Why is 2025 such a Challenging Year from a Yogic Perspective

In yogic cosmology our evolution is divided into four ages or cycles called yugas. The current yuga we are in is called Kali Yuga or the ‘dark age’ which is around 432,000 years. We are currently 1,200 years into this yuga. However, there is hope as smaller cycles exist within these larger cycles. Currently, the intensity of this time is due to the shift between two of these smaller cycles. The year 2025 marks a major energetic turning point - a threshold moment in humanity's journey from the 2000 year cycle of the Piscean Age into the Aquarian Age. This transition happens over decades, and it is both a time of crisis and opportunity, characterised by upheaval, tension, and the urgent demand for conscious change as we move from the old way of thinking and being to a new way of thinking and being. We take the best of the old and bring it forward with us into the future. This necessarily creates tension between groups of people where our differences seems to be amplified.

At this time of tension humanity can be roughly divided into three groups with three different levels of consciousness: 1. Those who are dearly holding onto the past and see its restoration and its separateness as being good for them; 2. Those who can see how the new changes impact them and their families and their immediate environment; 3. Those who have a vision of a future where we all contribute to the greater good, individually, locally and nationally for one humanity. In group one we see a spike of conservative thinking because they are unable to sense the opportunity of the future. The second group makes up the average person of goodwill who can sense something better in the future but is really only concerned with how the situation impacts them. The third group holds the vision and can see they need to be the bridge between the old and the new because they intuitively sense the coming opportunity. This last group senses the ancient wisdom teaching aphorism that, ‘we are not free until everyone is.’

To answer why 2025 is so intense and challenging, we must explore the currents of the Piscean and Aquarian energies underpinning this global shift.

The Piscean Age: Follow the Leader, Authority, and Devotion

The Piscean Age, which lasted for roughly the last 2,000 years, was dominated by the energies of division, dogma, and hierarchical authority. During this time, focus was often externalised: directed toward saviours, messiahs, religious institutions, and idealised figures in power and politics.

The key themes of this age included:

• Blind faith over individual knowing

• Emotional devotion over mental clarity

• Centralised authority (in religion and politics)

• Separation (us vs. them, believer vs. non-believer)

While good also came out of the Piscean Age it did foster dogma, conflict, and a tendency to surrender personal responsibility to outer authorities. We now compare this with the coming age and the difference between the two is why we are seeing extreme polarities in thinking and being. This is known as the ‘pairs of opposites’ which, in yoga philosophy, must be transcended in order to achieve personal and group freedom.

 The Aquarian Age: Synthesis, Brotherhood, and Mental Awakening

In contrast, the Aquarian Age, which we are now entering, brings radically different energies. Aquarius is associated with:

• Group consciousness – in this type of thinking we are concerned with how we impact the greater whole. What I say and do has an impact on others -  is this for the good of the group?; what a company says and does has an impact on others – is this for the good of the group?; what a nation does has an impact on others – is this for the good of the group?)

• Unity in diversity

• Mental clarity and truth-seeking

• Decentralisation and equality

• Service to humanity as a whole (in my sphere of influence how can I act in a way that is uplifting to the situation and those around me?)

This age demands that individuals awaken mentally and emotionally - not through blind faith, but through inner knowledge, direct experience, and responsibility to the greater good. The Aquarian impulse emphasises synthesis, where all parts are understood to contribute to the whole.

This means that the future is hopeful with right relations between individuals, groups and nations – where everyone contributes to the greater whole for everyone not just individual or national interests alone. The ageless wisdom teachings suggest that right human relations should express fully in around 800 years from now and depending on what you believe about reincarnation you will either be around to see it or you won’t, however, it is still worth laying the foundations for it!

In this era, there will be a sharing of all resources. There will be goodwill among people and nations and the future of humanity will be based on unity within diversity. The opposition and separateness which currently predominates will not exist any longer because the consciousness of humanity will no longer demonstrate it.

The expression of possession and aggression which have been the ancient and inherited ideas controlling humanity will stop. There will no longer be a group, church or state with selfish ambition and authority imposed on others.

Humanity will cease to fight each other over ideologies because we will see that it is simply an accident of birth that we have the background we have, and that place of birth and background are responsible for making us largely who we are and determining our beliefs. Others, by an accident of their birth put them in a position where their background colours and informs their beliefs. The new energies will end the current attempt to impose personal or national ideologies on other people whether they are religious or political ideologies. These are the first steps to eventual peace.

The Pain of Transition: Why 2025 Feels So Difficult

Transiting from one age to another is like tectonic plates shifting beneath our feet. The difficulty lies in the clash between old and new ideas and energies. The Piscean structures - religious institutions, political systems, corporate hierarchies - are being challenged by the Aquarian call for transparency, cooperation, and decentralisation. The Aquarian age is said to be an apocalyptic age, the word apocalypse means to uncover and reveal. In this context it means that which is hidden in every aspect of living - in our groups, institutions, and governments - will be revealed as humanity awakens.

This manifests in several ways:

1. Collapse of Outdated Systems

Institutions built on control, secrecy, and dominance are under immense pressure to become more transparent. Economic systems, political parties, and even long-held belief systems are unravelling, leaving people disoriented and anxious.

2. Rising Polarisation

As Aquarian energy floods in, those still aligned with Piscean ideals often resist this new energy, creating stark ideological divisions. Extremism, nationalism, and rigid dogma are reactions to the fear of change.

3. Awakening Crisis

More individuals are experiencing existential crises, feeling called to awaken but unsure how. The old maps no longer guide, and new paths are not yet clearly formed.

4. Acceleration of Time and Energy

Many people report a sense of time speeding up, as if life is happening in fast-forward.

What Can We Do in 2025?

Despite the challenges, this time is full of potential. Even though these energies are changing, humanity is not a passive victim of cosmic forces - we are active participants in shaping the new world.

Here is how we can align with the Aquarian impulse:

• Cultivate Group Consciousness: Move beyond personal ambition to ask, How can I serve the greater good?

• Develop Mental Clarity: Replace emotional reactivity with clear, objective thought and discrimination. This can be assisted through yoga and meditation practice and studying the great yogic texts. (For our suggested yoga and meditation classes click this link)

• Embrace Inner Authority: Seek truth not from external dogma, but through introspection, meditation, and higher guidance.

• Practice Right Human Relations: Foster kindness, cooperation, understanding and inclusivity across all boundaries.

• Be a Bridge: Those who can hold both Piscean wisdom and Aquarian vision are essential for guiding others through this transition.