If you’re just finding us, catch up with Part I and Part II.
The first stage of the opposition is beginning to align at this moment, and in the US election we’re seeing a vivid portrayal of the battle between the new America (Barack Obama) and the old America (John McCain). Saturn represents the voice of the establishment, “the way it has always been done.” Uranus is the innovator – the unusual. The One who does Not Belong.
Over the past couple of years astrologers have looked to this major planetary cycle for clues as to who would win the election, with divided results. Planets give us a weather map, but they do not reveal the future. Who will prevail in this battle? Just because Saturn won over Uranus in Greek mythology (see Part I) doesn’t mean Saturn will always prevail. After all, Uranus is the lanet with more astrological oomph. In fact, the pull between Saturn and Uranus is a continuing process which begins with the radical urge of Uranus to bring change and new ideas puts pressure on Saturn to evolve and transform, resulting in tremendous resistance and fear and a longing for the past (Saturn). When Saturn regains its foothold, the cycle begins again.
The current opposition cycle began with the conjunction of Saturn and Uranus in 1988-1989 which began in Sagittarius and moved into Capricorn. This period witnessed the economic restructuring in the Soviet Union called perestroika which began the radical changes (Uranus) to the Soviet order (Saturn), and Soviet forces (Saturn) withdrew from Afghanistan under pressure from “freedom fighters” there (Uranus), setting the stage for the battle underway at the present time. In Poland, the communist government (Saturn) legitimized the Solidarity trade union movement (Uranus). Neptune became involved in that planetary system in February and March of 1989, resulting in the biggest oil (Neptune) spill in history, and a geomagnetic (Uranus) storm (Neptune) wiped out a huge power grid (Saturn), resulting in the loss of power to six million people.
The opening square occurred in 1999-2000 with Saturn in Taurus and Uranus in Aquarius. At the time Enron traders of energy (Uranus) were circumventing established rules (Saturn) to create artificial energy shortages (Saturn again) and get rich. The murder of young gay teen Matthew Shepard in late 1998 as the square began to form resulted in a battle in Congress over whether to include homosexuality (Uranus) in federal hate crime legislation (Saturn) which failed at that time, and Dr. Kervorkian pushed the legal envelope (Uranus) on physician assisted suicide and was found guilty (Saturn).
Now we are in the opposition phase, where Saturn and Uranus are 180 degrees apart creating a tension that requires balance and assimilation. The opposition will “perfect” in exact alignment on November 4, Election Day in the US. It looks right now as if Barack Obama (Uranus) will be elected president, in which case the Saturn backlash that we’re already seeing at McCain and Palin’s campaign stops will continue to heat up. Sarah Palin’s “Joe Six Pack” and “Hockey Moms” are terrified of the change the Barack Obama represents. He is like an alien to many who grew up in small towns with a homogeneous demographic, and for the Saturnian individual who cherishes stability and security above all else, the concept of Uranian liberation/chaos is horrifying. On the other hand, for the Uranian individual, for whom personal liberty and social justice is paramount, the Saturnian need for control and pressure to confirm is similarly abhorrent. This is the very battle which will take place over the next few years against the backdrop of Pluto’s entry into Capricorn and the transformation (Pluto) of social and governmental structures (Capricorn).
As an American I am rather focused on the outcome of the US election, but this planetary cycle of course will affect the entire globe. Every European country has experienced a wave of immigration that has been integrating the culture, and there will be a greater desire for human rights (Uranus) that shake the established order. In Britain, there are rumors of a parliamentary coup against Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and I have long thought that Pluto in Capricorn would bring a rebellion that would topple (Pluto) the monarchy (Capricorn) once and for all.
The second exact phase of the opposition cycle will occur on February 5 2009 but Saturn and Uranus will not be more than two degrees apart between November and February, so the effect will remain strong. Events that are put into motion in early November under the first “hit” will continue to unfold over the next few months. Most major planetary cycles have three hits, but this opposition cycle will have five phases, signaling its particular significance for permanent change.
The third phase occurs in September (15th) 2009, but a total eclipse of the Sun in August (22nd) conjunct Saturn will instigate the events of that phase of the cycle. Retrograde Pluto will be stationary (moving very slowly) in September and will change direction to turn direct just a few days before the exact opposition, so this period is likely to be rather intense. Saturn and Uranus are in challenging 30 and 150 degree aspects to Neptune, which will erode any potential for understanding the nature of the events that occur at that time. It will be important then (and don’t worry, I’ll remind you!) to remember that this is a natural evolutionary cycle that requires the letting go of the old in order to bring in something that is more true for us at that current time.
The fourth phase takes place April 26, 2010, again in exact aspect to Neptune. By that time we likely will have integrated the lessons of the Saturn/Uranus opposition and are better prepared to take the steps necessary to move forward. Neptune demands that we become visionaries and transcend boundaries that limit ordinary mortals, and in doing so there is sometimes a dissolving of aspects of our life that limit us (Saturn). Challenging Neptune times require that we pursue a disciplined (Saturn) spiritual practice (Neptune) that enables us to open up our eyes and our mind to a completely new way of being alive on the planet (Uranus). This third and fourth phase will be extremely exciting for those who are able to let go and enjoy the roller coaster ride, and less comfortable for those of us with more fixed natures (like me) who have a high need for control and safety.
The fifth phase on July 26, 2010 occurs at -0- degrees Aries and Libra, within range of a square to Pluto at 3 degrees Capricorn. Normally the late stage of a multi-phase planetary cycle is less difficult than the earlier stages, because we have usually assimilated the necessary planetary energies by that time. The addition of the square from Pluto will create greater urgency and pressure for conflict and war in order to achieve the goal of change and transformation (Pluto) into a new way (Uranus) of living as societies (Saturn) in the world.
This fifth phase of the Saturn/Uranus cycle is actually the harbinger of two Pluto cycles: the square from Saturn to Pluto (visiting three times between November 2009 and August 2010) and the square from Uranus to Pluto which will come within winking distance in July 11 but not perfect until June 2012, continuing through 2015. I’ll cover these other major cycles in separate articl
es, but you can see that what happens during the Saturn/Uranus opposition will set the stage for the next eight years.
Knowing this information is not useful if we use it to scare ourselves to death. It’s important to view these cycles within a framework of faith and understanding so that we can use the information to our advantage and not become overwhelmed by it. This is a time to examine our own lives and see where our life is not authentic, and where we are not being true to ourselves (Uranus) and where changes need to be made to the structure of our lives (Saturn) as a result. This is the perfect time to cultivate faith in the natural flow of life and to increase our understanding that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. It’s a wonderful time to learn to let go when all of the doors to our desires are closing, but to remain strong in our intention to manifest a life of beauty and adventure that resonates with our deepest Self. This after all is the ultimate challenge of any planetary cycle.
posted October 15, 2008 at 12:03 pm
And one more thing. The previous oppositions were times of economic expansion so the doomsayers will most likely be proven wrong.
In any event, it’s going to be a fun time.
posted October 15, 2008 at 2:33 pm
For some levity, click on the above and turn on your sound. It’s ‘a Riot, Alice!’
posted October 15, 2008 at 3:39 pm
How interesting. I, for one, will be glad to see all the people who have put their energies into “acquiring”, bigger houses, bigger cars, blah blah, which, of course, is nothing but surface crap, into important things in life. Maybe now the materialistic yuppies will know what it’s like to suffer a little. And maybe America will return to REAL VALUES.
posted October 15, 2008 at 6:49 pm
This financial crisis is only beginning. We’re experience systemic failure (As Zeitgeist points out before it goes off on other tangents) of the fractional reserve banking system. The system relies on debt for money creation. The massive influx of trillions of dollars of bad debt created many trillions more “virtual money” which is now hemorrhaging out and killing the entire system. The scale of this problem is so massive that it’s basically vaporized the entire infrastructure of finance. Think 9/11 planes hitting the towers for a nice analogy.
posted October 16, 2008 at 3:55 pm
This is very interesting and will take me some time to digest. I am wondering why you did not predict the catastrophiesthat are going to take place. For example this winter wil be one of californias worst. I spoke with a geologist from Nasa and he told me that the PLANET’EARTH’ is in major trouble, he said that we were falling off our Axe’s, and that is without a doubt a fact. he had just left he president of the United states with these facts. He said that in the year 2022, our planetwill collied with a guigantic Ice berg and that there is no missel lounching that will be able to dissemble the berg. All The countrys, China, Russia, japan, Africa, etc.. are building cities (as we speak) under there Alsaken snows
posted October 16, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Mike, I love that analogy. People “out there” have no clue what’s to come…and this was predicted over a year ago by people I know who are “on another plane”…never seen anything like this in my lifetime.
posted October 16, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Mary, I agree – all kinds of things have been going on for a long, long time…30 years ago a woman (psychic, studied with many, many prophets, for lack of better term) told me about some of this stuff that was going to happen…of course that many years ago I was clueless as to what she was talking about…
Edgar Cayce, for those of you who are familiar, predicted this in 1935 – “year 2008 – 2011″ will be the “healing” of our world, AS WE KNOW IT….
posted October 16, 2008 at 5:30 pm
This is very interesting and will take me some time to digest. I am wondering why you did not predict the catastrophiesthat are going to take place
I don’t see any value in predicting catastrophes as certain events. I prefer to give people information that helps them to prepare for the worst without scaring themselves to death. There’s a lot of fearmongering going on, and spreading a message of fear is not really what I’m about.
posted October 24, 2008 at 2:37 pm
The way I am advising my clients is that we need to take the saturn/uranus oppositions in stages. This is the first one and it will certainly be a wake up call. But we have been building towards it all fall. Curiously, if you watch CNBC, all the on camera talent are almost blase with the turn of events, “Oh, down 400 points this morning, but let’s see what we look like in the afternoon.” If you would have told them back in July that they would be so monotone about such events they would have told you that you were crazy. These are the times we’re in when Uranus and Saturn do this dance. I for one am glad we are beginning this new world era under the Scorpio lunar cycle. We have saturn/uranus opposition/ neptune goes direct, uranus goes direct, and pluto moves into capricorn all under this scorpio lunar phase. The last two under balsamic moon. We must release in order to receive the new changes that are coming. Holding on too tight will not help anyone. at least imo.
posted October 24, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Tracy and others, feel free to post your website link so we know who you are.
I’m looking for the Uranus shift to really bring in the Capricorn energy. It’s an interesting time!
posted October 25, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I used to study astrology but got busy with other things (i.e. paying work), so I didn’t even see this one sneaking up on me.
Uranus is smack dab on my sun in Pisces sun, and boy am I feeling that Saturn opposition.
Most noticeably: Dental work gone massively wrong, and now x-rays showing foot surgery is needed–and soon.
It’s all leaving me too exhausted to figure out how to channel this energy — especially as it comes at the end of a long cycle of writing a “revolutionary” book.
Oh boy, do I miss my astrological studies.
posted October 27, 2008 at 11:30 am
Thank you, Lynn.
I write a New Moon Column every month. I put up my Scorpio New Moon article a little bit earlier than usual because I felt that people were needing it. (Saturn/Uranus!) It is on my friend Margaret Wendt’s metaphysical website.
http://margaretwendt.com/columns.php?id=212#article
I saw that you put up the Ray Merrimen article. I read it about two weeks ago after another astrologer recommended it. It is a very good read. Quite in depth.
posted December 1, 2008 at 8:56 pm
….SO Many people seem to be having health issues….
I can’t believe it..
my DEAR friend who has uranus retro in his chart has a massive bike / truck accident..
posted March 6, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Curious…on 9-9-09, Uranus almost directly opposite Saturn!
posted July 28, 2009 at 6:04 am
Hi Lynn:
I was looking for more information re: the saturn/uranus opposition and found you. However, what I was seeking was a more specific study of the impact of this phenomenon as it comes in contact (particularly through opposition/conjunction) with major planets in an individual chart.
What is the impact of this duality when it squeezes native Jupiter, say, in its axis?
Hope you’ll take up the challenge for us.
Best wishes
Marco