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Out of the many
luminous bodies in the sky, there are ones that
are fixed and ones that move. The background
of the fixed stars is called the zodiac and is
divided in separate, distinct spaces, called
Nakshatra. The heavenly bodies that move are
called Grahas (for the lack of a better word
translated as "Planets").
For predictive
purposes
Jyotish looks at the positions of the
planets in relation to the stars in the Zodiac
at the time of one's birth. These positions
reveal how the universe was functioning at that
instance. In a way, planets are like 9 special
measuring points from which the entire subtle
state of natural law can be measured.
At the time of birth, when the
body enters the world, this state of the
universe gets projected into the structure of
the life of an individual. Therefore, the
conditions of these nine measuring points, the
nine planets, define the entire life span of
events and circumstances for an individual.
The Ayanmasha
The zodiac that is used in Vedic Astrology is
very different from the one used in Western
Astrology.
The Vedic system uses the
sidereal (fixed) zodiac, which is based on the
actual positions of the stars. The zodiac used
in Western Astrology is the tropical zodiac,
which is based on the seasons, and has in
principle no particular connection with the
position of the stars. The difference between
the sidereal and tropical zodiac is called the
Ayanamsha.
In this century, the difference is around 23
degrees, less than 1 sign. If you know the sign
and degree of a planet in a Western Astrology
horoscope, you will have to subtract the
Ayanamsha to find the position according to the
Vedic method.
In many cases (about 75%), the Grahas in the
Vedic chart are one sign prior to the Western
chart. For example three quarters of the people
who think of themselves of being a "Virgo" are
actually a "Leo" in Vedic
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