In astrology, luck is preordained, simply put, some people are just born lucky. Of course, to believe, or not believe in astrology is the prerogative of every thinking individual and just as in the case of other disciplines, in astrology too, there are those practitioners who are proficient in their area of expertise and those that need to hone their skills.

Reincarnation is a principle that is fundamental to Hinduism. According to this belief, the course of any individuals life, is the sum total of that persons Karma, from previous births. All mortals must therefore follow the cycle of birth and rebirth, till a stage of, Atam Gyan, or enlightenment is reached. As a result of this cycle, the birth chart that one inherits is considered to be the resultant of ones actions from previous lives. Therefore, in astrology, a horoscope is considered to be a map, which identifies positive elements one can take advantage of to attract those golden opportunities people call good luck.

Although, there are several forms of astrology, the predominantly practiced forms are, as Western Astrology, Vedic Astrology or 'Jyotish' and Chinese Astrology, as a search on any Internet Search Engine will reveal. Most people still think that astrology is all about your Sun Sign, however, true astrology is not what you see in newspapers and magazines, as these readings are generic and are too general in nature to be of any purposeful value.

Vedic astrology is defined as a mathematical study of the motion of the planets and constellations, for the purpose of drawing a horoscope. Analysing the positions and characteristics of the planets in a particular horoscope, allows astrological predictions, of future events to be made. Vedic and Western astrologies share most of their basic concepts, such as the signs, planets, and houses, as well as their general interpretive meanings. The fundamental difference between the two lies the measurement of the zodiac.

Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, in which the stars are considered to be the fixed background against which the motion of the planets is measured. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, where the motion of the planets is measured against the position of the Sun on the Spring equinox. Sidereal astrologers claim their approach is more in keeping with the ancient traditions of the subject. When the vernal point was first defined in the 2nd Century as 0 Aries, the tropical and sidereal zodiacs would have shown no difference. The precession of the equinoxes, a phenomenon know to the ancients but forgotten by Western astronomers during the Dark Ages, meant that the Western zodiac based on the calendar became out of step with the heavens. Western astrologers have never done a catching up exercise and many still do not fully understand the implications of their error.

Astronomers as well as tropical and sidereal astrologers still base their measurement of the sky on a zero point taken as the position of the vernal equinox on the ecliptic. This has the same significance in the sky as the prime meridian on the Earths globe, i.e. it is the zero point of a 360 degree arc which is used to give a location for any object in the sky known as right ascension. In the same way as longitude (and latitude) give a position on the Earth.

Sidereal astrologers add a correction to this point to allow for the precession of the equinoxes. They do this so that the zodiacal signs used in their astrology coincide with the constellations of stars to which they refer. This correction is called the ayanamsa and different sidereal astrologers use different precise values. This value is usually around 24 degrees at the present time and is constantly increasing as the equinoxes precess.

About 2,000 years ago, the two zodiacs were in approximate agreement and the vernal equinox fell at the start of the constellation Aries. Sidereal astrologers see the failure of most Western astrologers to relate their work to the actual heavens which they interpret, as an opportunity for critics of astrology to denigrate the subject.

Science and astrology are based on two diametrically opposed points of view. Everyday, modern science makes new discoveries about the Cosmos, while the knowledge that gives us Vedic astrology is based on the ancient belief that, all that exists has already been discovered and that this knowledge is contained in the ancient scriptures. However, the correlation between astrological predictions and real life events is what makes the existence of astrology undeniable. The term 'Vedic astrology' was introduced by American astrologers in the 1980s and 1990s. 'Vedic' refers to the Hindu holy texts, known as 'Vedas'. This form of astrology is also known as 'Indian ' or 'Hindu' astrology. In the end, however, all of these words are English. In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, 'Vedic astrology' is referred to as 'Jyotish', which means the 'Science of Light.'

Time and space are concepts that are central to Vedic astrological calculations. In ancient times Vedic astrologers used the following units of time:

Vipal = 4 sec, Pal =24 sec, Ghari = 60 Pal, or 24 min and Ansh, 30 Ansh = 1 Month.

Today, Vedic astrologers use modern, metric time units to forecast their predictions and with the help of sophisticated computer software, it is possible for an astrologer to accurately cast the horoscope of any person, born at any location. Once a horoscope has been cast, an astrologer will usually analyse the following aspects:

Character and Personality Profile
Love and Relationships
Health
Money
Friend & Family
Destiny, or Fate in General

However, it is also possible to find the answer to a particular question by employing Prasha Shastra, or Horary astrology, by casting a horoscope specifically in relation to when the question was asked. The results of such readings, usually take the form of a simple, Yes or No.

Astrology, be it Eastern or Western, is extremely vast and to explore every aspect of this fascinating subject would be quite beyond the scope of this article, not to mention this writers capabilities. Never the less, I hope that by scratching the surface, some of the mysteries shrouding astrology have been lifted.