The Enigma of the House Systems

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Dear All, The following is from: http://www.karmicrhythms.com/pe18.htm Love and regards,Sreenadh ============================The Enigma of the House Systems ------ © Dr. Satya Prakash Choudhary "Which house system should an astrologer follow"? This is a question that most beginners ask. After sometime a majority do not ask anymore, not because they have solved the puzzle, but because they give up in desperation or let their favourite teacher or author decide for them! Years later, as they progress more and have a better comprehension of the fundamentals, they come back one whole circle and again ask the same question. Vedic astrologers face this problem to a lesser extent because the ancient texts use whole house system. But some traditional Vedic astrologers use the Sri Pati system which closely resembles Porphyry, while KP astrologers use Placidus. So sooner or later most research minded astrologers who are not content with blindly following what has been taught or told, start pondering over the question again. "Which house system should an astrologer use"? There are at least over thirty ways of dividing the diurnal cycle into 12 parts (this is what the houses are about). The dispute is over what Geometry to use in dividing up the mundane sphere, over where the houses begin, and over whether they have any sharply defined boundaries at all. In other words the cusps are what we don't seem to agree upon. What to divide and how? This is where we seem to disagree. In order to assess the merits or demerits of a particular system, it becomes imperative that we first know the basis of at least some of the main systems. So let me first introduce the basis in as simple terms as possible (and it is not a simple job). I will try to stay away from the technicalities unless required, and also try not to introduce unnecessary controversies at this stage. To make it simple, I will broadly classify the house systems into two kinds- • those that are constructed directly on the ECLIPTIC and • those that are constructed by PROJECTION onto one of the great spheres like the celestial sphere, using the horizon, celestial equator, or the polar axis. If there is someone who does not understand the above terms, blame him for the diversion I am going to take now, because unless you understand at least a little of these things, what I am going to discuss hereafter will just go beyond your minds. So here we go. The earth as you all know is almost spherical. It rotates from west to east around an axis. The imaginary line along the axis connects the two poles (north and south poles) running through the center. The equator is the imaginary line running across the largest circumference of the earth equidistant from the poles. This is zero degree latitude. Parallel lines drawn on either sides (north and south) of the equator indicate the latitude. Similarly imaginary lines can be drawn on the surface of the earth connecting the north pole to the south pole to indicate the longitude. These lines are called terrestrial meridians. Like the equator for zero latitude, we need to select a meridian passing for zero longitude. The ancient Indians used Ujjain for this while we use Greenwich in England as corresponding to zero degree of longitude. Now we have co-ordinates by which we can locate any point on the sphere called earth. So far so good. But we guys are supposed to be star-gazers. So how do we use all these terrestrial lines in our work? EEXXTTEENNDD your imagination. Extend it as far as the space around the earth. At least extend it as far as the zodiac. Now this imaginary projection of the earth in all directions upto infinity is what the CELESTIAL SPHERE is. Believe me the very imagination of the celestial sphere sends me into ecstasy! No wonder it had captured the imagination of most Puranas that wrote endlessly on the Bhu Mandala , describing every minute detail on this grand celestial sphere that makes one feel one with the stars and the cosmos. Resuming the thread, since this is a projection of the earth, even the Celestial sphere has an equator, poles, meridians, etc, of course referred to as the Celestial equator, celestial north pole and so on. The point of the celestial sphere that is directly overhead (for an observer) is called the Zenith and the opposite point is the Nadir. All this becomes relevant if one wants to understand the astronomical/mathematical/mythological basis of astrology. But our immediate purpose is served (kind of) if you now have a fair idea of what I meant by a 'PROJECTION onto one of the great spheres like the celestial sphere, using the horizon, celestial equator, or the polar axis', while classifying the house systems. Now let me repeat my earlier point just in case you are lost in all these imaginary projections! I will broadly classify the house systems into two kinds - • those that are constructed directly on the ECLIPTIC and • those that are constructed by PROJECTION onto one of the great spheres like the celestial sphere, using the horizon, celestial equator, or the polar axis. I hope that all of us know what the ECLIPTIC is. From the earth, it appears to us as if the Sun is going around us. And we are interested only in our perspective. Why not? The world exists because we exist! The waves had been dancing towards the shore pounding against the rocks for millions of years. And so have the stars been there. But who was there to witness all this beauty? When 'you' come into existence, then and only then does the world really exist, for without the observer the observed has no value. You exist because I exist! After this short attempt to justify what seems to be an ego-centric view (the geo-centric ============================