The Big “O” in the Room:
Orientalism and the New Tropical Vedic Astrology Movement
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Recently, there has been a lot of online discussion about the 28th International Vedic Astrology Conference in Kolkata, India—and specifically about a lecture given by a Western astrologer who suggested that Indian Vedic astrology is confused and misleading.
In his blog post about this lecture, astrologer Rick Levine stated that not only was the lecturer misleading, but his knowledge of Vedic astrology was so lacking that he didn’t have an informed enough background to have a valid opinion.
While I’m not going to pick apart either person’s position (you can read the article yourself), I do want to talk about the fundamental dynamics of the situation.
Yes, my friends. It’s time to talk about the Big “O” in the room.
Orientalism.
What Is Orientalism?
Orientalism is a term popularized by the scholar Dr. Edward Said. It describes a patronizing Western attitude toward Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African societies.
In Said’s analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static, undeveloped, and backward—thereby fabricating a view of “Oriental” culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced. Implicit in this fabrication is the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior.
This is, at its core, a form of cultural appropriation and racism.
And unfortunately, we’re seeing it play out in the world of Vedic astrology.
What Happened in Sedona?
I wasn’t at the conference in India. But I was at the Sedona Vedic Astrology Conference—and honestly, I’m not surprised by what happened in Kolkata.
Let me tell you what I witnessed in Sedona.
There was a group of tropical astrologers who:
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Did not register for the conference
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Did not attend the classes
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Stayed at the hotel and held their own classes on the premises
Who does that?
I paid a lot of money to be there and study. And I was made to feel like I was not included—not invited. The insults didn’t stop there. Their sense of entitlement spread into every aspect of the conference.
Who were these people? Mostly Western white people with a sense of self-righteous privilege that said they could just come and take over someone else’s conference—just as Britain took over India—and flaunt how they think Western astrology is superior to Vedic.
Yes, there were Indians involved. But as I’ve often said, the worst orientalists are sometimes from the culture of origin themselves. If you can’t beat them, join them seems to be the sentiment.
This Would Never Happen in Other Fields
I’ve been a Middle Eastern dancer for over 25 years and a dance scholar in ethnomusicology. I got my Master’s degree at Indiana University in 2012, and I’ve produced and directed five dance concerts with artists from Egypt and the US.
Never at a dance conference would this kind of behavior be allowed. Dancers know better. There would be a big fight—especially in Detroit, where I work.
I’ve also been involved with the Star Knowledge Conferences directed by Chief Golden Light Eagle since 2015, teaching and performing at two of them. I’ve seen how cultural appropriation operates within the Native American community—and the outspoken backlash of Native peoples against those who try to use their culture for monetary gain.
Never would Chief allow someone to get up on stage and say that the “Indians got it all wrong” about any aspect of their culture. He would stop them in their tracks and correct them on the spot.
My husband is a physicist and has gotten me involved in the alternative physics field of the Electric Universe Theory with the Thunderbolts Project. I can tell you: they would not allow anyone from mainstream science to come to their conference and behave the way these tropical astrologers are behaving.
So why is it being allowed to happen in Vedic astrology?
Epistemology: How Do You Know What You Know?
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that asks:
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How do you know what you know?
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What is the history of how we know what we know?
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What lens are you looking through?
It seems the lens these tropical astrologers are looking through is muddied by their attachment to their Western tropical signs.
I understand attachment. When I switched from tropical to sidereal, I was pissed off. I felt I had been lied to all these years by Western astrology. Nowhere in my tropical chart did it indicate my Gemini tendencies. In sidereal? I am a Sun in Gemini—and suddenly everything made sense.
I am NOT a Cancer Sun, Leo rising, Moon in Libra. I am a Gemini Sun, Cancer rising, Moon in Virgo. It’s so clear.
I wanted to tell the world: You’re being lied to!
But I see now that this is the defense that Western astrologers have taken—that Vedic sidereal is lying to them. Nonsense. But this is how disinformation works: confusion.
Nevermind that the aspects in both zodiacs are the same. It’s just the sign that’s different. But we are all attached to our signs.
Two Zodiacs, Two Frequencies
The fact that the zodiacs are lenses for how we look at the sky reminds us that this debate in astrology is just an epistemological difference.
It helps to remember that we are one solar system traveling at 585,000 mph around the Galactic Center. This is our perspective from Earth going 1,000 mph rotating around our Sun. If we lived on Mars, we would have a different zodiac.
I always liken the two zodiacs to frequencies:
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Tropical is 440 Hz
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Sidereal is 432 Hz
Western music tunes their “A” note to 440 Hz. But 432 Hz is the accurate pitch when viewed under a cymascope. Since we don’t use 432, our bodies are listening to static.
You know when you almost get a radio station tuned in? You can hear it—but that little bit of static keeps you distracted and not absorbing the sound fully.
That is the tropical zodiac.
When you hit the radio station dead on the money? That is the sidereal zodiac. That is 432 Hz.
As a musician, I can’t stand the sound of static. It really irritates me. I realize not everyone is as sensitive to sound as I am. Perhaps I’m just tuned into higher dimensions. That’s not a judgment.
Disrespect Is Not Acceptable
I’m tired of Vedic astrology getting bullied by Western astrology.
Enough is enough.
How dare anyone treat Saraswati—the Indian goddess of the arts, music, and literature—with such disrespect?
As Chief Golden Light Eagle said in that video: “When the Elders speak, YOU LISTEN!”
You can use whatever zodiac you like. That’s your choice.
But disrespecting the culture of origin of Vedic astrology is not acceptable behavior. At all.
I believe that everybody should come together peacefully and kindly. But unfortunately, the approach of this tropical movement is not kind or peaceful. I find them to be party crashers who only care about promoting their own agenda.
I personally don’t think we should coddle bad behavior. That condones it.
My Bottom Line
Do what you like. But do not disrespect:
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The Traditions
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The Elders
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And especially the Ancestors
After all, if you are a practicing astrologer, your utmost priority should be helping your clients.
Use whatever tools you need to achieve that goal. But do it with respect, humility, and an awareness of where those tools came from.
The stars belong to everyone. But the wisdom traditions belong to the people who preserved them for thousands of years.
Honor that.
Or stay home.
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