Vedic Astrology vs. Western Astrology

The curiosity to know about our future is present in all human beings. Many times, almost all of us get caught up in the situations and circumstances of our lives, where we begin to think about an invisible force that works for or against our wishes, over which we have no control. Also, since time immemorial, humans have tried to observe and understand this invisible force called Fate or Luck, so that we can better prepare ourselves for what the future holds. In this effort to know our future many systems have evolved in different parts of the world thousands of years before including vedic astrology, Chinese Astrology and Western Astrology. Each system has its own history behind it, where many of the great personalities of the first millennia have contributed based on what they have learned and observed over the years. In our topic Vedic Astrology vs. Western Astrology, we are talking about Hindu Astrology and Western Astrology mainly because many of the terminologies and strategies used in these two systems are very similar, which makes people frequently ask the differences between these two. . The similarities between two systems are

• There are 12 signs of the zodiac of 30 degrees each, in both systems with classical rulership assigned to the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Although after the discovery of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, they are also part of Western astrology.
• Both systems take into account the Aspects and Conjunctions of the planets.
• Both systems consider the transits of the planets and their influence on the person whose horoscope is being analysed.
• Other concepts of friendship and mutual enmity between planets are also similar.

The main differences between two systems are

• Sun signs carry more weight in Western astrology, while Rising and Moon signs are more important in Vedic astrology.
• Vedic astrology uses moon sign and 27 moon mansions (star constellations called Nakshatra) along with 12 zodiac signs to analyze horoscope compatibility between couples while there is no such concept of moon mansions in western astrology.
• In Vedic astrology, the lunar mansions are used to calculate the major time periods and sub-periods (called Dasha and Bhukti) along with the transits of the planets which help to time frame certain life events, while astrology Western relies more on transits to predict events such as lunar mansions. it is not part of western astrology.
• Most importantly, Western astrology uses tropical zodiacs that are mobile, while Vedic astrology uses sidereal zodiacs that are fixed.

As a result of the sidereal zodiac, Hindu astrology or Vedic astrology applies a correction of a few degrees (23 -24 degrees currently) to the position of the Sun, Moon, planets and houses, which is based on the observed wobbly motion. of the Earth as it revolves around. its axis. This correction is called Ayanamsha and it continues to change at the rate of approximately 1 degree every 72 years due to a scientific phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes. Due to this 23 degree difference, the Western horoscope chart shows the planets 23 degrees ahead of the Vedic horoscope chart position. This means that if the Sun is 15 degrees in Aries at a particular time in the Western chart, it would be in Pisces somewhere at 22 degrees in the Vedic chart.

In conclusion, although Vedic astrology and Western astrology both use many common terminologies and strategies, but the way these two systems are approached and implemented from the ground up is different. This basic difference between these two systems makes it completely irrelevant to compare them with each other.