(Please note that I am a sidereal astrologer, meaning that I use the sidereal zodiac exclusively, not the tropical solar calendar/zodiac in use among most western and some Vedic astrologers)
One of the many New Year charts used in Vedic astrology is based on the New Moon in Pisces, when the Sun and Moon conjoin in the same celestial longitude in the Pisces constellation. This is known as the Lunar New Year, or Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. It marks the first synodic lunar day (tithi) of the waxing Moon (shukla paksha) in the Vedic month of Chaitra, which occurs on differing dates in March or April every year.
References in the Brahma Purana and the Chaturvarga Chintamani of Hemadri state that Lord Brahma created the universe on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. So simply, every year we celebrate the beginning of the Vedic Lunar New Year at the same astrological point that Lord Brahma created the universe!
Each country will have its own Vedic Lunar New Year horoscope based on their unique coordinates and time zones, so the planets will be in the same signs but will move into other houses from one location to another. Additionally, the Vedic Lunar New Year is celebrated on April 1 in North and South America, but not until April 2 in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and so on from there. This is because the Chaitra Shukla Pratipada tithi needs to be in place by sunrise on the Lunar New Year starting date. On April 1, it will be in place in the Americas and at the Greenwich meridian (UTC 00:00), but not in the rest of the locations mentioned.
The chart for each country is calculated for its capital. So for instance, for Washington D.C. for the US, it will occur on April 1, 2022 at 2:24:25 AM. We can also cast a Lunar New Year chart for the entire world as a whole at the longitudinal meridian in Greenwich on April 1, 2022 at 6:24:25 AM UTC 00:00 time, about 12 minutes before sunrise. Here below are these charts in sidereal wheel format and North and South Indian style:
The beginning of the Vedic New Year marks the start of Vasant or Chaitra Navratri, the nine-night spring festival of Devi Durga, who is worshipped as the deity of power, energy, and wisdom. She comes to bless and cleanse the world and all her children at the beginning of the Lunar New Year. It is a very auspicious period and time of growth and transformation for Her devotees. Navratri celebrations begin on April 1 in North and South America, and everywhere else in the world on April 2.
The classic text known as Brihat Samhita by Sage Varahamahira specifies 60 samvatsaras or lunar years that continue to cycle throughout time. These 60 years are organized in 12 groups of five. The past five were in a more difficult group ruled by the ancestral spirits known as the Manes. Their period is considered to be “calamitous.”
The new group of five years spans from 2022-2027. It is considered less difficult than the previous period as it is ruled by the auspicious universal gods known as the Vishvedevas (Vishwadevas), who are the ten sons of Dharma and Vishva (Daksha’s daughter). Known as the “All Gods,” they are extolled in the Rig Veda and represent beneficial archetypal principles like truth, abundance, joy, will-power, kindness, and forbearance.
In this new five-year period, the first year is called Shubhakrita (2022-23); the second is Sobhakṛit (Shobakrit); the third is Krodhi; and the remaining two years are known as Visvavasu and Parabhava. According to Sage Varahamahira in Brihat Samhita, during the first two years, humankind will be happy; during the third they will feel exceedingly miserable; and during the last two years they will be neither happy nor miserable; but in the last year there will be turmoil, violence/war, and disease.
Each samvatsara carries a particular essence that correlates with its Sanskrit name and is related to its group ruler. Shubhakrita or Shubhakrit means “fortunate for the inhabitants of the Universe.” Previous Shubhakrita years were in 1842, 1902, and 1962. In all these years, humanity experienced the usual spate of disasters, conflicts, and difficulties, but also made some great advances and important new discoveries.
Dhundiraja in Jataka Bharanam associates one born in the Shubhakrita year with good fortune, a virtuous character, skill and intelligence, humility, courtesy, and a long life. Agni Purana refers to auspicious actions associated with this year, so we should remain positive and hopeful as this brand-new energy is coming in now. Will we be free of our problems? Clearly not, since we live in the realm of duality where there is always good versus evil, and light versus dark, but progress will also be made.
Another point of emphasis in the Vedic tradition is to note the Jovian year. This year it changed from Ashadha to Bhadrapada on March 6. Sage Varahamahira says that in this Bhadrapada year, food grains will be in plenty only in some places ,and that there will be panic or danger in other parts of the world (food shortages?). Next year in the springtime of 2023 (northern hemisphere), the Jovian year will change to Asvina, which the sage says brings abundance, happiness, and good health.
This year I am not inclined to share an analysis of the Vedic Lunar New Year chart as I have done in previous years, mostly because the chart is not so clearly resonating for me. Additionally, I have already written an extensive 2022 chart forecast based on the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, which you can access here.
The 2022 Vedic Lunar New Year falls on April Fool’s (All Fool’s) Day, when it is customary to create elaborate hoaxes and play practical jokes and pranks on each other. It is a rare occurrence to have the Vedic Lunar New Year falling on April Fool’s; which has only happened a handful of times in the past few hundred years+, including in 1813, 1908, 1984 and 2003.
Celebrated for centuries throughout many different cultures, the origin of April Fool’s Day remains a mystery. Some have linked it to the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria, and others see a connection with the Holi festival of India. Whatever the case, it is associated with the joyous, playful, and expansive energy of new life bursting forth in the northern hemisphere springtime.
The fact that these dates coincide has rich symbolic meaning for the new year ahead, as in an omen or a series of synchronistic messages from the “beyond.” One such message may be found in the Tarot’s Fool, the first of 22 cards in the Major Arcana which is an important archetype representing limitless potential, open-heartedness, new beginnings, blind faith, and optimism, but sometimes naivete and foolishness, too. The Fool reminds us to let go of our fears and trust in life with all its lessons, blessings, and opportunities, and also to learn from our mistakes.
Another portent that comes to my mind relates to the current drag of modern woke “cancel culture” with its censoring nature and distinct lack of humor. In the past 13 years or so, much of America in particular has lost its sense of humor, replacing it with dogma, and anyone who doesn’t toe the line is cancelled. I pray that the April’s Fool/Vedic Lunar New Year omen is a sign that the times are changing and we can be freed from the grip of this stodgy tyranny.
Along the same lines, another clear message is that we need to take ourselves less seriously, and laugh and en-joy life more. And this is in our best interest, as even science has confirmed that laughter, mirth, humor, and play are “good medicine” having a multitude of benefits, including relaxing the whole body, activating “feel-good” endorphins, stimulating the immune system, releasing stress and anger, protecting the heart, and even burning calories; fostering better relationships, defusing conflict, and enhancing cooperation in groups; and, building resilience that helps us navigate difficult situations, loss, and disappointment. How can we go wrong with all that?
The late American clergyman, orator, social reformer, and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), who always emphasized God’s love, also spoke on the importance of humor. He once said that a person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road. Mahatma Gandhi, who requires no introduction, once said, If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.
Perhaps the most profound message of this April Fool’s New Year omen is that the world is a play of God, which is actually known as Vishnu Lila in the Vedic tradition of India. This “lila” is akin to a cosmic movie streamed for our entertainment and education. The great Indian yogi Paramahansa Yogananda often spoke of this, and also discussed that our lives are merely a dream in the mind of God, and that we should endeavor to think along this line, as many practical benefits will come to us from such an understanding of the true reality. We should endeavor to awaken within the dream, and to enjoy the lila when possible, but not to be attached to it, and instead place our full attention and faith with the Cosmic Creator which is beyond the illusory creation:
Be not afraid of the frightening dream of this world. Awaken in God’s immortal light! There was a time when life, to me, was like helplessly watching a terrifying movie, and I was giving too much importance to the tragedies being enacted therein. Then, one day while I was meditating, a great light appeared in my room and God’s voice said to me: “What are you dreaming about? Behold My eternal light, in which the many nightmares of the world come and go. They are not real.” What a tremendous consolation it was! Nightmares, however dreadful, are merely nightmares. Movies, whether enjoyable or disturbing, are merely movies. We ought not to keep our minds so absorbed in the sad and frightening dramas of this life. Is it not wiser to place our attention on that Power which is indestructible and unchanging? Why worry about the unpleasant surprises in the plot of this world movie! We are here for just a little while. Learn the lesson of the drama of life and find your freedom.
I wish you great happiness, joy, peace, and laughter in this New Year ahead!
Thank you!
Happy Vedic New Year! Hope we make the grade with the Fool's humor & savoir faire!