Contents Lesson 1 - Basics of Vedic astrology, its history and uses. Lesson 2 - Precession of the equinoxes and the values of some of the larger cycles from the Brahma Kalpa (Cosmological cycle) to the age cycle, along with the concept of ayanamsa. Lesson 3 - Divisions of the lunar mansions giving their names, etc... Lesson 4 - How to find important chart points using mathematical formula, the sign rulerships and house meanings, etc... Lesson 5 - Essential dignities, correlations of planets to houses, etc... Lesson 6 - Jupiter in the 12 houses. Lesson 7 - Saturn in the 12 houses. Lesson 8 - Venus in the 12 houses. Lesson 9 - Mercury in the 12 houses. Lesson 10 - Mars in the 12 houses. Lesson 11 - Sun in the 12 houses. Lesson 12 - Moon in the 12 houses. Holistic medicine and the causes of disease. Lesson 13 - Rahu (North Node) in the 12 houses. Lesson 14 - Ketu (South Node) in the 12 houses. Lesson 15 - Effects of the lord of the ascendant placed in each of the 12 houses. Brief description of the planetary alignments for the events succeeding Sept 11, 2001. Lesson 16 - Effects of the lord of the 2nd house placed in each of the 12 houses. Brief description of the planetary alignments in winter-spring 2002. Gemology, yoga and holistic medicine. Lesson 17 - Effects of the lord of the 3rd house placed in each of the 12 houses. Brief description of the planetary alignments for this summer. Lesson 18 - Effects of the lord of the 4th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Brief description of the current planetary alignments that are causing fear in world governments. Lesson 19 - Effects of the lord of the 5th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Brief description of the current planetary alignments. Lesson 20 - Effects of the lord of the 6th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 21 - Effects of the lord of the 7th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 22 - Effects of the lord of the 8th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 23 - Effects of the lord of the 9th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 24 - Effects of the lord of the 10th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 25 - Effects of the lord of the 11th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 26 - Effects of the lord of the 12th house placed in each of the 12 houses. Lesson 27 - Effects of the Moon in each of the 27 lunar mansions. Lesson 28 - Effects of the ascendant (udaya lagna) with trigonometric formula for calculating the ascendant degree. Lesson 29 - Use of the different time cycles in vedic astrology. Lesson 30 - The 36 Decanates. Lesson 31 - Lunations or Thidhis Lesson 32 - The 27 Nithya Yogas Lesson 33 – Yogas Lesson 34 – Directional Influence. Vimsottari Dasa Lesson 35 – Wealth Lesson 36 - Cancellational Factors of Major Yogas - Raja Yoga Bhanga Lesson 37 – Negative Yogas and their divine remedies Lesson 38 - Mathematical Astrology Part I. The Sixfold Source of Planetary Strength ( Shad Bala) Lesson 39 - Mathematical Astrology Part II. Shad Bala Continued. Lesson 40 - Mathematical Astrology III. Shad Bala Continued. Kala Bala. Lesson 41 - Mathematical Astrology IV. Shad Bala Continued. Kala Bala Continued. Lesson 1 An Introduction Vedic Astrology, the Science of Time, the Eye of Wisdom and the foremost among the branches of knowledge has come to us from 18 seers. While Varaha Mihira is hailed as the Father of Indian Astrology, Parashara is hailed as the Father of Indian Predictive Astrology. Indian Astro-Physics is divided into 3 major portions - Siddhanta (Astronomy ), Samhita ( Astro- Philosophy ) & Hora ( Astrology ). The English word " hour" is derived from the Sanskrit word Hora. The Precession of the Equinoxes While the Western astronomers compute everything from 0 degree Aries which is the beginning of the Tropical Zodiac, the Indian astronomers compute everything from 0 degrees Aswathi ( Beta Arietis ) , which is the beginning of the Sidereal Zodiac. Sidereal is derived from the Latin word "Sidereus" meaning the constellation of fixed stars. The Vernal Equinoctial Point was found to precede one degree in 72 years and hence 360*72 = 25920 years was fixed as the Precession of the Equinoxes or the Precessional Cycle. Flamsteed anticipated Long before Flamsteed fixed the beginning of Zodiac at 0 degree Aries, the Indian astronomer Brahmagupta fixed it at 0 degree Aswini ( Beta Arietis ). Another great astronomer-mathematician Aryabhata wrote treatises on Spherical Astronomy and Spherical Trignometry in his magnum opus Aryabhateeyam. It is said that Arabs acquired a knowledge of maths and astronomy only after Brahmagupta's Brahmasphutasiddhanta was translated into Arabic ( As Sind Hind )! Albert Einstein rightly remarked " We owe a lot to the Indians who taught us how to count without which no worthwhile discovery could have been made " ! The Difference between the Tropical ( Western ) & The Sidereal ( Indian ) Zodiacs is round about 23 degrees this year. Sidereal Astrology is based on the immovable Zodiac- the Sidereal Zodiac - and Western Tropical Astrology is based on the Tropical Zodiac which is movable. The Philosophic Aspect As the destructive power is imbedded in the atom, so are the acts of preservation, creation and destruction invested in the womb of Almighty Time. Time Eternal alone is the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. Past, Present & Future are imbedded in the womb of Time Eternal and a knower of Time can get an insight into Past, Present & Future. The Present is a product of the Past. Future is contained in the Present inasmuch as it is determined by the Present. The Lord equates Himself with the cosmic phenomenon of Time. " I am Time Eternal " declares He in the the Geetha ( "Kalosmi " ). Oppenheimer, the Father of the Atom Bomb quoted this verse from the Geetha when saw the first atomic explosion. To him, the destructive power of the atom was a mere manifestation of the destructive power of Time Eternal! Uses of Astrology - The Practical Aspect The great French mathematician Laplace advocated Probability as a weapon to cope up with Reality. Astrology is the application of the Law of Probability in toto, based on astronomical facts. Our life is hindered by many an obstacle & we are busy battling the barriers to Success. These barriers are always there, some known, some unknown. But via the Wisdom of the Heavens (Astrology ) these barriers can be known, why it is there and what are the heavenly causes which generated it. Everything happens by Cause. Classical Philosophy postulates that natural causes have corresponding celestial causes and this is known as the Law of Correspondences. This message is contained in the aphorism " As above, so Below ". Once the causes are known to us from a bona fide astrologer, overcoming the barriers becomes easy. The scientist manipulates the effect: the diviner or the poet manipulates the Cause. Astrology and Yoga are sciences which deal with the Cause. The Divine is the Transcendant Causeless Cause. Astrology has been described as a Lamp in Darkness. Without it, life becomes a lightless nightmare and we roam about groping in the dark. "Forewarned is Forearmed ". It is the negative aspects of the planets which create all the barriers in our life. Once they are known, by means of the Great Art we can transcend its negativity. Life becomes more smooth sailing and success becomes ours. Lesson 2 Revealed to the Indian Seers in yogic flashes of heightened Consciousness, Astrology was developed strictly on scientific laws. Backed up by Astronomy and Maths, Astrology continues to rule as the Queen & Mother of all Sciences. Astro Cycles Theory Long Astro Cycles have fascinated mankind. This is the Vedic perspective of Astro Cycles. The Vernal Equinoctial Point was found to precede one degree in every 72 years. Hence as one Zodiacal Sign is 30 degrees in length, 2160 years is the duration of an Age Cycle. We are at the moment undergoing the Piscean Age which will give way to the Aquarian in 2444 AD. It is called the Piscean Age because the Vernal Equinoctial Point is passing through Pisces and is at the moment 06 degrees 40 minutes 24 seconds in Pisces. Age Cycle ( 72*30) = 2160 years Precessional Cycle (72*360) = 25920 years Equinoctial Cycle (2000*2160) = 43,20000 years Cosmological Cycle ( 2 million * 2160 ) = 4.32 billion years One Cosmological Cycle (Brahma Kalpa) was considered to be one Brahma Day and another 4.32 billion years was considered to be one Brahma Night. One Cosmological Cycle was one thousand Equinoctial Cycles (Chatur Yugas) or 2 million Age Cycles! The Concept of Ayanamsa The Date of Coincidence of the Tropical and the Sidereal Zodiacs was found to be 285 AD and the Ayanamsa (precessional distance) was called Lahiri's Ayanamsa. Different scholars gave different dates but the Indian Govt in order to standardise the Ayanamsa value took the initial point of the Zodiac as the point in the Ecliptic opposite the star Chitra (Alpha Virginis) which was the vernal equinoctial point on the Vernal Equinox day of 285 AD. The rate of precession of the Vernal Equinox was taken as 50.3 seconds per sidereal year. In Vedic Astrology, Ayanamsa value is deducted from the Tropical longitudes of planets to get the Sidereal longitudes. Hence the longitudes of planets in Western Astrology (Tropical) and Indian Astrology differ by 23.5 degrees this year. Natal charts cast in these 2 systems will be entirely different! The Tropicalists (Western Astrologers) maintain that the Vernal Point is in the 6th degree of Pisces now. The Siderealists (Vedic Astrologers) maintain that the Sidereal Starting Point remains to be 0 degrees Beta Arietis (Aswini) and that the Sidereal Zodiac doesn't change.