Rahu in 6th House & Ketu in 12th House

Dear ardent readers here comes the sixth in the series of Rahu / Ketu  in Houses, The earlier series on Rahu / Ketu in Signs published in 2007 also is equally important & worthwhile reading, however care should be taken not to apply these writings verbatim on any chart, as there are many other factors, combinations, aspects etc which need to be studied always before coming to any conclusion.

The Rahu in the Sixth House is good for the native’s health, and even when he is ailing, or seriously ill at some time of his life, Rahu will help him to get over his illness, so that if his life should be despaired of he will have a chance of recovery. It also implies good fortune derived from employees; and if the horoscope on the whole predicts it, it confirms gain through an inheritance. Integration only comes to this individual through service. Must come out of his work and he would have been isolated through self-undoing in the past. Either enforced seclusion, or restrictions due to lack of compassion in the past, has made it easy to retreat this time. Fulfillment comes to this individual through serving others and losing the sense of separateness. Humility, the last virtue to be attained, can be the keynote of his life if the individual is willing to serve others with no concern about the self. In order for any of us to become something, we have to be willing to be nothing. This is the message of the sixth house.

With Rahu in the sixth, he needs to work and to be of service to others. He must learn to do for others with no regard for himself. He needs to lose the self-interest toward which he tends to gravitate. This also includes learning discrimination, attention to details, and discipline from too much daydreaming. He also must concentrate on health matters for the protection of his physical body. He needs to bring compassion down to the practical level.

Ketu in the twelfth indicates spiritual bent of mind in the present and previous lives and sensitivity. Here is the person with a talent for working with the sick or mentally insecure. It gives a drive to seek seclusion and an inclination to meditate. With bad aspects it could give an alienation from society. This position seems to be karmic; and there is a very definite secret, sacrificial service of some kind involved, depending upon sign and aspects. The person with the Ketu in the twelfth house may have a martyr complex, which must be used at its highest in sacrificial service and delving into the secrets of the subconscious, bringing them to the light of the conscious mind. This position gives many nurses and doctors.

The Ketu in the Twelfth House is not so favorable position. It causes incessant worries and troubles during the whole period of occupying this house, or when it passes through it again, unless benefic aspects from other planets are in operation at the same time. It causes loss of money, and unsatisfactory business transactions. It makes powerful enemies and merciless creditors, and is also a sign of ill-health and troubles of all kinds, Ketu in Twelfth house has one very good affect and that is ‘Ultimate Spiritual Progress’ surpassing all other traits.

This condition often signifies work-related areas and importance in life. For some reason, they are highly inspired to do things others may not want to do. For spiritual growth, this is quite a good position of the Rahu. For some reason, their interest in life is not tremendous but just a passing stage in the Karmic line-up. Physical health is maintained considerably well, and they may even get into diet foods, meditation and related areas. In their prior life, they came fairly close to achieving the secret of the universal escape, but missed it by a short margin. This aspect often provides self-confining tendencies to elevate one’s position in the universal race.

This individual spends most of his time in deep thought. He likes to be left alone so that uninterrupted by others he can let his inner reflections sift through the karmic memories of all his past incarnations. This is not to say that he doesn’t like company, or that he’s even aware of what he’s doing. The fact is that he goes so deep as to become totally oblivious to anything he is thinking about! He loses himself in himself.
Always the conscious reason for going inward is based on logical intention, but the individual tends to reach the point where all logic eludes him. The subtlety of the depths he reaches remains a mystery even to him!
One of his greatest problems is that while he stays inside himself he is preventing others from stabilizing his mental journeys. As a result, he accumulates enormous past-life fears, having no idea whether they are real or imagined, or just a compressed collection of the mental scenery on his inward journeys. Still the basis of his outward life is built on fear and imagination, and regardless of how strong the rest of the chart is, he keeps having moments of not being able to find confidence in himself.

He is a lot like the turtle constantly peeking out of his shell. People close to him see his life as a tendency to avoid all that seems real. He spends most of his time watching others from behind a see-through mirror. Ultimately he comes to believe that the rest of the world is viewing him with the same scrutiny. There is a latent paranoia built into this Nodal position. In areas of work he is an unusually poor organizer, leaving many scattered ends behind him and always feeling that there are not enough hours in the day to complete his chores. His problem is that he doesn’t know how to budget his time, and as a result he is constantly trying to catch up to the present. Part of his life will at one time be involved with hospitals, institutions or organizations which demand him to structure his ways. He needs this in order to come out of his inner self..

The big karmic lesson is for him to learn responsibility instead of feeling sorry for all the woes that seem to beset him. More than any other house in the zodiac, he cries at the slightest hurt either real or imagined. Sometimes the crying is inward, but always it is there, for on the very deepest levels he feels that the love he has to give goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Because he thinks this way, he becomes his own creator of gloom; and woe to the person who tries to pull him out, for then he will have a receptive ear for all the past-life hurts, fears and worries.

Underneath all else, he is a bottomless well of fretting, with not enough deep faith in the positive outcome of events. He must work on building trust so that he can have the strength to come out of his shell. Once he does, he is one of the most compassionate, beautiful and useful people in the zodiac. His sixth house Rahu gives him great pleasure in helping others, but he cannot do this well until he realizes and accepts the fact that in this incarnation he has chosen a life of sacrifice. He must learn how to organize his thoughts, his work and his diet, for he is a natural-born healer, capable of defying the limits of practical medicine with his own more mystical methods of curing. But a talent is not a talent until it is developed, and an individual is not more than he thinks he is. Ultimately he will come to learn that his greatest gift is faith. But he will work long and hard to reach that awareness.

Part of the current life might be spent nursing or coping with physical or mental illness, either in himself or in others close to him. His major growth occurs when he realizes that all illness is no more than a disharmony in the body reflecting disharmony in thought. Something inside himself is constantly trying to tell him this, and he must learn not to allow his past-life fears to block what is now being opened for him. Many with these Nodes go through experiences of illnesses that miraculously disappear, to the amazement of medical doctors, dentists and other professional practitioners. The karmic lesson here is to learn the higher reason why, for as soon as understanding is reached, the new-born faith starts to heal. Once he becomes aware of the power of his faith, he becomes a veritable house of power. As he builds in more positive thought currents, he automatically learns not to criticize others for the lack of perfection he sees in them.  His outlook on life remains clinical i.e scrutinizing and diagnosing all with which he comes in contact.

Of all the Nodal positions, this is the most difficult one to open up to past incarnations. The twelfth house Ketu has completed a karmic path, and is ready to get evolved, which is also in essence an indicator of getting Spiritually evolved, the details of which are to remain forever sealed in past times, even though the subtle essence still remains. Lifetimes of escaping from inner torment have been completed. The individual must come to realize that most of his inner negativity is not related to the current life, but only exists through his continuing to think along a track which has already ended. He still has inner feelings of being persecuted which he must learn to bury once and for all, for the more he allows himself to dwell in such thoughts, the more he will inadvertently recreate such circumstances. He should learn to realize the past for exactly what it is: no more than a memory, and no more real than a photograph in his mind, which he now has the free choice of holding on to for the sake of its misery or discarding so that he may step out into a productive new world.

Once he can put his entire state of consciousness into a positive and productive outlook on life, he will be able to start experiencing a new meaning to his existence. The sign which contains the Ketu shows the ways in which the individual blocks his current-life advancement by withdrawing into karma he has already completed. The sign which contains the Rahu indicates the ways in which he can now develop a fruitful life through service. In the sixth house there can be hang-ups about imperfections, dedication, or service. Narrow-mindedness and intolerance are frequently at the root of these hang-ups. A lack of confidence and a strong fear of rejection are common side effects. Everything must be black or white; gray is intolerable; ‘almost’ doesn’t count at all. This holds true both in self-judgment and in judgment of other people.

Total success is this person’s ultimate goal; nothing else is acceptable. There’s a tendency to frequently test other people’s dedication by throwing out obstacles or challenges which must be met if the tested person wants to retain the esteem and respect. Extreme urgency is a keynote - there’s always some crisis to be solved or some need that must be filled immediately. Otherwise, dissatisfaction sets in.
Sometimes, the person may retreat from the real world entirely either via the nervous breakdown route or through involvement in some idealistic pursuit. Typically, this person makes excessive demands on himself or herself and talks a great deal about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people, things, and attitudes. He or she is generally disappointed in friends, work and everything else because expectations are set at such an unreasonably high level.

Rahu in the sixth house dreams of being vital, energetic, and physically and mentally healthy. They may want to be actively involved in some sort of healing art or profession. They dream of becoming psychic healers, doctors, renowned herbalists, or people noted for their healthy, attractive bodies. They dream of finding a way to take care of their body without foregoing self-indulgence and hope of being able to pass this way on to others. Sometimes mental health is emphasized rather than physical health. This person wants very much to be thought of as perceptive. He or she typically feels isolated from others and has difficulty finding emotional satisfaction. Much time is spent examining both emotions and the physical state, hoping to find a key that will allow him or her to feel more in tune with others. Self-deceit or attempts to deceive others may keep perceptions and well-being blocked or lead to misguided or self-defeating action.
You may experience slipping back into the depths of your unconscious mind, moving beyond rational thought, and accessing irrational and imaginative sources. You tend to be introverted, often with a distracted attention as you prefer to avoid involvement in the mundane world. This could either become a form of escapism - and evasion of responsibility and duties - or more positively and creatively be directed toward meditation, contemplation, and a creative artistic spirit. Results depend upon application and choice. You may feel that life is a dreamlike state; this depends on how effectively you separate inner activity from external reality.

This inward mental attention does affect daily life. You may be less efficient and organized at work or when performing domestic tasks. Through diverting energy and interest toward inner realms, you often leave work unfinished and then claim the excuse of insufficient time. This can become a normal behavior pattern. Even if you had more time, however, you may still fail to complete tasks as your attention suddenly fades. To change this tendency, and to become more mundanely anchored, you could benefit from an organizational structure which requires self-discipline and shows how careful planning and a focused will can be efficient.
There may be various inner fears and indistinct worries which preoccupy your mind and make you feel sorry for yourself. What may be needed is greater self-responsibility, and an effort to become more positive and trusting of life, so that fears can be banished. Then you can feel confident to dare to face the real world. You are quite capable of doing this; but any avoidance habit may inhibit progress, since you do prefer retreating into a private inner world, especially at times during relationships when you believe your love for another is unappreciated.

You need to be helpful to others, but may be reticent in moving beyond a protective shell. Your usefulness depends on passing beyond these restrictive behavior patterns. Reaching out to embrace life, accepting your total nature, and improving communication with others is your way forward.
There may be a phase of illness - either your own or that of someone else close to you - which offers a lesson that much illness, being psychosomatic in nature, is caused by states of inner disharmony of thought, emotions, attitudes and values. This can be through emotional repression which generates physical side-effects, tension, and stress. If you can perceive the cause behind the obvious symptoms, identify the real underlying problem, and make a conscious, deliberate effort to transform and resolve the problem, amazing healings can occur. The path of healing may then attract your attention, and you could have healing abilities which can be awakened. Linking your observational abilities and empathic contact to your personal growth, and introducing more positive attitudes, could help transform you into a ‘healer’, especially in the alternative medicine field. Once you deal with your problems, you should experience a more fulfilling sense of meaning and purpose, especially when you share yourself with others.

Here our problems are existential, and we are concerned with maintaining ourselves - unlike the situation in the 5th house, where we simply stand and make our presence felt and where being is more important than doing. However, even the 6th house is not primarily concerned with doing, but with getting a clear idea of what one is capable of doing. The 6th house is a mutable house; and mutable houses always have to do with realization. It employs the process of realization to find its own ‘untapped market’. It prompts us to ask, ‘Where are abilities like mine in demand, where am I needed, where would I fit in?’ The question may appear to be academic, but it is real enough, for a 6th house presupposes a 5th - i.e., it presupposes that we already possess 5th-house self-assurance and enjoy a certain status.

In the 6th house we are concerned with being able to make proper use of the ‘I’ that has been put to the test in the 5th house. Thus we are concerned with becoming part of the environment, and with making a personal contribution to it, while earning a living at the same time. Basically, in the 6th house - especially if the Node is positioned there - we should look on ourselves as a supplier who can satisfy a demand, saying, ‘I wish to make a contribution to my local community. Now where is this contribution required?’ It is a question of putting others first, because the 6th house is a house of service.

The principle of service should be recognized as a valid principle, as when it is said of a king that he is the chief servant of his people. Similarly, the 6th house does not necessitate servility, or passive, compliant acceptance. It calls for a positive contribution, provided our contribution meets a real need; for this is what service is all about. Often we have to do hard work, and make an effort that taxes our strength and may even seem to be bad for us; but, with the Node in the 6th house, such experiences are a necessary part of life. We can grit our teeth and say, ‘I know this is no good to me. Nevertheless, I will do it, because the situation calls for it’. If we are harboring some illusion about our abilities, the Node in the 6th house will undeceive us, and will show us the truth about what we can and cannot do. In the 6th house, it is important to perform, as briskly and as cheerfully as possible, the task that lies to hand. We need to resist the temptation to sit and dream. Success in the 6th house comes by tackling a job oneself, without waiting for someone else to do it. One should do one’s best, even if the task seems to be beneath one’s dignity, or leaves us feeling that we always have to do everything ourselves, because it is by our personal participation that everything gets underway and is organized. The whole secret of the 6th house lies in the continual fulfillment of obligations, and in a wholehearted application of one’s abilities to achieve common goals.

If the Rahu is in the sixth house, the person’s greatest growth, evolution, and fulfillment come through routine service, daily work, and attention to details. In past lives, the person has been dreamy, idealistic, religious, and spiritual. Now he must focus on practical matters and learn to deal with boundaries, essentials, and necessities. Careers involving nursing, cooking, haircutting, etc. are all favored. Or the person may fulfill his destiny in any pursuit dealing with knowledge and information. He may be a good writer, editor, accountant, or bookkeeper. The person must investigate, analyze, and evaluate on a daily basis.

The person may have been born wanting to help everyone else, with little concern for his own personal needs. Now he is here to focus on self-improvement, progress, and full development of his talents. He should take care of the quality of his appearance and the food he eats. Health matters are important, and the person should exercise and learn about preventative medicine and healing techniques. He has to relinquish his easygoing ways, and make a lifestyle of discriminating, judging, and attaining perfection in earthly matters. He should work on precision, manual dexterity, technical skills, and any crafts of his choice. Duty and discipline are crucial in this lifetime.

The person should be picky. He should be cautious and careful, and intensely examine all issues. He should seek to understand the details and mechanics of things. The more knowledge he gains, the happier he will be. His task is to categorize and compartmentalize, and create order wherever chaos exists. He should leave wisdom, idealism, and broad perspectives to philosophers. His efforts should be directed toward solving problems and overcoming obstacles. Old tendencies of profound, compassionate sacrifice should be avoided. The person is here for minor service, and he will suffer if he acts the part of ‘savior’, or allows others to take advantage of his generous nature. Enjoyment of small pets is favored. Purity and innocence are essential, and the person must never function out of improper motives.
Rahu in the sixth house indicates good health and a powerful appetite. The person defeats his enemies and competitors with ease, and therefore may reach the top of his chosen field with little interference or resistance. The Ketu in the twelfth is good for spiritual growth and enlightenment.