An Introduction to Vedic Astrology
It is important to note that Vedic astrology runs on a different chart clock than western astrology, so your western astrology sign may be different to your Vedic astrology sign. Before reading into your Vedic astrology, make sure you determine the signs and houses of your sidereal chart which is what we use in Vedic astrology.
You can get your Vedic Astrology chart here.
Vedic astrology is a modern name for Jyotisha, which describes the traditional Hindu system of Astrology. The art and practice of Jyotisha dates back to between 5,000-10,000 BCE. The name Vedic came about later from the RigVeda which is an ancient Hindu book of hymns. The term “Vedic” refers to that which derives from Hindu culture or history, and so we have Vedic astrology.
Vedic astrology in itself is fundamentally a practice in metaphysics determining events in time. For example, Chinese Bazi and Zi Wei Dou Shu systems apply the concept that not only physical matter is made up of elements with their Yin & Yang counterparts, but also time itself and apply it accordingly. In Vedic astrology the planets are used as energies and factors of prediction. A planet is never to be blamed for an event; they are merely celestial bodies orbiting around a star. If your sidereal chart (which is what we use in Vedic astrology) is the “clock”, think of the transiting planets as the hands of a person's clock that helps us tell the time.
Vedic astrology takes on a very deep and profound dive into one's life experience. In this system of astrology there is an implication of Dharma, which is how you grow your consciousness or soul. Reincarnation is a fact in Vedic astrology and it is hard to look at the system as a whole ignoring that. It would be like a mathematician refusing to work with the number 3, 4 & 5. In this system of astrology this is simply how it is; that every consciousness returns for numerous lives over and over again to experience things in different scenarios, as different people, with a different mind, in order to grow and evolve.
Another concept deeply intertwined in Jyotisha is Karma. Karma is the act of doing something and reaping the rewards or miseries from that action. It is believed that you accumulate Karma throughout your lives and they come into your following life to be ‘burned’ off and experienced so that your consciousness can evolve.
It is believed that a challenging experience in life grows the consciousness more so than an easy one. These concepts are uncomfortable or fantastical for some and may encroach on a person’s own belief system; however they are just part of the entire gamut that is Vedic astrology and one does not go without the other.
There is free will, you can make choices and alter some things, however knowing what these events are and whether you chose it or it happened as an act of “fate” is harder to determine. It is much more appealing to believe that someone rose from the gutter by their own sweat and effort to become something big without any concept of fate rather than seeing it as a movie playing out. This is not to say that in someone’s life this could not happen, it is important to note that if fate allowed for it and the person pushed and pushed and finally made it, anything is possible. If something comes your way out of your control how you choose to deal with it is where free will really kicks in, will you make bad choices or good choices and how will you choose to evolve your consciousness.
In Jyotisha the moon rules the mother as well as the mind. It is believed that the mind creates your reality and this universe is somewhat of an illusion or hologram. It is also believed that consciousness is not a product of the brain but the brain is an antenna for consciousness and this reality is a construct of consciousness itself. This leads into the concept of the “dasha”, which describes planetary periods in one's life.
If your entire life is a story that fits into a novel, think of dashas as chapters in that novel. There is the Mahadasha which is the major operating period of one’s life and can last from 6 years (Sun) to 20 years (Venus). These dasha’s act as “parts” of a novel, part 1, part 2 etc. Under each Mahadasha are “Antar dasha (bhukti)” or sub-periods which change more often and can be considered like chapters within the “parts”. Dashas go on to sub-sub-period sub-sub-sub period and it goes on but the only ones a Vedic astrologer will usually look at are the Mahadasha and the Antar dasha.
These periods add a flavor to that chunk of a person’s experience at that time in their life and are ruled by the planets,but can also be ruled by Rahu (North Node) and Kety (South Node). These dashas begin at the time of birth and are derived from the Moon. Like anything else, some periods are more or less pleasant than others, but as mentioned before, we have choices in how we work with the energies of each dasha. Due to the length of certain dasha periods not everybody will run every dasha throughout their life unless they reach 120 years of age. There are even other dashas such as the Char Dasha for the Jaimini branch of Vedic astrology or the Yogini dashas that can be used as cross reference and confirm an event in someone’s life. But in Jyotisha the Vimshottari dashas are sufficient and used accordingly.
In Vedic astrology, the astrologer will first determine whether an event is promised, such as marriage and divorce, wealth, fame, travel etc. Once they are certain that the event is promised in that life they can then look at the dashas and see when these events are likely to occur. Once having found the likely timing for any of these events the astrologer will then check the transits. Usually the transits will coincide with the dasha. That being said, if an event is not promised in the person’s life (chart), the transit can come and go many times and it is not impossible, but it will be a challenge to bring that event into fruition.
In Vedic astrology, there are many more concepts such as numerous other charts, for marriage, career, children etc. Another key element of Jyotisha is nakshatras, which describes a very unique and detailed view on the signs. There are 27 nakshatras and they sit within a sign, sometimes in two signs. They each have a mythology behind them and are looked at for finer detail. One major use of a nakshatra is the moon sign and which nakshatra your moon is in. This will narrow down the person’s mentality and way of thinking. For example if someone is an Aries moon, there are three nakshatras in Aries: Aswhini, Bharani and Krittika, one is ruled by Ketu, one by Sun, one by Venus while Aries is ruled by Mars. These three nakshatras are different to each other and can bring about a different expression of that moon sign.
This is in no way meant to impose anything on anyone nor to alter their own idea of the mysteries of the cosmos and its workings. Use this as a brief introduction into the concept of metaphysics through the lens of Vedic Astrology and its workings and fundamentals.
You can download your 2022 Vedic Astrology horoscope for your Vedic Ascendant sign here.