Customer Reviews

Nakshatras

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Handy reference guide to the 27 (with Abijit, 28) nakshatras, or lunar mansions, used extensively in Jyotisha practice to find the specific character of the Moon (& other lagnas).

Jyotisha contains both solar & lunar astrological lineages. Nakshatra readings are from the older, lunar component. Westerners accustomed to tropical, solar-only astrology will find nakshatra divisions perhaps a very new concept. (For a historical explanation of the merging of solar & lunar systems in Jyotisha, see Valerie Roebuck "The Circle of Stars".)

Harness' "Nakshatras" provides a nice way to dip one's baby toe into the rich & complex lunar-house system. It offers about 3 pages of description for each nakshatra. 3 pages turns out to be perfect for beginner-level quick reference without detailed study.

Each 3-page description includes David Frawley's definition of the nakshtra's "shakti" or divine energy, the central stars in its astronomical constellation, ruling planet & ruling deities, animal symbol, and descriptive psychological profile. (Harness has a PhD in counseling psychology.) There is a brief but useful section on using nakshatras to establish relationship compatibility, and a note on kuja dosha. Good index too!(A great rarity in Jyotisha books...) At the end, there is an appendix containing 12 basic rashi profiles, which may be helpful for early beginners.

If you are starting from a Western astrological perspective and have never heard of nakshatras, by all means buy this modest volume for your Jyotisha bookshelf. It is approachable and easy to read.

Seasoned practitioners of the Vidya may find the descriptive material rather superficial, to the point of sounding vapid. This is definitely not a scholarly text. Considering the complexity of nakshatra lore, it is not even particularly informative.

However, there is one advanced feature that experienced Jyotishi may agree re-pays the cost of this book. That is Harness' by-permission copy of B.V. Raman's incredibly convenient nakshatra marriage compatibility chart, listed toward the end of the volume. If one does frequent compatibility assessments, this chart can be a time-saver.

Despite its limitations or perhaps because of them, "Nakshatras" offers good value to its intended audience of early beginner students of Jyotisha. Harness has done a service by packaging "the tip of the iceberg" in a pleasant, accessible style.

Dennis Harness holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology and has studied both Eastern and Western astrology. This book is his presentation of the Nakshatras, which are the 27 (or, for some 28) Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology. The Nakshatras have a particularly interesting import in analysis when we consider that in ancient Indian culture people identified the stars, satellites, and planets with demons, gods, and other supernatural forces as components and constructs of reality. Frequently divine and metaphysical factors were perceived as spiritual forces that dispensed grace and penalty to the individuals they contacted. Hence, the lunar mansions, which correlates with the 28-day lunar cycle through the zodiac, corresponds to a period of divine sovereignty as indicated by the Lord who presides over that domain in time. In Indian mythology, each Nakshatra is represented as one of the Moon's brides.

This entire text is devoted to a presentation of the Nakshatras, and it includes sections such as: Choosing Auspicious Lunar Nakshatras; Relationship Compatibility; a very well organized appendix that aids you in identifying Planets, Houses and Ascendants "at a Glance;" and a handy Sanskrit glossary. This text is very easy to read, and very well presented.

This is an absolutely wonderful introduction to the 27 Moon signs used in Vedic astrology. It's well organized, easy to read, and incredibly fascinating. Highly recommended!

I've always been interested in the nakshatras, used in vedic astrology (sidereal zodiac). They are simple to calculate (planetary degree in the tropical zodiac minus 23°), can be used by non vedic astrologers too and they give some information you cannot find somewhere else. The author explains all moon mansions in detail in separate chapters. Every chapter ends with a short overview and gives some interpretations when the ascendant, the sun or moon is found in the mentioned nakshatra. He even gives some career interests and health issues related to the nakshatras. But what I find most interesting is the chapter about relationship compatibility in which Dennis Harness explains the kuta point system and some other important factors that should be analyzed for relationship compatibility. This was new stuff to me and I'm very glad the author incorporated this in his book. Well-well-very well-done !

One of the more unique aspects of Vedic Astrology is its use of the lunar mansions; 27 (or 28) sectors of space that surround the sky and that have a unique role in this system of astrology as personality and planetary modifiers.

Dr. Harness' book is the first of its type to focus primarily on this unique aspect of Vedic/Hindu Astrology.

Dr. Harness writes analyses of the Lunar mansions, discusses their distinctive mythology, and provides examples of famous people who have the Moon, Rising Sign or Sun in these placements. This information is of great use to the astrologer.

Dr. Harness also provides a way to analyze synastry/compatibility (also known as kuta in India) according to principles used in India. This section odf the book synteshizes many sources of data, but also uses techniques that have been developed over time and are not published elsewhere.

Long overdue, this is an important addition to the growing library of Vedic Astrology books published in the West and a significant contribution to the literature.

I have to agree with "Jyotish lover" and others who gave this book a very low rating.

There is just no nice way of saying that this book has little substance. How do you write a bad review without sounding harsh?

Anyway, this book is not at all well researched and gives meager information. Maybe to astrologers in the West it is a lot giving rise to the saying "in the land with no trees a Castor plant is considered a tree."

There are much better books on this subject. What is a very revealing is that the Author of the book is one of the heads of ACVA the American Council of Vedic Astrology so you can understand just how anemic is the Vedic Astrology practiced in USA.

It seems that the people who have written other reviews for this book don't have any prior knowledge of nakshatras. The lack of discrimination which ignorance entails allows people like the author of this book get away with false information and immature incoherent writing, which doesn't help anyone formulate a true and complete picture of any of the 27 lunar constellations.

Each nakshatra has been given 2 and half pages of disconnected gibberish. To a beginner, it might seem that any information is better than no information, but the fact remains misleading information is worse than no information. The people who are sincerely interested in the nakshatras are better off searching for information on nakshatras in the indian texts or simple beginner's courses floating around the net. Even the small writeups on nakshatras by Hart de Feow in 'Light On Life' are much more accurate and provide a proper glimpse into the functionings of these celestial energies.

It is pretty clear from the reading of the book , that the author has no added knowledge or experience of his own to share in regards to the nature and functionings of the nakshatras.

The book is very basic and poorly written and borrows heavily from previous works which barely touch upon the tip of the iceberg in relation to this topic.

But since this is Kali Yuga (the age of darkness) it doesn't come as a surprise that fools parade around as wise men.

Great book on Vedic Astrology system. I have attended several lectures presented by Dennis Harness and he is a wonderful teacher.

"Nakshatras" est un excellent ouvrage pour ceux qui désirent ou qui étudient l'astrologie védique. Cet ouvrage est indispensable pour bien comprendre les 27 nakshatras de la Lune; il permet aussi de comparer la compatibilité entre deux lunes.

Dennis Harness' "Nakshatras" is a treasure trove of information about the twenty seven Lunar "stars", which are very important in Jyotish. He nicely covers the effects of lagna, moon and sun through the Nakshatras, and has excellent tables at the back as well, in the appendices...a wonderful job, well done.. highly recommended...

In the Divine Mother's Love, and Service, as ever, Your own Self,

visvanathan

Om Amrtesvaryai Namah