2007 was a pretty big year, astrologically speaking. We had the conjunction of Pluto to the Galactic Center, the first time this has occurred since the Galactic Center was mapped. We had the opposition of Saturn to Neptune, the midpoint in the 36-year dance between those two planets. Jupiter squared Saturn in 2007, threatening to topple the optimism that has buoyed financial and housing markets, but not succeeding.
And who could forget the square from Jupiter to Uranus which brought us a series of rebellions that threatened even the most fractious of factions. Under this influence a series of bizarre and fantastic scientific discoveries lived up to astrologers’ expectations of surprising events, including the creation of “interspecies entities” including human/animal hybrids (no George Bush didn’t make that up).
So what’s in store for us in 2008?
Saturn, which is now traveling retrograde, has just entered Virgo for a 2-1/2 year stint where it will challenge our ideas of health and healing and probably create challenges for work situations and employee relations, all aspects of Virgo’s associations. Still, Pluto and Jupiter, both in Capricorn throughout the year, are allied with Saturn and helping to facilitate its changes. Other than this, we don’t have any major planetary cycles until we get closer to the end of the year, when Saturn faces off in opposition to Uranus just in time for the 2008 elections to overturn (Uranus) the status quo (Saturn).
There are two eclipse cycles this year, the first in February when we see an Annular Solar Eclipse at the New Moon on February 6, and a Total Lunar Eclipse at the Full Moon on February 20. This Full Moon (in Virgo) will be particularly powerful because of its proximity to a trine to Pluto which will facilitate the changes that the eclipse could bring into our lives.
In March Mars makes its final opposition to Pluto, bringing the last of the fireworks from this cycle that began back in September. Pluto turns retrograde on April 2 and remains retrograde until September 9. Pluto travels retrograde for four or five months every year, and these periods provide an opportunity to go more deeply into the events that surround us and dig every bit of meaning out of them. This is not always conducive to progress, but more important things are taking place with Pluto retrograde as Pluto travels back in time into Sagittarius and remains there briefly before heading back into Capricorn at the end of the year. Still, Pluto makes no aspects to any planet other than Sun, Moon, Mars and Venus until the end of the year.
Four other planets turn retrograde in May, including Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune and Mercury, meaning there will be five planets retrograde just until June, and four until July. These heavy retrograde periods slow down the process of life and create the need to continually head back to the drawing board rather than move ahead with our lives. This year though is relatively minor compared to the long retrograde periods of the last two summers.
August brings a Total Solar Eclipse at the New Moon on August 1, and a partial Lunar Eclipse at the Full Moon on August 16. The Full Moon incorporates an exact conjunction of Chiron to the eclipse, suggesting the potential for great healing and shamanic work to take place at that time.
Jupiter approaches a trine to Saturn in the latter part of August that is exact on September 8, a fortunate time when luck (Jupiter) is harnessed to discipline and hard work (Saturn). A fast-moving triple conjunction in Libra suggests that this will be an auspicious time for diplomacy and talks between nations. Israel? Iraq? Anyone listening?
The first phase of the opposition from Saturn to Uranus begins its approach in October and is exact on November 4, making it impossible to predict the outcome of the election. When restrictive Saturn attempts to impose those limitations on rebellious Uranus, it’s anyone’s guess what the results will be. In addition to surprising turns of events, we may also see an increase in repression (Saturn) in response to a revolutionary fervor that spirals out of control in response to that repression. This cycle continues through the summer of 2010 when Uranus enters Aries, leading into the upcoming square of Uranus to Pluto that will create real transformation like it did during the conjunction of the 1960s.
So my friends, the next year appears to be a bit of a grace period. But let’s not be complacent, or we will not be ready when the real changes begin to unfold.
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