Understanding Horoscopes And Astrology

Horoscopes and astrology go hand in hand in most popular forms of modern astrology. Among the different astrological traditions today western and Vedic or Jyotish astrology are horoscopic traditions.

Horoscopic astrology is believed to have developed in the early 1st century BC. The most ancient recorded region of this practice is Egypt. However, the oldest surviving form of this kind of astrology in the world is Vedic astrology that has been practiced in India since ancient times. The world of horoscopes and astrology centers two-dimensional representations of heavenly bodies called horoscopes. These are made for important moments, usually hailing a beginning, like the moment of a person's birth or the beginning of a new venture. The horoscope is then interpreted as per Vedic guidelines to gauge the effect that the position of heavenly bodies at that moment is likely to have on the future. It is thought that the alignment of celestial bodies at these moments is crucial in determining the future and nature of the person or enterprise.

What sets Vedic astrology apart from other traditions of horoscopic astrology is that it also calculates the ascendant. The ascendant is the degree the by which the sun is seen to have risen on the eastern horizon at the moment under consideration. Horoscopic astrology is the most popular form of astrology today and has directed a lot of western interest towards the east, especially India.

The horoscope is a two-dimensional diagrammatic representation of the positions of heavenly bodies as observed from a given place and time on Earth. Today exact computation of these positions is done by software dedicated to horoscopic astrology. Arithmetic and geometry are used to make calculations involved in making a horoscope. These help find out the apparent position of celestial bodies at dates and times under consideration using astronomical tables.

Horoscopes and astrology follow four main trends. These are divided as per their use.

• Natal astrology refers to the study of a person's horoscope drawn at birth for information regarding the person's personality and their life experiences.
• Katarchic astrology covers both electional and event astrology. Electional astrology is used to ascertain the most auspicious time to start a new venture. Event astrology is an attempt to comprehend the effects or consequences of an event by generating a horoscope for the time it started.
• Horary astrology is an astrologer's tool to answer questions as they are posed. The astronomic chart for the moment is referred to for the calculation of answers.
• World astrology is used to understand world events. This most fascinating branch of modern horoscopic astrology throws light on not just weather and natural calamities but also foresees the vital political and religious changes of the ages. This study includes the Astrological Ages, such as the Age of Aquarius, Age of Pisces and so on. Each age is about 2,150 years long.

Horoscopes and astrology follow unique sets of techniques in these four branches. Many other sub-branches of astrology follow from these four main branches.

Signs of the Zodiac - Basic Features As per Western Astrology
Aries	Taurus	Gemini	Cancer
Leo	Virgo	Libra	Scorpio
Sagittarius	Capricorn	Aquarius	Pisces

Significance Of Planets In Astrology
Mercury	Venus	Earth
Mars	Jupiter	Saturn
Uranus	Neptune	Pluto

Four Elements In Astrology
Air	Water	Earth	Fire