Details of Rahu in Capricorn (Makar) and Ketu in Cancer (Kark)

Rahu in Capricorn gives prudence, much reflectiveness, and even disposition inclined to sadness, love of solitude, but withal shrewdness and diplomacy. The disposition is more reflective than melancholy. This position may bring stability to the worldly position, but seldom gives wealth, which, moreover, the native does not desire, as he is not very ambitious. There is likelihood of gains through house propery. Rahu in Capricorn gives robust health and physical resilience; and if the Lord of Life is free from affliction, is a sure sign of longevity.

Ketu in Cancer always gives fickleness in love; it is a sign of infidelity, and often shows a risk of separation after scandal. The position of the native or of those around him is not clearly defined; he is surrounded by many secret or mysterious circumstances. This position may cause an accident, or danger while travelling. It entails liver or stomach disorders. All this is mitigated by a good aspect of Venus or Jupiter.

A bad aspect of Mars to Ketu may cause a wound, and is often a sign of haemorrhage. With an unfortunate position of the Moon, and with Cancer in the sixth house, there is serious risk of lung trouble - tuberculosis or, at all events, bronchial disorders.

Ketu (as well as Rahu) must be carefully studied when it occurs in the Moon’s domicile, and especially in regard to this planet and the aspects which it may receive from the malefics. If the Moon is in Cancer in conjunction with Ketu, misfortunes will occur in connection with matters ruled by the House occupied by Cancer.

Rahu in Capricorn implies that business ability and ambition would be directed toward public good, or could be so directed. Integration would come through persistent sustaining effort to climb the heights of attainment and become a redeemer for others. Ketu in Cancer emphasizes acquisitiveness and self-centeredness; a carry-over of selfishness that must be overcome by caring for others and developing the nurturing qualities.

This individual is learning how to achieve maturity. In past incarnations he had a tendency to look at life through rose-colored glasses, seeing only what he wanted to see with a definite conviction that everything else didn’t exist.

Now there is still much of the ‘baby’ left in his Cancer Ketu. He is so used to going through his prior lives on crutches, wrestling with his dependencies while seeking bannisters to lean on, that his current life is the resultant shambles of escapist, childlike habits which keep impeding his growth.

Truly, this is the personal infant, desiring at all costs to maintain his role as the focus of parental attention. In areas of problem solving, he would rather have his parents do it. Everybody he meets and knows, be it friend, business associate or marriage partner, automatically becomes the symbolic parent to pick up the pieces of his misery, protecting him from being hit by the falling sky which he has created. He creates his own self-inflicted illnesses if they bring with them the slightest hint of gaining love and affection.

Constantly practising at becoming an adult, he never seems quite ready or willing to make the transition fully. Somehow he keeps feeling he needs much more practice first.

All he does in this life is based on his soul memory of sensitive past-life feelings which still are shattered by the slightest rejection.

Many individuals with these Nodes are strongly wrapped up in the business of their country. They personalize government, for to them it is still part, in a larger sense, of their own Cancerian family.

Underneath all else, there are unusually strong feelings of patriotism and loyalty.

Many with these Nodes focus a good part of their strength and attention on younger people.

They like to listen to the trials and tribulations of others; but not being quick problem solvers themselves, they have a tendency to hold everything inside them. As the weight of problems increases, like collecting layers, they seem to age in spite of themselves.

The most difficult karmic problem of the Cancer Ketu is learning how to let go. The individual brings with him into this life such strong inner fears of ever losing or forgetting anything that he keeps making extra special efforts to retain all he has ever gone through. As such, he makes himself the ‘psychic grabage pail’ of the past. Constantly he is thinking about his present in terms of what he should have done years ago - or ‘lives ago’. He often can be seen sorting through old photographs hoping to create his future out of fragments of his past.

At times he is extremely draining, using whatever is done for him as a springboard to ask for more. He tries other people’s patience with all of his emotional problems, and long after the solutions are given to him he refuses to see logic through his cloud of emotion. He is not so much interested in finding out why something went wrong as he is seeking the lost feeling to be returned.

Endings are especially difficult for him to deal with. The word ‘good-bye’ has never been a part of his vocabuulary, for he has always tried to preserve all relationships as long as possible. His behavior in regard to objects is no different, since he tends to form permanent attachments to the nostalgic memories they carry with them.

The major karmic lesson in the Capricorn Rahu is to identify with an ideal bigger than the personal life. The individual must ultimately come to stand for something, in spite of all his real or imagined personal difficulties. He must understand true responsibility.

Many with these Nodes eventually become self-appointed hallmarks of tradition. They would rather die than have an outsider know any part of their personal life which contradicts the principle for which they have chosen to stand.

Through the Rahu, an image which others can look up to and model their lives after is established. At times personal difficulties deplete him of the strength to hold up this image, and yet hold it up he must, even if it means sacrificing his entire life. In most of his endeavors he is capable of becoming a methodical and cautious planner once he learns to overcome his past-life tendency to overreact emotionally.

In the charts of females, these Nodes represent an unusually strong search for a father figure. In males, there is a strong consciousness of the need to fulfill the father role.

The most important things about the Capricorn Rahu is that it represents the point through which the individual will meet his karmic mission. For this reason alone, many with these nodes tend to be reluctant to accept the full concept of adulthood. They would prefer to remain in an immature state for as long as possible, for they sense a type of judgement awaiting them. Much like the condemned man desiring one stay of execution after another, they seek to hide behind others, constantly pushing themselves further and further to the back of the line so as to avoid meeting the effects of all they have created. This is the reason why many of them have great difficulty in accepting their own chronological age. While they admit to their age openly, they try not to live it.

There is much past-life residue of immaturity. The soul has become fixated at one point in early growth. Now there is great difficulty passing that point. Still, it will be passed, if the individual is ultimately to stand for something.

The zodiacal sign of Capricorn is the gateway through which the soul must go upon leaving the physical body, and in this most occult of signs it will stand for inspection before the Judges at these Gates. While this may not be the last incarnation on Earth, it will most definitely by house position receive karmic judgement in one area of the life. The individual with these Cancer-Capricorn Nodes will flounder half his life in helpless abandon and then one day resign himself to stand up to the saying, “Tis a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before’.

The house position of the Ketu indicates the area in which the karmic residue of immaturity seeps into the current life. The house position of the Rahu shows the ways in which the individual can now enter responsible adulthood by aligning his life with the principles of honor, respect and tradition.

As soon as he learns how to do this, he is destined for a life of splendid accomplishment.

You should take steps towards a career (or honors or increased self-esteem). Your Cancer Ketu may reply ‘Yeah, but what would my kids (or parents or boss) do without me?’

Your Problem is that you have adopted real or imagined responsibilities to others that are keeping you from becoming all that you can become.

Possible reasons: Fear of public exposure. Lack of planning. A feeling that you’re unworthy in some way. Refusal to let others lead their own lives.

Possible solutions: Take cautious steps towards the careers, honors, or recognition you want. Examine your needs and responsibilities honestly, and take necessary steps to balance them. Get a divorce. Commit suicide (Apolo’s note - don’t do it: the author was being teasingly sarcastic here). Study the lives and actions of others who have done what you want to do, and pattern your life after theirs if at all possible.

Cancer Ketu tends towards deeply-rooted compulsive behavior patterns which allow him or her to justify failures. Justification of this sort is a form of dishonesty. This prevents the development of Capricorn Rahu’s considerable untapped potential for self-esteem. It also prevents the formation of deep relationships, since if you’re not honest with yourself you can’t possibly be honest with others. Cancer Ketu easily becomes bogged down in dependency on those who need him or her until personal discontent forces development of Capricorn’s Rahu potential.

Some typical manifestaions of an over-developed Cancer Ketu are: An overall lack of success in life; hypersensitivity and sloppy sentimentality; fear of authority figures; childishness; lack of emotional self-control; lack of self-confidence; snobbishness alternating with blind acceptance of others; self-pity; excessive complaining; and a craving for emotional attention.

Rahu in Capricorn tends to dream very traditional dreams. He or she wants to be a law-maker, a policy-maker, an organizer, an Einstein, or at least a manager. He or she wants to be known for objectivity, prudence, and good leadership ability. He or she wants to stand out against the backdrop of ordinary workers as someone who knows where he or she is going and is getting there. In contrast, this is an emotional, rather touchy person. He or she is fond of comfort and reluctant to make changes. The need for emotional security dominates the need for dream fulfillment to the point where changes in residence, job situation, public notice, or whatever become extremely upsetting, even if these changes herald better things.

Antidotes for Capricorn Imbalance: Mathematical work can be an excellent antidote. To a lesser extent, astrology and numerology can be helpful. The client must be encouraged to take responsibility for his or her own life rather than blaming parents, superiors, or others for his or her problems. Boating and water sports can sometimes be beneficial antidotes. Leadership roles should be taken where possible. Those that provide titles (chairperson, president, etc.) are especially good for enhancing self-esteem, which is usually lacking. Activities that stress discipline and strategy are particularly good. Among these would be chess, yoga, National Guards, etc.. The need for security must be fulfilled.

Occasionally the client will have no ambition to do anything about the imbalance, in spite of complaints about the quality of life. These imbalances seem to be particularly fond of illogical ‘Yeah, but...’ dialogues. In cases where the client insists that you must ‘solve’ his or her problem single-handedly, you can do very little but stress the fact that astrology teaches self-responsibility, and suggest that the client come back when he or she is ready to accept this tenet or find another astrologer. Psychological counselling might also be recommended; this should be of a type that stresses a ‘here-and-now’ approach.

Previous incarnation for this person was spent in various domesticated activities. Home and the surroundings was the key focus in his life at that time. Circumstances never gave him a chance to go out and do things. As a result of that, he is forced in this life to achieve a lot of things which are not homey or domesticated. He has to be quite tough in his act in life. Strategy, discipline, persistence and methodology are strongly noticed in this character. He is not allowed to show his sensitive side very often; and thus, others are not very fond of his outer character. Once you get to know him, he can be a different person. His life is full of learning experiences, and he almost has to learn from most incidences in his life. Affairs of older folks are very significant in this lifetime for him... from that he cannot get away.

The Cancer Ketu suggests an attraction to the past, looking back into roots, reliving old experiences and memories, and retaining childlike, escapist habits and emotional responses. You may tend toward immaturity, which manifests as a reluctance to see life as it is. You may prefer to impose selective manual filters which limit reception to only what you choose to see, enabling you to ignore other aspects which you prefer to reject. Maturity involves seeing the whole and not turning away from whatever you pretend is not there; this is your primary challenge - growth toward greater maturity and responsibility.

You may feel dependent on others and maintain sentimental attachments to people and nostalgic possessions, trying to preserve all relationships from ever ending or changing. Often, this dependency involves relying on others to resolve your problems, rather than taking self-responsibility. One extreme example of this tendency may be to stimulate psychosomatic illness unconsciously in order to receive attention and support.

Feelings are highly sensitized and vulnerable if relationships fail; your natural reaction is to hold on, hoping that things will improve. Feelings of being loved and taken care of are important, and you rarely spend time analyzing the nature of your relationships or why any failed. Your interest is personal satisfaction and fulfilling emotional needs; and the path of self-discovery may appear too dry to attract. The idea of personal transformation to imrpove the chances of a successful relationship does not initially appeal.

The past has a strong hold over you; and you may indulge in dream-memories of a ‘golden age’. Due to this affinity with the past, you may become involved in activities which maintain the past in the present: perhaps through promoting traditional attitudes and life-styles, by supporting the old ways, values, standards and attitudes, and by resisting new modern viewpoints. You may try to avoid present obligations, as they imply responsibility to create the future. This future is primarily of your own making; and your choices now will shape future experiences and well-being. The question you should answer is: What type of future do you want? By your avoiding action now, your tomorrow becomes dependent on circumstances beyond your control.

The way forward is self-responsibility for choices and actions, accepting the need for independent maturity. Learn how to embrace future possibilities enthusiastically; release accumulated memories, feelings, and childlike needs which have previously been used as an excuse to retreat from challenges. Through maturation, a new type of destiny awaits you. It is the fear of the unknown that you try to evade. Yet through such evasion, you may unconsciously create painful conditions; and circumstances will still drive you toward greater maturity. This is not a negative destiny; in fact, it offers great personal benefit, once you acknowledge the new path. You can discover a new inner strength, stabilized emotions, and self-sufficiency as you move into this new growth phase. Life will seem less threatening and more enriching when you open your eyes to the modern world’s diversity and complexity.

In the cardinal Earth sign Capricorn, as in Sagittarius, a clear stand is taken in the world; but not in the sense of sustaining vigorous effort, as in Scorpio, or, as in Leo, of creating living space where one can rule like a king. Capricorn must establish its authority on a firm foundation. Ability gained by experience and hard work is what is required (Earth sign). This firm foundation, laid with so much effort, must be placed at the disposal of others.

In Capricorn we have the true ruler who is able to lead others with genuine authority that may have taken a long time to develop. The masses follow Capricorn (whereas the group follows Cancer).

Capricorn, standing alone above the crowd, carries heavy responsibilities and must use its position and authority for the benefit of those who are lower down. The saying sometimes applied to Leo: ‘The king is the chief servant of his people’ is easily shrugged off by Leo, but does apply here. For Capricorn, ruling is not an end in itself but a function to be fulfilled for the good of those who are ruled; and it has to be earned by hard work.

So the Capricorn Node calls for competence, ability, skill, and knowledge. These things impart genuine authority and, as in Sagittarius, they entail accountability as well.

When the Node receives hard aspects, and often when it receives neutral aspects, the native may become a string-puller or gray eminence. There is a desire to exercise an influence behind the scenes without having to be made responsible.

To Be Continued .........