Planets (grahas)

Ketu in Vedic astrology

Ketu (the south lunar node) is one of the nine grahas. It is the point where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's path going south, always exactly opposite Rahu. It is linked to detachment, loss and spiritual insight. Its Vimshottari mahadasha is 7 years long.

Updated Nov 3, 2026

More terms in Planets (grahas)

Ketu: how the API computes it

Ketu is always exactly 180 degrees from Rahu, and it follows the same rules. It is reported as retrograde, or moving backward (CH-10). It is never combust (weakened by the Sun), and it rules no sign.

In the API's tables, Ketu is exalted (strongest) in Sagittarius and debilitated (weakest) in Gemini (CH-02, CH-03). The two nodes are read as one axis. POST /v1/karma gives a karmic reading.

There, the house Ketu sits in sets the theme of the whole axis (KR-02). Kaal sarp dosh is a chart pattern judged by where the other planets fall on either side of the Rahu-Ketu line (DO-03). The Sun or the Moon may share a sign with Rahu or Ketu. Then POST /v1/yogas reports grahan yoga, where grahan means eclipse (YG-31).

Get it from the API

Planet positions and the ascendant. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

POST /v1/planets

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/planets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'

Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK

{
  "meta": {
    "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
    "ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
    "julian_day": 2448119.10483,
    "ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
    "node": "true",
    "timezone": {
      "source": "zone",
      "offset_hours": -4,
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "dst": true,
      "dst_hours": 1,
      "ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
      "note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
    }
  },
  "ascendant": {
    "name": "Ascendant",
    "longitude": 169.934155,
    "sign": "Virgo",
    "sign_number": 6,
    "degree_in_sign": 19.934155,
    "degree_dms": "19 : 56 : 03",
    "house": 1,
    "nakshatra": "Hast",
    "nakshatra_lord": "Moon",
    "pada": 3,
    "speed": 0,
    "retrograde": false,
    "combust": false,
    "dignity": "n/a",
    "vargottama": false,
    "pushkara": {
      "navamsa": false,
      "navamsa_number": 6,
      "bhaga": false,
      "bhaga_degree": 9,
      "bhaga_by_element": false,
      "bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
      "sources_agree": true,
      "orb_degrees": 1
    }
  },
  "positions": [
    {
      "name": "Sun",
      "longitude": 118.7753409,
      "sign": "Cancer",
      "sign_number": 4,
      "degree_in_sign": 28.7753409,
      "degree_dms": "28 : 46 : 31",
      "house": 11,
      "nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
      "pada": 4,
      "speed": 0.9610665,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "friend",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": false,
        "navamsa_number": 9,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 8,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 7,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Moon",
      "longitude": 54.5750352,
      "sign": "Taurus",
      "sign_number": 2,
      "degree_in_sign": 24.5750352,
      "degree_dms": "24 : 34 : 30",
      "house": 9,
      "nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
      "pada": 1,
      "speed": 14.258194,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "mulatrikona",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": false,
        "navamsa_number": 8,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 14,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Mars",
      "longitude": 27.7149328,
      "sign": "Aries",
      "sign_number": 1,
      "degree_in_sign": 27.7149328,
      "degree_dms": "27 : 42 : 54",
      "house": 8,
      "nakshatra": "Krittika",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Sun",
      "pada": 1,
      "speed": 0.5753266,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "own sign",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": true,
        "navamsa_number": 9,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 21,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 21,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    }
  ],
  "planetary_war": []
}

Where the API returns it

POST	/v1/planets	Planet positions and the ascendant
POST	/v1/chart/svg	The birth chart or any divisional chart as an SVG or PNG image
POST	/v1/special-lagnas	Special lagnas, the yogi point, Jaimini lords and dagdha signs
POST	/v1/aspects	Planet aspects (graha drishti)
POST	/v1/dasha/narayana	Narayana dasha: the Jaimini sign periods
POST	/v1/yogas	Yogas: planetary combinations found and not found

What the API reference says

Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.

POST /v1/planets · Planet positions and the ascendantRahu and Ketu have no friends or enemies, so they report neither.
POST /v1/chart/svg · The birth chart or any divisional chart as an SVG or PNG imageRahu and Ketu are never marked R.
POST /v1/special-lagnas · Special lagnas, the yogi point, Jaimini lords and dagdha signsSaturn, Rahu and Ketu are never returned: where one of them wins a stage, it is named nominal and graha is the 6th planet from it instead, with the other counting convention in disputed.
POST /v1/aspects · Planet aspects (graha drishti)Set nodes=false to leave out Rahu and Ketu, as the schools that give them no aspects do.

Feature page: Kundli and birth charts. Who uses it: Astrology apps. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.

How we check the numbers

Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.

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Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK

RisingVirgoHast
SunCancerAshlesha
MoonTaurusMrigashira
MarsAriesKrittika

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