Happy Vedic New Year: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, March 21, 2023

The Shobhana Year: Why you Should Expect an Exciting Year filled with Progress and Challenges

Please note that this and all my other forecasts are based on the sidereal zodiac used in both Vedic and Western sidereal astrology, not the tropical system used by most Western and some Vedic astrologers. All the astrological charts below are calculated according to the sidereal zodiac and Lahiri Ayanamsa.

Understanding the Vedic Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year chart is one of the most important New Year charts used in Vedic astrology. This chart is based on the New Moon that occurs near the spring equinox, when the Sun and Moon conjoin in the same celestial longitude within the Pisces constellation. This is known as 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 from March 22 to April 20 this year.

According to the Brahma Purana and the Chaturvarga Chintamani of Hemadri, Lord Brahma created the universe on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. As a result, every year we celebrate the beginning of the Vedic Lunar New Year at the same astrological point that this cosmic event occurred.

The United States’ Lunar New Year Horoscope

Each country will have its own Vedic Lunar New Year horoscope based on its unique coordinates and time zones. Even though the New Year chart is calculated for March 21 this year, when the Sun and Moon are exactly conjoined in Pisces, the actual Vedic Lunar New Year will not officially begin until March 22 since this is the date when the pratipada tithi will be in place at sunrise. (This is a technical matter in which the tithi, which marks the moment when the Sun and Moon are exactly conjoined at the New Moon, needs to be in place at sunrise on the date marking the Vedic Lunar New Year. This year, the amavasya tithi is in place at sunrise on March 21, so we have to count the Vedic New Year day starting on the following date when the pratipada tithi is in place at sunrise.)

The chart for each country is calculated for its capital. For instance, for the United States, we use Washington D.C.

Mercury as Lord of the Year

The lord (or king) of the year is calculated according to the ruler of the day of the week when the pratipada tithi is in place at sunrise after the New Moon in Pisces. Mercury is the ruler of the year because it is rules Wednesday, the day of the week when the pratipada tithi is in place at sunrise this year, on March 22.

Mercury is conjoined Jupiter, the Sun, Moon, and Neptune in the sign of Pisces in the tenth house of the United States New Year chart. The sign of Pisces and planets therein are hemmed in between Saturn in Aquarius and Rahu in Aries, a formation known as Papa Kartari Yoga, which means an “adverse scissors combination.” As Rahu and Saturn are involved, this is a variation of Shrapit Dosha which points to a “curse,” meaning, difficult karma.

The Papa Kartari Yoga reflects tremendous pressure and misfortune connected to the tenth house of karma. This points to the vast corruption and incessant turmoil afflicting the government and society; and it promises further disgrace and scandals, as well as never-ending national and international conflicts; propaganda, disinformation, and censorship; natural and human-made disasters; and overall grave concern over economic chaos and other widespread manifestations of societal disintegration.

These same issues are also happening in line with the United States’ Pluto Return of 2023 and 2024, which I have written about in a previous article. Additionally, in the 2023 Vedic New Year chart for the United States, Pluto occupies the difficult eighth house and is in a quincunx (six-eight relationship) with warlike Mars, which squares the lunation stellium in Pisces from the all-important first house. This suggests the harsh socioeconomic impact of ruthless, deceptive, manipulative, and exploitative political forces at play behind the scenes (the Plutocracy).

Jupiter as Prime Minister of the Year

The prime minister of the Vedic Lunar New Year chart is determined by the planet that rules the day of the week when the Sun enters Aries. This event, called Mesha Sankranti, occurs on April 14. Mesha Sankranti represents the Solar New Year in Vedic astrology and in many of the rich and varied cultural traditions of India. The astrological horoscope for Mesha Sankranti is read with specific rules by mundane astrologers in forecasting the year ahead.

The horoscope for Mesha Sankranti is applicable for matters related to business, commerce, and government. Some Indian astrologers use this for the New Year chart instead of the Vedic Lunar New Year chart. Even for those using the latter, the mantri or prime minister of the year is usually calculated according to the planetary ruler of the day on which the Sun enters Aries.

For the United States this year, the Sun will enter Aries before sunrise on April 14, so the day is still Thursday, and the ruler of Thursday is Jupiter (since the Vedic day goes from sunrise to sunrise). Jupiter thus becomes the minister of the year. In the Aries ingress chart, Jupiter is combust the Sun and hemmed in by Rahu and Saturn from the adjoining houses (Papa Kartari Yoga, as discussed before); and Jupiter is also in the nakshatra gandanta, the vulnerable and metamorphic three-degree edge at the end of Pisces.

Jupiter as the minister of the year typically indicates that there will be an abundance of crops and food. Jupiter represents dharma (the highest purpose and path of life), and also has to do with wisdom, knowledge, truth, and education. Yet, because of the negative influences around this Jupiter, some struggles are indicated.

Additionally, Vedic astrology considers an inimical relationship to exist between Mercury (the lord of the year of the Vedic Lunar New Year chart) and Jupiter (the minister of the year). Their natural enmity is further strengthened by their conjunction in the Vedic Lunar New Year chart. Therefore, this combination suggests chaos, power plays, hidden agendas, management issues, and ineffectiveness in the realm of problem solving, especially via the government and other powers that control the public sector.

In mundane astrology, Jupiter rules finances, commerce, and banks. Its condition in both New Year charts is not surprising, given the pandemonium and catastrophe that’s occurring in the global economy. Jupiter is also the ruler of the United States birth chart (Sagittarius ascendant), and is currently transiting opposite natal Saturn in the tenth house of United States Kelleher birth chart. It is clear that further troublesome events will continue to unfold in the mundane sphere, related to not only the economy but all areas of life.

The Shobhana Year Represents an Important Year of Societal Change

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 into 12 groups of five. The current group of five years spans from 2022 to 2027. It is ruled by the 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 as beneficial archetypal principles like morality, truth, will power, and forbearance.

The 2023 New Year is the thirty-seventh samvatsara, and the second of the current group, known as the Shobhana year, also called Shobhakruth, Sobhakrta, Subhakrt, or Subhakritu. In Sanskrit, Shobhana means shining, kind, moral, and virtuous. One born in this year will be attractive, progressive, learned, and a doer of good deeds.

Progress will be made in many areas in a Shobhana year. Historically, there have been highs and lows in Shobhana years, as with all samvatsaras. A Shobhana year occurred previously 120 years ago in 1903 and 1904. This was the year when the first silent film debuted (The Great Train Robbery). In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was founded and began production on their original Ford Model A. This same year, Orville and Wilbur Wright inaugurated the aerial age with their successful first flights of a heavier-than-air flying machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Two deadly disasters with significant loss of life also occurred in 1903: the Iroquois Theater disaster in Chicago, which changed fire safety forever; and the Hanna Mine disaster in Wyoming. In Europe, the unthinkable occurred when King Alexander Obrenovic of Serbia and his Queen were brutally murdered by a group of rebel officers who plundered the royal palace of Belgrade in a drunken nationalistic fervor. The United States signed a treaty with Colombia in 1903, granting the use of the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for financial compensation, and the work began on the canal early in May 1904.

The last Shobhana year occurred in 1963 and 1964, during the Cold War and the Space Race, when both the Civil Rights movement and United States involvement in Vietnam were heating up; President John F. Kennedy was assassinated; the computer mouse and the smiley face were invented; and the Beatles came to America. This was a pivotal time leading into the 1960s counter-culture era. As events reveal in previous times, the Shobhana year represents an important year of societal changes.

Fantastic Depiction of the Solar System (woodcut) by German School

The Jovian Year

Another point of emphasis in the Vedic tradition is the Jovian year. This year represents Jupiter’s movement through the yugas, the vast cyclic ages (epochs) in Vedic cosmology. The Jovian years are different from the samvatsaras. As Jupiter rules dharma, it has a great deal of importance in terms of understanding collective trends. This year, the Jovian year will change on April 11 from Bhadrapada to Asvina (or Asvayuja). The Asvina year will continue until May 19, 2024, when the Krittika year will begin. In Brihat Samhita, Sage Varahamahira says that the Asvina year will bring good health and abundant rains and crops.

Celebrating the Spring Festival of Navratri

The beginning of the Vedic New Year marks the start of Chaitra (or Vasant) Navratri, the nine-night spring festival of Devi Durga which will extend from March 22 through March 30. Devi Durga is the primordial divine feminine archetype who is worshiped as the personification of power, energy, and wisdom. She comes to bless and cleanse the world at the beginning of the Lunar New Year. Her festival is a very auspicious time for devotees in terms of healing, personal transformation, and spiritual development. I wish all my readers a very happy Vedic Lunar New Year and all the heavenly blessings of Navratri!

O Mother Durga!
We are Thy children,
Through Thy grace, by Thy influence
May we become fit for the great work, for the great Ideal.
Mother, destroy our smallness, our selfishness, our fear.

O Mother Durga!
Extend wide the power of Yoga.
We are Thy children,
Develop in us again
The lost teaching,
Character,
Strength of intelligence,
Faith and devotion,
Force of austerity,
Power of chastity and true knowledge,
Bestow all that upon the world.
To help mankind,
Appear, O Mother of the world, dispel all ills.

O Mother Durga!
Enter our bodies in Thy Yogic strength.
We shall become Thy instruments,
Thy sword slaying all evil,
Thy lamp dispelling all ignorance.
Fulfill this yearning of Thy young children,
O Mother!
Be the master and drive the instrument,
Wield Thy sword and slay the evil,
Hold up the lamp and spread the light of knowledge.
Make Thyself manifest. ( Sri Aurobindo)