French astrologer André Barbault

There is much ado about the so-called "Barbault Basket" in astrological conversation today. It refers to a rare and symbolically rich configuration of planets from Jupiter out to Pluto that occurs over the next few days. I think it's worth noting that the astrologer it is named after, André Barbault, never said anything about a basket nor did he say anything about the configuration named after him. But the misnomer is understandable, given the basket's symbolic resonance with Barbault's grand predictions about this year.

André Barbault was a French astrologer well known for his work linking astrology to world history. Back in 1993, he wrote that the year 2026 features astrological indicators of a "relaunch" of civilization and a "significant increase in the standard of living of the underprivileged, of a victory...earned in unprecedented solidarity."Footnote 1¹ He based his optimistic outlook on two important factors: The Saturn-Neptune conjunction flanked by Uranus and Pluto that occurred last February, and a sudden rise of what he called the "cyclical indicator" of outer planets, a value that correlates with the overall stability of human civilization.

Whether or not he took the basket formation into account, Barbault could see from multiple astrological angles that a significant and surprising rise in the standard of living on planet Earth would start this year and into 2030. Granted, it's hard to see how this could possibly be true given the state of the world right now. We can be tempted to dismiss any kind of optimistic reading as naive, especially from someone who made their predictions decades ago. Why should we trust Barbault or the data he based his work on?

Barbault is a legend in the astrological community because his rigorous application of statistical science to the art of astrology led him to make astonishingly accurate predictions throughout the 20th century. He correctly predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall, the economic crisis of 2008, the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi, and even the Covid pandemic. Most of his predictions came years, even decades, before the events occurred. His predictions were based on careful analysis of planetary cycles overlaid with the cyclical indicator value, which is basically a summation of angular distances between the five outermost planets.

But how do we square his grand predictions of 2026 with the mess we find the world in today? Did he just get this one wrong? Was he sporting rose colored glasses this one time?

Maybe. But it's important to understand, as Barbault did, that outer planetary alignments rarely refer to events at the exact moment of alignment. They refer to slow, gradual shifts that can take many months or even years to unfold. While the Saturn-Neptune conjunction has been over since March, its influence has only just begun to be felt. Since the outer planets refer to large and deeply entrenched power structures—psychic as well as physical—it's going to take time to dislodge and renew them.

"We have it in our power to begin the world over again."

— Thomas Paine, Common Sense, January 1776

The United States's 250th Solar Return chart (outer wheel) against its natal chart (inner wheel).

As America reaches its 250th solar return, it contends with quite a few astrological conundrums that echo the crises shaking its foundations. Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and July's Aquarius Full Moon all stand at highly sensitive points relative to the U.S. horoscope. Come July 19th, the popularly cited "basket" formation of Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto will hold at its handles the U.S. Lunar Nodes in Leo/Aquarius, propping up and propelling the country's destiny. America is sitting square in the celestial crosshairs, fraught with profound anxiety as we all sense the great inexorable change that is underway.

It would take several articles to enumerate every astrological alignment in America's 250th solar return chart, and even more to try and articulate a synthesis of these alignments. But it's worth going over a few that really stand out.

Perhaps the most prominent is the Mars-Uranus conjunction in Gemini that culminated on July 3rd. Significant events in the life of America as well as the current president tend to occur during Mars-Uranus alignments. Examples include the start of the Civil War, the Capitol riots of Jan 6, the raid of Mar-a-Lago by the FBI, and the start of the Iran War.

At their most dramatic, Mars-Uranus alignments reflect a shattering of what used to be taken for granted as normal. This can occur as a sudden breakdown, like starting an international war, or as a sudden breakthrough, like walking away forever from an abusive situation or acting on an epiphany that changes the direction of one's life. Mars and Uranus act together to create inflection points, where the direction we think life is heading takes a sudden sharp turn, never able to double back to the way things were. The Mars-Uranus square of April 2020, at the depth of the Covid shutdowns, illustrates this energy to an extreme.

Another important alignment is Neptune transiting over the IC (or bottommost point) of the U.S. horoscope. This is a roughly 160-year transit that last occurred at the start of the Civil War. It reflects a renewal of the country's spiritual and moral values, best embodied within the fiery biblical orations of Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth in the 1860s; or of Reverend William Barber and James Talarico today.

This transit also illuminates the dark side of Neptune, the immoral cruelty of deflecting illusionists, be they antebellum enslavers or corporate oligarchs, vampirically feeding off the work, money, and psychic attention of the masses. Transits of Neptune highlight longstanding deceptions, making them so obvious that one must go to increasing lengths of self delusion to continue to adhere to them. At first, it is like pointing a spotlight at fog—nothing is clear except the fog itself. Vague shapes without clear definition or motivation move in the mist, cultivating fear that strengthens the illusion. But keep the light shining on it and the shapes clarify as the fog dissipates, revealing and demystifying the specious liars that had been blowing smoke all along.

Each of these alignments have their importance in reflecting America's ongoing evolution. But I've recently begun looking at another significant factor, the conjunction of Pluto to America's South Node, a fateful alignment that has surprising correlation with major events in American history.