posted July 21, 2015 10:25 PM
Revolutionary Vedic astrologers using Sidereal Nakshatras and Tropical Signs. I been aware of this for some time, but the Vedic astrology match making thread inspired me to let the cat out of the bag. There are actually a few astrologers out there that use Sidereal Nakshatras and Tropical Signs. Not just because they like it better, but because there is a legitimate rational for this… There’s a Vedic astrologer called Ernst Wilhelm who has researched the issue, and astrologer Lada Duncheva is another Vedic astrologer using this method as well (she has a big presence of you tube).
Here’s an overview of what I’ve learned form Ernst Wilhelm’s research…
Alright, basically about a thousand years ago the beginning of tropical zodiac and the beginning of the sidereal Nakshatra Ashvini were in perfect alignment. Now as we know the vernal equinox precesses through the constellations gradually over time. However, Ernst Wilhelm studied contradictory statements in old Sanskrit texts that revealed that ancient Vedic astrologers between 00-600 AD had somehow lost the knowledge of precession.
As a result the beginning of the nakshatra Ashvini was incorrectly identified with the 0 degrees Aries, instead of 0 degrees Aries being tied to the spring equinox. Over time, because of this, 0 degrees Aries has moved farther and farther away from the spring equinox due to being tied to a constellation rather then the equinox. This in fact my have been an error that occurred on the part of Vedic astrologer in India about a thousand years ago… And Vedic astrology is much older then that.
Ernst Wilhelm is not the only one that’s noticed either. There’s a certain celebration that traditionally in India is meant to be celebrated at the solstices when the Sun goes into Capricorn. At this point the Sun appears to change direction and slowly move north which is considered auspicious. However in modern times people are now celebrating this too late. It’s now celebrated when the Sun goes into sidereal Capricorn which is 23-24 days before the actual solstice. Apparently various scholars in India have objected to this because the celebrations are not occurring on the actual solstices, but instead 23 -24 days too early. Ancient texts confirm that these celebrations are meant to occur on the actual solstices, where the Sun appears to change direction at the beginning of Winter, and moves into Capricorn.
In 1956 a law was actually passed after a big meeting of scholars to hold the celebration at the tropical solstice (when the Sun moves into tropical Capricorn). However this law has not been enforced and due to tradition people are still celebrating the northward movement of the Sun three weeks to early. The celebration has now lost it’s connection with the astronomical fact it’s meant to commemorate… The winter solstice.
Also, I’m sure most Vedic astrologers would struggle with the notion that their zodiac is askew. It’s had to admit that during your entire career you’ve be partly operating based on an error. Some would refuse to look at this idea out of pride alone. It would take a tremendous push to change centuries of tradition.
Anyway… So upon discovering all of this, the Vedic astrologer Ernst Wilhelm spent two solid years testing every Vedic astrology technique he knew of, and all of them tested out better in his experience when he used TROPICAL SIGNS. Now he uses sidereal Nakshatra and combination with tropical signs. That means that if you were born a thousand years ago, a person with a 3 degree Pisces Moon could have a different Moon Nakahatra then a person with a 3 degree Pisces Moon now. Due to precession of the equinox the nakshatras behind the signs slowly changes through the centuries. Ernst Wilhelm has now come to the conclusion that only Nakshatras are sidereal (based on the stars), while the zodiac signs may in fact be tropical.
I’ve been considering this and I’m inclined to say that I believe it. I’ve always found that tropical signs explain a person’s personality so much better then sidereal signs. Also Vedic astrologers rely a lot on house placements and nakshatras, so the this astrology could still be somewhat successful even if they are using the wrong sign divisions. In most cases the house placements would not change too much using whole signs.
So what do you think people? Personally I suspect that Vedic astrology in it’s original form really was made up of Sidereal Nakshatras and Tropical Signs. This would impact the calculation of divisional charts, including the navamsha, as well. Actually, if you use tropical signs, the navamsha turns out to be basically our 9th harmonic chart. The whole thing is really fascinating to explore and it makes so much sense to me. I never truly resonated with my sidereal sign placements, and I totally feel like a Capricorn Sun at my core, not a Sag Sun. Even though I have other planets in Sag and have some Sag-like personality traits, my core is Capricornian for sure. The Sun is our central motivation.
If you go to Ernst Wilhelm’s site VALT OF THE HEAVENS, he has a link to listen to an audio giving his explanation on this topic himself, as well as calculator for sidereal nakshatra/tropical sign natal charts and DIVSIONAL charts. He also explains how tropical signs have worked better for him. http://vaultoftheheavens.com/VOTH_ChartCreator/Welcome.aspx
Here’s a link to Lada Duncheva’s Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/lastrology?feature=watch
Of course our new charts done using this method will have the same nakshatra placements but paired with tropical signs. This will effect our navamsha and certain matchmaking methods based on that, but the nakshatra based matchmaking method will not change.
Lindaland
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posted July 21, 2015 10:25 PM
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posted July 24, 2015 11:06 PM