Light on Life: An Inspiring Journey of Self-Discovery with Hart Defouw and Robert Svoboda

Amit Pai: This is must read book for every Hindu. This is not just a book about Astrology, but gives meaningful insight about Karma and how it’s important to us.

India on Aug 12, 2023

pia lebsund: Bäst om man har erfarenhet av ämnet innan man läser boken.

Sweden on Dec 17, 2022

Ardnek: I am enjoying this book!

United States on Aug 27, 2022

Jenna T: A must read for all those interested in Vedic Astrology. Very well written and easy to understand.

United States on Jun 28, 2022

Amazon Customer: Title is self explanatory. In vaidic astrology, there are two types of books. Classical books which are foundation stones. And modern books like this one, which are explanatory in nature.
Classical books are too much coded, rigid, sometimes contradictory hence difficult to understand. Hence one needed a guru to understand them.
This is modern book which is easy to understand. Based on experience of the author. Author is trying to explain concepts like we have in self paced education system of today.

My suggestion to new readers is that, though it is book for beginner, it will require multiple reading to understand concepts. Don't expect a predictive understanding in first reading.

India on Aug 30, 2021

Bobby L. Burns: This is a fairly interesting book. It covers the elements of ancient India astrology. If you are not familiar, I recommend using the book with the study of a course.

I am in Vedic astrology 1.

Good Luck.

United States on Sep 27, 2018

Amazon Kunde: I am currently reading this book and I really like it. I am new to Jyotish and I bought this book to get an overview about the topic and philosophy of Jyotish. Even though it is comprehensive and well written I struggle sometimes with the wording used (especially some Sanskrit words). I would have appreciated a Glossary where the Sanskrit words are translated. I know, Jyotishis should memorize all those words (at least thats how it is indicated in the book) Yet, it is hard for me to memorize all of them at once, especially when I read like 30 pages in one evening (because it is so interesting). Hence I recommend others to write down their own glossary from the very beginning of the book, just to not have to search for the words in former chapters like I had to at the beginning.
Apart from that, I find some parts of the explanations somehow confusing. Yet, this could be due to my nature of wanting to know every detail. Sometimes I feel some parts could have been left out just to go in more detail with other parts of the book...still it is an introduction to the topic and those are just my personal preferences :) All in all, I enjoy reading it, I enjoy how they approach the topic...

Germany on Oct 25, 2016

David: I have read 8 books on Vedic astrology and numerous articles and videos over the last four years or so. I number of books I just glanced at via "sample" books. By far the best introductory book to this immense topic is Light on Life. It is both comprehensive and detailed to be considered more than just an introduction to Jyotish. It is a book for both beginners and intermediate astrologers. If I had only one book to choose, this would be it. Is it the only book you will need? No. For example, it does not give much credit to the study of Shad Bala and does not cover a number of predictive techniques. But both of these would need another book to adequately cover (and for predictive techniques, there are several of which each of these could use a book or two). But de Fouw and Svoboda do an exceptional job of introducing he heart of Jyotish and providing many detailed indications of the planets, signs, houses, and even a good introduction to the Nakshartras. For example, they list many characteristics of the planets that other books simply ignore. Also, their commentary on each house adds unique insight to the already detailed list of indications. The only fault, if you can even call...

United States on Feb 22, 2016

A Reviewer: This is the best all-in-one English language Jyotish primer. The hallmark of a classic work, especially one dealing in spiritual knowledge, is that the reader can return to it over and again and always find something new. This quality speaks highly of the authors' respective mind levels and their understanding of the subject: Hart de Fouw and Robert Svoboda are both steeped in Vedic knowledge.

The book gives a concise grounding on the roots of Jyotish and its underlying philosophy. It takes the reader through basic astronomy, planets, signs, houses and the Panchanga. It covers the Nakshatras thoroughly, which the authors view as central to understanding Jyotish. Descriptions of the Nakshatras in some books tend to be nebulous, but you get a good grounding here simply by absorbing the key meanings and rulerships of the 27 asterisms.

The art of astrology is to integrate all the separate elements of a chart. Light on Life comes into its own in the chapter on interpretation, where the authors give an 18-point rundown of how to analyse a Vedic horoscope. The authors bring together the strands of planetary strength, rulership and affinity from classical Jyotish texts, with...

United Kingdom on Nov 05, 2014

Laura De Giorgio: There are many books for Beginners in Vedic Astrology which are written more like a cook-book, and where essentially you just take a look at the placement of the planet on your chart and then read what it's supposed to mean. This is not that kind of a book. This book assumes that you are seriously interested in grasping Vedic Astrology and it guides you step-by-step toward developing a solid level of understanding and competence.

The book contains countless correspondencies of planetary influences (grahas), constellations (rashis) and houses (bhavas). These correspondencies go way beyond just interpreting the natal chart, and enable the skilled jyotishi to get insight into the individual, question or particular situation sometimes even without looking at the chart. Understanding of these numerous correspondencies can enable jyotishi to assist the individual in successfully dealing with challenging situation.

Even though this book is "an introduction" to Vedic astrology, it may not be the best choice as the very first book on astrology. For absolute beginners, perhaps a book like Beneath a Vedic Sky may be a better choice to start with.

United States on Jan 03, 2006