Jyotish

On Monday I went to see an astrologer. Shanta Gupta was an older woman with degrees in law and astrology. Most of her time is spent as an advocate (lawyer) at the Rajasthan High Court, but astrology is her hobby. I went with my friend Lauren and an Indian woman, Sandeep, who helped translate.

The astrologer, Lauren (a fellow Minnesotan!), and me

Astrology (jyotish) is considered a complex mathematical science, taught at Indian universities in science departments. On the basis of the date, time, and location of your birth, important aspects of your future can be discerned. It’s much more specific than the generic horoscopes we read based on the month in which we were born. I don’t understand it all, but I was told that the “rising sign” changes every 2 minutes; hence the need to know the exact time one was born. And the location matters because every 55km the sign changes as well.

Western astrology is primarily about the position of the sun at one’s birth. Indian astrology incorporates this factor, but sets it in relation to the positions of the planets and constellations at one’s birth. There’s now fancy computer software that does all the calculations for you.

I don’t put a lot of stock in such beliefs. Yes, there are always environmental factors that influence our lives, but I don’t believe human life is so determined that you could mathematically or astrologically calculate what a given person will do in the future. To be fair, Indian astrologers do believe that there are certain things you can do to affect the power of the planets on your life. So, for example, my Hindu friend Priyanka was told she needs more Mars in her life, so she wears a red coral stone ring (coral is believed to have electromagnetic radiation that affects the same things as the planet Mars). Mantras (chanting) and yantras (geometrical and mathematical shapes) are also thought to alter the effects of the planets.

Apart from a desire to know what your future entails (which I don’t actually desire to know – I’d rather discover and shape it for myself as time goes on), there’s another good reasons to visit an astrologer: it offers fascinating insights into cultural priorities and perspectives on life. Lauren and I wanted to know things about personal growth, or finding meaning and purpose in our lives. The astrologer instead spoke about marriage and children, health, and wealth. At one point she looked at us and said, “That one [Lauren] has wealth and this one [Elsa] has love.” From the astrologer’s perspective, these seemed to be equally good blessings. But from our perspective, love is definitely the more desirable to the two things. Maybe if either of us had ever truly had to worry about money it would be different.

"Jyotish Gyan" - Astrological Science

Some of the things she said seemed true enough: I’m close to my family, intelligent, ambitious, social and friendly, well-rounded, have my hands in everything, am good with managing money, have foot pain, and will enjoy whatever work I do. Then, there were some things that were not so accurate… apparently, I like the luxurious life, love meat (I've been a vegetarian for 17 years) and drink too much alcohol, and should pursue a career in medicine or start a business dealing with handicrafts or antiques. And, good news for my dear parents, who are eager for grandchildren, I’ll marry a fair and handsome man by December and have a baby girl within 2 years. Her health advice? Don’t take contraceptives if you want to have babies. All in all, I'm supposed to have a very healthy and happy life.