Thursday 17 December 2020

Astrology: Winter Solstice - Monday, December 21, 2020

Jupiter & Saturn in the sky, Wisconsin, Dec. 14, 2020

A New Hope

With an eclipse on December 14th, Saturn entering Aquarius on the 17th, Jupiter entering Aquarius on the 19th, we arrive at the Winter Solstice,  which coincides with the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn: a remarkable confluence of events to conclude a remarkable year. This powerful chart also has three other tight aspects: Sun conjunct Mercury, Moon sextile Pluto, and Mars square Pluto.

Because  Mars was retrograde from  Sept. 9 to Nov. 13, a second round of squares with the three outer planets in Capricorn occurred. Some of the events that occurred close to exact aspect dates were:

Mars square Saturn (Sept. 29)

Protests in Louisville, Kentucky and other cities erupt after Breonna Taylor case decision, China announces repressive policies towards Uyghurs in Xinjiang, chaotic first US presidential debate, violent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Coronavirus deaths reached one million worldwide, reports of resurgeance in Covid cases, severe wildfires in California, Yemen's warring parties have agreed to prisoner swap.

Mars square Pluto. (Oct. 9)

A  nationwide increase in vigilante and militia activity in the US, China imposes a repressive national security law in  Hong Kong, the UK, France and Germany impose sanctions on Russia after the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Turkey launched its military offensive into northeastern Syria, a German gunman's attack on Synagogue kills two, a bus heading to a Buddhist temple collided with a train in central Thailand, killing at least 20 people,  Hurricane Delta dumped more than 15 inches of rain in the US, the United Nations' World Food Program wins the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mars square Jupiter (Oct. 19)

Protesters rioted Chile's capital, Santiago, ahead of a referendum on scrapping a dictatorship-era constitution, Muslim extremist decapitation of a high school teacher in  France, violent demonstrations in  Lagos, Nigeria, protesting against police brutality, Iran-backed militias attack north of Baghdad left eight dead and four missing. Coronavirus cases reaches new high,a wildfire spread rapidly in Boulder County, Colorado, prompting the evacuations of at least 3,000 people, NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft briefly landed on  asteroid Bennu.

Jupiter conjunct Pluto (November 12)

The final of three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions occured on November 12, some significant events at that time:

The Trump administration refuses to begin the formal transition process and cooperate with Joe Biden's incoming team, supporters of President Trump clashed with counterprotesters in DC, leading to 20 arrests, insurgents loosely aligned with ISIS attacks in  Mozambique, thousands of Ethiopians are fleeing into neighboring Sudan to escape escalating conflict, at least 74 migrants died in a shipwreck yesterday off the coast of Libya, protests in Belarus against longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko over alledged rigged elections, the US sees  single highest daily Covid count since the pandemic began, Tropical Storm Eta devastating in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, where dozens have been killed, Azerbaijan and Armenia reach peace accord.

Saturn entered Aquarius on December 17th (until March 7, 2023).

‘’ Saturn is dignified and functioning well… it’s time for a test, slimming down, critical look at, or simplification of:

  • our social lives,
  • ideals and principles,
  • associations and group involvement,
  • contributions and community.’’ (Café Astrology)

Jupiter entered Aquarius on December 19 (to May 13, 2021, and July 28 to December 28, 2021)

‘’Now in Aquarius, Jupiter expands our awareness of our place in the community and the needs of all. Jupiter in Aquarius encourages fairness, impartiality, individuality, and humanitarianism. We reap rewards through being more inclusive and just. We’re opening our minds to progress.’’ (Café Astrology)

Mars (in Aries) square Pluto (in Capricorn) (exact on Dec. 23)

This aspect brings control issues, being hard to please, a tendency to bully and confront, power struggles, suppressed matters emerge, passions run high. It is good to remain flexible and to develop compromise strategies.

Because of the retrograde, Mars will begins its third square aspect to Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter, the other exact dates are:

Mars  (in Taurus)  square Saturn  (in Aquarius)  Jan. 13, 2021

Mars  square Jupiter  Jan. 23, 2021 (for more on Mars see here)

Moon (in Pisces) sextile Pluto

This aspect brings deep feelings and emotions and the need for deeper connections. Hidden feelings in a relationships may emerge. There is a desire for domestic change such as cleaning and repairing. There may be compulsive and one-track obsessions that need to be examined. There is also a interest for the mysterious in all forms, from the natural to the supernatural. This dreamy aspect should soften the harsher energies of the Mars- Pluto square.

Mercury conjunct Sun (in Capricorn) (exact on Dec. 19)

This aspect brings a sharpness of mind and communicative energy in debating and corresponding. Good for new business ventures and planning for the future. A desire to travel. Tendency for self-centeredness which may lead to impulsive speaking and poor listening.

Jupiter’s conjunction to Saturn (in Aquarius)

A basic description of this aspect:

1-Confronting inhibitions, self-restrictions and outer restrictions. Breaking out and trying new things or changing within existing limits.

2- Restlessness, the need to break away and seek freedom from restrictive structures. Change of job, residence, and end of a relationship.

3- Building new structures, expanding existing orders, carefully and cautiously.

4- If there are tensions, then changes will be more abrupt. If things were stable, the changes will be more gradual.

 ‘’While we can be working hard, we’re not working against the grain–for the most part, there’s support or our realistic confidence supports us. We’re inclined to focus these rebuilding and reforming energies and visions on our humanitarian impulses, contributions to society, social life, technological development, causes, and friendships. In some ways, this can be considered a reset button–a chance to build anew.’’ (Café Astrology)

This pivotal year has lived up to it’s promise in quite a striking manner, with the culmination of three major planetary cycles: Saturn-Pluto (38 years), Jupiter-Pluto (13 years) and Jupiter-Saturn (20 years), which are quite interconnected as multiples of the cycles make for a closely coinciding period of 38, 39 (13 x 3) and 40 (20  x 2) years. This chart marks the ending of the first twenty-year cycle of the new millennium – a time to reflect on what has been happening since the new millennium, what has been accomplished, achieved, where are we at. Computer and internet technology has deeply changed our way of living, giving us rapid access to massive sources of information; the information age has made a quantum leap. It is also a time to look forward to the next 20 years, what needs to be done, where are we going, what new doors can be opened, with the optimism, energy and enthusiasm a new cycle brings.

According to Gray Crawford, on 2020:

''Since Jupiter and Pluto are uniting in Capricorn, they will be under rulership of the slow and steady Saturn, bringing tests that temper the potential excess and inflation of Jupiter. Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn transiting through Capricorn will bring lessons of maturity and responsibility cultivated through acceptance of natural cycles of change. The combination of Jupiter and Pluto can incite extreme ambition for personal power, yet their transit through Capricorn along with Saturn means that we will need to adjust aspirations to contend with the limitations we face in regard to material resources and available time and space. The difficulties or crises we endure will bring revisioning of what needs to be nurtured and developed—and what needs to be shed and let go.''

And nature, in her way, has been kind, in order to help us better introspect on what is essential, and determine what has to be let go, she has given us a pandemic,  showing us how inter-connected and inter-dependent we really are. The pandemic has often pushed us to let go a lot of things and makes us appreciate the essentials of life and appreciate how health, human relations, and careers are not be taken for granted. This past year, marked by Capricorn, has been a strong message of law, justice, social order, lessons in hard work, discipline, organization; but also about power in society with the abuses and inequalities thereof.  Hence the police forces, the officers of the law and order, were an area that problems of abuse and corruption came to a head; and the targets of this oppression, the under-privileged and ethnic minorities, further brought to light the problems of social inequality. The strong conflicts served to bring to light the social imbalances and injustices. The pandemic stressed our need to cooperate and work together but how can we cooperate when there are increasing social inequalities and imbalances along with massive war-induced refugee problems?

In the next year, it should be easier for productive action on the greater awareness of social inequalities to take place (although marked by a Uranus-Saturn square which can be quite challenging). We are again faced with the challenge of Jupiter and Saturn in the same sign. Saturn, although still being powerful, is not quite as powerful as in Capricorn, so there can be a more balanced interplay between the Saturn and Jupiter energies. Moreover, the eclipses of 2021 will be in the signs of Gemini and Sagittarius. This axis represents knowledge and consciousness, the power of ideas, how they spread, and to whom they belong; both signs are related to education and travel.  This axis should be quite complementary to Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius) in Aquarius (an air sign, like Gemini).

Moreover, this new Jupiter-Saturn cycle marks a definitive shift from earth signs to air signs, which will last until 2159. The previous Jupiter-Saturn cycles were in earth signs since 1802. Once can interpret this as the age of oil and carbon fuels, whereas the next cycle in air signs can mark a new era of alternate energies, along with satellite and computer technologies that have developed over the last 40 years. In the following years, four outer planets will be changing signs over a four-year period, 2023-2026, and so by 2026, we should be witnessing an interesting paradigm shift.

References:

https://cafeastrology.com/astrology-of-2020.html

Gray Crawford 2020 Jupiter-Pluto Conjunction: Birthing Ambition and Compassion from the Core https://www.astrology.com/article/2020-jupiter-pluto-conjunction-meaning

Robert Hand, Planets in Transit. Atgen, PA,, Whitford Press. 2001.

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