The Year After... 2013 in profile.

 Looking ahead to next year seems kind of weird after all the 2012 hoo-ha. 2013 is rather like talking about 1067 or 1493 - fine and eventful years, no doubt, but defined very much by what went before. 

The no-show of the '2012 Apocalypse' is a something of a red herring, as the Maya Prophecy so-called never claimed to herald the End of Time. Tempting as it is to write the whole thing off as a New Age PR stunt, events give me every reason for optimism. What we should all experience now is the raise in mind-level that comes with the new era*. 

*********

Astrologically, Saturn continues its path through Scorpio and, as anticipated, we have seen issues arising around sex and power. Operation Yewtree is the UK police's investigation into widespread claims of child abuse, including allegations against several past and present British household names. Perfect tabloid fodder, and the cue for much paranoia among celebrities of a certain age. Suspicion at times seems to point at every family entertainer from the 1970s onwards, which shows how much sexual attitudes have changed within one Saturn cycle. The allegations range from relatively mild 'inappropriate contact' to full-on paedophillia. Yuk.

Saturn and Pluto's mutual reception gives the issue wider significance, with government ministers being dragged in, and the forced resignation of the BBC's Director General. Some people are calling it a witch-hunt, an obsessive, paranoid Saturn-Pluto scenario in a taboo area. Saturn moves 10 degrees altogether in 2013, affecting particularly those with planets in the middle decanate of Scorpio. Always best to think big with Saturn transits: make that change and pre-empt life lessons before they arrive by fate.

Halfway through the Uranus-Pluto square cycle, what is the state of the game? This is a tense and grinding aspect pattern between pushy planets and signs whose only thing in common is a shared desire to win at all costs. Uranus and Pluto make their third and fourth exact squares this year, out of a total of seven by 2015. The squares are at 11 degrees in May 2013, and 9 degrees in October 2013, neatly encompassing the all-important '1st January' degree. So many countries and institutions' Suns are at this point, which forms the middle passage of this seven-square series.

This is the defining aspect of the current time, though it does not in itself account for claims of a New Epoch. We last basked in this delightful energy in the early 1930s, and there are clear parallels in the worldwide recession, which shows no sign of abating. The 1930s Depression Era was ended by rearmament for WWII, so hopefully the similarities end there.

It will be interesting to see the effect of Uranus-Pluto on gun control in the USA. Uranus in Aries is the gun, and Pluto in Capricorn is the control. Still, it will be a popular exercise of state power, after events at Sandy Hook school, the latest in a stream of senseless US civilian massacres. Nobody, surely, outside a war zone needs a sub-machinegun, but this discounts America's  emotional obsession with guns, which are both a phallic symbol and a hangover from the Wild Frontier. Interestingly, one argument is that ordinary Americans have become more dependent on firearms to the extent to which they feel economically disempowered. In any event, Barack Obama's 'meaningful change' will be an almighty tussle. Anachronistic laws will have to be repealed and powerful vested interests overthrown, and it would be fitting if this particular American president could make a difference. 

This is an American issue, but it acts as a barometer for the world's psychic state. Laws are there already, but crime continues: higher national consciousness, as always, holds the key. The present gun control debate represents a kind of arms race, with John Wayne-type proponents claiming the answer to mass shootings is yet more guns. The only answer to this jungle logic is to raise collective consciousness and eliminate national paranoia at source. Pluto opposing the USA's Jupiter at 7 Cancer may see a change in the prevailing culture, but it will be slow. The last time Saturn was in Scorpio, the Cold War arms race drew to a close, when Mikhail Gorbachev emerged to dissolve east-west tensions. So the omens, potentially are there. 

Uranus and Pluto don't come into trine until 2025, when both planets will be in air signs. This harmonious aspect may reconcile many of the issues that are causing such friction now, but for now, the pot is bubbling. We have a whole Jupiter cycle before then and likely the world will be a very different place.

The United Kingdom's two main charts, the 1066 and 1801 dates have the Sun at 9 and 10 degrees Capricorn respectively. Pluto-Uranus transiting these degrees will bring changes in Britain's class structure and natural sense of hierarchy. People are bemoaning the decline of social mobility, or the victimization of the poor at the expense of profligate bankers. I do not foresee riots such those of 2011, but in some respects the changes of 2013 may be more profound. We are not going to return to the last-millennium working model and gradually more emphasis will be placed on self-realization. Yes, really. 

UK 1801 chart: 1st January 1801, 00:00am, London.

Neptune in Pisces's influence on the Church of England is admittedly a familiar topic of mine, but the omens are stacking up further. Transiting Neptune will conjoin the Pluto of the United Kingdom's 1801 chart at 2 Pisces, showing a significant shift in the country's spiritual life (coinciding with Pluto hitting UK's Sun). The C of E's vote to exclude women bishops and the continuing controversy about gay marriage made bad PR, but only judged as if the Church were a business or political party, which it isn't.  Disestablishment will allow the traditionalists to keep their doctrinal integrity without falling foul of politicians. 

Neptune conjunct UK's Pluto, may also say something about the underdog's role, with public spending being slashed. Not to mention flooding, which ties in with New Age prophecies. Certainly, there is a correlation between consciousness and climate - the inner and outer weather, if you like - and heavy rains have a cleansing effect. Hopefully, our collective raised mind-level will make a coherent transition and the 'Isle of Avalon' will remain as mythical history.

Jupiter entering Cancer on 26th June, may bring relief as it approaches the UK's 1801 10th house Moon. This position is a symbol of the Welfare State (celebrated in the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony) and a good argument for using this particular chart. What happens in 2018 when Pluto opposes 19 Cancer is a subject for another day.

This is the major ingress of 2013, and fortunate Jupiter moving into its exaltation is surely good omen for the world. Surprisingly, the planet of travel loves being in the sign of the home, and there is an affinity between spirituality and healthy family values. Jupiter's Moons are like an extended family (or harem), with the big planet playing the great Provider in the middle. We all have Cancer in our chart somewhere and mid-2013 sees its stock getting a lift. This is good news also for the heavily Cancerian USA, which I predict will not drive off its so-called tax-versus-spending fiscal cliff. 

Jupiter in Cancer will not form an exact T-square with Uranus-Pluto, but its cardinal energy will emphasize the feeling of quick change in the world. Instant communication finds us bombarded with information 24/7, but the effect is a constant reminder of how much we don't know. Hopefully, the individual squares and oppositions from Jupiter to Uranus and Pluto won't see excess or arrogance from our national leaders. Still, a spectacular Grand Trine between Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune occuring on 16th July at 4 degrees of the water signs, is a date for the diary. Mars in Cancer almost gets in on the act, and hits 4 degrees by July 19th. 

Likewise, Jupiter trine Saturn in July and December 2013 sees good fortune and stability, in the harmonious and creative passage of these planets' synodic cycle. This is a good omen for economic recovery, if a slow one, which ties in with the 20 year Grand Conjunction cycle. Our present Jupiter-Saturn cycle started with the conjunction in Taurus in 1999, the last in Earth before the year 2020, after which the conjunctions occur in the Air element for the next 240 years. We are at an historic cusp, where material concerns, Industrial Revolution, Protestant work ethic, central banks, etc, will become gradually less important. 

MERCURY RETROGRADES 2013:
23rd February - 17th March
26th June - 20th July
21st October - 10th November

Of these, the June-July retrograde in Cancer is slowest and longest in duration, so is likely to prove the stickiest. Naturally, it depends where it hits your chart. Everyone has their own Mercury retro superstitions, but remember between its shadow and echo phases, the Trickster planet is in its retrograde arc for over half the year, and can't simply be put to one side. 

Easter Egg:
7th March sees Mercury retrograde conjunct Venus at 11 Pisces, trine Saturn and sextile Pluto. Talk to somebody a second time and charm your way into a lasting agreement.

ECLIPSES:
Lunar, 25th April, 4' Scorpio
Solar, 10th May, 19' Taurus
Lunar, 25th May, 4' Sagittarius
Lunar, 18th October, 25' Aries
Solar, 3rd November, 11' Scorpio

Eclipses in Taurus/ Scorpio enhance the changes brought by Saturn, which reaches 19 Scorpio by the end of December. The eclipse degrees remain potent for a period of time, to be triggered by transiting planets. Crazy ideas come up at eclipses and everything has a heightened sense of drama. Particularly with solar eclipses, the rule of thumb is to wait at least until the waxing crescent Moon has appeared (about 3 days), before acting on big plans. 

**********

*ENDWORD
We're all living longer, and large numbers of people taking up yoga is an excellent symptom. Meditation is becoming mainstream and a sign of a change in values. From our ego-driven world, where 'making it' comes by striving and hard work, cunning and ruthlessness, the emphasis will shift on to success through higher consciousness and a kind of grace. There is a particularly large take-up of yoga in central and South America, in precisely the areas where the Maya Prophecies came from. Once enough people are practicing at the same time, there will be an automatic positive effect on the group mind.

Happy New Year, everyone.

12/12/12

Well, here we are in the fabled December 2012, which those us in the 'futures market' have been looking forward to time for at least a decade.

12/12/12, 12:12pm. London.

Here's what I wrote at the start of the year:

'According to the reckoning of the Mayans (ancient Aztec/ Mesoamerican civilization), who were adept astrologers, 2012 is the date our present cycle of time finishes. The so-called Mayan Long Count, a period of 5125 years, began at a mythological point which most authorities agree was August 11, 3114 BC. The exact moment the new era arrives is December 21st, 2012 A.D, at precisely 11:11 am GMT! This comes at the close conjunction of the Winter Solstice Sun with the crossing point of the Galactic Equator (equator of the Milky Way) and the Ecliptic (path of the Sun).

*******

So far, so familiar. This Galactic Alignment happens every year, it's just another name for the Winter Solstice. And for all the talk about the End of Time, it is far more interesting to speculate what happens in the next Long Count. As far as I know, the qualities of the future period are not revealed by the Maya Prophecies. There is not even a general quality set out, like the equivalent of a Piscean or Aquarian Age.

This is where the Vedic prophecies regarding a New Age are more interesting. Here again is what I wrote at the start of 2012.

And there is a further correspondence between the 2012 prophecy and the Vedic civilization’s concept of Kali Yuga. Yugas are vast ages of time, of which Kali Yuga is our present era of materialism and spiritual decadence. This is said to have begun in the year 3102BCE, making a difference of only 12 years between two wholly independent world traditions. Kali Yuga is hundreds of thousands of years long in entirety, but the Vedic scripture Brahma Vaivata Purana Sutra depicts a mini-Golden age – Sat Yuga– lasting 10,000 years, within the larger extent of Kali Yuga. So, we are heading for an oasis of spirituality in the wider context of a materialistic eon. The testimonies are stacking up in favour of a Major Change'.

*******

Krishna said to Ganga (Gangamata, the Ganges personified as a goddess). "Five thousand years from this date, within the span of Kali Yuga, there will be respite from this terrible age. There will be a golden age of 10,000 years."

The time in between ages is called Pralaya, and the Samavartaka Fire brings a solar cleansing of the earth. Certainly, the transition may be accompanied by natural cataclysms, rather like water bubbling before it turns into steam. We might expect to see this reflected in the astrology, but such vast periods of time exceed the scope of our usual planetary model. 

This period of transition could be accounted for by the series of Uranus-Pluto squares, which continue until 2015. Pluto in earthy Capricorn resisting the fiery energy of Uranus in Aries is pretty volcanic, and also describes the power struggle between old and new. The entrenched attitudes and vested interests; banks, church, press, politicians, won't let go easily and there will be a struggle before a more perfect world can arrive.

Yet while Uranus-Pluto squares are generational, they are not epoch-defining. The last such configuration was in the 1930s, during the Great Depression and the rise of Hitler. What must people living in Eastern Europe at that time have thought? The end must surely have seemed nigh.

There is always a tendency to invest our own time period with historic significance. Whether all this is valid, or whether the verse in the Puranas is an interpolation, we can see and feel big changes in the world. The upsurge in the practice of yoga (who isn't training to be a yoga teacher these days?) is a sign of a colossal lifestyle shift. The emphasis is moving away from material resources and wealth creation to spiritual unfoldment.