HELP FOR VEDIC BEGINNERS (Part One)

The South Node is known as Ketu, which means "comet", because a comet resembles a long, fiery tale without a head, and Ketu is also headless. A comet was often considered a portent of disaster, and so is Ketu.

I get questions about how to start learning Vedic astrology so often that I figured I’d better just write a blog article about it. My goal was to eventually write a series of articles explaining a lot of the topics that beginners find confusing.

Then, I sat down to actually start writing a comprehensive article that would be easy enough for any beginner to grasp, and realized what a wide-reaching subject this is, and how it resists condensing. It didn’t take me long to figure out why articles like this are not readily available.

So, I decided the Vedic beginner needed some hope, and some practical advice wouldn’t hurt, either. If you understand modern western astrology, and want to get started teaching yourself Vedic astrology (also called Jyotish, which means, “Path of Light”), you need some sort of framework, or a gentle guru who has gone before you who can guide the way…so this is where I need to live up to my reputation as a teacher. Let me know how if I accomplish my dharma, readers!

WHY DO MOST PEOPLE WANT TO LEARN JYOTISH?

Most folks are attracted to Jyotish because of its predictive value. This means they are already starting to come to terms with the fatalistic nature of Vedic astrology before they begin to study it. If you are the sort of gentle reader who cannot wrap your brain around pre-ordained fate, and must believe in free will to maintain your sanity, Vedic astrology is going to hurt. (As pagan author, Raven Kaldera, puts it, “Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.”) It does not preclude free will, but it does not give it the same emphasis found in modern western astrology.

WHERE DO I BEGIN?

Assuming that you are certain of your birth time, the easiest thing to do is to spend some money for a complete analysis of your Vedic chart, including your dasas, or major planetary periods. You should do this around the time you buy your first book, and start exploring online resources. You will be able to refer to your report as you read, and you can hand-check the calculations from your Western horoscope to make sure they are correct (this article will show you how to do this).

If you consult a Vedic astrologer for a reading, it will be more expensive than getting a printed analysis, and most Vedic professionals need to charge separately for it – they can’t afford to “throw it in” for the price of a reading.

Glancing around online, I see that Vedic Scholar is offering a full report for $50.00. Here is the link.

A full report will contain interpretation of well-known yogas, and may even throw in a few obscure ones. Most beginners are very curious about yogas because of their predictive value - yet yogas are not a beginner’s topic (See my article titled “Which Vedic Techniques Actually Work?”, and note the final section on yogas.)

Here’s a good STUDY OUTLINE for the beginner:

1. Learn how Vedic astrology works.
2. Learn as much as you can about all 27 nakshatras (Vedic Moon signs)
3. Then worry about yogas – don’t worry – #1 and #2 will take you years, little grasshopper.

CAN I DO MY RASI AND DASAS MYSELF?

If you can’t afford a report, but you do have an accurate birth time, you can still figure out what your Vedic “rasi”, or natal chart, looks like. You can even estimate your planetary dasas (covered later in this series). It may not be as accurate as a report run on computer software, with an analysis by a live human being (who is hopefully an experienced Vedic astrologer), but it’s good to learn how to do calculations yourself – you learn far more thoroughly this way (this will also be covered later in this series).

If you have access to western astrology software such as Solar Fire, you can calculate a rasi, a navamsa, and other divisional charts. These charts are done on western-style chart wheels, so they will not look like Vedic charts. Nor does the Solar Fire software calculate the planetary periods, or dasas. But it’s still helpful if you want to sketch a quick chart yourself, and would like a software program to back up your calculations.

WHAT’S THE FIRST BOOK I SHOULD BUY?

The first Vedic book you should buy is “Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Western Astrologer” by James Braha. Trust me on this…there are a lot of beginner books out there, but this 1976 classic does the best job of covering all the bases. This was the book that introduced Vedic astrology to the United States. It is available used on amazon.com. Here is the link.

This was my very first book on Vedic astrology, and years later, I still look back through it from time to time. It covers almost every beginning topic in detail. It does not cover nakshatras (Vedic moon signs), but the Vedic zodiac is better covered in a good nakshatra book (patience, little grasshopper, we’ll get to that…)

Once you have mastered the Braha book, you will be ready for some of books by modern astrologers who are writing today.I like “Path of Light: Volume 1 Introduction to Vedic Astrology,” by James Kelleher, which is available on his website. This book is selling well, and there are good reasons why. Here is the link.

It’s a hardcover book, dear reader, so you know it’s going to be pricy. If you only have money for one book by Kelleher, Vol. 1: Introduction to Vedic Astrology is a better pick than Volume 2: The Domains of Life.


I’VE GOT TIME ON MY HANDS. WHAT’S THE BEST NAKSHATRA BOOK?

The most extensive and accessible book available on the topic is titled, “The 27 Celestial Portals”, by Prash Trivedi. Sharp-eyed readers will note my amazon.com review of the book under my real name. Here is the link.


MINI-VEDIC LESSON #1

In Vedic astrology, two planets are conjunct if they reside in the same house. You will see this referred to as, “Saturn is with Mars”. Saturn and Mars do not need to be conjunct in the western sense.


This is a south-Indian style chart with Mars and Saturn conjunct in 11th House for a Pisces Ascendant. A whopper of a yoga is formed, because Mars is exalted in Capricorn, and Saturn rules here. Having both the malefic planets in one house is almost always hard on the house itself, but here it confers powerful benefits, both in terms of the lordships, and also within the 11th House itself. However, this does not mean that Mars and Saturn lose their power to teach painful lessons in this house.


Modern Vedic astrologers do take into account that a western-style conjunction of two planets is more noticeable. For example, a native with Mars conjunct Venus is said to be a “leader of their village”. In my experience, this effect only shows up when the two planets are closely conjunct in the Western sense, and I only use orbs of around 6 degrees.

PART TWO - If you want the next article in this series.

Which Vedic Techniques Actually Work?

Beginners in Vedic astrology get exposed to so many different Vedic techniques, but a lot of novices may wonder how many of them “actually work”. This is a good question from a sharp mind – because Vedic wisdom was collected from respected sages over the centuries in India, but it was also a racket in which techniques of questionable value were passed down from father to son in order to preserve the reputation of families who did astrology for a living. Over the centuries, useful techniques got mixed up with those that don’t appear to work very often, and it is now a challenge for modern Vedic astrologers to figure out the difference.

The problem is that a lot of Vedic students are more interested in learning all the obscure features of a tradition than learning whether or not they actually work. James Braha writes about this phenomenon, and James Kelleher mentions it frequently as well. To get respect in Vedic astrology, you need to be familiar with all of the intricacies of the system. To appeal to clients who want a traditional reading with all of the typical Vedic techniques interpreted in the context of their horoscope, you need to know the jargon. But it also helps if you “don’t outsmart your common sense” - these techniques actually have to work for them to be valuable, and unless you’ve made careful comparisons on at least a couple of hundred charts you may not be certain about some of them.

So, here’s a quick guide to what works and what doesn’t:

WHICH TECHNIQUES WORK?

1. Ruling planets, exalted planets, and fallen planets work. Understanding how these planets impact the house they reside in and the houses they rule is the most crucial skill needed to accurately interpret a horoscope. Try to remember that there is no such thing as a “debilitated” planet, at least not in the western sense of the term. Vedic astrology uses fallen planets, but not debilitated ones.

2.Traditionally, the navamsa is a chart that describes a woman’s first husband. In a modern context, it has been shown to represent a general description of the lives of both men and women from the age of 35 to roughly retirement. This technique is one that I have used often enough that I would stake my reputation as an astrologer on its accuracy.

3.The nakshatras are an amazing technique for pulling out small details that will be very meaningful to the individual born under each asterism. The novice would do well to study the nakshatras thoroughly, before even thinking about learning other Vedic techniques.

WHICH TECHNIQUES DON’T WORK?

1. The degrees of exaltation do not appear to make a planet any more exceptional in a native’s life. Example: The Moon is said to be exalted at 2 to 3 degrees Taurus. I have also read that the Moon is considered exceptionally powerful in the last degrees of Aries, because it is so close to the degrees of exaltation in early Taurus. In practice, I haven’t seen any difference between a native who had the Moon in its degree of exaltation, and those who have the Moon anywhere else in Taurus.

2.The concept of “moolatrikona” does not work. James Braha first observed this, and he appears to be correct.

3.Rahu is not “exalted” in four different signs; it probably isn’t exalted in any of them. This is a modern technique that doesn’t hold up. In traditional Vedic astrology, Rahu and Ketu had no lordships at all.

Rahu does have a strong association with air travel and advanced technology. Originally, it was said to be especially strong in Gemini, and many astrologers do feel that Rahu has a particular strength in the third house. Unfortunately, astrological “creep” set in after this. Rahu is said to be “like Saturn”, so folks started saying that Rahu must have special strength in the air signs of Libra, where Saturn is exalted, and in the air sign of Aquarius, where Saturn is lord. Then came the idea that Rahu must be powerful in Scorpio, because the western associations of Scorpio are so similar to Rahu’s qualities.

There is no traditional basis for any of this. This author has Rahu in Aquarius, and has compared it against other charts with Rahu placed in average signs, and also in the air signs or Scorpio. No difference is apparent. Rahu will manifest more strongly when it is tightly conjunct a planet or an angle. The sign has nothing to do with it.


A WORD ABOUT YOGAS…

They work. That’s not the point.

During traditional Vedic instruction, students had to memorize hundreds of yogas before they were ever allowed to interpret a horoscope – mastery of the jargon shaped the discipline and became its overarching principle. The “common sense” approach to interpretation got lost somewhere during the centuries – many yogas are combinations of two planets in a ruling, exalted, or fallen position. It’s not the yoga that matters in many cases – it’s all about the underlying planets.

The student who really understands how a ruling, exalted, or fallen planet behaves in the house that it resides, and also in the houses that it rules, is ahead of the game. He or she can accurately interpret a Vedic chart without ever resorting to a single yoga. I would never say that it is a waste of time to learn the formal intricacies of the Vedic system with regard to yogas. That said, I have never memorized even fifty yogas, and I probably never will.

Being familiar with yogas helps to preserve the tradition in it entirety – they were such an important part of traditional astrology that forgetting them does a disservice to the profession. Yet it is possible to competently interpret a Vedic horoscope without knowing a Satkalatra yoga from a Downward Dog – I do it all the time.

Yogas do yield up some very specific insight if we know the lore associated with each one. For example, I have some obscure yoga which promises that I will “maintain the archives for the common man” at age 39. Sure enough – I started this blog right on schedule. But I also have a yoga which should have brought about a marriage at age 24 – and this never happened. Knowing how to determine which yogas are true for the native and which are never destined to manifest is the real issue behind using yogas. The gap in our knowledge in this area is huge.