Houses and Horoscopes: Contemporary Uses of Astrology and Vāstuśāstra in Urban India

Caterina Guenzi

Jyotiṣ and vāstuśāstra are two different, although related, idioms used in contemporary urban India to express ideas of destiny. Clients from middle and upper classes regularly consult astrologers and vāstu consultants in order to know how to solve problems, make decisions and improve life conditions. Based on ethnographic research carried out in Banaras and Delhi, my talk will explore how ideas of destiny (bhāgya) and external influence (prabhāv) are differently expressed in astrological and topomantic consultations. I will discuss the dialectic between individualistic and collective dimensions of destiny that are differently at play when examining horoscopes versus living spaces (houses, offices, factories, schools, hospitals). Central to my investigation are the processes of adaptation of śāstric knowledge — such as jyotiṣ and vāstuśāstra — to contemporary needs and to the “modern” style of life to which aspire most of the astrologers’ and vāstu consultants’ clients.