Last month we looked at how the major planetary cycles will affect the first six signs of the zodiac using solar house astrology. These signs will be affected indirectly by the movement of the outer planets, but for the signs from Libra to Pisces, there will be greater personal change. Saturn moving in to Libra and constellating in a square aspect to Pluto will profoundly affect Saturn-ruled Capricorn and Aquarius, whilst Jupiter moving into Pisces, and further into Aries in conjunction with Uranus, is bound to make 2010 an exciting and unpredictable year for Pisces and Sagittarius.With the Saturn/Pluto square already having taken place on 15th November 2009, the signs are already there. The release of the disaster movie 2012 was for example one interesting sign. The control that Saturn always tries to exert becomes more obsessive when Pluto is involved, and this can lead to institutional oppression and its consequences. Fortunately an exalted Saturn in Libra stands up for justice and rights and actually disposes of Pluto in Saturn-ruled Capricorn. Drastic measures need to be taken, but they are less likely to be extreme. At the exact square world leaders announced in Singapore that the climate conference in Copenhagen would not take any binding decisions… they would have to come at a later stage. Greenpeace reacted with a banner saying “Your survival, your choice” – quite a polite protest, really. Legislation on climate change is very much related to the Saturn/Pluto square, and the anxiety it evokes, and will almost certainly be enacted whilst the aspect lasts.
For the individual affected by Saturn and Pluto, survival issues will be paramount and there will be a lot of anxiety to deal with. But the challenge of Saturn is to overcome anxiety through determination and perseverance, and through powerful alliances. Survival must not bring out dishonorable behavior, but neither must it evoke weakness. Long-term faith in ones abilities in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles is the way forward. After all, the Saturn/Pluto square is over in September 2010, and then it has a good run without problematic aspects. With retrograde Mars sextiling Saturn in February and March 2010, the indications are the Saturn is fully equipped to achieve its agenda.
If 2010 is going to be a year of transformation and empowerment for Capricorns and Aquarians, it is going to be quite a wild ride of Sagittarians and Pisceans. The year starts with Jupiter moving into Pisces, where it is dignified, but it races in into Aries, where it will be – together with Uranus – until September, and the last conjunctions of Jupiter with Uranus take place in Pisces, showing the combination of burning idealism and compassionate change. Early extremism will probably be dampened in the latter part of the year.
Looking at the last six signs of the zodiac, it is possible to get quite a good idea of general trends, just by studying the slow moving planets, and the retrograde cycles of both Venus and Mars:
Libra
The sign of Libra is sure to have an amazing year, and with Saturn in this sign until October 2012, there is a long period for you to build new life structures which will affect the important relationships in your life. You will already be feeling the influence of the Saturn/Pluto square on your family life, and this involves digging deep into sensitive areas that need transformation. It is important to grasp the nettle and eradicate bad family habits, or work on some sort of home rebuilding project, or to set limits in relation to authoritarian family figures. When Jupiter and Uranus move into your 7th house of relationships in June, an incredibly outgoing period begins. For the unattached Libra this will bring travel to exotic destinations, sudden meetings with exciting fringe groups or involvement with international organizations. For those in relationships it will be necessary to give partners more space, or to do some exciting – or even wild – things together. Partners may be gripped by a kind of craziness which goes against all the rules… and your better judgment. With your sign ruler Venus conjoining Mars in your sign in August, this is a time when there are positive relationship developments, but as Venus goes retrograde in Scorpio and Mars then catches up with Venus in October, it will be you who is compromised and partners who make the decisions. You will need to tread carefully – not least financially – in the last four months of the year.
Scorpio
The main issue for Scorpio from October 2009 to June 2010 is the retrograde and direct movement of Mars through Leo, which suggests that you will be able to express your creativity in your career, and gain recognition and prominence. Up until March 10th however, it may seem as if you are making very little progress and you may also have taken a few wrong turns or decisions that you have to change once more. Fortunately the influence of Saturn at this time means that you are helped considerably by people of integrity. There are a lot of developments in your working life this year, and the summer period is a time of radical change… a good time to seek some freedom from the power battles that are going on amongst colleagues, or even to change job. The most positive time of the year is when Mars is in your sign from September to the end of October. With Venus also in your sign this is an excellent time for love and sex, and you will be very much the one who decides how things shall be. The Mars/Jupiter trine in late October is a truly wonderful time for children, love and creative projects generally. December 2010 is the decisive period for you, and at the Mars/Pluto and Mars/Saturn square in the latter half of the month, you will be involved in a tough fight to get your views across.
Sagittarius
Your sign ruler Jupiter moves into Pisces on January 18th when it immediately connects with Pluto in Capricorn, suggesting that this is an empowering time for you, when you eliminate unrealistic dreams on the one hand, and implement practical changes – especially in home and family matters – on the other. Economic reform is much on your mind, and there are ways of cutting back on expenses and making sensible investments in January. When Jupiter joins Uranus in Aries in June, the fun really starts. This is an incredibly exhilarating period for you, when you are willing to take some amazing risks and gamble on getting things right. It is all about spontaneous action, but there are serious questions about your judgment and you really need to avoid getting into financial troubles. Travel will probably on the cards, and the urge to express freedom and do exactly what you want is irresistible. However, with Jupiter returning to Pisces, together with Uranus, from September onwards, the focus is back on the home, where deep and satisfying changes take place in the autumn period. For some the year is about developments with children, and for others visionary ideals will be implemented in connection with the home and environment.
Capricorn
With Pluto in Capricorn until 2024, you have some interesting years ahead, but 2010 is all about the Saturn square to Pluto, which you already have had a taste of in November 2009. Clearly this is about dealing with power and the professional challenges that occur at an executive level. You will encounter people who are willing to use power without much concern for how it affects others, and you in turn will develop the will and character to overcome whatever is thrown in your way in the process. You may choose to stay in a particular professional position despite the pressure, or you may drop a particular career direction completely. Everything hots up when Jupiter and Uranus conjoin in Aries and shake up your domestic and family life from June to the end of August, and this is surely a good time to get away from it all. Far away. But if you remain in the firing line, this can also be a time when you make a break for it and pursue a new and original direction which promises space and freedom. It does seem that you are torn in several directions at once at this time. As you get familiar with the power games of the time, you gain strength and resilience. You manifest this incredibly strongly in December 2010, when Mars conjoins Pluto to give you superhuman powers. You’ll need to be tough, but be gentle with loved ones.
Aquarius
With Mars in your solar 7th house of partnerships until June 2010, and favorably aspecting Saturn, this is a great period for getting into the harness together with your partner to achieve a specific professional goal. There is much to achieve, especially in connection with getting your message out to others. The Saturn/Pluto square which repeats itself in February and August evokes a lot of anxiety about survival and existence itself, and you learn that everything starts with thought, and that through thought you can gain sovereignty over your fate. You fight a battle for what is right, and you fight from a position of strength. Uranus, which is also associated with Aquarius, changes sign on May 28th 2010, ushering a period of dramatic change for you when you are energized, brave and unstoppable. The choices you make in the summer period will give a strong indication of where the next seven years will lead you. Communication is the field in which you will excel and you will reach a lot of people with your message. Some international commuting seems to be in the picture too. Saturn retrogrades back into Virgo from early April 2010 to mid-July, and this period will give you the chance to deal with the economic issues that worried you in 2009 and enable you to find practical solutions, especially in matters connected with tax, banking and other people’s money generally. From July 22nd and onwards, you forge ahead with your lofty vision for the future, which brings breathlessly exciting changes.
Pisces
With sign ruler Jupiter coming into Pisces on January 18th, you get off to the best imaginable start to a year that will prove to be extremely exciting, not least in the way you choose to define your talents and generate your income. January and February is the time when you clear out the cobwebs in your life, throw out those unrealistic dreams that never got you anywhere, and concentrate single-mindedly on what is really important to believe in and go for. There is no doubt that there is a certain amount of survival anxiety, and other people may hold the money strings, but it is all for the best and you work very hard to build up your credit. The conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Aries on June 8th 2010 – which repeats, but this time in Pisces, on September 19th – is a rare occurrence that last took place in 1997, but this is the first and only time in your lifetime that it will happen in your sign. This is therefore the time to grab the opportunity of a lifetime and go for what really inspires you in life. For what you really dream of. This is where your future income can come from, and this is where your unique talents lie. July and August will be a very intense process for you and you tend to embrace an extreme ideology at this time, which risks alienating some important people. It is the soft values that you are so good at expressing, and the last part of 2010 will be a time when you express these values through a universal, humanitarian vision.
It should be said that astrologers have been looking at the year 2010 in awe for many years. It is so rare to see the outer planets changing sign simultaneously and forming a powerful T-square on the cardinal points – Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. This heralds dynamic change. The time for action is upon us, and there will be little debate and discussion. Those people, who grab the torch and run with it, making a leap into the unknown, will be those people that end up with success. Hesitation is not an option. Anxiety may be a driving force, but it will bring out the best human qualities – chivalry, honor, courage, perseverance… and dramatic progress.
Adrian Ross Duncan 17th November 2009