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 2017 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 2017 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 or debit 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.

"Time and tide wait for no man."
-- Geoffrey Chaucer
 

The Skinny

Jupiter’s opposition to Uranus – the signature aspect of 2017 as a whole – lines up to perfection on the 3rd, although it has been within a degree of exact on and off since late December. If you’ve been following along in the full version of my 2017 World Forecast Highlights, you know what to expect. If not, read on. The other major alignment of the month is Jupiter’s square to Pluto; exact on the 30th, but within a degree of perfection from March 23 to April 7. And finally among the major themes of the month is the continuing Venus Max cycle, which hits one of its key points when Venus stations retrograde on the 4th. Let’s put it all together . . .

The Signature Jupiter-Uranus Alignment

To put this planetary alignment into perspective, consider the following excerpts from the full version of my 2017 World Forecast Highlights . . .

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.

Considering that the Jupiter-Uranus opposition looked down upon the January 12 start of the current Venus Max cycle (and the equity boomlet it heralded), the January 20 US Presidential Inauguration and the February 22 NASA announcement of the Trappist-1 extrasolar planetary system, I submit that we’re already seeing harbingers of what I wrote about this alignment: the ascendancy of "anarchy, populism, nihilism, racism and fascism"; a melding of “technology and the Establishment combine to lay siege to the 99%" and "breakthrough discoveries in fundamental physics to the discovery of extraterrestrial life." It’s still early days – but keep your eyes open, and expect March to make its mark in this field; most especially around the beginning and end of the month.

Other Sky Signs

Speaking of the end of March, I’m looking at the Jupiter-Pluto square then as suggesting a heavy handed crackdown on civil liberties and other basic human rights. Where? It’s an interplanetary configuration by definition, so that means it’s planet-wide in potential.

Watch for the period a fortnight after the March 5 superior Mercury-Sun conjunction as the anchor for a surge in solar and geomagnetic activity. Give or take three days (i.e. from the 16th through the 22nd). Since the Mercury-Venus conjunction on the 18th is subsumed in this particular shock window, I expect it will not pass unnoticed. Practically speaking, we’ll see it in the form of X-ray solar flares (M and X class), coronal holes and CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections), stirring up geomagnetic storms (KP 5 and up) and notable auroral displays here on Earth. It’s enough to disturb the electrical infrastructure that underpins our civilization – power grids, satellite constellations, computers and networks and other communications systems. And a lot of individuals find it disturbing as well, in one way or another – some of them fairly unpleasant.

More Venus Max

This month’s Venus retrograde station (on the 4th) marks a time of unusual economic and financial developments, the tail end of a cycle that was ushered in by the February 26 solar eclipse. The eclipse happened a week before the Venus station, at a time when Venus was within a degree of its station point. What to expect? On the plus side, there will be amazing parties and artistic performances, unbridled passions and soul-stirring romance. Less welcome will be a disturbance in the financial system. Not a crash, not even a correction – we’re still in a Venus Max, after all. But a pause, a redirection; a temporary reboot of sorts.

Storm Signals

Last but not least, be aware of the increased potential for storms and seismic disturbances (M5+ earthquakes news-making volcanic eruptions) in the days surrounding this month’s new and full moons. This means, in particular, March 9-15 (the full moon) and March 25-31 (the new moon).

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 or Star Rover apps 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/message 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA www.astropro.com