Vedic Astrology

Jyotish( Vedic Astrology)

Jyotish is the Hindu system of astrology, one of the six disciplines of Vedanta. The Sanskrit word derives from jyótis which means one who is enlightened with knowledge, of birth, fate, and relationship to water, earth and star. However, as the singular purpose of Jyotish and the Vedas is to dispel the darkness of ignorance, it is more commonly taken to signify the "science of light".

Jyotish has been practiced for many thousands of years. The earliest writings can be found in the Vedas - the ancient spiritual texts of the Hindus and the oldest books in existence, written 5,000 - 8,000 years ago. Veda means the original knowledge and truth. This universal knowledge was imparted to the sages about 5000 years ago when they were absorbed in a meditative state of pure consciousness. Vedic means something that is based upon the concepts of Vedas. Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) is the system of astrology that was taught by ancient sages of India and was passed down orally through an unbroken teacher-disciple tradition.

Jyotish has many facets, and some of its basics are clearly also cornerstones of Western astrology, such as symbolically endowed signs, houses and planets. As main belief of Hindus is that humans have ups and downs in life because of karma, many people use Jyotish to understand the downs in life due to the influence of planets, i.e., Navagraha as Jyotish is based on nine grahas (heavenly bodies or "planets"):

These Navagraha are :

Abbreviation	Sanskrit Name	English Name	Represents
Su	Surya	Sun	Soul
Ch	Chandra	Moon	Mind
Ma	Mangal	Mars	energetic action, confidence and ego
Bu	Budha	Mercury	Communication
Gu	Guru or Brihaspati	Jupiter	the great teacher
Shu	Shukra	Venus	wealth, pleasure and reproduction
Sha	Shani	Saturn	Learning the hard way. Career and Longevity
Ra	Rahu	Ascending/North Lunar Node	Often described as a demon that does his best to plunge any area of one's life he controls into chaos.
Ke	Ketu	Descending/South Lunar Node	supernatural influences

Jyotish also recognizes twelve zodiac signs, or Rashis:

Number	Sanskrit Name	Western Name
1	Mesha	Aries
2	Vrishabha	Taurus
3	Mithuna	Gemini
4	Karka	Cancer
5	Simha	Leo
6	Kanya	Virgo
7	Tula	Libra
8	Vrishchika	Scorpio
9	Dhanus	Sagittarius
10	Makara	Capricorn
11	Kumbha	Aquarius
12	Meena	Pisces

A chart or horoscope for a person is the map of the positions of the planets at the birth of that person. This is based on the theory that each moment has within it the seeds of its fruit so by looking at the forces of nature in effect at the outset of something tells you all about the outcomes that will follow as the wheels of time turn. The chart gives a 'bird's eye perspective' of the time periods of one’s life. Jyotish can view long spans of time, or zoom in and analyze a narrow range of time in detail. The chart reveals trends and patterns in one’s life.

Each house governs certain aspects of life which are:

1. 
   
   Personality, health
2. 
   
   Education, livelihood potential, communication, childhood
3. 
   
   Courage, socializing, siblings
4. 
   
   Home, mother, material possessions, faith, travel
5. 
   
   Creativity, children, speculations, devotion
6. 
   
   Physical health, injury, litigation, enemies
7. 
   
   Long-term partner (e.g., spouse or business partner)
8. 
   
   Mental health, longevity, travel
9. 
   
   Dharma (life purpose), religion, fortune, father, honor
10. 
    
    Profession, achievement, recognition
11. 
    
    Material and spiritual gains
12. 
    
    Loss, liberation

Rather than just tell you what planets are strong and weak and let it go at that, Jyotish offers therapies to strengthen weak planets. By looking at the planets, the 12 houses and their relationship in the astrology chart one can determine health tendencies and causes, dharma, things that make relationships spiritual and how to better grow on one’s spiritual path. This is the healing aspect of Jyotish.

Every person has some strong and some weak planets. Jyotish offers simple therapies to remove the troubling effects of planets. Therapies include mantras, yantras (talismans), meditations and rituals, herbs, aromas, gems, lifestyle and spiritual suggestions.

Some stones that influence the effect of these grahas are:

Planet	Stone
Sun	Ruby, garnet
Moon	Pearls, moonstone
Mars	Red coral, carnelian, bloodstone
Mercury	Emerald, green tourmaline, peridot, jade
Jupiter	Yellow sapphire, Imperial topaz, yellow beryl, citrine
Venus	Diamond, white sapphire, white topaz, zircon and quartz
Saturn	Blue sapphire, tanzanite, lapis
Rahu	Hessonite, orange zircon, and other orange garnets
Ketu	Cat's eye

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