Dreyer - Vedic astrology: a guide to the fundamentals of jyotish

There are many new books out relating to Eastern philosophies and Indian Astrology, but this one has many qualities which make it inviting for the Western mind.... What really stands out about this book are tidbits not found elsewhere. For example, her chapter on The Role of the Astrologer is not only informative to the reader, but also demonstrates the author's grasp of the role astrology plays in India, as well as the demands put on Indian astrologers.

Marion D. March, Aspects

The first thing I learned when I opened this book was that Ronnie Dreyer knows astrology!... This incredibly clear and complete book takes us through the history of Eastern astrology and helps us interpret our own charts. It is a solid foundation for any student of India's predictive arts.

Matthew Herman, Magical Blend

Add this title to the still pitifully small number of easy-to-understand books on the astrology of India.... Readers thinking about taking a dip in the ocean of Vedic Astrology will find this book an excellent place to wade in. Vedic veterans will benefit from Ronnie's valuable new material on planetary combinations.

Linda Johnsen, Mountain Astrologer

Vedic Astrology is a pioneering work that serves to bridge the gulf between East and West...[and] has been written with the western astrologer in mind.... The author clears a path through the maze of cultural influences that have lent themselves to creating the foundations of the Vedas, and leaves the reader with a clearer understanding of some of the spiritual ideas that permeate this ancient tradition, and which are inseparable from the practise of astrology.... This is a book that I would recommend to anyone who is thinking of learning Vedic astrology. Congratulations Ronnie, on a job well done!!

Andrew Smith, Dublin Astrologer

Ronnie covers all the fundamentals of Vedic astrology in a well thought out manner. Her writing style and examples are clear and easy to follow with plenty of cross-references.... I would recommend this book to the newcomer to Vedic astrology, particularly those from a western astrology background. This book is a worthy contribution to the limited, although expanding, number of Vedic books by authors from the West.

Neville Lang, FAA Journal

A dazzling, tour-de-force on a topic that needs elucidation for Western astrologers.

Welcome to Planet Earth

This is a solid book, well thought-out and very clear in presentation. It will allow you to systematically immerse yourself in Vedic astrology and compare a known chart (your own of course) to its sidereally offset image in the Jyotish reflection. Then you can use the bhuktis and dasas listed to see if they related to significant parts of your life. What more could you ask?

Mary Downing, Geocosmic Magazine

In Vedic Astrology, Ronnie Dreyer gets straight to the heart of what Jyotish is, how to use it, how not to use it, how this kind of astrology works for the Hindu culture, and how it doesn't work for the American who thinks that life has a predilection for kindness and benevolence.... Vedic Astrology is an impressive contribution to any personal or professional astrology reference shelf.

Midwest Book Review

This is the book to get whether you're exploring the riches of Vedic astrology as a new student or desiring to add to your knowledge as one already into this study. Highly recommended.

Todd Collard, Mercury Hour

First published in 1997 by

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

York Beach, ME

With editorial offices at:

368 Congress Street

Boston, MA 02210

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 1997 Ronnie Gale Dreyer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Unrevised edition published as Indian Astrology in London, 1990 by Aquarian Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dreyer, Ronnie Gale.

[Indian astrology]

Vedic astrology : a guide to the fundamentals of jyotish / Ronnie Gale Dreyer.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Originally published: Indian astrology. London : Aquarian Press, 1990.

ISBN 0-87728-889-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Hindu Astrology. 2. VedasCriticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.

BF1714.H5D74 1997

133.5'9445dc21

97-5620

CIP

EB

Typeset in 10.5 Sabon

Printed in the United States of America

09 08 07 06 05 04

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.

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To Ken who made the circle of my life full and complete. After all is said and done, the center is what holds.

by James Braha

FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS, Hindu predictive astrology was virtually unknown in the Western world. During the mid-1980s a handful of pioneering astrologers traveled separately to India and brought this profound knowledge home, changing the situation forever. Ronnie Gale Dreyer was one of these individuals to whom Western astrologers shall be eternally indebted. She is also the first American woman astrologer to complete a comprehensive text on the subjecta subject that, in the East, is generally, though not absolutely, dominated by men.

Vedic Astrology is a major contribution; remarkably complete, exceptionally clear, and profoundly satisfying for those hungry for the knowledge of Jyotish or the science of light, as it is called in India. Although the enormity and complexity of this vast subject nearly always seems overwhelming to beginners, Ronnie Dreyer has purposely organized the material in a way that is clear, understandable, and accessible to all. It is no small benefit that the author, an expert in the Eastern system, happens also to be schooled in Western astrology. This enables her to fathom exactly the perplexities and pitfalls that veteran Western astrologers new to Eastern astrology are likely to encounter. Throughout the text, there are warnings and hints that guide astrologers in the proper direction, protecting them from the interpretive disasters and calamities experienced by generations of forebears who have tried, and consistently failed, to learn Jyotish from Indian texts.

As a practicing Jyotishi (Hindu astrologer), Ronnie Dreyer has paid her dues many times over, not merely by professionally analyzing thousands of horoscopes, lecturing at astrology conferences worldwide, and writing two authoritative astrology texts, but especially by having learned Jyotish in India with an Indian mentor. The benefit of this, as any astrologer who has studied in the East will immediately recognize, cannot be overemphasized. Jyotish is an integral part of an unparalleled mystical and spiritual culture. In order to really grasp the art of this profound ancient knowledge, not merely with one's mind but with heart and soul and deep consciousness, nothing compares to immersing oneself in the culture of India and attuning one's intellect to the peculiar mindset of a masterful Eastern astrologer.