Saket Shah 
Rahu and Ketu in Houses, Signs, Transit and conjunctions. 
Vedic Astrology

Rahu and Ketu are controversial figures in Hindu Mytho logy, Astronomy and Astrology. Whatever may have been the liables of mythology, the physics of eclipses tells us that the shadows are caused by the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. and they do not exist by themselves. In solar Eclipse. it is Moon that covers thd orb of the Sun and casts its shadow on the Earth and causes the eclipse, ln Lunar Eclipse, it is reasonably the Earth that casts the shadow on the Moon and cause the eclipse. But if we see the movement in both the cases, it is the Moon that causes the eclipse by playing hide and seek. What are Rahu and Ketu. The usual explanation given by some of the learned astrologers is that they are as much physical bodies (planets) as other planets are and they are invisible because their discs are dark. Others are of the opinion that they are points in the ecliptic where the plane of Moon's orbit cuts the plane of Sun's orbit. Rahu and Ketu pose difficult problems for the astrologer and have been the cause of considerable controversy in the recent past. Authorities differ about them. From what Varahmihira observes in is his Brihat Somhita. itis obvious that he was aware of the true causes of eclipses and other celestial phenomen. It must, however, be stated at the very outset that there is a fundamental difference between Rahu and Ketu and the other planets. The other planets are bodies of physical mass, actually existing in the sky and visible to the eye. They have form, shape and colour and their mass, gravity, atmosphere, motion, distance from the Sun etc., have been studied in detail and ascertained. On the other hand, Rahu and Ketu are only tqre imaginary points in the heavens, without shape or form. They are the points of intersection of the apparent path of the Sun with the path of 5 the Moon. As these paths are nearly circular, the points of intersection are two which lie I80 degrees apart. Now the basic assumption of astrology is that planets in fluence the earth and its inhabitants. Man dwells upon the earth and so is influenced by them. The planets possess mass and have force of gravity. They also emit electro-magnetic viberations. These effect the earth and its inhabitants. Rahu and Ketu do not exist in the heavens and posses no mass. They are only two imaginary points in the heavens. Then how do they effect the earth and its inhabitants ? It has already been stated that Rahu and Ketu are the two points of intersection of the path of the Sun and the Moon.