Pump after pump, she fills the water pot, balances it on her head, and sashays gracefully toward home. There she empties the pot, astonished by its contents. Instead of precious water, out pour precious ideas. According to my Vedic astrology insights, 2022 unfolds similarly. In times past, you may have casually considered this notion as you skimmed books about “the biology of belief” or “the placebo effect.” But in 2022, the reality-creating power of thought begins to affect all aspects of our lives. We wanted water, and we unleashed the power of the Mind instead. It’s like the “radical change of direction” my father once advised me to take when I felt like I was falling while skiing. “It keeps you from wiping out,” he explained, “by surprising your momentum.” As I explain in my Vedic astrology masterclass, The Moon: Your Mind, Your Soul & Your Inner Goddess, the planets undertake a similar radical change of direction when they transit new signs. Before April 12, you may find yourself impatient that things will never “get back to normal.” You may start to doubt your own sense of hope and feel annoyed when other people show theirs. Here we must remember the Buddha’s third noble truth: Suffering has an end. (To which I’d add—but not like you thought.) Beginning April 12, the sign that our suffering’s end is near appears like a snake swallowing its tail. Rahu (the “head” leading toward the future) meets Ketu (the “tail” connecting us with the ancient past) as they move into sidereal Aries and Libra respectively. Over the next 18 months of their collective transit, Rahu presents us with a dazzling array of brilliant new technologies of Mind. Medicine moves toward the Mind. Economies move toward the Mind. Technologies become interactive through the Mind. To this Ketu in Libra makes each of us a philosopher, posing the question again and again: What’s real and what’s not? Jupiter’s aspect on Ketu brings a revival of enlightened wisdom in education, spirituality, alternative medicine, and psychology. New interest in consciousness research and its application will come to the fore. In Sanskrit, Aquarius is Kumbha, “the water pot bearer.” Like the girl at the well, there’s a risk of being disappointed in “what you get” when you wanted something else around this time. Similarly, Saturn can make us cling to the outdated. Yet true to his contradictory nature expressed within the sign of Aquarius, his power is to propel humanity forward by upsetting our expectations. They tend to get in the way of our progress. He forces us to repeat the affirmation—“I accept the things I cannot change”—lest we remain stuck in the prison of our unmet desires for something other than what we have. This may be your best mantra for 2022. Dr. Katy received a doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2001, taught at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Naropa University, and created Sanskrit for Yogis, an innovative and traditional method for learning the sacred language of yoga. She’s published in Elephant, Yoga Fit, Tarka Journal for Embodied Philosophy, and Yoga Journal, and appears as a regular special guest on Katie Silcox’s popular podcast, The Ghee Spot, among others. She was named “One of 75 Yogis Who are Shifting the Planet” by Origin. After 30 years of traveling and studying yoga & Sanskrit throughout India, Dr. Katy now lives at Dunagiri Retreat (in India’s northeastern Himalayan foothills) which she shares with her husband, five Tibetan mastiffs, and frequent groups of yoga retreatants and spiritual seekers.
