Astrology for Self-Care: How the Vedic Sky Can Guide Your Wellness Routine

The self-help world is filled with one-size-fits-all fads, from diets, to lifestyle regimens, to fitness routines, and spiritual practices. Our vision of our future-selves is also shaped by what we were told by parents and teachers, and now what we are told by the media and fitness influencers. What if there was a way to better understand our unique individualized nature, and use that understanding to filter and select the right lifestyle and routines, tailored to our unique mind-body-soul personality type?

Vedic astrology, a system from ancient India, that is deeply integrated with the personalized medicine systems of Ayurveda and the spiritual system of Yoga gives us that deep insight into our innate nature. Through Vedic astrology, using actual star and planet positions related to your birth (popular Western astrology does not use actual astronomical positions), we can determine our true personality type and then better assess the right daily practices to suit our soul.

Often our imbalances in life are rooted in a deviation from our deeper soul nature. We all know about the mind-body connection in well-being, but Vedic Astrology asks us to consider the soul-mind connection as primary. By understanding the key planetary energy in your Vedic astrology chart, determined by the planet that rules your “rising sign”, you can learn about your deeper soul level personality. A rising sign is basically the Zodiac star constellation that appeared on the Eastern horizon at the moment of your birth, at that specific geographic location on Earth. Each of those twelve zodiac signs that could have been due East at your birth, has a planet that “lords” or rules over it. That planet is critical to activate in your life, because as a ruler of your rising sign, it gains the status of the being the ruler of your whole birth chart. By determining that ruling planet, and leaning into the energy of that planet, you can find more mental peace and well-being. Strengthening that planet’s energy, is like a rising tide that lifts all part of your chart – and life.

As a first step, look up your Vedic (accurately calculated to the sky) birth horoscope online from sites such as astrology-decoded.com. (Note if you use a Western astrology chart calculator, it will not indicate the actual astronomical Zodiac sign that was rising in the East when you were born.) Determine your rising sign, and then note the planet that rules it. 

Rising Sign	Ruling Planet
Aries	Mars
Taurus	Venus
Gemini	Mercury
Cancer	Moon
Leo	Sun
Virgo	Mercury
Libra	Venus
Scorpio	Mars
Sagittarius	Jupiter
Capricorn	Saturn
Aquarius	Saturn
Pisces	Jupiter

If the Sun is your rising sign planet, it is a planet of self-confidence, willpower, overall health & vitality and enables you to take charge of life and people. If these are areas of life you are struggling with, and you are a Leo rising, then you are misaligned to your deeper soul personality. Start to lean in to social situations, practice introducing yourself to strangers, and start sharing more of your bold thoughts and ideas to others. Also begin to live more aligned to circadian rhythms of the Sun, getting up close to sunrise, eating your biggest meal at noon, when the Sun is brightest, and winding down in the evening as the Sun goes down. Of course, make sure to get out and bathe in the sunlight on a regular basis. If area a Leo rising, and you have too much Sun energy, evidenced by being overconfident, and self-oriented, check your ego, give other people a chance to speak, and share the spotlight – and watch out for Sun overexposure! Surya Namaskar, a sequence in yoga of salutations to the Sun, can be a powerful balancing of Sun energy when practiced daily. 

If the Moon is your rising sign planet, it is a planet of emotions, intuition, nurturing and caring. If you struggle with these traits, and are a Cancer rising sign, take the time to connect with people at a heart level. Get beyond the superficial and start to observe interactions both from a logical level and from an emotional level. Begin to manage your own emotions. Also start to track the cycles of the Moon, and on full Moon nights, make sure to stare at the Moon for a while, and then close your eyes and meditate on that image formed in your mind’s eye. This exercise is especially good if you have runaway emotions. Also make time to care for and nurture people in your life through conversation, cooking and eating together and hosting them in your home. All of these Moon “remedies” balance both a strong or weak Moon.

Mars, is a planet of aggression, boldness, courage and ambition. If you have too much anger and aggression, then this Mars energy needs to be dissipated through exercise where you sweat. Also spending time in cooling water and eating foods that are cooling to your digestive system is important. If you are Aries or Scorpio rising, and struggle to stand up for yourself, then lean into Mars energy by taking on more responsibility at work and life, and relentlessly execute on tasks. You can also take up competitive sports or martial arts to help increase your soul planet energy.

Mercury is about intellect, information, technology and communication. If you are a Gemini or Virgo rising, and have struggles with these things, then lean into learning new languages, reading books and taking courses on technology skills. Playing games that stimulate the intellect or doing crosswords and puzzles is also good. Meanwhile if your Mercury is overactive, i.e. you are thinking too much, and drowning in information, make sure to take regular breaks from technology and from overthinking and overanalyzing. Rather than scrolling through social media and trivial online sites (which aggravate Mercury), spend time in nature to soothe your senses. Being surrounded by the greenery of nature, soothes Mercury color in your consciousness. As a planet of writing and communication, Mercury is also balanced through a regular journaling practice. Mercury-ruled people also respond very well to a meditation practice that enables their intuition to balance the analytical approach. Also note, that since Mercury rules technology, be sure to back up your computer prior to Mercury going Retrograde in the sky!

Jupiter is a planet of higher learning, philosophy, religion, spirituality and wisdom. If you are a Sagittarius or Pisces rising, studying philosophy, practicing some form of religion or spiritualty becomes important. Too strong a Jupiter and you become dogmatic, so find ways to accept other philosophical and religious frameworks to your own. Too weak a Jupiter and you will not find grounding in your belief system. Jupiter is connected to expansion and good fortune, so by indulging in the religious and spiritual practices, you will not only become wiser as Jupiter intends for you, but also come into better fortune!

Venus represents love, comfort, prosperity, harmony and happiness. As a Libra or Taurus rising, indulging in what makes you happy becomes important. If you struggle with money or love or happiness, then Venus could be weak for you. Venus is accentuated through art (painting, drawing, sculpting etc.), dance and music, so indulge in these pursuits to activate the energy. (Have you noticed how wealthy people tend to invest in the arts? This is a subconscious awareness of the impact of Venus on financial prosperity). Since Venus is also connected to women, help women in need, donate to women’s causes or just make regular time to help out a female friend. If you have too much desire, from an overactive Venus, then indulgence in art, music and dance can also calm that energy. Venus energy also explains the “ladies first” concept; being kind, polite and respectful to women activates good Venus energy in your which connects to happiness. 

Saturn is a tough planet and rules hardship, obstacles and challenging karma but is very pleased when he sees discipline, organization and focus. If you are Capricorn or Aquarius rising, watch out that your discipline and logic do not end up making you cruel. Rather than only focusing on the problem at hand, also have compassion for the people involved. Find the heart and meaning in your work. If you struggle with too much work or too many obstacles and challenges, then Saturn needs to be pleased with a more organized approach to work, along with solid routines and schedules. Honoring time by showing up to meetings and appointments on time, and through wearing a wristwatch (which lets Saturn, the planet of time, know that you care about time) are simple ways to calm down Saturn’s challenging energy.  Since Saturn is also the slowest-moving planet in the Vedic sky, walking (our slowest mode of transport) is healthy to propitiate Saturn. A daily walking routine is a simple way to keep Saturn balanced.

Note that though you have a rising sign, all signs of the Zodiac show up somewhere in your chart. If you notice some imbalance in your life, based on the above planetary descriptions, you should be able to figure out which planetary energy is at the root of it, and adopt the appropriate “remedy” into your daily routine.  My newly released book, Astrology Decoded; The Secret Science of India’s Sages, goes deeper into understanding the nature of these planet energies, and provides a deeper look into the process of identifying and improving those energies. Vedic Astrology, as with all the Vedic Sciences of ancient India, asks us to go deeper into our own self-understanding, but then also asks us to take an active role in managing the karmas and energies we all face in life.

Written By: Vish Chatterji

Vish Chatterji is an east-meets-west Executive Coach and Vedic Wisdom Teacher. He helps people find light through the wisdom of his ancestors, leveraging Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, Vedic Philosophy and Jyotish (Vedic Astrology). His coaching practice, Head & Heart Insights serves clients across the globe, and he serves as a Faculty Coach and Educator for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute at UC Berkeley.

Vish holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University, an MBA from the University of Michigan and an executive coaching certificate from UC Berkeley. Vish has studied in traditional Himalayan ashrams and at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Vish is the author of The Business Casual Yogi: Take Charge of Your Body, Mind, and Career, and the newly released Astrology Decoded: The Secret Science of India’s Sages published by Mandala.

About the Book: Astrology Decoded: The Secret Science of India’s Sages by Vish Chatterji
Mandala Publishing, Hardbound, ISBN:9798887621029, 176 pages Trim 5.75 x 8.25, $22.99