If you are someone who is undecided about whether or not to begin studying astrology, perhaps not sure if it would be worthwhile, here are two examples to illustrate how beneficial astrology is. One example is from my own experience and another from a client (whose name will remain anonymous for privacy).

Years ago, several co-workers kept pushing me about buying a home rather than continuing to rent. “Your money will go into your own place. Rent, and it goes out the window”, they said. For months, I let the thoughts come and go, and basically ignored the unsolicited advice. I was comfortable in my apartment and doubted I could afford a home on my own anyhow.

…until I looked at my birth chart, the transits, and especially the Vimshottari Dasha timeline to see what dasha or “planetary period” I was running.

Vimshottari means one hundred and twenty, and so this timeline is a chronological list of major and minor planetary periods (chunks of time) running from birth through 120 years. It is the most commonly used timeline exclusive to Vedic Astrology and calculated specifically for each of us based on the placement of the Moon at the moment of our birth.

At the time I was running Saturn/Saturn/Sun– which is another way of saying the major period (dasha) and sub-period (bhukti) of Saturn and the tertiary period of the Sun. Both planets are strong and prominently placed in my natal chart and when I also observed my Chaturtamsha, the divisional chart of the home and residency, I noticed that both Saturn and the Sun were again prominently positioned, unafflicted, and strong in that chart as well and the Sun is the ruler of my Chaturtamsha. I then knew that there would be a great opportunity in this window of time to find a new home.

I took action right away and began researching and viewing a number of properties. Within a few weeks I found a place I really liked that exceeded my expectations of what I could manage and about two months later I closed on the property and became a homeowner.

Buying a brand-new home on my own was a pretty proud moment, for what it’s worth, and one that wouldn’t have happened without understanding how to read my birth chart. I would’ve easily ignored everyone’s suggestions and continued to believe I couldn’t possibly afford a home on my own.

Here’s another brief example. During a reading with a client who had recently started her 20-year Venus dasha and who has her natal Venus in the Second House of income, I recommended that she consider getting involved in any form of art that she would be interested in and that it could lead her to a new source of income. She was thrilled to hear this. She explained to me that she used to love art, particularly painting, when she was a child but because her sister showed more talent and skill, she felt completely inferior and pushed aside her own desire. Not long after our discussion, she began painting and within a year she was exhibiting in galleries and selling her artwork. Inspired and motivated by her chart, she was able to open herself to a new space and place of personal expression, following her soul’s intuition and personal passion.

Those are just two simple examples that I hope demonstrate how astrology doesn’t ‘tell people what to do’. Astrology provides insight, options, and guidance. The key to the successful outcomes in both of these examples is the necessary action we took. We worked with the planetary energies during the right time and created favorable situations in our lives, going with the flow and not against it- so to speak.

One of my favorite quotes regarding astrology is the (perhaps familiar) message from Sri Yukteswar from Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi:

“A child is born on that day and at that hour when the celestial rays are in mathematical harmony with one’s individual karma.  The horoscope is a challenging portrait revealing one’s unalterable past, and probable future results.  The message boldly blazoned across the heavens at the moment of birth is not meant to emphasize fate – but to arouse our will to action.” 

If you choose to learn about Vedic Astrology, your study will bestow upon you the gift of this Vimshottari Dasha timeline for which you can reference throughout the remainder of your life. You will know what the timeline means and how to interpret the potentials revealed from your chart throughout the passage of 120 years from birth. It is a gift that keeps on giving.

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By Renate Maria Bell – certified Vedic Astrologer, Jyotish Visharada, and approved teacher with the Council of Vedic Astrology. She can be reached at renatembell@aol.com 2022© Do not use, post, repost, or reprint in part or whole without the expressed written consent of the author.