For decades, prominent astrologers have been warning us that 2020 will be an important and rather unforgettable year. With the amount of retrogrades, planetary alignments, and the planetary switch from Capricorn to Aquarius, 2020 promised global change, and it’s safe to say that it delivered.
For the past ten years, three major planets have shifted into the sign of Capricorn, which symbolizes responsibility and consequences. In 2008, Pluto, the planet of mystery and revolution entered Capricorn, which was also the year that power structures like Wall Street were found to be responsible for the 2008 recession. In December of 2017, Saturn, the planet of rules and structure, moved into Capricorn, and less than a month later, the #MeToo movement started, which helped to further expose the corruption and patriarchy of Hollywood. Just last December, Jupiter, the planet of progress, entered Capricorn, setting the tone for 2020.
Looking at the past ten years, the general attitude towards those in charge has changed tremendously. Global corruption has been exposed, and people have generally walked away from previously powerful institutions. Meanwhile, people’s movements including the French Yellow Vests, Hong Kong’s protests, and Black Lives Matter have started questioning governments and fighting for human rights. At the same time, Authoritarian and unjust governments (including our own) have spread and gained power. Major companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon have violated our privacy, worker’s rights, and threaten our society. This dichotomy set us up for an explosive revolution that has come to fruition this year.
This world changing transformation was predicted by the alignment of Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn this January. This is a rare alignment that only happens every 40 years, and it has a pretty monumental history. During the conjunction in 1914, World War One started. In the alignment of 1947, the Cold War happened, and in 1982 there was the AIDS epidemic.
Because this conjunction is in Capricorn, astrologers expected that there would be a conversation about current power hierarchies. This focus in Capricorn forces us to ask if our leaders are serving themselves and if they’ve gained power through unjust means. It also dredges up all the extremely Capricorn-ian issues that have started since the last conjunction, including the exploitation of the environment for commercial gain. This issue is almost uniquely Capricorn because while Capricorn is an Earth sign, it is also associated with success and business.
This year, Pluto is also in conjunction with Jupiter in, you guessed it, Capricorn. This pretty rare alignment weirdly happens three times this year, April 4th, June 30th, and November 12th. While this is a typically optimistic alignment, there can often be problems between the planets. Jupiter tends to rely on luck, and likes to breeze through problems, while Capricorn and Pluto are more likely to rely on rules and structure. Interestingly enough, April was when a lot of COVID restrictions were put in place. In July, the virus peaked again because people were not following rules, and as we begin November, cases are skyrocketing again. Last December, astrologer Cho Hwang said “progress towards the future may seem slow or even downright blocked throughout the year,” which matches up with the current situation.
In addition, this year every planet has had a retrograde period, which is pretty unusual considering that some planets only retrograde every few years. A retrograde is when a planet appears to be moving backwards from where we are on Earth. Retrogrades cause us to slow down and reevaluate, and they’re notorious for causing difficulty.
Mercury, the planet of communication, recently had a retrograde in Scorpio. Because this retrograde was in Scorpio, astrologers expected that there would be issues with communication and secrets would be spilled. Scarily enough, this retrograde ended November 3rd, aka election day. Although mercury went direct the third, it moved into Libra, which is notorious for bringing slow energy. Mercury was also square to Saturn from November first to November 6th, which historically has created tension and conflict. The day after this alignment ended (November 7th), the election was called.
Although this year has been objectively terrible, astrology predicts that there is still hope, especially as this year comes to a close. On December 21st, Saturn and Jupiter will make a once-every-400-years alignment in Aquarius. This represents the end to the authoritative and traditional qualities that Capricorn has brought this past year, and the beginning of something entirely new. Aquarius, an air sign, represents intellect, technology, revolution, and humanitarianism, four things we desperately need to neutralize the damage done this year.