From Disillusionment to Global Awakening: The Saturn-Neptune Conjunction (2024-2027)

Jeffrey Pang from Berkeley, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

*This article was originally published on my Substack page in September 2023, portions of which I presented at the AstroBash evolutionary astrology conference in Borrego Springs, CA.

*I have another more recent essay on this topic here

Introduction

Beginning in 2024, the planets Saturn and Neptune get closer to their conjunction in tropical Aries, specifically at a point coined by modern astrologers as the "Aries Point"--the place where the Sun ignites the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere. Additionally, this conjunction occurs alongside two other infrequent conjunctions exacting within roughly the same time frame: centaur object Chiron with dwarf planet Eris and Uranus with dwarf planet Sedna. Similar to 2020 and surrounding years, these alignments represent challenging collective integrations but also hold constructive and meaningful potentials that I'll explore in this article while looking at the archetypal natures of the planets involved, the Aries Point, and past historical correlations. 

While Saturn and Neptune will make only one exact alignment in February 2026, this Saturn-Neptune conjunction period will have significance from March 2024 through April 2027 in using a 15-degree orb. Like the Saturn-Pluto conjunction that peaked in January 2020, its correlations were relevant from January 2018 through December 2021, evident in the way in which much of the heightened collective fear and authoritarian pressures as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic peaked at the exact conjunction period in early 2020 and began to wane entering 2022. We can anticipate a gradual building crescendo of the Saturn-Neptune themes starting in early 2024, amplifying in early 2026, and phasing out in 2027. 

Saturn and Neptune’s exact conjunction February 20, 2026 alongside close conjunctions of Chiron-Eris and Uranus-Sedna.

However, like all significant world transits such as these, their correlations and consequences linger for some time, often coming back into focus or further elaborating with future quadrature axial alignments of the same planets. Considering, for example, the significance of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction (and Saturn-Jupiter conjunction) of 2020, we can anticipate as well, another challenging collective period picking up in May 2027 through May 2030 due to the Saturn-Pluto square, a likely continuation of many themes and issues from the 2020 conjunction.

What I will explore here deals with world transits and speaks to events and issues primarily impacting the collective. More favorable correlations and cycles will overlap within this timeframe, and there are periods when more difficult themes amplify and then lessen. Also, correlations of these cycles will vary considerably on the individual and local levels. There are equally positive and constructive potentials where we can use these periods for immense spiritual and circumstantial growth, as I discussed in my 2019 article on the year 2020. Even when such challenging collective cycles touch upon sensitive areas of an individual's natal chart, the correlations that emerge within the person's life are likely to be much different than the extreme challenges that appear on the world stage. On the individual level, we have more ability to alter circumstances and transmute potential challenges into successful life changes and accomplishments. 

I do not intend to fearmonger here. You are likely to encounter much of this because synthesizing all this material and thinking critically and deeply about it is difficult. Yet, also, I want to be honest, and I believe that astrologers should not merely present idyllic positivity concerning this content because we should be able to help people prepare for potentially difficult collective periods. The correlative potential of 2020 was an excellent example of this. As Tarnas stated in Cosmos and Psyche, 

"The natural human tendency is to want to know that the general outlook for the foreseeable future is uniformly positive and will only get better, with blue skies as far as the eye can see. Yet there are advantages to knowing of a potentially challenging reality in advance, facing it squarely, preparing for it, and recognizing its signs and characteristic motifs, its dangers, and its positive potential when it is consciously assimilated and enacted." [1]

As Tarnas expressed, humans are innately prone to hopeful future anticipations. This is very hardwired, likely due to the immense difficulties ancestral hominins encountered throughout their evolution. Yet also, it may reflect humanity’s innate spiritual awareness and potential which I do believe informs much of how we perceive and respond to reality. This positivity also lies beneath the perpetual "progress" of civilization and culture, as humanity has an inherent optimism for a better tomorrow. This "progress" inherent to increasing social complexity has clear advantages for the endurance of the human species through the project of civilization. However, as Tarnas also stated, preparing for less-than-ideal moments in the future is tremendously beneficial to make the best of it when it inevitably arrives. This was my intention in writing my 2019 piece and earlier writings on the subject of 2020.

Additionally, humans strongly dislike uncertainty, and thus anything that provides certainty is also attractive. Prophecies of either doom or hope tend to be more easily understood than what a deep study of astrology reveals: a reality that is more nuanced, paradoxical, and open-ended. While knowledge of future astrological cycles can provide some certainty (this is why we study astrology, after all) when delineated completely, they also provide an equal amount of uncertainty since, as Tarnas argued, astrology is archetypally but not concretely predictive. There is much we cannot know about what exactly these cycles will bring forth in a tangible and literal way. This latter point is important because while I will discuss many past historical correlations, it is not possible to know which of those themes will emerge and how.

Concerning fearmongering, if we take merely one thing from 2020 away, it is that while the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was a serious threat and did (and will continue to) have consequences, the fear reaction initially brought forth by the media and world governments was pathological, far exceeding the reality of the actual threat at the time. While in the US, the pandemic is currently estimated to have resulted in over a million deaths, severe cases of COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 viral infection) were limited to a much smaller subset of a high-risk demographic than most of the national and world population. This fact was revealed in very early studies. [2]

As I discussed in my Pluto in Aquarius article, "Pluto in Aquarius: Through the Shadows to a Wiser Tomorrow" and delve more deeply in my upcoming book, this pathological reaction resulted partly from what sociologist Frank Fuerdi called the "culture of fear," where risk aversion and public safety are at the helm of moralistic pursuits within modern, secular societies. However, as I also discuss in other writings, this is inflamed by the context of neoliberal hyper-capitalism. This political and economic policy framework leads to the egregious empowerment of an elite class and corporate entities that have progressively assimilated numerous institutions of power. Thus a small percentage of privatized interests utilize this moralistic pursuit as a tool of social and cultural manipulation for increasing profits and control, and fear is very much at the center of it.

We can anticipate that while there will likely be some serious and sobering events to deal with during this Saturn-Neptune cycle that are very real, there will also very likely be a distorted response and representation on the part of the legacy media (long-standing, corporate owned media corporations) and world governments that will attempt to divert our attention to particular solutions or specific reactions and behaviors conducive to political and economic interests. This is the nature of the beast, the hegemonic structures of political and economic power in the West (and much of the world) and it is something to become conscious of in today's increasingly complex, globalized society. 

Tarnas noted and demonstrated in Cosmos and Psyche, that the Saturn-Neptune cycle has correlations similar to that of Saturn-Pluto, and thus we can anticipate a similar challenging period, perhaps even manifestations consequentially related to those that unfolded in 2020 and the proceeding years (since they occur close together in time). The Saturn-Neptune conjunction, especially as a transition to the Saturn-Pluto square of 2027-30, is a notable cycle and something worth thinking about and attempting to understand so that, as Tarnas expressed, we can manage it by "facing it squarely, preparing for it, and recognizing its signs and characteristic motifs, its dangers, and its positive potential." [3] Ultimately, I will be attempting to situate this cycle within a meaningful and purposeful context so that we can understand the necessity of our collective, archetypal fate rather than framing such events from a place of victimhood or fear. 

Lastly, based on my astrological worldview and understanding of astrology, I do not believe that planetary alignments directly cause events to occur on earth. What I will be discussing here represents a symbolic reflection of celestial events. Ultimately, I believe astrology reveals a synchronistic phenomenon inherent to the universe, or per the hermetic axiom, “as above, so below.” In other words, what happens in the sky somehow reflects what happens on earth.

The Saturn and Neptune Archetypes

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Saturn and Neptune archetypes are considerably antithetical, though together they do form an underlying theme and focus. Saturn represents concrete, measurable, predictable, and consciously recognizable boundaries and restraints. In contrast, Neptune represents an awareness of those aspects of life and reality that are significantly amorphous, ambiguous, unknowable, and therefore difficult to distinguish and define. Simply put, Saturn deals with pragmatism, certainty, and "reality," while Neptune pertains to the imaginary, mysterious, "hyper-real," or idealistic. However, one interesting similarity between Saturn and Neptune is their relation to our understanding of reality. 

Neptunian perception is not inherently false but one that is not easily subject to rational explanation or that fits within the framework of an accepted worldview. Additionally, Saturnian "reality" is itself not always representative of truth but sometimes what is determined by authorities or agreed upon by consensus (for political, economic, or other complex social reasons). Thus, reality is something that is always shifting and changing culturally or due to our evolving, collective understanding. Ultimately, reality is relative to our place in time and space. Science, for example, is constantly shifting reality based on new evidence and insight. While the positivist materialist ideal is that a clear and objective view of reality will someday emerge from rigorous scientific experimentation, this has remained only an ideal and belief despite science's incredible insights and breakthroughs.

As it relates to the mundane manifestations of these archetypes, Saturn relates to currently recognizable domains of authority, control, and regulation such as governmental bodies, regulatory agencies, institutions of knowledge, and notable public figures affiliated with such things--Presidents, Prime Ministers, various heads of state, even CEOs and corporate executives at the helm of corporate power. Saturn represents so-called experts and other authorities of specialized knowledge, such as lawyers, doctors, scientists, or public health officials. 

Psychologically and circumstantially, Saturn, the Roman syncretic version of the Greek god Cronos, represents the boundaries and limitations of time and matter, the "way things are." Again, since our understanding of reality is something that is shifting, it represents the way things are now, based on the current moment in time. Saturn can represent the endurance of adaptive and maladaptive cultural traditions and institutions that have stayed the test of time or actively resisted change through authoritarian and coercive dominance. In both the Greek and Roman variants of Cronos/Saturn, respectively, the archetype is associated with limits and constraints of time. It thus represents an awareness of mortality, death, and decay. In relation to the societal level, Saturn also represents the necessity of some level of conformity to laws, customs, traditions, and other cultural regulations within all complex social systems (and within nature).

Conversely, Neptune relates to all matters of faith, belief, revelation, mysticism, illusion, and "higher powers"--an awareness of supernatural forces or agencies and very tangible forces of nature beyond the power of individuals or large collective groups. In a modern conception, Neptune could relate to the looming mysterious presence of such supernatural elements like UFOs or spiritual entities to more mundane things like hurricanes or viral outbreaks that defy our ability to control and contain. Again, while many of Neptune's correlations may be illusory, they can also be genuine and merely lie beyond our ability to fully predict, measure, and understand.

Depiction of Neptune using AI generation in Midjourney v5

In a mundane sense, it is helpful to conceive of Neptune's manifestations, as with all transpersonal planets in astrology, with Timothy Morton's conception of "hyperobjects." Hyperobjects can be tangible things in the world or ideas beyond a human being's ability to fully grasp and comprehend since they exist over vast distances of time and space and involve numerous complex interrelationships. Hyperobjects are inherently non-local and, therefore, cannot be traced to a single point in space and time, such as climate change, neoliberalism, or technological networks. The non-local aspect of the Neptunian archetype is an important takeaway, as its correlations often reveal realities in which there is no specific point or source but something that could emerge from numerous vectors. The UFO phenomenon is an excellent non-mundane example of this, as it involves a diversity of mysterious experiences and phenomena but does not seem to point to a single source, origin, or explanation (even though numerous grand narratives are used to make sense of it).

Neptune therefore actively defies boundaries and restraints. Named after the Roman god of the seas (or the earlier Greek Poseidon), the nature of Neptune very much matches symbolically with that of a watery or other malleable, non-graspable substance, able to slip slowly and surreptitiously through the cracks as well as completely overwhelm and devour structural barriers. Therefore, Neptune threatens all Saturnian certainty about the world and universe. It works to seep into places, reveal weaknesses, and dissolve structures, unveiling vulnerabilities and blind spots. 

Neptune can represent the polarities of faith and disbelief, enchantment and delusion, awakening to truth and disillusionment with beliefs. Neptune relates to all types of mystics, gurus, and spiritual catalysts but also grifters, charlatans, addicts, or the delusional or psychologically unstable. Neptune reveals the boundaries between certainty and uncertainty and ultimately reveals the reality that there is always "a bigger fish," so to speak, always a force or power that evades our understanding and ability to control and predict.

In another sense, Tarnas characterized Neptune as the "imaginative-spiritual-religious axis" and Saturn as the "literalist-skeptical-scientific-axis," and this very closely sums up the archetypal essence of these two planets and how they differ. [4] The conjunctions of Saturn and Neptune operate reciprocally. Saturn impacts Neptune and Neptune impacts Saturn. For example, the Saturnian confrontation with reality imposes itself on Neptunian belief and faith, manifesting, for example, as collective disillusionment and loss of faith. The Neptunian dissolution of barriers and boundaries acts on the Saturnian systems and structures, manifesting as a collective feeling of losing control. The manifestations of these two archetypes are varied, and historical periods related to them deeply reflect this, as I will explore next. 

Saturn-Neptune Historical Correlations

Policemen in Seattle wearing masks made by the Red Cross, during the influenza epidemic. December 1918; photo in public domain

The correlations discussed below reflect the more challenging nature of Saturn-Neptune periods as they emerge in relation to world events. Again, it is important to point out that much of what emerges on the world stage more often appears to reflect the shadow dimension of this archetypal combination. However, further study of this cycle could reveal more nuanced collective correlations, where positive manifestations likely emerge equal to those more difficult. I focus more so on the challenging manifestations here since these are likely to get more focus due to a fear driven culture and collective worldview. Again, this discussion is not meant to create fear but rather serve as preparation for the way in which it is likely that media and political discourse will hyperfocus on those more problematic correlations. Yet also, it serves to help others either mentally or circumstantially prepare for more difficult collective periods which may or may not directly impact them.

In Cosmos and Psyche, Tarnas compared the Saturn-Pluto and Saturn-Neptune cycles through a "dominance in both of Saturnian themes and the unmistakable Saturnian atmosphere." [5]. As the world witnessed in 2020, the symbolic correlation of Saturn as empowered by Pluto was reflected in numerous ways, especially as Tarnas described as a "subtle but pervasive darkening of the collective consciousness". [6] The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as most of the world experienced it (especially in the beginning stages), brought forth a definite "darkening of the collective consciousness" as many struggled with rampant fear, panic, and uncertainty, especially as a response to the fear-driven messaging from media, politicians, and public health officials. 

In relation to the political domain, Tarnas noted how Saturn-Neptune periods appear to highlight extreme polarities, such as religion vs. secularism or "faith-based vs. reality-based." In the US, these polarities are particularly poignant as secular and liberal ideals are often pitted against those of Christian conservatism. The antithetical framing of "evolution vs. creationism" is a simplistic example of this, particularly in American culture. Most recently, the Saturn-Neptune square aspect of 2013-16 appeared to correlate with a particularly amplified sense of collective divisiveness, especially in the way that Former US President Donald Trump became such a divisive cultural symbol and the media-driven "culture wars" between "left" and "right" began to heat up significantly. However, Eris and its conjunction with Uranus during this period was also a potent symbolic reflection of this I will discuss in the next section. Considering that this divisiveness appears to be an ongoing feature of US political and cultural discourse, the 2024-27 Saturn-Neptune period will likely be a critical turning point related to it. 

Tarnas also related a sense of "tragic loss, the defeat of ideals and aspirations, the death of a dream" in relation to Saturn-Neptune cycles, and used as one example, the re-election of Geoge W. Bush during 2004 alongside the Saturn-Neptune square as exemplifying a collective loss of faith in the democratic process. This was a very similar framing and reality of the election of Donald Trump in 2016 in which many liberal voters and politicians mourned and lamented his election since it was depicted as an "existential threat to democracy" by the Democratic Party and numerous legacy media organizations. In relation to Bush, Tarnas described "a pervasive experience of discouragement and depression, resignation, pessimism, despair, and dazed disorientation that descended on many in the following weeks and months like an immense dark cloud." [7] Again, this was a nearly identical experience for democratic and liberal voters during the 2016 Saturn-Neptune square and the election that year, where many feared Trump's election and the populist movement he mobilized was the equivalent of a fascist takeover of the country. 

While the invasion of the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 was spawned by Trump's inaccurate claims of election fraud (which some argue was an outright insurrection and others that it was merely an unruly protest), Trump's supposed insurrection did not materialize as feared. This is ironic given that, for example, such oppressive government regimes both historically and in fiction take power during a crisis or catastrophe. If such a takeover was planned, it is clear it posed little to no threat, which contrasted significantly with legacy media framing that depicted Trump as the greatest political threat of our time. Such a crisis was the 2020 pandemic, which occurred under both the Trump and Biden administrations. There were many elements of Trump's election that exemplified the illusory or even delusional end of the Neptunian archetype, both from Trump himself and his detractors. For example, the claims of his supposed involvement with the Russian government and rumors that his presidency was not only a fascist takeover, but one backed by Russia. While a twenty-two-month formal investigation conducted by former FBI director, Robert Muller, and the US Department of Justice as outlined in the  2019 Muller Report , did find significant evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election, it failed to find any links between Trump and members of his campaign and the Russian government to alter the election outcome. No charges were made against Americans said to be colluding with Russian interests. According to the report, "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." [8] As it turned out, the paranoia over Russian infiltration within the US via the Trump family or his campaign was entirely illusory, despite incessant media and political rhetoric claiming otherwise.

Donald Trump at a presidential rally in Huntington Beach, CA; photo in public domain via Wikimedia Commons

In reflecting on the themes of the Saturn-Neptune square that occurred alongside these controversies, the disillusionment that came with Trump's victory over then-presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, fed into the cognitive dissonance that helped perpetuate a grand conspiracy to make rational sense of it. Yet, such a conspiracy ultimately obfuscated what I argued are the genuine economic problems that significantly influenced Trump's rise to power, namely the larger, systemic impact of neoliberalism and the economic oppression it perpetuates on the working class. Trump ran on a compelling message of economic reform and recovery which many populist voters found attractive. Additionally, Trump's outspoken pushback against elite cronyism in Washington DC and within his own party ("draining the swamp") and corporate media (emblematic of his "fake news" rhetoric) also played a role as many economically disadvantaged Americans blame these power disparities for their material conditions. In sum, Trump spoke to the very real growing distrust among American voters of the elite political establishment.

Bernie Sanders, while running on the Democratic side in 2016 (and again in the 2019 primaries), also spoke to these issues but from a democratic socialist rather than conservative standpoint and he similarly brought forth a populist movement opposed to elitism and corruption in the American political establishment. The exaggerated framing of Trump's involvement with a grand Russian conspiracy reflected a "collective paranoia" that does seem to be a feature of the Saturn-Neptune cycle as I will discuss in connection to both the early 1900s Red Scare and McCarthy era and the fears that surrounded a perceived communist invasion within the US. Yet, as mentioned, it is also important to point out that many of Trump's promises also reflected the imaginary or idealistic "pie in the sky" dimension of the Neptunian archetype such as his idealistic framing of "Make America Great Again" which didn't materialize as promised (the same neoliberal policies persisted, the rich still got richer, and he failed to enact numerous policies nor win re-election in 2020). Similarly, so too did the leftist populist movement of Sanders which sought but failed to reform the Democratic Party establishment or the Democratic Party and National Committee's own tattered dream of putting into office the first female President of the United States via Clinton (the glass ceiling dissolved rather than shattered). Additionally, the idealistic framing of Trump as messianic and salvific among some segments of his supporters also reflected both Neptunian idealism and delusion. For example, the "Q Anon" conspiratorial community, some of whom were part of the Capitol Invasion on January 6, perceive Trump as a heroic and messianic figure fighting against a perceived evil pulling the strings in Washington, DC. 

Another correlation with the 2005-2007 Saturn-Neptune opposition made by Tarnas was the 2005 flooding of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina that summer. Tarnas noted how the event exemplified forces overpowering humanity, especially an inability to defend itself, as well as the "bitter disappointment with the government's massive failure and negligence." [9] The shoddy infrastructure within the city worsened the tragic flooding of the city and widespread suffering that endured, and the slow and insufficient response on the part of the government to assist during the crises revealed serious governmental incompetence and lack of empathy. The catastrophe in New Orleans appeared to correlate with a Neptunian force (via a hurricane and flooding) revealing weaknesses not only in the city's infrastructure but within the domains of power and governmental authority, the destruction of an illusion perhaps for many, and a harsh confrontation with the reality of political corruption.

Tarnas also noted that significant Saturn-Neptune periods correlated with the endings of both the First and Second World Wars as well as the Cold War, correlating with a "collective sense of physical and spiritual exhaustion, disillusionment and low morale." [10] As another example, the entire American Civil War was fought during the Saturn-Neptune opposition of 1861-65. Of this, Tarnas noted a "sense of being caught in a futile and endless "quagmire." [11] The same was true of the Korean War during the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of the early 1950s and the Vietnam War through the 1950s-70s (in which key moments of its escalation occurred under Saturn-Neptune alignments such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident). Saturn-Neptune periods appear to correlate on occasion with situations that appear futile and exhausting, as there can sometimes be no clear solution or way of the struggle or crisis. A sense of collective hopelessness can be a result. Additionally, they sometimes occur at the end of an enduring battle and correlate with a period of mourning, loss, and coming to terms with the devastation of the situation. 

As alluded to in discussing the election of Trump, the 1950s Saturn-Neptune conjunction correlated with the McCarthy era and the hyper-paranoid atmosphere that surrounded the tensions between the US (through its embrace of capitalism) and communism. This was similar to the "Red Scare" of the early 1900s, which also coincided with a Saturn-Neptune conjunction through 1916-18 (also the cycle of the "Spanish Flu" I will discuss soon). In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy made numerous, unsubstantiated claims of widespread communist invasion within the US and especially within government sectors. This led to the destruction of careers and reputations of many working in government and the blacklisting of numerous Hollywood celebrities who were accused of actively conspiring with communist forces. 

Homosexual minorities were also heavily villainized during this period of American history. The McCarthy era led to accusations that gays and lesbians were working in concert with communist forces to infiltrate government positions and more broadly, American culture. They were accused of corrupting the youth, and the cultural climate of this era heavily influenced the construction of extreme homophobic sentiment within the United States, the result of which had been a significant catalyst for the modern LGBT+ movement and "coming out" as a way of declaring one's sexual identity as a symbol of pride rather than shame. During the McCarthy era and surrounding years, numerous gay, lesbian, and presumably bisexual men and women had to conceal their sexuality since they risked losing their jobs or tarnishing their reputations. The broader "Gay Liberation Movement" of the late 1960s built upon the activism of the earlier "Homophile Movement" ignited in the 1950s, comprised of gay and lesbian activists fighting against the homophobic policies implemented by the US government at this time. [12]

Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

What is interesting about both the Red Scare and the McCarthy era is the way in which the threat of "communist invasion" carried the symbolism of Saturn-Neptune, especially how communists were perceived as non-local entities intruding and slipping through the Saturnian barriers. In relation to homosexuality, especially since the cultural construction of sexual identity was less common (most had to hide that fact and conform to societal norms), homosexuals were framed as hidden enemies, much like communists, who could be anyone, a neighbor, coworker, friend, or family member. The "enemy" blended in and was difficult to detect, exemplifying the non-localized aspect of Neptune I discussed earlier. Despite the fact that some homosexual groups affiliated themselves with radical political ideologies, these larger conspiratorial fears were entirely fabricated and thus reflected the delusional manifestation of the Neptunian archetype, especially the way in which homosexuals were perceived to be actively organized alongside foreign communist forces and thus framed as enemies of the state who were conspiring to destroy and corrupt American culture and its values. The threat during this period, or at least the extent promulgated by government propaganda, was not real but entirely exaggerated and imagined. 

Another theme Tarnas noted was "Dark nights of the soul and severe challenges to religious faith." [13] Tarnas related this in two examples to the horrific suffering experienced from the Asia tsunami in late 2004 leading into the Saturn-Neptune opposition (in which over 200,000 people died in fourteen countries) and during the height of the mass genocide within the 1943-45 Nazi concentration camps during a Saturn-Neptune square (this square contacted the "Aries Point," which I will discuss in the next section). According to Tarnas, "Often individuals during these periods question the existence of an all-loving God who would permit tragic events and vast human suffering." [14] Events of this magnitude reveal a reality in which a perceived "evil" is permitted and chaotic elements are periodically allowed free reign. Ultimately, they reveal that the existence of a benevolent arbiter does not exist in the world we experience (or at least it doesn't intervene to prevent tragedy from happening), and such realizations can be incredibly uncomfortable to accept, sometimes catalyzing intense cognitive dissonance. 

The so-called "Spanish Flu" (it did not originate in Spain) was the last major pandemic since the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak of 2020. Beginning in early 1918 (alongside the waning Saturn-Neptune conjunction), a novel H1N1 influenza A virus mutation began circulating worldwide at the end of World War I and resulted in immense human suffering and loss of life. It is estimated that between 50 to 100 million people died as a result of the virus and it infected approximately 500 million globally. [15] The pandemic resulted in three waves, the second, which peaked in October 1918, was the deadliest (though reports during the first wave were concealed due to its political implications during the end of World War I). The death toll of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic far exceeded that of the 2020 pandemic, and it disproportionately impacted younger adults than did SARS-CoV-2. The reasons for this are often attributed to a hyperreactive immune response of otherwise healthy and young individuals (resulting in cytokine storms). However, other hypotheses suggest various environmental and lifestyle factors. For example, medical herbalist Paul Bergner has argued that a "perfect storm" resulted from an array of factors such as low vitamin D levels (due to long hours in indoor factory jobs), inhumane working conditions (where sick leave and pay were not mandated at the time), significant air pollution from coal burning, and severe malnutrition from standard western diets (high sugar, white flour, and mostly canned foods) were to blame for the high mortality among younger, working-age men in particular (deaths were highest in those aged 20-40). Bergner also argued that overdoses of aspirin and digitalis were common in hospitals and contributed to overall mortality. Malnutrition is one factor that is accepted among the medical consensus as having contributed to severe secondary bacterial infections of the lungs. However, there is also substantial evidence of aspirin overdoses. A paper published in 2009 by Karen M. Starko in Oxford’s Clinical Infectious Diseases, argued that toxic levels (unknown to physicians at the time) were being administered and contributed to severe cases of hyperventilation and pulmonary edema (fluid retention in the lungs which exacerbated bacterial lung infections). [16] According to Starko, the hyper-immune responses as a result of the viral infections were not likely to cause most deaths and aspirin overdoses were a significant contributing factor. As Tarnas noted, the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of the 1918-19 period correlated with the end of World War I, and thus the correlation of "physical and spiritual exhaustion" was undoubtedly present and also coincided with the futility of influenza outbreak and failure of the medical system to effectively combat it.

The 1918-19 influenza pandemic therefore exhibited a severe loss of faith, perhaps in a higher power for many, but also interestingly in relation to the scientific/medical establishment at the time and science itself. Unlike the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the 1918-19 influenza pandemic had more of a Neptune to Saturn quality, as there was little the medical establishment could do to prevent the waves of immense suffering and death (in many instances, modern medicine at the time may have contributed more to it). In contrast, due to the rapid production of the novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations, there was a collective sense of hope that the viral spread could be stopped, and the pandemic overcome, especially in the late 2020 and early 2021 period. The 1918-19 pandemic occurred a decade before the discovery of penicillin (for the treatment of secondary bacterial infections), and vaccine technologies were in their early stages of development, and thus there were no effective treatments or preventatives developed to combat the pandemic. Much like the nature of Saturn-Neptune I have discussed so far, there was a greater sense of a powerful force (the virus) overcoming the Saturnian boundaries (and authorities) with little effective defense. Widespread helplessness was a critical feature of this pandemic, as well as immense disillusionment as the scientific/medical establishment had no solutions, and thus the experts and authorities were themselves helpless to stop it. Again this seems to differ from the Saturn-Pluto cycles, where there is often empowerment of authority (even if exaggerated) rather than deflation of its power. 

Camp Funston, at Fort Riley, Kansas, during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic; photo in public domain

As some historiographical interpretations present, the 1918-19 influenza pandemic was a harsh reality check about the limitations of medical science at the time. Especially coming out of the First World War in which there were impressive advances in military weaponry, the pandemic was a humbling realization that science had not yet delivered entirely to its ideals, especially in medicine. This theme may be relevant and potentially something that could be anticipated concerning the 2024-27 period, as there may be similar reality checks related to a variety of measures and poorly tested solutions implemented during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic which could have serious collateral consequences. As I will discuss further, numerous measures, from implementing a novel vaccine technology amid an active pandemic to widespread global lockdowns, relied on little or untested hypotheses and were entirely experimental (despite assurances from media, politicians, and public health officials). The full ramifications of these experiments will take time to emerge and become clear. 

This brings me to the last theme of the Saturn-Neptune cycle I'd like to flesh out here and as discussed by Tarnas. In Cosmos and Psyche, Tarnas also noted that the Saturn-Neptune cycle correlated with themes involving drugs and toxicity, as well as revelations of corruption on the part of pharmaceutical corporations. As Tarnas described, Saturn-Neptune periods seem to bring forth,

"Problematic reactions, side effects, and abuses of drugs of all kinds, prescription and otherwise, and increased public awareness of these problems, often as a result of new data that disclose a dark reality hidden behind a carefully manipulated image, as in the corporate abuse of testing protocols and suppression of negative data." [17]

Tarnas pointed to various drug scandals during the Saturn-Neptune opposition of 2004-07 involving, as a few examples, the pharmaceutical drugs Vioxx, Plavixx, Bextra, and Celebrex. Vioxx, for example, was a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that its manufacturer Merck developed as an alternative to other NSAID drugs because it was shown to be better tolerated on the stomach. Vioxx was approved by the FDA in May 1999 after a clinical trial was conducted. However, as was revealed to the public over the 2004-07 Saturn-Neptune opposition period, Merck intentionally omitted some deaths of participants in this early trial, and it was later revealed through litigation that data manipulation was also conducted to intentionally make the drug look safer than it was. [18] While Vioxx was better tolerated than other NSAIDs used for chronic pain conditions such as osteoarthritis, it unfortunately led to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke which could occur within weeks of taking the drug. [19]

Merck finally withdrew the drug from the market in September of 2004, just as Saturn and Neptune came within 15 degrees of orb. [20] However, throughout 2005-07 of Saturn and Neptune's exact oppositional alignments, a barrage of lawsuits was filed against Merck, resulting in a $4.84 billion settlement fund set up by Merck. This was the largest pharmaceutical settlement ever at the time. Tragically, it was estimated that between 40,000 to 60,000 people died from cardiovascular complications due to taking Vioxx before the drug's withdrawal from the market. [21] However, as is common with corporate-level corruption and "white collar" crime in a neoliberal, hyper-capitalistic culture, no one was held accountable for these deaths. Instead, Merck merely paid out billions of dollars to victims, but still managed to make a billion in profit from the drug and continued to conduct business as usual thereafter.

The corruption between pharmaceutical corporations and regulatory authorities has been an ongoing issue of concern, especially as it becomes clear that significant financial interests are at play and a concerning revolving door exists between private, regulatory, and academic sectors. [22] As was naively ignored (or genuinely not known due to scientistic propaganda) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, is the fact that regulatory capture by privatized interests has been systemic and deeply entrenched within numerous medical and pharmaceutical industries, especially where huge profits stand to be made from positive research data. This capture and privatization create convenient narratives around science favorable to certain interests but often destructive of actual science. As Jon Jureidini and Leemon McHenry argued in 2022 in the British Medical Journal,

"Scientific progress is thwarted by the ownership of data and knowledge because industry suppresses negative trial results, fails to report adverse events, and does not share raw data with the academic research community. Patients die because of the adverse impact of commercial interests on the research agenda, universities, and regulators." [23] 

According to Juredidini and McHenry, the privatization of medical and scientific knowledge poses significant risks to the public. Jureidini and McHenry extensively outline what they refer to as a "crisis of credibility" within academic medicine in their 2020 book, "The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: Exposing the Crisis of Credibility in Clinical Research. Concerningly, numerous drugs promoted as "miracles of science" most often fail to live up to this ideal, revealing how such framing reflects a deceptive marketing strategy of pharmaceutical corporations and their marketing executives. Prescrire, an independent drug bulletin, for example, has estimated that of all new drugs entering the market, only 2 percent are a notable advancement over what already exists.[24] "Miracle drugs" are an extreme exception, certainly not the norm, and as the Vioxx scandal revealed, what is framed as miraculous is sometimes tragic. 

As I argued in my 2019 piece about the Saturn-Pluto and Saturn-Jupiter alignments in 2020, the societal and cultural impact of neoliberalism, an economic policy framework that uses the state apparatus for the prioritization of market interests (prioritizing corporate interests and a wealthy elite class), would take a significant and symbolic turn in 2020. As I argued in my Pluto in Aquarius piece and retrospective analysis of 2020 in my upcoming book, that turn was reflected in the authoritarian and totalitarian expression of numerous pandemic policies and mandates and the unprecedented upward transfer of wealth during the crisis. The serious problems within the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory sectors were not resolved prior to 2020 (they may, in fact, have become far worse), and I argue that it is very likely that within the 2024-07 Saturn-Neptune conjunction, many issues related to interventions implemented during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (and many not directly related) will inevitably come more to light as they have during past alignments. Yet, as with the Vioxx example, the problems of which the larger public becomes aware are already underway and likely, the negative consequences and outcomes of this corruption will have already occurred. 

The Aries Point 

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the lunar surface; photo in public domain via Wikimedia Commons

As mentioned, Saturn and Neptune will align precisely on the Aries Point in early 2026 and will cross this area of the zodiac throughout this period. A study of alignments occurring here will be useful for gaining insight into the next decade, as a conjunction of Saturn and Uranus will occur in early tropical Cancer in the early 2030s. The Aries Point (AP) is technically 0 degrees of the tropical zodiac sign of Aries. However, modern astrologers typically agree that any planet or point placed at 0 degrees of any cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn) is said to be on the Aries Point, making aspects to the first degree of Aries either by square (0 degrees Cancer or Capricorn) or opposition (0 degrees Libra). Further, the orb for touching the AP extends to about 28 degrees of the preceding sign (28-29 Gemini, 28-29 Virgo, 28-29, Sagittarius, and 28-29 Pisces) to 0-2 degrees of the cardinal sign itself (0-2 Aries, 0-2 Cancer, 0-2 Libra, and 0-2 Capricorn). Therefore, there is a four-degree orb range for contacting the AP. However, I find this orb to be more flexible and general rather than precise, especially in relation to world transits. For example, more complex conjunctions involving several planets loosely straddling the AP vicinity appear to correlate with events with a consistent symbolic and thematic flavor.

The AP depicted on the left as the first degree of Aries. All late mutable and early cardinal sign degrees designate AP zones within the zodiac.

In the context of horoscopic natal astrology, placements on or making hard aspects to the AP (within this four-degree range) are often said to correlate with the individual having the potential for fame, particularly through the symbolism of the planet involved. For example, Mercury on the AP would signify speaking or writing as a vehicle for fame, or in relation to the Ascendant, signifying more so the personality or outward appearance of the individual. For example, in an article demonstrating the significance of the Aries Point in relation to solar arc directions (an astrological predictive technique), astrologer Kathy Rose argued that the "Aries Point offers the clear potential of enhanced visibility." [25] Further, Rose suggested that the AP "indicates the presence of energy insistence that pushes a planet or angle into public view." [26] Rose likened the AP to the symbolism of an opening rosebud, calling it the "bloom zone." [27]. In this context, the AP brings about a culmination of expression that is directed and catalyzed into the world, particularly into larger public and collective awareness.

Astrologer Noel Tyl described the AP as "every being's connection to the larger world," and further stated that "there is the potential of public projection for the person in terms of the planet, point or midpoint configured with it." [28] According to astrologer Robert Hand in Horoscope Symbols, the AP was considered significant as far back as ancient Greece, but was reconceptualized in the 1920s and 30s through the Uranian system of astrology as conceived by Alfred Witte. Tyl's statement regarding "every being's connection to the larger world" paraphrased the works of two notable Uranian astrologers, Hans Niggemann and Gary Christen. Hand's view of the AP agreed with what has been discussed so far, stating that the AP,

"represents the most impersonal but also the widest social contacts: one's relationship to the larger world around one. Hence it is associated with fame and greater social significance. If one ever becomes famous or makes a significant impact on society outside one's circle of friends and associates, it is through symbols that relate to the Aries Point." [29]

Again, Hand connects the AP to fame and broader social outreach. This yang quality of the AP makes sense given the archetype of Aries itself and the symbolism of the spring equinox where the Sun begins to rise higher in the sky and the days become longer, both symbolically and literally, extending the power and influence of astrology's "greater luminary" (the Sun). In a more mundane context, astrologer Eric Francis, writing in Planet Waves, argued that the AP is connected with "events with strong influence on personal and global affairs." Elaborating on this concept, Francis stated that the AP "reminds us that the personal is political and that every individual is connected to a larger public life." [30] Again, the symbolism of the personal meeting the transpersonal is emphasized here, suggesting, as did Kathy Rose, that the AP "is an extremely sensitive and powerful zone in the zodiac..." that connects the individual to social interests and attention. [31]

Since Saturn and Neptune will make an exact alignment on the AP in February 2026, we are dealing with a collective-level event (or series of events) rather than an individual, and the nature of collective events themselves is already societal and transpersonal. How does the AP then operate in relation to world transits? In considering Francis' argument, the AP relates to collective events that somehow involve the individual or directly affect them (or in some way call the individual to involve themselves in a larger societal issue). Yet, also, as Francis stated, the AP has a strong influence on global affairs. I would expand this to suggest that events that correlate with alignments on the AP have more widespread significance for humanity and civilization, or have a larger global impact somehow through extending our collective reach into a wider field of possibility. 

The last significant alignment on the AP occurred in June of 2010 when Jupiter and Uranus made a conjunction precisely at 0 degrees of Aries. In using the four-degree orb rule, this conjunction would have been significant beginning late May to late September of that year. Interestingly, Jupiter and Uranus both stationed retrograde just as Jupiter entered 3 degrees Aries and they crossed the Aries Point together again (though not exact) in August and September 2010. 

Given the correlations relevant to the Jupiter-Uranus cycle that Tarnas coined as "Cycles of Creativity and Expansion" in which an array of artistic, technological, and scientific breakthroughs tend to happen alongside them, there were several such incidents during this time. One interesting example was the successful launch of Space X's Falcon 9 rocket into orbit in June 2010 just as the conjunction exacted. This led to a later launch and the first successful docking of a commercial spacecraft with the International Space Station which occurred in May 2012, and several commercial launches thereafter. Overall, the successful launch of Falcon 9 in June 2010 was symbolic of a new era of commercial space travel. This correlation is interesting given that a Jupiter/Uranus conjunction also occurred exactly opposite the AP at 0 degrees of Libra during the Apollo 11 mission and Moon landing. Just as Jupiter and Uranus exacted during the Falcon 9 mission, so too during the entire Apollo 11 mission which occurred from July 16-24 of 1969. Both missions exemplified technological breakthroughs and new horizons expanded just as Tarnas described, but also considering the symbolism of the AP, they also had broad societal significance, especially in terms of their implications for the project of civilizational expansion. We can also look at these events more symbolically to examine them a bit more deeply beyond the literal level. For example, both events are highly emblematic of the nature of "cardinal" signs generally and especially of Aries and the symbolism of the AP--catalytic, yang, outward reaching, assertive, domineering, and pioneering. They represent humanity's desire to colonize new frontiers and push beyond the limitations of the imposed boundaries of the planet and biology. 

The first launch of Space X’s Falcon 9 on June 4, 2010. Note Jupiter and Uranus exacting on the AP in Aries as well as the T-square involving Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn.

The Apollo 11 Moon landing on July 20, 1969. Note Jupiter and Uranus exacting their conjunction in opposition to the AP in Libra; the transiting Moon also passing by.

The dropping of “little boy” over Hiroshima, Japan, the first atomic bomb used on a human population, August 6, 1945. Note Chiron opposing the AP in Libra and widely conjunct Neptune and squaring Venus, also squaring the AP from early Cancer.

June 1944 during the height of the Nazi concentration camps just under a year prior to their collapse in 1945 at the end of World War II. Note Saturn in Cancer and Neptune in Libra making hard aspects to the AP axis.

Given the nature of Jupiter-Uranus cycles, the events that correlated with these conjunctions were framed in a more positive light in terms of the successful attempt to push biological, physical, and technological boundaries. The idealistic, optimistic, and expansive nature of these events also symbolically relates to the archetype of Jupiter, the "greater benefic" in classical astrology. However, if we consider the ideas put forth by other astrologers related to the AP and those of these two events, the AP itself seems to be related to "pushing boundaries" or "asserting confidence" or a "pioneering spirit" more generally. While the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction itself contains many of these qualities, they appear to be amplified in relation to the AP, correlating with milestone events that push the limits of our known reality. Scientific and technological advancements inherently contain these attributes since they are contingent on defying the boundaries of biology and physics and allowing humans to do things (or know things) they previously could not. 

In utilizing this logic then, we can speculate that cycles with a more challenging or difficult archetypal nature occurring on the AP would relate in some way to the potential pitfalls of this "pioneering spirit" and the desire to push the limits of our known reality and its limitations. Not every attempt to defy physics or biology has succeeded or has led to ideal outcomes. In fact, it is more often that a scientific hypothesis will be incorrect, will make the wrong prediction, or sometimes have problematic results. Conjunctions of outer planets on the AP are quite rare and many happened centuries ago where their historiographical interpretations are questionable, so accurate data pertaining to these alignments is sparse. 

However, following the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction on the AP, in 2011, Uranus' passage over this point itself correlated with the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami. One interesting event connected to this and related to the above symbolism was the meltdown and eventual decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, Japan. The meltdown has had widespread impacts on the local and global environments, as hundreds of tons of radioactive nucleotides will be entering the ocean for decades. As one example, the future, long-term consequences of the bioaccumulation of these particles in large fish consumed from the Pacific Ocean are not fully known. The event symbolically represented the negative consequences (human-made radioactive materials entering the environment) of attempts to defy physical and biological restraints imposed by the natural world as well as the powerful and consequential interaction between both human and natural disasters.

The mushroom cloud of the 'Little Boy' bomb over the province of Hiroshima in Japan in 1945. Brought about by the US Armed Forces and the US Air Force; photo in public domain via Wikimedia Commons

As another example, the height of the Nazi genocide in the concentration camps occurred during a Saturn-Neptune square that was exacted on the AP. Saturn in Cancer made a square with Neptune in Libra within the AP four-degree orb range in 1944-45 (Eris was also involved in a wide square and opposition from 6 degrees of Aries). As mentioned in my Pluto in Aquarius article, the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime involved numerous Nazi scientists and physicians who carried out legitimate scientific experiments on prisoners. Behind these horrific crimes against humanity was a hubristic attempt to defy not only political boundaries but also biological ones. The delusional belief in a "superior" human race, or the production of such, was behind many of these experiments and murders, exemplifying the dark side of the AP's associations, as I have discussed them. This is not to suggest that events occurring in the 2024-27 timeframe will be similar, but rather the way in which the Nazi-led genocide exemplified both a sense of humanity's delusional attempts to transcend nature as well as an event that had a major historical imprint and global consequences. In the latter, for example, many doctors and scientists were convicted during the Nuremberg Trials of the 1940s leading to the Nuremberg code which prohibits non-consensual, uninformed participation in medical-scientific experimentation which some critics of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination mandates argue was violated in the 2021-22 period. [32]

To circle back to the themes I have extracted in relation to the AP, I feel confident in making the prediction that the 2024-27 Saturn-Neptune period will involve a similar confrontation with the shadow related to hubristic attempts to overcome biological, political, and physical limitations alongside an accompanying disillusionment, humiliation, and loss of faith. Yet also, considering the symbolism of the AP, such an event or events will somehow have global significance and ramifications, impacting large swaths of the world population. Lastly, such events will very likely leave a major historical imprint and have ramifications for future public policy or moralistic conduct. This symbolism also fits within the broader themes of the cycle of Pluto in Aquarius, in which I discussed the shadow and negative consequences of "hyper-novelty." Ultimately, however, this confrontation with the shadow of hubris and hyper-novelty leads to greater awareness of humanity’s limitations and ideally, more humility and a greater reverence and respect for the natural world, universe, or cultural wisdom.

The Chiron-Eris Conjunction 

Photo in public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The Chiron-Eris conjunction occurs alongside the Saturn-Neptune conjunction period with an orb encompassing a similar timeframe. Since Eris is a recent discovery (as of 2005), little has been documented related to its historical correlations, especially those involving Chiron (also discovered as recently as the 1970s). However, I do believe that Eris' symbolic significance made an appearance in the correlations of 2020 as Eris was in a close square to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction that exacted that year. 

Eris is named after a chaos and trickster goddess from Greek/Roman mythology. In myth, Eris is associated with the manifestation of strife, discord, and war as infamously displayed in myths such as one involving an apple Eris throws into a wedding party on Mt. Olympus (to which she wasn't invited) causing a tussle between Goddesses and the start of the Trojan War. Eris is also the sister of Ares or Mars, the Greek and Roman god of war respectively. I have come to associate with Eris the themes of collective divisiveness and feelings of chaos that exhibit her trickster dimension--the upturning or even sometimes reversal of traditions and norms. This latter theme can also be extracted from the synchronistic events that proceeded from its discovery, such as the demotion of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet and the overall changes to the traditional model of the solar system (as well as the ensuing controversy over the use of the term planet). However, as I believe in a meaningful and purposeful universe, I ultimately conceive of this chaotic and divisive nature of Eris as a necessary experience for the expansion of consciousness and awareness. I do not have the space to elaborate much on this here, but I think this is an important component of Eris, especially in relation to its conjunction with Chiron where the underlying intention is collective healing and integration.

As another example, alongside the Saturn-Neptune square of the 2013-17 period, Eris made a conjunction with Uranus, which I believe was a reinforcing symbolic reference to the particularly divisive nature of this period, the remnants of which became significant factors during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In the US, the election of former President Donald Trump during this conjunction strongly reflected this sense of chaos, as numerous predictions made by political experts and polling data indicating Hillary Clinton's inevitable victory turned out to be wrong, and the fear of democracy's destruction and of American political traditions was rampant, especially among the Democratic party. Of course, this also reflected aspects of the Saturn-Neptune square where authorities and experts faced humiliation and a situation they could not control (in addition to the polarizing potential outlined by Tarnas).

Several aspects of the pandemic became culturally divisive symbols and heavily politicized, such as masking vs. not masking, obeying vs. rebelling against lockdown orders, or receiving vs. refusing the novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. The Trump administration was still in power during the rollout of the initial mRNA Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and it was responsible for their tax-funded subsidization and "Operation Warp Speed" that quickly made them a reality. The administration’s urgency to produce an effective vaccine itself had huge political motivations as Trump faced re-election in the fall of 2020 when the vaccine roll-out began. The rapid production of the vaccines and their eventual emergency use authorization by the FDA resulted from a confluence of unprecedented scientific breakthroughs as well as significant political and economic interests. Critically, despite early studies never testing the vaccine’s ability to prevent transmission (something that Pfizer’s head of international markets openly admitted to the European Parliament in October 2022), this very issue was at the heart of the “left” vs. “right” culture war rhetoric around the vaccine in the US, with more liberal or democratic voters framing vaccination as a moralistic duty and far more likely than conservative or Republican voters to readily accept them. [33] According to Gallup polling data from July 2020, 30 percent of Democratic voters versus just 7 percent of Republican voters expressed they would wait for the release of a vaccine before returning to normal activities, suggesting that far more Democratic than Republican voters were likely to be supportive and compliant with the mass vaccination strategy and social distancing measures implemented during the initial year of the pandemic. [34]

The vaccinations, much like masking and acquiescence to social distancing and lockdown orders, became a culturally divisive and political symbol that created sharp distinctions between individuals and it inevitably devolved into a heavily politicized "left" and "right" issue with "anti-vaxxers" or anyone who opposed vaccine mandates being framed, as one example, as being "far-right", such as the Canadian truckers who protested against vaccine mandates in 2021. [35] As I have discussed elsewhere, this framing of the vaccinations also reflected more broadly the moralizing nature of science and scientific discourse in modern, secular societies (and within the context of the positivist, materialist worldview), as science is often exploited by powerful interests for political and moralistic objectives. Additionally, the issue of scientism, which conceives of science through the lens of religiosity (where science is conceived monolithically and its byproducts are treated with reverence, as salvific, and morally righteous), added to the cultural complexity of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

The sense of an upturning of the natural order via the pandemic was also present (in relation to the Eris archetype), as lockdowns and social distancing put an abrupt stop to the normal functioning of society. Eris, in one correlative manifestation, appears to correlate with the creation of stark and widespread cultural divisions that make their way to prominence on the world stage in some way. Additionally, alignments involving Eris also appear to correlate with collective periods in which there is some sense of chaos having been unleashed upon society or within the world in which the normal, predictable flow of life appears to break down. There are, of course, far more correlations to be made with Eris, and these are only a few possibilities. 

Chiron is known as the "wounded healer" from Greek mythology since he was an immortal centaur (and healer who practiced medicine, herbalism, and astrology among other things) who was struck with a poisoned arrow by a group of drunken centaurs. Due to Chiron's immortality, he was afflicted eternally with a "mortal" wound that would forever cause pain and agony, yet he persisted in helping others through his healing crafts. Many astrologers associate with Chiron themes surrounding wounding and the healing of wounds. From my view, Chiron is symbolic of deep vulnerabilities, trauma, and defects that are often perceived as incurable or sometimes heavily fixated upon. Yet, confronting and integrating such wounds can lead to deep healing and the discovery of hidden talents and gifts contained within them. From a psychological and evolutionary astrological perspective, Chiron confronts us with pain but also ways in which it can be transmuted (he was eventually liberated of his immortality and became the constellation Sagittarius). 

Interestingly, Chiron and Eris also made a conjunction alongside the conjunction of Saturn and Neptune during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Both conjunctions happened simultaneously as they will in 2025-27. Additionally, both Eris and Chiron made a square to Pluto at this time (who had recently squared the AP during World War I). The influenza outbreak uncannily reflected the global emergence of "mortal wounds" in the guise of sometimes incurable and deadly viral infections. The sense of chaos related to this collective wounding was also present, as there was not much the authorities nor medical science could do to stop or successfully treat the infections (and in the case of potential aspirin overdoses, interventions may have made things considerably worse). It was a humbling confrontation with an overpowering force of the natural world which revealed profound vulnerabilities.

Both Chiron and Eris will be within orb of squaring Pluto yet again during the 2025-27 period, and therefore there are some similarities with the astrological alignments of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. I am not suggesting that a new pandemic will emerge or that an identical situation will be faced. However, these similarities are notable and should offer some significant insight into this upcoming period. As I mentioned earlier, it is possible that these alignments relate to recent and still developing issues. For example, the viral variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have not ceased to spread and continue to cause infections, hospitalizations, and deaths (though as of this writing, those numbers have tended to trend downward since the outbreak began in 2020 and the infection has evolved to create milder infections). As some experts argue, the emergence of ongoing and more highly infectious variants suggests that widespread herd immunity to the virus has not occurred, and we are not actually in an endemic phase. [36] Alternate hypotheses that have been ignored by legacy media, world governments, and public health authorities may, for example, turn out to be relevant as many virologists and vaccinologists argue that strategies such as mass vaccination during an active pandemic could have negative consequences in the following years, specifically in relation to the evolution of the virus. Warnings from such experts as Belgium virologist and vaccinologist, Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche, may turn out to be relevant since the dominant narrative around the virus’ endemicity does not appear to explain the current situation. Bossche argued that the mass vaccination strategy implemented during the initial waves of the pandemic will result in more infectious variants and eventually the emergence of a highly virulent variant in highly vaccinated countries, resulting in another deadly pandemic in the near future. Organizations such as the Front Line Covid Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), an organization of physicians and health care practitioners utilizing alternate therapies (such as safe, repurposed pharmaceuticals) outside of mainstream approaches to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections, could be helpful resources in the event the pandemic takes an unexpected turn, especially considering the complex levels of corruption previously discussed.

To return to the political arena, the politicization of the pandemic and its policies implies a troubling tarnishing of certain public institutions, political parties, and their leaders if widespread disillusionment occurs due to the potential consequences of failed pandemic solutions and policies. For example, if Dr. Vanden Bossche's hypothesis proves correct (or partly correct), it would result in a period of disillusionment with numerous political and public health authorities, especially those in the US who openly and unquestionably advocated and embraced novel and little-tested solutions during the pandemic. For example, such a situation, which Dr. Vanden Bossche had warned would be a "global health catastrophe" could lead to further empowerment of support for extremist politicians and populist movements, especially in future elections. 

In considering Chiron and Eris, these symbols could also speak to the amplification of the wounds wrought by this rampant cultural divisiveness, especially as featured in US political discourse. As Tarnas had also demonstrated, the Saturn-Neptune periods themselves appear to correlate with moments of hyper-polarization within the culture. Yet, I believe, the deeper purpose of these problems and crises is the potential to heal, mend, and integrate the wounds associated with and at the root of them. For example, while uncomfortable to admit, we are sometimes catalyzed to profound realizations about (or to proactively address) the root causes of suffering through crises or dark nights of the soul, where hitting rock bottom opens the possibility of seeking solutions and new perspectives on a situation. Perhaps, the ultimate purpose of Eris' strife and divisiveness is to make us realize that our separation is ultimately an illusion and that we have more in common than we might think while bound by political barriers and identities. The nature of whatever threat or problems emerge alongside these cycles may be such that they force us to realize our common interests and conditions and find ways to come together rather than further divide ourselves.

Lastly, in considering the symbolism of Chiron in relation to the healing arts and the correlation many astrologers make with its discovery and the rise in popularity of alternative healing modalities in the 1970s onwards (such as energy or bodywork, astrology, herbalism, yoga, or acupuncture), this may point to a potent area of solutions for many issues related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as another issue for the culture wars narrative. There may be a significant theme here related to uncovering ancient wisdom and practices to help find solutions and augment modern treatments for the ongoing problems associated with the virus. Ultimately, tapping deeper into both the body and natural world’s healing wisdom could be a fruitful area for uncovering ways to mitigate further harm and damage from the virus as it continues to evolve and this period could relate to a greater awakening to the need for alternate healing approaches.

The Uranus-Sedna Conjunction

Julio Palomo, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I will briefly speculate on the potential meaning of the synchronic occurrence of the Uranus-Sedna conjunction within the 2025-28 timeframe. Sedna is another recent discovery of the early 2000s as with Eris. As with all trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), Sedna relates to the emergence of themes and constructs arising deep within the collective unconscious and thus has a significant transpersonal dimension. Additionally, within Inuit culture and mythology, Sedna was partly an underworld deity who resided in the sea, and thus the symbolic connection with the unconscious is significant. Sedna was known by various names within the cultural groups of the Arctic regions, but generally, her name and archetypal essence break down to "sea woman" or "woman of the sea." It is also interesting to point out that the name Sedna may not have been her real name, but one used as a pronoun to not speak her actual name out of respect since she was highly feared. [37] This may be an important aspect of her astrological meaning I will return soon. 

As with all mythologies, there are also numerous variations of stories related to Sedna. The central myth of Sedna operates as a means of transmitting the Inuit cosmology, serving as a creation story as well as setting up the purpose of certain spiritual and shamanic practices. Within most versions of the story, Sedna is a beautiful young woman who lives with her father and has remained unmarried either because Sedna herself rejects marriage offers, or her father does so since he does not want to let his daughter go. In some versions, Sedna marries a dog or a bird either because she cannot choose a human suitor, or because she is deceived by the animal who disguises itself as an attractive man. Sedna becomes disenchanted with her decision when she discovers that her husband isn't human and/or finds herself in sub-par living conditions since her chosen suitor is unable to provide for her adequately. Due to this, her father intervenes, sometimes killing her animal husband or simply taking Sedna away. 

In many versions, Sedna goes across the sea with her animal husband, and she and her father must travel back by boat when she escapes. In response, the animal husband (or his friends if he was killed) causes a severe windstorm while Sedna and her father are in the boat creating dangerous and tumultuous conditions. Out of desperation, her father throws his daughter overboard. Sedna clings to the boat with her fingers, but her father begins to chop each of them off. As the fingers fall into the sea, they become various sea animals, especially those commonly used as food sources by Arctic peoples (such as whales and seals). After losing her fingers, Sedna descends to the ocean floor and becomes the "woman of the sea." Revenge is often sought by Sedna against her father such as sending her dogs (a symbol of death) to chew off his limbs, or her father takes his own life out of guilt and is consumed by the sea himself. Either way, it is perceived that both Sedna and her father reside deep in the sea (the underworld), with Sedna herself living in a house on the sea floor. 

It is also important to point out that the various names for Sedna also related to other female deities who were associated with animals of the land or air. However, there is interchangeability between these beings. For example, there was a female deity who controlled caribou and thus influenced the success or failure of hunting. Yet, Sedna also at times had the ability to influence caribou hunts. [38] Within this context, the Sedna archetype can be conceived as having broad associations with animals, survival resources, food supply, and natural world more broadly. While Sedna is often conceived in connection to the availability of sea animals (a main source of food for Arctic people), she can be conceived as a kind of "earth goddess" even if this may not have been how she was traditionally understood. 

There is also a connection between Sedna's hair and sea animals. Since she no longer had fingers, she couldn't brush her hair, and so it became unruly and consequentially entangled the life-giving sea animals, and therefore the people of the land would occasionally find their food supply diminished. Shamanic practices often involved the shaman descending into the sea to meet with Sedna, sometimes brushing her hair for her and untangling the animals so the food supply would be stabilized. [39] There were numerous beliefs and practices that involved contacting or paying respect to Sedna to ensure a stable supply of food animals, yet also practices that related to sex and childbearing. Since Sedna was conceived as the ancestor of animals and other groups of humans, she related to all symbols of nourishment and life-giving. The central Sedna myth is also connected to the seasonal cycle, such as Sedna herself as symbolic of summer and her father of winter. Sedna's departure with her husband across the sea symbolized the disappearance of the Sun in the winter months, and her father's rescue of Sedna then symbolized the Sun's return in the summer. Again, there is a connection with the waning and waxing of life-giving properties and conditions. [40]

It is not a far stretch to extract from these many myths an underlying theme connected with the astrological Sedna and more broadly the natural world, ecological systems, and the life-giving resources which derive from them. There may be associations here with food and the food supply, as well as the complex interconnections between various elements of the natural world, and the need to respect and have reverence for them. As the Inuit people relied heavily on these animals for their survival, and Sedna and related deities influenced their increase or decrease, the Sedna myths (and related myths) dictate the many ways in which the natural world and natural order of things must be treated with respect and maintained. Additionally, there are themes here involving betrayal and deceit, as with variants of Sedna's deceitful husbands or Sedna's father throwing her into the sea and revenge being enacted consequently. It is possible, for example, that Sedna may also relate to the consequences of violating the natural order of things, turning against it, or failing to adequately respect it. Sedna's name used as a pronoun to avoid uttering her real name may be relevant here, as an earth deity that must be approached with respect and caution. 

It may also be relevant that the myth holds some prescriptive elements, such as the shamanic practices in which the shaman must go down to Sedna and comb her hair to ensure the stability of the food supply. This perhaps suggests the need to connect deeper with the natural world in order to change any imbalances that might appear. There is a rational conclusion here that betraying or turning one's back on nature and failing to understand or have reverence for its complexity can have negative consequences and lead to diminished life-giving elements. In order to correct that imbalance, humanity must "descend" like the shaman and connect deeper with the natural world, perhaps to better understand it or acquire a deeper appreciation of it. 

Sedna glyph; Denis Moskowitz, released for free use., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It is interesting that Uranus (god of the sky), in Greek mythology, was also deeply connected with the Greek creation myth in which he was both born from Gaia and became her husband and the two went on to birth the entire Greek pantheon. Uranus and Gaia had children (the Titans), and Uranus sought to oppress them by keeping them hidden in the cavernous regions of the earth so they wouldn't usurp his authority. Later on, one of Uranus' sons, Cronos (the Roman Saturn), is called upon by his mother Gaia to castrate Uranus to put an end to the oppression of her children. Cronos succeeds and tosses Uranus’ testicles into the sea. Later, Cronos himself eats his own children to prevent his dethronement and then his wife, Hera, conspires to put an end to it by disguising a stone as if it was Cronos’ son Zeus, which he swallows up instead. Thus, there is a kind of perpetual theme of betrayal, rebellion, and revolution contained in these myths. 

One other interesting aspect of the Uranus myth I find interesting is its connection to the duality and tension between the sky and earth, between Uranus and Gaia. Synchro-symbolically, Uranus has become associated with the tropical zodiac sign Aquarius, which is an air sign that connects in the elemental scheme to the mental plane (the realm of ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and ideologies). Thus, we can extract from this a symbolic tension between human thought and the natural world or between mind and matter. Of course, this tension also drew heavily from Platonism which greatly influenced the Greek world and then entered more broadly into Western culture through Judaism and Christianity. Modern astrology has also adopted an association with the astrological Uranus and the Promethean archetype, notably argued by Tarnas. [41] Prometheus also betrayed or defied the gods (specifically Zeus) by stealing fire and gifting it to humanity which allowed for the development of civilization. I outline more of these connections in my Pluto in Aquarius article and upcoming book. The synchronicity of Uranus' discovery around major historical revolutions also ties the Uranian archetype with themes of technological progress and innovation as well as social "revolution." 

The merging of these Sedna and Uranus themes via their literal conjunction and symbolically through their mythological associations seems to describe a predominant theme of modernity, industrialization, and hyper-capitalism more broadly. For example, "hyper-novelty" or "hyper-change," which I have discussed is how technological progress outpaces natural or biological systems' ability to keep up and adapt, are argued to be the root of many imbalances within ecological or biological systems, symbolizing the tension between the rapidly made innovations of the mind and the ingrained evolutionarily derived systems of the nature. Such imbalances are conceived to lead to ecological destruction, climate dysregulation, or even many disease processes. Since Uranus' correlations are often "sudden" and "unanticipated," there may be a significant theme related to the ways in which novelty and "progress" have inadvertently impacted the natural world, perhaps through the emergence of a specific crisis or problem that comes to light at this time. Yet, also, it can also represent a period in which our innovations and technological advancements can be better informed and designed from a deeper appreciation and understanding of natural systems. Ideally, the integration of these archetypes via the conjunction symbolizes the ways in which these antagonistic forces clash but also come together and can begin to co-exist more harmoniously. 

Mundane correlations of this conjunction may relate to disruptions, alterations, as well as innovations, and novel changes to the food supply, some of which could have positive and negative consequences. It is likely to be a feature of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction and its placement on the AP that we are collectively focused on many hubristic attempts to push beyond the boundaries of the natural world, and therefore many of these changes may be perceived as more threatening or problematic. Overall, the deeper lesson of this period may be a way to integrate both innovation and human ingenuity with the wisdom of the natural world--learning to respect and fully understand natural systems before attempting to impose interventions. As I have discussed so far, the issues related to neoliberal hyper-capitalism which has led to a concerning destruction of scientific integrity and ethics will need to be faced and dealt with to avoid further crises and potential catastrophes related to tampering with systems we do not fully understand. While these reflections represent perhaps a portion of the reflective significance of this conjunction, far more could be said, and a deeper study and analysis of these cycles would likely yield a more nuanced and complex symbolic interpretation.

Hope in Hard Times 

Mohsin Ali, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

While I have mostly presented the more negative manifestations of these alignments especially in the exploration of the historical correlations, there are positive potentials. For example, while there was a barrage of problems, crises, and challenging outcomes alongside the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 2020, there were also constructive manifestations and results. In my early 2019 piece on the Saturn-Pluto cycle of 2020, I stated that "we can look at challenges and even suffering as forces which sculpt formidable strength within individuals. Such experiences catalyze growth, action, and change.” Additionally, I argued that it was possible through a "courageous acceptance of difficulty to add dimension to our experiences, or to provide the incentive for action and thus change." From the perspective of modern astrology, difficult transits and aspects afflicting sensitive areas of the sky or individual horoscope represent a moment conducive to enacting meaningful changes, shifts, and breakthroughs as they often represent the confrontation with uncomfortable or challenging circumstances that force us to move beyond the normal structures and patterns of our lives. Yet also, while these cycles may be presented as challenging in a collective sense, our individual experiences of them are vastly different.

For many, the pandemic, which led to prolonged periods away from normal routines, tasks, and responsibilities catalyzed deeper reflection, prompting shifts of life direction. The disruption of normal life catalyzed critical life evaluations and subsequent changes. In a more transpersonal sense, I argued that the events and challenges of 2020 would "reveal the deeper, unconscious underpinnings of our cultural, economic, and political structures." I think more so in hindsight, historiographical representations of the pandemic will discuss how it revealed previous blind spots and less conscious realities about economic structures, institutions, and world power helping to pave the way to more just and accountable social systems and structures in the future. 

Similarly, Tarnas argued that the Saturn-Neptune cycle might serve as the inspiration to "undertake whatever sustained labor is necessary to transform the resistant structures of the world (political, economic, religious, philosophical) in service of one's highest spiritual intuitions." [42] Tarnas argued that the disillusionment often brought about alongside Saturn-Neptune periods could serve as catalysts for a proactive transformation of society and culture and for strengthening authentic and enduring visions. According to Tarnas, Saturn-Neptune cycles bring forth the "courage to face a hard and often tragic reality without illusion and still remain true to the ideals and dreams of a better world....". [43] In this sense, the illusory facades and deceptions collapse and dissolve revealing more solid, meaningful, and relevant dreams of what's possible. 

In another sense, I often conceive of the combination of Saturn-Neptune, especially within the context of a rare conjunction (and a more direct fusion of these archetypes), as unique opportunities in which we are more directly challenged to make tangible, pragmatic, and real that which we've long kept in the realm of possibility, imagination, and unrealized potential. In other words, to make a dream a reality. Amid a revealed illusion or a painful tarnishing of a previous ideal, we are called to infuse back into the world (or into our own lives) much-needed inspiration and spiritual meaning and wisdom. These periods, while difficult and holding the potential to wipe away those fantasies and "pie in the sky" delusions that no longer (or never did) serve an adaptive function in our lives or world, also serve to reinforce and re-enliven our faith in that which is true and unshakable, therefore deepening faith and trust in a higher purpose, mission, or ideal. 

From the perspective of evolutionary astrology, there is a meaningful and purposeful fate that views these cycles as arriving at an appropriate moment in time both collectively and personally. The reciprocal exchange between the archetypes suggests on the one hand, the time has come in which we've outgrown some ideal, dream, or fantasy and on the other hand, we've become deeply entrapped and restrained by a myopic and shallow understanding of and view of the world or universe. The Saturnian end indicates a need to bring our guiding ideals more in alignment with the reality of the world the way it is now, and the Neptunian aspect suggests the world needs to dissolve its faith in expired cosmologies, worldviews, and systems of authority/power and reimagine new possibilities or embrace a more expansive and holistic understanding of reality or the universe. For example, hubristic positions on the part of authorities reveal that absolute certainty can never be attained, reminding us of our true place in the greater scheme of the universe and planet on which we inhabit. Such realizations can lead to deeper respect and reverence for "higher" forces of the cosmos or the natural world. Yet, they can also be humbling reminders of where we are, individually and collectively, in the web of life, and a greater sense of humility can be a result considering this broader perspective or realization. These periods can also serve as powerful moments of "awakening" to a more meaningful, purposeful, or sometimes more enchanted conception of the cosmos and natural world. Paradoxically, disenchantment in one view of reality consequentially enchants another and our conception of reality is broadened.

Summary/Conclusion

Image in public domain via Wikimedia Commons

From the data analyzed throughout this article, the primary conjunction of Saturn-Neptune throughout 2024-27, appears to reflect a difficult collective moment in that it correlates with a variety of events and cultural developments catalyzing immense difficulties for large populations and specifically for world leaders and authorities. These can be periods of immense collective disillusionment or disenchantment related to both mundane and spiritual authorities in which critical truths are revealed, which tarnish some previous trust or faith. These can also relate to periods in which some threat or enemy, which may be real to some extent, is greatly exaggerated, overblown, or entirely imagined, leading to periods of "collective paranoia" and confusion as to the true nature of the problem. In relation to accurately described threats, there can be significant aspects that are not well-understood or obfuscated, and therefore the response or solution may fail or even worsen the problem. 

As a kind of overall "essence" of Saturn-Neptune periods, there is a collective humbling occurring in which previous hubristic attempts are shown as such, revealing the true vastness of "greater powers" (politically, ecologically, or spiritually) and the limitations of society's worldviews and progress. Additionally, as Tarnas argued, these can be periods of immense divisiveness and cultural conflict in which extreme views and positions are pitted against each other. Many of the emerging crises, problems, or conflicts that arise alongside these alignments can be difficult to solve and may be experienced as a kind of futile situation. However, Saturn-Neptune periods can also represent periods of collective reimagining of cultural and societal structures to replace those that have dissolved, collapsed, or proven themselves maladaptive or false. Collective and personal faith is tested in which a more strengthened spiritual or creative vision emerges as more enduring. 

The occurrence of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction on the AP alongside the conjunctions of Chiron-Eris and Uranus-Sedna appear to relate to an underlying theme of this upcoming period related to the consequences of pushing too far past boundaries within natural or cultural systems. Subsequently, there may be a period of re-awakening related to the need for respect, reverence, or deeper reflection of our place within the larger web of life both on earth and within the greater universe. Events or crises that emerge could have the potential to have broadly global impacts and effects and relate to a profound shift in global awareness and understanding related to the human condition. Therefore, this period reflects a global awakening, humbling, and reimagining of hierarchical systems and structures, both cultural and ecological, and the limitations we have in altering them and the larger consequences of doing so. 

Notes and References

1. Richard Tarnas. Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New Worldview (New York: PLUME, 2007), p. 469.

2. Lyudmyla Kompaniyets, PhD et al. "Underlying Medical Conditions and Severe Illness Among 540,667 Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19, March 2020–March 2021," Preventing Chronic Disease, Vol. 18, July 1, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2021/21_0123.htm#:~:text=Among%204%2C899%2C447%20hospitalized%20adults%20in,%25)%20were%20the%20most%20common.

3. Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, p. 469.

4. Ibid, p. 476.

5. Ibid., p. 469.

6. Ibid., p. 470.

7. Ibid., p. 471.

8. Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, Vol. I, March 2019, p. 9, https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download.

9. Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, p. 471.

10. Ibid, p. 471.

11. Ibid.

12. See: George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940 and John D'Emlio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970.

13. Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, p. 472.

14. Ibid., p. 473.

15. Patrick Berche, "The Spanish Flu," La Presse Médicale, 51.3, 2022, 104127–104127.

16. Karen M. Starko, "Salicylates and Pandemic Influenza Mortality, 1918–1919 Pharmacology, Pathology, and Historic Evidence," Clinical Infectious Diseases 49:9, November 15, 2009, 1405–1410, https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/49/9/1405/301441

17. Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche, p. 474.

18. J.S Ross, K.P. Hill, C.P. Gross, H.M. Krumholz, “Promoting Transparency in Pharmaceutical Industry-Sponsored Research,” (2012), American Journal of Public Health, 102:1, 72-80.

19.  See discussions of rofecoxib (Vioxx) in Jon Jureidini and Leemon B. McHenry, The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: Exposing the Crisis of Credibility in Clinical Research (Mile End, Wakefield Press, 2020).

20. Food and Drug Administration, “Vioxx (rofecoxib) Questions and Answers, September 30, 2004,” https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/vioxx-rofecoxib-questions-and-answers#:~:text=Vioxx%20is%20a%20prescription%20medicine,adults%2C%20and%20painful%20menstrual%20cycles.

21. D.J Graham, D. Campen, R. Hui, M. Spence, C. Cheetham, G. Levy, S. Shoor, W.A. Ray, “Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Sudden Cardiac Death in Patients Treated with Cyclo-oxygenase 2 Selective and Non-selective Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs: Nested Control Study,” (2005), Lancet, 365, pgs. 475-481.

22. Maryanne Demasi, “From FDA to MHRA: Are Drug Regulators for Hire?,” British Medical Journal, v. 377, June 29, 2022, https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o1538.

23. Jon Jureidini and Leemon B. McHenry, “The Illusion of Evidence Based Medicine,” British Medical Journal, v. 376, March 16, 2022, https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o702.

24. https://english.prescrire.org/en/Summary.aspx

25. Kathy Rose, "The Aries Point Bloom," The Mountain Astrologer, Aug./Sept. 2013, https://www.roseastrology.com/article/AriesPointBloom/roseastrology_AriesPointBloom.pdf, p. 45.

26. Ibid.

27. Ibid., p. 44

28. Noel Tyl, Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology: The Professional Manual (St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2004), p. 312.

29. Robert Hand, Horoscope Symbols (Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 1981), p. 92

30. Eric Francis, “The Greatest Aries Point Show on Earth,” Planet Waves, June 18, 2010, https://planetwaves.net/astrologynews/209971547.html.

31. Rose, “Aries Point Bloom,” p. 45.

32. See for example, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State.

33. “Pfizer did not know whether Covid vaccine stopped transmission before rollout,” news.com.au, (October 11, 2022),

34. Justin McCarthy, “News Roundup of Gallup COVID-19 Coverage,” Gallup, https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/308126/roundup-gallup-covid-coverage.aspx

35. See for example this Politico article from 2022: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/06/ottawa-truckers-convoy-galvanizes-far-right-worldwide-00006080

36. Helen Branswell, “Covid-19, a disease with tricks up its sleeve, hasn’t fallen into a seasonal pattern — yet,” STAT, August 23, 2023, https://www.statnews.com/2023/08/23/covid-19-has-not-yet-fallen-into-a-seasonal-pattern/.

37. Frédéric Laugrand and Jarich Osten. “Representing the ‘Sea Woman,’” Religion and the Arts 13:4, 2009, pgs. 477–495.

38. Ibid., p. 486.

39. Ibid.

40. Newell H. Wardle. “The Sedna Cycle: A Study in Myth Evolution.” American Anthropologist 2:3, 1900, pgs. 568–580.

41. See Richard Tarnas, Prometheus the Awakener.

42. Tarnas, Cosmos and Pysche, p. 477.

43. Ibid.

2020: In the Shadow of Saturn and Pluto

By Jamie Kern, via Wikimedia Commons

Astrology's primary theoretical suggestion is that life reflects the cosmos, as above so below. Anything born at a specific moment develops, culminates, decays, and dies in synch with the persistent motion of the planets. Not just human life, but the life of humanity's creations--its ideas, innovations, and civilizations, all endure and expire beside the churning of the sky. The most primordial and easily observed of these cycles is that of the Moon, which begins and ends its cycle within roughly one month.

The New Moon begins the cycle at the conjunction of Sun and Moon, culminates at the opposition (the Full Moon), ending and starting again at the following conjunction/New Moon. And between these new and full phases, exist symbolic points of tension, struggle, and crisis--the waxing square (between new and full) and the waning square (between full and new). These four primary aspects are known technically as quadrature axial alignments, and they occur between all planets and objects in the sky.

In our theory of astrology, the dynamic aspects of planets correlate with specific archetypal themes which emerge in both personal and cultural shifts. These four quadrature axial alignments became the focus of astrologer and historian Richard Tarnas' monumental work, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View. Before the accessibility of personal astrological software, Tarnus painstakingly studied the cycles of the outer planets and their correlation with history.

In Cosmos and Psyche, Tarnas observed that peaks within cycles involving Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto correlated with poignant sociopolitical shifts and changes. He noted, for example, how the counter-cultural revolution and the American/Russian space race of the late 1960s (culminating in the Moon landing in 1969), correlated with the rare conjunction of Uranus and Pluto, occurring once every 100 some years. That same Uranus/Pluto cycle, Tarnas noted, correlated with the birth of the scientific revolution through the publication of mathematician/astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus' De Revolutionibus under a Uranus/Pluto opposition in 1543.

Another dynamic cycle featured in Tarnas' book was that of Saturn and Pluto, two planets set to conjoin in tropical Capricorn in early 2020. It's been over 500 years since Saturn and Pluto last conjoined in Capricorn, but their conjunctions occur every 31 to 37 years in different zodiac signs. Much like the New Moon in the lunar cycle, Saturn and Pluto will begin a new development in 2020, bringing an end to the previous cycle which opened at the conjunction in the early 1980s.

In Cosmos and Psyche, Tarnas stresses that astrology is archetypally but not concretely predictive. In other words, astrology cannot explicitly predict the future, but it can predict the future's archetypal resonance. I won't be making those kinds of concrete predictions that you might imagine when you think of astrology. We're going to explore the current moment from an archetypal vantage point drawing on some notable historical correlations.

Astrology is not very good for telling you exactly what will happen in definitive, concrete terms. Archetypes, as Tarnas also beautifully demonstrated in his book, have an inherent multivalency. Archetypes can manifest within a varied range of possibilities. So while it's possible to look at past cycles and find similarities to the present, it's impossible to know which of those previous manifestations will occur for certain.

I highly suggest reading Tarnas' Cosmos and Psyche if you're interested in this topic. I can only cover in a general manner what is an incredibly complex subject. I'm going to explore how this aspect might show up, especially in the United States which is approaching its 2022 Pluto return alongside the exact Saturn/Pluto conjunction in early 2020. And we'll also consider the Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in late 2020.

Tarnas suggests using an orb of 15 degrees on either side of an aspect when looking at historical correlations. In using this wider orb, the approaching Saturn/Pluto conjunction encompasses the time between January 2018 through December 2021.

The aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York City, Photo credit: 9/11 photos on Visual Hunt, via Wikimedia Commons.

As mentioned, the conjunction phase is one point within the various quadrature axial alignments of Saturn and Pluto. Dynamic Saturn/Pluto periods also occur at the square and opposition phases. While the last conjunction occurred in the early 1980s, the most recent Saturn/Pluto periods occurred at the opposition (June 2000-April 2004) and the waning square (Nov. 2008-August 2011). Several notable events occurred within these time bands. Under the opposition period from 2000-2004 were the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, as well as the subsequent US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Under the next square, the global financial crisis erupted in the years 2007-2008 at the brink of the Saturn/Pluto square (2008-2011). In Cosmos and Psyche, Tarnas describes quadrature axial alignments of Saturn and Pluto as "cycles of crisis and contraction." Throughout history, we see evidence of the Saturn/Pluto cycle correlating with periods of economic austerity, conservative empowerment (on a global scale), disease pandemics, the start of wars, and sometimes the rise of fascist/totalitarian powers and ideologies.

Saturn and Pluto also correlate with these same themes emerging in culturally significant art and literature, such as several famous works of dystopian fiction. It was at the tail end of the previous Saturn/Pluto conjunction, in the spring of 1984, when author Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid's Tale while residing in West Berlin, seven years before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Atwood's novel takes place in a near-future New England when environmental ruin and a pandemic of infertility spawns a conservative revolution which effectively suspends the US constitution. The empowerment of a brutal totalitarian regime, resembling a theonomy (a hypothetical Christian government, ruled by divine law), forces the sparingly fertile women to serve as handmaids for the elite, bearing children in service for humanities' preservation. Women are forbidden from reading and writing, and stripped of their rights to hold property and handle money.

Gay men, dissidents, and those refusing conversion to the state religion are executed, their bodies hung along public walls. Those considered “non-persons” such as sterile, unmarried women, feminists, and lesbians are sent to the "colonies" to clean up radioactive waste until their death. Atwood's dire vision depicted a post-American, totalitarian government to osmose both Christian and puritanical overtones, true to the dominating ideologies which helped shape the construction of the American empire.

Interestingly, the Handmaid's Tale has reached its first Saturn return since its publication in 1985, regaining popularity over thirty years later as a Hulu original series with two seasons and a third currently in production. In the midst of the Trump administration, Atwood’s novel feels chillingly pertinent to our current times, a compelling warning of how in moments of crisis or collective frustration, extremely conservative ideologies can rapidly gain dominance.

George Orwell's dystopian, sci-fi classic, 1984 (the year Atwood wrote The Handmaid's Tale), was written under the Saturn/Pluto conjunction in 1948, the same cycle that correlated with the initiation of the Cold War. Aldous Huxley wrote A Brave New World from May to August 1931 under a Saturn/Pluto opposition. Based in a futuristic "negative utopia," as Huxley described it, A Brave New World also presented a frightening vision of the future, written as a parody of H.G. Wells' more optimistic, utopian novels of the early 1900s.

The original Guy Fawkes mask used in the film adaptation of V for Vendetta; photo by Enrique Dans from Madrid, Spain

V for Vendetta, a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore, was originally published as a multi-part series starting in 1982, under the last Saturn/Pluto conjunction. The iconic "Guy Fawkes mask," worn by the novel's protagonist, V, has become a global symbol of revolt against tyranny, mostly through its ubiquitous use within the hacktivist community, Annonymous. The story depicts a dystopian, near-future United Kingdom set in the 1990s, where a fascist, police state takes control proceeding a nuclear war. It gained global popularity after the release of its film adaptation in 2006.

Saturn, Pluto, and Capricorn Archetypes

Untitled, known as Saturn Devouring His Son, Devoration or Saturn Eats His Child by Francisco Goya

In astrology, an essential archetypal quality of Saturn is that of preservation, as well as endurance within the midst of extreme hardship or austerity. Pluto, the God of the underworld, invokes the darkest depths of the planets it contacts, revealing the underbelly and repressed, unconscious motivations. Pluto appears to empower the planets it touches, morphing their expression into sometimes inflated caricatures beyond normal bounds.

Pluto also relates to the principle of entropy and regeneration. Pluto brings about transformation, sometimes through a descent into the unconscious, or through the volcanic eruption of repressed psychic contents. When Pluto is active in collective or personal events, an old order dies and falls away, and a new way of life emerges from the debris. In this sense, Pluto's archetype is destructive, but sometimes, destruction is necessary for the seeding of new life.

Saturn represents the archetype of time which derives from its earlier Greek title, Kronos (or Cronus/Cronos), the God who devoured his children to prevent his dethronement. For both the Greeks and Romans, the Saturn/Kronos association with time reflected the observation that time eventually devours all things, and thus Saturn's archaic associations with the passing of seasons and agriculture. Saturn invokes the qualities of restraint, maturity, and death, just as the flow of time leads to the inevitable transitions of each stage of life.

Saturn, Internet Archive Book Images, via Wikimedia Commons

Saturn presents limitations, challenges, and necessities; it seeks to preserve authority, traditions, structures, and conventions. Saturn can actively work against progress; it is the impulse for control of instinct and chaos, seeking to provide strict or harsh securities, boundaries, and divisions. It can present us with seemingly insurmountable barriers, yet also the opportunity to fortify strength, willpower, persistence, and autonomy.

As Pluto conjoins Saturn in the coming few years, we will experience a dramatic amplification of the above-mentioned Saturnian archetypes within the collective psyche, as well as a glance into their darkest or most terrifying manifestations. This current period is thus a moment of a leviathan-like Saturn, a time when we will witness an extreme boost of conservative dominance and the collective need to strengthen and solidify boundaries physically, culturally, and politically.

As an added layer, Saturn and Pluto will conjoin in Capricorn, where the Sun initiates the winter solstice each year in the northern hemisphere. Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn resonate with the archetypal dark, cold, and precarious winter. In the traditional, western astrological system, Saturn is the ruler (or lord) of Capricorn, and its placement here technically empowers Saturn's power and expression.

15th century depiction of Capricorn, from Medieval book of astrology, via Wikimedia Commons.

Capricorn, much like Saturn, is the archetype of authority and elderhood, and in its darkest face, what astrologer Steven Forrest calls the "crushing patriarch." Both Capricorn and Saturn symbolize systems and structures which seek to preserve their dominance at any cost, just as Kronos ate his children to avoid being deposed. The shadow of Capricorn is the oppressive autocrat or controller who exploits crisis and breakdown to acquire leadership.

Indeed, throughout history, it is in times of crisis, hardship, and uncertainty, that autocrats have gained control by enticing the desperate and fearful populace with the promise of restoring convention and offering protection from the unknown. And the contracting aspect of Saturn/Pluto alignments so often manifest as a collective yearning for regression, to restore society to an idealized, past era of simplicity, stability, and control.

Such was the case in 1930's Germany with the rapid ascendency of Nazism and the start of Hitler's dictatorship under the Saturn/Pluto opposition of 1930-1933. Or in Italy, under the fascist dictatorship of Mussolini during the Saturn/Pluto square 1921-1923. That same cycle correlated with Stalin's seizure of the Communist party in Russia, and Hitler's momentary prison time in which he began writing Mein Kampf, the ideological vision which would, at the following Saturn/Pluto alignment, enrapture the nation of Germany.

Jupiter/Saturn Conjunction 2020

While there's a unique archetypal quality to the peaks within the Saturn/Pluto cycle, it does not occur in a vacuum. The ever-changing sky correlates with the uniqueness of every moment. However, many cycles overlap which can create similarities within specific historical periods.

A unique feature of the previous conjunction of Saturn/Pluto in the 1980s was its correlation with Jupiter's conjunction with Saturn in air sign Libra. In 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will conjoin in Aquarius, another air sign, drawing a parallel to the early 1980s. The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction is a complex topic unto itself; however, it's important to mention because of its historical correlations with economic and social upheaval.

The Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions occur in the same element for roughly two centuries. From 1802-2020, the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction occurred in earth signs. The 1980s saw the first shift of Jupiter/Saturn into air sign Libra. But the following conjunction went back to earth, with Jupiter/Saturn conjoining in Taurus in May 2000. The transition of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction from one element to another is called a Grand Mutation which has been underway from late 1980-late 2020.

Many astrologers point to the development of the internet and accompanying technologies within this period as meaningful correlations with the Jupiter/Saturn Grand Mutation into air signs. Indeed the air archetype relates symbolically to the mind, communication, and connection. The internet explosion of the 1990s led the way to a rapid acceleration of communicative technologies that connected the world in ways hardly imaginable at the brink of the 1980s.

We are likely to see the genesis of another major socioeconomic shift under Saturn's conjunction with Jupiter in 2020. Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions represent a fusion of tradition and innovation, the melding of antagonistic desires--to maintain the status quo and yet to seek freedom from it simultaneously. These are periods where traditional systems, methods, and approaches are forced into reformation.

Similar even to the backdrop of WWII, during the Saturn/Pluto opposition and Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in earth sign Virgo, the 2020s is likely to be a highly precarious and uncertain period which paves the way for a new social and economic order. With Jupiter and Saturn conjoining in Saturn's domicile sign of Aquarius, we still get a powerful Saturn dominating over Jupiter. Symbolically, the expansiveness of Jupiter must contend with Saturn's limiting nature.

However, Aquarius is symbolic of the "outsider's perspective" and the desire to achieve independence and autonomy. This conjunction is likely to correlate with economic and political policies emerging from previously alienated voices and minds, as well as the desire for liberation from the constraints of the past. It may be the outsider's perspective as well as the collective yearning for independence, that drastically changes the social and economic landscape over the next 20 years. So, what might crumble in the wake of this socioeconomic revolution?

The last two centuries of Saturn/Jupiter conjunctions in earth signs correlated with the industrial revolution and its ramifications. The shift from earth to air has dramatically shifted the collective focus from the shaping of material empires to those of the mind--an elevation of systems and structures from the land to sky.

The internet revolution unleashed several social and economic structures from the limitations of physical space. Consider the storage of mass amounts of data and information onto "cloud networks," or how much of our daily life revolves around smartphones and wifi signals. Jupiter and Saturn's conjunction in Aquarius begins the next two centuries of conjunctions solely in the air element and in a sign associated with innovation, ingenuity, and independence, this is likely to begin a revolutionary social and economic shift.

The Aquarian archetype represents the other face of Saturn since it is Saturn's second ruling sign. While Saturn in Capricorn is the conservative face, Aquarius is more progressive and freedom-seeking. It is indeed a critical requirement of growing up that we claim independence and freedom from the structures, beliefs, and dependencies of the past. One cannot become an adult without a necessary phase of individuation, often through defiance or rejection of the formative life.

In true Saturnian fashion, that process of differentiating ourselves from the past is often painful and scary. It suggests willingly abandoning familiarity for the acquiescence of autonomy. Usually, there is a need to dissociate or even alienate oneself from family, society, and culture to find one's unique way in the world. The developments spawned under the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius are likely to carry this theme of strengthening independence and throwing out old beliefs, ideologies, and theories that no longer work.

On the economic level, we could witness the crumbling of the individual's dependency on physical institutions and constraints. While the 2020 period of Saturn/Pluto's conjunction will likely be constraining, Jupiter and Saturn's conjunction beyond it will help to offer up new solutions which can lead to fresh approaches to managing the economic, social, and political challenges. In that sense, the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction provides a bit of hope in a moment of darkness.

If we look back at the early 80s, we note the rise of a little-known, economic and ideological development that came to dominate the world, Neoliberalism or economic liberalism. We also see a similar wave of conservatism and greater appeal for populist, political leaders. As mentioned, the simultaneous occurrence of Saturn/Pluto and Jupiter/Saturn in the 80s creates an interesting parallel to the approaching time-period, and thus we are likely to see some similar themes and trends emerge.

Neoliberalism & Corporate Dominance

Ronald Reagan at the Arrival Ceremony for State Visit of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom, by Jack Kightlinger (Official White House photographer), via Wikimedia Commons.

As Saturn and Pluto were approaching notable orb of conjunction in 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States. As is often the case with Saturn/Pluto alignments, Reagan rode a wave of rising conservatism within the nation. The same was true in the United Kingdom, with Margaret Thatcher, leader of the UK Conservative Party, winning the United Kingdom general election in May 1979.

Both Reagan and Thatcher heavily glorified the free market, and equally promoted the idea that businesses, instead of the government, could better serve the needs of the people. The 1980s saw the rise of the corporate world and its dominance over many facets of society. The injection of advertising and product placement in editorials became standard practice. It was a decade when corporate interests would begin their tacit manipulation of the free press. Today, we can connect the enmeshment of corporate lobbyists and elected representatives directly to the policy changes of the 80s era.

It was Reagan and Thatcher, along with libertarian economist, Milton Freidman, who significantly popularized Neoliberalism, which has since become the predominant economic and political ideology across the world. During this time, with the help of corporate advertising, market research, and rampant polling, US and UK culture were suddenly bewitched to prioritize the satiation of public desire above anything else. Proponents of Neoliberalism suggested that excessive government involvement promoted enormous waste, stagnation, and inefficiency, and thus welfare was shunned in favor of empowering privatized corporate dominance.

By Alejandro Alvarez, via Wikimedia Commons

The 1980s saw a building rejection of government regulations and high taxation, resulting in deep tax cuts for the rich and corporations, under the belief that the wealth would "trickle down" and thereby boost the economy. This lead to a massive wealth transfer from the poor to the rich that surged wealth inequality not just in the United States, but across the globe. By the mid-1990s, the wealthiest 1% of the American population held 40% of the nation's wealth, double the share from twenty years prior. Today, as we approach the next Saturn/Pluto conjunction, the top 1% own more wealth than the bottom 90%. And working wages haven't increased since.

The 1980's Saturn/Pluto conjunction was, economically speaking, a great time for big businesses and the wealthy (the Saturnian structures themselves), but not so much for the working class. Do we see any parallels today? In the United States, the new GOP tax plan has continued the same Neoliberal ideology that was given a boost under Reagan and Thatcher, resulting in the most significant corporate tax cut in US history.

But Neoliberalism isn't solely a right-wing ideology. It first took root under US president Jimmy Carter and UK Prime Minister John Callahan and has since become the dominant policy on both sides of the political spectrum. US president Bill Clinton effectively destroyed America's cash assistance programs through his welfare reform bill, The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Clinton's Neoliberal "welfare to work" rhetoric has been appropriated and rebranded today by the Republican party. In early 2018, Trump announced his plan to, “lift our citizens from welfare to work," echoing the Clinton era position against the welfare dependent.

Al Gore and Newt Gingrich applaud to US President Clinton during the State of the Union address in 1997, from White House Official Site, via Wikimedia Commons

Under the Neoliberal ideology, the economic plight of the homeless lies solely in their laziness or inability to take the initiative and better themselves. Negligent banking practices, privatization of social services, the complexities of human development, or institutionalized racism and violence are never to blame.

The Saturn/Pluto square of 2008-2011, under the US Obama administration, correlated with the shameful bailouts of the big banks and Wall Street, the very institutions responsible for creating the collapse through their reckless affair with stock derivatives and subprime mortgages. Working Americans were left with the burden of cleaning up the mess, costing taxpayers $21 billion in bailouts.

The US Financial Inquiry Commission, in its Jan. 2011 report, concluded that, "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve's failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages; Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk; An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis; Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw; and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels."

Occupy Bank of America March 15, 2012, Occupy Wall Street targets BofA with a rally and march, by Mike Fleshman, via Wikimedia Commons

A recent report from the environmental non-profit group, the CDP, in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute, found that just 100 companies are responsible for 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobile, and Shell were implicated as the highest emitting companies since 1988. In the current crisis of global climate change, the blame unsurprisingly falls in the hands of corporate entities empowered by the tax cuts and subsidies from the nascent Neoliberal period.

At a moderated discussion at Rice University in Houston, former president Barack Obama boasted that his presidency was responsible for making America the largest oil producer in the world, stating that, "And you know that whole suddenly America’s like the biggest oil producer.…that was me, people."

Unregulated corporate power lies at the root of Neoliberalism, which has fueled globalization and the current environmental crisis. It's an ideology that has infected both sides of the political aisle, promoting the strangely skewed belief that the right of a company to make a profit is a higher priority than the needs of the people.

The 2008 global recession resulted in 1.2 million American households lost due to foreclosures and millions left unemployed. And yet, not a single Wall Street executive was prosecuted for their witting sale of toxic mortgages. It was the same unregulated corporate power that initiated the Great Depression in 1929, a result of laissez-faire economics, much the predecessor to Neoliberalism, just as Saturn and Pluto reached orb of opposition the following year.

Photo by Chopper Dave, via Wikimedia Commons

While Ronald Reagan was considered rather moderate when it came to his conservative politics, preserving Medicaid and Social Security as two examples, it was under his administration when homelessness would rapidly increase across the US. The closing of mental institutions throughout the country forced the mentally ill onto the streets. Today, with ever-increasing wealth inequality, the gentrification of major cities is spawning preternaturally, pristine corporate landscapes which push and displace the lower classes further to the margins of society.

With an ideology that promotes maximizing economic freedom no matter the cost, many find themselves beleaguered by a cold, harsh world where profits are placed over human compassion and welfare. Such is the nature of Saturn/Kronos when brought to its darkest and most frightening expression in the shadow of underworld ruler, Pluto. Under the approaching Saturn/Pluto and Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions, we can anticipate another significant chapter change in the evolution of Neoliberalism.

This moment in history represents the closing of the previous cycle, and yet the beginning of a new step. In contemplating the current situation, the next few years looks to be an extremely challenging period, especially for the poor, working class, and the economy. Saturn/Pluto alignments have shown to embolden corporations, the elite, and authoritarian leadership. The Trump administration is continuing the same Neoliberal ideology just as all administrations have since the late 1970s, and in that sense, it's business as usual.

We are likely to see, not just in the US, but across the world, political powers which seek to minimize government regulation and embolden private interests. It's now clear, after 30 plus years of Neoliberal dominance, that its effects are not working out for those at the lower rung of the economic ladder. Therefore, this period is likely to result in increasing civil unrest and frustration, as we've recently seen in France and spreading elsewhere, and the rise of populist leaders who attempt to empathize with the struggles of the 99 percent of non-elites.

By Umar Shahid, via Wikimedia Commons

The backlash from the struggling lower classes is bound to result in a tightening of oppression, control, and retaliation from governmental and corporate powers. As we look beyond the Saturn/Pluto conjunction and consider Saturn's conjunction with Jupiter, a new order will emerge from the outsiders--many geniuses, rebels, and the marginalized are likely to gain power and help shape new structures, and incredible technological innovations will help to catalyze that.

However, the dark side of this cycle, as I've discussed, is that so often, leaders exploit the suffering of the struggling to embolden their nationalistic and sometimes fascist movements. This appears to be a significant risk here in the United States especially, with the Saturn/Pluto conjunction touching the US Pluto alongside its Pluto return. The underworld is now emerging, forcing us to acknowledge the most unsettling and frightening aspects of American culture and its political/economic structures. Neoliberalism is likely to play a major role, reaching a demise or further elaboration. Astrology doesn't tell us which.

But the rising tide of nationalism and conservatism at this current juncture is something we should be wary of as the US approaches its presidential elections in 2020. Saturn/Pluto cycles are often periods of widespread, global backlash against progressive, social changes. Under US president, Ronald Reagan, there was a strong racially driven opposition against the effects of the civil rights movements of the late 60s. Many believed that blacks entering the workforce were jeopardizing job prospects for the white, working class.

Today, under the Trump presidency, similar rhetoric is heard, as many white, right-wing voters blame their economic hardships on immigrants and welfare programs, seemingly ignorant of the effects of Neoliberalism over the past three decades. Donald Trump's blatantly racist and misogynistic comments, his obsession with the construction of a border wall between the US and Mexico, appears to echo many of the trends which built momentum in the early 80s, though far more dangerous and extreme.

Crisis and Contraction

Reagan addressing the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals ("Evil Empire" speech), Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Another risk with this current Saturn/Pluto cycle is the synchronistic emergence of crisis. The 1980s saw the height of the Cold War, a time when Reagan declared the Soviet Union "the evil empire," similar to George W. Bush's "axis of evil" speech (under the Saturn/Pluto opposition of 2001-2004). Fortunately, the Cold War came to an end after the 80s era Saturn/Pluto conjunction and did not result in nuclear war.

As mentioned, the attacks on the World Trade Center occurred during the previous Saturn/Pluto opposition (2000-2004). It's clear that the events on 9/11 forever changed the political and economic landscape of the US, as well as the entire world, symbolic of the Saturn/Pluto archetypes, a transformation of the world order. In the midst of the 9/11 crisis, airport security checks hugely expanded, and many freedoms and liberties were restricted.

The implementation of the Patriot Act after 9/11 led to the construction of the behemoth surveillance state which has since collected mass amounts of private phone and internet data. The National Security Agency (NSA) spying campaign took on enormous and complex proportions, gathering not just the private data of Americans, but that of citizens abroad. The extent of the NSA spying program was leaked in June 2013 by Edward Snowden, under the Uranus/Pluto square, which as briefly discussed earlier, is much the antithesis of the Saturn/Pluto archetype.

Photo by Amada44, via Wikimedia Commons

But as was the case with the Cold War, the Saturn/Pluto conjunction can bring both beginnings and endings. As the current cycle has correlated with the vast spread of Neoliberalism across the world, we're likely to witness its failure and decline. However, as was the case with modern terrorism, said to have begun in 1946 under another conjunction of Saturn/Pluto, that crisis has worsened, inflamed and supported by corrupt, US foreign policies. The global AIDS crisis, which began under the last Saturn/Pluto conjunction in the 1980s, reached pandemic proportions in Africa under the Saturn/Pluto opposition in 2000-2004.

Promising new HIV treatments and preventions have recently become accessible, and so perhaps, we could see a decisive turning point in the AIDS narrative soon. However, a new disease pandemic is another possibility under the next wave of Saturn/Pluto, as was equally the case with the bubonic plague under the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of 1348-1351. But let us remember, astrology is archetypally but not concretely predictive.

We cannot, in looking at the conjunction alone, predict precisely what kind of crisis will erupt. Astrologer Robert Hand, writing in 2001 about the approaching Saturn/Pluto opposition, admitted that, "I would like to be able to give a definitive judgment about the likelihood or unlikelihood of war, but I cannot. I don’t think that astrology is capable of that." Based on the historical data alone, we can only speculate on the possibilities, such as Hand did in early 2001.

I would suggest, however, that given the past conjunction's correlation with the rise of Neoliberalism and the corporate world, there will be a dramatic change in our corporate and economic structures. And a crisis involving those structures is a high probability. Pluto igniting the US Pluto return in Capricorn in 2022, adds another layer of symbolic significance about an encroaching breakdown and transformation of US economic structures. How exactly this will play out, or what specific factors will lead to it, we cannot say. But the signs are already looming, and the shadow is erupting on the world stage.

Hope in Hard Times

Photo by MateeKhan, via Wikimedia Commons

Is there a positive side to the Saturn/Pluto cycle? First, we can look at challenges and even suffering as forces which sculpt formidable strength within individuals. Such experiences catalyze growth, action, and change. There is no life without pain. Indeed, pain is a requirement of being alive. We can reframe our view of the Saturn/Pluto cycle from a victim's perspective to a courageous acceptance of difficulty to add dimension to our experiences, or to provide the incentive for action and thus change.

From an evolutionary astrological view, life isn't all the product of chaos or chance. There is an intelligence guiding the flow of life, a fate to which we are in some way meandering our way through. With that said, are there not periods when we need to step back, conserve, even question previous advances? Is contraction always a bad thing? Can excessive liberalism at times become a problem, or can things progress too soon and too fast? While yes, the world stage appears to depict a hyper-inflated, cartoon version of astrological archetypes, often disconnected from the more profound wisdom or teachings of the planets, there is still perhaps a greater purpose to any difficult moment of life, even a purpose to a collective backlash against progress.

It is to that greater purpose I would encourage us to seek to embrace or understand, if only just to hold that intention with a sense of humility, of surrender to what we don't yet know or understand. In our personal lives, as it is in the collective, we can, through the acquisition of expanded consciousness, align ourselves with the mysterious, cosmic agenda, whatever that is. While we cannot control what happens on the political or cultural stage, we can be inspired by it, motivated to action in our uniquely personal way.

With Saturn empowered in Capricorn by Pluto, and set to align Jupiter in air sign Aquarius, a new structural order is on the verge of its birth. Revolutionary, technological innovations, ideas, and realities will come forth at this time. What can you do to help shape it? How can you implement a new order in your own life? What will you construct from this foundation of solidity? Saturn's more positive face is construed by the virtues of tenacity, relentless commitment, accountability, and self-discipline. And perhaps, if we each embraced responsibility for not just our physical selves, but our darkness, the collective could resist the tempting hypnosis of authoritarian sway.

The peaks of the Saturn/Pluto cycle are indeed difficult times, but they can also reveal the deeper, unconscious underpinnings of our cultural, economic, and political structures. It seems a compelling phenomena that these periods bring to the surface quite literal manifestations of these archetypes, in the form of political leaders and external crises. But we can hold on to the hope that this cycle will pass, and new themes will emerge in the near future.

Let us hope that we've learned from history, that humanity has the wisdom to step back from the edge of the abyss when the signs emerge. Let us hope that we can transcend the dangerous pitfalls of fear, prejudice, the rapid breakdown of critical thought, and the external projection of self-hatred. With that said, Pluto empowering Saturn can correlate, on the individual level, with the empowerment of individual purpose or destiny, a time when we can rise to some daunting challenge and consistently forge our way to victory. Always, as above so below, and so within so without. The planets, an indeed life itself, always have something to say. May we be so blessed to receive the message.