of pseudo-scientific outlook is that stellar bodies viz. Sun, Moon, Rahu (Dragon’s Head), Ketu (Dragon’s Tail) have been classified as planets. But these people are totally ignorant about the fact that the ancient Aryan scholars were quite conscious about the exact natures of these species. And these were described as planets only in respect of their similarities regarding impacts on terrestrial phenomena and human life with the actual planets of our solar system. In Applied Astrology, the stellar species are divided into two groups according to their actions; the first of the two is the creative group comprised of the Sun, the strong Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Ketu and the other is the destructive group inclusive of weak Moon, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Rahu. Rahu and Ketu are the two points of intersection of the ecliptic and the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. These two separated by an angle of 180⁰ move in the Zodiac in the opposite direction to other planets and remain always at exactly opposite points in the Zodiac. Therefore, from the very definition, it appears that all the planets belonging to the creative group are inimical to Rahu while it is the same for Ketu for planets belonging to the destructive group. We shall now proceed to examine the significance of these relations of Rahu and Ketu with other planets.

According to Applied Astrology, Rahu and Ketu have no characteristics of their own but the two act according to the signs and/or Bhavas and/or planets with which they are related by position or aspect. The very nature of Rahu is to enhance the functions of the signs, Bhavas or the planets related with it and also to create obstructions to these functions. On the contrary, Ketu acts to uproot such functions as are related with the signs these occupy or the planets and Bhavas with which it is related.  

According to Hindu Mythology, when nectar obtained by the churning of the ocean by the joint effort of the deities and the demons was being distributed by the Lord Vishnu among the deities, the demon Rahu in guise of the deity tried to have the same. But this pretentious effort of Rahu was realized by the Sun and the Moon. They intimated the same to the Lord Vishnu who then beheaded Rahu with His Sudarshan Chakra. Since the nectar could not pass beyond the neck of Rahu, its head remained alive but the rest of the body turned into a corpse. The head of the deity remained alive by the effect of nectar and was called as before Rahu, but the corpse was termed as Ketu. Due to the sudden death of Rahu, its desires for enjoyments were not fulfilled and as such it remained roaming in the Time and its desires for enjoyments increased more and more. On the other hand, Ketu being lifeless remained totally inactive and as such, the house, the sign and the planets related with Ketu became inactive in a natal chart. This gave rise to the internal enmity of Rahu towards the Sun and the Moon and in the slightest opportunity it swallows the Sun and the Moon which is actually the phenomena of eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. But due to the neck being cut off from the body of Rahu, the Sun and the Moon swallowed by Rahu after some time find the ways to come out which is actually the last stage of any eclipse. Now, let us examine the philosophical significance of this enmity of Rahu.

In Astrology, the Sun and the Moon respectively signify the right and the left eyes of a native. The fifth sign in the Zodiac viz. Leo being ruled by the Sun signifying the soul acts as the third eye while Moon controlling the mind signifies the mind’s eye or the insight. Rahu being the demon is the significator of pretension, greed, hypocrisy, tempter and all illegal enjoyments. As such, a native controlled by complexes very easily falls prey to the temptations of Rahu which leads him to destruction and the hell. Therefore, to realize the pretension of Rahu, it is necessary to activate the insight and the third eye controlled by Sattwik life style. Therefore, an eternal enmity continues between the destructive Rahu with the creative Sun and Moon. Therefore, even if a native gets tempted by the greed signified by Rahu, he after some time gets rid of the same with the help of the insight and the third eye and returns to the path of eternal existence. 

The third planet of the creative group is Mars, the controlling deity being Kartika, the military force in planetary kingdom because Kartika was born for the destruction of the evil forces viz. the demons. The function of Kartika is to destroy the evils and to protect the good from all evils. As such, whenever in a society, people being obsessed by complexes under the influence of Rahu start enjoying illicit and unlawful material desires and passions leading to social irregularities, Mars immediately comes into action for the destruction of the evils and to restore the lawful situations in the society. For this reason, Mars is described as “Kumara” in hymn for Mars which is also used for Kartika. Therefore, an eternal enmity exists between Mars and the greedy, cheat and the significator of all illegal activities and irregularities i.e. Rahu.

The next planet of the creative group is Jupiter, the Master of the deities who teaches his disciples the eternity of the soul and lessons antagonistic to material enjoyments. The Eternal Force which has expressed Himself in the entire creation keeps the Dev Guru Jupiter absorbed in the meditation for sublimation of consciousness and to find the way to cross over the complexes. Again, in times of need the Kshatriya Sakti (military) combined with Sattwik Brahmin force of knowledge and wisdom comes into effect to destroy the evils. In harmony with this, of the two signs of Jupiter in the Zodiac, Saggitarius is dual Sattwik, Kshatriya sign of fiery nature while Pisces is dual, Sattwik Brahmin sign of watery nature. Jupiter is characterized by wisdom, conscience, sacrifice, religious outlook, mercy, democratic attitude, liberalism etc. which are totally contradictory to the characteristics of Rahu viz. cheating, depriving others, total selfishness, Tamasik dictatorial outlook, uncontrolled greed etc. Therefore, these opposite characteristics of Rahu and Jupiter make the two inimical to each other. As such, Saggitarius is described as the house of debilation for Rahu and Pisces also a weak sign for it wherein the evil effects of Rahu are manifested in the highest form but often Jupiter out of his Brahmin simplicity and liberalism can not follow properly the hypocrisy of Rahu and as such himself becomes a prey of pretension. Therefore, a conjunction or mutual aspect of Jupiter and Rahu is termed as Guru-Chandal Dosha.

The last stellar species of the creative group is Ketu which is actually a corpse of beheaded Rahu as has been explained in the previous paragraphs. In accordance with this, the characteristics and the functions of the sign, Bhava or the planets with which Ketu gets associated are destroyed as if being senseless or due to the coiled nature of Ketu, these characteristics are manifested in some perverted ways. Again, the latent energy in this coiled form of a snake can be brought into action when the same is aroused by means of meditation, asceticism and self-discipline. Therefore, due to the total difference in the characteristic of Rahu and Ketu, they are always situated in the Zodiac at 180⁰ apart and are, therefore, inimical to each other although according to Hindu Mythology, they are the body parts of the same demon Rahu.

Now, Let us examine the relation of Rahu with the planets of the destructive group. According to the classification, they belong to the same group and are therefore mutual friends but the nature and consequence of such friendship is the matter of discussion.

Weak or waning Moon belonging to the destructive group is the significator of mental weakness and suppressed complexes. Therefore, the significator of earthly pleasures and illegal enjoyments i.e. Rahu can easily afflict the weak Moon which results in the temptation of the concerned native causing thereby obstructions towards material as well as spiritual progress. In other words, for the spiritual sublimation and material prospect both Rahu and weak Moon cause obstructions i.e. they are of identical nature and are therefore mutual friends.

The next planet of this group is Mercury which in the Zodiac owns two signs viz. Gemini and Virgo. Gemini is dual airy sign and Virgo is dual earthy sign both of Sattwik nature. Gemini is described in one opinion as the sign of exaltation for Rahu which is also very strong in Virgo i.e. in both signs Rahu is highly strong. Mercury is described as the child planet in the Zodiac. Therefore, an affliction of Mercury by Rahu makes the former directed in the path of evils by damaging the common-sense and the benefic intelligence of the native leading him to destruction. Again, Mercury being the significator of speech, such an affliction makes the speeches of the native lewd and uncontrolled but when Mercury is strong and beneficially disposed, the pious and good senses of a simple, holy child together with auspicious, unbiased and Sattwik realistic rationality can recognize an evil and hippocratic motivation of the demon Rahu and as the result the native leaving aside the uncontrolled material enjoyments of Rahu leading to death follows the path of eternal good to get rid of the complexes. Therefore, in such a case Mercury becomes the controller of Rahu and utilizes it as an instrument to attain his ultimate goal of life i.e. attainment of godhood and therefore in such situation, Mercury and Rahu become friendly to each other.

The next member of this destructive group is Venus which is described as natural benefic due to its charming appearance. According to Hindu Mythology, Venus is the Master of the Demons who teaches his disciples the lesson of material enjoyments only. Again, in the hymn of planets in Sanskrit, Venus is described as “Sarbashastra Proboktaram” i.e. who has acquired the authority on all the branches of knowledge. The mystery of creating a new body through the destruction of the old is within his knowledge. This makes Venus inevitable for the continuance of the life process. Rahu is the representative of wicked and sinful persons who is given to unscriptural practices who setting aside the path of the Eternal Life follows the course of uncontrolled material pleasures leading to death. These lessons of the Master Venus are totally manifested in Rahu. Again, according to Greek literature, Venus is the goddess of beauty who is the most attractive and charming for the earthly pleasures. Therefore, in all aspects the characteristics of Rahu are in harmony which those of Venus and as such the two are intimate friends for each other.

The last and the chief planet of this group is Saturn. In our solar system, the position of Saturn is just opposite to the Sun with respect to earth. Sun being the origin of creation in our solar system, naturally Saturn is described as the chief destructive. In the characteristics of Saturn, many mutually opposite traits are seen. A benefic Saturn is realistic devoted to jobs of servicing nature having a scientifically analytic mind equally competent in material and spiritual philosophies, a hermit planet without any personal aspiration while a weak and afflicted Saturn is the representative of cheat, pretender with a separating and narrow mind, origin of all sorrows, mental depression, Tamasik and focusing the real and uncovered appearance of life leading ultimately to death. Therefore, due to the similarities in respect of destructiveness, Saturn and Rahu are strong friends to each other.        

We shall now examine the relations of Ketu with the other planets. Since Ketu belongs to the creative group, therefore it is friendly towards Sun, strong Moon, Mars and Jupiter, the exact nature of friendliness is being analyzed.

Sun being the significator of soul has the full manifestation of consciousness. Our solar system gets lighted with Sun which is also the origin of terrestrial life. On the other hand, Ketu is apparently lifeless having no sense but has in itself the energy of soul coiled and latent form. Activation of this energy results in the realization of the Supreme Soul by the native. Therefore, due to the underlying similarities between Sun and Ketu, they are friendly to each other. However, if either or both of the two be weak or afflicted by malefic, then instead of real manifestation and development of consciousness, a pretending expression comes to the surface and the actual significance of Sun becomes unexposed or asleep.

The next planet of the group is strong Moon which is the significator of mind, affection, family, mother, domestic happiness etc. Ketu is the significator of inherent energy having no external manifestation of sensation. Therefore, a relation of strong Moon and Ketu while increasing the mental energy has the mental manifestation in some curved or serpentine way and in respect of affection, domestic affairs etc. the relation causes outward indifference, although it exists in the depth of mind without perversion. Therefore, such a relation between Moon and Ketu becomes friendly to each other.

The next planet of this group is Mars which is the significator of tremendous activity and mental energy. Therefore, a relation of Ketu with Mars increases the internal martial energy and working capacity and therefore makes the two friendly to each other. In the Zodiac, Mars rules over the cardinal fiery sign Aries which is helpful for the manifestation of the inherent energy of Ketu and the fixed watery sign Scorpio which is helpful for the arousal of the coiled energy i.e. “Kundolini Shakti” of the soul. Therefore, Mars and Ketu in the Zodiac behave as intimate friends to each other and actually Ketu is treated as the higher form of Mars.

The last planet of this group is Jupiter which signifies religion, conscience, sacrifice, wisdom, freedom from all complexes, sublimation of soul energy etc. Therefore, the underlying internal energy, spiritual sense, indifference towards external world etc. become helpful for the function of Jupiter forming a friendly relation between the two. In the Zodiac, Saggitarius ruled by Jupiter is described in one opinion as the sign of exaltation for Ketu and the other sign Pisces is also helpful for this purpose. Therefore, these two are close friends to each other in the Zodiac.

We shall now examine the relations of Ketu with the members of the destructive group of which the first planet is weak or waning Moon which is the significator of mental weakness, domestic hazards, pretension of affection and sympathy. Therefore, the underlying energy of Ketu can not destroy such weakness, rather it increases the mental complexes i.e. in such a case the relation between the two is not helpful for each other.

The next planet of this group is Mercury which is the significator of child like simplicity, inquisitiveness, practical and materialistic analyzing capacity; the inherent neural energy for activity etc. but the self-centered apathy of Ketu without outward expression is obstructive for the child like inquisitiveness of Mercury. In harmony with this, Gemini ruled by Mercury is the sign of debilation for Ketu and Virgo also ruled by Mercury is not friendly for Ketu i.e. an inimical relation exists between the two.

The next planet of this group is Venus. Venus, the Master of the Demons is the significator of material enjoyments, lust, passions for female beings, material science and technology, arts etc. The fixed earthy sign Taurus of Rajas nature and the cardinal airy sign Libra of Tamas nature are ruled by Venus. Since these two signs are respectively the second and the seventh signs of the Zodiac i.e. the primary and the secondary maraka houses respectively, Venus is considered as the chief maraka in the Zodiac. Therefore, it has an inimical relation with the underlying creative power of Ketu. Again, Ketu signifying lifeless and senseless body is devoid of physical pleasures and self-centered mentality, it is not in harmony with the seventh sign signifying environment. Ketu signifying inherent spiritual force is contrary to material science, arts and culture, business etc. Therefore, relation between Venus and Ketu is strongly inimical for each other.

The last and the chief planet of this destructive group is Saturn which as has been described in Hindu Mythology as the abandoned son of the father Sun is the significator of inferiority complex and is, therefore, strong enemy for Sun. Saturn is characterized by servicing nature, practical sense, material philosophy and spirituality of a hermit. Of the two signs ruled by Saturn, Capricorn is cardinal earthy sign of Tamas nature while fixed airy sign Aquarius is of Rajas nature. Therefore, the characteristics of senseless Ketu are not in sympathy of those of Capricorn and therefore in this case Ketu and Saturn are inimical to each other but for Aquarius the spiritual sense of Saturn is in tune with that of Ketu but the other characteristics of this Rajasik airy nature of the sign are antagonistic to Ketu. Therefore, in overall analysis, Saturn and Ketu are strongly inimical to each other.