Astrology and Time

by Jessica Girija Jewell

There’s something most of us sense, even if we don’t often articulate it: time has a feeling to it.

Morning feels different from night.

January feels different from June.

Halloween feels different from Valentine’s Day.

2010 feels different from 2026.

Our lives unfold within the framework of time, and time has qualities — texture, density, pace, and tone. Astrology is a tool for attuning our attention to these qualities and for learning how to respond to them.

Across cultures and millennia, people have noticed that time moves in recognizable cycles. Some eras lean toward spiritual inquiry, others toward material survival or acquisition, and others toward knowledge and innovation. In the yogic tradition I study, we’re said to be living in an ascending Dwapara Yuga — a 2,400-year period associated with understanding and harnessing electrical energy and with the rapid spread of information. That description feels strikingly accurate for the world we’re living in now.

Swami Sri Yukteswar, a great astrologer and the guru of Paramahamsa Yogananda, said:

“A child is born on that day and at that hour when the celestial rays are in mathematical harmony with their individual karma.”

In other words, we are born at a moment that resonates with the qualities of our karmic patterns. Through the study of astrology, we can better understand our individuality, our challenges and gifts, and the cycles repeating through our lives. Over time, if we’re paying attention, we learn to recognize these patterns and meet them more skillfully. This is part of how we grow wiser, happier, and more compassionate.

Astrology is a symbolic language. Each element of a chart — planets, signs, houses, lunar mansions — is rich with meaning. For example, the Sun is a symbol of light, vitality, warmth, and generosity. These symbols can be studied, interpreted, and — using both discernment and imagination — woven into the story of a life, your life. When we see our experiences symbolically, our days often feel more meaningful and more precious, and we meet ourselves with greater curiosity, acceptance, and a bit of wonder.

This reflection grew out of my ongoing exploration of astrology and time, and from preparing for my upcoming class, Astrology of 2026.