Many Astrologers regard the Winter Solstice as the astronomical New Year.  We are, of course, marking the first day of winter but it also marks the beginning of the Sun setting at a later time each day and slowly giving us an increase of daylight as we move towards the next season.

Last year’s solstice chart had the Ascendant in Scorpio conjunct Saturn in Scorpio.  The Ascendant in dark Scorpio with the heavy influence of Saturn was an indication of how negative and disheartening 2017 would prove to be for the world.  It was also right on the current White House occupant’s natal eclipse and, as usual, he was the primary news topic as he has managed to cause more chaos than anyone thought was possible.

Both last year’s and this year’s solstice charts have Mercury retrograding – last year Mercury was in Sagittarius and this year he is in Scorpio.  The Mercury retrograde from last year’s chart was in the 2nd house which is, among other things, the house of speech.  This placement indicated the amount of lies which would come from the current D.C. crew and the fact that it was in Sagittarius shows the complete lack of restraint with regard to the lying – it has been a year of them trying to tell us that “water is not wet.”  This year the Scorpio retrograde takes place in the 10th house which is the indicator of the government and shows the lack of forethought and honesty attached to the tax bill they were able to shove through congress.  Being in the 10th house it shows that the administration will take some ill-advised victory laps over this travesty.  The fact that Mercury is retrograde gives us hope that the bill, while being passed, will not have a very long shelf-life.  Interestingly, Jupiter the planet of the GOP, is conjunct Mars in this chart which shows the aggression and haste of this bill.  Jupiter conjunct Mars is often an indicator of hubris and I believe that the hubris is going to end up costing them down the road.

The Moon is the primary indicator of the people and last year the Moon was conjunct Jupiter in the sign of Virgo.  This shows how quickly and efficiently the people began to push back against the outrages of the current government.  As the conjunction was in Virgo it also showed that the sloppy details of the white house would push many of the actions into court.  This year the Moon is in Capricorn and conjunct Ketu. The placement is in the 12th house of secrets, hospitals and disappointments. Because of the 12th house placement the 6th house of health is affected as well.  The intention of ripping away health care from some along with pushing up the individual costs of insurance via the bill signed under this chart shows the complete lack of regard for the American people.  What is not being seen is the loss of the public through the determination to deny people affordable health care.  Unlike last year’s Moon/Jupiter conjunction which played out on the public stage this time around there will be action taking place behind the scenes to restore well-being to the people.  The conjunction of the Moon with Ketu shows that this administration is completely detached from the American people and the people now know this.  I think we can expect some surprises as well as a game change throughout 2018.

No general trend chart would be complete without taking a peek at Saturn.  Yesterday the internet was filled with postings about Saturn’s entry into the sign of Capricorn, which is quite simply, just not true.  We have good technology today and any scientist or citizen who is interested in astronomy will be able to state “factually” that Saturn is currently located in the sign of Sagittarius.  It appears that even in the world of astrology and other mystical subjects we have those who refuse to accept facts as facts.  I know that many of you understand that I follow the sidereal zodiac but perhaps many do not know that I also studied western astrology for approximately ten years and understand that system very well.  I appreciate how western astrologers brought psychology into their system but I also understand how often round pegs are being put into square holes to try and make the wrong placements of the planets fit.

Saturn is the ultimate teacher of truth. According to western astrology Saturn left Scorpio about two and half years ago and entered Sagittarius.  Sidereal charts had Saturn leave Scorpio in October of 2017.  Last year’s solstice chart had Saturn in Scorpio right on the Ascendant.  Scorpio is the sign of sex and Saturn the planet of truth.  Saturn had two and half years to uncover the hidden side of our sexual society.  Is it an accident that within six weeks of Saturn moving into talkative Sagittarius the lid was blown off of power and sexual abuse?  The positions of the planets matter.

Today Saturn is in Sagittarius and in close conjunction with the Sun.  The ruler of a country is signified by the Sun and as upsetting as this tax fraud bill was we should keep in mind that no planet really outdoes Saturn.  The close conjunction of the Sun with Saturn shows the eventual defeat of the ruler who keeps walking all over people because of his greed and childish ego needs.  Saturn moves slowly which means we may not see the shift we want to see quickly and there may be more outrageous actions coming our way but Saturn is the planet of the people and when he finally strikes he strikes hard.  Just ask Harvey Weinstein or Judge Moore of Alabama.

Sagittarius is also the sign of beliefs, philosophy and religion.  In our country Sagittarius is the sign of the GOP and as Saturn continues to move through Sagittarius they will either clean up their act or Saturn will take care of it for them.  I believe that we will be seeing more turmoil caused by religious fanaticism in the next two and half years.  Saturn’s push for truth will not be denied and this push will not just affect the well-established religions.  I’ve been observing trends in the world of yoga and other metaphysical disciplines which are gearing classes and teachings towards achieving mundane goals and self-empowerment.   I’ve even had clients who are telling me that karma does not exist and/or feeling guilty because they’ve run into karmic situations and no amount of deep breathing or mantra or head stands will make the situation go away.  It can be wonderful to do a practice which stimulates the higher chakras and brings in high frequency energy but it is just as important to understand that is only part of the journey.  I suspect that we will see some “gurus” fall by the wayside in the next two and half years.

The journey will continue and this solstice does not bring a miracle but the chart is better than last year.  We have two and half years until Saturn enters the sign of Capricorn which will bring about some stability. In the meantime expect the tables to slowly turn as Saturn does his work in Sagittarius. We may have to remind ourselves during Saturn’s slow trek that we always have to ability to find peace in any given moment but being able to find peace despite outer circumstances is a freedom worth achieving.

Please excuse typos as I’ve moved quickly with this posting and did not have it edited.

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