Ketu in Vedic astrology

What Ketu signifies

Ketu is the graha of letting go and of inner knowing. Where it stands, a person can do a lot without having learned it, and values it little. Ketu rules meditation, mysticism, programming and precise research, surgery, sudden events and losses that clear space for something new.

Ketu rules the nakshatras Ashwini, Magha and Mula — the beginnings of the zodiac's three cycles. So Ketu is linked to roots, to what came before.

Ketu by house

Ketu does well in the 3rd, 6th and 11th houses, and in the 12th, where it leads to solitude and spiritual practice. In the 1st it gives a subtle, sometimes distant personality; in the 7th a need for freedom within marriage; in the 10th a career held without attachment. Like Rahu, Ketu is always retrograde and stands exactly opposite Rahu.

Ketu's transit

The nodal axis changes signs about every 18 months. From 25 November 2026 Ketu moves through Cancer (sidereal, true node, JyotiSoft calculation). For a year and a half, the themes of that sign and of its house from your Moon turn towards release and review.

The Ketu dasha

The Ketu mahadasha lasts 7 years. Often it is a period of re-evaluation: old goals lose their taste, interest grows in meaning, psychology and spirituality. Outwardly it can bring unexpected turns; inwardly it is a good time for deep study and practice.

Questions

See also

• Rahu
• Sun (Surya)

Positions and tables: sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsha — the same as professional Jyotish astrologers use, and the same calculation as the charts in JyotiSoft. Updated 2026-10-10.