Light On Life Paperback – January 1, 2011

I am an expert astrologer trained in Modern Psychological and Hellenistic, as well as familiar with Evolutionary, Horary, and Electional. I've read dozens of books, listened to dozens of lectures, and am also a practicing astrological consultant. I recently decided to learn Jyotish, and this book has been on my list for many, many years as an ideal introduction to the study. I'm not sure where or how I had this book recommended to me, but buying this book was one of the best astrological decisions of my life. It is both a beginner and an intermediate book; is extraordinarily detailed; covers much ground; and is, for the most part, well-written.Warning: this book is only for the serious neophyte. It does not hold your hand. It speaks the Jyotish language, and you will need to refer to the index many times in order to refer back to the introduction of the concepts. That said, if you were studying, say, Modern Psychological, you would need a dozen books to compare to the depth and breadth contained in this one book. This book has my highest recommendation.

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 it that, is that present so much information and do it so concisely that it can overwhelm the beginner. You may need to reread portions several times before a concept is understood. However, if you make the effort and do not give up, you should find this book to be an immense aid throughout your astrological studies. While there are areas of controversy, I still believe this book to be the best out there.

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

As I explained the book is interesting. I felt the content though interesting a bit shallow

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.

Thus is very good book for everyone who is into astrology , specially those who who are gaining the knowledge of vedic astrology from various sources like internet , books , discussions etc ..Amazingly written book which reflects the amount of experience and focus author has on this divine science of indian astrology . Being an Indian I have not come across any indian author who have expressed his/her exe the way the author has.

This book is very well compiled. Each statement conveys something meaningful. Would recommend this as the first book that a vedic astrology student must read.Update July 2014:After reading many more books in the past few years, I still cannot believe that I keep coming back to this book.It is not just a book for amateur but also a quick reference for many basic things about vedic astrology.After studying this book, one can venture into the following ocean of knowledgehttp://www.vedicastrologer.org/classes/index.htm(Pdt. Sanjay Rath Lectures)[...]

I previously bought this book on kindle and then realized for me I also needed the physical book. Great info and very well written and easy to understand.