Tuesday 17 March 2020

Saturn in Aquarius – Forecast, Historical Overview, and Contemporary Events (2020-2023)

Saturn will enter Aquarius for the first time in our generation on the 22nd of March 2020, he will spend a period of a bit more than three months in Aquarius till he will return to Capricorn amidst a retrograde motion on the 1st of July 2020. He will later return to Aquarius a week short of Christmas, on the 17th of December 2020, after which he will leave Aquarius in favor of Pisces on the 7th of March 2023.


Preliminary Notes on the Nature and Significators of Both Saturn and Aquarius

Amongst the significations of Saturn we can find time, old-age, work, labor, planning, strategy, borders, limitations, reality, agriculture, heavy industry, coldness, fear, winter, history, tradition, scholars, physical laborers, maturity, discipline, harshness, depression, et cetera.

Amongst Aquarius’ sign representations we can find friendship, groups, genius, socialites, freedom, rebellions, alternative currents, reversals, followers (unlike leaders), the nobility (unlike the king), committees and boards, detachment, objectivity, progressive ideas, humanism, high culture and more.

From previous cycles, when Saturn was in Aquarius, we can learn a lot about what expects us in the coming three years. It takes Saturn about 29 years to complete a full revolution around the Sun, and we know that in the early 90s, early 60s, early 30s and during the early years of the first decade of the 20th  century Saturn was in Aquarius.


Saturn’s Spheres of Influence in Aquarius, by Categories

* Dissolution of previously existing power structures
Here we need to comment on the egalitarian nature of Aquarius as a sign, and also concerning the fact that it is the sign of freedom and revolutions. One example is the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its reversal back to the nation state of Russia during Saturn’s Aquarius sojourn in 1991-1994. The end of Apartheid in South Africa, during the same years, is another good case in point. Another example is the Nazis rise to power and the disbandment of the fragile Weimar Republic in the early 30s. One more example can be found in the creation of the Russian parliament in the time of the last tsar, Nicholas II, in 1905. It’s important since Russia was an old-fashioned autocratic state and a creation of a state parliament was a symbolic move towards a more progressive position and a proto-modern state (even though it was virtually without powers).    

* Scientific and intellectual achievement
Saturn’s stay in Aquarius during the early 90s brought with it the early golden age of the internet. The early 60s on the other hand were an age when the space race between the USA and the Soviet Union was in full swing, shortly after communist Russia have successfully launched the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin. Even earlier, during the early to mid 1930s Europe was entangled in an arms race, after it became apparent that Germany wasn’t demilitarizing after the first world war (science can be implemented for good or for ill). Likewise, in 1905 Saturn was once again in Aquarius. During that time Albert Einstein had what biographers call his “extraordinary year”, when he published four major papers in physics and changed modern science forever. Also the Wright brothers’ first successful flight attempt happened in the year 1903.   

* Breaks in the status qua or trying to do things differently
This is another major manifestation of Saturn in Aquarius, and here are a few examples. The Oslo Accords, which were signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the early 90s, have tried to end a long conflict between the two sides. In the previous Saturn cycle, during the early 60s, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a failed attempt by the Soviet Union to place nuclear missiles within range of the US. If such an attempt was successful the status qua of America’s national defense interest would have been violated. A last example is from quite a while before. in the early 30s, the United States has ended a decade or so of prohibition after it became evident that alcohol consumption did not decline and that organized crime was at its height.

* Civic causes, betterment of people’s lives, society becomes more free
These are the final ingredients on this list of categories. We can find examples from virtually all Saturn’s cycles in Aquarius during this last century. In the order of newest to oldest we can mention the 1990s as a decade of growth, prosperity, peacemaking and generally a mini-golden age after the end of the cold war. Things became less rosy as time progressed but the first half of the 90s, when Saturn was in Aquarius and then in Pisces were ‘as good as they come’. Earlier in 62 till 64 we witnessed the height of the African American civil rights movement, spearheaded by Martin Luther King Junior. Also during those years Alcatraz Prison was closed, in a symbolic and factual gesture of expanded freedoms. The Saturn cycle before that, in the early 30s was the time of FDR’s New Deal. The newly elected American president attempted to deal with the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash, he did so successfully and raising the standard of living for millions of Americans was a side effect of the New Deal’s many measures. In the earliest years of the 20th century we can witness Saturn in Aquarius’ social effects in the opening of women admission to colleges and universities worldwide. Additionally, In the tail end of that Saturn in Aquarius transit, Finland was the first European country which gave women the right to vote.  


Saturn in Aquarius and the Coronavirus
In terms of current events, this lines are being written simultaneously with the coronavirus outbreak. Here too, Saturn in Aquarius provides some interesting insights for things to come.
First of all, the literal symbolism of Saturn in Aquarius can be interpreted as limitations on social contact, group meetings, public gathering and the social sphere, which is so vital for the air signs. Classic Aquarius like locations have already been hit, in the form of museums and galleries, music festivals, cultural events, sports outings, pubs and bar, and so forth.
On a more close and personal level, the Saturn Aquarius symbolism has a strong tinge of anti-social behavior, simply because people are afraid of contracting  coronavirus. Moreover, Saturn is closely tied with governments, rules and regulations, all of which are responsible with contracting the social sphere at the moment.
Lastly we mustn’t forget that Aquarius is an air sign, and one of the industries which has been hit the most is the airline industry.


Saturn’s Transits 2018-2025
Another valid point of view on the Saturn in Aquarius transit is examining Saturn’s transits on a continuum. This is also important since no transit appears out of thin air, rather they are preceded and followed by transits in adjacent signs.
Adopting such a frame of reference, the 2018-2020 Saturn in Capricorn transit seemed to have characterized a timespan when governments worldwide became more authoritarian and human rights began to be reduced, global warming began to seem undeniable (or at least, hard to deny), the world became less united and hard borders began to spring up everywhere (Trump’s wall, Europe’s legislation against refugees, Brexit, China’s crackdown on HK and the Uighurs, Russia’s effort to deny Ukraine entering the EU and other such unwelcome developments). Maybe it is also the place to point out that Saturn’s night domicile is Capricorn, but as events have shown worldly manifestations were less then ideal, albeit they remained true to the Capricorn symbolism of authority, bureaucracy, conservatism and regulation.  

Adjacent signs are often very much unlike each other, this can be seen in their differences by element and mode. Likewise, we can expect the Saturn in Aquarius period to differ significantly from the current Saturn in Capricorn period. We’ve already seen from the historical examples above that a few major counter trends might be on the way in. Namely, dissolution of current power structures, gradual expansion of social freedoms and civic rights, breaks in the status quo and scientific advancement. On a different note, technology might notch up the sharing economy to new heights. Likewise, peer to peer money transfer technology (like Bitcoin) will definitely claim a larger market share and begin to replace the old model of banks. Also on the topic of technology the internet giants; Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple may finally start to be regulated and taxed, as befitting Saturn's restricting nature. 

Saturn in Pisces might be too far away and too weird and unexpected to be foretold as easily, but we might as well try. Again with the climate crisis theme, nations might find themselves dealing with faster and more volatile rises in sea levels, there might be a fresh water shortage in different areas around the globe, and floods could prove to be a problem as well. Why so negative? Saturn is related to challenges and karma after all. If this will prove to be the case, we would need to do a good job in the coming three years in terms of developing green solutions, green technology and becoming more united. That is, If we want to face the third millennium successfully and survive. Moreover, religion and spirituality will probably make a big comeback, as some people will undoubtedly become disillusioned with the all-pervading scientific world view. No doubt some will search for an alternative. This may also be a reaction to society’s growing reliance, and dependence, on science during the Saturn in Aquarius period. Also on the topic of science, the Saturn in Pisces timespan may be characterized by big advancements in biology, genetics, chemistry and maybe cloning. All the soft and “watery” sciences, so to speak. Politically speaking, we can be fairly certain that after Saturn’s five years sojourn in Saturn-ruled signs, some people will become disillusioned by politics and governments all together, thus a period of socio-political experimentation will ensue. Maybe anarchism will come in vague, maybe there will be a phase of new nations building, and maybe other forms of organization will become prominent. Concerning this final point we must remember that Pisces is a sign which marches to the beat of one’s own drum.


Pluto in Aquarius, A Disclaimer and Maybe a Word About Politics
From the point of view of March 2020, it’s a bit hard to believe that Saturn in Aquarius will fulfill all of its promises. Even when we consider that Jupiter will join Saturn in Aquarius for the vast majority of 2021 and will continue to his domicile in Pisces in 2022, it’s still somewhat hard to believe. At the current moment the “Saturn in Capricorn machine” which relies on thinly disguised oligarchic and plutocratic forms of authority seems to be invincible, and there are plenty of examples. From Trump’s America and what seems like an upcoming loss for the progressive candidate, Bernie Sanders, to autocratic heads of state in China, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Israel, India, Russia and many other nations.

The words above seem reason enough to postulate that the real solution may only hide in Pluto’s revolution around the sun, rather than Saturn’s. Pluto is much smaller, but in a way it’s a far but an influential planetoid (dwarf planet). On its current transit it will spend three last years in the critical and final degrees of Capricorn, and those tend to pile up difficulties most often than not.
If this is truly the case, we would need to wait for March 2023 for Pluto’s first ingress into the sign of the water bearer for some real good news to arrive.



Photo credit: NASA

2 comments:

  1. Hi. I recently started to get interested in astrology from https://horo.io/ and I was interested to know what effect Saturn in Aquarius has on what is happening in the world.Thank you for your article, it gave me all the information. I am shocked and disappointed that these troubles will last so long.

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