Vedic Astrology:
What Is
It?
by William R. Levacy
 Vedic astrology is an ancient
behavioral analysis and forecasting system. It employs a diagram of the
positions of the planets relative to the earth and sky, based on the time and
place of a person's birth. An astrologer reviews this chart to find information
about an individual's concerns and about terrestrial events. The astrologer,
depending on skill and clarity of consciousness, makes inferences regarding an
individual's disposition and character and may foretell events in that person's
life. Using advanced techniques, an astrologer may even forecast events on a
community, national, or global scale.
What draws people to astrology
through the ages, I believe, is the desire to make the right decisions. Plagued
with poor decision-making capabilities, a person can retreat and inordinately
reduce their expectations. Taking lower risks, they attain lower results, lower
rewards, and basically, a life of diminished joy. Astrologers help their clients
understand whether they are in a slump or a surge and what might be the
anticipated duration of either one. Astrologers, as counselors, want to help
lead their clients to positive outcomes and to help them build a psychology that
naturally triggers life-supporting behaviors.
Inser1 Ultimately, the best way to get
out of trouble is not to get into trouble to start with. Patanjali, the author
of the Yoga Sutras, offered a timely aphorism: "Avoid the danger which has not
come yet:" Vedic astrology offers us a map to guide our life and gives us an
analytical time profile of our behavior to help us understand what compels us to
act. Vedic astrology helps us determine which behavioral traits to promote and
which ones to target for self improvement.
As a final note, it is not Vedic
astrology's purpose to replace an individual's responsibility to decide for
themselves what is best. Astrology tells us about the absence or presence of
certain tendencies. We may use this information as a tool to form our own
decisions and take our own actions. Armed with that, we can move forward
joyfully in our lives, anticipating the best and averting the rest.
How Does It Work?
At the time and place of birth,
there is a specific astronomical pattern in the heavens. This sky model is
recorded from a distinct geographical point. Astrologers document this
planet-earth-sky pattern and call it a chart. On the chart, they mark
significant features such as the following:
-
Where the planets are in the sky
-- by listing their location in a constellation, or sign of the
zodiac
-
The location on the earth -- by
using latitude and longitude; these are called houses
-
Which sign is on the horizon, or
that part of the sky east of the birth location, at the time of birth -- this
point is called the rising sign or ascendant.
The above are the three most
significant components of a chart. As the earth rotates, the signs move through
the houses, following the clock throughout the day. The birth diagram is called
a horoscope (from Greek horo, indicating time, and scope, meaning to look at).
In India, the chart is called the chakra (wheel), Janma Kundali (rising), or
Kala Purusha (body of time). In Vedic astrology, a chart is drawn as a square
and/or a box of triangles, but in Western astrology, it is drawn as a
wheel.
The birth chart diagram is
interpreted according to specific rules of Vedic astrology as laid out by the
ancient rishis, or seers, such as Maharishi Parasara. Fundamentally, Vedic
astrology, or Jyotish, is a system for interpreting how behavior will unfold
over time. Modern Western psychology analyzes behavior, but Vedic astrology
shows how behavior might change over time. Life patterns seen in the birth chart
are matched by the astrologer against the patterns seen in historical rules and
records of parallel astronomical information. For predictive purposes, the
Jyotishi uses a Vedic planetary almanac, or a computer program, to track the
location of planets from sign to sign, and house to house, to locate when
circumstances will emerge.
An astrologer determines when a
planet will cross a sensitive point in the birth chart, stimulating a specific
event. This event, waiting in the storehouse of that person's destiny, occurs as
promised in the birth chart, modified somewhat by actions performed in this
life. While these events are not necessarily predestined or even required to
happen, they show a tendency to do so over the course of a person's life. The
chart is a record of that person's karma. The astrologer's role is to match the
patterns in the birth chart with the current patterns in the heavens, and to
understand the nature of that person's environment. The astrologer consults the
records in the ancient texts, much of which is memorized, and then analyzes,
synthesizes, and draws a conclusion about the events at hand. The correctness of
the reading is directly proportional to the experience and spiritual advancement
of the astrologer, as well as to the recipient's desire and receptivity to
having their chart read clearly. The reading is a short-term
partnership.
Some authors feel that planets
actually cause events to happen. They attempt to scientifically verify astrology
with references to gravity, cosmic radiation, and the like. While this may or
may not be true exactly, I think it more useful to view the planets as
indicators of vast emerging patterns more than singular causative agents. To me,
that's a bit like saying that the city limit signs for Los Angeles cause the
city to exist, rather than to mark where it begins and ends.
As background material, it is good
to know that the Vedic texts declare that Vishnu, the great maintainer of the
universe, incarnated and reincarnated in cycles born of the essence of the nine
planets. Brahma, the creator, acting on behalf of Vishnu, uses the planets in
specific ways to disperse the creation around the universe.
How Is Vedic Astrology
Different?
The Vedic system is a more
accurate astronomical representation of the Sun's position in relation to the
skies. The Western systems emphasize the relationship of the Sun to the earth
and the seasons. For this reason, Western astrology can be referred to as
"tropical astrology", and Vedic astrology can be called "sidereal astrology."
Sidereal astrology simply means that planetary movements are tracked against the
positions of the stars, thus favoring the astral positions. In contrast,
tropical astrology favors our point of view from Earth, tracking the planets in
reference to seasonal points, such as the springtime.
Over the last several hundred
years, this difference has caused the two systems to drift apart by about 24
degrees on where they mark the start of an astrological year. Both use the
vernal or spring equinox as the start, but in Vedic systems, the vernal equinox
currently marks 6 degrees of the Sun in Pisces -- this is 24 degrees back from
where western astrologers mark the equinox as the beginning of
Aries.
The difference between the Western
start of the astrological year in Aries, and the Vedic or sidereal start in
Pisces, is called the ayanamsa. Ayanamsa means "division of the year". Unless
you were born between about the 15th and 20th of the month, you will find your
"Western" Sun has most likely moved back by one sign in a Vedic astrological
chart. Vedic scholars have differences of opinion as to the exact date and time
when the two systems started drifting away from each other (the ayanamsa point).
The government of India chose the calculations of N. C. Lahiri. Ayanamsas also
exist for Raman, Krishnamurti, and Sri Yukteswar. However, they are all close to
plus or minus 6 degrees of Pisces.
Vedic astrology traditionally uses
one house system, called the "equal house" system. (There is another system,
called the Bhava Chalita, which adjusts the size of the houses according to the
latitude of the birth place.) In Western astrology, there are numerous methods
for dividing up the earth's latitude and longitude and forming the astrological
land and time divisions called the houses.
Vedic, sidereal astrology also
incorporates star signs based on the movement of the moon -- about one day per
Sun sign. These 27 moon signs are called nakshatras. Vedic astrology also
divides the ecliptic, or the Sun's path, into 15 additional divisions, so we not
only have the 30 degree divisions of each Sun sign, but further divisions of up
to 150 segments. These are called the Shodasavargas. It's like having an
additional 15 birth charts to read from. Vedic astrology also distinguishes
itself in its predictive tools. Of especial note is the 120-year cycle
forecasting system called the Vimshottari Dasa, where each planet is allotted a
specific period of influence in the chart and is used to forecast more deeply
into the nature of an individual's future.
Vedic astrology is also integrated
into Hindu societal functions and remains to this day an accepted part of
religion and of most daily life. It is not uncommon to see heads of state as key
speakers at Vedic astrology conferences. Many modern Indian business managers
and computer experts working in the United States still wear astrological
pendants to bring them success.
Vedic astrology is also a
companion system to Ayurveda, the major health care system of India. In fact,
Vaidyas, or "doctors" of Ayurveda, often consult the astrological chart of a
client to seek additional diagnostic information. Vastu, the art of
architectural measurement and placement (similar to China's Feng Shui), can be
linked to the astrological tendencies of an individual's birth chart. Finally,
Vedic astrology has its roots in consciousness, and so remedial measures can be
taken, which can include religious performances (yagyas, pujas, and shantis);
gemstones; mantras; charitable acts; gandarvaveda musical renditions; stotras
(prayers); vratas (vows); herbs; and mineral concoctions (bashmas). All of these
corrective measures are held to counterbalance the negative impressions from
previous actions (samskaras).
Taking such countermeasures, the
client of astrology can not only know what needs to be corrected, but how to
apply restorative techniques as indicated in their birth chart.
 This
article is excerpted from the book "Beneath a Vedic Sky", ©1999, by William R. Levacy.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Hay House Inc. www.hayhouse.com
Info/Order this book
About The
Author
William R. Levacy holds a B.A. in literature, a
master's in the science of creative intelligence, and is one of the few
Westerners to receive the prestigious Jyotish Kovid award from the Indian
Council of Astrological Sciences (ICAS). Bill has conducted a busy Vedic
astrology practice for over 15 years and is a steering committee member for the
American Council of Vedic Astrology
(ACVA). Working also as a business consultant in the aerospace industry,
Bill resides in Southern California.
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