UUttanka
Vedic astrology glossary

Rahu

The Moon's north node — a shadowy planet linked to desire, ambition and the unconventional.

Rahu is the north lunar node: not a physical body but a calculated point where the Moon's path crosses the ecliptic. With Ketu it forms the nodal axis, and the two are always exactly opposite each other and always reckoned as moving retrograde.

Astrologically Rahu signifies worldly desire, ambition, obsession, foreign or unconventional things, and sudden expansion. It is associated with the eclipse mythology of the serpent that swallows the Sun and Moon, hence its 'shadow planet' character.

Rahu is amplifying and outward-reaching: it can magnify whatever it touches, for better or worse, and its dasha (18 years in Vimshottari) is often eventful. Read honestly, it points to where a person hungers and grows, not to inevitable misfortune.

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Related terms

KetuGrahaKaal Sarp DoshaDasha

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