Hindu Astrology

One of the unique characteristics of Hinduism is that it never throws anything away. There is simply no one to do it! Hinduism has no central authority and so there is no one body that “edits” the tradition. Consequently, astrology is still a vibrant part of the tradition. In the West, with the onset of modern science, astrology became separated from both the mainstream sciences (astronomy) and  the religious tradition. Descartes was an astrologer and so were Copernicus and Galileo. Today you can not find a department of Astrology in any university in the West. This has tended to be the case in other religions as well, but not so in Hinduism. In fact, I have met many Western educated and highly placed Hindus who still hold a deep faith in astrology and regularly visit astrologers for advice on important issues. Astrology is still an important requirement for a Hindu priest. Not a day goes by without members coming to a priest for information on muhurta, birth names, and other kinds of astrological advice. Nava Graha puja is one of the most popular pujas performed by a Hindu priest. Therefore, it is worth while to have a general understanding of Hindu astrology.

Western and Hindu Astrology

Hindu astrology, also called Vedic astrology, is not the same has Western astrology. In the West most people know their astrological sign and they may even check their horoscope in the newspapers, if only for “entertainment purposes.” But if you think you are an Aries, a Taurus or a Gemini in Western astrology, this is not the case with Hindu astrology. Western astrology is tropical and Hindu astrology is sidereal. Western astrology is based on the orientation of the Earth to the sun, whereas Hindu astrology is based on the actual position of the stars relative to the earth. Understanding this difference is technical and not a matter that needs to be explained here, suffice to say, that the starting point of Western astrology is not the same as the starting point of Hindu astrology. This does not mean that one form is better than the other, it just means they are different and so you cannot compare one with the other. If you are an Aries in Western astrology, in Hindu astrology you may not be the same.

The Workings of Astrology

Astrology works at two levels, one practical and the other symbolic. We already see how various celestial bodies exert unseen forces on terrestrial life and thereby influence the way we act. The best and most obvious example is the influence of the sun and moon on the tides. This is the effect of gravity. Science also shows that a planet, even as far a way as Jupiter, has a considerable gravitational influence, not only on the earth, but throughout the whole solar system. We can also see how the solar wind and storms affect the weather, satellite communications and electrical power grids on earth. Similarly, science shows the existence of unseen cosmic rays and minute particles that constantly bombard the earth from great distances, which even have an effect on genetic mutation. The effect of gravity, solar winds and storms, and particle bombardment indeed determines the way we act on our planet, so if these forces can affect terrestrial life, why not the other planets? Just because Western science has not measured the influence of Mars and Venus and Saturn on the lives of human beings does not mean that such influences are not there. Cosmic particle bombardment was only recently measured, and had someone suggested such bombardments 50 years ago it would have been dismissed as foolish by the same science that now informs us about it. Yet virtually all ancient cultures have noted the influence of the sun and the moon and the planets on the affairs of terrestrial life. They tell us that these bodies exert subtle influences on life that in turn affects the way we think and act. Modern science has just not understood and measured these influences yet. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to accept the working of astrology. This is a practical way to understand how astrology works.

Hinduism, however, speaks of the workings of astrology in an even more subtle way, through the power of symbols. There is a famous hymn from the Rig Veda called the Purusha Sukta, (RV 10.90) which describes the relationship between this universe and God. The sun corresponds to the eye of God, the moon to His mind, space to His navel, the wind to His breathing, the mountains to His bones, and so forth. In fact this universe is the living body of God and all beings are existing within this universal body. Even ourselves, the living beings, are emanations from this God, and along with this physical universe we are parts who have emanated from the whole. This idea of the parts and the whole is especially mentioned in the Upanishads as a deeply mystical relationship. The Ishopanishad refers to this relationship when it describes the Whole as complete (purnam) and from this Whole so many other whole units emanate and yet the Whole remains complete. This is something like if you have a pie and you take a slice away from the whole, the pie does not get smaller. It remains the same, and even though we may take many slices away, the whole pie still remains. But the matter is even more paradoxical, contained within the individual pie slices is the whole pie. The parts contain the whole! A way to think of how this is possible is through an understanding of DNA. Within in a single hair strand, a tiny part of the whole, can be found all the information to make the whole person. The part contains the whole. Another example is a holographic projection. Each photon of light, which is just a part of the whole projection, contains within itself an image of the original whole projection. This relationship between the whole and its parts is viewed as a deep and mysterious relationship, and one that has had profound effects on Hindu culture, not only philosophically and theologically, but also practically in terms of astrology and even Hindu architecture.

Once you start thinking that the whole is embedded within every part of this creation you can start seeing a relationship between the outer world and the inner world, between the microcosm and the macrocosm. This means that by measuring the outer world, one can grasp an understanding of the inner world. But even more importantly, by influencing the outer world one can influence the inner world. Thus we have the foundations of Hindu astrology. Astrology is a measurement of the outer world that allows an understanding of the inner world. The astrological chart is a snapshot, not only of the universe at a certain time and place, but also a snapshot of the inner life of an individual at a certain time and place. In other words, the planets we see in the heavens above have a corresponding set of “planets” within. There is a Mars above us and a Mars within us. Read the meaning of the Mars on the outside and you get an understanding of the Mars within. Align yourself to the Jupiter without and you align yourself to the Jupiter within.

Later Vedic works like the Puranas expand on these ideas to describe how this gross physical world is an expansion from subtle energy. From our thoughts and desires, manifests our physical existence and from our physical actions our future thoughts and desires are derived. This is, of course, is the idea of karma and how our destiny is shaped by past and future actions. Thus our desires and actions become tied to both universes, the one on the outside and the on the inside.

The Horoscope

The word "horoscope" actually has a Sanskritic basis. “Hora” is a “moment of time” similar to muhurtha, and “scope” comes from the Greek “skopos” meaning to target, and so a horoscope is literally a targeted moment of time. This is what I call a snapshot of time. By focusing on a particular moment in time through the “coordinates” of birth time, birth date and birth place, the horoscope isolates a particular part of the whole that corresponds to a particular individual, and by reading that moment in time, one is able to “read” the individual. This is the basis of astrology. There are two other commonly heard words used by Hindi speakers to refer to the horoscope. They are kundali and janma patri. A kundali is a circle and janma patri is the “birth page.” The horoscope is a circular diagram and so the word kundali is used. It is common to have a person’s horoscope prepared immediately upon birth, hence the birth page. As we noted a horoscope is nothing more than a snapshot of time, which also means that it is a snapshot of the sky. More specifically, it is a symbolic representation of the sky at a particular moment in time. Usually this is the time of one’s birth, but not necessarily so. A horoscope can be prepared for any occasion, the construction of a building, the time of a marriage, the signing of a contract, and so on.

The Zodiac

Under the section, The Making of the Hindu Calendar, we mentioned the solar ecliptic. The sun’s path across the sky from east to west and extending about 10 degrees above and below this ecliptic is known as the band of the zodiac. This 360 degree band is divided into twelve 30 degree segments known as the signs of the zodiac, rashis in Sanskrit. The first sign is Aries, which is then followed by Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and so on. Both Western and Hindu astrology use these signs of the zodiac in the same order. In Hindu astrology, not only is this system of zodiac signs used, but there is also another way of dividing the zodiac and this is the nakshatras system, which divides the zodiac into twenty-seven 13 1/3 degree segments called nakshatras. This adds another level of interpretation to Hindu astrology that is not found in Western astrology. We will not be discussing this Nakshatra system of interpretation as it goes into more details than necessary here.

When an astrological chart is prepared, Hindu astrology first calculates the astronomical position of nine celestial influences (see Nava Graha) and then places them on a symbolic diagram called a horoscope. In addition to these nine influences, the sign that is rising above the eastern horizon for the time of the event is also calculated and shown on the horoscope. This is called the ascending sign of the zodiac or the lagna in Sanskrit. This ascending sign then becomes the starting point or first house of interpretation for the chart.

Southern Chart

Northern Chart

There are different ways of expressing this “snapshot” of the sky. The most common North Indian method uses a set of diamond shaped boxes to show the various signs of the zodiac and it is read in a counter clockwise direction. The typical South Indian method uses a system of rectangular boxes that is read in a clockwise direction. There is also a Bengali style that is read in a counterclockwise direction. See the illustrations. All these methods do the same thing, namely symbolically show the various celestial influences at a particular moment in time and place, and in their respective signs of the zodiac.

So far as preparing a chart is concerned, the endeavor is simply astronomy, a description or snapshot of the sky. The astrology comes in when we attempt to derive meaning from celestial bodies and their positions in the zodiac. What does it mean to have Mars in Aries or the moon in Leo. What does it mean when Saturn is with Mars in Aries? What does it mean when Jupiter is five zodiac signs after the moon? What does it mean when the sun and Saturn are 180 degrees apart? The answers to these questions constitutes astrology.

Astrology, which involves the analysis of a intricate system of planetary and other relationships and their subsequent interpretations, cannot be adequately described in this short discussion. It is possible, however, to provide a basic understanding of how an astrologer approaches his craft, which can be useful if a person ever goes to to an astrologer to have a horoscope prepared and read.

In Hindu astrology the nine celestial influences that are used for interpretation are: the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the north and south lunar nodes (Rahu and Ketu). There are other influences that are sometimes examined, but they are not important for our purposes. In addition to these 9 celestial influences, an astrologer will also examine the signs of the zodiac where these celestial influences are located, the houses in which they are residing, and certain key relationships between these components. In addition, an astrologer will also calculate the planetary periods (dashas) that are used to determine when events are likely to occur in a particular chart. Each of the celestial bodies, plus the signs of the zodiac and the houses carry symbolic meanings that are used to make an astrological interpretation. Here is a brief description of the symbolic meaning of the celestial bodies, the astrological the signs and the houses of interpretation, which will be useful in understanding how an astrologer makes a reading.

The Nine Celestial Influences

The sun is the soul, the heart, the father, authority, heat, power and ambition.
The moon is the mind, mother, water, coolness, emotions, memory and common sense.
Mars is courage, bravery, sports, competition, maleness, passion, action, war, cuts and burns.
Mercury is intelligence, learning, teaching, speech, expression, communication and writing.
Jupiter is fortune, expansion, wealth, children, religion, philosophy and wisdom.
Venus is marriage, love, romance, luxuries, prosperity, femininity, artistic expression, grace, and beauty.
Saturn is slowness, struggle, discipline, dryness, labor, asceticism, accidents, and chronic disease.
Rahu is material desire, dullness, ignorance, laziness, sleep and addictions and ancestral karma.
Ketu is asceticism, spirituality, psychic ability, ghosts, eccentricity and occultism.

The Signs of the Zodiac

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and is ruled by Mars and so has many of the qualities of this planet. Aries is action, impulse, independence, force, self-expression and competition.
Taurus is the next sign and is ruled by Venus. Taurus is the earth, feelings, stability, conservation, relationships and partnerships.
Gemini is ruled by Mercury. Gemini is energy, nervousness, restlessness, intellect, language, artistic ability, and communications.
Cancer is ruled by the moon, which is mind and the mother. Cancer is openness, friendship, sympathy, care, nurturing, emotions, family and the home.
Leo is ruled by the sun and therefore stands for heat, order, harmony, and central control. Leo is ambition, power will, pride, show and drama.
Virgo is ruled by Mercury. Virgo stands for intellect, command of language, nervousness and sensitivity. Virgo is also detail and precision.
Libra is ruled by Venus. Libra is leadership, power, command of ideas and idealism. Libra is reform, revolution, prophets, and even fanaticism.
Scorpio is ruled by Mars. Scorpio is secretive, sensual, sexual and eccentric. Scorpio is both physical and mental, and so stands for martial force as well as psychic force.
Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter and stands for grace, beneficence, completion and harmony. Sagittarius is expansion, morality, justice, philosophy and religion.
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and therefore signifies hard work, perseverance, tenacity and accomplishment. Capricorn is also power, order and organization.
Aquarius is also ruled by Saturn and tends to exhibit the dark side of Saturn. Aquarius is deviation, occultism, eccentricity, but also includes sacrifice, humanitarianism, ingenuity and faith.
Pisces is ruled by Jupiter. Pisces stands for emotion, expansion, intuition, liberation and imagination. Pisces is also dependance and conservatism.

The Houses

There are 12 houses of interpretation. The first house is always determined by the place of the rising sign, the second house follows after that, and so on. Each of the houses have the following symbolic importance:

The first house is the house of life purpose and physical existence. It indicates the self, the ego, character, appearance, the head and general well being.
The second house is money, wealth, self expression, knowledge, speech, family and imagination.
The third house shows courage, bravery, efforts, adventures, brothers and sisters, enthusiasm and motivations.
The fourth house shows mother, the heart, land, buildings, comforts, vehicles, happiness and ancestral property.
The fifth house is children, intelligence, learning, destiny, government, investment, romance, and charity.
The sixth house shows health, illness, enemies, litigation, obstacles, subordinates and employees.
The seventh house is the spouse, married life, relationships, partners, and  foreign residence.
The eighth house is longevity, death, wills and inheritance, legacy, taxes, occult matters, secrets and sex.
The Ninth house is father, fortune, solutions, religion, philosophy, faith, worship, wisdom and long journeys.
The ten house shows career, fame, worldly power, professional activities, honors, and life purpose.
The eleventh house shows gains, wealth, opportunities, major goals and desires,
The twelfth house is expenditure, loss, insanity, imprisonment, final salvation, the state after death, secret sexual pleasures, and life in remote places.

Planetary periods

Hindu astrologers have observed that life has certain “moods” or “phases,” which are governed by the nine celestial influences. In Sanskrit these planetary periods are called periods (dashas). Every life has a sun period, a moon period, a Mars period, a Jupiter period, and so on. These periods last for different time lengths. A sun period always lasts for six years, a moon period for ten years, a Mars period for seven years, a Venus period for twenty years, etc., so that the total number of years for all the planetary periods is 120 years. Why the length of each planetary period varies and how these planetary periods are determined is a technical matter that goes beyond the scope of this discussion, suffice to say that each chart will have these different planetary periods. The value in knowing the planetary periods is to understand when, for example, the influence of the sun will be strongest in the person’s life and therefore to know when sun related influences are most likely to occur. The same for the moon and Mars, and all the other planets. This helps in prediction. You might compare the idea of planetary periods to music. For a certain time a song may be in the key of C, then the song changes to the key of D minor, and then to another key. During the “C period” the music will have a certain sound and mood, but when it changes to D minor the music exhibits a different sound and mood. In this way a life will go through its different planetary periods and during each period will have a certain tone and mood, so to speak. Planetary periods are also divided into smaller sub-periods and then even into sub-sub-periods. This gives the astrologer even more ability to make predictions. The matter of planetary periods is complex, but at least to know in a general way about these periods will help a person understand how an astrologer reads a chart.

Interpretation

How astrologers derive meaning from these symbols is logical and easy to understand. What would it mean, for example, if Mars, the planet of conflict and war, was in the fourth house of home along with the moon, the planet of mother and mind? This would suggest troubles with mother, troubles in the home and disturbances of the mind. Instead of Mars what would it mean if Jupiter was in the fourth house along with the moon? This would suggest prosperity in the home, happiness with mother, and peace in the mind. What would it mean if Saturn and Mars, the planets of struggle and conflict, were together in the 10th house of career? This would suggest conflict, delay, and struggles, yet the drive to success in one’s career. And what if Mars was in the seventh house of marriage? This would suggest war and conflict within the marriage and perhaps even divorce. And what if the moon or Jupiter, positive influences, were in the seventh house instead of Mars. This would be good for marriage and suggests happiness and children. These examples are simple and straight forward, but life is more complicated that this. What would it mean, therefore, if the moon and Jupiter were in the seventh house of marriage along with Saturn or Mars? In this case we have good influences mixed with evil influences. Would this mean some good and some bad effects? But how much good and how much evil? And when would the good occur and when would the evil occur? Would the marriage even survive? Would a second marriage also have these mixed effects? Now the matter becomes complicated and only the careful and experienced analysis of a trained astrologer can sort these influences out and make an informed opinion about the marriage. Astrologers have many mathematical systems to measure the strengths of these influences and to determine the times in life when these influences, both positive and negative, will be in force. Even though more detail on this topic goes beyond the scope of this discussion, the reader, at least, has an idea of how an astrologer approaches his craft. There is a lot of learning that goes into a sound astrological interpretation.

Gems and Pujas

Once a chart has been analyzed and a reading given, it is common to find both negative and positive influences within a chart. Even a “good” planet may bestow negative results and a “bad” planet can bestow positive results under the right conditions, and so a client may want a way to diminish these negative effects or even increase the positive influences. In Hinduism there are many ways that this can be done, but the two most common ways are through the wearing of gems or the performance of puja. The idea behind the wearing of gems is as follows. Every planetary influence has both a positive and negative side. The moon, for example, is generally a positive influence, but it also has a negative side, dark emotions and insanity. Mars is generally not a positive influence. It is war and conflict, but it is also courage and strength–good qualities. So even Mars has a positive side. In general, planets that are strongly positioned in a chart bestow their positive side and planets that are weakly positioned bestow their negative side. Each planet is also associated with a certain gem stone (and even a metal and a color, etc.) Jupiter is yellow sapphire, the Moon is white pearl, Mercury is green emerald, Mars is red coral, and so forth. By wearing the gem of a particular planet one increases the power of that planet and thereby brings out the positive qualities of that planet. If the moon is weak in a chart, one could increase the power of the moon by wearing a pearl. A yellow sapphire would increase the strength of Jupiter; an emerald would increase the effect of mercury; a diamond would do the same for venus, etc. The gem would also be put on at a time when the influence of the respective planet is highest. For example, a pearl, for the moon, would first be put on during a Monday, the moon’s day. A diamond would be put on for Venus on Friday. In this way, you can often get a good indication of a person’s astrological condition by noticing the kinds of rings they wear. People will often wear multiple rings for various astrological reasons.

The idea behind an astrological puja is as follows. If it is determined that Mars is a enemy in a particular chart, in other words, Mars exerts a negative influence, then a puja for Mars could be performed. During the puja, symbolically Mars is invited and treated as a guest and shown all respect and honor by being bathed, fed and given gifts, etc. In other words, one way to neutralize an enemy is to make him your friend. The idea behind a puja is to invite your enemy over for a “visit” and make him your friend by honoring him food and gifts and thereby decreasing his negative influence over you. The appropriate gem, a red coral in the case of Mars, may also be put on during the Mars puja. And of course, the puja would be performed on a Tuesday, Mar’s day.  These kinds of astrological pujas are called Nava Graha pujas and they are commonly performed within Hinduism. By far the most commonly performed astrological pujas are for Saturn, Mars and Rahu, the three most “cruel” of celestial influences.

The Uses of Astrology

Hindu astrology is a vast subject and in these short pages I have tried to explain in simple terms the basic workings of astrology, how an astrologer makes an interpretation and some of the techniques that astrologers use to affect positive change. In the hands of an experienced astrologer, astrology can be a powerful tool for good. It can give insights into one’s character, into one’s strengths and weaknesses, and into the subtle forces around us, but like any tool it must be used with discretion and caution, and it has limitations. An immature astrologer can cause havoc in the minds of parents by telling them of a child’s future diseases, divorce and even premature death. On the other hand, an astrologer can see hidden talents and encourage parents to cultivate these strengths within their child. An astrological chart can be used to understand the basic psychology of a couple and thereby help a troubled relationship. It can give a partner insight and strategies in dealing with a difficult relationship. But astrology can also lead to dependency, and to a situation where a person avoids taking responsibility for one’s life. So like most things in life it has positive and negative aspects. It is to the credit of Hinduism that it has managed to keep within its fold an ancient discipline such as astrology. As the world continues to develop and move ahead it is good that there are traditions like Hinduism that preserve and even keep thriving one of the oldest of all human pursuits.