Vedic Astrology: Degrees of the Zodiac, Tropical and Sidereal Zodiac, Seven Cardinal Virtues
Introduction to Vedic Astrology By G. Kuma
The real path of the earth around the Sun is called the Ecliptic.
9 degrees to either side of the Ecliptic is a belt of the Heavens known as the Zodiac. (Dante called it the Oblique Line that beareth all planets).
First 30 degrees of the Zodiac constitute the sign of Aries. The next 30 degrees Taurus and so on. The Zodiac counted from the first degree of Aries to the 360th degree of Pisces is called the Tropical Zodiac.
|
Sign
|
Degrees
|
| Aries | 00 – 30 |
| Taurus | 30 – 60 |
| Gemini | 60 – 90 |
| Cancer | 90 – 120 |
| Leo | 120 – 150 |
| Virgo | 150 – 180 |
| Libra | 180 – 210 |
| Scorpio | 210 – 240 |
| Sagittarius | 240 – 270 |
| Capricorn | 270 – 300 |
| Aquarius | 300 – 330 |
| Pisces | 330 – 360 |
These 12 signs are the limbs of the Cosmic Man or Time Eternal (Kalapurusha- The Almighty Self as Time)
Aries is His head, Taurus His face, Gemini His neck, Cancer His heart, Leo the place beneath, Virgo His belly, Libra His generative organs, Scorpio the place beneath, Sagittarius His upper thigh, Capricorn his lower thigh, Aquarius His leg and Pisces His feet !
The Zodiac is tenanted by 27 constellations each of them spread over an arc of 13 degrees 20 minutes. The Zodiac counted from the first degree of Beta Arietis (Aswini) to the 360th degree of Zeta Piscium (Revathi) is known as the Sidereal Zodiac.
Western Astrology is based on the Tropical Zodiac and the Vedic on the Sidereal.
The Limbs of the Sidereal Zodiac
| Name of Constellation | Deg Min | Deg Min |
| Beta Arietis (Aswini) | 00 00 | 13 20 |
| 41 Arietis (Bharani) | 13 20 | 26 40 |
| Eta Tauri (Karthika) | 26 40 | 40 00 |
| Alpha Tauri (Rohini) | 40 00 | 53 20 |
| Lamda Orionis (Mrigasira) | 53 20 | 66 40 |
| Alpha Orionis (Aridra) | 66 40 | 80 00 |
| Beta Geminorum (Punarvasu) | 80 00 | 93 20 |
| Delta Cancri (Pushya) | 93 20 | 106 40 |
| Alpha Cancri (Aslesha) | 106 40 | 120 00 |
| Alpha Leonis (Magha) | 120 00 | 133 20 |
| Delta Leonis (Pubba) | 133 20 | 146 40 |
| Beta Leonis (Uttara) | 146 40 | 160 00 |
| Delta Corvi (Hasta) | 160 00 | 173 20 |
| Alpha Virginis (Chitra) | 173 20 | 186 40 |
| Alpha Bootis (Chothi) | 186 40 | 200 00 |
| Beta Librae (Vishakha) | 200 00 | 213 20 |
| Delta Scorpi (Anuradha) | 213 20 | 226 40 |
| Alpha Scorpi (Jyeshta) | 226 40 | 240 00 |
| Lamda Scorpi ( Moola) | 240 00 | 253 20 |
| Delta Sagittari (Poorvashad) | 253 20 | 266 40 |
| Delta Sagittari (Uthrashad) | 266 40 | 280 00 |
| Alpha Aquilae (Sravana) | 280 00 | 293 20 |
| Alpha Delphini (Dhanishta) | 293 20 | 306 40 |
| Lamda Aquari (Satabhisha) | 306 40 | 320 00 |
| Alpha Pegasi (Poorvabhadra) | 320 00 | 333 20 |
| Alpha Andromeda (Uttrarabhadra) | 333 20 | 346 40 |
| Zeta Piscium (Revathi) | 346 40 | 360 00 |
The Portfolios of Planets
The Sun represents the Soul of the Cosmic Man
| The Moon | Mind |
| Mars | Physical Strength |
| Mercury | Speech |
| Jupiter | Happiness Learning & Wisdom |
| Venus | The Libido |
| Saturn | Sorrow |
English Literature & Astrology
Homer referred to the mighty Orion. Cicero assigned divinity to the stars. The great philosopher Origen believed that the stars and the constellations were signs through which the Omnipotent Divine exerted His malevolent or benevolent Will. Dante was an astrologer like Newton, Bacon, Nostradamus, Companus, Paracelsus and others. To Dante, Astrology was the noblest of all sciences. Dante drew a parallel between the seven liberal arts and the seven planets in his Convivio. He gave grammar to the Moon & Dialectic to Mercury. Shakespeare referred to the “operations of the orbs by whom we doth exist and cease to be “. Christopher Marlowe referred to the place where “Mars did mate the Carthiginians”!
Count Louis Hamon (Cheiro) declared that the message boldly blazoned across the heavens (the positions of the planets) represented the Universal Will & that the precession of the Equinoxes (25,920 years – 360 degrees) was so beautifully calculated by the Great Geometrician of the Universe & that all biological processes obey the divine order of the celestial bodies and this is expressed in the prayer we were taught long ago “Thy Will be done, as in Heaven, so on earth!”
Astrology as related to Yoga:
Life is represented by Sun
Mind is represented by Moon
Matter is represented by Mars
Supermind is represented by Venus
Being is represented by Jupiter
Knowledge is represented by Saturn
and Bliss is represented by Mercury
Correspondences – In Dante’s Cosmology
The Seven cardinal virtues were represented by the seven planets in Dante’s Divina Commedia.
| Jupiter | Justitia | Justice |
| Saturn | Temperantia | Temperance |
| Mars | Fortitudo | Fortitude |
| Sun | Prudentia | Prudence |
| Venus | Gnosis | Knowledge |
| Mercury | Sophia | Wisdom |
| Moon | Understanding |
