How often do you wonder whether you should act immediately or see how things are going to progress? In a fast changing situation you might need up to the minute information on a daily basis, but at other times you could require a longer term view. Perhaps you are planning some special event such as the perfect party or even a holiday and you want people to talk about it for ages – but only in a good way. Horoscope Ace can help you swim with the cosmic tide to produce the results you want. How? Horoscope Ace is able to offer you daily, weekly and monthly horoscopes so that you can chose the optimum time to put your plans into action. Even better, it can provide you with horoscopes from the Chinese, Indian and Western traditions so you can mix and match to suit your needs. Fans of the mainstream Sun Sign horoscopes you find in the papers may not realise that there is such a wide range of astrological thought, so let’s go on a star studied journey to visit some ancient forms of astrology that exist in other cultures – no you won’t need a visa or to exchange your cash. First stop – China.
With their penchant for inventing things as varied as paper, printing, the compass, gunpowder and, well, just about everything else, it is no surprise that the Chinese developed their own form of astrology too. The actual date of the origin of Chinese astrology is not known, however there are a number of legends surrounding its birth and development. Legend has it that in 2,600BC, the Yellow Emperor introduced the first cycle of the zodiac to record the Chinese Lunar New Year. Over time Chinese astrology developed 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches by combining one stem and one branch; the stems and branches are used to indicate a specific hour, date and year. The 12 earthly branches correspond to the number of months in a year and hours in a day with a complete cycle taking 60 years. Thus most people will experience the exact same year again only rarely in a lifetime. Westerners who are interested in astrology soon realise that every Chinese year is associated with an animal and that any given animal reappears on a 12 yearly cycle. The animals in Chinese astrology are the; rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Why were these animals chosen? There are a couple of legends which explain this. According to one story, Buddha invited all the animal kingdom to a meeting to ascertain how to restore order in the world, only the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig attended, thus these animals came to represent the Chinese zodiac cycle. The order of the cycle was decided by the order in which each creature arrived, the rat turned up first followed by the ox with the tardy pig appearing last. A different legend explains why there is no cat in the Chinese calendar. Buddha promised to designate the first 12 animals as the zodiac signs in order of appearance at the meeting. So the cat and the rat agreed that whoever woke first that day would wake the other. The rat ratted on the deal (well, it was a rat) and arrived at the meeting first, the remaining animals soon followed. When the cat awoke it ran to the meeting, but it was too late, the meeting was over and it lost its opportunity to become a member of the zodiac. According to legend, this is why cats hunt rats. The Chinese use astrology to discover someone’s age without being too direct. Instead of asking how old a person is, the Chinese often ask about his or her animal sign, which places a person within the 12 year cycle. Time to pack our bags and head to India.
The history of Indian astrology is very ancient and as complex as the patterns on an Indian vase. So here is a simple explanation of its long history. Indian astrology is based on the Vedic culture which is at least 5000 years old. The Vedas are a group of ancient Hindu texts one of which contains the Jyotish Vedanga which concerns itself with astrology. This tradition was maintained and developed by various Rsis (teachers or sages). The Rsis would act as teachers passing their knowledge to their disciples. One of these sages; Parasara Rsi combined the various teachings and produced a text known as the Brhad Parasara Hora Sastra which was passed on and developed into the Parasara School of astrology. Eventually other texts were written and these formed an astrological canon. Vedic astrology spread to the Babylonians via the Persians. From Babylon it travelled to the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. With the rise of Islam the Arabs learned astrology from both the Greek and Vedic astrologers. There are many branches of Vedic astrology but the six main forms are: Gola; positional astronomy, Ganita; mathematical diagnostic tools for analysing the results of Gola Jataka which is natal astrology. Prasna; answering specific questions based upon the time the question is asked, Muhurta; selecting an auspicious time to start something and Nimitta which is concerned with omens and portents. Phew, no wonder Indian universities teach the subject at degree level. If you want to get the benefit from the world of astrology without traveling from your home or spending years at university, Horoscope Ace could be your passport to the future.