An Analytical and Innovative Approach to Vedic Astrology (Explained through authentic charts and case studies) [SP]

Astrology was a chance for me. It was the spring of 2002 and I had returned from a vacation with the family. One morning just idling n the house, I faltered upon a collection of books on Vedic Astrology that my dad used to read. I got into reading them and soon acquired an interest in the subject. It must have been my curiosity towards “knowing the unknown.” I was also intrigued by the predictive ability of Vedic astrology and of being able to foretell one’s future.

Each book I read, dealt with a new astrological principle, a new way of thinking and I felt that these new concepts would finally lead me towards comprehending this subject better. Soon I found that a composite of books that I read had pretty much dealt with all sorts of permutations and combinations between planets, zodiac signs, nakshatras, houses, aspects, dashas etc and towards analysing natal charts.

I now began to see the underlying complexity that existed in astrology with a multitude of astrological principles, predictive techniques and interpretative methods. A particular logic would work on one birth chart but not another. The applicability of these principles on charts became quite arbitrary as it required applying different concepts at different times to establish a point. I am sure anyone who has dealt with this subject for a sufficient period of time can empathise with how I felt.

I felt what astrology required was a more simplistic yet objective approach towards its interpretive and predictive abilities. For me, it meant being able to define a set of simple rules that could be applied time and again on a consistent basis for each and every astrological chart.

An analytical approach to astrology is all the more important as this subject today does not have any locus standi with the scientific community. As per Stephen Hawking, scientists don’t believe in astrology because it is not consistent with the theories that have been tested by experiment. This book is written keeping this aspect in mind that our theories and concepts for astrology must be built on evidence and not just belief. The intent of this book is not to capture the meaning of the Vedic sloka’s or the numerous astrological principles verbatim but to actually try and get to the heart and essence of this subject. The fact that astrology is deeply rooted in the Vedic philosophy of life, especially the laws of Karma, offers some interesting clues to its true purpose. These in the form of zodiacs, nakshatras and planets were symbolised by our ancients as mythical figures and their singular objective was to aid in one’s overall personality and spiritual development.