Rahu and Ketu: the lunar nodes
Rahu and Ketu are not bodies but points: the two places where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's apparent path, the ecliptic. Rahu is the north (ascending) node, Ketu the south (descending) node, always exactly opposite. Jyotish counts them as chhaya grahas, shadow planets, alongside the seven visible ones.
Why eclipses happen there
An eclipse needs the Sun, the Moon and the Earth in a line, which can only happen when a new or full moon falls close to a node. The myth says the same: the demon Svarbhanu drank the nectar of immortality at the churning of the ocean, was cut in two by Vishnu's discus, and his head (Rahu) and body (Ketu) swallow the Sun and Moon in revenge.
Always backwards
The nodes slide backwards through the zodiac about 19.3° a year, completing a circle in about 18.6 years and spending roughly 18 months in each sign. The "mean node" smooths out a small wobble; the "true node" includes it and occasionally moves forward for a few days. We use the mean node, as most Indian almanacs do.
What they signify
Rahu is linked with obsession, ambition, foreign things, sudden gains and new technology; Ketu with detachment, spirituality, research and the past. Planets conjunct a node are said to be "afflicted", and Saturn joined with Rahu or Ketu is a combination financial astrologers watch for market stress.
In a birth chart
Because they are always opposite, Rahu and Ketu fall across a pair of houses: Rahu in the 1st means Ketu in the 7th, Rahu in the 10th means Ketu in the 4th. Astrologers read that axis as a pull between two areas of life, Rahu's side craving more and Ketu's side already familiar. Their dashas are long, Rahu's 18 years and Ketu's 7, so their placement weighs heavily in a reading. A chart with every planet on one side of the axis is said to carry Kala Sarpa yoga, a popular and much-debated combination that classical texts barely mention.
On this site the Panchang wheel shows Rahu and Ketu every day (marked Ra and Ke), and every stock kundli lists where they stood at listing.
What we tested
- H3: when Saturn, Jupiter or Rahu changes sign, steady stocks become jumpier.
- H4: when Saturn joins Rahu or Ketu, steady stocks fall.
- H8: around solar and lunar eclipses, volatile stocks become jumpier.
None was supported on 2016–2023 NSE data. Upcoming node sign changes and eclipses are on the planetary events page.
For learning and curiosity, not investment advice.