for the four weeks beginning FEBRUARY 2, 2019
If you are unfamiliar with the methods and interpretations of Sidereal mundane astrology, please see my free book Sidereal Mundane Astrology. (A link to the current edition can be found near the top of the Publications sub-forum.) For standard interpretations, see Chapter 8 of the current (16th) Edition.
LONG-TERM (Solar Ingress) PATTERNS
For the United States, the 12 months beginning January 15, 2019 will resemble the 12 that came before them. Capsolars for 2018 and 2019 both have Uranus, Pluto, and Sun as the three strongest planets. Both have a powerful Mercury-Saturn combination supported by Mars-Jupiter. Where they differ is that 2019 has more Sun in the mix - the focus is more on the president (however hard that may be to believe) - and is missing the Venus-Uranus elements that drove so many changes in international relationships. Also, the Mercury-Saturn elements are concentrated on the U.S. in 2019 and not shared with the world as in 2018.
Uranus is on IC (2°36') and Sun on Eastpoint (1°53'). Their square is only 0°08' wide (in RA) and is the most important aspect of the year. Sun-Uranus signals startling events, which, historically, has included surprise attacks, sudden changes in leadership, and technology breakthroughs.
URANUS is most angular (2°36' from IC). Explosion is the most characteristic idea (whether literal or metaphorical). Its unique contributions are sudden rupture or eruption, shock, surprise, and overflowing normal boundaries and limits. Disclosures and revelations are common. Uranian events often have profound social impact to the point of defining the character of an era.
SUN is also closely angular (1°53' from EP), concentrating attention on the head of state or the government in general. Sun is involved for increased government intervention, or heightened, front-and-center perception of government’s presence in people’s lives. Sun's aspects to Uranus and Pluto infer rebellion against present leadership and a wide rejection of prevailing political views. (Sun-Pluto always has an element of disrespect for, or rejecting, the law or those forces that create and enforce the law. Sometimes this means removing those in power.)
MERCURY CONJOINS SATURN (2°46') in the foreground. From this we expect restrictions, delays, failures, or calamity relating to transportation and communication. Communication fails for technical reasons and because people don't listen to each other. Expect further economic narrowing and backtracking on economic recovery: Commerce is interrupted: More newspapers go out of business. More small businesses (especially retail outlets) close their doors. Information flow is interrupted and rationed. Data integrity is increasingly doubted; cybersecurity remains a greater priority than cyber-expansion. With Saturn still in Sagittarius all year, immigration, aviation, elitism, hierarchical economic separation, and missiles dominate headlines.
Reinforcing the message of economic crisis, Washington's Capsolar has a MARS-JUPITER mundane square (2°07') that doesn't exist ecliptically; i.e., it is geographically distinctive to Washington. This could be as slight as a few more government shutdowns or as ravaging as a market crash, but probably will be something between. Resources are squandered, stretched past their capacity. Belief-driven enthusiasm and aggression accelerate. Bigots have louder voices. In nature, as in human affairs, expect stormy weather.
Mercury also conjoins Pluto (2°32' in mundo). Mundanely, Mercury sits 0°30' from the Saturn/Pluto midpoint. This anticipates major collisions of information, communication, and ideas. One sense in which this is positive politically is that it suggests that opposing factions in Congress will again be engaging passionately, unlike the tepid, rigid polarization of recent years. Investigations drill deeply into untapped data to disclose information that changes the prevailing paradigm, significantly reframing how people think about things.
Another expression of this "collision" motif, against which we must guard, is in the realm of cyber attacks, including the remote undermining of critical communication, management, and cyber-control networks. This will be a significant theme of 2019.
MEDIUM-TERM PATTERNS (The Bridge)
All month, Pluto is on a Capsolar angle, with Uranus also there for the first few days and Saturn (aspected by progressed Cansolar Moon) for about half the month. Then, during two concentrated periods, Mars joins the mix. These longer trends prime for significant events characteristic of the combined planet natures as follows:
- Feb 2-6 Mars Saturn Uranus Pluto
- Feb 7-12 Mars Saturn Pluto
- Feb 13-14 Saturn Pluto
- Feb 15-25 Pluto
- Feb 26-Mar 2 Mars Pluto
SHORT-TERM (Lunar Ingress) PATTERNS
Liblunar (Jan 26)
The Liblunar covers January 26 to February 10 (due to the dormant Feb 2 Caplunar). In a sharp departure from prior weeks, it startles us out of our comfortable indulgences with news and revelations. With Mercury and both luminaries involved, these events are kept right before our eyes, right in the spotlight.
What will the events be? It's hard to guess with Uranus so powerfully placed, because they are sure to surprise us. Most likely the main event will center on data, disclosures, and important communications, and on the president directly (given Sun's angularity and close aspect with Moon).
Other aspects mostly reiterate what I've already said: Sun-Uranus describes the startling and explosive, Moon-Uranus describes shifting condition requiring rapid adaptation and reorientation, Sun-Mercury and Moon-Mercury (besides introducing transportation and commerce themes) demand headlines or otherwise center on documents, paperwork, or their digital equivalent. Mars squares Ascendant along most of the Texas-Mexico border, so violent, deadly confrontations resembling war can be expected in that region.
Although the February 2 Caplunar is dormant, its lunar aspects trigger events of violence or the unleashing of great force, which makes the Liblunar's second week more eruptive than its first. Worldwide, Moon squares Mars (2°40' ) and conjoins Pluto (3°18').
CapQ Ascendant crosses Sun 2/4 and squares Uranus 2/8-9, when the biggest surprises or shifts will occur. In the CanQ, transiting Mars (squared by Pluto) conjoins Ascendant all week, which (in addition to sponsoring more and larger fires) suggests sustained hostility if not outright violence. Feb 4-7 brings Saturn to CanQ MC and Uranus to its Ascendant with Mars still close.
Arilunar (Feb 10)
The Arilunar covers February 10-17 and unlocks the volatile potential of the dormant Caplunar. A triple Moon-Mars-Uranus conjunction is foreground with Mars and Uranus closely square MC. Mars also squares non-angular Pluto (2°10' in mundo). It has all the symbolism of the Caplunar but brought to the angles.
Mars-Uranus is explosive, bursting with startling violence. Expect at least psychological “bombshells” (and maybe physical ones), symbols of fire + explosion and surprise attacks. Pluto's square amplifies the ferocity and unleashing of force, adding an element of disrespect for the law. It is difficult for people to get along and find agreement.
Moon, least foreground of the three, likely adds context. For example, the described events may occur in public places where herds of people congregate, or may center around children. Specific possibilities are numerous, especially since Mars-Uranus aspects, angular Mars, angular Uranus, and Moon aspects to Mars and Uranus are all among the most common factors for disasters in general, especially those with high property damage.
February 10-12, CanQ MC crosses one or another Pluto, delivering a hard smack to get our attention (with Asc square Mars on the 11th). On 2/16, Sun, Jupiter, and Uranus come to angles, centering attention squarely on the president with a startling eruption of news.
Canlunar (Feb 17)
The Canlunar covers February 17-23. Moon's opposition to Pluto is quite close for Washington (less than 2° in mundo), so there is a palpable sense of increased intensity. Our attention is fixed unflinching like that of the colloquial deer caught in headlights, or of one rendered immobile by the headlight of an oncoming train.
Mercury is the one tightly angular planet, 0°20' from square Ascendant. It conjoins Neptune (which is not itself angular). While any of the primary Mercury themes could be the center of attention (communication, transportation, logistics and strategy, and especially the centricity of the news media, among other possibilities), the closeness of this angularity suggests something decisive and concrete, such as a document - a single written instrument that binds our attention, for example. (Otherwise it is likely a straightforward transportation or communication theme.)
Mercury conjunct Neptune breeds confusion, disorientation, and bad choices but, especially, poses uncertainty about the future. Usually, on everyone's mind is the question, “What’s next?” or, “What happens now?”
On 2/19, CanQ EP crosses Uranus which is partile conjunct Mars, so at least one major bombshell will startle us, with aftershocks echoing until the end of the week.
Liblunar (Feb 23)
The Liblunar covers February 23 to March 2. I think I have never seen a lunar ingress like this one - so divided and oppositional in its indications - which might mean that we are in for something outside of our normal experience. On one hand, Jupiter closely rises (1°59'), with its only aspect a benign-to-favorable square (0°34') to a non-angular Mercury. On the other hand, Moon forms mundane squares to a Venus-Saturn-Pluto triple conjunction. (Venus-Pluto is 0°10' wide ecliptically.) This suggests soul-mortifying grief and loss, if not outright inhumanity.
I only know one category of event with these planetary themes intermixed. Jupiter joins Moon-Saturn and Moon-Pluto for massacres, the intentional slaughter of huge numbers of people (sometimes of a genocidal scope) by a government or other institution. I do not seriously believe this could happen today in or by the United States. Nonetheless, it gives a starting point in understanding what this one-week chart might mean. One further clue: The same stream of event may continue into the following month, since the March 2 Caplunar has a rising Saturn-Pluto conjunction (reinforced by Moon and Venus) square Mars on IC. Therefore, we now enter several weeks of severity and cruelty: This week is preamble.
It could be simply a declaration of war: Venus-Pluto marks dramatic changes in relationships, including starting a war. More generally, it shows a final, stark severing of emotional ties, as in loss of loved ones and the destruction of homes and community, on a scale that stuns one’s sensibilities. - Other aspects in the set say much the same. Standard interpretations for Moon-Saturn, Moon-Pluto, and Venus-Saturn aspects recycle similar themes of love + loss, sacrifice and sadness, separations lined with poignant emotional intensity, and even hate, remorse, and alienation. In this company, Moon-Venus cannot be protective and only underlines that what is lost is something profoundly dear to us.
Within this pattern, Jupiter rising cannot mean that this is an unusually good month where people feel blessed. It does surely mean, though, that some people consider this week's events to be a significant "win," or that they find a way to profit from it in money or esteem. If the losses are from a fire or natural disaster, they will come from excess or over-reach, or in a setting of festivities (like the many cases of club fires made more tragic by extreme over-packing). Most likely, though, it means that the emotional tragedies will benefit or reward an elite few (political, economic, or aristocratic elite).
Mercury-Jupiter amidst negative events nearly always show one party’s “win-lose” victory at the cost of another’s loss. It has also occurred for well-planned, well-executed terrorist attacks.
As astrologers, we have much to learn from observing events this week with one eye on the news and the other eye on this Liblunar.
In the midst of this, Quotidian MC crossing Venus 2/26 provides a day of small blessing or relief. In the CanQ, 2/23 transiting Mars (exactly on Q EP) squares Cansolar Mars for a day of violence. On 2/28 CanQ MC crosses ingress Mars, a similar burst of Mars themes.
