The little astronomy an astrologer needs to know

There are just a few points from the science of Astronomy that a Jyotish (Vedic Astrologer Person) needs to understand.

Zodiac: The belt that surrounds the Earth in space. The Zodiac contains 12 constellations, which are known as Rashi (raw, shee) in Sanskrit and Signs in English. This extends 8º on either side of the belt’s center, so the belt is roughly 16º wide and wraps all the way around the Earth.

Ecliptic: This is the imaginary plane or flat surface in space defined by the Earth’s revolution around the Sun. The “plane” that the Earth “orbits upon” is called the Ecliptic. All other Planets orbit almost on this Ecliptic (plane), but they are slightly different or “inclined” to the ecliptic plane. Pluto is very much tilted (inclined) compared to this ecliptic.

Zodiac Arc Distance and Clock Time

Distances of Arc, or the circle of the Zodiac in space, are discussed in the following terms:

Degrees: 360º is the whole Zodiac circle

Signs: 12 Signs of 30º each

Stars: 27 Stars ruling 13º 20' of space each

Minutes: Each degree contains 60’

Seconds: Each minute contains 60”

It is important to not confuse ARC degree, minutes and minutes with the clock.

With “arc of Zodiac”, we are talking about a measurement of distance in space around the Zodiac belt. Clock time is an entirely different thing. So here again, this is distance, not time.

Example of playing with the math: Each Nakshatra can also be seen instead as just 800’. Because 13 * 60’ per degree + 20’. 13 * 60 is 780 and that + the 20 is = to 800 total. In one Nakshatra, there are 48,000” of space distance. So, 27 * 48,000” is how many seconds of arc exist in the Zodiac, which would equal 360 * 60 * 60 again. Or, degrees * minutes * seconds. There are 1,296,000 seconds in the Zodiac, therefore.

Basic Components

The most basic elements of Vedic astrology are the 9 Planets or heavenly bodies, the 12 Signs of the Zodiac, and the 12 Houses of the chart. When studying Vedic astrology, it is important to become familiar with the Sanskrit words for all the main components. Therefore, throughout this book, we will often refer to these Sanskrit words. To begin with, let it be known that the words Planets and "Grahas" are synonymous. The 12 Signs of the Zodiac are called "Rashis" and the Houses are called "Bhavas" or "Sthanas". The 9 Planets used in Vedic astrology are the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu. These are known in Sanskrit as Ravi or Surya, Chandra, Mangal or Kuja, Budha, Guru, Shukra, Shani, Rahu and Ketu.

The Planets

The Signs

Charts, Zodiac and Stars Basics

Astrology mainly utilizes a chart of the Planet’s positions at the time of the birth. The chart of the planetary positions in the Signs of the Zodiac, rotated so that the Sign rising on the East at that moment is the 1st House and all the other Signs of the Zodiac following in their order as the successive of the 12 Houses, is the Rashi Chart. Rashi, also spelled simply “Rashi”, means Sign. Therefore, the Rashi Chart, also called the Rashi Chakra and Rashi Kundali, is the chart of the Planets in their Signs at the time of the birth.

There are other charts used in Jyotish. However, all charts have 12 divisions called the Houses, each of, which holds one of the Signs of the Zodiac. Hence, we say the 2nd House is Gemini, or Aquarius is in the 10th House. We are always expressing the Houses by their number and Sign, as both are significant, as you will see.

The Planets are rotating around the Sun in different orbits and at different speeds. Hence, they are always moving. At the time of a birth, they are in certain Signs as viewed from the Earth, and those are the Signs we draw them in within the chart for that person.

The Zodiac is a band of stars that surround us on all sides. A circle is considered to be made of 360º, so also we refer to the Zodiac in terms of 360º as a large circle in space around our solar system. The Zodiac is comprised of 12 major divisions of stars, which are the constellations you have heard the names of so often: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.

Signs are 12 in number, and therefore each occupies 30º of the circle around us, and 12 * 30 = 360º total. All the Planets orbit more or less in line with us on a plane of space for, which the Zodiac is the outer wheel. Hence, looking from Earth to each of the Planets we see a Sign of the Zodiac behind that Planet, and that is the Sign we say the Planet is “in” right now.

Each of the 12 constellations has a few special stars as key points in its makeup. There are 27 special stars in Vedic Astrology called The Nakshatras. The term Nakshatra can be taken to mean Star, though some of the 27 Nakshatras are clusters of stars in actuality. The Moon just so happens to move through these 27 stars at the rate of roughly one per day, making the roughly 27 day lunar orbit. In the same way, that each Planet is in a Sign as viewed from the Earth, similarly each Planet is “backed up” by a Nakshatra that rules the zone of space the Planet is currently moving through.

Because they are 27 in number comprising the entire 360 degree Zodiac, the stars therefore rule 13º, and 20’ each, which when multiplied out you’ll find totals 360º again. Each degree, by the way, is made up of 60 “minutes” and each such minute is made up of 60 “seconds” of the Zodiac. This system of degrees, minutes, and seconds is used these days as the calculations have become more exact through modern astronomy.

The Nakshatras, or 27 stars, are like Signs too, in that they have personalities as zones of space to color Planets that fall within their 13º 20’ domain of influence. The Nakshatras are used extensively in Vedic Astrology, as you will see.

East verse West

There are mainly two systems of astrology presently being used and spread in the Western countries. These are Western or Tropical Astrology and Vedic, which is Sidereal astrology. Western Astrology uses the Tropical Zodiac, whereas Vedic Astrology uses the Sidereal Zodiac.

These two systems used the same Sign names, but the difference lies in the fact that, due to the Earths gradually increasing tilt on it is axis, the Equinoxes no longer coincide with the starting points on the usual Signs, so those who judge the starting point of the Zodiac by the Sun’s Spring Equinox, namely the Western Astrologers, no longer judge planetary positions by the background of the stars, but rather by the Sun’s relative relationship with the Earth.

In plainer words, the Western Zodiac and the Sidereal or Eastern Zodiac is in disagreement at the current time by a whopping 23º. When they say a Planet is in Aries, we usually say it is in Pisces, and so on, because 23º are almost one whole Sign difference. So, get ready, if you’ve been used to judging your Sun Sign by Western standards, you may soon find you are actually the last Sign backwards in Zodiac order! Moreover, that goes for your entire Western calculated Planets, rising Sign, etc.

Which is right? That is what everybody asks. Well, my personal experience is that both have some validity, because reading planetary patterns by themselves yields significant results. The Western Zodiac has more to do with the natural phenomena of our immediate world, like the seasons, whereas the Vedic Zodiac has more to do with the greater picture of the Universe, which yields better results I think because it is more closely tied to absolute controls rather than relative considerations. Vedic is often said to be “more predictive” as it does surpass Western astrology in this area. Personally, I feel it is also better at psychology, which is often claimed to be the privileged area for Western Astrology.

In any case, Vedic Astrology works very well, better than Tropical Astrology many of us feel. Some of us just kind of intuitively feel that something coming from India, preserved by that knowledge, proud, and protective culture of India, and blessed by it is rich spiritual heritage with ample links thereto, is simply going to come out the gate superior to a similar practice, which seems to hail more from Western soils, more rich therefore with empiricism than revelation. As far as I have seen, we have not been disappointed.