Ketu in Vedic astrology stands for isolation, enlightenment, mystery, meditation and most importantly, detachment. Ketu represents karma, it shows the results of our past life deeds. Where Ketu sits in a horoscope defines the area where we reap the results of our past actions. Ketu as we know represents an inclination towards Moksha or enlightenment too. But salvation can only be achieved once you have repented and suffered the miseries inflicted due to previous karma. Ketu house in a horoscope is the area of life where you need to undergo the suffering and pain in order to march towards your ultimate aim of illumination. This is where you need to let go of the illusionary satisfaction and have to detach yourself from material comforts represented by the house.
Ketu detaches the person from what the house of its placement indicates. For example, if Ketu is positioned in 2nd house or 11th house, the person will take little or no interest in matters concerning money. Somehow, the native would not be able to control this area of life. But this doesn’t mean that the person will be bereft of riches. He or she can be a rich person but may not have control over or easy access to their possessions. Such a native may not be inclined to invest their resources wisely or may not have the permission to do that.
Ketu’s house placement thus suggests the object of one’s desire, and the inability to connect to that desired object despite the willingness. The person faces most rejection and detachment in the area that the house of Ketu represents. The person may feel surrounded by the influences of the house but still detached and unable to from a connection and interact substantially. This is how confusion, mental unrest, and struggle to cope come into play, which Ketu is mostly associated with. This perplexity and frustration in turn isolates the native from the matter of the house Ketu resides in.