A Progressive Presidency

So here we are with a new Presidency coming up next week, which means it’s time to check out the national weather forecast and see what the next four years will bring.

We’ll start with the forecast for the nation, and then see what Biden, Harris, and Trump have going on.

US transits

Saturn

The good news is Saturn will be bringing a bunch of transits that are very good for the government to be working efficiently and things flowing well.

Saturn trine Uranus  Feb - Nov 2021
The structure and authority of Saturn working well with humanitarian Uranus

Saturn trine Saturn  Jan 2022
Good for building structures, government working well

Saturn trine Mars  Mar - Dec 2022
Working efficiently, good use of energy

Saturn conjunct Moon  Jan - Feb 2023
Depressive, our emotions being weighed on

Saturn trine Venus  Mar - Dec 2023
Good for investments, finances

Saturn trine Jupiter  Apr 2023 - Jan 2024
Good for expanding things, moving right along

Saturn square Uranus  Feb 2024
Tense time when authority resists change

Saturn square Ascendant  Mar - Nov 2024
Frustrating time, focus on slowly making progress

Saturn trine Sun  Mar - Dec 2024
Productive time, a good wind at your back

So, to sum up, a very good period of efficient government, with the only times of tension being Jan-Feb 2023, and most of 2024.

Uranus

Uranus, too, starts us off with a good transit to our Sun, helping with creative change, and then will be trine Neptune, bringing in more compassion and a higher way.

But then it’ll be square our Moon, showing unexpected emotions and wanting to break free, for May 2024 - March 2026, while at the same time working well with our Midheaven.

Uranus sextile Sun  June 2020 - April 2022
Uranus trine Neptune  April 2023 - May 2024
Uranus square Moon  May 2024 - March 2026
Uranus trine Midheaven  Aug 2024 - March 2027

So again, things go well until 2024.

Neptune

First Neptune was opposite our Ascendant for March 2015 to Sept 2017, wrapping the country in a fog of deceit and delusion, where people weren’t seeing clearly.

And since April 2019, Neptune has been square our Mars, which is like drunk driving in the fog, and it will continue through March 2022. So we’re most of the way through this period of confusion and misguided action, with a year to go.

At the same time, we’ve had Neptune opposite our Neptune for the past two years, with two years to go. This one is about connecting with bigger ideas and becoming wiser and more empathetic. But if you resist it, you can clamp down in confusion and fear. One can see how this has played into the pandemic, where half the country works together as one and feels for the medical workers, and the other half refuses to help and demands things stay the same.

The good news is Neptune is just coming into a trine with Mercury - communications and thinking - for the next two years, bringing positive inspiration and music and art.

The troubling thing is, from early 2024 through 2026, it’ll be opposite our Midheaven, or public standing and government, showing how for the next election the fog machines will be on full again and many will be misguided in who to trust and the best path to take.

Neptune square Mars  April 2019 - Feb 2022
Neptune opposite Neptune  May 2019 - Jan 2023
Neptune trine Mercury  Feb 2021 - Feb 2023
Neptune opposite Midheaven  Feb 2024 - Jan 2027

Pluto

Pluto is the one who set the stage for everything that happened in 2020, and as I wrote in my other reports, those revolutionary changes will be with us for a few years to come. Things should ease off, though, after Dec 2023.

Then Pluto will be trine our Midheaven, showing the potential for a transformation of our government, or at least using the government’s power well.

Pluto conjunct Pluto  Jan 2020 - Dec 2023
Pluto trine Midheaven  Jan 2022 - Dec 2024

Biden transits

Now let’s look at what our next President will be going through.

Saturn trine Saturn  Mar - Dec 2021
Excellent for authority, government, all organized

Saturn opposite Pluto  Jan - Oct 2021
Can’t make changes you want, conflict, power struggles

Saturn square Mars  Mar - Dec 2021
Held back, frustrated

Saturn square Mercury  Mar - Dec 2022
Negative thinking

Saturn square Sun  Jan - Feb 2023
Challenges to your position, a time of struggle, discipline

Saturn opposite Chiron  Feb 2023
Some kind of wounding to his authority

Saturn square Uranus  Mar - Dec 2023
Can’t make changes you want, frustration

Saturn square Ascendant  Mar - Dec 2023
A stern, strict time, focus on work

Saturn square Saturn  Feb 2024
Challenges in your life, hard times, need to focus

So yeah, not a good time by far. He’s got one good one for most of 2021, but it can’t offset the two difficult ones for that year. 2022 won’t be as bad, but 2023 will be even worse. Lots of challenges, hard times getting things moving, frustrations, and so on. But he’s gone through all these before, and he knows how to get through tough times.

Uranus

His Uranus transits aren’t any better.

Uranus square Pluto  May 2019 - Feb 2021
Uranus opposite Mars  May 2020 - Mar 2022
Uranus trine Midheaven  May 2022 - Mar 2024
Uranus opposite Mercury  Jun 2022 - Apr 2024

This shows tension with trying to implement changes, and outright opposition from angry Mars. Then he’ll have a good patch with the trine to his Midheaven, helping him be more dynamic and innovative, and the opposition to Mercury at the same time, which is like having lots of coffee, in that it’s great for lots of communications and ideas and looking at things in new ways, but be careful of getting frazzled. Also, travel might not work out well, with unexpected events.

Neptune

Neptune is actually all good, once Biden gets past the opposition to his Midheaven in February, which clouded his public persona and shows all the deceit that’s been cast on his election.

Neptune opposite Midheaven  Feb 2019 - Jan 2022
Neptune trine Mercury  Apr 2019 - Feb 2022
Neptune trine Jupiter  Mar 2021 - Dec 2024
Neptune trine Sun  Mar 2022 - Oct 2024
Neptune trine Venus  Apr 2022 - March 2025

All of these show compassion, kindness, and looking for the higher way. Under these transits, you’d want to care for the sick and then listen to Cat Stevens while relaxing on the back porch.

Pluto

For the last two years and this year, Pluto will give him energy, but it might be too combative, or he may go too far with use of power, or being too righteous. Fortunately he’s been using it well.

And then for next year through 2024, he’ll be facing deep emotional issues, conflict with the people, or threats to his home, which for the President would represent the nation.

Pluto opposite Jupiter  Jan 2019 - Dec 2021
Pluto square Moon  Feb 2022 - Dec 2024

Harris transits

A clue to how Biden’s presidency will go might be found in his Vice President’s transits. (For an example, when trying to see if Trump would win the election, I found Pence’s transits showed he’d be feeling depressed in December and held back in January.)

Harris has had a challenging 2020, with Saturn square her Moon and her Sun and Mercury as well. I haven’t seen any reports of her struggling, but it’s definitely been hard on her, and she’s risen to the challenge well.

Saturn opposite Mars  Mar - Dec 2022
Frustration, feeling held back

Saturn trine Ascendant  April 2022 - Jan 2023
Great for making headway, disciplined, focused

Saturn trine Sun  Jan-Feb 2023
Great for leadership

Saturn conjunct Saturn  Jan-Feb 2023
One’s Saturn Return, often a time of promotion

Saturn conjunct Midheaven  Mar - Dec 2023
Assuming authority

Looking at those transits, she’ll feel a bit held back and frustrated for most of 2022, and then, in Jan 2023, everything will open. Not only a great trine to her Sun, but it’s her Saturn Return, where every 29 years Saturn returns to where it was when you’re born. It’s a time of advancement and promotion. And while it’s exact for Jan-Feb 2023, the Saturn Return often works for a full year ahead of that, so all of 2022 is in play as well. But since Saturn will be conjunct her Midheaven, or public standing, starting in March 2023, it points to early 2023 as when she’ll become President or assume a greater role.

 

[Aug 2024 Update: I wrote that Harris might "assume a greater role" in early 2023, and she did just that. The mid-term elections gave the Senate a greater majority, and so as VP, she didn’t need to stay in DC all the time to cast the deciding vote (which she did for a record number of times). So once that occured, she was able to break out and travel overseas, as well as touring the nation. As one writer said at the time, “Now she is freed from shackles of Washington.” And she soon made a strong case against Russia while at a convention in Germany.]

Uranus

Harris has three great Uranus transits from Midheaven 2021 to early 2023, giving her plenty of energy for all things that are inventive, electric, and transforming things for the better.

But then, starting in June 2022, Uranus is square Mars, which would not only make her a bit rebellious and acting out in sudden, angry ways, but could in itself signify being the target of such anger.

Uranus trine Uranus  July 2021 - April 2022
Uranus trine Pluto  May 2021 - Feb 2023
Uranus trine Venus  July 2021 - April 2023
Uranus square Mars  June 2022 - March 2024

Neptune

For Neptune transits, she has just one, a square to her Ascendant, that would make her a bit more sensitive and maybe not seeing things clearly.

Neptune square Ascendant  May 2020 - Feb 2023

Pluto

Pluto has been trine her Jupiter the last few years, which is an excellent transit for effective energy, especially for justice and reforming things. That one is over last month, leaving two very difficult transits.

Pluto square Moon  Feb 2020 - Dec 2022
Pluto square Sun  Feb 2020 - Jan 2023

We covered Pluto in the 2020 report, so you know these are difficult transits. Pluto square her Moon would make her emotionally volatile, hurt, and could bring grief. The same with the aspect to the Sun. In her chart she has Pluto in the Fourth House, so this means this might involve issues of the home and her mother.

She and Biden have their Moon is almost the same place, which shows they understand each other well. Biden has his Pluto square Moon transit a little after hers, but they overlap for all of 2022.

Summing Up

For the nation, the first three years of this next administration should work well. There will be the usual political arguments, and Pluto is far from through with the changes it wants to make, but at least the government will be working efficiently and at its proper tasks.

Once 2024 comes along, though, there will be tension and emotional upheaval, and Neptune will come in to cloud things up and take away the brief respite of clarity the nation had, just as we enter another election year.

And for Biden, he'll have a rough patch for the next four years. But he knew it’d be hard, and knew he was the only one who could do it.

January Update: Capitol Offences

It’s been four days since the Assault of the Capitol. Trump has Jupiter opposite his Pluto for all of January, and it can spur one to go too far with abuses of power.

 

    Sometimes this transit can stimulate a rather ruthless desire to get ahead. Most of us are tempted to cut corners, but that can have very unfortunate consequences, for this transit can indicate trouble with the law or even arrest. In fact you should do as little as possible to arouse the authorities against you, because this transit is so likely to create just that problem.

    - Robert Hand, Planets in Transit

 

Neptune Blues

On the blog here I haven't yet written about two Neptune transits that have had a strong effect on what we're going through. First, Neptune is square the nation's Mars right now, making everyone easily deceived. This is how I wrote of it back in my 2018 Report.

 

    Looking ahead, Neptune will be square our nation’s Mars from April 2019 – Feb 2022. This doesn’t bode well, since Neptune rules delusion and confusion, and Mars rules machines and war. When Mars is square Neptune, there’s a two-day transit that often involves drunk driving or getting lost in the fog, as when John Kennedy Jr. lost his way when flying his airplane to Nantucket. This is a three-year version of that, where our direction won’t be clear. And again, with the next election, deception will loom large.

 

I didn't expect the deception to be pushed even harder after the election, but here we are, with a good portion of the country believing the election was stolen. What Robert Hand says about this transit definitely sums up the rioters:

    Another danger with this transit is that you may become wrapped up in fighting for some terribly idealistic cause that has little chance of succeeding or of giving you any real satisfaction. All that you can count on is that you will be required to surrender your individuality for a "higher purpose," which usually turns out to be someone else's ego.

 

Also, for where it all started, Trump himself has Neptune square both his Sun and Moon for 2020-2022, seriously warping his perspective and judgment. Here's how I wrote of it in 2018:

 

    Neptune rules fog and delusion, and so there’s a much greater chance of both him gaslighting and himself being the victim of deception. It might also show a mental decline. It most likely signifies how he’ll be spreading conspiracy theories after leaving office and believing them as well.

 

Pluto: And Revolution in the Air

 

In 2020: The Year of Pluto I covered how Pluto, in returning for the first time to the place it was when the nation was born, brought about much the same feeling of the Revolution with all the racial and alt-right protests in 2020, and how that will go through the next two years.

What you've seen from those who took over the federal buildings in Michigan and now the Capitol, these are the types of people who actually started the Revolution. Those easily angered by propaganda, like the wildly inaccurate sketch of The Boston Massacre. And quick to use violence to force their way, as when they destroyed the Royal Governor’s mansion or burned the harbor master's own boat when he impounded a ship John Hancock was using to smuggle wine. Even smearing feces, as they did in the Capitol, was a common tactic in threatening Loyalists with warnings on the walls of their homes. And without even knowing of astrology, many of those extremists are pushing this theme, as when Lin Wood, one of the prominent conspiracy theorists, declared, “It’s 1776 in America again, and you’re not gonna take our freedom. We’re gonna fight for our liberty.”

Pluto: The Shadow on the News

In the 2020 report I wrote about how Pluto can signify the shadow, the part of ourselves we reject and hold at a distance, much like Pluto itself, which was rejected even as a planet. And how Pluto transits, like the Pluto Return the nation is going through now, dredges up that shadow—all the things that need to be cleared—and makes us face them. 

 

Scrolling through Twitter the last few months, many political commentators noticed this theme playing out as well.

    When Trump turned over the rock on the underbelly of America, I had no idea how much putrescence would crawl out. We’ve got a problem, America.
    - Jonathan Benner @BennerJonathan

 
    It makes me think of Carl Jung's concept of the Shadow: Trump and his supporters are a manifestation of the unacknowledged parts of our collective national consciousness...and at some point we need to recognize and deal with it.
    - Asha Rangappa @AshaRangappa

    The president’s effect is to embolden white supremacists, violent militias and anti-government extremists. He has been warned of this numerous times, yet he persists. He knows. He just does not care. And the country, I fear, will pay the price.
     - Bill Kristol @BillKristol, Washington Post, 10/16/20

 

    This is one of the major and necessary lessons of Trumpian pathocracy, and one that we've had to learn. Trumpism is a much needed confrontation with our shadow, showing us the unwanted, dark and repressed parts of ourselves as individuals and a nation. But also the hidden good.
    - Elizabeth Mika @yourauntemma

It’d be nice to say all that is behind us, but Pluto will be conjunct our Pluto for another two years, so there’s still lots of work to do on that front. Expect the issues of 2020—including racial injustice and tearing down old foundations built on those injustices, from statues to statutes—to stay with us and be resisted even as the ground shifts.