1. I am learning Vedic or Indian Astrology which uses the sidereal and not tropical charts.
2. I have a software that does calculations
3. I have books. So. Many. Books.
I want to be able to study it as a discipline and subject. I am not interested in proving whether it’s ‘science’ or an ‘pseudo science’. Maybe it’s is ..maybe it’s art..maybe it’s a game.
The goal is to read the texts and follow the rules of analysis and predict. And then I want to record it, find patterns based on interpretations and see how it turns out. There has to be a pattern and it can’t be entirely random even if the predictions don’t pan out.
How do I go about this?
I studied metaphysics in a practical way extensively in the late 90's. I was technically homeless but I lived by magic for about four and a half years. It was pretty intense. Anyway...
I speak with authority in this matter:
Astrology is a form of divination. All forms of divination work, depending on the operator. All forms of: Astrology, Numerology, Tarot, Dowsing by pendulum or rods, Palmistry, Reading of tea leaves or entrails (yuch!) or cracks in heated turtle shells or thrown reeds or coins, I Ching, omens and signs, etc., all of them, work by the same method. It's the internal potency of the operator that leads to correct knowledge (from "esoteric" sources.) Your own connection to source guides the interpretation. The format of the divination system is a conduit to bring semantics into concrete syntax.
If you simply want reliable truthful information the "applied kinesiology" technique of Dr. Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. [1] is the single simplest and purest methodology. It's so mind-blowing that even I can barely credit it. But I have never found it to fail. It's so spooky that I often "forget" to use it, and just bumble along as best i can. YMMV
However, if you want to study astrology, you can just make up your own system. It will be more powerful than adopting someone else's system. Unless you feel drawn to a certain school or format, in which case that's important information for your personal path and you should likely study that. Spread all your books out, pick one at random, open it to a random page, and read the first passage your eye alight upon. (Bibliomancy, another form of divination, one of my favorites. I have a shelf with the Gita, Bible, Beezlebub's Tales to His Grandson, and others and still practice bibliomancy with them from time to time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliomancy )
[1] Although he didn't invent it, his presentation and discussion of it are the only thing I'm talking about here: https://veritaspub.com/ If you go look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_kinesiology there's a lot lot there that could be unpacked, but that's NOT what I'm talking about. I mean specifically the "Levels of Consciousness" interpretation of Hawkins.
It's basically the Mediumship-esque parlor trick, the difference being that you're observing stars and planets instead of communing with the dead, you have to probe and search to see what they really want. Ask leading questions, make educated assumptions, refine over time as you learn about them.
If you are in positive spirit to adventure / travel you can find many traditional communities (off-path) and you can truly learn a lot.
The books approach can be difficult to swallow as the learning outcome is limited by your own interpretation.
Seeing is believing!
Have fun