Rahu and Ketu explained: the North and South Node, karma and past life patterns

Rahu and Ketu are not planets. They are the two points where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s path in the sky. They sit exactly opposite each other and move backward through the zodiac, taking about 18 and a half years to go round. Western astrology calls them the North and South Node.

Two sides of one axis

• Rahu (North Node): hunger, ambition and the pull toward something new. Technology, foreign places and unusual paths.
• Ketu (South Node): detachment, skills carried over and the pull to let go. Spiritual interest and quiet depth.

Karma and past life

In both traditions, the nodes are tied to patterns carried from the past. Ketu shows what is familiar and already mastered. Rahu shows what you are here to learn and are not yet comfortable with. A person with Ketu in the 10th house may be good at work but feel little pull toward status. Someone with Rahu in the 7th may learn about themselves through partnerships.

Eclipses

Solar and lunar eclipses happen when the Sun and Moon are near the nodes. That is why Rahu and Ketu are linked to eclipses, and why ancient astrologers treated them with so much respect.

When they matter most

• Rahu dasha, which lasts 18 years, and Ketu dasha, which lasts 7.
• When the nodes transit your Moon, lagna or key planets.
• Around ages 18 to 19, 37 and 56, when the nodes return to their birth position.

Treat the nodes as a pair. Rahu tells you where you are growing, and Ketu tells you what you can lean on while you do it.