Been dabbling into trying to understand myself through the lens of vedic astrology, yet again. Brushed off one of my old logins and tried to make sense of my sidereal natal chart. What struck me most this time and once again, is how complex the field of practice seems to be. Certainly western astrology felt easier to wrap my head around – which was probably why it felt less resonant the more I read about it. That said, the 1970s left its mark on my household and my childhood – Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs was somehow left behind by my mother’s bestie and for whatever it’s worth, her essays of the zodiac was substantial enough I’ve managed to correctly identify people’s sun signs for a while. You’d think I’d be enjoying the current era of astrology-as-psychology but maybe it’s the Saturn in my chart, but I do not. 

It dovetailed with my introduction to medieval Muslim astrology – a sub-field which demonstrated how the history of the disciplinary divergence that eventually created the more scientifically rigorous astronomy must have come about. Because medieval astrology of every civilization certainly had no qualms about forecasting – the predictive function was entirely its selling point especially in the domain of politics, since the reference texts came largely from those in the courtier life. In a period where the hidden are as objective a fact as the visible, astrology is basically celestial weather forecasting, running on a period as long as it takes for a comet to circle the sun. But while they can anticipate the movement of a celestial body, they couldn’t anticipate Wahhabism and Protestantism. Or the scientific method. 

Which makes sense to my contemporary mind. Even as I can absolutely leave a space open to consider that the same gravitational forces that can cause tidal waves can very well influence my body which is mostly water, I cannot give credence to astrology’s predictive function in my life but I will entertain the notion it’s contributed to the ratio of humours in my spleen. Determinism is bad except when I can have a whole pursuit dedicated to the Main Characterization of my life. 

Trying to understand my Vedic birth chart has been a journey, due to complicated lore the whole field has developed – and this astrological school has to be the longest unbroken still-practiced one in history, not just one being revived for academic curiosity. There’s a lot of commentaries with technically more validated models and charts than modern philosophy (I include economics in this). But still, just in terms of seeing my profile drawn through this frame, I find the picture more persuasive. It could be my cultural upbringing: Asian astrology norms still don’t shy away from descriptively saying this or that sign or placement sucks. A little afternoon read of self-esteem erosion? Why, this must be a legit resource. (Not for nothing that one of my favourite New Year habits comes long after January 1 when it’s the Chinese New Year (Lunar NY elsewhere) yearly horoscope season. That’s when my friends and I visit what we have taken to calling “the grumpy uncle website”. It’s an annual must-visit, though even he has mellowed over the years.)

So, what’s the picture? It’s one where I’m an eccentric introvert who loves learning, loves people, and loves fighting. No argument is a bad one unless it’s stupid or boring. Philosophical, judgemental, and always up for a laugh. Suspicious but generous. Unfortunately getting attention is not a problem, which is itself a problem. 

I could go on, but it does sound entertaining! I’ve even felt much better about myself after all that. It’s not so much that there is Something Wrong With Me, but the divine has made me That Way. And it’s not like I dislike the reasons why I’m disagreeable and argumentative, even if I regret the net effect. (a pause here while I add ‘lol’ to show my good humour, which now sounds insincere since I’ve lampshaded it.) Lol.

It really has been mood-uplifting, but now I’m not sure if I don’t actually sound like a misanthrope. But if you’re of a fatalistic bent, it might be a fun diversion.

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