ASTROLOGY & AYURVEDA
Connecting healing and astrology – or the practice of medical astrology – is one of the deepest and most lasting investigations of civilization.
Vedic astrology is India’s traditional system of reading the stars, the planets and the entire movement of time. It was originally called Vedanga Jyotish, meaning the study of light (Jyoti) as a limb of the Veda (Vedanga). It was also called Jyotirveda, the Veda or ‘science of light’. Ayurveda, which means the ‘science of life’, is the corresponding Vedic system of natural healing for body and mind. Both are living branches of an ancient sacred science that arose in an older era in which humanity had a greater intuitive connection with the sacred universe. Unlike corresponding western traditions, their continuity, though shaken by hostile forces, has remained unbroken. Both these systems are undergoing a renaissance today as we once more learn to look within.
Vedic astrology is an extraordinary predictive and counseling tool. There are many wonderful stories of how Vedic astrologers can pinpoint specific events in a person’s life with uncanny accuracy. Yet Vedic astrologers also can relate deep wisdom about a person’s life purpose, karma and spiritual path.
Similarly, Ayurveda is a precise and comprehensive tool for physical and psychological well-being, optimal health, energy and vitality. There are many instances of Ayurvedic doctors introducing changes in a person’s life, from simple dietary or life-style modifications, to special herbs or internal cleansings that can literally rejuvenate us, countering long standing and intractable health problems.
These two Vedic systems together in the ‘Vedic astrology of healing’ or ‘Ayurvedic astrology’. Ayurvedic astrology shows us how to optimize both our health and our destiny, our vitality and our karma, so that we can realize our highest potential in life, with our earthly life following the model of heavenly forces and their consciousness-promoting outcomes. Ayurvedic astrology shows how we can heal ourselves through the stars, bringing the energies of the cosmos into our lives so that we can once more touch the universal light and prana.
Ayurveda provides an integral mind-body system of both diagnosis and treatment. First it shows us our individual constitution according to the three doshas or biological humors of Vata (air), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (water), as well as how this constitution is affected by everything from genetics to environment and emotions. Then it outlines various treatment measures to enable us to achieve optimal health and vitality. These range from simple dietary measures to complex herbs and special purification procedures. Ayurveda aims not only at the cure and prevention of disease but also at rejuvenation and longevity. Beyond ordinary health care measures it has special methods to allow us to achieve a higher level of vitality and awareness – a spiritual Ayurveda that is part of the practice of Yoga.
Possessing a similar scope to Ayurveda, Vedic astrology contains all aspects of astrology, including the reading of birth charts (natal astrology), mundane astrology (the effects of astrology on society), astrological timing and forecasting (muhurta), and answering questions (prashna). In addition to these, Vedic astrology encompasses all forms of divination, including palmistry and numerology, of which several Vedic forms exist. It includes astronomy and meteorology, which reflect karmic as well as forces of nature.
Ayurvedic astrology is not simply a physically-based medical astrology. It reflects the psychological and spiritual dimensions of Ayurveda. It is concerned with our well-being on all levels, which depends upon our connection to the Soul, the real person or Atman within.
