Ketu Transit in Ashwini

Ashwini opens the zodiac in Aries, and it is Ketu's own nakshatra. The Ashwini Kumaras, the twin physicians, are its deities, and a horse's head its symbol. Mars owns the sign, and by the Kujavat Ketu rule Ketu behaves like Mars, so the graha is at home in both star and sign.

Ketu moves backward. It enters Ashwini at the fourth pada and leaves from the first, a stay of around seven months that divides into two visits when the true node runs direct for some weeks. The first pada is the gandanta edge, where Ashwini meets Revati and one cycle closes into the next.

Healing, speed, transport, horses and beginnings are Ashwini's themes. In its own star Ketu gives sudden insight, a healing gift learned before this life, and a body that wants to move. Headaches and injuries from haste are the usual cautions. Rahu stands in Swati at the same time and slides back into Chitra for the second half of the stay.

Aquarius, Scorpio and Gemini Moons receive Ketu in the third, sixth and eleventh, the houses Phaladeepika allows to Saturn and to the nodes. Aries Moons carry Ketu in the first house and Rahu in the seventh, and the sense of self thins out. Libra Moons have the reverse, with Rahu on the lagna and Ketu on the partner. Taurus Moons hold Ketu in the twelfth and Virgo Moons in the eighth, and the lagna is counted the same way.

The stay shows how a person begins things. Ketu removes the urge to begin for its own sake, and what starts now comes from a quieter place.

The remedy is Ganesha, the Ashwini Kumaras as physicians, and Om Kem Ketave Namah. Parashara prescribes mantra and dana for Ketu, and the traditional gifts are a blanket, sesame or food for dogs on Tuesday.