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Beneath A Vedic Sky
It is with a pang of guilt that I say that I have been meaning to go on record complimenting Bill on his book for months now, but have not had the time. Bill gives an exremely useful overview of the Vedic system of astrology that includes one of the best explanations of Yogas I have seen in a Vedic text. The inclusion of a CD is also helpful to the person who may be interested in the discipline but who does not want to invest a lot of money to see what their Vedic chart looks like-- a thoughtful gesture, characteristic of Bill's personality. The presentation style is particularly useful and comfortable for those who have been taught astrology in the Western tradition--it does not possess the fatalistic feel that some Vedic texts have and which can often frighten away those not used to this type of presentation. This book is a necessary addition to the literature, particularly if a Western audience is to get more interested in this fascinating system of karmic patterning.. Gary Gomes
Beneath A Vedic Sky
This is, as many reviewers have correctly noted, a well written and very clear book (which already puts it well ahead of most books on jyotish). It is extremely user-friendly. The book lays out the fundamentals of the planets, the constellations and all the major concepts required for someone unfamiliar with jyotish to make sense out of a chart. If there is a problem here, I think it's because the book is not really very reflective at all concerning the depth of meaning associated with the various aspects of jyotish--but that's hardly a fair criticism given that it is designed as a very general introduction. I think it makes a useful reference for a beginning student to look up general concepts, broad associations with rashis, planet placement, etc., but it's very broadness makes it relatively hard to use for more detailed analysis of charts. "Light on Life" remains my favorite introductory book, but, in all honesty, I wish I had read this one first: it would have made reading "Light on Life" a lot easier. Beware of the CD, however; it will not run, at least on my computer, with Vista.
Beneath A Vedic Sky
This book is very clear and concise. I always wanted to learn vedic astrology and tried to read a couple of books on the subject some years ago, but lost interest as I found the treatment of the subject very dry in those books.I happened to stumble upon this book in a book store and it revived my latent interest in Vedic Astrology and I ordered it from amazon.com.This book keeps the reader's interest alive and very clearly explains the principles and rules of Vedic astrology even to a novice like me.It is a very good book to start on Vedic Astrology even if you have absolutely no background on the subject. It touches the advanced concepts too and encourages you to read further.A careful sudy of this book should enable one to:1. Understand the basic principles of Vedic Astrology2. Interpret a birth chart to determine a person's personality, talents, skills, orientation, luck and other aspects of life3.Forecast major events in one's lifeThis book comes with an accompanying software to compute a person's vedic birth chart. This book does not explain how to calculate one's chart, rather focuses more on how to interpret a given chart.I find this a reasonable approach as claculation, though involved, is a standard mathematical method and same for every one, given the birth data. Moreover, computers can do it for you.The real skill is about interpreting a chart, which this book teaches very well. For serious students of astrology, however, learning to manually cast a horroscope is equally important for a deeper insight.The only thing, I found lacking in this book are example charts to illustrate how to apply the principles of vedic astrology to interpret a chart.
Beneath A Vedic Sky
This is one time when you are better off reading the back cover of the book than the front cover. The front cover says that the book is a "beginner's guide." The back cover indicates, correctly, that the book is a beginner's guide for those *already* familiar with Western astrology. This book is not an appropriate choice for an absolute novice, no matter how wonderful the book may be otherwise.
Beneath A Vedic Sky
Levacy has provided us with a very practical and accessible introduction to jyotish and the vedic sciences. Beneath a Vedic Sky is clear and to the point and provides the reader with the basics of Vedic astrology. A must for all newcomers to jyotish.
Beneath A Vedic Sky
I own a library of some two dozen jyotish books, perhaps six at the Intro level, and this is the poorest of the lot. There are three problems here:1) he tries to cover too much material in 350 pages of large type. The result is that nothing gets fully explained. And without sufficient detail a beginning student has no means to synthesize so many competing ideas. His explanations of the basics, including how to read a chart, planetary aspects and "precession"--the difference between western astrology and jyotish--is poor.2) his analysis of planets in the houses (what does Moon in 5th indicate? Moon in 6th?) and planets in signs (what does Jupiter in Aries indicate?) is general to the point of useless. For example, Rahu in the 3rd house often indicates "no brothers". THAT would be useful for a new student even though, yes, you can find exceptions due to other factors. What does he write for Rahu in 3rd? "Makes their own way in life, interested in unique forms of communication and self-expression." Who would claim that these traits do not apply to them? This is why people go into jyotish in the first place--to get away from western astrology's vague babble. Worse, each of the indicators for planets in houses and signs is grouped under the headings "favorable" and "unfavorable." But with so much chart information touched on briefly here--the new student will have no way from this book to know which category applies (ie, when is Moon in 5th favorable?)3) some of this material is inaccurate when compared to other jytoish authors. He repeats a common mistake in suggesting that Exalted planets are the most benefic. Hart deFouw and others would argue that Exhalted planets are strongest, but this can be for benefic or malefic influence. He refers to Maharishi as one of three modern jyotish sages early in the book, but apparently doesn't know of Maharishi's statement that "Exalted Saturn brings exhalted problems" (ie, not benefic). Show me a woman with Exhalted Jupiter in the 11th, and I'll show you a woman who has had many husbands. It is this sort of uncomplicated analysis--while not correct in all cases--that helps beginners get a handle on things. His analysis of combustion differs from others I have read, as does his analysis of retrograde planets. His "Determining the Value of the Dasa Period" is so incomplete as to be wrong as is his chart for determining planetary analysis.There are some bright spots. He singles out 35 common yogas in a manner that makes them easy to learn. Many of his explanations are clearly written and to the point.As for that "CD," he includes, turns out it is a demo (read: advertising) for a jyotish program that you would need to buy to obtain any use. Any company will send you a demo copy of their jyotish program for free.For a great intro book on jyotish, I would recommend Hart deFouw's "Light on Life." For a beginners guide to planets in houses, there are a number of good books available, but this isn't one.