Of all the planets or “planets” in the horoscope, Rahu and Ketu (the Lunar Nodes), are possibly my favorites. I think it’s because they are so mysterious…

They don’t really operate in the way that planets (visible planets) do. They are not aspects of personality in the same way. But they are potent forces and they show up in daily life in important and obvious ways.

The Dragon

In Western astrology we often hear about the Nodes and especially the North Node as the soul’s purpose, the trajectory of our evolution. That’s not wrong. But we tend to hear this only in a lofty, spiritual, “high vibration” kind of way (the kind of high vibration that is missing the lower harmonics).

But Rahu and Ketu as they’re called in India, or Draconis as they used to be called in Europe are the Dragon. They are the Dragon’s Head and Dragon’s Tail respectively.

In Vedic mythology, they’re an asura, often referred to as a demon. They were a sneaky demon named Svarbhanu that disguised themselves as devas (gods) and got a few sips of the nectar of immortality. As punishment for their transgression, they were sliced in two, at the neck. But since they drank the nectar, both head and body/tail were immortal.

Their Role in Eclipses

The reasons these shadow planets are known is not because they’re visible but because they darken the Sun and Moon. They are said to swallow the Sun or Moon when it’s eclipse time, and this is due mythologically to the fact that it was the Sun, Surya, and the Moon, Chandra, who saw them stealing the nectar and pointed this out to Vishnu, who sliced their head off with his Sudarshana Chakra (his discus).

Naturally then Svarbhanu, or rather Rahu and Ketu, have some bitterness towards the Sun and Moon. This antagonism is one example of this widespread and seemingly neverending antagonism between the devas and asuras (the Sun and Moon being devas).

The Soul’s Purpose?

Considering that Rahu and Ketu are demons, it might be rather surprising that they are also considered as indicators of the soul’s purpose or our path of soul growth in this life. How is this possible?

I think it is mainly surprising just because we have certain biases towards the word “demon” (which has a different meaning in Vedic mythology than in the Judeo-Christian world). It’s also because we might have a narrow view of morality or a black-and-white view of the world.

First of all, the demons of Vedic mythology, while they tend to have many bad habits, are not all bad. (Likewise the gods or devas are not all good and they have equally many bad habits!) It’s not really about good vs bad, but just as these different forces, impulses, energies within us that might cause problems. 

Generally speaking, the asuras represent our primal nature or primal urges, whereas the devas represent our devotion and purity. But that is by no means always the case! You can just use it as a rule of thumb for now since we don’t have time to get into all the mythology in this post.

When it comes to Rahu and Ketu, the North and South Node, they do relate to primal urges. Rahu, the Head, is desire. And this teaches an important point—that desire it at the root of all growth, all spiritual development.

The Importance of Desire

*Gasp* Desire? Spiritual? That can’t be true!

Bear with me for a moment…

When I say desire, I don’t mean the desire for sex or drugs or money. Actually all of those desires are fundamental to our being and to life. Perhaps not money, not factory-processed drugs. But resources, plant medicines, sure. But in any case I’m not talking about an over-the-top, self-destructive kind of desire.

That’s not Desire’s fault. That’s our relationship with Desire.

Desire, Want, Need, Yearning, all of these are tied together and at their root are about connection. The Universe, life, is always connecting with itself. It longs for more and more connection. So that’s why desire is fundamental. It’s really the motivational force behind creation.

We can call it love also. We wouldn’t be wrong there. But love and desire are closely related. Is there ever love without desire and yearning? Desire does not mean possession or control. We’ll find in every case that possessing or controlling ends up backfiring, leaving us with less than what we started with, with less fulfillment. Desire is just an impulse towards connection. It’s the fire or spark of life.

Release, the Other Side of Desire

Desire can be overwhelming though, and fortunately we have the Dragon’s Tail, Ketu, to help with that. Ketu relates to release. It also relates to being with what we already have.

One way of reading Venus conjunct Ketu, which is happening in the sky as I write this would be enjoyment in what you have, enjoyment in your usual comforts. Enjoying time alone, perhaps in nature. Since it’s Virgo, perhaps it’s finding a newfound grace in routines and daily tasks. Perhaps it’s cooking a nice meal from childhood or partaking of an old enjoyment that you haven’t in a while.

On a very different level, it could represent releasing a relationship. Or it could mean revisiting a relationship from the past.

(There are always so many interpretations of the same symbols in astrology. Hence the importance of intuition.)

Desire implies the future. It’s an impulse towards a connection we do not have. Release implies the past. It’s getting rid of something we already have. Likewise Rahu relates the future and Ketu relates to the past. Past here could mean childhood. It could mean past lives. Anything in the past.

The Importance of Balance

One thing to know is that balance is really important between these Nodes and what they mean in our lives. Too much Rahu is a recipe for stress. It’s also a recipe for fantasy and delusion, since when we can’t satisfy our desire we long for it or make up stories.

Too much Ketu is a recipe for boredom or isolation. It can also be a control freak since it might want things exactly the way they’ve always been.

Ernst Wilhelm describes Ketu in the horoscope as where we’re uptight. Meanwhile Rahu is where we tend to be false or confused.

The problem is largely being too on one side. The Rahu desires or yearnings are always out of the comfort zone. They can be really rewarding and exciting but also scary. Without that, life will be boring. But with too much, it could be too unsettling, or too stressful.

Mythologically we could imagine our goal as reuniting the Head and Tail, reforming Svarbhanu as a whole being, and in doing so, getting rid of the animosity towards Sun and Moon.

But there is truth to the basic idea that we’re heading in the direction of our North Node. We have to rediscover the head first, and once we do, we might find we’ve lost it or have more to discover. That’s a good rule of thumb, but there’s a lot more going on!

Examining Your Placements

For the most part, our nodal life trajectory will unfold naturally. We don’t necessarily need to think or do anything about it. I can distinctly identify some shifts that I made or that my life made towards the North Node. And these happened before discovering astrology.

But as a student of astrology, it’s always helpful to keep these archetypes in mind. There are so many ways to contemplate them and they keep unfolding and showing more of their magic over time. But if you’re looking to better understand your nodes, here are a few tips:

1. Check the Sabian Symbols

Sabian Symbols are nice because they can quickly turn your horoscope into a story. They are often so accurate!

I recommend using the True Node, and don’t forget to round up. So for example, Pisces 14 degrees and 30 minutes would be the Pisces 15 Sabian Symbol. (The website link I shared above will do the rounding up for you, so you could just enter Pisces 14 there.)

Depending on your symbols, you could ask, “How am I moving more towards this North Node symbol?” or you could ask “How can I better balance these two?”

2. Consider the Sign Rulers

At least for me, it can be easier to understand what the planets mean than what the signs mean. Whatever your South Node sign is, you might be over-indexed on the ruler of that sign and under-indexed on the ruler of the North Node sign. If it’s Gemini and Sagittarius, you might be growing out of Mercury in some ways and into Jupiter. Certain Jupiterian qualities might be less natural. You might assume you need to be Mercurial (in some way) to be successful.

3. Make Friends with Someone with the Opposite Nodes

You can’t really force this. But I’ve found it really insightful and enjoyable to make a friend with the opposite configuration. I’ve also found it insightful to read books by those with an opposite configuration. With friendships, it feels like there is a magnetic attraction. What’s so difficult or foreign to you is so easy to them! And (I would assume) it’s the same for them.

It can give a lot of insight into how I could be. It’s very inspiring. The South Node, however limited it might be, is a Natural Superpower we have. So our Developing Superpower is their Natural Superpower, and vice versa.

Those are just a few suggestions besides the usual ones you might already think of. Please let me know if this speaks to you or if it brings anything up.

I should also add that planets conjunct the North or South Nodes are very important! Those planets will force our growth, and whatever houses they fall in will be the “arena” where this growth is happening.

Have a great week. There are not a ton of astro updates that warrant mentioning, but enjoy this start of fall. Enjoy this Libra season and Venus conjunct Ketu over the next few days. Bye! 🍵