Beneath A Vedic Sky [Paperback]

William Levacy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

In this practical guide on Vedic astrology, readers will learn how to identify the most salient features of Vedic astrology; how to interpret a birth chart Vedic style; and how to use this information to enhance their own lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Hay House (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561705241
• ISBN-13: 978-1561705245
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy to read vedic astrology book finally arrives!, March 31, 1999

By 

C. Hill (Boulder, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beneath A Vedic Sky (Paperback)

As a Vedic Astrologer, I hold the titles Jyotish Kovid and Jyotish Vachaspati from India. I have done astrology consultations since 1968 - and have taught the Vedic System all over the world. With a library holding over 1000 books on Vedic Astrology and Vastu Shastra, many from India, and some from the West -- Bill Levacy's beginners guide is the missing link that I have been waiting for as a textbook for my students.

It is written for a lay audience -- but even an experienced astrologer (Western or Eastern) will find gems of wisdom in this book.

My students are raving about "Beneath a Vedic Sky" and are thrilled to finally have a textbook that simply defines yogas and nakshatras in clear, concise English.

The book has the added bonus of an included CD where you can actually calculate your own vedic chart and that of your friends and family.

Another bonus of this great book is the inclusion on the audio CD of the correct pronunciation of sanskrit astrology terms. You can learn without actually going to India or finding a local teacher.

I recommend this book without question or hesitation. I use it as a text book in my classes. Sincerely, Christina Collins Hill, J.Ph.D., Jyotish Kovid, Jyotish Vachaspati, Academy for Vedic Studies, Boulder, Colorado, USA

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jyotish Essentials Now - A Delightful, Accessible Text, September 17, 2003

By 

J.I. Abbot (Greater Hartford, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath A Vedic Sky (Paperback)

William Levacy's _Beneath A Vedic Sky_ is still the book I recommend most often (neck and neck for me with Ernst Wilhelm's _Vault of the Heavens_, another of my favorites) to just about anyone who expresses interest in Jyotish (Vedic Astrology).

Why is this something I both praise to others so readily and reach for myself on a regular basis? For starters, Levacy successfully distills the marrow of Indian astrology -- an enduring tradition rooted in both a sacred worldview and hard-nosed pragmatic approaches to living -- and his book maintains both the spiritual and down-to-earth dimensions that comprise the Indian legacy (quite distinct from the dumb reductionism that typecasts Indians as otherworldly people).

Levacy's one volume introduction provides all of the basics that set Jyotish practice apart as one of the most immediately useful predictive systems -- and then pushes further to set the foundations of intermediate study. For instance, not all of the current Vedic astrology primers have information on the nakshatras (lunar mansions) - arguably the matrix of nuances or signature component of the tradition that makes Jyotish Jyotish. By contrast, there is an informative 25-page chapter on the nakshatras here. Also, Levacy's excellent section on two-planet yogas (what we might call archetypal "cocktails") reveal more clearly than any other book in English of which I'm aware how deceptively simple and critical such "basic" combinations are. (If you want to take a stab at an even broader menu of arrangements of grahas [planets], pick up Wilhelm's _Core Yogas_. Levacy's deep minimalism and the detailed erudition of Wilhelm's book are not at all at odds with each other in my view, but rather perfect complements.) The "tell-it-like-it-is" approach here seems to derive from a few segments of Levacy's background: his years of practice as a working astrologer, his graduate studies in creative intelligence and education, and his real-world experience in the aerospace industry. This diverse backdrop likely has prepared him to teach the rudiments so that they'll stick, setting the stage without mystification for the student's further pursuits.

Levacy indeed imparts an immediacy and refreshing bottom line as to what makes up the most useful set of meanings the planetary cast of characters can embody. The sections on planets in signs, planets in houses, and what I sometimes term the "applied numerology" of planetary rulerships are all excellent for the same reason -- we get to see the personality of Jyotish's various characters, settings and plots via an exposition that is clear and concise yet does not skimp on subtlety or in the way it sets priorities.

The book's several chapters beyond those described above -- on vargas (divisional or harmonic charts); synthesizing a chart's components; elementary prediction; gochara (transits); traditional Indian _kuta_ analysis (relationship inquiry or synastry); muhurta (electional astrology); Indian remedial measures to address challenges; the Vedic sister disciplines of Ayurveda (medicine) and Vastu (geomancy); Levacy's detailed recommendations for additional studies; and a sturdy glossary and index -- all contain much that is tangible and memorable. Gayatri Devi Vasudev, Levacy's accomplished senior colleague in Vedic astrology and the daughter of India's grand ambassador of Jyotish, B.V. Raman, writes enthusiastically in her preface to the book that she anticipates future volumes from Levacy on various aspects of the field. Even Levacy's briefer chapters serve to nudge the reflective reader forward and prompt this sort of happy anticipation.

I'm an author and life coach who uses Jyotish as a regular tool. This book has been extremely helpful in my work.

To sum up, do yourself a favor and begin here (and/or with _Vault of the Heavens_; I find no conflict in using both.) Once you have more or less established your fingerholds, do look at Hart deFouw's and Robert Svoboda's tremendous resource _Light on Life_ -- though I don't suggest you start there! My own mentor Sat Siri Khalsa's forthcoming _Subtle Astrology_ (look for it in 2004 or so) will likewise serve as another way to grow and build upon what you have begun using a book like Levacy's as your home base.

ONE FINAL NOTE: As you'll see in some of the other reviews posted here, Levacy's book is really a learning *kit* or package for beginners in that it contains a CD with a demo of reliable and interesting Vedic Astrology software. Since the application allows you to generate new charts, this inclusion along with the great contents of the book should settle the matter of whether you should invest in this title. For clarification, the CD is a limited version (sans ability to save or print) of an excellent program called Goravani Jyotish (GJ) by contemporary Vedic "blacksmith" Das Goravani -- still one of the best on the market. This demo will work with all pre-2001 mainstream operating systems (PC or Mac) - though note Windows XP users won't have luck, and I'm not sure about current Mac OS's -- such users will have to go to Goravani's site (www.goravani.com) and download a still decent but more limited demo.

I wanted to redress the omission of Das Goravani's name in the other reviews, as his software was indispensable in the more intensive periods of my own early studies (and I still use GJ). I found the pairing of GJ and _Beneath a Vedic Sky_ to be effective and fulfilling.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Insightful, March 19, 2000

By 

Gary Gomes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath A Vedic Sky (Paperback)

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