Astrology has been taught traditionally with the Guru – Shishya or Teacher – Student system. However, today there are many people with a great desire to learn astrology. They do not know where to start. Here are some tips on how to learn astrology from scratch.
Who Can Learn Astrology
First, determine if you have the qualities of a good astrologer. Understand your motivations behind learning it. If you want to learn it just to have a profession to earn money, think again. It is a long and difficult journey to learn a subject so vast. It requires great passion and many long hours, days and years of burning the midnight oil to master. An astrologer’s words can be life-changing for the person who hears them. One needs a level of responsibility and maturity to be able to take on the burden of knowing how much rests on every word that an astrologer utters.
Choose Your System
There are many forms of astrology. Western Astrology and Vedic Astrology are the two major systems to choose from. Vedic Astrology is an umbrella term for many systems; Parashara Astrology, Jaimini Astrology, Nadi Astrology, Prashna, Muhurat and others. Each astrologer will naturally be of the opinion that his system is the best as that would be what works for him/her. So, the potential astrology student has to first decide on what he/she wants to learn.
Book Vs Teacher
The classical texts are very convoluted and encrypted. It is hard for a new student to learn from them without a guide. The newer books are all the works from the point of view of each author. There is a risk of bias and exposure only to one method or one point of view. When one wishes to find a guru the problem is the same.
Most family-based astrologers do not part with the secrets passed from generation to generation. The leading and most experienced astrologers are hard to access and have precious little time to teach a beginner. When one does find an astrologer who is willing to teach the problem of bias and incomplete knowledge is still present. One should use great discernment and judgement before choosing someone as a teacher. Astrology is something that if not taught or practised properly can ruin your own and other’s lives.
Theory Vs Practical
The fact that the ancient texts on astrology are encrypted makes it hard to just learn the theory and then easily apply it to a horoscope. There is a level of interpretation and understanding that is hard to achieve just by reading the text. Ideally, a Guru helps you unlock this. But, as mentioned earlier, finding a worthy Guru is easier said than done. One has to understand the principle behind a rule instead of merely memorising the rules.
Vast
Astrology is so vast. There is no level of learning of understanding at which you can learn everything. There is much to learn. One must think long and well about whether one wants to make this journey or not. Also, many branches of knowledge interlink with astrology. It cannot be studied without growing to learn others as well. So, one should plan on selecting one branch, learning it thoroughly and then learning the next. A suggested order would be to learn Parashara first and then move on to the others. It requires that one have excellent knowledge and understanding of the other types of astrology.
Books
If you are wondering how to learn astrology in Telugu, Tamil or any other regional language, many of these books are translated to regional languages. Some of the main classical texts are Brihad Parashara Hora Shastra, Jaimini Sutras, Satya Jataka, Brihad Jataka, Satya Samhita, Hora Sara, Sarvali, Uttarkalamrita, Laghu Parashari, Madhya Parashari, Jatak Alankara, Sanket Nidhi, Prashna Tantra, Prashna Marga, Bhrigu Nandi Nadi and also Chandra Kala Nadi.
There are many books on astrology. However, one should understand that the book is only limited to the understanding of that author. Many people have found the books by B.V. Raman a great place to start understanding the basics of astrology. PVR Narasimha Rao also has an ebook that is available on his website.
How To Learn Astrology Online
There are many astrologers as well as astrology book authors who have an online presence. For beginners, you can supplement book studies with the videos that are freely available on youtube. Some of the astrologers also offer paid online webinars and courses that one can opt for to get the virtual Guru- Shishya experience.
Practice
One must constantly refine and test one’s knowledge by studying and applying concepts to charts. So, practising on charts of friends and family is the best way to see if one going in the right direction.
