Is 2025 Cursed?
- sancharim946
- Jun 29
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 6
Every so often, patterns in our calendar rekindle haunting echoes of the past. In 2025, the global calendar aligns with 1941—a year remembered as one of the bloodiest and most catastrophic in modern history. That year bore witness to the height of World War II: the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hitler’s advance into the Soviet Union, mass genocides, and the systemic unraveling of civilian life across continents. Now, in 2025, as disasters unfurl at an alarming pace—from wars and terror attacks to deadly fires and aviation tragedies—many are beginning to wonder: Is this just a coincidence, or are we being warned by history itself?
There’s precedent for this unsettling theory. 2019, the year COVID-19 broke out and paralyzed the world, shared the exact calendar pattern as 1918, the year the Spanish Flu pandemic ravaged the globe and claimed millions of lives. That eerie overlap came and passed—but it left scars, both physical and psychological. Now, with only six months left in 2025, and with the year’s tragic events already mounting, the alignment with 1941 feels not just historical—it feels prophetic.

Paulo Coelho in his The Alchemist warns “Whatever happened once might not happen twice, but whatever happens twice will surely happen a third time.”
This haunting quote, from his philosophical novel, serves as a chilling caution. When tragedy repeats itself, it stops being an isolated event and begins to form a pattern—one that we ignore at our own peril.
The year began with a sense of dread, and it didn’t take long for tragedy to strike. On January 7, the first major disaster hit as wildfires engulfed California, fueled by extreme Santa Ana winds. Over 23,000 acres were consumed in what’s now known as the Palisades Fire. Thousands lost homes, dozens perished, and the air itself became unbreathable—a violent reminder that climate change is no longer a future threat, but a burning present.

Only days later, on January 29, the Kumbh Mela—one of the largest religious gatherings on Earth—turned chaotic. A deadly stampede in Prayagraj left nearly 30 people dead and more than 60 injured. Despite security measures, panic and overcrowding overwhelmed the system, echoing tragedies of spiritual fervor eclipsed by human error.
In April, terrorism returned to Kashmir with horrifying intensity. On April 22, the Pahalgam attack stunned the nation as gunmen opened fire on civilians, killing 26 people in cold blood. Victims were reportedly targeted based on their religion—an act of brutal sectarian violence that shook India’s conscience.
By May 7, tensions exploded into full-scale conflict. In response to the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting airstrikes across the Line of Control. Pakistan responded with drone attacks and artillery, leading to a dangerously escalated India-Pakistan military standoff, with casualties on both sides and fears of a larger regional war looming.
Then came June, and with it, one of the most harrowing tragedies of the year. On June 12, Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. At least 241 passengers died on board, with dozens more on the ground. Only one person reportedly survived. The event became a symbol of how even the safest systems can collapse under unseen pressure.

That same week, global conflict erupted as Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a series of strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. From June 12 to 18, Iran retaliated with drone and missile attacks, and by mid-June, over 200 civilians were dead in Iran alone. The Iran-Israel war escalation threatened to drag neighboring states into a broader conflict—rekindling Cold War fears in a new Middle East.
To skeptics, these events may seem unconnected—tragic, yes, but not necessarily bound by anything more than misfortune. But the alignment of the 2025 calendar with 1941, just as 2019 aligned with 1918, is hard to ignore.
The Gregorian calendar, the one followed globally today, is known to repeat its day-date pattern every 6, 11, or 28 years due to leap year cycles. In that sense, 2019 and 1918 sharing a calendar pattern, and both witnessing pandemics, may appear to be a statistical fluke. But when it happens again—when 2025 mirrors 1941, and catastrophic events unfold in such a tight cluster—the pattern begins to feel symbolic, perhaps even divine.
One possibility is that we are caught in a cosmic or divine loop. Many spiritual traditions—from Hinduism to Buddhism to Indigenous philosophies—propose that time is cyclical, not linear. Civilizations rise, fall, and rise again. Lessons not learned are repeated, often with more violent consequences.

Another reading draws from the philosopher Bruno Latour, who suggests that Earth is not a passive object but a reactive, living system. Latour argues that the Earth is responding to human-induced changes—climate destruction, ecological imbalance, and technological arrogance. From this lens, the wildfires, floods, pandemics, and societal collapses are not coincidences but reactions—Gaia's resistance to unchecked human ambition.
And of course, there is the rationalist explanation: the mathematical quirk of a calendar system. There are only so many combinations of days and dates a 365-day year can produce. Eventually, overlaps are bound to occur. But that doesn’t mean they lack meaning. Even if the alignment is coincidental, the events unfolding under these dates are undeniably real—and devastating.
Whether one views the recurrence of calendar patterns as prophetic, philosophical, or purely mathematical, it still carries a powerful warning. It reminds us that no matter how advanced we think we are, we remain vulnerable to the same dangers: war, greed, ecological destruction, and hubris.

Wars erupt when diplomacy fails and hatred is allowed to fester. Natural disasters worsen when we continue to exploit the Earth without restraint. Tragedies like stampedes or plane crashes happen when we neglect human systems of care, planning, and accountability.
2025 may mirror 1941 on the calendar, but it doesn’t have to mirror it in outcome. Our future depends not on the repetition of numbers, but on the lessons we choose to learn—or ignore.
We must understand that calendar alignments are not omens, but reminders. Reminders to stay within our ecological and ethical limits. Reminders to live with humility, to abandon extreme greed, and to acknowledge that ambition without caution can lead to collapse.
Myths often carry truths too profound for textbooks. Take Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun, ignoring the warnings of his father, Daedalus. His wings, crafted from wax and feathers, melted in the heat of his ambition—and he fell into the sea.
Today, we are Icarus. And history, nature, and even the calendar itself may be our Daedalus—issuing quiet, repeated warnings.
The question is: will we listen this time?
Because if Coelho is right, and whatever happens twice is destined to happen a third time—then we are standing dangerously close to the sun again.
About the Author
I am Sanchari Mukherjee, a student doing Masters in English from the reputed Presidency University, Calcutta. I love writing and appreciate art in all forms. Being a literature major, I have learnt to critically comment on things of various kinds. I take a deep interest in deconstructing the various essential structures and revealing the mechanisms of their working. Really glad that you came across my blog, hope you found it covering some critical insights essential for progress!
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