Astrology in India

<p>This book critically examines the larger world of astrology in India, its ubiquity and relationship with religion, caste, gender, class and aspirations.</p><p>It looks at astrology through an empirical and phenomenological lens, analyzing different meanings and questions associated with it. How do people see astrology—as magic, science, religion, or a knowledge system? The volume analyses the role of astrology in religious and social ceremonies; the interplay of faith and fear; beliefs, practices, mysticism, and skepticism in middle-class households; and gendered negotiations in everyday life. It also delves into how astrology has emerged as a livelihood and an industry, the continued fascination with it even in an era of technological advancement, and its domination of the vernacular media. </p><p>Insightful and highly comprehensive, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of sociology, political sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, cultural studies, gender studies and urban Sociology.</p> 1.Introduction 2. Astrology and fluid boundaries of the field 3. Understanding the system of astrology 4. Words of the practitioners: Astrologers and operational astrology 5. Middle class households: Beliefs, practices, and refutation 6. Mediated astrology through religious conventions and technology 7. Conclusion