Last Updated on October 30, 2024 by Tejaswini
Ketu is the southern lunar node of astrology. He is a mathematical calculated point of the intersection of the ecliptic and the zodiac. For students of Jyotish, however he is an astral force, a graha. Jyotish is a Vedang so naturally is a part of Sanatan Dharma/ Hinduism.
Ketu is responsible for your karmic balance and the deepest learnings from your past lives. He determines your areas of disinterest, detachment, dispassion. In a spiritually evolved horoscope he determines spirituality and the possibility of Enlightenment. Ketu is the oldest and the strongest of the nine graha of astrology. He and his counter point Rahu are slow moving planets and stay in a sign for about 18 months. They are both generally retrograde and are forward only in certain specific conditions.
Generally Ketu is considered to be a malefic for every horoscope. He generally creates traumatic events in life. But in certain conditions, he can become the biggest benefic, ie the Yogkarak level benefic. With practice, we can judge just by looking at a person if Ketu is benefic or malefic for him. This is a part of samudrik shastra, ie to analyse the person by observing the appearance and behaviour. Students of astrology have to learn to analyse behaviour, this helps in checking if the horoscope date/time is accurate or not.
Ketu as a Benefic in the horoscope
If Ketu is capable of giving auspicious results in your horoscope then,
You are capable of very high levels of abstract thinking. You are highly imaginative and creative. You have an incredible depth of knowledge which you can put into practical use. Especially good at Math and Sanskrit you will have a deep understanding of the human civilisation.
Your 40s will be very transformative as Ketu slowly starts opening up. At the age of 48yrs and onwards you will be a completely different person. Your innate spiritual power will come to the forefront and you will be publicly recognised for what you are and do.
You are lucky. This is because you have sources of learnings from your past lives available to you now. This can translate to profits from business and investments. You have an uncanny ability to make money from everything you touch. But you are a simple person at heart, unattached to all these assets. You do not require much to live and lead a very simple life. But you will utilise every tiny opportunity that comes your way and try to build something tangible from these. You feel that your time is very short and you want to make the most of what you get.
You are fair and do not behave in a dishonest manner. However others will always take advantage of your innate fairness and your knowledge. Yet you will ignore all these pinpricks and move on in your life. You are not going to get close to your family members nor will you have genuine friends in your life. This isolation will seem unbearable in your younger age but later you will have followers. You genuinely like helping others, and you have the ability/ patience to listen and resolve others’s issues. You have the ability to speak or write and will be able to pass on what you know to your students. Often your voice/ face will be hypnotic, people will listen to you. If you stare at someone’s eyes for too long, you might actually hypnotise them.
As on the material levels, on the spiritual levels too you will get the Siddhis. Siddhis are supernatural abilities which naturally emerge as you do your sadhana. You will do a lot of mantra pujas and these will give you the results but all this will happen only in your late 40s. You will gain the ability to foresee future events, intuitively. You can be a famous astrologer, Tarot reader, etc. A powerful Ketu is capable of lifting up the entire horoscope on his own might. But again this will all happen late in life. If the rest of the chart is supportive then he can grant Moksh, self Knowledge, Enlightenment in this life itself.
Eg a favourable Ketu conjunct the Yogkarak or the Ascendant lord can grant extraordinary success in life in the 40s. There are several examples where people suddenly become famous in their 40s. And such a rise would have involved Ketu in some way.
Ketu as a Malefic in the horoscope
And if Ketu is going to give unfavourable results in the chart then some or all of the following will be seen.
Chances are that you are addicted to or at least like smoking, either tobacco or any other substance. You will try to show that you are honest, learned, etc but you know that your knowledge will be superficial. This inner insecurity puts you on the back foot and you do not feel confident most of the time. You try to validate your claims of being knowledgable by taking up several courses in life. You may have multiple diplomas and degrees, but generally you will not be able to put this learning into any real use.
Your opinion or judgment about the people in your life will not be accurate and there are very real chances of people cheating you. Eg your boss will make you work extra without giving you overtime pay. Or you may not get the promised bonuses and commissions after you do the job. If this happens to you, do not try to rationalise this but talk to your boss about proper renumeration for the work done. If you get better opportunities in a place away from your hometown then try to capitalise on these. Else your inner insecurities will never let you grow. You generally feel nervous about accepting life’s challenges.
One typical habit is that you experiment with your hairstyle. Or that you follow some habit for a long time and then suddenly ditch it. Or that you wear mismatched or unwashed clothes or look generally messy. There is always something ‘off’ about your aura or actual physical appearance. Also over time this might develop into eccentric behaviour. Or illogical arguments with others. Or you might suddenly mistrust everyone around you . Such behaviour might cause rifts between you and your family members/ friends.
In your 40s, you might feel motivated to cultivate a following. To attract followers you might speak of imaginary Siddhis, black magic, occult, supernatural encounters, seeing spirits and esoteric stuff. However you do not have that core of genuine personal charisma to actually have a genuine group of followers.
A practical tip, eg, In your practice, if you see a client who looks messy on purpose, then it is possible that the Ketu in his chart is not favourable to him. And if in the chart, Ketu is conjunct Jupiter then you must analyse Jupiter too in depth as there is a possibility that Ketu would have spoilt his keywords.
Astrology is the study of human nature. The planets are mere indicators, they serve as guide points. So when learning Jyotish systemically one must be dispassionate and observe critically. This helps in better understanding of the potential available in the person /horoscope. And once you are able to identify your favourable and unfavourable qualities /planets you can work on them to better your life. Ketu is capable of a lot but it takes focus and a strong determination to activate him. But if you can do this, then the results is well worth the effort.
Dr. Tejaswini Arvind Patil
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