Rahu In Vedic Astrology Vedic astrology relies on nine planets in total, namely Moon, Sun, Saturn, Mercury, Mars,

Jupiter, Venus and Rahu and Ketu, with the last two being known as the hidden planets. The first se en are known as the solid real planets. !hile Rahu and Ketu do not ha e solid or physical presence they are said to ha e a ery real influence on an indi idual"s life. They are said to be forces of energy. #n more physical terms, Rahu and Ketu represent the two points where the Moon and $arth intersect. These Karmic a%es are called the north and south nodes of the Moon with Rahu being the &orth node.
The Mythology Behind Rahu

!hile there are plenty of allusions to the creation of Rahu, the most popular one foes like this ' (ord Vishnu, one of the main )ods in the *indu le%icon, churned the sea to generate sacred nectar. The plan was to gi e the nectar to the planetary )ods in order to grant them immortality. +ne demon disguised himself and got into the line of the se en planets and was gi en a drop of the nectar. !hen (ord Vishnu reali,ed the deception, he immediately cut off the head of the demon before the nectar could pass his throat. The head became Rahu and the tail of the serpent- dragon like demon became Ketu.
Rahu in Astrology

Rahu is embodied as a demon in Vedic astrology. There are plenty of negati e attributes with Rahu . being manipulati e, his ability to torment people and material gains without wisdom. +n the other hand, Rahu is also known to be immortal and ha ing the ability to bestow wealth and knowledge. The basic energy of Rahu is one of duality because he is considered to be the mischie ous offspring of Maya which, as most of us know, stands for the illusory nature of the world. The placement of Rahu in the astrological chart has special significance for the indi idual. #f Rahu is in the ascending mode also known as the first house of astrology, then the indi idual will be in a ery self' centered mode. #f Rahu falls in the /0th house of astrology then the indi idual will be dri en to be better in his career and power. Rahu can make an indi idual oriented towards ser ice and e en looking after the home if it comes in the 1th or the 2th house of astrology. Thus one can see that Rahu, with its association on focus, can cause an indi idual to turn his attention to one specific area of life more

than any others. This may be good or bad for the indi idual concerned. +ne of the things to offset the focus if it is turning to uncontrollable proportions is to ha e the right partner and offer propitiations for reducing the influence of Rahu. There is also the concept of Rahu being created when Jupiter and Venus are side by side in a chart. !ith Jupiter being the instructor of )ods and Venus being the instructor of demons, their con3unct position is ideal for Rahu to create a bridge between them. This principle can be found in (al Kitab, which is an astrological te%t.
Offsetting the Influence of Rahu According to Vedic Astrology

Rahu lo es ants according to mythology so a lot of followers of Vedic astrology belie e that feeding ants can be one way of appeasing an irate or powerful Rahu. 4lack offerings are also considered to calm Rahu down . so black sesame, black beans and so on are offered by people in Thailand. There is one temple with Rahu as the central deity in southern Tamil &adu. Specific rituals can be performed here as well.