Katerina's Vedic Astrology

Vedic Astrology is also known as Jyotish. The word “Vedic” means “wisdom, knowledge, truth”. The word “Jyotish” is formed of two words: Jyot means Light and Ish meaning God or Man. Hence Jyotish means “True Light of God/Man” (after all let's not forget that a Man is indeed a God him/herself). Jyotish is also known as an “eye” because it allows us to clearly see our past, present and future, illuminates our life path and also reveals our personality traits.

Vedic Astrology is a very ancient science and the oldest system of Astrology on Earth. It has the age of at least 5000 years. A foundational text of Vedic Astrology, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, belongs to the Rishi Parashara and is known as "Parashara's Monumental Astrological Scientific Text". The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS) is an extensive text on Vedic Astrology and is considered the most authoritative and comprehensive guide to understanding and practicing Astrology according to Vedic teachings. 

Parashara’s insights into the cosmic order and his ability to interpret the movements and influences of the planets have earned him the title of the Father of Vedic Astrology. His teachings have been passed down through generations and continue to guide all Vedic Astrologers around the world today.

Most Astrologers are inclined to believe that BPHS is from the time of Mahabharata because in the text Parashara mentions a planetary combination that the emperor at the time of Mahabharata, Yudhishthira, supposedly possessed. 

Parashara taught Astrology to one of his disciples, sage Maitreya. In fact, BPHS is written as a recorded dialogue between Parashara and Maitreya. From there the Indian Vedic Astrology made a long journey. It eventually passed to Persians, then to Babylonians, then to Greeks and Romans who many centuries later developed a different system based on Vedic Astrological teachings which is now known as Western Astrology. 

Vedic Astrology is famous for its high accuracy in predicting events hence it's known to be a Predictive Astrology. At the same time, it's the best for tapping into the eternal significance of your horoscope and analyzing your character and personality traits with unparallel precision. 

Vedic Astrology is one of the Vedangas and offers a rich symbolic language complete with deities and myths assigned to each portion of the sky. While Western Astrology uses the original placement of the constellations from thousands of years ago, Vedic Astrology adheres to the astronomically accurate position of the constellations as they stand today.

In other words, Western Astrology uses the Tropical zodiac, which is based on the seasons of the year and the Earth’s relationship to the Sun. The Spring Equinox is always the first day of Aries in the Tropical zodiac. Vedic Astrology uses the Sidereal zodiac, which puts the planets’ position against a backdrop of stars. Because of the Earth’s tilt and wobbly orbit, the stars and constellations do not remain in a fixed position.

Each fixed star moves about one zodiacal degree every 72 years. The Sidereal zodiac takes this into account via a corrective system called ayanamsas, whereas the Tropical system doesn’t account for this movement at all. That’s why your Sun sign in Vedic Astrology might be different from the one you know from Western Astrology.

Central to its philosophy is the concept of Karma, where the birth chart is seen as a reflection of past life actions influencing current life circumstances.