Category Archives: forecasting

Morrison on Pluto in Aquarius

In June, 1991, Al H. Morrison’s article, “Two Centuries of Pluto in Signs” appeared in The Mountain Astrologer magazine.  He began with a backward look at Pluto in Gemini through Scorpio, then added a forecast of what he considered likely with Pluto in Sagittarius through Aries (ending in 2097).  Here’s his take, over 30 years before the fact: 

Pluto will enter Aquarius on November 21, 2024. Traditionally, Aquarius is ruled by Saturn. In modern times we assign it to Uranus, the most reactionary of all planets. The action of Saturn is to hold everything as it is or was, in stable order. The situation/structure is a return to a vacuum, an empty space with perhaps some clutter of shattered bits and pieces of what has been.

The action of Pluto is revolution, mutation of individuals, and changes of consensus caused by such mutation. Aquarius has been thought to rule science, individual intellectual freedom, logic, fixed systems of rules, and independence (for individuals as well as groups or nations). It follows that Pluto arriving in Aquarian territory will upset our entire culture and change the way people think (or permit computers to manage everything). Aquarius is a very dry sign, not a very propitious environment for projects based on emotional or sentimental concerns.

We may have a planetary totalitarian regime during this tour of Pluto in Aquarius, perhaps required to cope with climatic changes, global nuclear and chemical pollution and other environmental problems. The most serious problem has not been addressed in the west in this latter part of the 20th century: what to do about overpopulation. First raised by Malthus early in the 19th century, it was countered by religious dedication to maximum birthrates. The mandate is yet to bring forth children “to fill the earth” in most religious groups.  The basic question comes to such crisis as to force world action while Pluto tours Aquarius…

It is even probable that scientists will discover while Pluto is in Aquarius that time itself is not constant or uniform, but merely another confusing variable.

(Pluto enters Pisces on March 1, 2043.)

The article above is an excerpt from The Best of Al H. Morrison.

Buy on Amazon.com.

Forecasting Elections

Another U.S. presidential election is past, and many astrologers, including myself, were wrong about the country’s choice.  Why?  Astrology, by its nature, is not good at predicting outcomes.

Nevertheless, my perception is that most experienced forecasting astrologers have a pretty good track record on these things – greater than chance and often better.  I’ve been correct for seven out of nine elections – about 78% of the time.  Not a fabulous grade, but I always remember Bob Zoller saying, “If you’re getting 75%, you’re doing really well.”  Although we have a 50-50 chance of getting it correct each time, there’s only about a 7% chance of calling heads correctly in seven out of nine coin tosses, the reason that casinos are generally rather profitable for the house.  It’s also why there’s such an interest in financial astrology:  if astrologers can give clients even a slight edge, they’re ahead of the game.

Still, most of us call elections outcomes only once every four years, so we’re not the most experienced.  We may imagine that we can figure out one specific technique that will solve the puzzle once and for all.  But even history professor Allan Lichtman who developed his “13 Keys to the White House” has been right only eight times out of ten (80%).  The pollsters and commentators certainly don’t have better records.

I did forecasting for clients for over 20 years and was quickly convinced of the foolishness of trying to predict certain outcomes.  Clients are often very eager for outcomes!  You can “guesstimate,” but I always found it better to describe the general astrological weather rather than suggest a definitive answer.  A specific horary can get you a little closer.  But we often just don’t know.

Astrology provides a window on reality that mainstream culture and experts lack, a glimpse into the Mind of God, if you will.  But it’s still only a glimpse, and there are as many different viewpoints as there are techniques.  And there may be no definitive reality in this heavy sublunary world.  (I doubt that an AI program written by top astrologers could call outcomes correctly 100% of the time.  Weather forecasting is supposed to be only 70% accurate for a week ahead.)

Astrology does better in describing the quality of a situation instead of quantitative analyses.  Symbols give wonderful insight, but by their very nature, they rarely provide hard and fast, definitive answers.  It’s not math or even science.  And there are many variable interpretations possible in keeping with a particular influence.  We do very well with birth chart delineations.  But another layer of complexity is added with any forecasting technique, and timing is often not as exact as we hope it will be (all reasons why rectification is so challenging).

We work through inference and judgment.  For a presidential election, I consider who has more success-oriented aspects and also which candidate has a more compelling interaction with the U.S. chart.  I usually use both longitude (regular chart placements) and declination, transits and progressions, because I feel that together they give a fuller view.

As you cannot separate the dancer from the dance, you also cannot separate the astrologer from their use of a technique.  It’s never the technique alone.  Of course, no one can escape a certain amount of bias, politically or astrologically.  But that doesn’t really explain why 64% of astrologers who Mark Cullen surveyed in 2024 thought that Kamala Harris would win and 53.5% of astrologers in 2020 forecast a Trump win (presuming that the astrologer pool hadn’t shifted dramatically in 4 years).

There seemed to be a number who were correct in their forecasts of a 2024 Trump win because he had Jupiter transiting his 10th house.  But Jupiter is not a panacea, as most experienced astrologers know.  We can’t conclude that Jupiter through the 10th house wins every time, and its influence doesn’t last long.  If it were that simple no one would get it wrong.

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries had transiting Jupiter trining his Jupiter at the time of the election, and his position remains unchanged.  Instead of winning, his book for young people about democracy was published at that time.  Publication is an important Jupiter theme, so we’d have to look elsewhere to explain why he didn’t advance in the House (though we lack a birth time for him).  Jupiter will sextile his Sun and Mars in Leo right after the inauguration.  This could facilitate a number of things but probably won’t make him speaker.

I lost a high paying magazine column when Jupiter trined my Moon.  Zoller would have said, “You’ve been released” and been correct, but it was still a disappointment.  Perhaps Kamala Harris feels the same with her progressed Moon exactly conjunct U.S. progressed Jupiter, with transiting Jupiter on her Ascendant and trine her Sun in May.  But as Evangeline Adams said, “Jupiter does not move the world alone.”  Adams also had a good election record, but got it wrong sometimes, too.  Astrology elevates no one to god-like prophetic status.

So why do we keep trying if we can’t be assured of success?  I personally believe that we can stretch ourselves and improve our skills by doing it.  It’s the future, after all.  Will we convince non-believers of the validity of astrology if more of us consistently “get it right”?  Hardly.  And when pollsters and political commentators can’t do better, why not try?

My own history with election forecasting (written in 2021).

My previous October and November 2024 posts show what I analyzed and my thinking.

Kamala Harris 2024

Kamala Harris has some compelling astrological influences that should help her win the 2024 presidential election.  Her progressed Moon is Out-of-Bounds, her progressed Sun conjoins her Descendant, and her progressed Sun is also parallel transiting Saturn in declination, all influences that have helped others achieve the presidency in the past.

The progressed Moon’s cycle Out-of-Bounds in declination usually marks a significant turning point in life, with the ability to find a notable public response.  Former president Trump was at the top of this cycle in 2016, and Hillary Clinton had it in 2008-9.  While she didn’t get the presidential nomination, she was appointed Secretary of State, the highest achievement of her career.  Harris is also at the top of this cycle, currently reflected in the millions she has raised for her campaign, nearly twice as much as her competitor.

Harris’ progressed Sun in late Sagittarius conjoins her Descendent this year, showing her rapport with the  public and how she’s benefited from notable partnerships like Joe Biden and the Democratic party.  (Trump’s progressed Sun was conjunct his Ascendant when he was elected.  Now, still in his 1st house, it only indirectly aspects his 10th house through rulership).  Harris’ Sun was near an exact conjunction with her Descendant when she was elected Vice President in 2020, but closely sextiles her natal Saturn (5’) at the time of the election, and will go on to sextile her MC over the next 4 years.

Her powerful Saturn, dignified in Aquarius and her most elevated planet, specifically relates to her career since it conjoins her MC.  Her natal Sun and Mercury are trine Saturn and the Midheaven, showing her steady path to success.  As the presidency is the next upward step, and her progressed Sun activates the natal, it signifies advancement.

Charles Jayne determined the outcome of presidential elections by comparing transiting Saturn’s declination to the candidates’ natal Sun, and Ann E. Parker analyzed this technique for all previous presidential elections in the Summer 2001 NCGR SIG newsletter The Other Dimension.  She confirmed that 69% of winners had transiting Saturn approaching a parallel or contraparallel with the birth Sun.  Transiting Saturn will actually station within less than 2 degrees in an approach to parallel Harris’ Sun in November of 2024, closer than many of the presidents Parker studied.  (Trump also had this combination in 2016.)

In addition to the above, I believe that the 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction and Pluto’s transition into Aquarius help her since Harris represents a new generation.  See my earlier post for more.

Harris’ numerous close progressions to her own chart and the U.S. are also more favorable than Trump’s (outlined here).  Very close aspects include her progressed Moon in Cancer parallel her Ascendant and North Node, her Ascendant parallel Jupiter, and Mars parallel Venus, classic patterns we associate with success.  Progressed Uranus moves extremely slowly, but on November 5 it will be stationing within 2’ of her natal Moon, signifying new experiences.

Similarly, Harris’ progressed Sun contraparallels the U.S. progressed Jupiter and the natal U.S. Ascendant, Venus and Mars, while paralleling the U.S. Pluto, extending their rapport.  Her progressed Mercury is exactly parallel the U.S. progressed South Node, linking her destiny with the country, as Mercury rules her 1st house (herself).

In longitude, the candidate’s progressed Moon in Cancer is very helpful in its own sign.  It closely activates her natal Venus-Uranus-Pluto sextile Neptune pattern with a trine and sextiles, while also closely conjoining U.S. progressed Jupiter, and trining the U.S. progressed Sun and Moon in Pisces.  This is about as good as it gets!  The Moon functions more tellingly for her as she has been campaigning on women’s reproductive issues.  Her progressed Moon will even trine the Inaugural Venus and Saturn as it sextiles her own progressed Jupiter conjoining the Inaugural Ascendant and opposes Mercury – creating a sextile-bowl pattern.

In addition to Charles Jayne’s transiting Saturn to natal Sun technique outlined above, Harris’ progressed Midheaven (career) conjoins U.S. progressed Venus in Taurus, solidifying her advancement, while closely opposing U.S. progressed Saturn (11’).  Donald Trump’s progressed Ascendant closely conjoins U.S. progressed Saturn, which I judged as blocking him personally.  For Kamala, with a strong and helpful Saturn in her birth chart, as well as years of experience in public service, I believe this shows assuming more responsibility.

Kamala Harris has an advantage, to my mind, in that her Ascendant closely aligns with Evangeline Adams’ Gemini rising U.S. Ascendant and Mars.  Transiting Jupiter’s station in late October conjoins her Ascendant and North Node, and  give her a boost.  While Jupiter won’t exactly trine her natal Sun and Saturn until April-May of 2025, its station is within 4 degrees of her Ascendant on election day.  Jupiter exactly sextiles her Mars throughout October (and conjoins U.S. Mars, which closely sextiles Harris’ Mars), channeling abundant energy into her efforts.

Transiting Saturn is also angular through Kamala Harris’ birth chart  (her 10th house).  She experienced the end of her second Saturn return while in office in early 2023.  Both show a period of time when one can capitalize on experience and move into a new phase in life.

The rest of Harris’ transits have a Uranian flavor which can be difficult to predict.  Kamala’s 10th house ruler Jupiter in Taurus forms the corner of a T-square with 3rd house Mars and Saturn conjunct her Midheaven. Transiting Uranus exactly conjoined her 12th house Jupiter in late April, leading up to Trump’s negative court judgments in May and Biden’s withdrawal from the race in July.  These surprising events and reversals were very much in keeping with Uranus’ energies.  As Uranus approached a square to her natal Saturn at the beginning of September, many of her polls had risen from their levels with Biden.

Similarly, transiting Saturn stations as it opposes natal Uranus from October to December; transiting Uranus will conjoin Harris’ Jupiter again in December, disruptive aspects that bring change.   But which way?  Adams described Uranus conjunct natal Jupiter as “an extremely powerful aspect which only occurs once in a lifetime, and which can work out advantageously or just the reverse.  If you confine yourself to your legitimate business, then you will do the right thing, for you are more likely to be in harmony with yourself and the constructive forces of the Universe than you have been in many years.”

While Harris may be promising the public more than she can realistically deliver, she seems to be following long held precedent.  She has been on an upward trajectory, but much could develop in the coming weeks.  The Uranian aspects might relate to the historic nature of a woman of color being elected U.S. president for the first time.

Due to the strength of Kamala Harris’ birth chart and her many significant progressions, I think she will win the 2024 election.  Though there may be some Uranian twists and turns before she gets to the White House.

Trump in 2024?

Despite a loyal following, Donald Trump’s chances for re-election in 2024 are slimmer than they were when he was elected U.S. president in 2016.  At that time, his progressed Moon was Out-of-Bounds in declination, promising a great public response.  His progressed Sun conjoined his Ascendant, strengthening his capabilities and achievements.  In addition, Trump’s progressed Sun paralleled transiting Saturn, an aspect that Charles Jayne believed coincided with election to the presidency.  Trump enjoys none of these combinations now.

With a dynamic and favorable birth chart, Donald Trump often gets what he wants.  His closest aspect is Jupiter trine his Uranus in the 10th house of career and success.  Evangeline Adams described this pairing as “one of the most powerful aspects known… if you have political leanings this vibration is an extremely favorable one.”  To prove her point, both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, also born in the summer of 1946 like Trump, have the same aspect, though not quite as close.  While a charismatic combination, Uranus’ influence can also create unexpected emergencies or controversy as well.

Trump’s Mars in Leo conjunct his Ascendant gives him great vitality and a strong desire to prove himself a winner in contests.  Mars’ sextile to his Sun in the 10th house and trine to his opposite Moon in Sagittarius lend the ability to achieve his goals with a combination of showmanship and force.

But the former president is in the midst of some challenging aspects that continue well after the election.  With Uranus nearly exactly conjunct his Midheaven at the end of May, he was found guilty of 34 felonies in the New York City “hush money” trial.  In the 2+ weeks before Uranus exactly squared his 1st house Mars in July, he survived an assassination attempt and accepted the Republican nomination for president, but also suffered a reversal as Kamala Harris entered the race.  As the square repeats in October and April (2025), Trump continues to face volatile circumstances.  Transiting Pluto in late Capricorn, and Neptune in late Pisces also form a stressful yod to his Ascendant, lowering his vitality and making his actions less focused.

While Saturn through the 7th house can be a helpful influence for solidifying a relationship or career path, Saturn’s square to Trump’s natal Uranus in May found him liable to writer E. Jean Carroll in her sexual assault case against him.  As Saturn stationed and also approached a square to his Sun, Moon and Nodes at the end of June, his debate with Joe Biden revealed Biden’s weaknesses, but he soon stepped down in favor of Kamala Harris.  Saturn’s station in mid-November and exact squares to Trump’s Sun-Moon and Uranus in early 2025 seem unlikely to help him.

But it’s the progressions that tell the underlying story.  I like to look at both progressions in declination and the zodiac, as well as the candidate’s progressed aspects to the U.S. and its progressed chart to see how the relationship continues.  Trump’s progressed Mars conjoins the U.S. progressed Mars at the same time as the U.S. natal Saturn, as I described in a 2022 post.  Due to the strength of the U.S. Saturn, exalted in Libra, I ultimately feel that the country blocks his advances, since progressed Mars is also in its detriment in Libra.

Mars in Trump’s birth chart rules his 4th house of real estate and 9th house of the courts, both of which have had much to do with his success.  But the 4th house also rules the end of the matter metaphorically.   And at 78, things will eventually come to a close as he now nears the last chapter of life.

On the plus side, Trump has his progressed Mercury (co-ruler of his 10th) applying to a parallel to his Mars (himself), while his progressed Mars parallels natal Jupiter, both adding to his ability to fight for a position and get his message out.  But his progressed Midheaven (position) departs from a parallel to his natal MC.  His progressed Ascendant departs from a contraparallel to his natal Ascendant, and progressed Venus (ruler of the career 10th) departs from a contraparallel to his Ascendant, putting some career issues in the past.  I personally put less emphasis on his natal Mercury and Venus as they lack essential dignity.  And since progressed Mercury is also less than 2 degrees from conjoining natal Mars, it’s also near a square to his MC and accentuates the erratic pattern created by transiting Uranus to his MC and Mars.

Trump’s progressed Ascendant at 3 Scorpio also closely approaches a square to his progressed Saturn in Leo (in detriment, like his natal Saturn in Cancer), another combination suggesting frustration and weakness and ironically, coming up against an insurmountable wall.  His advances are blocked.  This aspect is reflected and augmented in his progressed Ascendant conjunct U.S. progressed Saturn (15’ past).  His progressed Ascendant also nearly exactly conjoins Adams’ Gemini rising U.S. MC, suggesting a close connection, but in my judgment, Saturn blocks him, especially as his birth Saturn is debilitated and the U.S. Saturn exalted.

Similarly, Trump’s progressed MC approaches a conjunction with his natal Pluto – a little wide at 2-1/2 degrees, but in his 12th house seems to me more like grappling with injustices done to him rather than success.

Trump’s progressed Venus and Jupiter are in a close conjunction in Libra, strengthening Venus in its dignity.  But they also both square his natal Venus and Saturn, as well as the U.S. progressed Nodes, looking more like a financial transaction, negotiation or settlement than a smooth connection with the destiny of the country as its leader.  In a like manner, the U.S. progressed Sun and Moon also square Trump’s natal Nodes and Uranus, while the midpoint of his progressed Moon and Ascendant square the U.S. natal Nodes (19’).  These are essential progressions as well as disruptive influences that point toward discord and shifting circumstances.

Despite any fame or fortune indicated in a horoscope, we all go through periods of success and failure, and times when certain achievements may not be possible  Donald Trump’s notable progressions with Saturn and the Nodes, as well as other patterns, suggest a loss to me.  And Trump lacks the three important aspects that surprisingly brought him to the presidency in 2016.  There are many ways to win, but Kamala Harris has virtually all three of those indicators in 2024.

I plan to post my forecast for Kamala Harris and the 2024 election in the next week or so.

Here’s my earlier overview of the 2024 election, based on the 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.

In my book, Tecumseh’s Curse, I analyze the history of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in the U.S. and their link to the deaths of presidents, look at the Indigenous history connected with them, and analyze presidents’ and inaugural horoscopes.

2024 Election Overview

The 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction cycle heralds a notable generational change, as it initiates a new 800-year phase of conjunctions in air signs.  In Aquarius, it’s combined with Pluto’s final entry into that sign, after the presidential election in November 2024.  These markers may help us consider the results of the election.

Many American voters weren’t pleased to see either Trump or Biden on the ballot again, reflecting the natural cyclic need for change.  Candidate Joe Biden was also beginning to remind me of the weakened father figure on the Maya Temple of the Cross at Palenque, which commemorated the hand-off of power from one generation to the next at another Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.

Kamala Harris’ entry into the race seems to signify the younger person who’d be the new leader as the Jupiter-Saturn metaphor suggests.

Pluto will return to the sign of Capricorn for the final time from September to late November and will be in Aquarius for the 2025 inauguration.  Pluto at 0 Aquarius conjoins the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of 2020 and accentuates the new and different phase for the country.  Some of the current political slogans amplify and reiterate the Jupiter-Saturn themes.  Harris supporters repeat “We’re not going back” echoing forward-looking Jupiter, while Trump’s followers continue to repeat “Make America great again,” which harkens toward a Saturnian look back.

As we might expect from the astrological symbolism, polls and statistics show a changing electorate.  Pew Research in April 2024 noted that well over 50% of voters age 18-39 affiliate with Democrats, while over 50% of voters aged 60-80+ lean toward Republicans.  Gen-Z voters are more socially and politically conscious than previous generations, and 47% of them are people of color.  (In the south and west, a majority of newly-eligible voters are people of color.)  And for the last 60 years, more female voters have turned out for presidential elections.  All may give Kamala Harris an edge in the race.

Donald Trump’s legal challenges can’t help but lower his chances with a portion of voters.  His difficult progressions with the U.S. chart continue through around 2027 (see my 2022 post on this topic).  The erratic nature of his 10th house Sun-North Node-Uranus conjunction shows his attention-grabbing newsmaker abilities, but also the ups and downs of his career.  I also felt that his assassination attempt in July didn’t especially augur a win in November.

In strong contrast, Kamala Harris’ Ascendant and North Node in Gemini trine her Saturn near her Midheaven, showing someone who slowly and surely moves forward in her career.  We can see her progress from D.A. to State Attorney General to Senator to Vice President.  President would be the next step forward.  (I covered her chart in 2020 when she was a Vice Presidential candidate.)

Both candidates have some challenging aspects coming up and we’d need to look further for the outcome of their 2024 contest.

Planetary cycles and generational change take years to play out, especially when indicated by the Jupiter-Saturn Great Mutation and Pluto moving into Aquarius.  But these shifts are major astrological indicators that will reverberate for many years to come.  In exactly what election will the change definitively manifest?  Kamala Harris clearly represents a newer generation of political leaders.  But we need to analyze the birth charts to confirm if she’ll actually be elected president in 2024, which I’ll be doing in the coming weeks.

Biden’s Saturn Cycle

I expected Joe Biden to be a one-term president.  If we look at the Saturn cycles of past presidencies (of which Biden is the most recent), the astrological limitations imposed on him are obvious.

Biden’s 2021 Inauguration horoscope has a close (3 degree) Sun-Saturn conjunction, so I reviewed charts for previous administrations with the Sun conjunct Saturn.  This is important because they reiterate the close Sun-Saturn square in the U.S. horoscope.

Zachary Taylor was inaugurated on March, 5, 1849, almost a decade before the Civil War, and he faced contentious issues between the north and south over slavery.  With the Sun conjunct Saturn (in Pisces) he overate cherries and milk at a 4th of July party, suffered stomach pains for almost a week, and died after only a little more than a year in office.

Rutherford B. Hayes also had the Sun conjunct Saturn in Pisces in 1877.  He came to office in a disputed election decided by Congress in the Reconstruction period.  He pledged to serve only one term and did so.

John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Jupiter-Saturn inauguration had Saturn in Capricorn conjunct the Sun in Aquarius (about 8 degrees apart).  He served during the post-World War II Cold War and the beginning of military involvement in South Vietnam.  Civil rights issues and Martin Luther King’s rise to prominence again showed issues of racial justice coming to the forefront during this time.  He was assassinated in November of 1963.

Civil rights and racial justice continued to be important during Joe Biden’s administration, common themes in all these Sun-Saturn election charts.  He pointedly selected Black women for Vice President and Supreme Court Justice.

But the Sun-Saturn pattern also showed two presidents who died before completing their 4-years in office, and a third who chose to serve only one term.  I didn’t know exactly what would happen this time, but concluded in my 2020 book Tecumseh’s Curse that “An inaugural Sun and Saturn has correlated with…  administrations that were limited in time and by circumstances.”  I had also noticed in 2020 that “Pluto in Aquarius will also square his Moon throughout 2024. Joe Biden had suggested he will not run again, and this transit coincides with a move or departure after four years. “

At my writing in 2020, there was that suggestion, which was supported by the astrological patterns, though the candidate later changed his mind.  The inaugural Sun-Saturn conjunction symbolized the entire term and did not change.  Of course we know that Biden stepped aside on July 21, 2024 in favor of his Vice President Kamala Harris.

2021 Inauguration Revisited

No, I don’t think that President Biden will die before the November 2024 election.  But I do want to re-visit the 2021 Inauguration horoscope and compare it with actual events.  In my book, Tecumseh’s Curse (2021), I studied the inauguration charts of all the Jupiter-Saturn presidencies to see what information the planetary cycles conveyed. 

The 2021 Inauguration had quite a challenging horoscope.  We tend to read charts with the archetypes in mind, but much is guesswork or conclusions based on different types of charts.  I analyzed the chart by identifying the types of events that had actually occurred on previous cycles – hard aspects between the Sun and Pluto in inauguration charts, Sun-Uranus, Saturn-Uranus and Sun-Saturn.

Much can be gained by this kind of study, though it’s time consuming and not detail-oriented.  And I’ve always felt that accurate forecasts will, by their nature, tend to be somewhat generalized.  The more specific we try to get, the more often we’ll be wrong.  Narrowing down the considerations with a framework – in this case a presidential term – will also narrow down the possibilities.

The original text from Tecumseh’s Curse is in regular font; actual events are in italics.

Forecast:  “Sun-Pluto charts represented notable victories for the presidents, who sought to unite the country. (They included some of the most memorable chief executives in history.) The political parties themselves underwent change. Developments in the country’s territory, alliances and antagonisms came to the forefront. Financial affairs were often highlighted, with important changes in policies and trends. (In 2021, the country faces a recession and an exponentially rising national debt.)”

Actual events:  Common ground was found in the approval of the American Rescue Plan in 2021 (for economic stimulus), and the 10-year bipartisan Inventory and Jobs Act.  The Republican party is now dominated by “MAGA” adherents, and extremists on both sides of the aisle continue to make themselves heard, with stark ideological divisions.  Ukraine’s and Israel’s wars affected the U.S.  Fears of recession continued with inflation and rising interest rates affecting everyone.

Forecast:  “Hard aspects from Uranus to the Sun in Jupiter-Saturn inauguration horoscopes created unforeseen circumstances in the corresponding administrations. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced tempestuous and chaotic years, and the 2021 administration also has indications of unpredictability and the prospect of involvement in overseas conflicts, with the country potentially re-evaluating its relationships.”

Actual events:  Biden withdrew American military from Afghanistan, a move that was roundly criticized (he began his term with over 50% approval, and spent much of it closer to 40%).  Ukraine and Israel’s wars escalated contention among various factions in the U.S. (most notably campus protests in 2024).  Billions in aide was sent to both countries, and economic sanctions were imposed on Russia (also in keeping with Pluto).

Forecast:  “Uranus squaring Saturn in the tenth house in the 2021 inauguration highlights the breakdown of old structures and the opening of a new phase. (Biden reversed many of his predecessor’s executive orders in his first days in office.) Change and progress should be inevitable, but as before, the president could be limited to some extent by public opinion, opposing parties and international relations. Popular movements should impact the coming years, leading to reform or even some sort of crisis or upheaval that shakes up the country in a significant way. Uranus and Mars conjoining the first house in 2021 suggest a new identity and perspective for the country. Mars also holds the possibility of volatility or perhaps even violence.”

Actual events:  Joe Biden was the first president to walk a union picket line with the UAW.  His climate change and clean energy bill failed to gain enough support.  Perhaps most notably, the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade caused legislatures in various states to limit women’s rights to abortion.  In six states, voters reversed abortion restrictions, with up to 11 more state ballot measures expected in 2024 elections.

Forecast:  “An inaugural Sun conjunct Saturn has correlated with contentious issues and administrations that were limited in time or by circumstances. In the past these have brought civil rights and racial injustice to the forefront, and it seems likely that these issues will continue to be addressed.”

Actual events:  Many in 2024 feel that Biden has aged-out of his job, and his more liberal policies were blocked (a voting rights bill failed in Congress, and the Supreme Court ended consideration of race in college admissions).  The Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision on former president Trump’s immunity helps him evade prosecution in the courts.  During the term, Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female Supreme Court justice, Juneteenth was made a national holiday, and recognition of same-sex and inter-racial marriages were signed into law in December of 2022.

Ideological contention is nothing new, but there are many questions about both presidential candidates as I write this in the spring of 2024, with important developments expected as Mars conjoins Uranus in mid-July and Jupiter squares Saturn at the time of the election.  Pluto also dips back into Capricorn for the final time from September through November right before the election, bringing up lingering issues before moving forward. 

Original forecast text from Tecumseh’s Curse pages 167-169.

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Linda Goodman on the Aquarian Age

Linda Goodman was a true believer in the Age of Aquarius, perhaps because it was so obviously connected with the astrological signs.  As Pluto is still near the 0 degree Aquarius point of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of December 2020, Goodman’s observations on the New Age may have some resonance today.

Although an accomplished astrologer herself, Linda rarely wrote about astrology beyond Sun signs.  She was a product of the 1960s and ‘70s and used the modern rulership of Uranus over Aquarius, sharing some cogent thoughts on the polarity of Aquarius and Leo, the latter symbolizing the youth culture and sexual revolution.  An Aries with Mercury in Taurus, she was impatient with the technical arguments about when (or if) the Aquarian Age had begun.  She also disliked scientists and expressed her feelings strongly.

The piece that follows was published in her book Gooberz in 1989, though it was most likely written earlier.  Goodman references a  John Lennon song from 1969, campus protests in 1970, and uses slang that was outdated by the ‘80s.  I have edited the piece and regularized punctuation for clarity.

Challenge

Do not listen to those smug prophets and Cassandras who argue endlessly and monotonously that the Aquarian Age is technically not yet upon us, and who babble and quarrel among themselves about the stern astronomical Precession of the Equinoxes, ignoring the Procession of Children with lighted candles chanting Peace.  All we ask, is give Peace a chance.

We are well within the orb of those unpredictable Uranus vibrations, sounding the chords of humanitarianism and individualism, and yes, the flat notes of insanity too.  Once again, under the ancient Law of Polarity, feeling the reflected influence of the sign opposite Aquarius: Leo, the Lion of Love, of Idealism and Youth.

Aquarius, the Water Bearer: Seeker of Truth, the unpredictable advocate of Change, whatever the cost (through violent revolution, if necessary) as a means to justify the end – of prejudice.

The eccentric, half genius, half mad Uranus vibrations of Aquarius, blending a compulsion for Progress with the hot rays of Leo’s ruling Sun, reflecting back the Lion’s firm hold over Youth and Love.  “We will have Change!  We will have Brotherhood!” rings out the clarion call of the individual’s right to do his or her own thing, and “let’s make love, not war!”  “Let’s worship Youth!” roars the fierce, hot-blooded Lion as he rolls in sensuous ecstasy with his mate.

Is it any wonder, then, that we’re having a sexual revolution, that we shake under the Uranus-Aquarian thunder of individuality of hair styles, clothes, politics and religious convictions, with riots on campus introducing the Seventies, taking their toll?

Didn’t you see it all coming, Mister Gallup and Mister Poll?  Didn’t you feel Kent State coming?  Or do you scoff at the stars and ignore the planets too, as blind astronomers and other scientists are wont to do?’  Einstein might have made it all more clear than any similar peer who knocks and raps astrology if it’s fashionable to do so.  Or than the shrinks and sociologists, stubborn astronomers, and the frightened astrologers themselves, who wrangle with one another, in unceasing competition refereed by prejudiced, pre-judgmental, know-it-all science wearing the dark glasses of dogma.

I see them squatting in their Kindergarten of Knowledge, the professors and the shrinks, the scientists and astronomers, the sociologists and poll takers, and an occasional politician, playing with Truth as children play with colored blocks lettered A B C for Apathy – Blindness – and Cop-out.

Then, when their blocks topple over, they rage in childish petulance and bang each other over the head with the offending chunks of wooden facts.

Do not bang me over the head with you’re A B C blocks colored with half-truths, you disciples of Thomas, the Doubter.  You will not break the Ram’s tough horns!

The Aquarian Age is here!  And its pulsating, powerful, unpredictable orb, mixing with the Sun rays of the roaring Lion, is ominous, if not heeded.  Locking the New Age in your scientific closets with boring, tiresome technicalities will not make it disappear.  Yes, the vibration of Aquarius is here, and much too close for comfort.

It burns my soul and sears my mind with unanswered questions.

Linda Goodman’s horoscope is on Astrodatabank.

From Gooberz, p. 184 to 185

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Gloria Steinem’s Marriage

Gloria Steinem remains a strong advocate for equality and social justice.  A 1934 Aries, she chose not to marry because she felt the role too restrictive for her as a young woman in the 1950s.  But she did finally marry at the age of 66. How does this show up in her birth chart?

We see Steinem’s personal strength and self-sufficiency in her Scorpio Ascendant and its ruler Mars.  Mars is placed in its other ruling sign of Aries and conjoins the Sun, a very dynamic combination.  The Sun is exalted in Aries and rules her 10th house of career.  This might be a combination focused on children, since the Sun and Mars are in the 5th house.  But Evangeline Adams’ teacher Catherine Thompson said that the Sun in the 5th house has the potential to “burn up.”  Mars is also inconjunct Neptune in Virgo in the 10th, showing a less conventional outlet.  Gloria pursued a career that she liked and enjoyed.

The 5th house also relates to creative self-expression and Steinem began as a freelance journalist.  Her Moon in Leo in the 9th house found a wider audience through writing, editing, lecturing and political activism.  She became a celebrity in 1963 for her exposé on the treatment of women at the Playboy Club in New York after being hired as a Playboy bunny waitress.  This was the time of her Saturn return, when it also opposed her Midheaven, showing a major turning point in her life.

Her experiences with marriage and partnerships are 7th house issues, and she has Taurus on the cusp, ruled by Venus in Aquarius.  Venus conjoins Gloria’s 4th house cusp, so again we might consider an outlet through the home, or a sense of security as inducements to marriage.  Though the sign of Aquarius is not known to necessarily follow conventions.

Saturn also conjoins her 4th house cusp and Venus, so we can see why her concept of relationships had a sense of restriction.  With both planets conjunct in Aquarius, Steinem needed a feeling of independence in partnerships, and her focus remained on special-interest advocacy.  The early home is also represented by the 4th house, and Gloria’s youth was peripatetic, with some freedom but obligations as well.

Her father was a travelling antiques salesman, and the family rarely stayed in one place for long.  When her parents divorced when she was 12, she became responsible for the emotional support of her mother, who suffered from chronic depression.  This might also be indicated by Mercury in Pisces in the 4th opposite Neptune, giving her empathy and compassion through an experience of suffering at an early age.

In keeping with the prominence of the dignified Saturn in Aquarius, Steinem’s paternal grandmother had been a noted Ohio suffragist in the early 20th century, astrologically showing her feminist roots.

Taurus on the 7th and its ruler in fixed signs typically supports longer lasting connections, and Gloria had several long-term relationships with prominent men over the course of her life.  She came close to marriage once, even getting a license, but didn’t follow through.  She has said that it was always her own choice not to marry, but both Saturn and Aquarius may shy away from legal permanence.

Steinem’s marriage to businessman and environmentalist David Bale on September 3, 2000 at the age of 66 is in keeping with Saturn’s influence for a delayed or late marriage, or one that demands maturity.  The marriage seems to have been a good one, but while Bale was seven years younger than his wife, he died of brain cancer in late 2003 at the age of 62, putting Steinem back in a caretaker role during the last two years of his life.

At 90, Gloria Steinem continues to fight sexism and campaign for equality, working from her Manhattan brownstone home.  Google Arts & Culture says that “Since 1966, this apartment has served as birthplace and host to many movements and limitless ideas… countless organizations and individuals… coalesced here to organize, strategize and create.”  Real estate is another 4th house theme, and the activist eventually bought her apartment, which is extremely valuable today.  Ultimately, it seems that the home and the relationships that it supports became the real center of stability in Steinem’s life, a connection that’s lasted nearly 60 years.

Gloria Steinem was born on March 25, 1934 at 10:00 p.m. in Toledo, OH, rated AA on Astrodatabank (from “officially certified birth data”).

Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life by Winifred Conkling is an excellent biography that inspired me to look at Steinem’s horoscope.

Transition Time

The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on the winter solstice of 2020 ushered in a new era as the planetary pair moved into Aquarius.  The conjunctions set the stage for 20+ year developments, and have a long history with the U.S. government and presidency, as I wrote about in my book Tecumseh’s Curse.

Since early 2023, Pluto has likewise been moving back and forth between the last degrees of Capricorn and the first degrees of Aquarius, bringing its own momentous changes, at a much slower pace.  But this is especially so as it’s been crossing the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction degree over a 2-year period.

These transits have provoked contentious issues and some extremism in government and elsewhere.  We might metaphysically see it as growing pains, but there are many challenges ahead.  We are at a turning point with the presidential elections now less than a year away.

Many events are developing which resonate with Pluto changing signs and the Capricorn old guard transforming into something new and different.  We seem to be turning a page, as old authorities, organizations and associations face a changing landscape, and the past falls away.  Some of these notable events include:

Rosalyn Carter’s death on November 19, 2023 and her husband Jimmy, 99, in hospice care, symbolic of a generation passing.

Court Voting Rights Act decisions are set to empower Black and Native American minorities in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota, with other redistricting suits developing elsewhere.  The slim minorities in both the House and Senate could easily be reversed in 2024.

Various court rulings have been made in Colorado, Minnesota and Michigan as judges consider removing former president Trump from 2024 ballots in violation of the Insurrection clause of the Constitution.  Some will certainly progress to the Supreme Court.  Trump of course also has several ongoing legal battles, with trial dates set for the spring and summer of 2024 (see my overview forecast from August 2022)

As many question the age and wisdom of leading presidential candidates Biden and Trump, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is polling with greater support than any independent candidate before.  And the No Labels party of more moderate values may put Joe Manchin or another forward as a 2024 presidential candidate.

These are striking developments taken individually, but altogether show a major transition.  Things will change and move forward.  Pluto will station within half a degree of its return to the U.S. July 4, 1776 chart in October, moving into Aquarius for the final time in mid-November of 2024.

It’s no coincidence that this occurs right at the time of the next presidential election cycle.  We can expect a re-set somehow, with the U.S.A. in a very different place by 2025.  Unfortunately, it looks like the transition will be slow and messy.  But that’s the nature of Pluto, who drags things out before moving on.