Historically, India has always been a country where the intelligentsia from around the globe have come together to create something new and unique. Astronomy as astrology isn’t so different. Though Greeks have had a huge impact on Indian astrology, it was not until the early 19th Century AD, that Jothishi took to the mainstream stage.
Jothishi is a term that is a combination of “light” and “heavenly body”. It is a term that stems from the traditional Hindu System of Astrology. The core concept of Jothishi is to gain knowledge by shedding light on the unseen. It is one of the Vedanga, the auxiliary guiding principles of astrology.
Historically, the Indian astrology, before the introduction of the Zodiac signs, had nothing to do with planets, for nothing was stating the nature of planets. According to the Atharvaveda and the Upanishads, the most attention was paid towards the eclipse, for it was believed that it was the demons, who were responsible for its existence.
The core of Hindu astrology is Microcosm, a belief where a small part reflects the whole. Consider a simple example, there is a castle, and far from its location, there is a lake. When you look upon the lake with a certain angle, you can seek the reflection of the entire castle on it. According to the concept of Microcosm, an astral reflection of the lake is also formed upon the castle.
To get a gist of what it means, your actions have an impact on the cosmos, and the cosmos, in turn, react to you.
When Planetary and cosmic considerations finally seeped into the Vedic astrology, the original concept of microcosm did not lose its sheen. Action and reaction of one’s attitude on the cosmos and vice versa is still the main course of action. This is where we go back to the beginning, where we discussed the impact of karma on the lives is as virile as the impact of the cosmos. Therefore, according to the Jothishi, a system of acts and dates was created to ensure that the cosmos isn’t offended with the way we react. This is the reason that now we have auspicious dates for on when to go about marriage, when you open a new business and when to take any important decisions in the lives ever.
At hindsight, this has been the biggest cultural impact of astrology in India, and as a result, there are several websites online where one can sense where they have to go.
However, there is one downside to it, and it is the predictive nature of those websites. Prediction, no matter how accurate, gives way to addiction. And this is where troubles can begin.
