INTRODUCTION TO ASTROLOGY by Astrologer Pandit D. K. Parsai

Everyone wonders, at some time or the other, what the future holds in store for him/her; even the skeptic. Astrology is one such medium, based on established criteria, that tries to shed some light into a dark tunnel of future events. The first few chapters will give the reader a basic understanding of the subject of Astrology — what it is and what it is not.  

It has now been, more or less, universally accepted that astrology—(Jyotish) has been in existence in India for many millenniums now, along with the Vedas. Jyotish consists mainly of two parts: astronomy and astrology.  

Astronomy, as defined by the Living Webster—Encyclopaedic Dictionary of English language, is “the science that treats the location, magnitudes, motions, nature and constitution of celestial bodies and structures.” Or basically, charting of the motion and the nature of the heavenly bodies.  

Astrology is the science of the effect and influences of the celestial bodies on life on earth, especially of the observable planets, and constellations considered nearer in relation to Earth. As civilisations have evolved, each generation of Astrologers have added their own research and experience to the vast knowledge, with the existing socio-economic structures of their own current eras.  

Astronomy, as defined by the Living Webster—Encyclopaedic Dictionary of English language, is “the science that treats the location, magnitudes, motions, nature and constitution of celestial bodies and structures.” Or basically, charting of the motion and the nature of the heavenly bodies.  

Astrology is the science of the effect and influences of the celestial bodies on life on earth, especially of the observable planets, and constellations considered nearer in relation to Earth. As civilisations have evolved, each generation of Astrologers have added their own research and experience to the vast knowledge, with the existing socio-economic structures of their own current eras.  

Astrology is the knowledge of relationships based on a study of planetary influences, on man and his environment. It includes the entire galaxy and is true of the planetary bodies. Their radiation affects each other, including the earth and all the things on it. There is no doubt that the Sun has the greatest influence on life on earth.

Without it there would be no life, for without it there would be no warmth, no division into day and night, no cycle of time, no plantation and no seasons, and no life at all. The influence of Sun is clear and easy to see. The influence of Moon on the other hand, is more subtle, though no less definite.  

There are many ways in which the influence of the Moon manifests itself on earth, human, plant and animal life. It is a well known fact that large movement of water on earth, that is the flow of tides, is caused by the Moon. The human body, too, which consists of 70 percent water, falls within the scope of lunar influence. The menstrual cycle of many women corresponds to the lunar month; the human period of pregnancy is 273 days, or equal to nine lunar months. Many a mental illness, suicides etc. have been noted to increase during periods of lunar activity. Agriculturists have established that the Moon has a distinct influence on crops, which explains why for centuries people have planted according to the movement of Moon. Migratory birds depart only at or near the time of full Moon. Just as certain fish, eels in particular, move in accordance with certain phases of the Moon.  

It has been established in physical sciences that everything in the universe has an effect on everything else, and it is useful to know that this is also true about the various constellations and planets in the visible heaven. Let us see how astrology works.  

HOW ASTROLOGY WORKS  

Astrology is based on a pure science. This may come as a surprise to many readers. But the fact is that the astrological chart is based on astronomical data. The astrological chart is the exact chart of the heavens showing the various planets, as they could be seen in the heavens at that particular time, and from that particular place on earth. If an astronomical chart were to be constructed of that time, indeed all the planets and constellations would be visible in the sky same as shown in the astrological chart. Similar charts are given everyday in newspapers. In simple terms, the astrologer prepares the chart of the exact position of the planets as could have been seen from the place where a person was born, and at the time when the person was born.

Why a chart of planets when one was born?  

Astrology is a system of analysis, based on the effect of different planets (of our solar system) on life on Earth. The major planets of consequence are – Sun, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Moon (and also Moon’s Nodes Rahu and Ketu).  

Predictive astrology is an immense catalogue of cause and effects of the various positions, combinations of the planets and constellations that have been found to influence all aspects of life and civilization through the ages. Because birth is the first major event of a person’s life, therefore it is indeed the starting point in astrological studies too. Fundamentally, a person comes into existence at a specific time, at a specific place. This is the first time that person comes in direct contact with the external world and its surroundings, radiations, waves of the various planets and other celestial entities. Therefore, there is this specific chart showing the positions and combination of planets that were in effect for that person, and that chart is called the birth-chart. It’s like a unique and natural identification for that individual.  

Time is important, but why the place?  

The standardisation method of Sun rising time has shown that the sunrise time varies from place to place. Just as the warmth of the sunlight, and length of the day differs at different latitudes and longitudes (like the variations prevalent from the equator to the poles), the view of the planets, and consequently, their influence too varies from place to place. With the place of birth, the positional co-ordinates get fixed for the exact planetary and celestial combinations for that particular place (location) on the globe.  

For very refined calculations, one can fix the co-ordinates of place in the same town or city too if one is born in a geographically large city like Mumbai, London or New York.

WHAT IS A BIRTH CHART?  

The birth chart may be thought of as the ‘photo’ of the position of planets and the constellation ‘frozen’ at the time of the person’s birth. For the sake of simplicity, the observable sky above the earth is represented as a square or a circular space and divided into 12 parts. Each part is called a ‘house’.  

The daily life cycle is divided, biologically and also by convention, into a 24-hour period, with the rising of the Sun generally taken as reference indicating the beginning of a day. (By western convention, now midnight 00 hours is taken as the end of the previous day and beginning of the next day). Taking the Sun as the major observable planet (interchangeably called a star for astrological purpose) around which our conventions were made, each house represents an average of 2-hour periods. Thus these 12 houses represent the 24-hour movement of the Sun in relation to the earth at any given time and place on earth. If it is night in India, it will be day in the US. This is one way to check if the birth chart is reasonably correct or not. If a person was born at around noon and the birth-chart shows the position of the Sun to be at the other side of the globe, it means the chart is cast wrong.  

For this reason, in astrology, the place of birth, the date & time of birth are of vital importance. This data should be as accurate as possible to cast a correct birth chart.  

It is important to note here that many people may not have correct birth data, that is the date & time of birth, and consequently the birth-chart made for them could be from slightly inaccurate to grossly inaccurate. Like with any other science, the accuracy of the input data is very essential to get accurate output results, in this case accurate predictions. Many astrologers do not bother to check the accuracy of the birth-chart and if the birth-chart they have used for predictions is inaccurate, the predictions are bound to be wrong. This simple fact cannot be emphasised enough.  

Can any one imagine any doctor performing surgery or even prescribing medications on the basis of inaccurate laboratory results?  

Astrology gets a lot of bad names for inaccurate predictions but there is never any mention of inaccuracy of the input data. By the same token, there are many people who call themselves “astrologers” but do not have the basic knowledge and understanding of astrology, which too goes to give a bad name to astrology.  

So, date and time of birth is required to fix the exact moment in time and place of birth is required for the exact co-ordinates on the globe from which the position of the various planets and constellations is observed. This is recorded on the chart in those 12 spaces (houses or bhavas).  

How does one place the planets on those 12 spaces in the chart?  

This is the second part of the birth chart. The first part was the heavens, having the presence of various constellations, known as the Zodiac in the Science of Astrology.  

WHAT ARE THE CONSTELLATIONS?  

On a clear night, many stars are visible. A constellation is a group of stars. Many of these stars have always been observed together, in a group in a particular formation. Many of these star-groups resemble some sort of a shape or form that humans sensibly and culturally identify with. For example, some groups seen together resemble the shape of a fish or a bull. The observable constellations were grouped together and roughly 2 1⁄4 of each constellation is grouped under some recognisable and predominant characteristic associated by us humans and called a Sign (of the Zodiac) or a Rasi.  

12 Rasi’s or the Signs of the Zodiac  

See below for the 12 Signs of the zodiac, with the predominant characteristic associated with each one of them, their graphical representation, and the time of the year when each constellation-group (or Sign) rises and sets by saayan position of Sun. These constellation groups (Signs) are fixed in relation to each other (like the position of planets Mercury, Earth, Mars, etc. in our solar system is fixed in relation to each other). Which means that Taurus follows Aries, and Gemini follows Taurus, in much the same way as the 12 months in our calendar follow each other.  

WHAT IS “AYAN-ANSH”, “SA-AYAN”, AND “NIR-AYAN”  

Before proceeding further we would have to understand the two terms, “Nir-ayan” and “Sa-ayan”, and also the difference in calculations under each of these two systems. In this connection we have to understand a little bit about “Ayan-ansh”.  

After roughly every 25,800 years, the meeting points of sidereal and tropical zodiacs coincide, the two points start moving separately, by the speed of roughly every 72 years for approximately one degree of arc. This distance created by separate movements of the sidereal and tropical zodiacs has been named as “Ayan-ansh” by the forebears of Indian Astrology.  

It may be mentioned that Ayan-ansh given basically by “Grah-Laghav” (author Ganesh Daivagnya) was earlier prevalent in India. Later on some learned astrologers, on basis of new scientific research, corrected it, and this corrected Ayan-ansh was named “Chitra” (name of a constellation=Nakshatra), and experience has proved that this Ayan-ansh is most dependable.  

But some learned astrologers in India in the 20th century introduced further revisional corrections in the Ayan-ansh and let it be known by their personal name, like Lahiri’s Ayan-ansh, (B. V.) Raman’s Ayan-ansh, and Krishnamurti’s Ayan-ansh.  

The senior author claims to have known Mr. Krishnamurti on a personal level. In the early sixties, Mr. Krishnamurti was on a short visit from South India to Delhi and was staying with his friend, Mr. Venkataraman, a Section Officer then in the Directorate of Visual Publicity, Govt of India, at a flat in Pandara Road. The senior author was residing  

in the same colony. It was then that Mr. Krishnamurti consulted the senior author daily for about 8 days to discuss preliminaries of astrology. It didn’t appear then that he could devise his own system of Ayan-ansh. But he did, and got the due publicity, and now his Ayanansh is mentioned in astrological books and yearly Panchangs as an independent system of Ayan-ansh.  

However, the author takes the liberty to mention that his practical experience of working with Ayan-ansh proves “Chitra-based Ayan-ansh” as the most correct. Anyway, astrological scholars are free to adopt any Ayan-ansh after their own practical experience and what appears to work best for them.  

Coming back to “Nir-ayan system” and “Sa-ayan system”, it should be understood that virtually all astrologers in India (and specially the Panchangs = yearly almanacs or ephemeris giving day-wise or week-wise information about position of the planets in terms of degrees and minutes go by the Nir-ayan system. The western world goes by the Sa-ayan system.  

To understand the difference, these terms are derived from Sanskrit. Nir means ‘no’ or without, so nir-ayan means without consideration of the ayan (ayanansh); similarly Sa means ‘with’ or included, so sa-ayana means with ayan consideration included. In other words, NIRAYAN means without using the element of ayanansh for calculating the positions of the planets in the degrees and minutes, and SAAYAN means inclusive of the element of ayanansh.  

The two charts given below indicate the approximate dates of entry of the Sun into each Sign (Rasi) of the zodiac, first by the Nir-ayan system, and then by the Sa-ayan system.

 

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