Western vs. Vedic Astrology: Why I Made the Switch & What I Learned | My World of Astrology #3

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Hi, I'm Joni Petrie, and welcome to my YouTube channel. Well, now, I decided to do a series that I thought you might find very interesting. And I'm going to call this series My World of Astrology. And in this series, I'm going to do snippets of my life as an astrologer. And what I intend to do in this series is to have segments throughout my life and how I learned astrology. And within this storytelling, some of it's pretty entertaining about my life and how I got into astrology, what it means. But most of all, I'll have little learning lessons, also about astrology. Okay, so going back, I got the first computer and the first software program. I'm trying to remember what that program was called. I can't remember, but I should because I used it for so many years, and it was a good program. Yeah. So I was Western astrologer, and it worked well.

But then.

Years go by, I'm flying, flying and doing my astrology. I would fly three days, and I do readings the four days I was off. So I was constantly doing astrology and reading more and more books. Flowing, ferocious appetite for learning more astrology. I wanted to always.

Perfect the system, and I wanted to find the best ways because I didn't feel like it was exact in measurement or prediction, Although I got a lot of information, but it didn't hit the mark. Sometimes serious. This is true. This is my 20 years as Western astrologer. So meanwhile.

My parents were always so generous and helpful. I wanted a center all my own.

And there's this area of town in Dallas that they had these houses that were commercial properties. I thought, I want one of those houses so bad to make it my metaphysical center.

So my mother bought me one of those houses. It's so great. On Lovers Lane.

And so that was the beginning of the Dallas Metaphysical center, because I was doing Western astrology at the time.

And what I did was I would bring in speakers to speak, do workshops on astrology. And I also had psychics. I had those psychic fairs on the weekend. Oh, my God. Dealing with all those psychics was something else. I never knew how competitive they could be with each other.

But I had all these classes all the time at my center, the Dallas Metaphysical Center. And I taught Western astrology. I taught all these classes, and I was always trying to perfect my astrology knowledge. So, I mean, I studied everything from the asteroids to the. Philip Sedgwick came in and did heliocentric astrology from the sun.

I did all These different classes on aspects, I would teach those and.

Everything with the houses and all of that, that's what I taught the asteroids. Trust me, I did it all. And then I got into Uranian astrology because I was looking for a system that was really persistent, precise.

But uranium astrology, which is actually a German type astrology, it used all the midpoints and it also took calculated all the charts to the 90 degree dial. And this would be impactful because when you had these hard aspects, things would happen. And it also used the Trans Neptunian planets.

I was really into it. I went and studied with Arlene Kramer. I went for a whole week and studied with her to learn. And get this, you know, I was going to be the best Uranian astrologer. Gary.

Yes, he was a good Uranian astrologer. So that was my thing for a while. But it was kind of like finding a needle in a haystack because you had to have all these planetary pictures where it was Uranus with Mars, with Poseidon, one of the Trans Neptunians or Zeus. I mean, so it was all these different formulas. And I feel like I was trying to find a needle in a haystack to get this stuff to work.

So then I heard about Vedic astrology.

Indian astrology, and I thought, I wonder, you know, I've heard it is very accurate with prediction. That's always been my thing ever since Gene Dixon. How do you predict? Because I felt like that's what people want with astrology and that is what it can truly do, that can change lives. Because if you know the future, that's everything. So. And yes, really know the future.

So.

I heard Dennis Harness speak and I brought him to town to do a workshop. I had Dennis Flaherty come, we became good friends, he had a workshop. So I started bringing all the Vedic astrologers, Ernst, Wilhelm, Mean, I had you name it, I invited them. They came and spoke at my center for weekend workshops. And that's where I really got to learn. I went to all the conferences. I became certified with the American Council of Vedic Astrology. And when Bill Levassey was president, I was teaching with them. And it just went on for a long time. And what I found with Vedic astrology.

Was. And here's what it is, it's like really, it's hard to adjust. Really hard to adjust. You know, I was there, trust me. I was so attached to my sun sign. I'm a Scorpio with the moon in Virgo and. And my rising sign was Cancer. This is all tropical. Western astrology. I was so attached to those signs. My cancer. I'm so family oriented, and I love family. I'm so sensitive, so emotional, all of that. Okay, That I can only imagine as me with my Ascendant. So in Vedic astrology, became a Gemini Ascendant. Well, you know what? Gemini, I never particularly liked that sign because in Western astrology, you're told that they're flakes. They have two personalities. One, you know, they're weird because one day you look at them and they're friendly, and the next day they act like they don't know you. I did kind of know people born after that sign that, to me, exuded those characteristics. But you see, you can't judge the Western. You can't put the Vedic into the Western or the Western into the Vedic. You're going to have a different portion of the zodiac. So I'm going to explain all this because you just can't do it that way. But that's how we all start, with our mind. Yeah, but if I'm a Cancer, how can I be a Gemini? Because I'm sensitive, feeling emotional, all of that. But you know what? I never put two and two together. A Gemini Ascendant is who I really am. Let me explain why I never really thought of it this way. Because I always thought, you know, reading Linda Goodman's sun signs and what the signs it said were all about. But consider this. Gemini travels. Gemini loves to learn. Gemini loves to write. It. It's everything to do with communications and learning.

I was a flight attendant. I traveled. I traveled to learn. I wrote books. I was constantly writing articles. I was constantly in communication and in school, going to classes and conferences. That's Gemini, not Cancer. Your Ascendant sign is basically who you are.

And I never could see it at first. It's so weird how you think you're your Western, you're so attached to that you can't let go of it because you think, I don't like Gemini. Gemini's this. And you know what we all do with astrology, especially in the beginning? We associate a sign with somebody we don't like.

And when you do that, I don't like that sign. Ooh. All Scorpios are. Are weird or they're mean or they're, you know, aggressive. That is so dumb. You got to get out of this ignorant, childish way of thinking about astrology. So then go to my moon sign. Well, I was so perfectly a Virgo moon. I mean, everything I did had to be perfect. And I was so into health and healing. I was vegetarian. I was, you know, drinking the carrot juice. Virgos are all about health and healing. And Virgos are all about cleanliness and perfect. And I wanted everything perfect. Let me just tell you. I wouldn't step onto that plane without my makeup and hair being perfect. I had to get up at ridiculous hours to make sure my hair and stuff was when I had to be on the plane by 6am Trust me, I had to get up sometimes at 3:30 or 4 to look right. That is Virgo.

But they had shifted my moon to Leo. Leo self centered got to be the center of attention. Ooh, I don't like Leo. I know Leo. And they're so self centered and selfish. And that's what they say in the books. They have to be the leader.

You know what? I do like to be the leader. I couldn't see it before. That's why I wanted to have my own center. That's why I wanted to have my own university. That's why I wanted to lead. I could never follow other people. It's Leo.

But my Mars in my Vedic chart is in Virgo. So I do have Virgo qualities because when you have other planets in those signs, you're going to have some of those qualities in some way. And Mars is energy in action. It's all about that need for perfection.

And that's not always a good thing because you never get things done or out if you're so concerned with the details. Got to look at the big picture. But truly people pick up on my Leo energy right away. The fact that I have to have big hair. Of course living in Dallas does attribute to that Texas, you know the saying used to go, which is hilarious and obnoxious. They would always say in the 80s, the bigger the hair, the closer to God. That's what they would say in Texas anyway. That's such a silly saying. So Leo. Yeah. And then when you start to look at what houses they're in. My Leo moon in the third house of writing and traveling and being a flight attendant and learning and writing books and teaching. That's a third house. Because the third house is relative to the third sign which is Gemini.

So my ascendant, my moon is my moon in Leo. That shifted from Virgo back to Leo because remember the Vedic. All of the Vedic planets because of sidereal astrology uses the true placements of where the planets are in accordance to the stars and the stars have been moving over a long period of time. The difference in the zodiac from the Western astrology to the Vedic is almost 24 degrees backwards. So everything in a chart in the Vedic chart falls 24 degrees backwards in the Zodiac. So all of the planets and the ascendant fall 24 degrees backwards from your western tropical placements. And it continues to move because this is called precession of the equinoxes, where the stars are actually moving, but they move very slow. They only move backwards in the Zodiac 1 degree every 72 years. So in another 72 years it will be backwards in the Zodiac 25 degrees. And so if you consider.

That it's 1 degree every 72 years, we're looking at that by the time from where the Western astrology begins, the beginning of the zodiac, which is 0 degrees of Aries, that's where it always, always will be, the beginning of the Zodiac. But the stars have been shifting. So the beginning reference point in the Vedic chart from where they used to align the Zodiacs would align the stars and everything aligned together 2000 years ago that they were the same. And then the stars with their movement is starting to move away one degree every 72 years. So as of 2000 years ago, when the beginning portion of the zodiac for the sidereal and the tropical, where at 0 degrees of Aries, it started to move backwards. So what's the next degree after 0 degrees of Aries backwards? 29 degrees of Pisces, then 28 every 72 years all the way to where we are now in the year of 2025, it's about 24 degrees back from 0 Aries. So therefore the starting reference point is somewhere around 6, 6 degrees of Pisces. So we have 6 more degrees to go before we go into 29 degrees of Aquarius.

So that would be.

What is it, about 360? Correct me if I'm wrong, but somewhere we have a long ways to go before we enter into the age of Aquarius. And that whole thing about entering into the age of Aquarius is talking about this. This is where the processional cycle becomes in Aquarius. So when you hear people saying we're in the age of Aquarius, we're not. We are not. We've got a long ways to go. So. Yes. So let's do the math here.

I'm going to go to my calculator and let's do 6 degrees times 72, 432 years, approximately till we enter into the age of Aquarius. Okay, so you give or take, you know, a couple of years, it can't be precise, but that is the whole Processional cycle. And that's what makes your chart different. That's why in your western chart you will have these degrees, but it falls backwards. Almost a full sign. Almost a full sign. It falls backwards because a whole sign in astrology is 30 degrees. That's why your signs change. But if you have planets in your western chart that are in the last six degrees of the sign, it will be in the same sign in your western chart. It's just, it will end up at early degrees of Vedic where it's the late degrees in your, in your tropical western chart. So that's why some of your planets will be in the same sign and some of them won't. Okay, so continuing on with the whole, the whole thing with my chart. So my sun sign, I said my ascendant was Gemini and my moon is Leo now. And the sun sign was the real clincher because I associated so much with being Scorpio. November 8th. Oh my God, I'm passionate about everything I do. Yes, I am very passionate. I wouldn't have taken astrology to this length for this long if I wasn't totally passionate. So Scorpio fit there totally. And just intense, you know, I've always felt like I was so intense. This is my characteristics. I mean, look at, you know, how intense I am with astrology and explaining things and every, all of this. So Scorpion, Scorpio, everything about Scorpio fit okay. And you know, all, all the stuff about, you know, Scorpios hide money for a rainy day. I always, always have money hidden around the house. So stupid stuff like that. But here's the thing.

My sun sign falls back into Libra. And you know what? Relationships are Libra things. I have been with my husband since high school.

And I've always been in a relationship, even before him. You know, I always had boyfriends going steady, you know, their ID bracelets and all that foolishness. But.

Relationships have always been important to me. That's Libra. But yes, I do have a lot of Scorpio tendencies. My Venus Rahu are in Scorpio. So I am intense, especially in the area of relationships, and passionate about my creativity, all of that. And it depends on what houses things are in. It's not just the signs. So my Rahu Venus go to my sixth house. The sixth house is all about health and healing. And that's why I wanted to be a psychologist, to help people. Therapists wanted to help people. I'm always into health. I mean, I wanted to have a carrot juice bar way back in the 70s. Because, you know, I always drank my beet, my carrot juice, celery juices, like into health and healing. Love that. Spiritual healing. I believe in all of that. So that's the sixth house. And Venus represents beauty and creativity. And my Venus being with Rahu expands it. Therefore, I love fashion and makeup and hair products. We're all different, right? Those are things I enjoy. So forgive me if you're more natural and you think I'm too made up. I don't care. This is me. So you be you, I'll be me. But thinking about Venus Rahu in my sixth house.

You know, it's about.

Wanting to help people and the healing arts. That is something I've always been passionate about. And they're in Scorpio, so that makes total sense for me. Yes. And you know what? The sixth house is also the house of the service industry, which being an astrologer is that, as well as the flight attendant, serving people.

And the third house, where I have my Jupiter moon, is where I'm a writer, I'm a teacher, I travel. So the houses play enormous importance. And you know, people that say, they come to me and they go, I can't be a Libra, I'm a Scorpio. I said, well, do you have any planets in your eighth house? Because the eighth house is the eighth relative to the eighth sign, Scorpio. And when you have planets in a house, it's similar to that sign, that is that number as well. So the eighth house is relative to the eighth sign, Scorpio. I said, do you have planets in your eighth house? Yes, I have three or four planets in the eighth house. That's why you resonate to the sign Scorpio, even though your sun is not there anymore. There's all the reasons when you truly understand the horoscope and how it works, which I'm going to take you through in this series.

You'Re going to love it and you're going to understand it and you're going to laugh at yourself for being so attached to your sun sign.

So my sun in.

Libra is in my fifth house with my Mercury and with Neptune and with Saturn. They're all in Libra.

And guess what? I have the sun, Mercury and.

Saturn in my fifth house, aside from Neptune, which is an outer planet. We'll get to that in this series too. I have a lot to do talk about. You know, with all this talking, I have to be a Gemini Ascendant.

Geminis are known for talking. I am. I've been talking for over an hour or a couple of hours here now, so that I'm definitely Gemini. I. I am not a cancer ascendant. So anyway. But those three planets in my fifth house, I have three children.

And my first, all three of my kids are boys. The sun represents male children, especially in a male dominated sign, which is Libra. The signs are female and male. So the male signs are the air and fire and the female signs are the water and earth. So Libra's male and the sun is male energy. I have three sons. Children are so important to me. My children are everything. If you've heard my quote, the biggest, most biggest accomplishment of my life has been opening up the university of Vedic astrology. Except for my three sons, they're my biggest accomplishment in this life. So yeah, and they're unbelievable kids. I have to brag about them. They are all successful. Can't even brag enough about them. But that's going to bore you. So I want to get back to my astrology stuff. But talking about my life as an astrologer, my world of astrology, I'll never forget that book by Sidney Omar. My mother had that one laying around the house I loved was Sidney Omar talking about his life as an astrologer. Little did I know one day I'd be talking about mine. But here I go, here I am. So.

Continuing on, I just wanted you to get a feel of what it means to better understand your chart from the sidereal Vedic perspective. And by the way, the term Vedic comes from the fact that.

Some of the oldest references. Now there's a big argument that oh, it came from Greece. No, it came from Mesopotamia. No, it came from Iran, Persia or no, it came from India. Nobody can prove it. Okay, let's just put it this way. At one time all of these people were astrologers. And somehow.

How did the meanings for the planets mean the same thing? Although they couldn't communicate across the lands, how is it? Mercury in India means intelligence, the mind and communications. And it means the same thing in Greece. When you talk about Hermes, the one who travels, the messenger, how does this happen? Mercury is actually the sign that deals with youth and young people.

It deals with the trickster. So when you think about in Greece, Mercury was the messenger, the trickster. And it is androgynous because it represents a child before puberty.

So it actually symbolizes androgyny. Do you know that in the Indian myths, Mercury, it has something to do with Illah, who could change to be a man or a woman when they wanted. And that was Mercury Buddha. So it's so interesting that these have the same references, although they couldn't travel to different lands to communicate this information.

This has been downloaded from the divine and the great seers of Vedic astrology, the Rishis, the greatest seer that we are following in the text that what I teach is Parashara. Now, there's other seers, such as Jaimini. There's different systems in India, but what I teach is called Parashara. He was the foremost seer that they actually didn't write books, they did it through oral tradition.