What is the difference between Western and Vedic Astrology?
Modern western psychodynamic astrology, when expertly interpreted, accurately depicts our psychological make-up, the sub-personalities within us and issues of individuation and wholeness. Vedic astrology which is far more ancient powerful and accurately identifies the journey of the soul. It identifies the journey we were born to undertake. It describes the physical and psycho-mental circumstances we will attract into our lives as fates for us to work with. Vedic astrology asserts that these fates are chosen with reference to past karmas that have accrued in previous lives. Some of these karmas are fixed (drida): there is little we can do about them: we need to experience them =for a life-time in order to make the growth we need to undertake; other of our karmas are not fixed (adrida) – these we can learn to modify or eliminate or ‘burn’.
What Does the Vedic Birth Chart look like?
The Vedic birth chart consists of twelve signs, where each of the signs is co-terminous with a house. The planets are situated in the varius signs/houses.
The Ascendant of Rising sign is called the Lagna and it is the first house. all subsequent houses are numbered off from the Lagna.
There are two main ways of drawing the chart:
To the left is the North Indian style Vedic birth chart with diamond-shaped signs/houses.
To the right is the Vedic birth chart drawn South Indian style with square signs/houses.
What are the meanings of the planets in the Vedic Birth Chart?
How a planet will manifest in your life is dependent on the house it occupies, the houses it rules, aspects formed to it by other planets and its position and strength within the sign/house it occupies.
SUN: The father as revealed in your Vedic Birth Chart (look also at the 9th House),the Inner Light, the Atman, cosmic intelligence, consciousness, life and love power and authority, egoic sense of identity: the business self.
MOON: The mother as revealed in your Vedic Birth Chart (look also at the 4th House), the past (and consciousness arising therefrom), what Hinduism and Buddhism call: the Mind, daily communication, how we receive, feelings and emotions.
MERCURY: Objective intellect and differentiation, humour, writing, education, ideas, commerce, mental flexibility, travelling short distances. The lesser Mind.
VENUS: Beauty, refinement, charisma, good taste, love, marriage, sexuality, enjoyment of the good things in life, riches, the marriage partner in a man’s horoscope.
MARS: Energy, potency and sexual passion, competitive attitude, sport, muscles, accidents, brothers and sisters, technical insight, action. The men in your life.
JUPITER: The guru or spiritual teacher planet, insight into the workings of the cosmos, creativity, luck, our religious principals, pleasure, party-time, children, the Husband: the marriage partner in a female horoscope, her eldest son.
SATURN: Lord of Karma. Longevity, limitations, discipline, adversity, delays, melancholia and depression, fears, reserves, material values, concentration, ascetic demeanour, hard work.
The Nodes of the Moon: RAHU/KETU: The indicators of your incarnational destiny: your life-purpose in this life. In Western astrology the dragon’s head or North Node (Rahu) has positive connotations and the dragon’s tail or South Node (Ketu) has negative connotations.
In Indian astrology however, both nodes are regarded as ‘shadow planets’ with negative connotations. A Sun or Moon eclipse is only possible if either the Sun or the Moon is near the nodes. Indian astrology regards Rahu and Ketu as forces who have the power to obscure the Sun and the Moon, which is regarded with negativity (they can obscure the light symbolised by the Sun. They are demons). Rahu is the head of a mythological dragon and Ketu the tail. This dragon has the capacity to be able to swallow the Sun and the Moon.
Rahu: Some of the things attributed to Rahu are hypnotism, mass trends, insanity, and self-delusion. Rahu can offer (temporary) material success, which could be an explanation for the positive value given to this shadow planet in the Western astrology. These successes may include for instance, the power to influence others, but it does not lead to inner satisfaction. Rahu can bring psychic powers and mediumship, but also paranoia and negative influences from entities.
We can see Rahu at work in the lives of some film stars, for example. These are the film stars who become extremely wealthy, and have an extravagant lifestyle, but who end their lives in an environment of drugs and decay. Many politicians and leading figures in the business world are under the strong influence of Rahu. They still have to learn that power and material riches do not lead to inner contentment.
KETU is also difficult. Ketu is associated with doubt, isolation, and alienation. However, Ketu can also lead us to concentration on a spiritual level, and further to spiritual deliverance (moksha). Those who turn their backs on a normal daily lifestyle in order to follow the spiritual path are strongly influenced by Ketu. Although the problem here is, that Ketu can give occasion to illusions in spirituality. For instance, following a guru who is of the opinion that he does not have to practice that which he preaches. Ketu is potentially deeply psychic and spiritual.
The energy of Rahu is directed outwards (extrovert), but the energy of Ketu is directed inwards (introvert).
Incarnational Life Purpose: Ketu represents our past lives. ‘The conquering army) – where we got to last time, in previous lives. Rahu represents the obsessional driven thrust to our life purpose this time. ‘The advancing army’. He is prone to being surrounded by the smoke of illusion (which Ketu can blow away). Although Rahu gives us drive and direction, its force must be purified if we are to get to the destination.
What are the 12 Signs of the Vedic Birth Chart?
Signs are symbols of the HOW a planet functions. It is like seeing the light of the planet through a filter. A planet in a certain sign will give you certain information as to HOW that planet functions. For example: the Moon (symbolising the Mind) in Taurus means that the person has a stable mind, because this is a characteristic accorded to Taurus.
ARIES: The first impulse, impulsive, headstrong, enterprising, man of action. Ruler: Mars
TAURUS: Stable and trustworthy, solid, steadfast, enjoys the good things of life. Ruler: Venus
GEMINI: Flexible, communicative, inquisitive, and sometimes restless. Ruler: Mercury
CANCER: Sensitive, home loving, warm, sometimes a little shy. Ruler: Moon
LEO: Proud, likes to be the centre of attention, magnanimous, commanding. Ruler: Sun
VIRGO: Critical, precise, modest, helpful, and diligent. Ruler: Mercury
LIBRA: Values harmony and justice, romanticist, companionable, appreciates beautiful things. Ruler: Venus
SCORPIO: Intense, passionate, mysterious, preoccupied with transformation sometimes concerned with power. Ruler: Mars
SAGITTARIUS: Optimistic preoccupied with expansion, philosophical, sometimes dogmatic. Ruler: Jupiter
CAPRICORN: Conservative, hard worker, serious, progresses slowly. Ruler: Saturn
AQUARIUS: Independent, somewhat eccentric, overflowing with ideas, inventive, congenial. Ruler: Saturn
PISCES: Intuitive, lively fantasy, idealistic, very sensitive, sometimes unpractical, tendency to self-pity. Ruler: Jupiter
Some Classification of the twelve Vedic Signs:
Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are FIRE signs. They are the signs of individuality and expression. In India, these signs are associated with raja yoga. This is royal yoga, and its aim is to control the creative powers that are present in human life.
Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are EARTH signs. These are the practical signs, founded on matter. The type of yoga ascribed to the earth signs is karma yoga. Its aim is to teach mankind to place daily work and obligations in a spiritual context.
Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are AIR signs. These are the signs of human contact and communication. Jnana yoga is the type of yoga assigned here. This embraces understanding the complexities of the cosmos (by thinking and studying). Astrology is a form of jnana yoga.
Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are WATER signs. Here the central theme is sensitivity. This is the realm of bhakti yoga. This consists of devotion and unity with the Divine in a devotional way (the Hare Krishna movement is an example of this).
What is the Meaning of the twelve Houses in Vedic Astrology?
FIRST HOUSE: Personal identity, appearance, vitality, self-confidence, how we present ourselves to the outside world, circumstances of birth, our body.
SECOND HOUSE: Wealth. Financial success or failure. The mouth, taste, and everything that comes out of the mouth, therefore communicative capacity (both written and verbal) and intelligence, education and knowledge, writing and literature. Early childhood, family life.
THIRD HOUSE: Obstacles. Younger brothers and sisters, short distance travel, correspondence and written matters, the people we work with, our motivation and the basic energy we use in order to get things done, our level of courage, our interests/hobbies/pastimes, potency, artistic abilities (especially music, dance and the theatre), adventure. This is an ego-oriented house. This house also shows, among other things, the manner in which we shape our personal needs.
FOURTH HOUSE: Mother and consciousness arising therefrom, roots, ancestral heredity, our family, the home, our basic emotions, property and possessions (real estate and the more expensive personal property, the mind and basic thought pattern, such as that influenced during our youth.
FIFTH HOUSE: Our children, creativity, panting and drawing, intelligence and capacity to advise others. Purva Punya (past life merit), our spiritual aspirations, religious rituals, love and romance, pleasure and recreation, sport, speculation and wealth.
SIXTH HOUSE: Enemies, obstacles, accidents, and your capacity to resist them. Health and sickness, medical sector. service, duty and work.
SEVENTH HOUSE: Marriage. The house of the partner, long-lasting relationships, known enemies, business partners, passion and sexuality, the manner in which we attempt to influence others, success and failure in business.
EIGHTH HOUSE: Death. Inheritances and money from others, occult interests, the house of transformation, the fringe of existence, length of life and manner of death, sexual charm and potency, capacity to think deeply.
NINTH HOUSE: Spirituality, religion and philosophy. Higher education (like university). The Father. The Guru. Long-distance travel, wisdom, travel. Unexpected luck. Our values, conceptions, ideals, principles,
TENTH HOUSE: Profession, honour, power and prestige. Our position in society, achievement.
ELEVENTH HOUSE: Gains. Aims, profits, income, eldest sibling. Whatever is placed in this house grows and increases, realisation of ideals and wishes. The eleventh house in Indian astrology is individualistic by nature and not very group-oriented.
TWELFTH HOUSE: Loss. Squander That which we do not use. What goes on behind the scenes (in hospitals, jails, cloisters, etc.) secrets, far countries, sexual pleasure, expenditure, the unconscious, spiritual release (via the demise of the ego).
SOME CLASSIFICATIONS OF HOUSES:
Houses 1, 5, and 9: Dharma: These are the houses of development in the outside world. harma means task of showing who you are (first house), creativity (fifth house), and the ideals we hope to achieve (ninth house). In Western astrology, they are called the fire houses.
Houses 2, 6, and 10: Artha: These are the houses of possession and work. They are the artha houses (artha means possessions) that show what we have (second house), how we use possessions and tools (sixth house), and what we finally want to achieve with them (tenth house). In Western astrology these are called the earth houses.
Houses 3, 7, and 11: Kama. These are the houses of realising our dreams (kama) and desires. They are the kama houses that give information about our energy and personal needs (third house), our need for another (seventh house), and our final objectives (eleventh house). In Western astrology they are called the air houses.
Houses 4, 8 and 12: Moksha: These are the houses of spiritual release, also called moksha. The fourth house indicates our deepest feelings, the eighth house the transformations that we must pass through so that we can finally become one with the cosmos via the twelfth house. In Western astrology, they are called the water houses.
A further classification of the Houses is Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable:
The cardinal houses are 1, 4, 7, and 10. These are the houses where we are stimulated by needs that we observe in the outside world. In Indian astrology, these houses are particularly important, and are called the kendra houses.
The fixed houses are 2, 5, 8, and 11. Here we become aware of our own needs and try to create security.
The mutable houses are 3, 6, 9, and 12. They are the houses of learning and adaptability.
Another Classification of the Houses is Favourable, unfavourable or ‘growing’:
Favourable Houses:
Kendras: 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th. Angular. Action Houses
Trikonas: 1st, 5th and 9th: Abundance Houses
Unfavourable Houses:
Dusthanas: 3rd, 6th, 8th, 12th: Evil Houses – but the 3rd and 6th are Upachaya or can grow with experience.
Triks: 6th, 8th and 12th: Houses of Difficult Events
Upachayas: 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th: Growing Houses
Marakas: 2nd and 7th: Death-dealing Houses
What is the Meaning of the twelve Houses in Vedic Astrology?
Signs are symbols of the HOW a planet functions. It is like seeing the light of the planet through a filter. A planet in a certain sign will give you certain information as to HOW that planet functions. For example: the Moon (symbolising the Mind) in Taurus means that the person has a stable mind, because this is a characteristic accorded to Taurus.
ARIES: The first impulse, impulsive, headstrong, enterprising, man of action. Ruler: Mars
TAURUS: Stable and trustworthy, solid, steadfast, enjoys the good things of life. Ruler: Venus
GEMINI: Flexible, communicative, inquisitive, and sometimes restless. Ruler: Mercury
CANCER: Sensitive, home loving, warm, sometimes a little shy. Ruler: Moon
LEO: Proud, likes to be the centre of attention, magnanimous, commanding. Ruler: Sun
VIRGO: Critical, precise, modest, helpful, and diligent. Ruler: Mercury
LIBRA: Values harmony and justice, romanticist, companionable, appreciates beautiful things. Ruler: Venus
SCORPIO: Intense, passionate, mysterious, preoccupied with transformation sometimes concerned with power. Ruler: Mars
SAGITTARIUS: Optimistic preoccupied with expansion, philosophical, sometimes dogmatic. Ruler: Jupiter
CAPRICORN: Conservative, hard worker, serious, progresses slowly. Ruler: Saturn
AQUARIUS: Independent, somewhat eccentric, overflowing with ideas, inventive, congenial. Ruler: Saturn
PISCES: Intuitive, lively fantasy, idealistic, very sensitive, sometimes unpractical, tendency to self-pity. Ruler: Jupiter
Some Classification of the twelve Vedic Signs:
Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are FIRE signs. They are the signs of individuality and expression. In India, these signs are associated with raja yoga. This is royal yoga, and its aim is to control the creative powers that are present in human life.
Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are EARTH signs. These are the practical signs, founded on matter. The type of yoga ascribed to the earth signs is karma yoga. Its aim is to teach mankind to place daily work and obligations in a spiritual context.
Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are AIR signs. These are the signs of human contact and communication. Jnana yoga is the type of yoga assigned here. This embraces understanding the complexities of the cosmos (by thinking and studying). Astrology is a form of jnana yoga.
Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are WATER signs. Here the central theme is sensitivity. This is the realm of bhakti yoga. This consists of devotion and unity with the Divine in a devotional way (the Hare Krishna movement is an example of this).
What is the Difference between the Zodiacs of Western and Vedic Astrology?
Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac (start point 0 deg tropical Aries: where the Sun is on the first day of Spring).
Vedic Astrology uses the sidereal zodiac (start point 0 deg sidereal Aries which is anchored to a fixed star).
As the western tropical zodiac moves a degree every 72 years against the backdrop of the stars due to the wobble in the Earth’s axis of rotation causing Precession of the Equinoxes, the two zodiacs diverge by a degree every 72 years, and the difference between them is called the Ayanamsha. The two Zodiacs are currently 24 degrees apart.
Because the sidereal zodiac of Vedic astrology is fixed: it is anchored to a fixed star (Spica) thus it is seen as a statement of the Eternal. Because the tropical zodiac of western astrology is moving a degree every 72 years and its start point is that point in the heavens that the Sun occupies on the first day of Spring, and because it is solar it is ‘ego astrology’ The scope of Vedic Astrology is thus immensely vaster than egoic western astrology, though this is not at all to undermine the value of western astrology. We are psychological beings.
What are the Nakshatras?
The Lunar Zodiac: Vedic astrology also employs an even more ancient zodiac: the immeasurably powerful lunar zodiac of 27 signs. The Nakshatras depict our realities in a magical and dream time way that is pre-solar, pre-logical and pre-linear, and is hugely accurate, powerful and meaningful.
These lunar signs are called ‘Nakshatras’. The positions of the lunar signs were more easily visible to ancient astrologers because they are quite simply the position of the Moon in the heavens on each of the 27 days the Moon takes to orbit the Earth.
Because the lunar signs are so ancient, they are powerful and magical and pre-rational, and each of them has a power animal that can be used for many purposes of understanding, including the identification of the best marriage partner for you.
This system is immensely sophisticated in the techniques it uses such as Navatara, Nara chakra (health statement) and Nadi Nakshatras. Its vast and sure systems of Nakshatra sign rulerships and qualities throw immense meaning into our lives.
The Vedic Astrology of Relationship Compatibility
The Vedic Astrology of Love and Relationships gives an exceptionally clear and decisive analysis of a relationship. This is given in a way that is not available from western astrology. It travels the infinite thread between intimacy and vastness. Vedic Love Astrology states simply and powerfully the key issues about relationship, for example it measures the all-important quality of respect, what level of sexual attraction, whether there is friendliness, whether there is the necessary shared sense of purpose, and so forth. It is an invaluable backbone to relationships understanding. You can’t actually understand relationships without it.
The Lunar Sign or Nakshatra that your Moon falls in in your Vedic natal chart is the basis for the ancient and powerfully accurate Vedic Astrology of love and relationships. See the 6 or 7 page special report on your Love Nakshatra attached. Each Nakshatra has a power animal. The power animal of the same species but the opposite gender to your own is your ideal sexual partner, however, taking the wider issues of relationship, overall compatibility is often best with another Lunar Sign.
How to understand apparent contradictions:
In Vedic Astrology, when there are contradictory statements, it is not the case that this is dismissed as a contradiction, but that the two will merge like some sort of carefully crafted committee minute. Rather it is the case that BOTH statements will manifest as true in the life. This is because Vedic Astrology is part of the tantric spiritual system of Hinduism, and the nature of tantra is to treat the two contradictory statements like two ends of the same pole and to reconcile apparent opposites in the sense of finding the truth beyond the two ends of the pole, because all phenomena, including apparent opposites are inherently connective to the divine root of all being, and thus not in a real sense opposite.
TITHI: The Phase of the Moon at the moment you were Born:
Vedic Astrology has an incredibly powerful astrology regarding the phase the Moon was at the moment you were born. This Moon Phase is called Tithi. If your Tithi is weak, it will undermine your birth chart decisively. If your Tithi is strong it will assist your birth chart decisively.
Vedic Predictive Periods
Vedic Astrology uses powerful, sure and accurate predictive life periods called Dasas. The Dasas unfold in set pattern from the moment of our birth. They have sub-periods within the Dasas often called Bhuktis or antars. They are a powerful form of prediction but their timing is very sensitive to accurate time of birth. Each Dasa is ruled by a planet. To identify how the energies of the ruling planet will manifest in the planet’s Dasa period, in the life of a specific person involves analysis studying the sign within which the planet is found in the natal chart, the aspects made to it, the signs it rules within the chart, the Nakshatras it rules and occupies.
