Planets and Sign Borders
Throughout history, countries have vigorously protected their borders, and travellers had to have their papers in order if they wanted to leave one country and enter another. It is always a nervous process, as anyone who has entered the USA from abroad will know. You’ve travelled far, and it would be an expensive experience to be refused entry – and I know people who have been. Similarly, if you are a refugee from Africa or Syrian, the act of entering a European Union country is even more nerve-wracking, and thousands of people lose their lives trying to do so.
Retrograde Planets
Borders between countries and borders between the 12 signs of the zodiac have certain similarities. Some planets happily enter and leave signs, and Mercury is particularly adept at wandering into one sign, wandering back into another, and then reentering. If you want to get across a border, you need to find someone like Mercury to guide you. Similarly, the sun, moon, Venus and Mars normally go from one sign to another without too much fuss. But when there is retrograde movement, and a planet repeated crosses a sign border, then something special is happening.
Saturn Retrograde
At the time of writing, Saturn has just moved retrograde from Sagittarius and back into Scorpio, and that is a border that is particularly fraught – a movement from freedom to mortal danger. Saturn entered Sagittarius on December 23rd 2014, returned to Scorpio yesterday (June 15th 2015) and will reenter Sagittarius on September 18th – so it will spend three months back in Scorpio.
Learning from the News
A casual glance at the news on June 16th reveals:
“Rome threatens to give visas to migrants” which is a smart move by Italy currently being flooded by immigrants from Libya and trying to get the EU to take their fair share of the burden. Scorpio adds that little touch of blackmail.
“Al-Qaida leader killed by drone strike in Yemen”. Drones have of course been around for a while, but the way they are remotely guided from the US to kill people in far of countries certainly has that flavor of Scorpio-Sagittarius, and legal repercussions are being discussed.
“Greek crisis negotiations deadlocked as time runs short”. The debt crisis in Greece is clearly a Scorpio problem, whilst the International Monetary Fund withdrew from the table just as Saturn left Sagittarius… another touch of blackmail. Now everyone fears a Grexit – Greece leaving the EU. Stock markets are spiraling downwards.
“Jurassic World” – the sequel of the Jurassic Park franchise gets released. Nothing like a few Scorpio monsters. We are going back in time to Hollywood’s first release, and back to prehistory too.
“Lost comet lander awakes. Sends hello from space”. The Philae comet lander landed badly on a comet in November 2014, and because it was in the shade, its batteries could not be charged. But on its long journey around the sun it picked up enough charge to communicate. It sent a message on June 13th at 22.28 (picked up at Darmstadt, Germany) when Saturn was at 0.04r in Sagittarius.
“Sudan’s leader leaves South Africa before court orders arrest”. That’s Omar al-Bashir who is accused of genocide in Sudan (Scorpio), who skipped across the border to avoid an international arrest warrant (Sagittarius).
All of these incidents and events reflect to a major or minor extent the momentous movement of Saturn retrograding back from Sagittarius to Scorpio. There are of course other factors involved – the space probe reawakening and communicating was clearly an example of the exact Sun (recharged solar batteries) in conjunction (cazimi in fact) with Mars (probe) in Gemini.
The Effect on Sun Signs
We will in fact all resonate to this astrological influence in one way or another.
Even from the point of view of sun sign astrology, the influence will be noticeable, especially for people born with the sun in Saturn-ruled Capricorn or Aquarius. For Capricorns, where Saturn has been in the solar 12th house (Sagittarius), it now returns to the 11th house, and this will bring back into prominence a challenging situation socially or with a specific and unwanted acquaintance. For Aquarians, where Saturn has been in the solar 11th house, they will now be confronted by an old career challenge, or a challenge to their parental authority. As Saturn in Scorpio is very intense and exhausting on an emotional level, the months from June to September will represent a trying time when an old issue is finally resolved and there is catharsis.
The Significance of the Loop
When a planet has a retrograde cycle, it sensitizes the complete span of all the degrees it passes over as soon as it enters the loop. In the case of Saturn the loop began on December 8th 2014 (point 1 on graph) when it reached 28.17 Scorpio, which is the degree it moves direct on in early August (point 4 on graph). The loop ends on November 8th 2015 (point 5 on graph), which is when Saturn passes 4.56 Sagittarius – the degree it went retrograde on back in March 2015. (Point 3 on graph).
The point is that the whole span of seven degrees from 28 Scorpio to 5 Sagittarius resonates deeply to Saturn from December 2014 to November 2015. Anything significant (reflecting Saturn) starting in this period is confined to this cycle of time… it will start and be resolved in this period. Conversely, if anything significant starts at the beginning of this period, it may not find resolution until the end of it.
Obviously, if a person has a planet resonating with these degrees, then they will undergo the process dictated by Saturn. An example of this would be Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who has Moon at 2.51 Sagittarius, which Saturn retrograde conjoined on election day in Britain. That was the end of his popularity and he had to resign after the ignominious performance of the Liberal Democrats.
Planetary Premonitions
When a planet enters a sign, it “knows” who it is going to meet and acts accordingly. Even though Saturn in Sagittarius will not make its three trines to Uranus in Aries until 2017, there is a sense that the outcome is known. Somehow Saturn will harmonize with Uranus, and what we will probably see at this time is a rapprochement between East and West, for example Russia and the US, even though this seems unlikely right now. Similarly Saturn “knows” it will square Neptune in Pisces three times from November 2015 to September 2016, and the crushing burden of refugees fleeing countries will culminate at that time, and somehow a resolution will be found. This phenomenon of “knowing” can be compared to how you feel when you enter a crowded room. You can see someone you may or may not want to meet across the room, you know they are there, but it can take some time to get there.
The Influence of the Uranus/Pluto square
The retrograde loop of Saturn between Scorpio and Sagittarius weaves a fated bond between circumstances represented by these two signs. We see this in the eradication of the border between Syria and Iraq by a murderous ISIS, provoking and international coalition to react with air strikes. Or the thousands of deaths of refugees in the Mediterranean, which is leading to a revision of immigration policy in the European community. What makes this transition across the sign border especially virulent at the moment is the fact that Pluto (and earlier Uranus) at 15 degrees in cardinal signs are also semi- and sesquisquare Saturn – a pattern of enormous danger and tension.
The Saturn/Venus retrograde square
The Retrograde Loop of Venus
But something much more complex is happening during the summer of 2015, because Venus also moves retrograde at this time. In early July Venus conjoins Jupiter at 22 degrees Leo. However Venus turns retrograde on July 25th at 0 degrees Virgo, and will in fact conjoin Jupiter again in Leo in early August. This would seem like a wonderful occasion for Venus. There are shades of royal weddings, magnificent romances, heady fame and recognition. But there is a serpent in paradise. Venus must also move in square to Saturn, once direct and once retrograde (see red dots on graph). This clearly indicates that some unpleasant circumstances recur which cause a lot of unhappiness.
Watching the final episode of Game of Thrones (released as Saturn retrograded into Scorpio) gave me a clue to what this unhappy marriage of Saturn and Venus could bring. Cersei – the beautiful but cruel queen of King’s Landing – had been enjoying a period of rulership and power, when she unwisely went to visit the seat of religious power. Here she was kept under appalling conditions and forced to repent for her immorality. She ultimately managed to return to her palace, but only after a “walk of shame”, completely naked, through jeering crowds, who showered her with filth. So the question is: what must Venus endure, when she meets an implacable Saturn in Scorpio from mid-July to mid-August?
However well it has gone for Venus with its conjunction with Jupiter, there is a reckoning that will take place, because of an issue from the past. So for those who have earned well, perhaps it is wise to put funds aside for a hungry debt-collector. For those who have indulged in a surfeit of pleasures, the party is surely over. Take note of this real life event: the Spanish princess Cristina, was stripped here in June of her title of Duchess by King Felipe VI because of tax fraud. She will be going on trial later this year.
It is not all bad news for Venus. She is after all in conjunction with Jupiter, so when both meet Saturn by square, she has some pretty powerful backup. But Saturn is patient (stationary) and Jupiter makes the encounter just once, whilst Venus makes the encounter twice. In fact Jupiter goes on into Virgo, where it is in exile and weak, so this looks like the end of the line for some people who have basked in glory. Now they must eat humble pie.
A savior is however at hand. Venus dips her toe into the sterile waters of Virgo from the 18th to 31st July – and she is in “fall” in Virgo, so totally compromised. She then returns to Leo, determined to salvage something good. It is at this time that our hero Mars enters Leo, and it seems almost as if Venus battles through the disapproval of scorpionic Saturn to meet and merge with Mars.
Now a Mars/Venus conjunction in Leo is a recipe for passionate romance, and for Venus and Mars ruled people, the month of September when Mars and Venus meet is surely wonderful news. Aries for example will experience the conjunction in the solar fifth house and that is great for love and for kids too. By the time this meeting has taken place, Saturn leaves Scorpio, so Venus does not have to meet this hard taskmaster again. Not from Leo at least.
As Venus gathers speed after her brave meeting with Mars, she returns to Virgo where she catches up with Mars once again, and they both go on to conjoin Jupiter. It may not be the happiest time, but in Virgo everyone will now be on the best behavior, slaving away for the common good in a spirit of self-sacrifice. (Dotted circle in graph).
Readers are now familiar with the major players in the summer of 2015. This story will play out in many forms in the events that unfold around you. If you can identify the characters in this cosmic play, then you will have a really good idea of the outcome. If you are caught in the vice of Saturn, you’ll have to pay your due, but if you are Venus, remember: love conquers all.
Adrian Duncan – June 16th 2015