While the information above is common and basic to astrology, there are also different schools of astrology that interpret this information in various ways. One is the Western principle of Astrology, the other the Indian or Vedic principles of Astrology. There are also the ancient Chinese, Arabian and Tibetan schools that we shall address in future articles.

Western Astrology emphasizes the relationship of the Sun to the earth and the seasons and is referred to as "tropical astrology". The position of the Sun at the time of birth plays a very important role in this principle, and hence the general advice columns or predictions published in newspapers and magazines.

Astrologically, the Sun is believed to affect how an individual manifests his or her personal form of self-expression. Coinciding with the philosophical and religious tenets of Western cultures, the concept of free will plays a very important role in this school of astrology.

As a result, interpretations of Western astrologers focus on expressions of the self and their consequences. It is presumed in this school of thinking that individuals are predisposed by planetary influences to certain patterns of behaviours, thought and emotion. As a result, Western Astrology predicts and analyzes behaviour based on birthdates.

Vedic or Indian Astrology, which is over 6,000 years old, is also an ancient behavioural analysis and forecasting system. However, it is a system that shows how behaviour might change over time. Karma or the law of cause and effect play an important role in this school of prediction.

It is believed a person is born in a specific time and place according to the record of one's karma or the results of their actions in past lives. In the birth chart of a person, there are events waiting in the storehouse of that person's destiny, which can be modified somewhat by actions performed in this life. An astrologer determines when a planet will cross a sensitive point in the birth chart, stimulating a specific event. These events are not necessarily predestined or even required to happen. However, they show a tendency to do so over time. The birth chart becomes a record of that person's karma. The astrologer's role is to match the patterns in the birth chart with the current patterns in the heavens and to analyze, synthesize and draw conclusions at hand based on ancient principles.

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