Titbits and tasters for the year ahead.
Saturn Pluto kicks off 2020, coming exact only once, in January at 22/23 degrees Capricorn. However that doesn’t mean its effect won’t be hanging over the entire year. Every time the Sun or Mars is in a Cardinal sign the hard aspects will reverberate the same energy since Saturn and Pluto stay in orb. Mars in Capricorn in March will conjunct Saturn and Pluto; and in April the Aries Sun will square Pluto and then the Taurus Sun will square Saturn in early Aquarius. Saturn only sticks a toe in Aquarius from late March until July before reversing back into Capricorn.
Just to put added stress onto events Mars moves into Aries late June to stay for a high-octane six months till January 2021, with a retrograde in the middle. In July the Cancer Sun opposes Saturn and Pluto and Jupiter; in August Mars also opposes Jupiter and Pluto and Saturn. October has both the Libra Sun and Mars in Aries hitting on Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter; with a final hard aspect from Mars to Pluto in December. Mars in hard aspect to Saturn and Pluto tends to be high-risk, accident or disaster prone.
Jupiter is the oddity and wild card in the midst of all these leaden aspects since it generally brings morale-boosts and good luck. There is a Jupiter conjunction with Pluto in March, again in June and November – so there should be some good news amongst the drear and drama.
Venus is also having a retrograde year staying longer than usual in Gemini from April to early August.
Mars will have a ratchety few days in early April as it enters Aquarius to form a conjunction with Saturn and then a square with Uranus.
The Solar Eclipses are in June at zero degrees Cancer; and in December at 23 degrees Sagittarius. The Lunar Eclipses are at 20 degrees Cancer in January; at 16 degrees Sagittarius in June and 14 degrees Capricorn in July; and 9 degrees Gemini in December. Only the January Lunar Eclipse is tied into the heavier influences of the year. Though the July Lunar may have an impact on the USA since it falls opposite the Cancer Sun.
In December both Jupiter and Saturn come together in Capricorn and then move in unison into Aquarius after mid month for a lighter, more cerebral, though still ambivalent influence. Jupiter is expansive, inspired and confident while Saturn is the opposite – practical, lacking imagination, cautious. Together, at best, they can marry idealism with materialism and find a balance between vision and reality.
In the past it has been associated with a few iconic figures who become symbols for a society but are elevated to an impossible height – Princess Diana, John Lennon being two examples – and then come crashing down. US presidents elected under it tend to die in office or are the target of assassination attempts.
Thank you, great job, it’s a busy and complex year.
It only feels like a few years ago that we were all talking about 2010 and the grand cross, not a decade.
Thank you for this!
2020 is a very astrologically complex, intense year. The big story is the completion of three major synodic cycles: Saturn/Pluto and Jupiter/Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter/Saturn in Aquarius. This is quite rare and portends a big shift in all things ruled by Capricorn. It is a “reset” year. Financial institutions and governments will be transformed and restructured in this period. And it gets started in earnest later this month, with a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn conjuncting Jupiter on Dec 26th. This signals a big sea change underway in the superstructure of the economy and all things that govern our society.
The astrological climate will be very distinct from 2019, which was defined by the square from Jupiter in Sagittarius to Neptune in Pisces. That was an aspect that was overly hopeful, rose colored glasses on. Corporate debt and leverage built up during that period, as people got sloppy, careless and in denial of broader structural problems. When the placements shift over to Capricorn, the bill comes due. The collector arrives on January 12th, when Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Pluto conjunct for one big pass, with Jupiter not too far behind. March and July will also prove to be quite dramatic, with the Sun, Mars and eclipses creating dramatic turning points. Even Venus retrograde in Gemini has been historically correlated to big shifts in economic sentiment. With the North Node also transiting through this area, and the eclipse cycle on the Gemini/Sagittarius polarity, rhetoric and ideological discourse will run high.
But the real big problems arrive in August through December, when Mars in Aries retrograde make a series of potent squares to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. This points to a very belligerent, difficult social, political and economic climate. October in particular might be a month where the financial markets might experience a panic, with Mercury in Scorpio opposing Uranus and the Sun in Libra making hard aspects to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. The US election next year will prove to be contentious, with explosive rhetoric, manipulation of constituencies and heavy-handed actions being the norm. The election occurs with Sun in Scorpio opposing Uranus in Taurus, with a full Moon aspecting Uranus a few days before. That could suggest a shocking outcome, or a change of administration. With Mercury and Mars in retrograde during this period, expect the unexpected or even a contested outcome. The eclipse at 23 degrees Sagittarius a few days after the election conjuncts Trump’s Moon and opposes his Sun, making this a very important period in his life. The lunar nodes will also be transiting through that area as well.
Immediately thereafter, on the winter solstice, we have the biggest aspect of the year: Jupiter conjuncting Saturn in Aquarius, thus commencing a new cycle in political and economic affairs. The focus on Aquarius is a theme that will be with us for the next 20 years, as Pluto also ingresses into that sign in 2023 and stays there through 2044. Technology, networks, social organizing will be big themes in the coming years, but it can also suggest autocratic behavior or even reactionary sentiment. How it manifests will depend upon the aspects at any given time. Hard fixed placements tend to point towards such attitudes.
Lenin said that “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Next year is going to be one of those years, a key inflection point that will define events, nationally and globally, for many years to come. The fissures that open up will define the political climate for a long time to come, and the structure of our financial institutions will be dramatically changed as a result.
Thanks. Most interesting and also for the Lenin quote – love it.
Your posts are so informative and interesting, Andy. Many thanks.
You’re welcome, all!
Amazing Andy! Thank you.
Just realised that the January lunar eclipse is opposite the Duchess of Cambridge’s Sun, and Prince William has that O Cancer solar eclipse on his birthday in June too. I seem to remember they were both born on an eclipse. Could be intriguing, a turning point?
Aah will keep an eye on.
I remember once reading an article by a quite prominent astrologer pointing out that William did not have the classic Mars Jupiter aspect which UK monarchs have (even Charles has it), thereby casting doubt on William’s future destiny as monarch….
Thank you Marjorie. It all sounds rather combative, but might be good for sport I suppose, with Mars in Aries all that time. The Jupiter Pluto conjunction brings to mind earthquakes, all that underground energy. But then, that could work itself out in other more symbolic ways too. Or be positive for regenerative energies, in a green way. Never sure what to make of Venus retrogrades, but maybe in Gemini it favours historical information emerging from the archives when retrograde, or ancient writings and letters from forgotten lovers!
This is an Olympic Year, in Tokyo. There’s an interesting history on first Olympic Games that were to be held in Tokyo, back in 1940. Japan invaded China and Korea, and by 1938, renounced to games. Helsinki, a small capital of a very successful sporting country, was awarded the games. What’s even more astonishing is that Helsinki had most venues ready by Autumn 1939, when The Games were postponed and then cancelled by WWII, as were the 1944 awarded to London. 1948 Games were held in London, and Finland – a losing country in WWII, but not a formal Axis country – hosted Games in 1952. These were the first Games The USSR participated, and they excelled in many sports, as well. Tokyo only had their moment in 1964. This is all a big, geopolitical mess.
And Tokyo 2020 Games, set to start in July 24, won’t be void of political charge. Russia has been closed from “The Olympic Family” due to State ran Doping Program (yes…). And Doha Athletic Championships where Marathon events were ran 3 am in the night due to heat, highlighted the climate issues in Tokyo – the megapolis has summer temperatures reaching 35 C, with oppressing humidity. Otherwise, we can expect a pleasant, well organized event – Japanese tend to be wonderful hosts.
“The Solar Eclipses are in June at zero degrees Cancer”.
Oh damned. My Ascendant is at 1 degree Cancer. How could this affect me?
On my moon going through my first house, just had my 2nd Saturn return…