“The master may change, the lesson remains” We are excited to kick off the year with today’s woman dreamer, Dr. Richa Shukla, a Vedic Astrologer. Richa shares 2022 horoscopes for each zodiac sign. She brings her perspectives on key astrology topics including birth & natal charts, cosmic alignment of planets, karma, destiny, and addresses misconceptions around mercury retrograde. An inspiring astrologer, Richa’s dream is for “the world to know and experience Jyotish in an unadulterated, uncomplicated, and purposeful way, and to guide people on their path of Karmic and Spiritual fulfilment.” Find out your 2022 horoscope here on Women Who Win, and enjoy Richa’s story!

1. Please share with us your journey, and how you became interested in Astrology and began to pursue it and teach it?

I believe that God always has a scheme of things for us. Our birth, our birthplace, our family and everything that follows prepares us for karmic completions, achievements and completion of our overall life purpose. God also sows the seeds of what we need to contribute to this world and the path that we could likely walk in our life. Yes, God also plants a certain amount of free will, to see if we will walk God’s path or go wandering in other directions.

Now in my life, God placed the path of Jyotish. Some people have told me that Jyotish has chosen me. Of late, I have also started believing that God did place Jyotish in my life path.

My father was the first hand of God in this. A gentleman, a learned human being, and a beacon of light for me on the path of Jyotish, my father was my first Jyotish teacher. He taught me through his guidance and left for a lot of guidance he collated through his tapasya. I still treasure his notes.

On my journey of life, I travelled other destinations for my higher study and life, till I was brough to my Astrology Guru and his peer group. I owe a lot to my Guru Shri KN Rao for his exacting standards and challenging ways of teaching. I am also thankful to Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan and all my teachers for my learnings. My Guru always said, Jyotish is practical if you see it through the eyes of a student and researcher, the learning doesn’t end. This is the lesson that I have kept as my guiding light.

This is how God and Astrology led my on this path. Thereafter, with every innocent, eager or desperate question of my clients, my journey of Jyotish kept a certain pace. In the last few years, I have now started teaching and sharing Jyotish with the masses with a deep desire to bring back its lost glory.

2. In Indian astrology it is said that the time, place and date of birth and the placement of planets at that time determines the course of life. Please tell us more about this.

This is a beautiful question, and this question is as much a question on Jyotish, as it is one of faith and a question everyone needs to learn a lot about.Scientists have shown us today that the universe is interplay of energy. In our solar system, much of this interplay of energy is coming from Sun and the cosmic influence of planets or Grahas as known in Jyotish. Beyond our solar system, the constellations / nakshatras and the Stars of these constellations also have similar influence. Our sages have guided how this interplay of energy impacts life on earth.

Now, the birth of the human life is a very significant event for the individual, and sometimes for this world too. At any point in time, the placement of Grahas and its alignment with Nakshatras is changing. However, is we take a snapshot of the universe at a moment, there is a relative positioning of these we can record. This snapshot of position of Grahas and Nakshatra is what gets recorded for an individual life at birth. The moment of birth, the place of birth both ascertain the placement of celestial bodies in this snapshot. 

This arrangement makes a certain Graha an ascendent, a certain Graha a benefic, another a malefic…and so is born the potential and possibilities of an individual’s life. 

For e.g. In Jyotish, Sun is the significator of the father. At the time of birth, the placement of the Sun can determine if an individual’s birth will propel the father to dizzy heights or will the individual be crushed by the father’s control and ego all their life. And there are several other outcomes that are possible. The Grahas govern our father, mother, siblings, teachers, society, career, health, wealth, and pretty much everything else. And their placement will determine, the influence we have from these people or situations or aspects of our life. In Jyotish we study the Grahas and Nakshatras as the significators and influences of events based on their placement and relative movements. We are not supposed to make claims that they are the cause of events. The cycle of life, collective destiny and collective actions are the overarching cause of things.

Some day when we talk in-depth, I will share how a small difference in the planetary placements, made one person a Saint and another person a Dictator.

3. You believe that Karma and Destiny go hand in hand. Please tell us more.

To understand this space, the concept of Karmic Debt and Karmic Blessingsare as important in Jyotish as is Karma Exhaustion. With the base believe that a Soul journeys across lifetimes, the physical life form’s actions in a lifetime has significant implications. We have discussed earlier that life has potential, possibilities, and some amount of free will. What we do with these and more importantly how we do things create the implications. For e.g., 2 people born to be teachers, take 2 different paths. One spread the true knowledge of a field, while the other preaches hate, deceit, and manipulative ways. They are both involved in some Karmic activities. With some stroke of destiny and a Guru’s guidance they may find Moksha or release from the cycle of life and death in that lifetime. But if they do not find Moksha, they will come back in another lifetime to live the implications of their Karmic Debt and Karmic Blessing.

The placement of Ketu in one’s Natal or D1 chart can clearly indicate what our Karmic Debts and Blessings are. There are other ways to understand this from the Navamsha or D9 chart also. Another important aspect of Jyotish and teaching of our sages is that all Karma needn’t be exhausted in a certain lifetime. We also get some grace due to our Karmic Blessings. 

Using the principles of Jyotish one can understand what part of a person’s life is a shaping-up or revealing thing in a certain way due to Karmic Debts or Blessings. With the right guidance an individual can then walk the path of exhausting the Karmic Debt that is due for clearance in this lifetime.

In some ways repeated patterns of suffering could be due to a Karmic Debt. In some ways repeated or prevalent blessing in one’s life could be due to Karmic Blessings. 

Another interesting thing I have noticed is that people are born in a certain Dasha. This governs a lot of how the person’s life shapes up, as the initial Dasha gives way to the following ones, determining the revelation of the potential and possibilities of a person’s life.

4. You believe in “The master may change, the lesson remains”. What does this mean?

Some of this can be understood from the previous response. But let’s take an example here to get deeper.

Let’s say the placement of Ketu and some other planets show that you have to embrace hard work. And the planetary placements indicate the results that you will get will be lower than optimum till the individual learns some lessons.Now the need for hard work may start with the education stage for this individual. Say the person doesn’t put in the required hard work in this phase of life. Then, the need for hard work could only increase with the next phase of life: career and earning. Now here, work, organization, managers, peers all could end up creating situations for the individual to work hard, and the individual may not get the right results or recognition.

Again, it comes back to the individual; if the lessons are learnt, the person will slowly see an improvement in the quality of life and outcomes. However, if the learning is not real, the planet can take a harsher look at the individual. With certain Dasha and Graha Transitions coming, the individual can even experience even a loss of income and job, followed by a period of struggle to get another job and income.

This is how the karmic debt to be cleared and the lessons to be learnt can keep showing up. 

For some of us, Venus will play a role in this with relationships at the core of our challenges and learnings. For others, it could be Mars or Moon at the core of this making our mind and temperament create the challenges that we must surmount. A proper analysis of the horoscope and expert guidance is the only way to understand what we can do to improve our life.

5.We often hear about “mercury retrograde” and other such bad times. Please tell us more about what these are, what they mean and how different time periods impact one’s life, business, and relationships

I will begin with a belief I carry, which is, there are no good or bad periods, just challenging and easy times. Jyotish always focuses on guiding a person through a period so we can all achieve our maximum potential by making the best use of our possibilities. It is we who get into this play of good and bad by comparing our life with others, and by building expectations from our life, without a clear understanding of our chart’s potential.

A retrograde planet in an astronomical phenomenon where for small period, the planet seems to move backwards and deviates from its regular orbiting behaviour. Now, coming to mercury retrograde, or on retrograde planets, as a phenomenon in Astrology / Jyotish. This retrograde is a period in which the planet seems to deviate from its regular behaviours and outcomes. These behaviours become unpredictable not bad.

When a planet goes retrograde, this may also be a period of deep reflection or correction or experimentation or adjustment for the individual. All retrogrades do not apply the same way to every individual. A lot depends on the natal chart placement, house where the transition is happening and the Dasha itself that the person is going through. 

Now Mercury is the significator of Business, Intelligence, Communication, Litigations, and Loans etc. in a retrograde period, Mercurywill create a few uncertainties in these areas, and depending on its placement. Similarly, Venus could impact the relationships; each planet has a signification, and if there is a retrograde period of that planet, then the unpredictability comes in there.

Our sages have also shared that if you are in alignment with your life path and are doing what you need to do, the unpredictability shake-up we experience in a retrograde period may not be so significant. Else, it is the other way round. This again points back to the importance of how Jyotish / Astrology can be a guiding light for us and shouldn’t be used as a predominant predictive tool.

6. What is a professional dream that you hope to achieve?

At this point, it is a few simple dreams for Astrology and with Astrology.  For one, I want the world to know and experience Jyotish in an unadulterated, uncomplicated, and purposeful way. Jyotish has great value as a guiding science, and I want the world to not think of it as a tool for prediction or a tool of the superstitious. Secondly, through Astrology, I want to guide people on their path of Karmic and Spiritual fulfilment. Therefore; I continue to consult, speak, teach and grow the content on my YouTube channel.

With 2022 starting, please share horoscopes for each of the birth signs!

Aries:  In the year 2022 you should focus on your long-term goals, don’t make hasty short-term goals, if you want to see a stable year ahead. Communication or working with youth can prove to be lucky for you. Collaborations with foreign companies or travel abroad after April 2022 will open up new horizons for you.

Taurus:      Your career or professional life should be a priority this year. If you work with art or entertainment industry or work in multinational companies, lot of new opportunities will enlighten your path. First half of the year will bring opportunities to change the existing job for many. Focus on group activities, but be careful with all the new entrants of the group. 

Gemini:  In the Year 2022 you should focus to add on new skills like learning new language, fine arts, communication or public speaking or exploring spirituality. Year looks challenging in terms of relation with your seniors, relocation issues, or handling the kids so think twice before any commitment.

Cancer:  Year 2022 might bring financial challenges, so try and manage your finances intelligently. Lending or borrowing will not be advised this year. Joint ventures or family wealth can bring some disputes within the family or partners. Teaching, counselling, travelling, and writing could prove to be the stress busters this year.

Leo:   This year will bring a challenge for Leos to make a balance between professional and personal life. Work looks quite good so focus on your work but don’t hurt the emotions of your loved ones. Romance or marriage is also on the cards. Try to be flexible and understanding while dealing with your family. Money is also going to play an important role this year, don’t splurge money.

Virgo:   Your Health and work is going to steal the show this year, you will be overly anxious about your health and work. Arguments with colleagues at work place might tarnish your image, its better to avoid confrontations. Health issue related to abdomen areas could be tricky, take medical advice as and when required. Don’t nurture your ego this year.

Libra:  Year 2022 will bring focus on your creative abilities and children. You should try and focus on your networking skills, as this will bring lot of opportunities to promote yourself. You can get some happy news from your children or you can start working for youth and children. Don’t take any shortcut or illegal method to complete your tasks. Do try to engage in some physical activity this year.

Scorpio: Family, real estate\assets, comforts, mother and work will be the most active area of your life this year. You will try hard to make assets or work on your family ties, don’t forget to take blessings from your mother before starting any new project. There could be a serious communication regarding the distribution of family wealth or assets. Focus on your team management skills this year, treat your colleagues as family.

Sagittarius:   Multitasking, short- term courses, travels, writing and social media will prove to be the focus of the year. You should try to help or improve relations with your siblings, meeting old friends and involvement in community services, these activities will make you contented and you will be able to fight against tough work situations.

Capricorn: Your resolution for the year 2022 should be to increase your “self- worth”, financially and professionally both. Try to improve your skills, learn to work with team, get enrolled in certification courses and focus on money management skills as well. Instead of spending, invest your money in long term policies. Second half of the year will be quite hectic so it’s better you practice time management. People related with training, counselling, marketing\sales, media or entertainment industry will have more opportunities.

Aquarius:  Personal relations, beauty, health, socializing and wealth generation are few key areas which will rule your mind in the year 2022. A big chunk of money will be spent on these areas which might create a hole in the pocket in second half of the year, so mind your expenses. To save and invest money in profitable ventures is the tag line of this year!! Many of you will witness auspicious functions taking place in your family.

Pisces:  Stay away from the controversies during the first half of the year, focus on your emotional and physical health this year. Whenever you are on the crossroads discuss your worries with, Guru\mentor\teacher to find the best path to choose or else you are likely to take wrong path. Plan to finish your work within the time limit to avoid last minutes rush as it will adversely effect your health. New assignments or job is also on the cards for you!!

Thank you Richa for sharing your expertise with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!

Bio: AstroCoach Dr. Richa Shukla is a scholar of Hindu Vedic Astrology since 19 years on stringent research and studies. Her purpose is to Demystify the Myths of Astrology. She counsels individuals and corporates. Dr. Richa Shukla has completed Masters and Ph.D in History from St. John’s College, Agra India. She has formally learnt astrology from Shri KN Rao and achieved the respected qualifications of Jyotish Alankar, Jyotish Acharya and Research from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Delhi.

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