| Vedic Astronomic Science II
The zodiac is a band of stars that surrounds the earth like a ring. There are 12 main constellations that form this great ring around us. Most stars we see in the night sky are very far away. Amongst the millions of stars in the night sky, the 7 planets and two invisible planets in Vedic Astrology exist and move much closer. Besides these few, moving planets all the other stars are fixed out in space.
The zodiac is comprised of a band of these fixed stars, far beyond the planets that form our immediate solar system. So you could say that the fixed stars of the night sky which includes the band called the zodiac altogether form the back drop against which our solar system is moving.
For example, in astrology, we always speak of which sign a planet is in. The planets are not actually mixing in the stars at the sign, it is just that because the planet is circling with us around the sun, looking from earth towards the planet in question, we always see some sign of the zodiac as the back drop of that planet.
For example, picture yourself standing in the middle of a circular room. There are seven other people with you in the room. You yourself and the 7 other people are all walking in circles around in the room. Some of you are closer to the wall, some of you are closer to the middle. You are all walking at different speeds, but you are all walking around the central point of the room. Some of you complete your circles around the center of the room on your own path very quickly and begin again, circling again and again. While others, walking closer to the outer edge, and perhaps walking slower due to their own natures, take longer to complete their circle around the room.
The wall of the room surrounding all of you is painted with 12 different distinct colored sections. One section is orange, the next section is green, the next section is red and so on. You are walking on the 3rd or 4th ring out from the middle of the room. When you look to your right or left you see the other walkers within the room. Whenever you look at any one of them, you see a colored back drop behind them from your relative view point. For example, you may look at the person on the 5th ring from the center, and when you look at them you see that behind them is the green section of the wall which is 1/12 of the circular wall surrounding all of you. If you were to refer to that person, you might say the 5th walker is in the green section. Looking yet at another person, you may see an old man on the very most outer ring, walking very slowly against the gray 1/12 of the back drop wall. You could then say, the old man who is on the outer most ring is currently in the gray section as he walks around the room.
In this way the various heavenly bodies known as grahas or planets are always, in relation to our vision, situated in front of one of the signs of the zodiac which is behind them. Thus we say that the planet is in a certain sign. It does not mean the planet is actually in those stars at this time, but simply that the constellation or sign is the back drop behind the planet as we gaze upon it. Apparently it is the will of the Lord that these relationships of the planets to signs and the houses in relation to us, is how the effects of the Gods can be read. Our universe is so dependent upon the higher controlling demigods that what we see as our planet, the 12 divisions of space surrounding it (the houses) and the other floating planets in our solar system, are all actually a reflection of the dance of various demigods during the minute fraction of their day that passes while we have an entire lifetime. Their thoughts at a moment reflected in the planets, control our entire lives.
A real astrologer looks at the planets in a chart and having already become familiar with the nature of the demigods that each planet represents, can immediately tell the mood and effect upon the person whose chart it is. Vedic Astrology is actually a system of reading the effects of the demigods based on their positioning within a chart. These three elements, the planets, signs and houses are the most important fundamental building blocks of Jyotish. One must become intimately familiar with the nature of these 33 items. Namely, 9 planets, 12 signs and 12 houses. After this there are 27 special stars or Nakshatras. The 27 Nakshatras are the most important stars in the zodiac. They are spaced roughly evenly around the zodiac and they control 13 degrees and 20 minutes of the zodiac each. Studying the Nakshatras or special stars will come later. First one must become familiar with the 33 main elements. It takes roughly two hours for each sign of the 12 to pass by the eastern horizon. Thus, roughly within every 24 hour period, the 12 signs of the zodiac each take a 2 hour turn rising on the eastern horizon. And as each one rises, it's opposite across the zodiac is setting on the western horizon. So at the time of my birth, there were no planets in the 3rd or 4th houses underneath the earth, but the shadow node of the moon known as Rahu was in the 5th house which is just under and towards the west a little, there was nothing in the 6th, 7th (western horizon) or 8th. Then we come to the 9th house which if we look towards the east is just above our heads and to the back a little bit. The 9th house rules religion in Vedic Astrology. It is interesting to note that many religions honor this angle through various customs. For example, Jewish men wear a small hat on that part of their head. Many Hindu men shave every part of their head except that part which they let grow into a long pony tail known as a sheeka. It is also taught in the Vedas that that crown of the portion of the head which faces the 9th house is where certain types of yogis of the past used to burst through at the time of their death and would actually leave their body through that spot which is known as the Brahma Rundrum. It is also interesting to note that the hair often curls in a swirling pattern on that part of the head as if the universal swirling pattern enters us there. When the sun enters Karkata-rasi (Cancer) and then travels to Simha-rasi (Leo) and so on through Dhanuh-rasi (Sagittarius), its course is called Daksinayana, the southern way, and when the sun enters Makara-rasi (Capricorn) and thereafter travels through Kumbharasi (Aquarius) and so on through Mithuna-rasi (Gemini), its course is called Uttarayana, the northern way. When the sun is in Mesa-rasi (Aries) and Tula-rasi (Libra), the duration of day and night are equal. The days of balance are known as the Equinoxes. Notice also the Hebrew letters that correspond to the months and days of the week here.
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