Act 1: Shelter from the Gathering Storm [March 20 - May 13, 2020]
Quick notes about January and February:
January 10 - Lunar eclipse in Cancer (which was right across from…)
January 12 - Saturn conjunct Pluto (this is where our awful story starts)
February 16 - Mars moves into Capricorn getting ready to activate Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn
February 16 - March 9 - Mercury retrograde in Pisces and Aquarius (this covers the Iowa caucus and all the confusion and misinformation leading up to the lockdowns)
So we've all read mythology, right? Good. I'm going to tell you a story about Mars, who represents conflict, but more broadly, action. Mars is what we call a "personal planet" meaning it moves quickly enough that we can see its cycles in our daily lives (about every 2 years, in fact). The "outer planets" (Jupiter through Pluto) move slowly enough that their cycles play out more globally and generationally. So what's happening now, is that Mars is making it's way through Capricorn (ambition, authority...capitalism?) and activating several outer planets along its way.
Friday, March 20 - Mars conjunct Jupiter
So Jupiter is expansion (as it is huge). Expansion of knowledge, expansion of wealth...but in this case likely expansion of cases of Covid-19. Now that doesn't necessarily mean NEW cases. Could just as easily mean tests are more readily available and we suddenly start getting a better idea of what's actually going on. (If we follow Italy’s pattern, this is when we pass the 10,000 cases mark.)
Saturday, March 21 - Saturn moves out of Capricorn into Aquarius.
Saturn is boundaries, restrictions and structures. It rules both Capricorn and Aquarius, but Capricorn was getting pretty crowded. Where Capricorn is the material and individual, Aquarius is the conceptual and societal. (Is there a capitalism/socialism paradigm there? I guess we’ll see). Because Saturn is only going to be in Aquarius for a few months before retrograding back out again, it pretty much just has time to look around and make a list of things to be taken care of when it moves back for real in December (Beginning a new 200 year cycle that takes us from the Industrial Revolution to…whatever technological, conceptual societal revolution comes next, I guess!) While you could read this as restrictions moving from our homes to our technology (keep your shit together internet) I think more likely, this involves restrictions revealing things that are fundamentally broken in our society that we will have to come together when all this is over to fix.
Sunday, March 22 - Mars conjunct Pluto
So…mythology, we’ve read it. Is it possible this is an increase in deaths? Yes, and that is something that would logically follow on the heels of the increase in cases. But in astrology, Pluto is also the planet of rebirth…and deep introspection...so…this could be a less literal facing of the shadow and transformation.
Tuesday, March 24 - A new moon!
Not going to spend much time on this, but here’s another indication of new beginning on Pluto’s heels.
(Meanwhile Venus is out ahead and will have positive but socially distanced interactions with Jupiter and then Pluto on the weekend of the 27th and 28th. Not sure what role she has to play in all this yet, but love, art and beauty checking in to offer comfort is a nice image.)
Monday/Tuesday, March 30/31 - Mars moves into Aquarius and catches up to Saturn
Action meets Restriction on the field of Society!
Saturday, April 4 - Jupiter catches up to Pluto
I would not be surprised if this is the actual peak of the death toll. On the other hand, an expansion of rebirth/recovery could also be a possibility.
Tuesday, April 7 - Full Moon and Mars square Uranus
This is interesting because as soon as Mars gets into Aquarius, it makes a potentially antagonistic aspect to Uranus, the planet of revolution and unexpected change (a few of Aquarius’s favorite things). So keep an eye out for some unexpected twist as Mars makes its last outer planet transit for a bit. The full moon is also a sign of things concluding or coming to light.
April 25 - Pluto goes retrograde
May 10 - Saturn goes retrograde
May 12 - Mars moves out of Aquarius
GRAIN OF SALT, but I think it’s at least possible to read these last three as a decrease in fatalities, a lifting of restrictions, and the primary action moving on to other things.
NOW, that doesn't mean that come mid-May everything will suddenly be back to normal. It also doesn't mean that there won't be additional troubles later in the year. The rain may stop, but once we get outside there’s going to be damage to assess. But I think there may be something of a reprieve this summer before Mars goes retrograde in the fall...but that's another email.
Just a reminder (to pull in yet another metaphor) this is one thread I’m tracing through a gigantic tapestry. There may be things I’m not looking at (personally or globally) that cast all of this into a completely different light. But I’ve found comfort the last few years in knowing that nothing lasts forever and looking for when things might change, even if it isn't always clear what that change is going to be.
In terms of how to approach the time before the change...the presence of Pluto in all this (along with Venus stationing retrograde as we're maybe on our way back out around May 13) has me thinking of this time as an underworld journey. Fun fact: The word quarantine comes from quarantena, a variant of the Italian quaranta giorni, meaning "forty days". 40 days is the length of a Venus retrograde cycle when it disappears from the sky for a bit during the transitions from Morning to Evening star and back again. I said earlier that I'm not sure what role Venus has to play in all this yet, but the simplest form of her retrograde story is that Venus casts off her identity, goes into the Underworld, and emerges transformed.
We've all had a lot of the things that define us feel like they're being stripped away in the past few weeks: jobs, activities, communities, relationships, routines...but my questions for you during this time would be: Which of those things actually define you? What have you outgrown? How is your energy best spent? What can you approach in a new way? What couldn't be stripped from you if you tried?
We're all going to come out of this a little different. The world may come out of this very different. (Remember that turnover of a 200 year cycle in December!) Most of that we're not going to be able to control. So if you are able, take a moment during this next few weeks to give some thought to what you CAN control and who you want to be on the other side of this. Then do one small thing that makes you feel like yourself.
Act 2: In the Eye of the Hurricane [May 3 - September 9]
This summer is very much a story of retrogrades, so I’m going to list them all up top then say more as we get to them:
April 25 - October 4 - Pluto retrograde in Capricorn
May 10 - September 28 - Saturn retrograde in Aquarius
May 12 - June 24 - Venus Retrograde in Gemini
May 14 - September 12 - Jupiter retrograde in Capricorn
June 17- July 12 - Mercury Retrograde in Cancer
September 9 - November 13 - Mars retrograde in Aries
Retrogrades are not an inherently negative or scary thing. It just means that the planet has slowed down enough that it seems to be going backwards relative to the earth. This often manifests as the planet’s influence being diminished, or reflecting backward in some way. So whether the lessening of their influence is positive or negative probably depends on what kind of influence they were exerting to begin with. Pluto (death/evolution), Saturn (boundaries/restrictions), and Jupiter (expansion) have been the major players in this story of pandemic and quarantine (along to Mars, who we will get to no sooner than we have to) so their retrogrades actually seem like they’re going to be very good news! In fact, we have already started to see this, with talk of restrictions starting to ease in the coming weeks, particularly once Saturn and Jupiter join Pluto in retrograde on May 10 and 14. But the important thing to remember about things moving backwards, is that they’re retracing steps over ground they’ve already tread, and they are going to have to do so a third time when they start moving forward again.
So picking up where we left off... Mars (action/conflict) was at the center of our story in Act 1, Venus (love/beauty) takes center stage in Act 2!
Sunday, May 3 - Venus in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces
Venus and Neptune interactions are like a brief romance: pleasurable, idealistic, and not meant to last. Venus is love, beauty and sometimes money, where Neptune is dreams, faith, illusions and intuitions. This aspect suggests pleasures and desires that may be ill considered or unrealistic in nature, but not necessarily harmful or not worth having. We’re probably going to hear more stories of people on beaches, or otherwise going out to celebrate survival of a thing that hasn’t actually ended yet. Normally, this would be a great Beltane aspect, encouraging indulgence that doesn’t have to fit into the rational world! But it also calls to mind all those people kissing in the streets on V-Day who were spreading the Spanish Flu. There is nothing wrong with having hope! And we should absolutely enjoy this chance to feel a little better if and while we can. Just make sure that however you express your desires over the next couple weeks (whether for companionship, natural beauty, or a whole case of wine) you don’t expect the good times to last forever, and are able to pay those bills when they come due.
May 12 - June 24 - Venus Retrograde in Gemini
Those good times really begin on May 12 when Mars moves out of Aquarius (leaving his drama with the recently retrograde Saturn for another day) so Venus Retrograde becomes the main story for the next 40 day. The word quarantine actually literally derives from “40 days” so I wasn’t sure whether this retrograde was going to be a journey out of isolation or (somehow?) further in. But it’s looking like in many places, we are going to see people trying to make their way back to some version of their social lives. Venus will be retracing her steps back to where she was on April 9 by the time we get to June 24. So we may see some things that were supposed to happen rescheduled during that time, or as she makes her third pass between June 24 and July 28. This time before and after is called the “shadow” of a retrograde, and it can be a three act drama unto itself. So even if it’s not literally events being rescheduled, you may see April’s themes in a particular area of your life, art or relationships reemerging for a reexamination. Frequently, Venus retrograde involves people returning from the past. Old lovers, old friends, or whatever, it often isn’t an invitation to resume that relationship but rather to look at what you’ve learned since then. Venus also retrogrades through the same part of your chart every 8 years, so you may find themes recurring from May/June of 2012 or 2004. Gemini is in my 5th house of “things we create”. For a lot of people that’s children, for me (at least thus far) it has been art. In 2012 I went back and finished a novel I’d been working on for 4 years (half a Venus cycle), in the summer of 2004 I also wrote more than my usual number of plays in a very short amount of time. So I’m excited to see what this Retrograde might have in store! (In 2012 I also briefly got back together with an ex, and in 2004 I spent a lot of time with an ex I’d get back together with within 6 months...but I think I’m out of exes this time around :)). Ultimately, this time may be about figuring out which of the things you’ve had to give up that you actually want to return to, or what you want in general.
June 2 - Mars square Venus
We should get a pretty okay feeling two weeks from May 12-June 2. On June 2, Mars pops up to remind Venus whose story this actually is. That person who showed back up in your life? This is where you have the fights that remind you why the relationship ended in the first place. Or it could be some very sexy reunion sex, if that sort of thing applies. Either way it’s a bit of drama taking us into…
The Eclipses! June 5, June 20, July 4
Usually, eclipses come in pairs, one lunar, one solar, but we get a bonus baby lunar eclipse on June 5 as foreshadowing for the next year and a half of eclipses. Since January of 2019, eclipses have been alternating along the Capricorn/Cancer axis. (Why Ellie, isn’t Capricorn the same house where Mars ran down the high five line of Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn when this virus started? Which Saturn is moving back into on July 1 to hang out with Pluto some more? WHY YES, yes it is.) So if you think back to January and July of 2019 and January of 2010 if there’s a particular plot thread that comes to mind, we’re about to get its GRAND FINALE on June 20. (Why Ellie, isn’t that the Solstice? Does a solstice supercharge and eclipse? It sure does.). Cancer is in my 6th house of health and employees, and Capricorn is my 12th house of enemies and isolation. So I’m kind of expecting a weird final act to my 2019 work drama? But health and isolation are certainly also relevant themes at this time, so I guess we’ll see. The United States’ birth chart is controversial but potentially these eclipses are going to hit somewhere along the axis of individual identity vs partnership. Do we come together or not? On a variety of levels. July 4 will be like an epilogue to the 2019-2020 story in the same way June 5 was a prologue to 2020-2022. For all the California folks, this is going to be a bit like an earthquake, small shake-ups before and after with a much larger one in the middle.
June 17- July 12 - Mercury Retrograde in Cancer
Meanwhile! I’m not spending much time on Mercury in these, but keep an eye out for confusion and misinformation as the world starts reopening. Particularly since this is happening on the same axis as the eclipses, and across from Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto. This is prime propaganda time, and also has potential for technological failures. The Democratic convention was originally scheduled for this window of time, so if that’s still happening it’s going to be a mess. Like...a Iowa caucus kind of mess, because that was our last Mercury retrograde, but not as much of a mess as the election which will be our third Mercury retrograde...but we’re not going down that rabbit hole yet. Be smart about what you’re hearing. Check sources. Make good choices.
July 25, 27, and 29 - Mars moves into his Retrograde Shadow and Venus moves out of her Retrograde shadow, Venus square Neptune...again.
Venus finally moves past the point where she started her retrograde (July 29) finishing her story, just a few days after Mars starts gearing up for his (July 25). It was a nice summer of love and beauty (Maybe? Hopefully? Memories of love and beauty at least?) but we have a lot of conflict and chaos awaiting us before the year is through. This will likely be a subtle shift, and we may not even feel it since Venus square Neptune will be there again in the middle (July 27) shouting that everything is fine and we should all just stay focused on the nice things and drink and dream a bit more. But get ready because Mars is calling out to Jupter, Pluto, and Saturn to remind them what a good time they all had on March 20, 22, and 31st….
This isn’t the exact same series of aspects we experienced in March. Mars is going to be at a 90 degree angle to these planets instead of right on top of them. But think of it as him realizing how far ahead he’s gotten, turning back to see them moving backwards, and calling them out of retrograde to catch up. They have more work to do.
So we start moving out of the eye and back into the storm...
I don’t want to scare anyone, and I will remind you at this juncture that this particular technique is better at WHEN than WHAT...but if there is going to be a second wave of the virus, this is the story I see:
August 4 - Mars square Jupiter (Jupiter comes out of retrograde September 12)
Jupiter is expansion, so activated by Mars, cases begin to increase...
August 13 - Mars square Pluto (Pluto comes out of retrograde October 4)
I don’t like to literally read Pluto as death, but that does seem to follow on an increase in cases...
August 24 - Mars square Saturn (Saturn comes out of retrograde September 28)
...which sends us back into restrictions...
September 9 - November 13 - Mars retrograde
...slowing Mars the fuck down, locking him in his room and making him very angry as he returns to center stage. Act three is going to be mostly about the tantrum he’s about to throw.
I said at the beginning that retrogrades are not inherently scary, but I’ll be honest that Mars retrograde is one of my least favorite things that planets do. A lot of that is personal, based on both my individual chart and experience. But this fall is going to be the second half of this spring’s hurricane even if we don’t know exactly how yet. It seems likely it will be medical, very probably economic, and almost certainly will involve the election (regardless of who wins).
So I’m writing these in hopes that even if we don’t know what will happen, you’ll use this relatively peaceful windows in May and July to take a deep breath, find yourself some pleasures, but what you need to do to prepare for the rest of the storm. And if I’m wrong, I’ll be delighted, and you’ll have extra provisions. There is hope! Both in moments in between and in how this year ends, but we need to all get there first.
Act 3: The worst of it and the aftermath [September 9 - January 23, 2021]
“Venus [asked] ‘What do you want?’ Mars is asking ‘what is worth the effort?’” - The Astrology podcast
Welcome back my friends to the storm that never ends…stay inside! Stay inside!
Looking back at this year that still fucking is, I’ve noticed a couple themes in what particular planets seem to be focused on:
Thus far Mars has been the story of the pandemic, and I expect that to continue, though we may see him broadening his scope as he becomes the primary focus of this third act.
Venus, the planet of harmony, seems to have been focused on the story of racial injustice, retrograding herself into extreme disharmony back in May/June to expose what harmony hides.
Mercury…Mercury gets three retrogrades a year, and this year seems to be focusing its three acts primarily on the election (The first primaries, the Tulsa Rally/July 4, and the election itself).
Now there’s more to astrology than retrogrades (if not more to…this year…possibly?) but it struck me as interesting that the three closest planets each seemed to pick their own lane.
Before we get into my least favorite of all retrogrades (a personal bias that I own!) revisiting August I will say that if there’s anything you wish you’d done in February to prepare for lockdown that you can do now that things have eased up a little, do it now, before...
September 9-November 13 - Mars retrograde in Aries
This is the main event of this part of the year. Mars is the planet of Action and Passion and rules Aries, the sign of starting things and forward motion. So for Mars to go retrograde in Aries is going to feel…particularly stifling and stagnating potentially leading to either a loss of energy or explosions of rage and frustration. This is something that should have gone quickly that is going to feel like it is taking so much more time and effort than you expected.
I suspect that one aspect of this will be another round of significant lockdowns
Back in March (20-31) we saw a series of Mars conjunctions with Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn. This coincided with the spread of the virus, rising deaths and implementing boundaries/restrictions.
A conjunction is a unity of the planet’s energies, so in March, Mars raced through activating each of these planets (high five expansion, death/rebirth, restriction/authority). A square is a contentious aspect. So this time Mars will be fighting them. He thought he’d raced through these squares in August but he gets yanked back into retrograde motion on September 9 and goes through them a total of three times:
Mars square Jupiter - August 4, October 18, January 23 (conjunction March 20)
Mars square Pluto - August 13, October 9, December 23 (conjunction March 22)
Mars square Saturn - August 24, September 29, January 13 (conjunction March 31)
So while it won’t be an exact mirror of March, we will see some thematic foreshadowing for the retrograde August 4-24. This suggests to me that one of the major inciting incidents is going to be opening schools. (This is extra interesting since Mars spends August in the USA’s 5th house of children, while the troublesome trio of JPS is in the 2nd house of resources).
So, in August we’re seeing schools either start to reopen or decide to reopen. By August 13 the damage reports will be rolling in. By August 24 schools will be shutting back down, or deciding not to open after all. And I would not be surprised if we’re back to sheltering in place (in at least some places) by September 9.
On a personal level, it’s going to feel like you almost made it to the end of a sprint, only to be sent back to July 25th to go over the last half again at the last moment. Be prepared to slow down.
September 28-29 - Saturn station direct square Mars
Another aspect of this Mars/JPS drama is that Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto will all be coming out of retrograde shortly after Mars heads into it. Like he got too far out ahead and is now turning around to say “Guys! You’re going the wrong way!”
Jupiter stations direct September 12 (which may bring some luck) and Pluto October 4, but Saturn will actually station direct at approximately the same time Mars squares it. So this has potential to be pretty dramatic in terms of a clash between action and restriction as Saturn begins to return to full power. (For reference, the conjunction on March 31 saw the Federal government extending social distancing to April 30 and the CDC revisiting whether masks might be a good idea after all). If we’re not seeing more shutdowns and restrictions by September 9, we will be by here.
On a personal level, Saturn seems to take on a threshold guardian quality here, asking Mars: What is worth the effort it is going to require? Do you still want this if it doesn’t come as quickly or easily as you expected? If your energy is limited, what do you want to spend it on?
October 1 - Full moon in Aries
As if Aries didn’t have enough going on with Mars locked in his room throwing a tantrum! Full moons are culmination's or something coming to light. Since we get one new moon and one full moon in each sign each year, it’s possible this full moon might be the culmination or illumination of something that started around March 24. (Which I’m mentioning just because that’s the same period of time we’re already looking back to for reference). Though they’re in the same sign, the moon is pretty far away from Mars by degree, so this may be its own thing and not overly significant.
October 5-8 - Trump’s Zodiacal Releasing shows a pattern of quitting things
So…I don’t want to get hopes up but I find this fascinating. Without getting unnecessarily technical, Zodiacal Releasing is a Hellenistic timing technique that breaks the book of your life into chapters, sections, paragraphs and sentences. Like any timing technique you can look at previous occurrences of any configuration to get an idea of their thematic elements. This technique got my attention because it predicted down to the sentence level that there would be a major turning point in Trump’s life within three days of 7/25/19 (the Ukraine call). It’s held my attention because of recent events in my own life and the prediction that Trump would enter a cycle of humiliations around 4/16 as the next step in a pattern last seen in the spring of 2011 when Obama released his birth certificate and then announced the death of Bin Laden, that resulted a couple weeks later in Trump dropping out of the 2012 presidential race. The quitting corresponds on the paragraph level to 10/5/20-11/12/20. Within that, the specific sentences are 10/5-8 and 11/4-11/10…so…keep an eye out then. (The craziest possible interpretation of this data is that Trump drops out of the election after ballots are mailed and still gets enough votes to cause chaos by trying to re-enter.) If you want to take a dive down this rabbit hole yourself, here’s the entrance: https://patrickwatsonastrology.com/zodiacal-releasing-repetitions-trumps-humiliation-sequence/
October 9 - Mars square Pluto
Action in conflict with transformation (death/rebirth). Not a lot to say about this that I haven't said elsewhere. But keep in mind: in the USA’s chart Pluto is in the house of Resources. This could be more economic trouble as much as literal death. It could also be the Republican party deciding to throw their resources behind a new candidate or strategy. Generally, this likely means abuses of power particularly as they relate to violence or warmongering. On a personal level, this may involve facing your shadow as it relates to passions, anger, or drive so that you can transform.
October 13 - Mars in Aries opposes the Sun in Libra, Mercury stations Retrograde in Scorpio
“Wars and rumors of wars.” Technically these two transits are not related. However, given that they’re happening on the same day, let’s take a look at how they could be. This is the midpoint of Mars’s retrograde cycle, so keep any eye out for whether a moment of clarity in whatever conflict or frustrations that’s been kicking up kicks off miscommunications or reexaminations in another area of your life.
In the USA’s natal chart, the Mars story is playing out between Children/that which you love or create and Resources, with some clarity beaming in from Society. The Mercury story is going to play out in Secrets/Enemies/Confinement but it will finish it’s retrograde in the house of Community/Society. Keep an eye out for lots of propaganda, but care for others and the greater good will have a role to play in all of this.
BUT MAIL OR DROP OFF YOUR BALLOTS BEFORE THIS IF YOU CAN.
October 18 - Mars square Jupiter, Venus opposition Neptune
Everything is totally fine guys! Look how great everything is! Totally super fine just like it was in May. Remember May when we reopened? Wasn’t that nice and not at all a contributing factor in additional virus spread? Let’s go to the beach. This is a time for impulsivity.
October 19 - Mercury (retrograde) opposes Uranus
Look, all of October is potentially going to be an October surprise. But…this translates as “unexpected technical difficulties or miscommunication.”
October 31 - Full moon in Scorpio conjunct Uranus
BUT FOR REAL THOUGH OCTOBER SURPRISE. Something comes to an unexpected conclusion or revelation. In the USA chart it’s across the axis of Health/Service and Secrets/Enemies/Confinement. Reminder: Uranus is chaotic neutral. This could be positive or negative. It might even be a surprising discovery with regard to a treatment of some kind.
(In my own chart it’s going to hit my Sun, and my Venus, in my Career house during my Solar Return so that’s…exciting?)
November 3 (Election Day) - Mercury stations Direct more or less square Saturn
So at the end of this wild and crazy Mercury Retrograde ride, Mercury is going to Station Direct in the USA’s house of Society on election day. There will definitely be some fuckery. (Reminder: Mercury was only in its retrograde shadow for the Iowa caucus 2000 years ago in February when an app literally called Shadow ruined everything.)
It’s going to be a mess, ya’ll. (Note: the last time the Mercury Stationed Direct ON election day was...2000…but this is indicative of processes not results)
I actually like that Mercury squares Saturn as its last act of retrograde and first of direct motion. Saturn is Restrictions, but also Boundaries and Structures. If nothing else, Saturn is a goddamned adult so I find that comforting in this context. Whatever nonsense or fuckery has transpired it will not move forward quickly or without thorough examination.
On a personal level: Saturn as threshold guardian again poses the question of whether your objective is still worth the trouble, You may find that the delays and struggles leave you not actually wanting whatever your Mercury story was about, particularly if it was conceived in a fit of Uranian madness. Or the answer may simply be “no, you must put that down before venturing forth”. But if you learned the lessons of the retrograde, communicating them should now be easier, and that might get you through.
November 9 - Venus Mars opposition
I haven’t spent much time on Venus in this part of the year, but I want to at least acknowledge that while Mars has been mostly focused on the pandemic, she was a major player in the protests and racial justice plot line of May/June. So look for something possibly having to do with all that around here.
November 12 - Jupiter Pluto conjunction
This is a repeat of April 4 and June 30 if there’s a narrative thread that seems to connect those. Expansion and transformation. It’s kind of an Alice in Wonderland aspect: “big things made small and small things made big.” Several of the astrologers I follow suggest that this will have to do with financial markets, specifically a stimulus package or another bail out. This also corresponded with peaks in Covid numbers in both April and June.
November 13 - Mars station direct
This could be contentious or explosive. Mars will start moving forward again, but not before coming to a complete stop in the middle of Aries and shouting about whatever it is he has to say. If you have anything at around 15-16 degrees of a cardinal sign this may feel like having the heat of laser focus on that area of your life for most of November. If the challenge Saturn posed to Mars was to pick a hill to die on, then this is it.
In the USA’s chart this is going to come into conflict with the country’s identity (Sun) and its rule of law (Saturn). Likely whatever happens with the election will not be simple or quiet, but it should at least be highly visible and either reigned in by the law or openly defy it. From another perspective, Mars may decide some of Saturn’s systems are outdated and need smashing.
November 30/December 14 - Sagittarius/Gemini eclipses
Something different! With all this Mars/JPS drama in the Cardinal signs and Mercury/Uranus drama in the Fixed signs, the Mutable part of the chart has gotten less attention since the Venus retrograde in Gemini in May/June. (Yes, I know trines and sextiles are a thing, so all the signs have seen some action but I’m not getting into that right now.) And look…with this much Uranus in play, I am not going to attempt to call this election. But I will say:
Joe Biden is a Scorpio, Sagittarius rising, Taurus Moon
Kamala Harris is a Libra, Gemini rising, Aries moon
Trump is a Gemini, Leo rising, Sagittarius moon
ALL of them were born under full moons and all of them have Gemini and/or Sagittarius in their charts so it’ll be interesting to see how these post election/day of the electoral college vote eclipses play out. (They hit the USA’s axis of the individual/partnership)
This is a new eclipse series after having them in Capricorn/Cancer since January 2019. We got a brief preview of these themes with the minor eclipse on June 5, but this will be the first full set. The last time eclipses were on this axis was June 2011-November 2012 so that might give you some thematic clues about what to expect from your particular chart.
December 17, 19, 21 - Saturn and Jupiter into Aquarius and their Grand Conjunction
The grand finale of the 2020 story and the end of a 200 year cycle that began with the Industrial Revolution. With Saturn/Jupiter conjunctions occurring in Air signs for the next 200 years or so we should see a move away from the individualistic and materialistic qualities of Earth toward a broader focus on community, ideas, and technology. Real talk: Plagues and the fall of empires also seem to be a major part of the Air portion of this cycle, but there is some comfort I think in knowing that all this has happened before and the world still spins. The question is what will we build when the reset stops?
We got a brief preview of Saturn in Aquarius from March 21- July 1, like it was stopping by to make a list of necessary renovations in that area of your life before moving in. Saturn can be a tough teacher, but if you invest in its long term lessons you will be the better for it. (Last time it was in Aquarius was February 1991-May 1993).
Jupiter brings luck and expansion wherever it goes, so Saturn can be a tempering/sobering influence on Jupiter but Jupiter also lightens Saturn up. Jupiter last visited Aquarius from January 2009-January 2010 if that holds any thematic keys.
To finish off the Mars Story…
December 23 - Mars square Pluto
January 6 - Mars moves out of Aries into Taurus (finally actually forward progress!)
January 13 - Mars square Saturn
January 20 - Mars square Uranus - Inauguration day (This may be revolutionary in someway...like a bi-racial female VP)
January 23 - Mars square Jupiter
And then we move on to other things. I don’t know what things yet, and I can not promise you this means the pandemic is under control by early next year...but I do know that the great concentration of Mars and Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto in Cardinal signs will be over.
The shift from Capricorn to Aquarius, Earth to Air and Cardinal to Fixed should feel lighter and more community and progress focused. Aquarius in particular is known for unconventional innovation and it seems like it will time for a bit of that. Time to rebuild.