Vedic Astrology and the Spiritual Journey

Yildiz Sethi
Published : 2005 Wellbeing astrology magazine Vedic Astrology and the spiritual journey

Vedic astrology is ancient Indian astrology referred to as Jyotish in India. This is an all encompassing system of astrology that is both practical and spiritual in nature, which grew out of the Vedic era in India along with Yoga and Ayurveda between 5,000-10,000 years BC. Vedic astrology is said to be the Eye of the Vedas, as it is Higher knowledge, passed onto us from the Sages of that golden creative period of Indian history, to help illuminate our life and purpose. The ancient peoples of that time were asking the same questions that we are now, about the purpose and meaning of their existence and looking for meaningful answers.

The Vedic era was an experimental and inquisitive period of history, where earthly Life was seen very much as part of the creation process in the universe. The great Sages of that time took a Holistic view of our place in the universe and realized that being part of the cosmos, we are effected by the movement of cosmic bodies (planets) around, the earth. Through a long period of research and observation of astronomy and its effects on daily life, the science of astrology was born, way back in the mists of time.

Traditionally Vedic astrology has been part of the Higher knowledge of the Brahmin priestly class, where it has been used to guide men and women in their daily lives. Though ancient, it is still very much alive and like Yoga and Ayurveda is becoming understood and popular to modern Western culture in helping us find meaning, purpose and balance in our lives.

Reincarnation

Vedic astrology and Eastern culture generally, believe that we are in a cycle of rebirth. The belief is that at some point in our creation as Human Beings, we broke away from our spiritual roots when we came down into earthly life and fell into the state of Maya. Maya is a veil of illusion. Through the state of Maya, only the realms of the purely physical and sensual seem real. Over many lifetimes of rebirth, we chase dreams and desires and experience many different situations, until we eventually realize that true lasting happiness is in fact illusive in these purely physical realms. Everything dies, withers and changes, so that even if we do find moments of fleeting happiness and success, it cannot be maintained., After many life-times of goal- chasing, eventually disillusionment of the material world begins to take root and we start to look for alternative ways to find true happiness and satisfaction, the veil of Maya starts to lift. This leads to the beginning of our inner journey and the search for true peace and lasting happiness and results in a reconnection to the spiritual realms from which we came. This leads to letting go of worldly desire and coming out of the darkness of Maya and onto the path of enlightenment, in order to reach the blissful state of Nirvana and the ultimate goal of reincarnation.

The Purpose of this Life

In addition to an analysis of the astrology chart according to Vedic principles, the houses of the chart can be divided into four main groups. Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. An analysis of these can give vital insight into the main purpose in life for a particular person.

Dharma
is duty and responsibility. Those of you with several planets in Dharma houses in your Vedic astrology chart, will feel a strong sense of duty and responsibility to your family, colleagues and society.

Those of you with no planets in these houses will not feel the same sense of duty.

Artha
is wealth. Those of you with several planets in artha houses of your chart will feel a strong need to make money. You could be an aspiring entrepreneur, whether you are working in small or big business. Your main motivation is to create a strong material base. This is a necessary part of your evolutionary process as you feel that financial security will ensure your happiness. It is certainly true that having ample food etc is more comfortable than going hungry.

Those of you with few or no planets in artha houses will have little interest in making money.

Kama (This is not Karma)
is desire. Those of you with many planets in the kama houses of your chart will have a high desire nature. You will want lots of excitement and enjoyment in your life. You will be the adventurers and risk takers in life.

Having few planets in these houses will mean that you are not driven by sensory desires, or the need for great excitement.

Moksha
is enlightenment. Those of you with many planets in Moksha houses will be strongly focused on non-worldly matters or may experience physical confinement at some stage of their life. You may be interested in looking at subconscious or spiritual knowledge and experiences. Although this arrangement of planets is good for spiritual quests, you may be quite unfocused on worldly and practical matters.

Having few or no planets in these houses will mean that even though you might still have a sense of religion or spirituality, Moksha will not be your primary goal in this life.

As Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha are all strong driving forces in each of our lives, we will all have a unique combination of these according to our karma, giving each of our lives a particular slant, as far as Life Purpose is concerned. In the Vedic system these specific groups should be looked at without judgement, as all of us at some stage of our development in the rebirth cycle will need to experience each area fully, before we are ready to focus more fully on the final Moksha stage.

Therefore each of the stages have merit in their own right in the Vedic system and in Indian culture.

• Dharma. It is good to be dutiful to family and society.
• Artha. It is good to provide finance and security for yourself and your family and enjoy the comforts that money can buy.
• Kama. It is good to enjoy what you are doing and to have goals and ambitions.
• Moksha. It is good to let go of desires and attachments and reconnect with your Maker.

Most of us will experience a combination of these qualities in life, some  being more accentuated at particular periods in life. For example, you may be aware of desires and ambitions continually in your life, even though they may be constantly changing. From the Indian perspective most people’s lives go something like this.

Kama to the forefront in youth
Being a student, setting your goals and aspirations and launching into a career. Falling in love and having a family.

Dharma to the forefront
Young adult to midlife. Feeling a duty towards your family and looking after them as best you can.

Artha to the forefront
Midlife. Working hard to provided everything you need for your families financial stability.

Moksha to the forefront
The last stage of life. Free of family commitments, you can spend time in memories, reliving emotions and perhaps embarking on a more philosophical or spiritual life.

Karma

During our lives of chasing goals and desires, our creative powers radiate into the cosmos and eventually come back to us as Karma. This is because of Newtons Law that “wherever there is an action there is a reaction” and also because we are all interconnected at subtle levels in the universe. Our actions cause ripples in the cosmos that ripple outwards and eventually come back to us. Karma means “action” and are “thoughts”, “words” or “physical action”.

Over many life-times, we create a great deal of karma that is both positive and negative in all areas of life. According to Vedic philosophy, at death we assess our total karmas from many incarnations and decide what it is we need to experience in the next life, in order to further our soul’s development. Having decided, we come into existence, to a couple making love, who have a karma that matches our own in terms of the parents we require this time. We enter the world when the planets are in exactly the right position, to provide the karmic experiences we need to have.

I know that for some of you, you will find it difficult to believe that some of you decided to have parents who will abuse you, or to have difficult or painful life situations. However, anyone who has “life experience” and has gained what we call “wisdom”, is very likely to tell you that it is the crises or the painful situations in their life that were the turning points. These are the times when we are forced to go deeply into our personal resources and come to a point where we can decide whether they have had enough of living with a particular pattern. This is the opportunity to make a change and turn tragedy into growth and personal development.

Choosing a new path rather staying in the old pattern of violence, blaming others or continuing in the “victim mode”, is the first step in taking responsibility for yourself and accepting your karma. This can lead to a realisation of your true creative power and can resolve and complete a karmic pattern, so that this cycle not need to be repeated in future incarnations.

The difference between Western Astrology and Vedic Astrology

The way the chart is drawn up
Western astrologers draw up their chart using the Moving star or the Tropical system. Vedic astrologers draw up their chart using the Fixed star or the Sidereal system. The Vedic Sidereal Fixed star system does not move and gives the exact position of the planets at birth. The Western Tropical Moving system has moved by more than 23 away from the true position of planets over the last 2000 years. To convert your Western astrology chart to a Vedic astrology chart, all you need to do is to take off 23 from all planets in the chart including the Rising sign. This means that in a Vedic chart your Sun may go back to the previous sign and so might your Moon and rising sign and some or all of the other planets. This can give quite a different reading.

Divisional charts
In addition the Vedic system has many extra charts in which to look at specific factors eg marriage, siblings, career, health, wealth and so on.

The Moon is the most important planet.
The Moon is the most important planet in the Vedic system, whereas the Sun is the most important planet in the Western system. The position of the Moon sets the planetary periods for each person. These are the planetary cycles which are the essential tools for prediction.

Planetary periods. Dasas – the Key to Vedic predictivity.
The quality and the focus of each period or cycle of life can be predicted according to the planetary periods or Dasa. The position of a planet and its strength in the Vedic astrology chart will enable the astrologer to predict the type of period you will have and where the main focus will be.

Transits
Transits can help to pinpoint and trigger events in your life, especially if used in conjunction with planetary periods or Dasas.

Nakshatras
In addition to the 12 horoscope signs as in the Western system, the Vedic system has a much more ancient system of 27 sub signs called Nakshatras or Lunar Mansions. Knowing which one you are born into can give you deeper information as to your driving force and purpose.

In short the Vedic system has many tools at its disposal to be used by the astrologer in helping their clients with issues and events in their lives.

Here in lies the fascination and rich tapestry of Vedic astrology which is still being researched and developed today in India and America in particular and is also becoming more popular in Australia, in helping modern men and women plan their lives and aid them in personal development.

Sidereal Transits on each of the Horoscope Rising Signs and Moon Signs 2005

Aries Rising and Moon in Aries
Over the last year and until March 2005 Rahu (the north node of the Moon) has been a powerful presence in Aries. So enjoy the last two months of this transit and use it to pursue your goals and ambitions. This transit will have bought love or business relationships into focus. This transit can be very positive, as it can provide you with the impetus to let go of alliances that are not in your best interests. If you are wanting to make any changes on the home front, it would be best to put it off until April –June 2005 as Saturn comes out of it retrograde (backward ) motion at this time and allows your plans and ideas in the domestic side of your life move more freely. October through to December should be a romantic time for you, so try to take some time out to be with your loved ones. Those of you that are unattached should find this period quite favourable for a chance-encounter. The second half of 2005 could see some changes taking place in your work environment.

Taurus Rising and Moon in Taurus
January should be a romantic and enjoyable start to the year. This is a good time to socialise and pamper yourself and to travel. February and March will be quieter, giving you some time to reflect on your career and consider ways in which you can enhance your skills. March and April are good periods to plan your finances and refocus your attention on your work life. This should be a creative year for both your home and your work environment. You will need to find this period rewarding if you can negotiate a balance between home and work and try to spend quality time with the people you most care about. The months of October to December should see you enjoying being involved productive in your work.

Gemini Rising and Moon in Gemini
The mighty Saturn is sitting in Gemini from February until June and will help the normally intellectual Geminian to be more practical and structured than normal in your ideas and actions. It will also encourage you to take your time and be patient and even be a bit more frugal with your finances. The year starts with you working hard and being able to produce some very creative ideas and put them into action. April is a particularly good time to make decisions for your future and also be involved and popular in your local environment. Until September, Jupiter is sitting in a position that has the potential to make your home-life very satisfying. If you embark on a new hobby or perhaps some meditation or yoga, you will make the most of this potentially expansive period.

Cancer Rising and Moon in Cancer
The sign of Cancer has been receiving the restrictive effects of Saturn sitting in it for the past couple of years. This will have slowed things down a bit for you and is doing its work if it is encouraging you to spend more time on structure and detail in general. March is a good time to embark on a course of study in order to further, either your personal development, or improve your skills. April should be an interesting and dynamic time with unexpected influences coming into your life. By July there could be delays, obstacles and even frustration comoing in around relationships and finance in particular. This should be nothing that you cant handle if you cultivate patience and diplomacy at this time. However for those who are reflective, philosophical or spiritual, this is a good time to meditate or perhaps embark on a yoga class or do some higher learning of some sort. September through to the end of the year is a good time to focus on your work with some extra energy but make sure you remember to make time for the special people in your life.

Leo Rising and Moon in Leo
This is a good time for putting your finances in order and sorting out your priorities for the year. It is also a time when you will be working quite hard or may be feeling under pressure to do so. Do try to be kind to yourself and allow some quieter moments for relaxation as well, especially in March. September is a good time to take up a hobby or do a more formal course of study that is likely to be quite beneficial for you. By October you should find that you are feeling quite creative and able to communicate your ideas effectively. This is also a good social time and an excellent time to network and meet new people. Take care not to over do the socialising as towards the end of the year from November to December you might be feeling a bit deflated. Take time out when you can to rejuvenate and try to “go with the flow a little”. On the whole this is likely to be a mixed year with lots of opportunities for growth and fulfillment if you look for them.

Virgo Rising and Moon in Virgo
The great beneficial planet Jupiter has been sitting in Virgo since the middle of 2004 and provides a good start to the year for you. Continue to bask in this optimistic and expansive energy and allow your inner creative energy to flow with ideas or creative pursuits. This is a very good time to creatively rearrange your home or office or embark on any other creative activity. From March onwards Ketu (the south Node of the Moon) comes into Virgo to join Jupiter bringing in some mystical energy as well. This may encourage you to spend more time by yourself or to sort out any issues in your relationships. Those of you in business partnerships may find that the partnership or the business under-go some changes over this coming year. For those of you that are single this provides some romantic energy that could result in romantic encounters.

Libra Rising and Moon in Libra
Ketu (The south node of the Moon) has been sailing through Libra very slowly in 2004 causing you to re-evaluate relationships and business partnerships alike. This transit is finishing by the end of March 2005, so you a have the next three months to complete the transformation and to complete any further negotiations in the partnership areas of your life. From March onwards your focus is likely to be quite firmly fixed on your day to day work with April looking very favourable at being able to “shine”  in your particular area of expertise. September is a month when your diplomacy and tact will be needed to make sure that everyone’s needs are being served in both your home and work environment. Patience and persistence will be required for the rest of the year if things do not flow as easily and quickly as you would like.

Scorpio Rising and Moon in Scorpio
January should be a powerful and energetic start for the year, where you seem to be largely in control, particularly at work. March and April are times when you may be feeling fortunate and frivolous and wanting to enjoy more time with friends or in a variety of social activities. April in particular is a good time to put any new ideas you have into action, however you may need to use some diplomacy in order to be sure that those around you are “on side”. After a busy and energetic few months you are likely to feel the need for a break in August to recharge your batteries. From October onwards you may find that your plans are met with obstacles and delays. Take a deep breath and try to go with the flow if you can.

Sagittarius Rising and Moon in Sagittarius
The first half of the year is particularly good for your career. If you have been thinking of any career advancement, this is a good time to put it into action. You efforts are likely to be appreciated and rewarded, so make the most of this period. In March there seems to be a slight swing in focus onto your home life where you will need to find a balance between your personal and career life. Provided that you can maintain this balance this should be a rewarding and inspiring year for you, although September onwards you may find that you will have to be more structured and focused in order to allow your plans and schemes to come into fruition.

Capricorn Rising and Moon in Capricorn
The first three months of the year are very good for holidays and breaks if you can afford it. This is not the best time to be actively pursuing change of any sort, but it is perfect for “going with the flow” and enjoying the best that summer has to offer. It is a good time to spend “quality time” with friends and family members and reaffirm your love relationships as well as sort out any misunderstandings. From June onwards you will feel more motivated to pursue your goals, this should be quite successful, particularly if you put your innovative and imaginative ideas into a structured and methodical framework. If you have any spare time this year and particularly in July, you might feel drawn to pursue a new area of study, either for personal development or to develop more skills. This will be  very beneficial for you.

Aquarius Rising and Moon in Aquarius
The first month of 2005 should be a very good time to focus on your work-life and completing tasks and projects efficiently. By the month of February you will be feeling like a well-earned relaxing or romantic break. Rejuvinated by the end of March, the focus will be back on your work life again. September in particular is a very good time to focus on the bigger picture and formulate what your main goals and objectives are for your immediate and long term future and start to put them into action. On the whole, work and finance appear to dominate most of this year for you with October through to November being a lighter period, where recognition for your efforts and a little more fun and fortune are likely to come into your life. Generally a productive year for you.

Pisces Rising and Moon in Pisces
This should be an interesting year for you. The month of January should find you in your element, being romantic, relaxed and enjoying what life has to offer. However by February through to June, Saturn moves into a position where it is aspecting Pisces. This will have the effect of making the dreamy Piscean a little more serious than normal. However, this is a good time to plan for the year and possibly do a budget. In addition, from February until October you will be receiving some very favourable “love energy”. This should be a nice time for those who are already in a relationship and also good for those of you who are single to meet start new relationships. The month of July is one where you will find that you have the enthusiasm and the courage to go for an elevation in your career in some way or make some other decisions that will spur you for your greater good into the future.