Rahu-Ketu amplify, magnify, and exacerbate the
fluctuations of Manas, the Moon. Rahu is always, if reluctantly,
"seeing" by drishti His Other Half, Shri Ketu. Ketu is always, if
somewhat mutely, "seeing" His Other Half, Shri Rahu.
Rahu periods and Ketu periods are dominated by two-ness,
the bifurcated mental state of being in bondage to another personality -
usually someone with dangerously different or incompatible objectives.
Psycho-mental Bondage of Rahu-Ketu
In Rahu periods, it is a bondage of desire
for the Other. The mind is enflamed with a hunger for material power and
sensually indulgent experience. The object of desire may be the affections
of a human being, a form of power such as magical or political or financial
capability, a type of sensual experience such as sexual or travel or the
exhilarating, satiating, drug-like effects of food and drink.
At the higher levels of consciousness, the native
realizes their incarnational bondage to ego-desire-Mind as a tremendous
obstacle to enlightenment.
Although one accepts the need for an orderly
expression of the Mind's desires as the inevitable play-out of the Rules of
the Game, one achieves a neutral acceptance of the inevitability of
sensual-desire-Mind without feeling entangled in it or enslaved to
it.
In Ketu periods, it is a bondage of
resentful servitude to the Other. The mind is obsessed with an
unresponsive, withholding, always-promising but never providing partner of
some type. The partner may be a human being, a deity, a material goal, or
the Mind itself.
(The projected object will be described by Ketu's
incoming drishti, rashi & bhava.)
At the higher levels of consciousness, the native
realizes their incarnational bondage to image-projection-Mind as a
tremendous weight and obstacle to enlightenment.
Ideally, one achieves a neutral acceptance of the
inevitability of image-projection-Mind without feeling entangled in it
or enslaved to it. If this neutral realization is achieved, Ketu
periods can induce deep calm.
Rahu
During Rahu periods - whether the longer 18-year
mahadasha or any Rahu bhukti - the native is attractive and attractable.
Rahu increases the desire energy.
Details of Rahu's
position - lordship, rashi, drishti etc. - will explain the nature of the
desire and its object.
According to the nature of Rahu in the individual
nativity, a Rahu period will enflame the native's particular desires. Unless
the native is super-conscious, Rahu tends to embroil one in intrigue and a
sticky web of fascinating desires.
One will connect most intensely with Others who are
themselves experiencing Vimshottari periods of Rahu, Ketu, or Shukra.
Rahu also imbues the various relationships that serve as vehicles for desire
expression with a sense of urgency and drive toward the promise of
intense satisfaction.
Myth of of Rahu-Ketu
When forecasting the effects of Rahu and Ketu periods,
keep in mind at all times the narrative of this myth and its structural
dynamic of attraction & repulsion.
Rahu has a passionate desire for the amrita
or nectar of divine life, which causes Him to break all the rules.
Rahu is
an impostor. Rahu-desire is not a divine force. But, in human life, Rahu
often tricks us into thinking that Desire will lead to divine enlightenment!
In fact, the opposite is true: desire almost always leads to more
desire.
Desire is the single leading cause of reincarnation.
Good desires, bad desires, all desires are Rahu
:)
Even morally 'good' desires are still desires, and
they still force reincarnation.
Even the 'last time around' type of desires, such as
the desire to relieve the suffering of others or the desire to repay one's
own karmic debt, are still the causes of return to the cycle of birth and
death. Yes these are praiseworthy desires but they still have the same
mechanical force as any other desire, which is to get the spirit entrapped
in a whole complex of incarnational delusions.
A tragic narrative:
Rahu's desires are partially satisfied, but it
is Rahu's nature to always want more. Before Vishnu's discus slices
the snake-god Rahu in half (thus creating Ketu from Rahu's tail), Rahu does
get that drop of amrita. But His power to join the divine celebration is
forever destroyed.
Saints and the rest of us:
For a great saint, Rahu may enflame their desire to
relieve human suffering. Rahu is usually the culprit behind extreme saintly
actions like self-immolation in political protest. The saint is possessed by
a powerful desire, and might do pretty much anything in their passion to
reach their goal.
For the average person, Rahu often functions as
Shukra's 'evil twin', stimulating sensual passions, extramarital affairs and
provoking impulsive marriages. At the very least one's social life tends to
increase because one is perceived as desirable. Even people who are normally
shy and retiring will surprise the public with rather sudden bursts of
passion during Rahu periods.
Sometimes Rahu is positioned to crave not love but
money or raw power, or some other ego food. Whatever Rahu wants will be
vigorously pursued without much concern for others.
Forewarned is forearmed:
Rahu is neither good nor bad in the big picture.
However Rahu is always intense. It's good to be aware of the mechanics of
Rahu, to prepare to negotiate Rahu periods when they come around.
Moral justification/rationale:
The supposed reasoning behind Rahu's desire-driven
actions usually follows the line of 'love conquers all' or 'I deserve it' or
'nothing ventured, nothing gained' or 'life is too short ' etc.
Rahu periods are naturally impulsive and not
reasonable, therefore actions may disregard the Law. Rahu periods are famous
for errors in moral reasoning such as 'the end justifies the means'. For the
conscious psychic Rahu gives major 'growth periods'. (In the psychic
community, 'growth period' is a euphemism for people who are being childish
or manipulative or otherwise impossible!)
What to expect (in general) during
bhukti of Ketu:
Ketu is mokshakaraka, the significator of
spiritual liberation. Ketu periods are very effective for meditation, and
very frustrating for everything else.
Ketu supports and rewards a wide variety of observer-intensive spiritual
practices. Ketu bhukti is always a fertile time to pursue psychotherapy
and other forms of reflective interior healing. However even for very alert people, Ketu periods will generally
produce some disturbances on the external social and material planes.
Shri Ganesha is the remover of obstacles. He is
also the facilitator, when He is acknowledged, of tremendous gains
in consciousness. The primary obstacle to achieving the bliss of
spiritual merger with the divine is attachment to material delusion. So, when
Shri Ganesha enters his rulership period, He will direct Ketu to detach us
from delusions on the emotional, social-psychological, physical, and material
planes.
Ketu's specific detachment/dysfunction depends on His
rashi, bhava, drishti's etc., but Shri Ganesha’s effects overall are
unmistakable: the person becomes disengaged from external perceptions of
material reality and focused on internal perceptions of psycho-spiritual
truth.
Common expressions of Ketu periods are loss of
self-confidence and a wavering, uncertain social behavior distinguished by
lack of motivation, poor follow-through, etc. Here something very GOOD is
happening spiritually for those who are able to identify it. The
person’s awareness has shifted very predominantly into observer mode. But
also something quite dysfunctional according to normal social standards is
happening. The person is not actively participating in the
socially-validated behaviors of ego-development, acquisition of material
goods, making and keeping of promises, being on time, other
social-psychological conformist behaviors. Most people are social
creatures, so a shortfall in social validation during Ketu's period can result
in serious depression, anxiety, and seemingly irretrievable lack of
self-esteem.
The tantric elite in certain vivid imagistic meditation
traditions can become dynamically engaged in communication with spirits.
For this elite Ketu periods are delicious, delightful, and supremely
validating. However for the rest of us who have many elaborate
ego-attachments to the material world, especially the world of public
opinion based on personal productivity, Ketu can be very destabilizing.
Many people with strong but unconscious Ketu effects will turn to tamasic
practices such as escape drugs, alcohol, long sleeps etc. to avoid the
social-psychological pain of Ketu-genic alienation.
updated: 16 August 2008