Vedic Astrology : A Guide to the Fundamentals of Jyotish

“An excellent introductory text, covering all the basics of this centuries-old predictive art... well-organized, highly reasonable, and easily accessible.” —James Braha, author of Ancient Hindu Astrology for the Modern Western Astrologer Vedic, or Jyotish astrology, has its roots in Indian and Hindu culture, making it markedly different from its Western counterparts. The author of this book explains how it can be used, and how it shouldn't be used, in this introduction. Complete instructions, easy to understand. Charts. Glossary. Bibliography. Index. “A major bridge between the astrological heritage of India and the cultural needs of the West. [Dreyer's] work enables any thoughtful reader with a basic knowledge of Western astrology to encounter the Indian tradition, the power of its methods, and the richness of its thought... perhaps the best text of its kind in print.” —Robert Hand, author of Horoscope Symbols “If you have any interest at all in Hindu astrology (especially if you've tried to approach it before and have found yourself rebuffed by its enigmatic technicalities), this book is a good place to start learning the subject.” —American Astrology Cover 1 Praise for Vedic Astrology 2 Copyrights 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 List of Illustrations 9 Figure 2.1 The equinoxes and the ecliptic 53 Figure 2.2 Sidereal versus Tropical Zodiac 56 Figure 3.1 Moon's Nodes and inclination of orbit 65 Figure 3.2 North Indian and South Indian charts 66 Figure 3.3 Constructing the Rasi Chakra 69 Figure 3.4 Annemaries's chart 70 Figure 3.5 Barbara's chart 72 Figure 3.6 Annemarie's Moon chart 73 Figure 3.7 Barbara's Moon chart 73 Figure 3.8 Annemarie's Navamsa chart 78 Figure 3.9 Barbara's Navamsa chart 79 Figure 5.1 Mesha (Aries) Lagna 120 Figure 5.2 Vrishaba (Taurus) Lagna 124 Figure 5.3 Mithuna (Gemini) Lagna 128 Figure 5.4 Kataka (Cancer) Lagna 131 Figure 5.5 Simha (Leo) Lagna 135 Figure 5.6 Kanya (Virgo) Lagna 138 Figure 5.7 Thula (Libra) Lagna 142 Figure 5.8 Vrischika (Scorpio) Lagna 145 Figure 5.9 Dhanus (Sagittarius) Lagna 149 Figure 5.10 Makara (Capricorn) Lagna 152 Figure 5.11 Kumbha (Aquarius) Lagna 155 Figure 5.12 Meena (Pisces) Lagna 158 Figure 6.1 Jane's chart 171 Figure 6.2 Steven's chart 176 Figure 7.1 Shirly MacLaine's chart 194 Figure 7.2 Hillary Rodham Clinton's chart 199 Figure 7.3 Cher's chart 204 Figure 10.1 Annemarie's Dasa as Lagna chart 285 Figure 10.2 Barbara's Dasa as Lagna chart 293 Figure 11.1 Matrimanial asvertisement taken from The Hindu, Sunday, April 16, 1989 308 List of Tables 10 Table 1.1 Different Names of Zodiacal Signs 42 Table 2.1 List of Ayanamsas between the Years 1900 and 2010, accodrding to Krishnamurti 57 Table 2.2 Annemarie's Planets 59 Table 2.3 Barbara's Planets 60 Table 3.1 Planets 63 Table 3.2 Signs of the Zodiac 63 Table 3.3 Annemarie's Planets 68 Table 3.4 Barbara's Planets 71 Table 3.5 Divisions of the Navamsa Chart 75 Table 3.6 Annemarie's Planets and Navamsa Signs 78 Table 3.7 Barbara's Planets and Navamsa Signs 79 Table 3.8 Divisions of the Hors Chart 82 Table 3.9 Divisions of the Drekkana Chart 83 Table 3.10 Divisions of the Septamsa Chart 84 Table 4.1 Characteristics and Associations of the Planets 91 Table 4.2 Signs of the Zodiac 103 Table 6.1 Determining Planetary Strength 165 Table 6.2 Benefic, Malefic, and Neutral Influences 166 Table 6.3 Satyacharya's List of Individual Benefic, Malefics, and Neutrals 169 Table 6.4 Satyacharya's List of Natural Friendship, Enmity, and Neutrality between to Planets 173 Table 6.5 Vargottama Positions 178 Table 6.6 Natural and Individual Temperaments of Annemarie's Planets 181 Table 6.7 Determining Planetary Strengths in Annemarie's Chart 184 Table 6.8 Annemarie's Planets and Navamsa Signs 185 Table 6.9 Natural and Individual Temperaments of Barbara's Planets 186 Table 6.10 Determining Planetary Strengths in Barbara's Chart 187 Table 9.1 Nakshatras Assording to Vimshottari Dasa System 245 Table 9.2 Annemarie's Dasa Periods 249 Table 9.3 Barbara's Dasa Periods 250 Table 9.4 Bhukti Dasas 252 Table 9.5 Annemarie's Dasa-Bhukti-Antara Periods 253 Table 9.6 Barbara's Dasa-Bhukti-Antara Periods 258 Table 9.7 Kethu Mahadasa 266 Table 9.8 Venus Mahadasa 267 Table 9.9 Sun Mahadasa 268 Table 9.10 Moon Mahadasa 269 Table 9.11 Mars Mahadasa 270 Table 9.12 Rahu Mahadasa 271 Table 9.13 Jupiter Mahadasa 272 Table 9.14 Saturn Mahadasa 273 Table 9.15 Mercury Mahadasa 274 Foreword by James Braha 12 Acknowledgments 18 Introduction 20 Part I - Structure 26 Chapter 1. History of Indian Astrology 28 Chapter 2. Sidereal Astrology versus Tropical Astrology 52 Chapter 3. Constructing the Horoscope 62 Part II - Interpretation 88 Chapter 4. Defining the Planets, Signs and Houses 90 Chapter 5. Ascendant Combinations 120 Chapter 6. Planets and Houses: Strengths and Weaknesses 164 Chapter 7. Planetary Yoga 192 Chapter 8. Interpreting the Planets in the Signs and Houses 210 Part III - Forecasting 242 Chapter 9. Predictive Astrology: Vimshottari Dasa System 244 Chapter 10. Interpreting the Dasa and Bhuktis 276 Chapter 11. The Role of the Astrologer 304 Glossary 312 Appendix 316 Bibliography 320 Index 324 About the Author 337 Backcover 338 An introductory text for Westerners, covering all the basics of the centuries-old predictive art of Hindu astrology. The author is a practitioner of both Western and Hindu astrology. "Jyotish is the Vedic term for astronomy