“Known is little. Unknown is an Ocean!“

Avvaiyar, Lady Tamil Poet of Sangam Times

One of the common questions among astrologer community is “Which astrological system is the best?”. People often get aligned to a side and take defensive positions, assuming that the methods or schools that they follow is the best or superior. People also end up criticizing other methods on the constructs used by a specific system. Is there any substance in taking such an adamant stance?

Let us approach this question with an example. Assume that a set of people are being asked to draw a picture of a cardboard box. This box has 3 dimensions (length, breadth and width). Depending on viewing angle of a person, this box might offer different perspectives to different people. Based on their position, won’t they draw a varying representation of the box? In the meanwhile, if one happens to look at minimum two different dimensions of the box, he would be able to get a closer approximation and if the same person get a 3D perspective, he would be able to draw his picture proportional to the original item.

In astrology, we have seen that 3 major dimensions are considered for providing explanations and making predictions. We have also seen that there can be numerous dimensions involved. Given that each system approaches a subject from different perspective, how can one claim that a specific system is the best? Superiority of any system is determined by how closely it address an individual horoscope in question. One size doesn’t fit all in astrology!

Let us get consider the pictures of an elephant above. Which of these individual perspectives portray an elephant in total? The answer is ‘None of them’ individually. However, collectively considered, they offer a good approximation of the animal. The dimensions involved in Astrological system are also similar. If the astrologer knows to look at a horoscope from right perspective considering multiple dimensions, his reading of a horoscope can come closer to reality.

In my opinion, all systems can comfortably co-exist and offer their own unique perspectives adding to the collective wisdom of an astrologer. Diversity is good!