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 psycho-babble 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). Location for all mundante charts is set for the Great Pyramid at Giza; the choice being strictly arbitrary in any case. 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 month’s forecast incorporates elements of (and refers to) my complete 2016 World Forecast Highlights (38 8-1/2 x 11” illustrated pages); focused, amplified and elaborated with details for the month as appropriate. The full version of my 2016 World Forecast Highlights is 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 card. Orders may also be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page.

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
-- Andy Warhol
 

May and June are of a piece, dominated as they are by the Jupiter-Saturn square of May 26 feeding into Saturn’s June 18 square to Neptune to comprise a T-Square. Jupiter and Saturn are within a couple degrees of their exact quadrature throughout May and into early June, while the Saturn-Neptune square is within the same range from late May throughout June and on into October (including their second exact quadrature, on September 10).

Together, these two quadratures comprise the biggest celestial configuration going now, in the over-all scheme of things. A breakdown in comity and civility is part of this picture, but more importantly it’s the breakdown of civil order per se: social, financial and political institutions are breaking down and grinding to a halt. This ranges all the way from nationwide strikes in France and Venezuela, to the domination of outsider candidates in the US Presidential nomination races.

This is different from, although related to, the social and political upheaval associated with the 2011-2016 Uranus-Pluto square – which I have called the "Arab Spring" quadrature. This was the time of the Occupy Movements all around the world: the lower and middle classes rising in anger and frustration over the inequities and oppression they encountered all around them.

It’s clear from the history of the past few years where the Uranus-Pluto quadrature led: to crackdowns and repression, and in the extreme, to outright civil war in a number of countries. What would you expect, when the plutocracy responds to revolution?

The present combination of Jupiter squaring Saturn and Saturn squaring Neptune is different. This isn’t revolution, this isn’t repression (although they may come from it in some cases). It’s collapse, and the measures taken by the plutocracy to stitch together a new structure that will hold the mess together. From cities to states to entire countries, bankruptcy is spreading. Financial systems, already hanging on by a thread from the last meltdown (the 2008 Saturn-Uranus opposition and the so-called "Great Recession"), are once again getting shored up as well as can be. Which isn’t all that well in places like Detroit, Chicago, Puerto Rico and Venezuela – just to name a few.

This is far from the Apocalypse, of course. News of such breakdowns always at first seems like the rumble of faraway thunder, or like an aberration that doesn’t portend more than a distant local disturbance. It seems as though cities, states and countries elsewhere are breaking down – but as long as it’s far enough away, who really cares? Until it comes to you . . .

This is one of those "can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs" moments in time, as we draw closer to the 2020 Great Chronocrator. (See pages 3-7 in the full version of my 2016 World Forecast Highlights for more on this.) Lots of people see impending doom in the turmoil all around us. Relax. It’s not the end of the world. Just the end of the old world we thought we knew so well. The cracks in the foundations and framing of the institutions that seemed to define, dominate and support our civilization are like cracks in an eggshell, out of which will emerge a new creature, a new set of institutions once 2020 is behind us.

Meanwhile, in the short term, double-check everything in early June. Mercury remains in its Max phase until June 5, when the little planet in its morning star apparition reaches maximum elongation west of the Sun. This means that, until the solar-terrestrial turbulence settles down after the 8th, we’re still in a phase of elevated potential for solar disturbances, including coronal holes, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and big X-ray storms (M and X-class). These in turn up the likelihood of geomagnetic storms (Kp 5 and up) here on Earth; which means greater atmospheric disturbances (powerful storms) and seismic activity (M5 and up quakes, plus notable volcanic eruptions); as well as increased auroral activity and disturbances in electrical networks of all kinds – from the human nervous system to satellite constellations, power grids, computers and computer networks. Have your backups and backup plans ready, especially within plus or minus three days of June 5. (The new moon on the 5th and Sun-Venus superior conjunction on the 6th combine to magnify this elevated potential for strong storms, tidal surges, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from the 2nd through the 9th. A similar though probably less intense surge of storms and seismicity is due between the 18th and 24th, in association with the full moon on the 21st.)

In closing, be aware that the February-September 2016 Mars Max remains at full strength throughout June. This is a time of risk, haste, impulse, belligerence, recklessness and aggression – what I have summarized as "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions". This is more than just ordinary mayhem, mind you. Instead of just plain assaults and murders, think mass shootings (e.g. school and workplace), terror attacks, etc. Instead of ordinary traffic tie-ups, expect mass pile-ups and mass transit smash-ups. You’ll see plenty of all of these this month, so keep your focus on what you’re doing while you’re doing it. Maybe especially around June 8-12, when Mercury opposes Mars; and June 18, when the Moon aligns with the Red Planet . . .

Acknowledgments

All mundane astrological charts as well as eclipse and astro-locality maps are set for the Universal Time (UT) of the event, and calculated and produced using Esoteric Technologies’ Solar Fire Gold Version 7.0.8. Charts are set for the location of the Great Pyramid - a purely arbitrary choice, since location is irrelevant to these charts. Unless sotherwise noted, sky map images are screen captures from the Pocket Universe app for iPhone, or produced by Starry Night for Windows; storm tracks are screen captures from The Weather Channel app for iPhone; and earthquake maps are screen captures from the QuakeFeed ör Quake Alerts app for iPhone.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer consultations/orders (AmEx/Discover/MasterCard/Visa) 800-527-8761 data/fax 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA www.astropro.com