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Graha VIII of IX · Chhaya graha

Rahu

राहु Rahu · Svarbhanu, the north lunar node, the dragon's head

The shadow that hungers: ambition, the foreign and the new.

Dasha
18 years
Exalted
Views differ
Debilitated
Views differ
Gem
Hessonite
Rahu, photographed against a pale sky
Plate VIII · RahuNone of its own
About Rahu

Rahu is not a physical body but a point in the sky: the north node, where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's going northward. In the Puranic story, the asura Svarbhanu slipped among the devas to drink the nectar of immortality; Vishnu cut him in two, and the head became Rahu, forever hungry, swallowing the Sun and Moon at eclipses. Rahu always moves backwards through the zodiac, opposite Ketu.

Rahu stands for appetite, ambition and everything unfamiliar: foreign lands, new technology, unconventional paths and the people at the edge of society. It magnifies whatever it touches. It can bring sudden rise and worldly success; it can also bring confusion, restlessness and the feeling that enough is never enough. Its lesson is to pursue what you want with your eyes open.

On the belt
ARITAUGEMCANLEOVIRLIBSCOSAGCAPAQUPIS0°90°180°270°Rahu18 YRS
Rahu on the 360° belt: the signs it rules, its three nakshatras and its points of exaltation and debilitation.its nakshatras
Mantraॐ राहवे नमः

Om Rahave Namah

What it signifies
  • Ambition and appetite
  • Foreign lands and people
  • The unconventional
  • Technology and the new
  • Illusion and confusion
  • Sudden change
  • Outsiders
  • Worldly desire
In your chart

Where to look

Rahu's house shows where you hunger for more and where life pushes you into new territory, often in ways your family did not expect. It acts like the lord of the sign it sits in, and is strongly affected by planets with it. In the tenth or eleventh Rahu can give ambition and gains; in the first, an unusual personality; in the fourth, restlessness about home.

In your day

How RitamSage uses it

The Muhurat Finder avoids Rahu kalam, the daily period of about ninety minutes traditionally avoided for new beginnings. Rahu's eighteen-month transit through a sign, and Rahu dasha and antardasha periods in your Life periods, are weighed in the longer rhythm. Eclipses, when Rahu or Ketu meet the luminaries, are noted.

See Today

When strong

A well-placed Rahu gives drive, originality, comfort with the new and the ability to succeed far from where one started: abroad, in new fields or with unusual methods. Such people are often ahead of their time and unafraid of change.

When tested

When Rahu is under strain, the mind can be restless, choices made in haste or confusion, and desires harder to satisfy. Simplicity, honest advice and a clear routine help a great deal. Worship of Durga and avoiding new beginnings in Rahu kalam are the traditional supports.

Practice

Three simple practices

  1. Recite the Durga Saptashati or “Om Rahave Namah” on Saturdays.
  2. Avoid starting important work during Rahu kalam.
  3. Give blankets or food to people on the margins of society.
Its nakshatras
ArdraGemini 6°40′–20°00′SwatiLibra 6°40′–20°00′ShatabhishaAquarius 6°40′–20°00′

Rahu and Ketu rule no sign in the classical texts; views on their rulership and exaltation differ between traditions.