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Planets (Grahas)

Ketu in Vedic Astrology

Ketu (Sanskrit: Ketu (the South Lunar Node)) is one of the nine Grahas read in a Vedic birth chart. Here's what it signifies classically, its own signs, and its Vimshottari dasha length.

By Nyovah · September 2026 · 3 min read · Cross-checked against classical Parashari principles

Ketu is the second shadow planet (chaya graha), the point exactly opposite Rahu where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic moving southward. Where Rahu pulls toward material ambition, Ketu is the karaka for detachment, past-life karma, and spiritual release — the two nodes are always read as a pair, since neither's placement makes sense without the other's opposite house.

AttributeValue
NatureA shadow planet (chaya graha), classically malefic yet spiritually significant
Own Sign(s)No classical own sign — a mathematical point, not a physical body
Vimshottari Dasha7 years

Ketu's Mahadasha runs 7 years, notably shorter than Rahu's 18 — a reflection of how its themes tend to surface as a release or a letting-go rather than a sustained buildup. As with Rahu, classical texts differ on Ketu's exact exaltation and debilitation sign, so none is asserted here. Ketu is generally read as malefic in worldly matters (health, stability, direction) while carrying a strong association with intuition, moksha (liberation), and matters unresolved from before this life.


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