COVID-19

Dec 08 2021

The Astrology of 2022

A new year is almost upon us! And that, astrologically, means nothing.

Here’s what I mean: from a planetary standpoint, nothing special happens on January 1 of each year. In fact, as you’ll read in this post, 2022 is largely affected by planetary influences that started in 2021.

But, as arbitrary as terrestrial time-keeping is, it helps us break down long astrological cycles into digestible chunks.

Before we begin, I want to be clear about the perspective through which I approach mundane astrology (the study of world events through astrology).

I believe history has consistently demonstrated the resilience of nature — and the human spirit. Nothing halts evolution and progress. Life goes on. Our planet has gone through five major mass extinctions… and here we are. So, any claim that an astrological aspect or phenomenon is a harbinger for “end times” is absolute nonsense.

Even the most cursory review of the last few centuries provides countless examples of atrocities, horrors, and strife. But, we as a human race persist. We set goals, create art, develop technology, start nonprofits, go to therapy to better understand ourselves, take care of our health, fall in love, sing along to our favorite songs, have fun with friends, go on vacations, and try our best to enjoy our brief stay on this oblate spheroid we call Earth.

Of course, we all go through challenging moments. It’s okay to experience disappointment, doubt, frustration, and sadness. It’s important to not feel shame around these emotions — and even more so to be able to share them. This has especially been on my mind lately because an acquaintance and a friend both died by suicide this fall. If you are experiencing emotional distress or thoughts of self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7, free, and confidential) to speak to a crisis counselor: 1-800-273-8255.

When I analyze and write about astrological cycles, I choose a narrative that sees challenges as opportunities for learning and growth, darkness as a way to appreciate light, and moments of reckoning and “truth bombs” as important pivot points of evolution.

I don’t mean to downplay or minimize difficult and harrowing events. My Virgo moon despises toxic positivity and fairy tale forecasts that promise “an amazing year” ahead. My point is simply that humanity has an amazing capacity to adjust and overcome.

I also believe that we each energetically contribute to the overall state of the world. I want my contribution to be one that raises awareness and shows the bigger picture in a practical and realistic manner, but with a dose of measured optimism. If you’re looking for doom and gloom, fear-based predictions, rants about how “we’re all screwed,” or something to contribute to your stress and anxiety, you are in the wrong place (and I encourage you to explore why you seek that kind of information).

Let’s begin. For ease of reading, this post is divided into subsections.

Jun 03 2021

2024 – 2026: The Astrology of the Post-COVID Era

One of my favorite branches of astrology is “mundane astrology” — the study of world events. The “mundane” descriptor comes from the Latin term for “world” (“mundus”), but also unfairly makes the whole thing sound terribly dull. It’s anything but!

Astrologically, the mid ‘20s mark the beginning of a major global shift. To be clear — this is different from the astrology of January 2020 (when Saturn and Pluto met in Capricorn, marking the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic), which blatantly screamed “foundational collapse” and the dismantling of systems.

The years 2024, 2025, and 2026 (when looked at as one cohesive period) delineate the beginning of the next global chapter following the breakdown brought on by the January 2020 Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

Why? Because that is when the three transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) will change signs. Due to their slow speeds, it’s rare to see these three planets change signs back-to-back.

In my eyes, this major shift in the mid 2020s means we’ll still be dealing with COVID-19 — as a global village — in some fashion until then. That isn’t fear-mongering. It’s just a fact. Some nations will recover much more quickly than others. But, others will need until then to return to something that resembles pre-pandemic life. I also think we will see many COVID-19-related public health measures in effect until early 2024. Astrologically, 2024 is the beginning of the “post-COVID era.”

Let’s begin the analysis.

Jan 07 2021

The Astrology of 2021 (And The Events of January 6)

As I always say, the planets don’t give a fu er, “hoot”, about how we keep track of time on Earth.

Astrologically, the start of a new week/month/year doesn’t have special significance. It’s the dates of specific planetary configurations that we care about.

Last year, we experienced three crucial astrological events on five specific dates (one reason why it was such a… unique year!):

January 12: Saturn-Pluto conjunction
April 5: Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (first pass)
June 30: Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (second pass)
November 12: Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (third pass)
December 21: Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.

Astrologically speaking, 2020 ‘started’ on January 12 and ‘ended’ on December 21. That’s almost equivalent to a calendar year. But, some years, we don’t have an important astrological event until April or May. And, that one event may be at play until June or July of the following year. So, a calendar year is not always the most accurate way to track astrological phenomena.

As an earthling, I nevertheless understand the symbolism of beginning a new year. So, in this post I will cover the most significant astrological influences over the next twelve months, and specify who will be most affected by them (if you have your birth chart handy, you’ll want to reference it).

I have divided this post into various sub-sections so you can read it piecemeal (and easily remember where you last left off).

Apr 21 2020

COVID-19 & The Astrology of 2020: Where Do We Go From Here?

There’s lots to say about the current global situation and the many shifts we can expect over the next few years, so let’s get right to it.

For easier reading, I have divided this into sections.

What Happened, Astrologically Speaking?

The current global situation can be traced back to the January 20, 2020 conjunction (meeting) of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.

Although the conjunction was exact on January 20 (that was the date when Saturn and Pluto were literally on top of each other), the buildup to that aspect started in November. Astrological aspects operate on a bell curve. The date of the actual aspect is the peak of the bell curve; the energy slowly intensifies during the buildup phase and slowly decreases during the decline phase.

I first posted about the Saturn-Pluto conjunction on my Instagram page in June of 2019; I described the aspect as a harbinger of “political changes and foundational collapse”.

I don’t do “doom and gloom astrology”; foundational collapse was not meant to invoke fear. It was simply a literal translation of the aspect. Saturn is about foundations; Pluto is about collapse. When these two planets meet in a conjunction (as they do roughly every 38 years), that’s the order of the day.

Establish paradigms and foundations (Saturn) collapse (Pluto). The status quo (Saturn) is transformed (Pluto). Subconscious (Pluto) fears (Saturn) surface (Pluto) and must be addressed (Saturn).

FYI: Periods when Saturn and Pluto square (are 90 degrees away from) each other or oppose (are 180 degrees away from) each other also make ripples. The most recent Saturn-Pluto opposition occurred weeks before the September 11 attacks.

Astrology reminds us to maintain perspective. Throughout human history, Saturn and Pluto have interacted with each other hundreds of times. And life has continued. Uncertain times can undoubtedly be challenging, stressful, and emotionally taxing. But, nothing is the “end of the world”.