The most important astrology event of 2020 – a Saturn-Pluto conjunction – highlights the first half of January. We also have a potent lunar eclipse strongly colored by this conjunction, as well as Uranus turning direct.
BONUS: links to free MP3s excerpted from my 2020 Astrology Forecast Presentation. Hear me interpret the conjunction and eclipse for a live audience. These MP3s include lots of bonus material not included in the written forecasts!
Click astrology graphics to see larger images. Some resource links may occur more than once. This is because many people link to a specific day’s forecast from social media, and might not see an important resource link elsewhere on this page.
1/10 (Fri)
Cancer Lunar Eclipse
Hear a 10-minute MP3 of me interpreting this Lunar Eclipse, excerpted from my 2020 Astrology Forecast Lecture. This free MP3 contains helpful information not included here.
This lunar eclipse at 2:21 pm EST (20°0′ Cancer) has the Moon in Cancer opposing five planets in Capricorn. The Sun, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn and Pluto are tightly conjunct, all within three degrees of each other.
A lunar eclipse is like a Full Moon on steroids. It’s in Cancer, which has five major themes: emotions, family, home, security and shadow work. What releases or adjustments in these areas would make your life more wonderful?
Aspects
Saturn-Pluto
Of the five Capricorn planets opposing the Moon, Saturn and Pluto are the stars of the show. They’ll be flushing up some major shadow work!
Saturn can bring challenge, and Pluto is lord of the underworld. Pluto brings up old pain from the unconscious when it’s time to work with it. So be prepared with a great shadow work tool. (Many people have had great results with my free Healing Invocation.)
The Saturn-Pluto conjunction has already been in orb (close enough to connect) for about two years. I know a bunch of people who are very conscious. They’re some of the brightest lights I know, and all of them are processing a huge amount of shadow work.
At first, the shadow work is usually your personal stuff. If you clear enough of that, you might start to clear for your family lineage. If you get enough of that done, then you might start clearing heavy energy for absolute strangers. Those who are capable are being asked to process heavy energy for everyone else. And Saturn-Pluto can stir up some very heavy energy!
2 Keys For Processing Heavy Energy
Since we’re all going to be processing heavy energy, here are two key things that will help you, First, be as spiritually awake as you can. (My free Embodied Awakening Invocation might help you with this.) If you’re consistently holding awakened consciousness, you won’t suffer when this stuff comes up.
Embodied awakening merges your ego with your higher self, a part of you which is always peaceful. No matter what happens to your personality, you’re always aware of that part which is at peace. Whatever shows up, you’ll be able to to meet it more calmly.
As an example, my life partner Maeikisala had a stroke on December 11. On that date, Saturn and Pluto were already very close to conjunction, and both of our charts had major challenging transits. In the days following her stroke, I had several rounds of heavy crying. I felt searing pain in my heart chakra as I mourned the loss of the Maeikisala I had known.
But I never lost my awakened consciousness. As a result, I was able to feel that intense pain completely and not flinch away. So I was able to rapidly complete my mourning process for the woman I had known. This lets me be fully present with the transformed woman who’s here now – who, by the way, has received a major upgrade in her spiritual awareness after the stroke, and is making great strides in her physical recovery.
Second, have good shadow work tools ready. We’re clearing thousands of years of patriarchal dominator culture. We humans created it, and we have to clean it up. So everyone who’s sufficiently awake is on the cleanup team. The work at hand may not be the work we had in mind, but it’s what needs to be done.
Ceres
Pluto and Saturn are conjunct three other planets in this lunar eclipse. One is the asteroid goddess Ceres, also known as Demeter. In fact, she may not like being conjunct Pluto, since she had such a difficult time with him in the myth! Her daughter Persephone got kidnapped down to the underworld by Pluto, after which Ceres weeped inconsolably for months. I won’t tell the whole myth here, but basically Ceres can represent intense sorrow and shadow work.
As the grain goddess, Ceres can also represent abundance, harvest and prosperity. This introduces another eclipse theme: what release or adjustment can you make to become more prosperous? In this context, Pluto represents wealth, Ceres is abundance, and the Cancer Moon wants you to follow your heart’s desire. What can you release to make more room for abundance?
Abundance doesn’t have to be money. Abundance can be whatever makes your life more wonderful.
What’s your wealth? It could be money, or having free time to be out in nature. It could be doing a hobby or playing with your kids. So decide what your wealth is, and call it in from this eclipse!
Mercury
Mercury is also part of this five-planet stellium in Capricorn. What release or adjustment would improve how you learn or communicate? Could you learn how to speed read so you can take in more information in less time? How about speeding up the audiobooks and podcasts you listen to? In a different vein, if you’re getting similar negative feedback on how you communicate from different people, this is a great time to transform that aspect of your communication style.
Grand Cross: Adding Juno and Eris
These five Capricorn planets and the Moon are part of a Grand Cross. This is the most potentially challenging aspect pattern in astrology. In one corner we have Juno, the asteroid goddess of committed partnership. This could be romantic or platonic. Maybe that committed partner will stir up your shadow work, or maybe they’ll help you heal it. Maybe they’ll do both!
At the other end of the Grand Cross is Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her most famous role in the myths has to do with an important wedding that she wasn’t invited to. She crashed the event and tossed out an apple marked, “To the fairest.” Many goddesses fought over it, and that conflict escalated into the Trojan War.
Eris can be that other person who’s trying to provoke you. They throw that apple out and say, “Are you going to fight? Are you going to get upset because of what I just did?” They’re trying to goad you into having a negative reaction, which can ultimately cause you to harm yourself. (For a Marvel-ous example of this type of Eris strategy, note how the villain Helmut Zemo set the Avengers against each other in the film Captain America: Civil War.)
Your emotions are your responsibility. No person or event outside you can force you to feel anything. They can only offer catalyst. If you’re awake enough, you’ll see through the game and can make the choice to avoid that negative pattern.
Or it could be that you’re the one to play the Eris role … for a higher cause. You’re the one who throws out the challenging catalyst to break up a pattern that isn’t serving highest good anymore. Eris doesn’t always have to be the villain!
Sabian Symbol
The Sabian symbol for this eclipse is, “Venetian gondoliers in a serenade.” This sunny image is radically different from the dark tone of this eclipse!
But we can glean some insight from it. For starters, the gondoliers are working together as a group to create their beautiful song. With an eclipse that offers such potentially challenging energy, remember that you don’t have to face its difficulties alone. Call upon your allies – friends, family or tribe – for mutual support.
This image also reminds us of beauty. A serenade sounds lovely, and a challenge well mastered can produce a beautiful and harmonious outcome. We may face many challenges in 2020. Old structures that have outlived their usefulness will fall. But if we create better structures to replace them, our efforts and their results may merit a song or two!
Hear a 10-minute MP3 of me interpreting this Lunar Eclipse, excerpted from my 2020 Astrology Forecast Lecture. This free MP3 contains helpful information not included here.
Uranus Direct
Uranus turns direct today (1/10) at 2°38′ Taurus, five months after it turned retrograde on 8/11/19 at 6°36′ Taurus.
Like all transiting planets, Uranus works first and foremost for your higher self. If it finds something that aligns with your soul purpose, it can give it a quantum leap to the next level of wonderful! If something’s out of alignment, then Uranus may inject some chaos and craziness … not to be cruel, but to show what you’d be wise to paradigm-shift or release.
In my 8/11/19 forecast, I invited you to reflect on this quirky planet’s highest expressions. Have you embraced what’s unique about yourself … and are you showing it to the world to the greatest extent that serves highest good? Are you following your intuitive flashes – those “text messages from God” that are actually your most infallible guidance? And are you serving others using your special talents that you most love to use?
With Uranus turning direct, it’s time to shift from reflection to action. The more you follow these life-affirming Uranus strategies, the more wonderful your experience of this outside-the-box planet will be!
Planets are especially powerful when they station (change directions). With Uranus’ direct station happening at 2°38′ Taurus, any sensitive natal points from 28° cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) to 8° fixed (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) will be strongly affected.
If the current state of something represented by these points doesn’t serve your highest good, it will draw itself to your attention to be released or improved. And you can take whatever’s already in harmony to the next level!
1/12 (Sun)
Saturn-Pluto Conjunction
Hear a 28-minute MP3 of me interpreting this Saturn-Pluto conjunction, excerpted from my 2020 Astrology Forecast Lecture. This free MP3 contains lots of additional information about this momentous event!
The Saturn-Pluto conjunction is, without question, the most important astrological event of 2020. It’s also as serious as a heart attack.
And its effects last almost four years! Using Richard Tarnas’ recommended orb of 15° for slower planet conjunctions, Saturn and Pluto connected energetically on 1/31/18. We’ll feel the effects of their conjunction nonstop all the way through 4/5/21.
But even then we won’t be done. It won’t be until they complete their “encore,” as Saturn moves back within 15° of Pluto 8/2/21 through 12/18/21, that we’ll be clear of the most potent Saturn-Pluto effects.
With great power comes great responsibility. It’s important to understand both the light and dark potentials of this titanic archetypal force. This will give you the wisdom you need to choose its life-affirming possibilities!
Synodic Cycles
If you’re already familiar with synodic cycles in astrology, feel free to skip this “Synodic Cycles” section. If not, this will help you understand how the Saturn-Pluto conjunction is only the beginning of a 33-year cycle with four distinct phases. This section was informed and inspired by Nick Anthony Fiorenza’s post, Synodic Astrology: The Saturn-Pluto Synodic Cycles, A Historical Exploration 1851 – 2020.
The endless dance of the Moon and Sun is the best-known of the planetary synodic cycles. The Moon is new when it’s dark, and half lit during the first quarter waxing moon. It’s fully illuminated as the Full Moon, half-lit in reverse during the third quarter waning moon, then dark when new again.
The Moon’s 28-day synodic cycle with the Sun is the quickest cycle in the sky. In contrast, the Saturn-Pluto synodic cycle, with Saturn moving faster and eventually rejoining Pluto, lasts about 34 years.
We start with the basic Saturn-Pluto themes, which we’ll explore shortly, at the conjunction. Then we build to the crisis point of the first quarter square. This 90-degree square wants to “turn a corner.” We take definitive action for the next quarter phase. This action leads us into the opposition, which is like the Full Moon phase. This is the brightest time of night, when we can clearly see what we’ve accomplished.
That’s the climax, but we’re only halfway through the cycle. Now we see what needs adjustment or release. We tweak it and play with it.
Once we get to the waning square, three-quarters of the way through the cycle, we’ve done enough. We’re tired and ready to start letting it go. The final quarter is for release and integration. And then we get back to the conjunction, like a New Moon, and start again.
This isn’t just endless repetition, though. It’s a spiral. Each complete cycle takes us a little bit higher. If we’ve been paying attention, we’ve gained more wisdom. We’re at a higher level of consciousness, and can now negotiate the cycle more skillfully.
The Saturn-Pluto Cycle
The quarter-phases of the Saturn-Pluto cycle are about eight years apart. The cycle begins with the conjunction in 2020. The waxing square is 2028, and the opposition is 2036. The waning square is 2044, and the next conjunction is in 2053.
It’s also important to note that the Saturn-Pluto cycle isn’t the only thing happening in 2020. A 20-year Jupiter-Saturn cycle and a 13-year Jupiter-Pluto cycle also begin this year. Each of these will color our lives in their own distinctive ways. And there are many other astrological influences as well!
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Saturn-Pluto Themes
Let’s get into some Saturn-Pluto themes from Renn Butler’s wonderful book The Archetypal Universe: Astrological Patterns in Human Culture, Thought, Emotion and Dreams. Let’s start with some more positive expressions of Saturn-Pluto:
- profound discipline, strength and endurance
- heroic self-control
- the capacity to bear down with great force and pressure on difficult situations until they’re resolved
- a deep sense of responsibility
- an ability to build powerful bridges and foundations
- solid successes
- challenges which lead to an urgent reformulation of priorities
- a need to cut your losses and deepen your commitment to the important things in life
- profound feelings of powerlessness … but with the resolve to continue!
- a willingness to face every part of your unconscious despite the difficulty
- completion of the death/rebirth process and owning your shadow
- expressing titanic forces in a way that helps the external world
These are some awesome ways to use Saturn-Pluto. Now let’s explore some shadow qualities of this pairing.
- ominous forebodings and a sense of danger
- feelings of anxiety and fear
- negative or threatening forces
- a perception of irrevocable pressure and change
- the failure of law or structure to stop decay and decline
- evolutionary setbacks and reverses
- crushing defeats
- the limits of power
- rigid armoring and hardening
- defensiveness and entrenchment
- reactionism and fundamentalism
- damaging overexertion
- the negative consequences of abusing power
- The costs of obsession, attachment, or holding grudges
- Unstoppable force meets immovable object
- intense control and domination
- brutal repression of yourself and others
- inhuman cruelty
- the inescapable certainty of death
- hard destructive energies and emotions
- cold-blooded murder
- exploitation
- hate and vengeance
- sexual abuse
- massacres and genocides
- weapons of mass destruction
- ecological disasters and catastrophes
- all hell breaking loose
It doesn’t get much darker than dark Saturn-Pluto! If you’re already seeing a lot of these effects in the world, remember that this Saturn-Pluto conjunction has already been in orb for about two years.
Now we switch to Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View. This monumental work is widely regarded by astrologers as the best book ever written on the effects of outer planet cycles on human history.
Tarnas spends 80 pages on Saturn-Pluto aspects, and gives a sobering litany of all the terrible things that have happened during this cycle. But he also says that hard Saturn-Pluto aspects can bring positive results, although typically only after considerable effort. He also says that Saturn-Pluto hard aspects can be extremely challenging and serious. So let’s review some of his ideas about how Saturn and Pluto can show up:
- empowerment of reactionary forces and totalitarian impulses
- profoundly weighty events of enduring consequence
- violence and death on a massive scale
- the irrevocable termination of an established order of existence
- collective intensification of division, antagonism and hostility
- deployment of massive, highly disciplined, carefully organized destructive power
- a widespread sense of victimization and suffering under the impact of cataclysmic and oppressive forces
- the drive for power, control and domination
- experiences of deep humiliation caused by violence, violation and defeat, often accompanied by a compensatory need to prove one’s strength, invulnerability and capacity to retaliate with lethal potency
- displays of personal and collective determination
- unbending will, courage and sacrifice in the face of danger and death
- the transformation and forging of enduring structures, whether material, political or psychological
There are many horrible things already happening here on earth, so we need some destruction! We need Pluto to get his game on and tear down all this toxic stuff.
If current trends continue, we’re on track to wipe out millions of species. The earth could become uninhabitable, and all humans could die. 11,000 scientists from around the world recently published a study in the journal Bioscience. They warn “clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.”
We need destruction of the current trends so we can have a more harmonious, balanced, and sustainable way of living. So we need Saturn and Pluto big time right now, and I for one am grateful they’re here!
On a personal level, let’s use Saturn and Pluto in life-affirming ways. Others may use them to spread evil and darkness. But our job as conscious, awakening humans is to use them for the highest good of all.
At this point in my 2020 forecast lecture, I give a detailed description of the key historical events that have occurred during Saturn-Pluto cycles in the 20th and 21st centuries. I mostly summarize from Cosmos and Psyche, but also did my own research for the Saturn-Pluto periods since the book was published in 2007. You can hear the entire 28-minute Saturn-Pluto section of this lecture for free, including that historical overview, by clicking here.
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Tarnas says that Saturn-Pluto brings “a view of human existence as ordered by weighty collective responsibilities, enormous generational tasks, and larger forces of destiny that assign us roles and labors beyond our conscious choosing.” Tarnas also says that “the deprivations, losses and hard labors of Saturn-Pluto periods force individuals and societies out of an old form of life and into a new one.”
The current trend of human society is insanely self-destructive. We need a new way of life. We’ll change voluntarily, or the old order will simply be destroyed. So, to borrow a book title from the awesome visionary author Charles Eisenstein, why don’t we create “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”?
Why did I drag you through all those dark Saturn-Pluto possibilities? To show you how important it is that we focus on the high side instead. There are lots of powerful, greedy, self-serving dark forces out there. If we opt out and leave the show to them, our lives could become a living hell.
This Saturn-Pluto conjunction puts unimaginably potent forces into play. If we use them in a life-affirming way, things can get better. You may not believe that you, as one human out of billions, can make a difference. But the idea of morphic resonance, or the hundredth monkey effect, says otherwise.
Every single person who holds a state of consciousness radiates it to the collective. We’re all energetically linked. Even if you just hold this more positive personal expression of Saturn-Pluto and never say a word, it radiates that effect out more strongly. Each of us does make a difference. We are truly the ones we’ve been waiting for.
I showed you how bad it could get to inspire you to take this intense energy in a more positive direction. To give you additional hope, here’s a final section of life-affirming Saturn-Pluto possibilities from Cosmos and Psyche:
- intense focus and discipline with minimal resources
- exceptional courage in the face of extreme danger, hardship, death and moral darkness
- rebuilding out of the rubble of destruction
- a greatly increased collective tendency to confront the moral shadow of humanity
- the balanced and effective organization of power
- well-earned personal authority and gravitas
- extraordinary solidity of character
- perceptive moral judgment
- deeply established and enduring structures of all kinds
Summary
We have some very intense energy happening, not just in 2020 but in the coming years. It’s time to up your game. Many challenging things will be happening out in the world. There’s going to be a lot of breakdown.
The overall course of our planetary society is unsustainably destructive and must be shifted. We can be the change we want to see and embody the high side of these energies. We can perform the service we were born to do. Or we can get depressed, give up, and let the dark forces of the world turn earth into a dystopian hellworld.
I recommend the more positive course of action. If you’re here to serve and make the world better, it’s time to get serious. There are no sidelines anymore. You’re in the game whether you want to be or not.
All hands on deck! Step into your power. Embody your magnificence. Do what’s yours to do!
Hear a 28-minute MP3 of me interpreting this Saturn-Pluto conjunction, excerpted from my 2020 Astrology Forecast Lecture. This free MP3 contains lots of additional information about this momentous event!
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All dates and times are in the U.S. eastern time zone. Events are most powerful on the dates listed, but their influence will be active for at least a week before and after.
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Robert says
Hi again, when convenient, can u elaborate further on the synodtic cycles that are beginning…jupiter saturn & I think Pluto…. Are we starting an air sign era?