New Frontiers

We arrive at the Winter Solstice with the final Saturn-Uranus square just three days later, a little over two weeks after the final two eclipses, marking the ending of the year in dramatic fashion.

Last year saw the start of three cycles with Saturn Pluto, Jupiter Pluto, and the Jupiter Saturn shift into 200 years of air transits.

Jupiter square Uranus, went exact not long after, on January 17. A month later, on February 17, the other major aspect of the year, Saturn square Uranus occurred marked in the United States on January 6th with violent pubic demonstrations at the senate buildings in the nation’s capital and in Myanmar where the army overturned the government, resulting in major public protests. The 2^nd exact Saturn-Uranus square occurred on June 14, a month later Afghanistan experienced the return of Taliban rule.

Heading towards the Winter Solstice, we had the Lunar Eclipse of November 19. Some events at that time included:

China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims has been a point of great concern for the international community, and talks of a diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games in China emerged.

Rioting broke out at The Hague over the Dutch government's new coronavirus measures. Elsewhere, an estimated 40,000 people on Saturday crowded the streets of Vienna in the country's biggest coronavirus-related protest to date.

Sudan's military chief reinstated Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister, almost a month after he was ousted in a military takeover. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan appeared with Hamdok at a signing ceremony in the Presidential Palace. Hamdok and Al-Burhan also agreed on a power-sharing deal between civilian and military leadership.

Many high-profile court cases charged with social tensions in the US reached a conclusion: District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Jacob Chansley, the Jan. 6 Capitol rioter known as the "QAnon Shaman," to 41 months in prison on Wednesday for his role in the insurrection. Travis McMichael, his father, Greg McMichael, William (Roddie) Bryan were convicted of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. A jury acquitted teenager Kyle Rittenhouse on Friday of murder in the fatal shooting of two men during racial justice protests following the non-fatal shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer. Moreover, two men convicted of assassinating Malcolm X were exonerated after a renewed investigation uncovered evidence proving authorities had withheld evidence that they were not the ones who gunned down the civil rights activist.

The U.S. recorded 100,306 drug-overdose deaths in the 12 months that ran through April, the most ever, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. It was the first 12-month period in which overdoses surpassed 100,000. The record marked nearly a 29 percent rise compared to the same period a year earlier, indicating a sharp rise during the coronavirus pandemic. Five people were killed and more than 40 were injured when a vehicle drove into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

We then had the Solar Eclipse of December 3. Some events at that time included:

The US joined with international allies to impose new sanctions on Belarus in response to the migrant crisis on the border with Poland and the political repression and ongoing human rights violations committed by the regime of Belarus's longtime strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko.

It emerged that China recently tested a hypersonic weapon system, and is rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal, aiming to bring it to at least 1,000 warheads by 2030. Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the US Space Force, says China is developing its space capabilities at "twice the rate" of the US, and could overtake the US by the end of the decade.

There is increasing concern over the potential for Russian aggression against Ukraine. Russia has rapidly escalated its military presence along the countries' shared border, amassing up to 175,000 troops there.

In Michigan , Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old is accused of fatally shooting four classmates and injuring several others at a Michigan high school.

The US is averaging more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, the first time the country has crossed that threshold in two months. Deaths are also on the rise, with an average of 1,651 people dying from Covid-19 each day over seven days. Scientists scramble to determine whether Omicron is more transmissible and more virulent than other strains.

Final Saturn-Uranus square, December 24

The chart for this date is quite intense. There is a Moon, Mars, Jupiter T-Square, but with a Sun, Moon, Jupiter Triangle of Potential to facilitate positive resolution. According to Astrology Café:

We have an unusual situation in which Saturn, the conservative planet, is in a progressive sign, Aquarius, while Uranus, the progressive planet, is in a conservative sign, Taurus. There can be tension experienced as our needs for freedom and spontaneity seem to clash with a need for structure and stability. Rules and limitations can feel more challenging to tolerate, but without some lines drawn, life feels too chaotic. Attempts to assert our individuality, freedom, and originality tend to undermine our feeling of groundedness and security. There may be sudden and unexpected twists that force us to do something different or free ourselves from old habits. Ideally, we can find creative ways to satisfy these diverging needs, perhaps by giving form to our ideals and quest for progress. Adjusting our plans may be in order, and striking a balance between convention and innovation is the challenge. While this aspect is active, however, we can feel some real frustration (Café Astrology).

The current rise in Covid cases highlights the tension between necessary restrictions and the necessary freedom, since heavy isolating brings about mental health, substance abuse, and violence problems, and so it becomes necessary to find a balance in managing the crisis that keeps the infection numbers down without being overly stressful.

Judging from the previous ones, the third and final Saturn-Uranus square could bring some heavy difficulties, but it is also an opportunity to come to terms with the previous conflicts. It can be considered as a final reality check before this aspect gradually fades, embarking on a new, optimistic, constructive phase that the Jupiter-Saturn cycle brings.

2022

2022 will be marked by creativity with Jupiter conjunct Neptune in Pisces on 12 April, although this aspect does not look favorable for the pandemic, we'll have to see what the fall season looks like, as it is becoming apparent that the virus is becoming endemic. A brief outline of the major events:

Feb 17 – Jupiter sextile Uranus
Apr 12 – Jupiter conjunct Neptune
Apr 30 – Solar Eclipse
May 03 – Jupiter sextile Pluto
May 16 – Lunar Eclipse
Oct 25 – Solar Eclipse

Afterwards, we'll be experiencing some significant new outlooks as three outer planets change signs over an exceptionally short period: Pluto enters Aquarius – 2023-24, Neptune enters Aries – 2025, Uranus enters Gemini – 2025. Between 2025-2028, the optimistic Jovian phase of the Jupiter-Saturn cycle will reach its height with some positive outer planet sextiles and trines before the more stern Saturn phase ensues around the Jupiter-Saturn opposition in 2030.