2005 Astrological Forecast (written 1/16/05)
The chart we will be discussing is the birth chart of the year for San Francisco, California. We leave out the local significance of houses, midheaven, and ascendant.
This year is a Saggitarian year with the conjunction of Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Pluto in Saggitarius; and in addition, Jupiter the ruler of Saggitarius being aspected strongly. A strong emphasis will be placed on ideals we have harbored as a society and a planet. However, these ideals will be challenged in an emotional fashion by those who do not see how these ideals can be applied practically. This results from these four planets in Saggitarius being squared by the Moon in the practical, down-to-earth, sign of Virgo.
How might this Saggitarian fire be played out? It has already started in the hubbub over the presidential election in the US and over the war in Iraq (the Mars role). The Republicans and Democrats are battling over societal ideals. One vehemently disputes the other over issues like gay marriage, war and peace, and spending (the Venus in Sag).
This dispute will increased in its fiery intensity this year, if that is possible. This is not a bad thing, however, because a spiritual lesson is to be gained in the absurdity of it all. With Jupiter in Libra trining Neptune in Aquarius, the birth chart of the year indicates a spiritual rebirth that transcends spiritual differences. I am not talking about a world religion (though some may try to construct one), I am describing a bare-bones shared ethical system of love and caring which transcends religious differences. Particularly for fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist Muslims, there will be a shift in emphasis to these virtues.
The impulse toward a new spirituality will be particularly Aquarian and New-Age in character, and some New-Age leaders may bridge the gap to the more traditional religions with a radically new point of view and acceptance.
The generosity and Jupiterian heart of the planet has already been opened by the Tsunami disaster. The whole issue of caring for others just because they are human is brought to the fore. Yet with Jupiter in Libra, this must be done with balance: not offending those served, and yet those being served coming to realize that spirituality is more than just rituals and religions.
However, because of the weak conjunction of Mars with the other Saggitarian planets, there will be expressions of anger, distrust, unrest, and even war. These may be sudden, unexpected, and violent, with Mars squaring Uranus in Pisces. Though we may have all out war between the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq as the result of perhaps premature elections, this will bring hidden resentments out in the open, and this will be part of a healing process. The major problem is that the Shiites dominate the country in numbers, and if all representatives to the Iraqi council are voted in by the whole country, the Sunnis don't get any representation. Perhaps time should be taken to break up Iraq into states which each get a certain number of representatives. This has not been done and bodes a severe conflict. These are Saggitarian issues. The major theme of Saggitarius is God Victory, and it opposed by resentment, revenge, and retaliation. If the Iraqi's and the US would realize that a truly representative government for Iraq is vital, elections would be a great victory and example for the region. The big winner in all the current Iraq election confusion, however, is unfortunately the fanatic part of the Iranian population (also Shiite).
There is hope that the issue of defining marriage and family will come to some positive resolution this year. The Virgo Moon is trine the Capricorn Sun, which provides a peculiarly strong yin-yang balance, since Virgo is feminine and Capricorn masculine. It may be that gay marriage issue will meet a comfortable compromise. What will it be? Only time will tell.
How do all these fiery conflicts this year find a resolution? War, anger, and violence may be brought to the altar of an awareness of the damage these things do to children, the home, security, and nurture. Mars is trine Saturn in Cancer. Events will bring these effects to the fore and an awareness may dawn on many of the damage these things do to the inner child. This could be on many fronts: war, violence in the media, non-challenge of mass murder (like in Rwanda), and domestic violence. We will see the sweeping necessity for social change, and the need for these changes to be practical.
Narada Moy, Jan 16, 2005
Free online version of: Toward A New Scientific Astrology by Narada Moy, PhD