Ketu or the South Node is one of the Lunar Nodes, the opposite of Rahu, the North Node.
These terms come from Jyotish or the Vedic astrology, Hindu astrological system. Vedic astrology gives great importance to the Nodes, thinking of them as more important than the planets.
Vedic astrology allows us to see through the endless realm of time, through our past, presence and the future. Jyotish is, in the first place, meant to help us in understanding our state of being, which is called dharma.
It should help us find the balance with and within the laws of the universe. The other goal of Vedic astrology is to unravel the past, the presence and the future.
By discovering these, we could bring our true natural strength into awareness and use it for our own good.
It would also make us see our weaknesses and become conscious about them. It is believed that the Vedic Jyotish could reveal practically everything about life.
Vedic astrology would also offer us corrective steps we should take in order to reduce our life problems or resolve them. It brings spiritual enlightenment and cleansing.
Although many would say that everything was predestined and that there is nothing we could do, the truth is that we also have free will.
Our free will is limited by the accumulated activities from our past incarnations, our karma.
Rahu and Ketu – Lunar Nodes
Rahu and Ketu, otherwise known as the North and the South Node, are points of the intersection of the Sun and the Moon celestial paths.
These are not planets; however, in Vedic astrology, they are considered more powerful than any of the stars and planets. Rahu and Ketu are karmic points and, as such, essential to our existence and destiny. They activate houses in which they stand and also the planets within the houses.
Rahu more actively affects Air and water planets, Mercury, Venus and Saturn, while Ketu affects Fire planets, Mars, and Jupiter.
Rahu is in correlation with mental-emotional personality structure and the figure of the mother, indicating karmic influences related to fields in association with these. Ketu represent karmic effects over a person’s Ego and the male line, the fatherly figure.
If we were to simplify the explanation on how these points act, we could say that the South Node represents us the way we are, while the North Node tells us what we should become.
The South Node is the descending point, while the North Node is the ascending. Lunar Nodes are of the extreme importance because they should answer the crucial question everyone has asked, at least once in a lifetime – why am I here?
According to a Hindu myth, the demoniac dragon (or the serpent) has once stolen the potion of immortality from gods. Vishnu, the Creator deity had cut him into halves.
However, the creature was already immortal, so its two halves continued to live, separately. The head of the serpent became Rahu and the tail of the creature became Ketu.
As the dragon was angry at the cosmos, Rahu and Ketu have swore to take their revenge, by chasing the Sun and the Moon, in order to devour them. This explains the opposite positioning of the points known as the North and the South Node in astronomical sense.
In addition, the process in which these two devour the luminaries actually takes place in reality; we know these phenomena as eclipses of the Sun and the Moon.
When someone mentions Lunar Nodes, most automatically think of karma and karmic astrology. True, these points play the important role in studying this field.
The very subject of karma has been debated ever since; some believe that everything has already been decided and that there is nothing we could do except to follow the destiny, while others are of the opinion that, through our free will, we could affect things. The truth is very likely in between.
Lunar Nodes, understanding Lunar Nodes, are of a tremendous help in unraveling the mystery of one’s karmic path, the karmic path of whole nations and countries, as well.
Here, we talk only about the effect Lunar Nodes have upon an individual’s current incarnation. Dealing with karma is a heavy task. There are extremely few people who are actually capable of facing their karma on the whole.
Ketu – The South Node
Ketu, the South Node, represents human past, that is, a combination of elements from each one of the previous incarnations. The south Node represents the path already threaded and something unknown that, oddly, comes along.
Ketu is our weakest point, the Achilles’ heel of our natal charts, as many astrologers would call it. It represents the steps we have left behind, but it also tries to revive them in our current incarnation.
We could say that Ketu, in a way, represents our comfort zone. It is everything that we have inherited from our past life, past structures, schemes and patterns we got used to. These try to live in our current life; it is very difficult to overcome the urge to follow the habit, even if it brings you no good.
We believe each one of us sometimes chooses the comfort zone, instead of stepping out of the frame, even if what we do has no benefit or, worse, if we know it was bad for us.
The South Node tells about or genetic material and about our ancestors, about ourselves seen through the prism of ancestry.
Although Ketu would often present with its negative sides, keeping us in stagnation, not letting us try a different path, it also bring good thing. Ketu treasures all the talents and skills we have inherited and we should value them.
These good sides of Ketu should be recognized, nurtured and never neglected.
However, Ketu mostly represent things we have got from our previous lives, those that we should let go of.
The house and the sign matching the South Node indicate the most developed area of life and the most developed traits, but those we should stop focusing on.
Instead, we should work on the traits and characteristics seen in our North Node, following its ascending path. The South Node is about letting go, spirituality and isolation.
The Fifth House in Astrology – 5th House in Astrology
The Fifth House represents our creative talents, our emotionality, love and the offspring.
Fifth house is the house of passion and of pleasure, mostly associated with things that make us feel pleased and relaxed.
However, if combined with unfavorable planetary aspects, it could bring us troubles associated with our love life, children and else.
This field is associated with the otherworldly, so it ha sto do with religious and spiritual ceremonies and institutions.
Ketu in the Fifth House – Ketu in 5th House
The South Node, Ketu, in the Fifth House means that the North Node, Rahu, is in the opposite, the Eleventh House.
A person with such positioned Lunar Nodes journeys through the current life recalling the life in which he or she was a unique creator.
In this life, the native tries to recreate the life he or she was used to. However, all that the native does leaves an impression of the inappropriate behavior.
The characteristic of this native is that he or she seeks Ego satisfaction and conformation through romantic relationships.
However, what the native fails to realize is that through such connections he or she loses strength, instead of getting stronger from all the compliments and encouragement he or she gets through them.
The problem is that the native becomes dependent, instead of stronger. In the end, this person leaves the impression of a helpless individual whose behavior turns to spoiled and childish.
This native desperately wants to be loved, but the heritage of tension related to eros, coming from previous incarnations, is so strong that the person cannot divide the important from non-important needs and desires.
This native faces many difficulties in trying to understand and accept the reality. His or hers dreams and fantasies are so romantic that the native becomes a dragon chaser, being with one feet in the magical realm of dreams.
The native believes in knightly values and he or she could be easily seduced by splendor, glory, outer beauty. In addition, this person is incapable of holding the position of a common observer.
Ketu in 5th House – The Sense of Dignity
He or she is convinced that their life and personality have to be noticed; this native strives for some glory and recognition.
The native could be very gentle and generous towards people. However, from the point in which he or she starts feeling neglected, daydreaming and fantasizing take place.
The native tries to envision and create a romantic story in which he or she would be the central figure. The native seeks for self-confirmation in wrong places, in romantic adventures.
Such a behavior leads to losing focus and actual goals in life. This native is prone to self-victimization and would play a role of a martyr, one who as sacrificed everything for the true love.
This native is also very egocentric, in a peculiar way; he or she expects admiration, praise and respect from others, in the name of such described martyrdom. He or she would love others to see them as a brave, self-sacrificing valiant knight.
The sense of dignity that also comes from previous incarnations is so strong that the native is not satisfied by a thought of a relationship out of marriage, although he or she would often find themselves exactly in such a situation.
Overall, this is a native most would describe as a good, benevolent person. It requires severe afflictions in the natal chart to make this individual a ‘bad’ one.
Through the energy of the North Node, this native should learn the value if friendship and to overcome physically possessive relationships from previous incarnations, because these lead to everything that we have mentioned.
Non-emotional relationship should be in focus, meaning relations that are not of a romantic nature exclusively. In this incarnation, the native should focus on the meaning of dreams and not to surrender to their veil of fantasy.
The native should force him or herself to use their will against the elemental of emotions.
Dreams carry messages from higher spheres and those could be of much use, if only the native would take a reasonable, instead of an exclusively emotional reaction to them.
The key thing is redirecting the will, since it could be strong in this native, but directed towards completely rejecting and not accepting the real life.
Ketu in the Fifth House – Their Own Worst Enemies
The truth is, Fifth House Ketu natives are their own worst enemies. They suffer from the imposed dissatisfaction, since they allow themselves constantly to dream and fantasize about things they cannot have.
That comes with their martyrdom syndrome, so to say. The native would love to separate from others and to be independent, but often does exactly the opposite, becoming dependent.
Before this native becomes capable of escaping this circle, he or she has to overcome their unbelievably strong Ego.
Their Ego creates all these things and, in the end, makes them self-destructive. This individual should perceive him or herself more objectively, which is a hard thing to do.
To make such kind of a distance and stop taking everything personally requires a shift in will. It is certain that the life would bring this native at least one big experience that would demand the Ego sacrifice.
It could be very painful, but relieving, at the same time. Such an experience would allow the native to let go of all the prejudices, pride and enforced martyrdom, victimization and so on.
The South Node in the Fifth House is commonly associated with too strong sense of compassion, which, in fact, also comes from being self-focused. The native tries to prove their compassion, which is misuse of the energy of the south Node.
The native should constantly remind him or herself not to fall for the flame of passion, because this fire is like a flaming curtain that blinds their view, making them unable to see the reality.
This native will reach happiness and peace from within once he or she becomes capable of taking a more indifferent position in life. It does not mean he or she should stop being emotionally reactive and completely selfless, but all has limits. The key is the balance, as always.
This will come. Fifth House Ketu natives are predisposed to become unbiased servants of the whole humanity. It is his or her destiny to do something extremely important and great for another person.
Friendships, social circles and company would become more important to this native, as he or she abandons old habits related to romantic relationships. New contacts would lead to (re)establishing personal identity.
Others would respect this person and the native would start respect him or herself more and more.
