Ketu the south node has always fascinated me. It does not have a head! Its so cryptic, no head means no face, no ego, no sensing, no thinking, no expressions, no nothing. It Just Is! But it has a body so it can act, and it does sometimes. But why does it act, what is the motivation, where is that motivation felt? Or does it act without motivation? Extremely mysterious. At least its counterpart, Rahu/North node has a head, but no body. But at least it is aware of itself, though it cannot act. But Ketu!

Ketu in a horoscope represents everything that has outlived its utility and is to be discarded. It also represents those aspects of life and living which you have enjoyed to the fullest in your past lives and thus in this life you are apathetic to them. Ketu is the “chidrakaraka” (The agent who tears, makes holes, disperses). It does not deny, it just makes you indifferent. For example if the Ketu is placed in the ascendent 1st house itself, the person will have zero sense of himself, but can be a brilliant actor as he, being a blank canvas himself, easily accepts the demands of the movie director on his personality.

Ketu and Rahu are the same entity but now divided into two points 180deg apart. Ketu always surrenders to the demands of Rahu/the other. And Rahu the trickster wants only desires, once he attains what he desired he immediately shifts to another desire.

So how does this cryptic ketu translate to the human experience. The house that Ketu occupies and the planet he influences (conjoint) represent the things or desires or objects that you will be rather indifferent to.

For example the client with the ketu in the 1st house was indifferent to his place in the society, as the head of the family, and was a businessman, but let his wife/business partners (rahu occupying the 7th being the “other”) direct him. The person was happy enough internally with this situation but it was causing business losses financially and his wife was getting more aggressive. Ketu’s gift of a non-coherent personality was affecting his social/family/business life. So something had to be done. A consultation for business success turned into a psychological exercise. He had to understand that though he may be internally indifferent to all this, he will actively use his energies develop an interest at least on a superficial level. And the separation/dispersion from ego which is actually a gift from ketu in a spiritual sense should be channelized elsewhere. He started doing regular dhyan and focussing on his non-ego traits during this period of mindful contemplation. Thus his spiritual progress accelerated and his superficial materialistic life also stabilised as the dispersive energies got their outlet during the dhyan.

In transit too Ketu grants separation from the objects of the houses he transits through. It is a good thing in a way, the mind is prepared to detach from the emotions/ actions/ environments which have out lived their purpose in this life. I have seen several examples of this, 3 cases this year when Ketu transited into the 4th house and the person’s mother died. It was a quick painless death for the mother and for the person too it was a calm acceptance of the fact. And as soon as the mother died, each one of these clients found new sources of stability, emotional satisfaction and assets. One got married in a few months, the second bought new property and the third shifted into a bigger house. Ketu gives too, but in a very blasé matter of fact way with his characteristic apathy.

Ketu located in various houses at birth will give the generally the following results. Ketu – is the agent of dispersion, non coherance, dis interest, apathy,  headless, abandoned, limitless, not powered, careless, deserted… In the following houses affects,

1. First house – Personal self, status in society, the head
2. Second house – family assets, lineage, speech and communication
3. Third house – neighbourhood, extended family, brothers, boldness
4. Fourth House – mother, landed property, residence
5. Fifth house – education, children, expressions of creativity
6. Sixth house – disease, debts, enemies, arguments
7. Seventh house – partnerships, wife/husband
8. Eighth house – death, routes into the unknown subconsciousness and other dimensions, accidents, medical operations
9. Ninth house – external religious behaviour, deceased ancestors
10. Tenth house – father, profession, work
11. Eleventh house – networking of people, sources of gain, luck
12. Twelfth house – deep subconscious, internal spirituality, losses

And if conjoint/or 180degrees away from the other grahas, will affect..

1. Surya/Sun – personal ego, source of all energy in the horoscope, father
2. Chandra/Moon – emotions, mind, mother
3. Mangal/Mars – valor, expression of the personal energy, competitiveness, brothers
4. Budha/Mercury – creativity, communication
5. Devguru Bruhaspati/Jupiter – expansion, teacher, conventional knowledge
6. Daityaguru Shukra/Venus – relationships, spiritual teacher, esoteric knowledge
7. Shani – restriction, contraction, servility, service

So check out in your birth horoscopes the positions of Ketu and the planets it is influencing. Then using the keywords above just generally try to examine the influence of this headless graha on your life, on the emotional/physical/spiritual levels.

But do not forget that Ketu, Venus and Jupiter are the planets which together determine your spiritual foundation and progress. So if you see any mutual interactions between these 3, rest assured that in this life you will get a spiritual boost. Start some simple basic daily 5min, spiritual practice to trigger their energies gently.

Then if the ketu is in the 6th, 8th, 12th houses it is relatively better for the material word, In the 6th house it will disperse enemies/diseases/debts. In the 8th it will disperse the boundaries of death, may grant a longer life and also access to the other dimensions, you may actually sense other entities and their energies. In the 12th it will disperse losses and the boundaries between the conscious and subconscious again giving you access to other energies and extra-dreams visions etc.

Never forget Ketu is the real Moksha karaka, he grants the Enlightenment of Ego-Less-ness. Try to channelise its energies if you feel drawn to it. But remember that when you decide to find yourself, you have to decide to leave the “other”. This leaving the “other” is not so easy, and if you try to trigger it before you are really ready it will result in internal trauma. So baby steps first, start your spiritual practice and as and when you get ready the Ketu will be there with the Devguru Jupiter and the Daityaguru Venus to show you the way.