Vedic Astrology – Introduction

The beginning of Astrology in India is rooted in ancient times when man started correlating his activities with planetary movements. And thus gradually the science of predictive astrology was born. In ancient times, Astrology was practiced in India both by saints and kings alike. Sages like Bhrighu, Narada and Parashara and kings like Kalyanverma have written big treatises on the subject.

As in Western astrology, in Vedic Astrology too, the zodiac is divided into 12 divisions of 30 degrees each and these are known as the signs of the zodiac. Given below are the names of the signs of the zodiac in Western Astrology and the corresponding names in Vedic Astrology:-

1. Aries —— Mesh

2. Taurus —–Vrishabha

3. Gemini —–Mithun

4. Cancer —– Kark

5. Leo ——— Singh

6. Virgo —– Kanya

7. Libra—— Tula

8. Scorpio — Vrischik

9. Sagittarius — Dhanu

10. Capricorn – Makar

11. Aquarius — Kumbh

12. Pisces ——Meen

The Precession of Equinox or The Ayanamsha: Difference in Starting Points between Western and Vedic Astrology

In western Astrology, the first point of Aries is defined as the point in the zodiac where the Sun is located on 21st March, that is the day of the vernal equinox. The western system of the zodiac is also called the Tropical zodiac. However, according to the principles of Vedic Astrology, the day of the vernal equinox is not fixed or constant. It is said to recede by about 1 degree in 72 years. Instead Vedic Astrology follows the system of what is known as the Sidereal Zodiac, where the zodiac starts from a fixed star or constellation called ‘Ashwini’. The two zodiacs had last coincided on the vernal equinox day of the year AD 285. As mentioned above, since the starting point in the Tropical Zodiac is always receding,the distance between the two zodiacs has increased to about 24 degrees over the years.This phenomenon is called the precession of equinoxes or Ayanamsha. As we all know the Sun moves at the rate of 1 degree a day. So, although in the Tropical System the Sun entered Aries on 21st March, in Sidereal System sun Entered Aries 24 days after that, which is on 14th April and this is due to the difference in the Ayanmsha of 24 degrees, 2 minutes and 21 seconds. So if the ascendant in Western Astrology is 17 degrees Virgo, the ascendant in Vedic astrology will be 23 degrees of Leo. This is one of the main difference between the Tropical and Sidereal System

Given Below are the corresponding Vedic names of planets

Name of the Planets and its corresponding Vedic Name          
1.  Sun – Surya
                                                             
2. Moon – Chandra
                                                         
3. Mars – Mangal
                                                             
4. Mercury – Buddha
                                                       
5. Jupiter – Brihaspati or Guru
                                                         
6. Venus – Shukra
                                                         
7. Saturn – Shani
                                                           
8. North Node – Raahu
                                               
9. South Node – Ketu

                                                 
Indian astrology does not consider any other heavenly bodies, like Uranus, Neptune, Pluto or other asteroids for the purpose of making predictions.

The North Node (Rahu) and South Node (Ketu): Out of the nine heavenly bodies mentioned above,the first seven,that is from Sun to Saturn have physical or celestial bodies. The last two,that is Raahu and Ketu (The North node and South Node) have no physical or celestial bodies.These are just the two points in the zodiac where the two paths, one of the Moon revolving around the earth and the other of the Earth revolving around the Sun intersect one another.Where the Moon in its orbit around the earth cuts the ecliptic and goes to the north of it,the point is called the North Node or Raahu and the corresponding position where the Moon cuts the ecliptic and goes South of it is called the South Node or Ketu.The two nodes are thus exactly 180 degrees from each other.According to Indian Astrology these points assume importance in predictions for they represent the area where the horoscope of a particular individual comes under eclipse.