Solunars by Aldebaran Sidereal Academy

USA Mundane Forecast
for a brief period beginning JANUARY 6, 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
The 12 months beginning January 15, 2018 are coming to a close. They have been described remarkably well by the 2018 Capsolar. I repeat one last time what was predicted for the year now ending and invite your comparison of it to actual events.

We knew in advance that this year would be unstable, revolutionary, revising, remapping, anti-establishment, and often anti-government based on the following factors:

Pluto (0°08') & Uranus (0°42') angular. A spirit of revolution assaults current systems, tearing at iconic structures. PLUTO: High-impact events that sever connections. Mainstream and counter-establishment sensibilities clash. Leader crises, financial crises, severing historic relations. Natural disasters include hurricanes, earthquakes, floods. URANUS: Explosions (literal or metaphorical); sudden rupture, shock, surprise, overflowing normal boundaries & limitations. Disclosures, revelations, surprise attacks, changes in leadership, protests, and revolts and their suppression.

Foreground SUN-VENUS-URANUS: Changes in foreign relations are a certainty. Shifting social values, including increased liberty in Venus matters. "Culture wars" kick up more intensely. The voice of rebellion is concentrated on those in the highest office.

MOON conjoins MERCURY & SATURN. Expect economic narrowing and backtracking on the recovery: recession is not unthinkable. Capsolars had close Moon-Saturn aspects in 1819, 1837, and 2008, which should concern students of American money crises. Its record for violent inhumanity is heart-stopping. Climate destabilization will escalate faster in 2018 than in previous years, with tragic, life-smashing consequences.

• Mercury + Saturn. Restrictions, delays, failures, & calamity in transportation & communication. Communication fails for technical reasons & because people stop listening to each other. Information flow is interrupted & rationed. Data integrity is increasingly doubted; cybersecurity is a greater priority than cyber-expansion. Commerce is interrupted: More newspapers go out of business, more small businesses close their doors.
• Moon-Mercury: The media remains much of the story.
• Moon-Saturn: Hardship, narrowing, sacrifice, loss, sadness, with few causes for celebration. Bereavement, deprivation, disappointment, destructive assaults by people & nature; other hardship centers primarily on alienation and divisiveness. It will be a good year for undertakers.
• Saturn in Sagittarius: Internationalism, immigration, aviation, elitism, hierarchical economic separation, & missiles dominate headlines.

MARS-JUPITER: Resources are squandered, stretched past capacity. Religious evangelism and other belief-driven enthusiasm and aggression accelerate. Bigots have louder voices. In nature, as in human affairs, expect stormy weather.

Libsolar
This ingress, overlaying mid-October to mid-January, is volatile, combative, and confrontational. Angular Pluto brings many of the year's themes to a head. Moon conjoins Mars within half a degree for Washington: This is outright bloody (in parts of the world, literally spilling blood and counting bodies); yet the conjunction closely squares Mercury, so the "bloodying" we see will be especially with words and disclosures from data streams, documents, and the press and other publications. A close Mercury-Uranus PVP opposition signals discoveries and revelations. These start spilling forth at an accelerated pace through the last half of October and into early November and the elections.


MEDIUM-TERM PATTERNS (The Bridge)
The entire period is a SATURN-PLUTO zone. This combines the strongest themes from the 2018 Capsolar and brings its year to a climax. There is an engulfing severity and loss, a sense of a line having been crossed, a doorway passed through which we cannot go back.

From January 6-9, Mars joins Saturn-Pluto. Remarkably, Mars both opposes CanQ Moon and squares Capsolar Moon, especially within a day of January 7 when transiting Mars, CanQ Moon, and Cansolar Saturn are all exactly aligned (with Mercury a day joining them later). Such Mars-Moon transits (especially in the severe context of Saturn-Pluto) reliably bring violence, blood, fire, natural disasters, accidents, and other deadly destruction; in short, a sense of threat and crisis with real severity and damage. These likely involve obvious Mercury themes.


SHORT-TERM (Lunar Ingress) PATTERNS

Caplunar (Jan 6)
The Caplunar covers January 6 to February 2, especially the first week, January 6-14. Mercury sets (1°53'), square a non-foreground Mars. Jupiter squares Neptune (1°13') in the foreground.

With Mercury leading, we expect obvious themes of commerce, communication, transportation, and technology. In an era of ubiquitous news coverage, angular Mercury still distinguishes times that mobilize the news media much more than usual, with critical breaking news, "special broadcasts,” media events, and other forms of media saturation. With Mars' square, we expect this will have an unusual sense of threat and agitation (not to mention the greater vulnerability to travel tragedies and other transportation crises). All of this seems rather normal in today's life, but somehow it will be more acutely obvious during the period of this Caplunar.

Yet, it seems the Jupiter-Neptune will add the most distinctive flavor to the time. This is the aspect of compelling unreasoned optimism, which religion calls faith. Economically, it is inflationary: Despite current market pessimism, this could drive accelerated speculative investment (what most people call "gambling"). This aspect contrasts sharply with Mercury's serving of facts: One can expect belief-driven platforms seeking to overwhelm positions grounded in facts and reason. More generally, Jupiter-Neptune can mark events of powerful inspiration, faith, and idealism, passionate opposing bigotry, excess, over-abundance, immoderation, and glut.

Though the tone seems optimistic (unreasoningly and excessively so), Jupiter-Neptune also speaks of scandal. Skeletons well-hidden in closets may start rattling their bones.

The Northeast U.S. is open to drenching weather all month. Angularities in this Caplunar (partly echoed in later lunar ingresses) suggest mighty Atlantic storms off the NE will risk of flooding through much of New England. Inundation is also suggested for the area around New Orleans and nearby parts of Mississippi.

SATURN crosses CapQ IC 1/6, so expect a bad day for the folks in Washington and a brief downturn of optimism. However, the spotlight shines most intensely on 1/7-8 when transiting Sun conjoins CapQ Moon exactly on CapQ IC (with Saturn still in orb). Moon-Sun aspects can signal many specific kinds of events, especially those that spotlight national leaders (especially the chief executive), regulated matters that draw great attention from the government, matters of national pride, the institution of marriage, and cyclical phenomena such as acute stock market shifts.

Arilunar (Jan 14)
This will be discussed in US Forecast Jan 15 - Feb 2, 2019 here:
https://solunars.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=2806

PROGRESSIONS
President Trump continues several progressions this month, of which the foremost are a mix of powerful positive and negative patterns:

• p Saturn conjunct p Midheaven
• p Mars sextile r Pluto
• p Venus conjunct r Jupiter (p Venus also trines r Uranus; p Sun aspects Venus-Jupiter)

His progressed Saturn-MC conjunction has marked his first two years as president with ever-increasing threats to his status: This continues through mid-March. So far, progressed Venus trine natal Uranus has primarily manifested (allowing that there may be private matters about which we have no knowledge) as unfaithfulness to more or less everyone around him. His favor does not signify protection or security. He shifts alliance and allegiance quickly, even whimsically. He demonstrates little loyalty to anyone.

Progressed Saturn is 0°01' from semi-square his Uranus, amplifying the negative cast of this Venus-Uranus. To borrow a short list of traits from Ebertin: psychological strain from having to restrain his instincts, willfulness and stubbornness in relationships, inconstancy, moodiness, and an urge to break away and sever bonds. Progressed Venus and Saturn to his Uranus, in summary, leaves him with little stability in his relationships and increasingly unsatisfied wants and blocked instincts.

Several minor progressed Moon aspects are in orb the entire period (to natal Sun, Mercury, and Midheaven and progressed Jupiter). Many of these climax in the next period and are presently more backdrop than main event.

TRANSITS
Transits to Trump's nativity and Solar Return are of great interest this month. They show him riding a wave of much negativity, though that negativity likely came to its peak in the two weeks prior. Five significant aspects (mostly transits) converge to portray crisis and loss.

• SQ Mercury op. SSR Saturn Dec 24 to Jun 15
• t Pluto op. SQ Moon Dec 16 to Apr 18
• SQ Moon op. SSR Pluto Dec 29 to Feb 17
• t Saturn op. SSR Moon Dec 24 to Jan 10
• t Saturn sqq. r Mars Jan 4-21

Saturn's transit to natal Mars is exact January 12. A day earlier, transiting Mars opposes his Neptune. These will be days of conflict and intimidation.

Trump's current Sidereal Solar Return (SSR) has a foreground Mercury-Saturn opposition, and progressed (SQ) Mercury entered a 1° orb of that opposition 12/24. It will last until his next birthday. Mercury-Saturn is known for dreadful states of mind, especially from feeling unheard, criticized, and discouraged. Mental, communication, and commercial matters do poorly in the absence of thoroughness and care. Most people don't listen to him with a friendly ear. One new hurdle after another makes things difficult for the next six months.

Two Pluto aspects with progressed SSR Moon mark late December and early 2019 with crisis, emotional confrontation, shifts in relationships and domestic conditions, rebellion, losses (or at least separations) and especially the need to break free of other people's control. At root we see the world's demand for authenticity interacting with Trumps malleable, adaptive, psychological survival instincts.


SIDEREAL LUNAR RETURN (Jan 3)
Natal Moon-Sun-Uranus aligns with the meridian, Sun and Uranus on MC and Moon on IC. The President feels very much himself: We get "quintessential Trump," and it brings the usual bag of surprises and maybe a touch of genius. With Moon mere minutes from IC, he feels the affairs of this month powerfully, their impressions swarming him.

Whereas natal planets are tightly angular, foreground transiting planets are farther from the angles. They represent threats, but their intensity is not yet so great. This SLR occurs the day the new Congress convenes and the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives will still be organizing and setting plans in motion. While the intensity is not great, the tone is clear: Mercury and Mars (6° and 8° from angles) are 2° from square each other, so his environment is filled with verbal attack and strategic planning against him. Neptune's midpoint with Mars is only 0°14' from the horizon, a further indication of toxic conditions and perhaps insidious plotting. Neptune also is in close PVP square with natal and transiting Moon, so there is anxiety and inflation of his response as he feels his vulnerabilities more naked and exposed.

Below are the primary prediction passages for exactly now. Ignoring, for a moment, the "weather forecast" in the last few lines, I do not think that this fits much of anything I'm seeing in the main headlines this week.

The Bridge is described as quite severe. The Caplunar is described in quite other terms (though not at all upbeat). I don't see either as describing what we see going on. The closest is that the angular Mercury in the Caplunar, squared by a non-angular Mars, can mean the failure of diplomacy and, indeed, any real negotiation has broken down; but that's hardly the whole picture either of the charts or of the news.

I think there is something we're not seeing, something we don't know. (I'm not even sure what those words mean, but they are the words that keep going through my head.) Two possibilities: (1) The main events are driven by the strong Jupiter-Neptune right now AND we don't really understand what Jupiter-Neptune means in mundane astrology, i.e., I'm interpreting it wrong. (or) (2) There is far more stagecraft, deception, veiling of motives and plans going on than usual and - much more than usual - we're busy watching the movie instead of seeing what's going on outside the window.

Main national headlines since January 6 have mostly focused on:
1. The government shutdown with all of the component topics of The Wall, Trump confrontation with the new Congress and threats of using a National Emergency declaration to use the military on U.S. soil to build The Wall, consequences large and small of the shutdown on people's lives, etc.
1A. Trump's prime time Oval Office address.
1B. Trump has continued to throw temper tantrums.
2. Delays in Trump's order to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
3. Shooting/killing of a 7-year-old girl in Houston (earlier than this period, but talked about during this period).
4. OTOH Cyntoia Brown was released after a mere 15 years served for killing her rapist.
5. Golden Globes and their attention on Freddie, not Lady. (OK, that's Jupiter-Neptune , as is the continued success of Aquaman).
6. Stock market roller coaster.
7. Mueller reveals that Paul Manafort turned U.S. election polling data over to the Russians.
8. Rod Rosenstein is expected to retire from the FBI when the new director is confirmed.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Wed Dec 26, 2018 4:46 pm The entire period is a SATURN-PLUTO zone. This combines the strongest themes from the 2018 Capsolar and brings its year to a climax. There is an engulfing severity and loss, a sense of a line having been crossed, a doorway passed through which we cannot go back.

From January 6-9, Mars joins Saturn-Pluto. Remarkably, Mars both opposes CanQ Moon and squares Capsolar Moon, especially within a day of January 7 when transiting Mars, CanQ Moon, and Cansolar Saturn are all exactly aligned (with Mercury a day joining them later). Such Mars-Moon transits (especially in the severe context of Saturn-Pluto) reliably bring violence, blood, fire, natural disasters, accidents, and other deadly destruction; in short, a sense of threat and crisis with real severity and damage. These likely involve obvious Mercury themes.

Caplunar (Jan 6)Caplunar 200106b.jpg
The Caplunar covers January 6 to February 2, especially the first week, January 6-14. Mercury sets (1°53'), square a non-foreground Mars. Jupiter squares Neptune (1°13') in the foreground.

With Mercury leading, we expect obvious themes of commerce, communication, transportation, and technology. In an era of ubiquitous news coverage, angular Mercury still distinguishes times that mobilize the news media much more than usual, with critical breaking news, "special broadcasts,” media events, and other forms of media saturation. With Mars' square, we expect this will have an unusual sense of threat and agitation (not to mention the greater vulnerability to travel tragedies and other transportation crises). All of this seems rather normal in today's life, but somehow it will be more acutely obvious during the period of this Caplunar.

Yet, it seems the Jupiter-Neptune will add the most distinctive flavor to the time. This is the aspect of compelling unreasoned optimism, which religion calls faith. Economically, it is inflationary: Despite current market pessimism, this could drive accelerated speculative investment (what most people call "gambling"). This aspect contrasts sharply with Mercury's serving of facts: One can expect belief-driven platforms seeking to overwhelm positions grounded in facts and reason. More generally, Jupiter-Neptune can mark events of powerful inspiration, faith, and idealism, passionate opposing bigotry, excess, over-abundance, immoderation, and glut.

Though the tone seems optimistic (unreasoningly and excessively so), Jupiter-Neptune also speaks of scandal. Skeletons well-hidden in closets may start rattling their bones.

The Northeast U.S. is open to drenching weather all month. Angularities in this Caplunar (partly echoed in later lunar ingresses) suggest mighty Atlantic storms off the NE will risk of flooding through much of New England. Inundation is also suggested for the area around New Orleans and nearby parts of Mississippi.

Jim wrote:

…(or) (2) There is far more stagecraft, deception, veiling of motives and plans going on than usual and - much more than usual –

That’s the nature of politics, IMHO.

Jim wrote:

Golden Globes and their attention on Freddie…

Always makes me when rock/roll takes center stage.

SteveS wrote: Fri Jan 11, 2019 6:16 am Jim wrote:

…(or) (2) There is far more stagecraft, deception, veiling of motives and plans going on than usual and - much more than usual –

That’s the nature of politics, IMHO.

I agree (at least, most of the time); but if this were to be attributed to the very strong Jupiter-Neptune square, then it would have to represent something happening now that doesn't usually happen.

Jim wrote:

…but if this were to be attributed to the very strong Jupiter-Neptune square, then it would have to represent something happening now that doesn't usually happen.

I find it most interesting to observe Ebertin words in COSI under negative manifestations for Jupiter-Neptune:

(Political Conflicts)

But (as you pointed out) thats always the case. What's unique to NOW?

Jim asked:

But (as you pointed out) thats always the case. What's unique to NOW?

IMO, what is ‘unique’ to "NOW" is politically the politics of this Country is the worst it has ever been and growing worse as everyday passes, the Country’s politics is seriously divided on ideology! Serious enough to possibly hold serious consequences for the symbolism in the 2021 Capsolar, imo. Why Ebertin saw the symbolism of a combo of Jupiter-Neptune as having something to do with negative manifestations for “Political conflicts” is very puzzling to me Jim. All I really know is the fact: that is what is happening NOW—a great divide of “Political conflicts.”

SteveS wrote: Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:41 am IMO, what is ‘unique’ to "NOW" is politically the politics of this Country is the worst it has ever been and growing worse as everyday passes, the Country’s politics is seriously divided on ideology!

Sorry, I should have narrowed "now" more. Let me ask again: What is unique to the last four days (the duration of the current Caplunar that began January 6 with a close foreground Jupiter-Neptune square) in contrast to, say, last week or last month? The biggest part of the current puzzle for me is not being able to distinguish Jupiter-Neptune themes this week (since last Sunday) from those of a week earlier or a month earlier, and yet two themes - Mercury-Mars and Jupiter-Neptune - should be uniquely, distinctively expressive in the last several days in contrast to the rest of the time.

Normally we can see these things very clearly. These lunar ingresses make themselves at least moderately clear if not dramatically clear. This one doesn't seem to be doing that at all, and I'm wondering if (1) there is meaning in its symbols that I have entirely missed so that I have wrong expectations for it or (2) there is something (more than usual - unusually so!) operating that is obscuring the real events of the moment. - As someone living on this planet and in this country, if it's (2) then I want to know what it is!

BTW beginning early February, Trump enters a period when he seems untouchable, having the greatest protection, personal fortune, and popularity. I don't know how long this lasts, but I'm starting to do monthly forecasts earlier than usual so I can look down the road a bit. His progressed Saturn-MC has only weeks of life left in it, and his progressed Sun-Jupiter is exact next month, for example (but also see his lunar returns).

Jan 6 is when Trump started saying he would accept a "steel wall" instead of a concrete one as a concession to Democrats, who don't see the difference and don't agree negotiating means agreeing to do what Trump wants.
It's also the date Trump was told he could declare an emergency and divert funds from disaster recovery to pay for the thing, and that would also allow him to steal people's land to build it, although neither is likely true.
But hey, it got people to stop complaining about climate change.

Jim wrote:

Sorry, I should have narrowed "now" more. Let me ask again: What is unique to the last four days (the duration of the current Caplunar that began January 6 with a close foreground Jupiter-Neptune square) in contrast to, say, last week or last month?

Not political news Jim, and this may be a stretch, but the only Jupiter-Neptune news I witness could have been this:

https://screenrant.com/captain-marvel-p ... g-weekend/