If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world, not some mystical mumbo-jumbo word salad. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT, aka GMT). All mundane asrology charts are calculated for the location of the Great Pyramid at Giza. This is a purely arbitrary choice, and is as good as any other location in tlhat respect. (Better than most even, if only because it has been around for thousands of years.) Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a free (and greatly abbreviated) version of my 2017 World Forecast Highlights). If you’d like your own copy of the full 2017 Forecast Highlights (38 pages, illustrated), it’s available in hard copy by mail ($75), or as a PDF document by email ($50). Orders may be phoned in (toll-free from anywhere in North America to 800-527-8761), and charged to any major credit or debit card. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the astropro PayPal order page.
"The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable."
-- Ezra Solomon (often misattributed to John Kenneth Galbraith)
The Skinny
If time is a river, then 2017 is a wide, deep stretch; coursing along its predetermined path with steadily increasing momentum. No sudden bends, no white water . . . but a sense of inevitability that draws us slowly onward, day by day. We can tell it’s taking us along in the flow, but we can’t see yet where we’re going. The details may be uncertain in some respects, but the over-all course of history is part of a pattern that reveals some of what lies ahead. That’s because we’ve been here before.
Ever since the Great Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune T-Square of 2006 (in Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius respectively) – the first appearance of this particular tripartite configuration since the year 536 CE - we’ve been living through a sequence of longer term celestial formations not seen since the time of the so-called Dark Ages. Another in this sequence emerges as one of the signature sky patterns of 2016-2017: the Jupiter-Uranus opposition.
Aside from the longer-term outer planet configurations just mentioned, there are quite a few shorter term but still quite dramatic alignments coming up in 2017. In fact, when it comes to headlines (as opposed to history), things like planetary Max Cycles, SuperMoons and eclipses tend to grab more of the spotlight than the longer term, deeper rooted sky cycles. And 2017 has a good crop of these. There are, for example, two planetary Max Cycles; the common Mercury Max (four this year), and the rarer Venus Max (a sign of economic expansion). There are also four SuperMoons: three in the stealth (new moon) category, and one of the better known full moon type. Add in four eclipses – two solar and two lunar – and meld it all together with celestial patterns that appear in interlocking combinations sporadically through the year, and you get a year of destiny – not calamity, not ecstasy, not yet.
In brief, 2017 is a story of economic boom and bust (mostly the former, most of the year), of class warfare and religious/ideological conflict, proxy wars (openers for the main event still to come) and civil wars (most of them proxy wars as well); plus remarkable scientific/technological breakthroughs that stretch far beyond labs and ivory towers to reach right into the social, cultural and political fabric of our lives. And the signature underlying theme – admittedly melded into a lot of tributary currents – is the 2016-2017 Jupiter-Uranus opposition, which holds pride of place this year in the ongoing unfoldment of the Justinian’s T-Square redux and the oncoming Air Trigonalis – the historic change of element of the Great Chronocrator. No one alive has seen anything like this!
The 2016-2017 Jupiter-Uranus Opposition
Jupiter’s December 26, 2016 opposition to Uranus is the first such alignment of these two planets since 2003, and the first to happen with Jupiter in Libra and Uranus in Aries since 1934. You remember – or you’ve read about - 1934, right? It came during the rise of national socialism, from Stalin in the USSR to Hitler in Germany, Franco in Spain and Mussolini in Italy, to FDR in the US. From Hitler’s Reichstag fire to Stalin’s Great Purge and Mussolini’s racial purity laws, to Roosevelt’s New Deal, 1933 was a turning point in the tide of fascism – all under the aegis of the Jupiter-Uranus opposition, in combination with the 1932-1934 Uranus Pluto square. That’s right: the combined Uranus-Pluto square and Jupiter-Uranus opposition that accompanied the 1930s has been with us from 2011 on into 2017. And we wonder why anarchy, populism, nihilism, racism and fascism have reared their ugly heads again, with an intensity not seen in generations?
The 2016-2017 Jupiter opposition to Uranus from Libra to Aries is significant in its own right, but even more so in view of its 594 CE analog in Justinian’s T-Square sky train. This time around, the conjunction occurs once at the end of 2016 (on December 26), and twice in 2017 (on March 3 and September 28). Jupiter opposes Uranus once every 12-14 years or so, but it’s rarely a ‘one and done’ phenomenon. Typically, because of retrogrades, there are several such alignments in the space of a year or two, before Jupiter pulls out of the alignment and leaves Uranus behind – for another dozen years or slightly more.
Just as the current Jupiter-Uranus opposition follows in the wake of the 2011-2015 Uranus square to Pluto in Capricorn, so the 594 CE Jupiter-Uranus alignment occurred after the 554-551 Uranus square to Pluto in Capricorn. The year 594 may not mean much to you offhand, but it’s a watershed in the Islamic world; marking the marriage of Muhammad to Khadija. That event heralded the beginning of the Prophet’s rise as founder of Islam. It was also the year that the system of Hindu-Arabic numerals first appeared in India; whence it later spread to the Arab world, and then to Europe and around the globe. These two events embody the essence of the Jupiter-Uranus opposition, particularly from Libra to Aries. It signifies a potent union of opposites, a melding of ideologies and technologies that introduces a new structure, which quickly takes hold and takes over. People find themselves wondering, "Where did that come from – and why it did it take so long to arrive?"
That’s exactly what to expect as one of the hallmarks of 2016-2017: a breakthrough blend of ideologies and technologies revolutionizing the status quo of the world – not in a year or two, mind you, but going forward from this time on for centuries to come. Watch the technology news for revolutionary advances, and look for a new wave of religious consciousness that radically changes the complexion and perspective of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. I have no idea of what this may be, practically speaking. I only know that it’s coming, and that it’s big. (I don’t have a dog in this fight, since the closest I come to anything in the way of religiosity might be something akin to apostate Taoism.)
While the exact outlines of what is to come are beyond my limited imagination, I do see some hints in developments that have occurred since the 2006 Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune T-Square – and especially since the Uranus-Pluto square sequence began in 2011. Looking back at it, we see significant scientific breakthroughs, from the quantum level to the astrophysical: the opening of CERN, the discovery of the Higgs boson, the snowballing discovery of exoplanetary systems, and the discovery of evidence pointing to the possibility of Dyson Spheres out there in the cosmos. From breakthrough discoveries in fundamental physics to the discovery of extraterrestrial life – microbial at first, but progressing quicker than anyone can imagine to First Contact – we’re already well along the path that changes everything.
Another dimension to this transformation is the socio-political, which cannot be separated from the cultural and economic spheres. The 2011-2016 Uranus-Pluto square years – starting with the Arab Spring and Occupy Movements and continuing through the civil wars and culture wars that followed – were the opening salvo in this process. Now, to borrow from the Star Wars mythology, the Empire Strikes Back. Jupiter’s alignment with Uranus means the technology and the Establishment combine to lay siege to the 99%. Think of Brave New World - we’re only a few generations from Alphas and Savages, after all - and then either lead, follow, or get out of the way. Still, the time when resistance is futile is still a generation or so away
Bear in mind, with all these longer term historical configurations, that there’s no one instant in time that a particular event happens in a flash, and changes history forever more going forward. These are process nodes, not individual events. Individual events can certainly be recognized in retrospect as triggers, but they’re far from the whole story. The real story is what flows from them. I’ll return to the Long Game momentarily, because it can only be fleshed out in the context of the 21st Century recurrence of Justinian’s T-Square and the imminent 2020 Trigonalis. But in the nearer term, it’s vital to see how the Jupiter-Uranus opposition ties in with other important planetary configurations this year; such as, for example, the Mars-Saturn square that occurs on January 19, a day before the US Presidential Inauguration.
The January 19 Mars-Saturn square occurs with Jupiter still within a couple degrees from its exact opposition to Uranus; and Uranus in turn still only a few degrees away from its square to Pluto. A hard aspect like this between the Red and the Ringed Planets is always a sign of increased risk of loss and danger through violence and mishap; from "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" to outright acts of criminality ranging from interpersonal to collective conflict. But this is more than the now all too familiar run of mayhem, mass murder and terrorism. The fact that it melds Mars and Saturn with the Uranus-Pluto square and the Jupiter-Uranus opposition makes it social, political and international; and it conjures with those patterns from the 1930s as well.
The parallels to the 1930s, when these same planetary configurations were in force, are peculiarly twisted. Take Europe, for example. In the 1930s, Germany sought revenge for its humiliation at the end of World War I. Now, it’s Russia seeking revenge for its humiliation at the end of the Cold War. Then, Germany seized surrounding nations to reclaim territories and populations it had lost: Austria, the Sudetenland, parts of Poland. Now, Russia retakes Georgia, Crimea, and the Ukraine with the same justification. Then, Russia feared a German invasion. Now, Germany fears a Russian invasion. Similarly twisted threats are there for the finding in Asia and the Middle East, as well.
Do the parallels to the pre-war 1930s mean war in our own time? Not yet; too soon. But the next two (2018 and 2020) Mars Max cycles will up the ante considerably, at the dawn of the 2020 Trigonalis. Remember: the 1939 Mars Max cycle ushered in the start of World War II, on the eve of the 1940 Great Chronocrator. I’m not saying that the next World War is inevitably just around the corner, mind you. But it is growing more and more probable with each passing day.
Incidentally, here’s where I should give my customary caution, to not make a fetish of exact dates. There are a lot of moving pieces to the Mars-Saturn square and its connection with the Jupiter-Uranus opposition and the Uranus-Pluto square. These things will be in effect, within a few degrees of exact, from about January 9 to around the 26th or even a few days afterward.
Similar tensions are raised at the next Jupiter-Uranus opposition, on March 3; which happens with Mars only a few degrees from its February 27 conjunction with Uranus. This one too is a movable feast, with one component or another within orb of effectiveness through March on into mid-April. Likewise the May 29 opposition from Mars to Saturn, the August 4 Jupiter-Pluto square, the October 11 Mars-Saturn square and the December 1 Mars-Uranus opposition. I figure these are all portents of “fires, crashes, clashes and explosions” extraordinaire, give or take a few days to a week either way.
What makes all of these look like more than ordinary, garden variety murder and mayhem is the backdrop of the Jupiter-Uranus opposition. This stuff is fed and informed by high tech and high finance, justified by ideological fanaticism. A real reptilian brain frenzy, a revulsion toward the stranger, a fear of the unknown and the ugliest cruelty of all – indifference to the suffering of the innocent, just because they’re powerless.. Granted, there’s always the possibility that people can rise above their baser natures. But look around you –that hasn’t happened once since the whole Uranus-Pluto quadrature set began in back in 2011.
This brief excerpt just scratches the surface, as far as 2017 is concerned. For the full, in-depth story, I refer you to the complete copy of my 2017 World Forecast Highlights. It’s 38 pages (8-1/2 x 11) in length, with color illustrations of the year’s major celestial configurations and corresponding astro-locality maps. Hard copy reports are available by mail ($75); PDF copies are available by email. Orders may be placed by phone (toll-free in North America), or by mail: see below for the number and address. Payment by major credit and debit cards (American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa) or by check or money order works fine. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the astropro PayPal order page.
