With so many global developments, I figured it was time to write a few (okay, almost four thousand) words about the current astrological climate. On deck: artificial intelligence, the global economy, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and the currently Hollywood strikes.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The artificial intelligence revolution is just beginning. There are two reasons for this:
- Saturn’s recent visit to Aquarius (March 2020 – March 2023, minus a six-month long dip back into Capricorn from July 2020 – December 2020)
- Pluto’s current and upcoming visit to Aquarius (March – June 2023; January – September 2024; November 2024 – March 2043)
Aquarius is the sign of technology, inventions and disruptive innovation.
Saturn’s travels through Aquarius laid down a solid and firm foundation for new technologies to emerge and grow over time. For example, the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT was released in November of 2022.
The machine learning that makes up ChatGPT — especially its ability to engage in human-like conversations and think critically— is going to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few decades and will ultimately be the root cause for the transformation of various industries.
The last time Saturn was in Aquarius (February 6th, 1991 to May 21st, 1993, and then again from June 30th, 1993, to January 28th, 1994), we saw groundwork and foundations laid down for new technologies that then grew over time:
- The introduction of the first web browser
- The first website
- The introduction of the first smartphone
- The first-ever text message
Think about those four things from a 2023 perspective. All four have become staples of daily life. In 1993, we didn’t know we “needed” them, why they mattered, or how they would completely transform society. Unless you were a techie, these “firsts” meant nothing to you. In 1993, only 23 percent of U.S. households owned a computer. Now, 85 percent of Americans own smartphones (which are essentially mobile computers).
While all four of those things have come a long way over the last thirty years, their first iterations happened while crystallizing Saturn made its way through the sign of technology (this is why, unlike what some tech ‘gurus’ predicted in the mid ‘90s, the internet was not a fad that would “catastrophically collapse”).
Fast-forward to present day. This time around, we add a transit of ever-powerful Pluto through Aquarius right after Saturn’s travels through that sign.
In previous blog posts, I explained that Pluto’s travels through Aquarius will bring the next industrial revolution. Although this revolution is currently in its nascent stage (after all, Pluto has only spent three months in Aquarius), once Pluto enters Aquarius for good in November of 2024, we will enter a twenty-year period where artificial intelligence (and, specifically, machine learning) will advance in ways we can’t even fathom right now.
I can best describe it like this: the machine learning of 2023 is equivalent to the first-ever mobile phone (you know, the ones that connected to your car, were the size of a brick, only had 35 minutes of battery life, and were literally just a phone), while the machine learning of 2044 is like today’s latest iPhone model. Twenty years from now, we’ll look back at the machine learning of 2023 and it will seem laughably primitive (like an Atari game compared to today’s PS5 titles).
As I always say, astrology is holistic. We cannot look at one thing in isolation. Astrological analysis requires putting together a variety of components to paint an accurate picture.
During some of Pluto’s travels through Aquarius — from July of 2025 to August of 2032, specifically — Uranus (the ruler of Aquarius) will be in Gemini. During those years, I expect many Gemini-related things to drastically change as a result of this new technological paradigm. This includes, but is not limited to:
- The creation of written content
- Automobile technology
- Journalism and the news
Social media’s manipulation and proliferation of fake news that we have seen over the last few years will seem like child’s play once AI ramps up and the distinction between a real video and one completely generated by AI will be impossible to spot. Most AI-generated videos in 2023 (where a celebrity or political figure is ‘shown’ saying bizarre things) look “off” to the human eye and aren’t fully convincing. But, it will be a very different story ten years from now.
I suspect one new technology that will be developed while Pluto is in Aquarius will be for the sole purpose of digitally identifying AI-generated or AI-manipulated video footage.
Since Aquarius is a social-intellectual sign, I also believe one thing that will go through a major transformation during Pluto’s transit through Aquarius is intellectual property and copyright law (again — as a result of burgeoning AI technologies).
Right now, a lot of AI’s capabilities (which, again, will seem primitive in ten or twenty years’ time) are mostly fun gimmicks. For example, some AI programs allow you to hear Mariah Carey’s voice singing Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” or listen to Britney Spears’ “rendition” of Christina Aguilera’s “Genie In A Bottle.”
That technology, while impressive, is still in its early stages and is more of a fun experiment that some singers’ fandoms experiment with and post on YouTube. But, eventually, this is going to become a legal nightmare, as artists’ likeness and actual talents are used without their consent to create media that is consumed by millions — and could potentially financially benefit its creator.
Artificial intelligence will force us to create new laws around intellectual property and copyright. After all, we’ve never had to wonder:“who owns the copyright of a product created by AI that uses the talents and skills of another human being who was not in any way involved with the creation of said product?”.
JOE BIDEN’S VERY CHALLENGING ASTROLOGICAL LANDSCAPE
Over the next year and a half, President Joe Biden will be impacted by several challenging astrological transits.
Transiting Uranus began to square (challenge) his Midheaven and IC axis in mid-April of 2023, and this is in effect until mid-April of 2024. Within this one-year transit, it was — and will be — most impactful at the following times:
- May and June 2023
- December 2023 – early April 2024
The Midheaven relates to career and professional matters (in the case of celebrities and politicians, it is also the most public-facing part of the chart). The IC relates to home and family matters. Uranus squares bring unexpected and disruptive events.
Since Uranus is affecting both points of this axis, I don’t know whether its effects will mainly play out through the Midheaven or the IC. But, one thing is certain: whether professionally or in regards to his family, this will be a turbulent time for Joe Biden.
In addition, transiting Pluto squared (challenged) his moon from February through July of 2023 and will do so again from January of 2024 to February of 2025. That transit was — and will be — especially powerful at the following times:
- April to June 2023
- January to September 2024
- December 2024 and January 2025
This transit — one Joe Biden has never experienced before — turns our emotional world upside down. At minimum, it is emotionally overwhelming. In some cases, it can also bring health challenges.
And there is yet one more challenging transit ahead, when Saturn will cross his IC (and oppose his Midheaven) from May to August of 2024 and then again in February and March of 2025. Saturn crossing the IC (which happens approximately every 28 years) usually corresponds to at least one major significant ending in our life. There is a strong sense that a particular chapter (or book) has reached a permanent conclusion.
As I always explain to clients in private readings, astrologers are not psychics. When we forecast (I never use the word “predicting”; I find it hokey and cliché) and talk about transits and cycles, we address themes that will arise. We can not, with certainty, ever say “this is exactly what is going to happen to you.”
For example, a challenging transit that impacts your relationship planets could manifest as a separation or breakup. Or, it can be a time when a couple faces a tough situation (like one person’s loss of a job or parent) together. Or, it could be when a couple realizes they have an unhealthy way of communicating and work with a couples therapist because they want to stay together. Astrology is not a booth at a carnival where someone with a turban and a crystal ball “tells you your fortune.”
So, back to Joe Biden. I cannot “predict” anything. What I can say is that this particular combination of transits could point to any (or all) of the following themes emerging for him over the next two and a half years:
- A very difficult period for his political career
- The end of his political career
- A disruptive family event that takes a significant emotional toll on him
- A significant decline in health
DONALD TRUMP’S LEGAL BATTLES
Last fall, I explained that Donald’s Trump “teflon Don” persona (which is built into his chart, via a sun-Jupiter trine) would soon begin to peel off. And, I identified the first three months of 2023 as one that was all about challenges and legal defeats. In March of 2023, Trump was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
In June of 2023, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami for taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials (the special counsel tacked on three additional counts in July).
On August 1st, he was indicted over his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 primary election and block the transfer of power to Joe Biden.
And, on August 15th he — along with 18 allies — was indicted by an Atlanta-based jury over his efforts to overturn his electoral defeat in the state of Georgia.
One of the questions I am asked most frequently (through Instagram direct messages and when I do private readings) is “will any of these indictments lead to any kind of legal consequence?”
Astrologers do not have crystal balls, but we can get a sense of what the coming landscape looks like for someone. In other words, will they be metaphorically walking through a calm meadow or attempting to walk a tightrope 500 feet in the air while blindfolded. I must say I am floored by the number of challenging and difficult solar arc progressions Donald Trump will experience between now and the end of 2025.
Some of you may have just read that last paragraph and thought “solar what?”. Let me give you the Cliffs Notes version. Whenever I do astrological forecasting, I look at a variety of charts.
One of them is called a solar arc progression chart. This is not the time or space for me to get into the weeds or deliver a master class on solar arc progressions (which, introduced in the 19th century, are relatively new in the field of astrology), so I’ll summarize it thusly: basically, you move every component of a birth chart (the sun, the moon, the planets, and the four sensitive angles) one degree for each year of life. There’s more nuance and mathematics to it, but for the purposes of this post, that’s a sufficient summary.
One degree is not a lot (a birth chart contains 360 degrees). Many times, there isn’t much happening in someone’s solar arc progression chart. Depending on the specifics of someone’s birth chart, there could be a period of ten or fifteen years where nothing particularly meaningful happens with their solar arcs.
So, when solar arc progressions are ”activated,” we pay attention. In the case of Donald Trump, he has six solar arc progressions coming up over the next two years — and they are all challenging (as with transits, you can have challenging solar arc progressions or beneficial and advantageous solar arc progressions).
What makes this so crucial is that solar arc progressions happen once in your lifetime — if they ever happen. He has never experienced these progressions before (this is partly why, last year, I mentioned that his ‘teflon Don’ persona was coming to an end).
Below, I list all six in chronological order and explain what they mean:
Solar arc Mars square natal Pluto (January 2022 – January 2024): This solar arc points to conflict as well as lost battles where we are defeated (Mars faces off with Pluto and gets trampled).
Solar arc Mercury square natal sun (November 2022 – November 2024): This solar arc indicates news (Mercury), documents (including legal ones), and meetings that are challenging from an ego (sun) standpoint.
Solar arc Saturn square natal Mercury (October 2023 – October 2025): This solar arc brings reality checks, sobering realizations, and our words can “come back to haunt us.”
Solar arc Neptune conjunct natal moon (February 2024 – February 2026): This solar arc relates to disappointments, deception, and delusion. In some cases, it can also point to a time of significant grieving. In Donald Trump’s case, I can see this playing out as people he thought he could trust or that were closer to him turning on him.
Solar arc Pluto square natal Venus (June 2024 – June 2026): Another very challenging solar arc, especially for finances and money (Pluto can show its destructive tendencies).
Solar arc Midheaven conjunct natal Pluto (August 2024 – August 2026): This solar arc indicates a metaphorical death of our professional and public persona. It is not, in itself, a challenging solar arc (some people have this when they leave one career and begin a different one), but the Midheaven has a lot to do with our public reputation, and Pluto is the planet that has the potential to destroy things.
In addition to those half dozen solar arc progressions, he will also be affected by three challenging astrological transits:
Transiting Uranus conjunct his natal Midheaven and opposite his natal IC (a ‘sneak peek’ of this transit’s potential July – September of 2023; fully active April 2024 – May 2025, with the first major hit in May and June of 2024, the second in November and December of 2024, and the last in February, March, and April of 2025): Here, disruptive and curveball-throwing Uranus is simultaneously impacting two sensitive angles: one that deals with career and one’s public persona (the Midheaven) and one that impacts home and family matters (the IC).
Transiting Uranus square Mars (June 2024 – July 2024, with the first major hit July – November of 2024 and another one in April and May of 2025): Here we have another disruptive square aspect from transiting Uranus, this time to Mars. More curveballs that interfere with our momentum, progress, and where victories are harder to achieve.
Transiting Saturn square his natal sun and moon (February 2025 – April 2025): Since Trump has a sun-moon opposition in his birth chart, both luminaries are simultaneously affected by any transit. Saturn squares bring up themes of frustrations, setbacks, delays, and obstacles in our path.
That is a lot of astrological adversity over a relatively short stretch of time. Does this mean Trump will be incarcerated? Not necessarily. If he is found guilty of any of these charges, he may end up under house arrest. The only thing I can say with certainty from an astrological standpoint is that he has a very difficult road ahead.
Interestingly, Rudy Giuliani — Trump’s lawyer and confidant who now finds himself in significant legal and financial trouble — is also currently navigating choppy astrological waters that will only get choppier over the next few years:
- Transiting Saturn square his natal sun (April 2023 – September 2023; January and February 2024): Saturn squares to one’s sun bring sobering reality checks, a sense of heavy pressure like the walls are closing in, and the consequences of any illicit actions or behaviors (Saturn is the planet of law, order, and karma… it’s possible to get away with a lot while Saturn is not challenging anything in our chart… but it always eventually shows up)
- Transiting Uranus square his moon (July 2023 – July 2024, with a ‘sneak peek’ in August and September of 2023 and then a major hit from April to June off 2024): this transit “rocks our world” with unexpected curveballs that require major emotional adjustments.
- Transiting Neptune opposite his ascendant, square his Midheaven, and square his IC (April 2024 – April 2026; first major hit in May to October of 2024, another one February to April of 2025 and a third one October 2025 to February 2026): This combination of transits dissolves our public persona and, at an older age, can indicate a decline in health (especially with our mental faculties)
- Transiting Pluto opposite his Mars (February 2025 to February 2027; first major hit March to July of 2025, another one December to February of 2026, and a third one August to December of 2026): this is a transit under which we face formidable obstacles and oppositions. Pluto halts Mars’ momentum. Sometimes, this transit can indicate a crisis in health and vitality.
PLUTO’S LAST MOMENTS IN CAPRICORN: THE U.S. SUPREME COURT & THE BANKING CRISIS
Over the past few years, I’ve written about Pluto leaving Capricorn and entering Aquarius. This is transition happens gradually, in phases.
Pluto first dipped its toes into Aquarius earlier this year (March to June). It will then enjoy a longer swim in the Aquarius pond from January to September of 2024, and then return to Capricorn one final time before permanently saying goodbye in November of 2024.
That means that, until November of 2024, “Pluto in Capricorn” themes will resonate loudly on a global scale. To understand “Pluto in Capricorn” themes, we need to understand the archetypes that relate to Pluto, and the ones that relate to Capricorn.
Pluto’s archetypes include:
- Transformation
- Transmutation
- Metamorphosis
- Death
- Destruction
- Secrets and anything that is hidden beneath the surface
- Rot
- Extremism and intensity
Capricorn’s archetypes include:
- Authority
- People in power
- The status quo
- Business
- Government
- Financial structures
- Societal institutions
- Conservatism
- Right-wing politics
Pluto is known as “the great creator and the great destroyer”, which is why the Pluto in Capricorn era (2008 – 2024) has been so contradictory.
On one hand, seemingly rigid institutions were forever transformed. One example is the institution of marriage. Prior to Pluto’s arrival into Capricorn, five countries had legalized same-sex marriage. Now, as Pluto prepares to leave Capricorn, that number is up to 34 (Estonia will become the 35th sovereign state when it legalizes same-sex marriage on January 1, 2024).
Additionally, same-sex marriage is up for legal consideration in ten countries, while another four are considering civil unions for same-sex couples.
We’ve also seen Pluto in Capricorn topple very powerful, “untouchable”, “too big to fail” people and institutions, from financial powerhouse Bear Stearns to Hollywood kingpin Harvey Weinstein. And, this year alone, three small- to mid-sized U.S. banks (Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank) collapsed.
At the same time, Pluto deeply intensified (if there’s one keyword I want you to always remember for Pluto, it’s intensity) hardline right-wing politics:
- The MAGA movement in the United States
- The United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, upending the federal government’s ability to restrict greenhouse gases, and its looming decision over mifepristone (“the abortion pill”)
- Extreme right-wing parties gaining prominence and power in Austria, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Sweden
- Argentine ultra right-wing libertarian candidate (and staunch Donald Trump supporter) Javier Milei going from a fringe candidate to the front-runner for that country’s next presidential election in October of this year
In true Pluto fashion, the rise of these right-wing movements is due to the metaphorical death of status quo politics (in many of these countries, citizens were seduced by populist right-wing movements that harshly criticized mainstream parties that had passed the political ball back and forth for decades).
Speaking of right-wing politics, many of my Instagram followers asked me about Clarence Thomas — specifically about recent revelations that have come to light about him accepting lavish gifts from businessman and GOP donor Harlan Crow (gifts that Mr. Thomas did not disclose). This is yet another manifestation of Pluto’s travels through Capricorn, as secrets (Pluto) about those in power (Pluto) in societal institutions (Capricorn) come to light.
And, in his own chart, Mr. Thomas has a once-in-a-lifetime transit of Pluto crossing his ascendant (this transit started in March of this year and is active until March of 2025). Over the next few years, he will also have three challenging Neptune transits (squaring his Mercury, squaring his Venus, and conjunct his moon). Astrologically, 2025 and 2026 seem very significant for him; it woudn’t surprise me if that is when he steps down.
WRITERS’ & ACTORS’ STRIKES IN HOLLYWOOD
Moving on to showbiz, the Writers Guild of America strike began in early May. On July 13, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined the picket line.
One of the main sticking points of this strike is AI (there’s the Pluto in Aquarius influence!), job security (Capricorn themes), as well as a financial system (Capricorn) that concentrates wealth for very few (Pluto) and leaves the scraps for most everyone else.
This is due to two astrological factors:
- Saturn in Pisces
- Pluto in Capricorn
Pisces is the sign of film, television, and the entertainment industry in general (Pisces is escape, fantasy, and glamour).
Saturn is the planet of wake-up calls, laws, limits, security, and boundaries. It is also the parking brake of the zodiac that often brings things to a screeching halt, especially if something is no longer sustainable or is on the brink of collapse.
The last time Saturn was in Pisces, we saw the themes of law and limits with the implementation of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for video games (video games are also a Pisces thing, since they are the epitome of Pisces — fantasy worlds that we escape to, and in true Pisces fashion can become addictive for some).
This time, however, Saturn is in Pisces while Pluto is in Capricorn (as I discussed in the previous section, Pluto in Capricorn takes on power structures and aims to decimate them).
It is plausible that this strike continues until Pluto re-enters Aquarius in January of 2024 (I say that because Aquarius is the sign of revolution, egalitarianism, and social justice). However, the upcoming Mercury retrograde period (August 23 – September 15) could facilitate talks that renegotiate terms (remember, any action that begins with the prefer “re-” is strengthened during Mercury retrograde).
Interesting times ahead, that’s for sure.