It has been a hair-raising journey with the passage of Uranus through the first sign of the zodiac – Aries. This is an 84-year cycle, the last one happening in the 1930’s, which politically is characterized by extremist leaders, who awaken survival instincts in the population, and establish a cult of personality in true Aries fashion. In the 1930’s the top men were Stalin, Franco, Hitler and Mussolini, leaders who quickly turned to military methods to achieve their goals. Since the arrival of Uranus in Aries (initially in May 2010 and then, after a retrograde period, finally on March 11th, 2011) we have also had our share of autocratic and populist leaders like Duterte in the Philippines, Trump in the USA, a variety of East European leaders, Erdogan in Turkey, Modi in India – the list is long, though fortunately less extreme, so far, than in the last century.
As Uranus moved from 29.59 Pisces to 0.00 Aries on March 11th, 2011, a tsunami swept over Japanese coastal defenses and swamped the Fukushima nuclear power station, signaling the destructive power of Uranus in Aries moving into square with Pluto, which is the same extreme aspect that took place from 1930-1933. As Uranus slowly moved to make a series of seven square aspects to Pluto from 2011-2015, chaos threatened on many fronts, with political gridlock in the USA and growing discontent in Europe. The current situation with a chaotic Brexit on the one hand, and frightening USA on the other shows the result of the disruption which was synchronous with the passage of Uranus through Aries.
But everything is changing.
A Historical Transition
On October 10th, 2017, Jupiter moves into the Water sign Scorpio, after a period in Libra when it activated the last gasps of the Uranus/Pluto square, which evoked ideological extremism. With Uranus in Aries and Saturn in Sagittarius, both Fire signs, and Jupiter in Air, the emphasis was on ideas of freedom and independence. This favors the free-enterprise thinking of right-wing political groups, which dislike government interference and believe people should rely on themselves.
Jupiter in Scorpio is darker and more intense. It brings out the demons within, and makes the world aware of the terrors of extremism and the omnipresence of death. Jupiter conjoined Venus and the North Node in Scorpio on September 28th, 1994, when the passenger ship Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea with the loss of 852 lives. This was also the time when over a half million people were murdered in Rwanda, and ethnic cleansing ravaged Bosnia. Going back 12 years to 1982, there were massacres in Syria and Lebanon resulting in many thousand dead. Of course, Scorpio is also the sign of power, money and secrecy, and we can expect there will be a tremendous focus on global corruption and the manipulative power of large corporations when Jupiter changes sign.
Not long after the entry of Jupiter into Scorpio, Saturn moves into Capricorn, after two and a half years in Sagittarius. This period in Sagittarius put a tremendous focus on borders, and because Saturn has squared Neptune, there has been concern about porous borders, and refugees crossing the Mediterranean. Saturn in Sagittarius evoked a need to put up as many fences as possible, both real and virtual, and raised concerns about the dissolution of cultural and religious values, along with the limitations of multiculturalism.
The Fire is Extinguished
The year 2018 will start, then, with an emphasis on Water and Earth signs, with Jupiter in Scorpio and Saturn in Capricorn. This will put a damper on ideological extremism, bringing a more pragmatic focus on security and stability. Institutions will exert more power, and will become less transparent. Furthermore, it is as if Neptune in Pisces gets an ally. With Jupiter making a trine to Neptune in December 2017, and May and August 2018, there will be a tsunami-like wave of emotion sweeping through societies, probably accompanied by some major tragedies. But at the same time, people will be moved by the plight of those who suffer, and this period marks a major transition in connection with refugees, the homeless, the sick and the underprivileged in general. This favors a more social agenda, and therefore left-wing parties worldwide.
It is probable then, that the new emphasis on Water signs will see an undermining of the right-wingers who had come to dominate earlier. This could mean exposing financial scandal for Trump and his administration, the dissolution of the Conservative government in Britain, the enforcement of social measures in Europe, not least for immigrants, and generally the awakening of conscience.
Slush Funds
At the same time, Scorpio is the sign of other people’s money and is related to taxation, corporations and plutocrats. Neptune itself has a lot to do with international finance for reasons we tend to forget. Money itself is not real; it is a virtual concept which is completely dependent on mutual agreement. Ever since nations left the gold standard, there has been no solid foundation for the value of money. Right now, there is a tremendous amount of (virtual) money sloshing around in the system, and it is getting channeled into stock purchases resulting in very high valuations for established businesses, especially Apple, Facebook, Google etc. These risk a sudden fall, because Jupiter/Neptune represents economic bubbles.
At the same time, because of the secrecy and smokescreens associated with Scorpio and Pisces, there is a lot of money around that people do not know about. The trine from Jupiter in Scorpio to Neptune in Pisces is the perfect astrological signature for slush funds, which subvert the political and economic landscape. In this connection, it is possible that the period from October 2017 to November 2018 (when Jupiter enters Sagittarius) will expose events like, for example, the alleged influence of Russian money in Trump’s electoral victory. This may also be a period of scandal in connection with digital currencies like Bitcoin, which are both secretive and very inflationary. The illusory nature of this money, which is “mined” by groups of programmers using enormous computer power, can lead to huge sums of money evaporating in 2018.
As this period is also a time when the White House and Republican party plan to introduce tax reform, it is rather unlikely that this will succeed, or if it does, that it will be in any way transparent. Nevertheless, the influence of Saturn in Capricorn is likely to bring sincere attempts to create order from chaos later in 2019.
Financial Shake Up
The movement of the two largest planets in the solar system from Air/Fire to Earth/Water is a major change, but this change is turbocharged by the entry of Uranus into Taurus on May 15, 2018. Uranus will retrograde back into Aries from November 2018 to March 2019, at which point an earth-shaking new epoch begins, lasting until 2025. (March 29th 2019 is of course the official Brexit date, when Saturn, Pluto and the South Node conjoin.) During the summer of 2018 Saturn retrogrades to dwell in trine to Uranus, and this is the most likely period for an attempt at tax reform in the USA. Certainly, it seems that revolutionary new methods will be implemented favoring business growth.
There is no reason to assume that this trine is necessarily harmonious for everyone. When Uranus entered Taurus 84 years previously in sextile to Saturn, new laws in Germany enshrined the Nuremburg Laws, which removed citizenship rights from Jews and forbade intermarriage, so what can happen is the consolidation of any process initiated when Uranus entered Aries. Taurus is after all about values, and Uranus is likely to see the adoption of extreme values, one way or another.
What is likely is that financial markets will become unsettled during the whole period of Uranus’ passage through Taurus, with tremors coming in May 2018, indicating precisely where instability will develop. Probably, there will be a growing social movement for more financial democracy and equality, and it is also possible that there will be greater investment in infrastructure, with quite high employment because of different forms of government projects. 84 years previously, nations were recovering from the earlier recession, and fascist countries in particularly were investing heavily in the military, whilst there were a lot of social employment initiatives in the USA.
It will probably be at the end stage of this transit through Taurus that major financial upheavals take place, initiated by the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in 2020 in Capricorn, and the subsequent transits through Aquarius. By 2025, when Uranus has moved on into Gemini trine Pluto in Aquarius, it will be a very different world.
Corporate Power
Meanwhile in 2018 Jupiter will make three trines to Neptune on the one hand and three sextiles to Pluto on the other. The trines are going to be highly idealistic and rather like a smokescreen, hiding what is going on beneath the surface. However, the very Plutonian sextiles are going to be ruthlessly revealing. They take place in January at 19 degrees, in April at 21 degrees and in September 2018 at 18 degrees Scorpio/Capricorn. They do seem to indicate tax (Scorpio) cuts (Pluto in Capricorn). Although there will be many leaks about corruption at this time, it seems quite favorable for corporate secrecy and control. Some heads will roll, primarily amongst those who have based their power on illusions about unending liquidity.
Cutbacks and Socialism
Later, when Saturn climbs through Capricorn to sextile Neptune, which is does in January at 14 degrees, June at 18 degrees and November 2019 at 16 degrees Capricorn/Pisces, then restraints will be imposed on any irrational exuberance. Depression will kick in. Probably the inflationary bubble will expand to its greatest extent in 2018, and if it is not popped by Pluto in September of that year, Saturn will do the job in 2019. Saturn/Neptune cycles are related to socialism, so it could be that mid-term elections in the USA favor Democrats, and that the Conservative government in the UK gives way to Labour Party domination.
From Superficiality to Depth
In our everyday lives, the excitement and expansion, and considerable stress, prompted by planetary transits in 2016-2017, will die down. The trends in Earth and Water signs in 2018 will favor introspection, psychology and spirituality. This is likely to dampen the spirits of Fire and Air Signs, whilst Water and Earth signs will feel in their element. Those who are called to help others and alleviate suffering will have plenty to do, whilst those who focus on individual advancement may find the wind leaving their sails. Someone like Trump, who has no planets in Earth signs, is likely to find bluff and bluster foundering on the rocks of reality. Businesses that are seduced by get-rich-quick strategies will experience losses, whilst those which focus on the deeper needs of their customers and employees will prosper. Social Media is likely to gravitate from the superficial selfie culture to a focus on empathy, depth and altruism.
Adrian Ross Duncan
September 18th, 2017