Richard Fidler

Vedic astrology divides the twelve houses of the horoscope into four groups, each associated with one of the 'Puruṣārthas', or the Four Aims of Life: Dharma, Artha, Kama & Moksha. The idea that there are four aims of life is not specifically an astrological notion. It's a basic tenet of Hindu or Vedic philosophy. This astrological correspondence is in fact an example of the close knit integration and ease of communication between Jyotish and other branches of Indian religion, culture and learning. For the most part the ideas we encounter here are familiar to the Western astrological paradigm, but there's just enough difference to make for fruitful comparison. So often between Western and Vedic astrology, what is implied in one system, is made explicit in the other. The way Jyotish has linked these Four Aims of Life to the four House Triplicities places these groupings into a more precise philosophical context, and also arguably accords a greater weight and importance to this particular way of grouping the houses, than you typically find in Western astrology.