Rahu in Vedic Astrology – Trickster or Magician?

“I am the outcast – the one who doesn’t belong yet have the capability to turn the tables, I am your ambition – always seeking, never satisfied and still – the desire to reign – Rahu, I am.”

Rahu in astrology is quite notorious for its malefic effects because Rahu is not a planet of stability or the ordinary, its domain in vedic astrology is quite different from other planets. In the planetary cabinet Rahu and Ketu are given the portfolio of army – what it denotes is that Rahu and Ketu don’t perform on their own, they take energy/order from the dispositer of their placement. As they do not have physical presence, they are nodes of the Moon and their effects come majorly on our mental disposition. People under Rahu Mahadasha often become delusional in their thoughts – we will discuss Rahu Mahadasha in a separate article. Here the focus is going to be on Rahu’s placement impact on our life. Lets understand what Rahu in Vedic astrology and the purpose or why it creates so much fear in people.

Rahu is karka of the sixth house – it is a fighter who uses all kinds of 6 (Conspiracies) – षड्यंत्र – to take what it wants. It is the planet of extreme shrewdness and illusions but also the visionary who sees ahead of its time. Rahu co-rules Aquarius – the sign of collective consciousness, innovation, intelligence and magic. It is associated with the Varah Avatar of Lord Vishnu. Rahu’s placement in the chart signifies the cause of the birth as Rahu is responsible for rebirth – it keeps the desires alive in individuals which bring back to fulfill the karam. Sign in which Rahu is placed are the significations you are born for and the house placement shows the area of circumstances you are going to experience, one should be careful with those house significations as it is a planet of illusions your thoughts and reality can be poles apart in that case. Rahu will bind you in the circumstances and desires, it knows how to get involved but lacks the exit scheme, that leads to obsessiveness and attachment but then the role of Ketu begins – they are 180 degree apart – one begins the show and the other one drops the curtains.

Rahu & Ketu are vakri (Retrograde) planets, their energy brings the multidimensional consciousness that is one of the reasons they do not fit in the ordinary setup. They both are mysterious – Rahu is pure illusion and Ketu is naked truth – one runs outside and the other one brings you to the core. Rahu has a mirror effect, it amplifies wherever it sits. It is considered an outcast – who doesn’t fit or belong to the ordinary, it never follows the traditional methods – always lands up with parallel methods to deal with anything, planet of innovation it is. It is Air – which impacts our thoughts, a positive Rahu gives an extreme level of intelligence, brilliant ideas and ability to absorb knowledge whereas a disturbed one can bring illusions, anxiety, confusion and mental disorders. Rahu doesn’t have feet which symbolizes its tendency to operate without a strong foundation, it functions on a mental level. That makes it a visionary though – seeing ahead of its time, a brilliant sense of observing the agendas and motives of others. Rahu-Ketu placement in the chart brings attention to our shadow self – which shows our repressed, hidden and denied aspects. Fears, insecurities, desires and impulses which are often unconsciously manifested in our life but they do not appear out of nowhere there is a root connected to it – each desire or impulse comes from something which has been denied for a longer period of time. Rahu is connected with our ancestors – punya of several lineages is manifested into a person who gets born with powerful Rahu.

Rahu is most misunderstood because of the notion of desires and not following the norms but has anything great achieved or discovered without desire ? – Rahu tells you to rise above the ordinary. He is that friend who will let you try everything in life good-ugly-bad and than at certain point will put you into a situation where you will have to decide if you want to stuck in the loop of same cycle of illusions or rise above that – when you cross that point Rahu takes you up on the heights you cannot even imagine but to maintain that it will keep testing you – it gives you the currency of restlessness, ambition, desire and the moment you give up on the thought of achieving more it turns out to be cause of your anxiety.

Read More: Rahu in the First House : Intelligence, Independence & Illusion