for the four weeks beginning JULY 16, 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 are dominated by Uranus on IC square Sun on Eastpoint (0°08' wide in RA). Sun-Uranus signals startling events such as surprise attacks, sudden changes in leadership, and technology breakthroughs.
URANUS forecasts explosions (literal or metaphorical), sudden rupture or eruption, shock, surprise, overflowing normal bounds, and revelations. Uranian events often define the character of an era. SUN concentrates attention on the government (especially the head of state) with heightened perception of government’s presence in people’s lives. Sun's aspects to Uranus and Pluto infer rebellion against present leadership and rejection of prevailing political views. Sun-Pluto brings disrespect for the law or those that create or enforce it (which sometimes means removing those in power).
MERCURY CONJOINS SATURN in the foreground. Expect restrictions, delays, failures, or calamity relating to transportation and communication. Information flow is interrupted or rationed. Data integrity is doubted: cybersecurity remains a higher priority than cyber-expansion. Economic narrowing and backtracking on economic recovery interrupt commerce. More newspapers and retail businesses close their doors.
Reinforcing the message of economic crisis, MARS square JUPITER exists only mundanely: It is geographically distinctive to Washington. This could be as slight as further government shutdowns or as ravaging as a market crash, but probably will be something between. Resources are squandered, stretched past capacity. Belief-driven aggression accelerates. Bigots have louder voices. In nature, as in human affairs, expect stormy weather.
MERCURY CONJUNCT PLUTO anticipates collisions of information, communication, and ideas. This suggests opposing factions in Congress will engage passionately again, unlike the tepid, rigid polarization of recent years. Investigations drill deeply into untapped data to disclose information that changes the prevailing paradigm, reframing how people think. Also, expect cyber attacks, including remote undermining of critical communication and cyber-control networks.
With Saturn in Sagittarius all year, immigration, aviation, elitism, hierarchical economic separation, and nationalism (anti-internationalism) dominate the public discussion.
Arisolar (Apr 15)
As the July 17 Cansolar is dormant, the Arisolar remains the Quarter chart until mid-October. It shows great severity. Saturn rises within 0°02' in Washington. Pluto is 2°34' below Ascendant, with Saturn conjunct Pluto. Together, Saturn and Pluto PVP square Moon, with Moon-Saturn partile.
With SATURN RISING so closely, expect loss and deprivation, whether of property or human life. The stock market will falter and the economy narrow. Banks are imperiled. Damage from natural disasters increases. Foremost with this Moon-Saturn-Pluto trio, human cruelty rises, hearts harden, and sadness spreads like a dark cloud. Saturn-Pluto brings dramatic hardships with a sense of irrevocable loss or separation. Moon-Saturn means sacrifice, loss, and sadness. Moon-Pluto emphasizes separation, alienation, and departures. The emotional impact of genocide matches these aspects, though of course other physical outcomes are possible.
For the United States, the first consequence of the new Cansolar is that the 2018 Cansolar expires. It concentrated passionate waves of populism with an elevation of thriving unreason fueling herd-mind arousal, disorientation, and deception while undermining trust and confidence. These should abate now. New threats are sharper, more reality based: Cansolar Moon squares Uranus (0°19') for the world. Moon opposes Mars in mundo for Washington.
MEDIUM-TERM PATTERNS (The Bridge)
- Pluto and Uranus set the base tone for the month. Pluto continues to conjoin Capsolar EP. All month Uranus squares Cansolar Moon and CanQ Moon squares Uranus (these are exact 8/2 and 7/27, respectively). This makes for an eruptive, shifting time when established conventions and sacred cows are at risk.
- Fueling the fire of rebellion and potentially explosive engagement, Mars squares Capsolar Moon for the first two days, then Mars squares CapQ Moon July 25-28. These are volatile days of a MARS-URANUS-PLUTO zone: expect a (figurative) explosion or two to go off in Washington.
SHORT-TERM (Lunar Ingress) PATTERNS
Caplunar (Jul 16) The Caplunar covers July 16 to August 13, especially the first two weeks, July 16-31. Mercury is the one closely angular planet (square MC 0°21'), so the main themes involve information, including "the news." Five other foreground planets make for a complex chart.
To give a feeling of the map: It resembles a chart for destructive hurricanes or comparable large-scale, high-impact events. Aspects suggest tumbling structures and shaken foundations with a deeply personal, emotional sense of loss (and probably government oversight, regulation, or assistance), all tied into common Mercury themes of communication, transportation, commerce, technology, strategic deployment, mobilized news media, or simply, wind.
It may not be specifically a hurricane, but the primary events now will feel like this. Astrology does not distinguish whether the effects are physical or only psychological because, in either case, it only shows the psychological impact.
After Mercury angular and opposition Moon (0°08') comes Venus opposite Saturn (0°20'). Venus-Saturn also squares Uranus, while Venus more widely opposes Pluto. It seems the party is over. Grief over loss of loved ones is most common for these aspects (or other forms of remorse). If this is not a consequence of a natural disaster, it suggests shifting relations, alienation from allies, or a conservative backlash against civil freedoms involving relationship, sex, and reproduction. (Moon opposes Sun 0°52'.)
Saturn-Uranus forces a bubble-bursting confrontation with harsh reality. Uranus square Pluto is revolutionary, revising, and remapping, "tearing down old structures" physically or psychologically. Mercury opposite Pluto, besides crises in communication or transportation, shows that new facts or consequences of events stun the intellect, reframing how people think about things.
It's a tough month, given that Mercury is the only closely angular planet. We may learn how complex and challenging Mercury can make things in the company of so many harsh, disruptive aspects.
Jupiter-Neptune jangles nerves, perhaps especially with weather phenomena, in southern California and across much of mid-country, from New Mexico arcing north and east toward Minnesota. From western Wisconsin due south through Louisiana, Venus-Saturn is angular, concentrating what was said above about the aspect and hurricanes (among other Venus-Saturn phenomena). Uranus surprises New England with phenomena overrunning boundaries and borders of expectation.
To heighten the sense of crisis, transiting MARS is in orb of CapQ Ascendant all week (as transiting SUN stays conjunct Q EP). On July 18, with Mars angular, URANUS crosses CapQ MC. It will be a threatening, explosive day.
Arilunar (Jul 24)
The Arilunar for July 24-31 is dormant, so the Caplunar flows through in full force. Moon aspects Mercury exactly, as in the Caplunar (this time a 0°22' mundane square), but Moon and Mercury aspect Venus, which at least should mellow communication and give more peace.
Saturn sets along the entire California coast, raising more concerns of earthquakes and other dread. Pluto sets through Arizona, Nevada, and western Oregon and Washington. The line half-way between them (mostly through the middle of California) is at least as destruction-prone as either of the individual lines. A Mars-Uranus intersection near the Tennessee-Alabama border suggests something explosive. Numerous lines across the West deserve your individual attention, including a spotlight shown on Denver and through Texas. An area within 150-200 miles of Wichita has a Venus-Uranus intersection (see the usual interpretations). Mars squares MC roughly along the Appalachians.
CapQ MC crosses URANUS 7/26 with Asc exactly on MARS: an explosive day foreshadowed a week earlier. CanQ Ascendant crosses transiting JUPITER 7/24 and ingress JUPITER the next day, then squares NEPTUNE 7/27: These will mark the usual Jupiter-Neptune events. (What movies are opening that weekend?)
Canlunar (Jul 31)
The Canlunar covers July 31 to August 6. For a third week in a row, Moon aspects Mercury (a 1°01' conjunction with Mercury stationary). Mercury and Moon oppose Pluto, so new information or reporting disrupts the flow of our lives and interrupts habitual thought.
The main aspect, though, is startling, explosive Sun-Uranus. Sun is on IC (1°26'), Uranus squares MC (0°23'), and they are square (1°11'), much as in the Capsolar. One common expression is change of leadership (a stronger possibility with a 0°02' Saturn-Neptune square that only appears mundanely, distinctive to Washington). With Sun and Uranus aspecting Venus, events express shifting social values and invite rearrangement of existing relationships.
San Francisco (and parts north) get Neptune's nerve-jangling effect. While the East Coast is more temperate with Sun and Venus lines, the Midwest's barrage by Saturn, Uranus, Pluto, Mercury, and Moon is more tense - this feels weather-related but may be more complex and incident-specific. (These also fall roughly across the Rockies: see Map 2.) In particular, Saturn strikes right down the middle of the Plains, Uranus-Pluto intersects in Missouri, Mercury-Uranus near the Arkansas-Mississippi border, and Moon-Uranus just off New Orleans. Mercury, roughly at the Moon-Pluto midpoint, may be the most critical line. Mars runs from about Milwaukee to just off Miami and seems threatening in isolation. - Lines in the two Canlunar maps intersect complexly, so be sure to check them out yourself for regions that interest you.
MARS remains near CapQ Ascendant all week. On 8/4, Q MC conjoins CapQ MOON, making the day's main events more personal to most of the nation, just as CanQ MC squares SATURN Aug 3-5.
Liblunar (Aug 6)
The Liblunar covers August 6-13. Things get better this week. It's been a rough month and we get a break with Jupiter on Westpoint (0°38'). Mainly, we all simply feel more relaxed, more ready for leisure. We may even feel proud of ourselves: Jupiter brings victories of all types, successful diplomacy, and a greater sense of prosperity and well-being.
For a fourth week in a row, Moon aspects Mercury, a 0°20' square. Moon also squares Sun and Venus mundanely. Communication and other input have challenged us all month, so it's a welcome reprieve to have a powerful benefic angular softening the tone.
Denver and parts due north and south, like Cheyenne, plus the entire California coast, are straddled by Sun and Venus lines that promise pleasantness and moderation. Jupiter strikes across mid-country, including New Orleans, which at worst might get a lot of rain (but let's expect good things with Jupiter this month). The most threatening stretch is the Mars line from Minnesota south to east Texas, passing exactly through such places as Kansas City, and another running from Seattle to Phoenix. Jupiter is angular in New York City: Expect a good week for the stock market (Moon-Mercury suggests high-volume trading).
CanQ angles continue to cross various SATURNS most of the week, with Q MC square PLUTO August 8, a critical day.