Ketu mahadasha and the bhukti periods of
Ketu can give quite similar results to the periods of Shani.
Isolation, self-concern, fear, survival pressure etc. are attributes of both
Shani and Ketu.
Shani periods produce a
pulsing physical survival signal from the reptile brain. Shani
periods focus attention on acquiring and defending one's hoard, while
casting an anxious eye toward the future. Whether one's need is material
(food, clothing, shelter, money) or political (power, recognition, control)
or psychic (creativity, space, free time, privacy) the native feels a
powerful obligation to feed that need.
By contrast, Ketu is detached,
disconnected, & apathetic. Ketu feels no survival drive.
Ketu tends to accept fate, wandering aimlessly, hopeless & often
deranged.
Shani periods are practical,
materialistic, & self-concerned. Although Shani periods can be
very difficult physically and emotionally, Shani periods are rarely
permanently crippling. Shani strengthens the moral judgment &
create a more solid foundation for better times in the future.
Ketu has no sense of separate self, so
being cut off from other selves is rather a non-starter for Ketu. Ketu
doesn't care about food, clothing, & shelter. Ketu is out of touch
with the physical body. Ketu does not hear the reptile brain signal
except very faintly, & usually only then if Ketu is associated with
Shani.
Shani periods keep the native focused
on defending his fortress. Ketu periods typically involve wandering.
Ketu periods may create a pattern of physical, emotional, or mental
wandering - the energetic level at which the wandering occurs will be
defined by Ketu's house, His lord, and any drishti coming to Ketu from
other graha. But in general the physical wandering component as in
"pilgrimage" is fairly strong, esp. if Ketu is angular.
By contrast to Shani, Ketu is not a
hoarder and Ketu knows nothing about boundaries. Ketu is open and
"trusting" -- but not trusting in the sense of expecting a
specific, predictable result from a defined relationship. With Shani,
relationships may be highly negative as in predatory &
recognition-denying, but Shani is clear and firm on this cause-and-effect
relationship. Shani is a clear if negative thinker.
Ketu is "trusting" in the sense
of having no expectations either positive or negative. Any outcome is
acceptable to Ketu. Unlike Shani who is specifically building toward a
secure future, Ketu has no stake in the future. Ketu does not
recognize Time and has no interest nor capacity to invest in the
future. Nor does Ketu care about the past, nor learn from the past nor
have any attachment to history or tradition (which Shani highly values).
Ketu's highly permeable "always
open" willingness to share the food, body, and other resources with any
who enquire may create either a tamasic or a sattvic effect. As
always the final results of Ketu depend absolutely upon the graha who
controls Ketu's rashi, along with graha who send drishti, natural house
lord, etc.
Ketu exemplifies what modern psychology
calls "attachment deficit disorder". Ketu natives may appear
to form relationships but they act like pre-verbal infants, attaching
themselves to virtually any caretaker. Results of these no-expectation
relationships range from serendipitous to unsavory. If Ketu is yuti
Moon, this wandering & psycho-emotional permeability is a lifelong
condition, much exacerbated during Ketu bhukti.
As a manifestation of Shri Ganesha, Ketu
can provide superior spiritual results. Complete detachment from
material welfare including core ambivalence toward fleshly survival can
produce a great Saint.
At lower levels of consciousness, Ketu
is associated with a lack of appropriate personal boundaries which
generates a victim
state: moral breakdown; utter loss of social dignity; profligacy and
disrepute.
However at the higher levels of
consciousness the Ketu native consciously chooses to abandon the
energy-consuming practice of managing social boundaries, and concentrate
instead on absorbing the omnipresence of the Divine.
In sum, certain effects of Shani and Ketu
will appear similar. Isolation, social disconnection, frustration and
alienation in human relationships, scarce resources, and a feeling of
circumstances beyond one's control, are common factors. Also, both Shani
period and Ketu period can produce excellent spiritual results.
The key difference is that Shani
is urgently concerned with survival whereas Ketu is apathetic. As a result,
Shani periods are characterized by hard work, planning, and stern
self-reliance; whereas Ketu periods feature ambivalence, wandering and
unexpected social relationships.
updated: 24 August 2008