When the light of the world dims and the specter of a crumbling civilization looms, where can we turn for guidance on our way? What luminance can show us where to place our feet on the path, and give clarity to what approaches from ahead? Mere blind hope is impotent in the face of rising authoritarianism, but doom-drenched prophesies and fear-mongering pessimism is of no help either. We must dig deep, and explore wide, to find real gems of faith that can bolster our trust in the greater plan that is unfolding and our place in it.

Astrology is a system that can be leveraged on behalf of our soul's need for meaning and hope. It gives us both a context to place our troubled experience, and timing for when it all might shift. A gift that comes from studying astrology long term is the assurance, proven over and over again, that all cycles have their life, come to an end, and rebirth again. Rather than cling to the hope that things will get better, and caving to despair when they do not, we can remain centered in knowing that there is a time for loss, and a time for gain. Instead of a futile hope driven by a desire for stability and constancy, faith becomes the constant, a beacon lighting our way towards a new and refreshingly unknown future. The creativity of the Universe continually surprises us, and just as our world can be suddenly thrown into darkness, it can just as quickly be relighted and renewed by a unified resistance in service to what is good and true.

The coming astrological picture gives us several clues of the impactful changes that may occur over the next couple of years. Some look challenging, others evoke a promising turn. Whatever form these alignments take, we are headed for more change and intensity. We cannot transform our civilization without uprooting the past and facing the fierce challenges that come as a result. The pressure is going to increase, but so is the power of our will to transform the world towards what the cosmos has intended for us.

A better world does not come without effort and sacrifice. But everything we put into the struggle, everything we give or lose to it, is a gift of energy to fuel the eventual victory.

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USA Solar Return, July 2025

To start, we have the birthday of America, on July 4th of this year. In astrological terms it is the solar return of the country, meaning that the Sun has returned to its placement at the moment the country was birthed. What makes this solar return especially significant is that it occurs less than a day before the country's Jupiter return. Moreover, the country’s progressed Jupiter, which has been retrograde for 120 years, turns direct just 19 days after July 4th.

The tone of this set of returns is one of unification, even optimism. While the Jupiter emphasis may signify over-indulgence in power by the rich, there's also a feeling of a new kind of patriotism on display here, rallying people behind a common cause.

The turning of progressed Jupiter from retrograde to direct suggests a turning outward of the country's collective moral conscience (be it strong or weak), along with taking a stronger role in guiding international affairs, eventually for the better. This is a very long term shift that will take decades to unfold, but hints of its seeded intentions could be discernible this year or next.

Kite Formation, August 2025

On the day of the Aquarius Full Moon, the planets Mars, Uranus, and Pluto, in a grand air trine, will make a kite formation with Saturn and Neptune, together in Aries. This is a formidable alignment pattern that suggests a moment of unity against tyranny. The urge behind the energy is for liberation and distribution of power, broken free from the structures that have concentrated it in the hands of a few. With Venus conjunct Jupiter on the U.S. Sun, there's a sense of people coming together to care for those who have been disdained and discarded.

While forceful pushback by authoritarian leaders is possible, doing so would overplay their hand and reveal their desperation and lack of cohesion. Meanwhile, the tension between conflicting social and political factions is reaching critical levels as Uranus is in its months-long phase of squaring the U.S. Moon and making its rocking-shocking transition from Taurus to Gemini.

Solar Eclipse of February 17, 2026

This solar eclipse at 28º Aquarius is at direct opposition to the U.S. President's Ascendant and Mars, and opposes the point of the "Great American Solar Eclipse" of 2017 in Leo (which signified the rise of his first term). He’s in a very challenging Uranus transit at this time and his progressed Moon looks trapped in a double bind as it squares his Mars and the eclipse point. This looks like a rough time for him, which may trigger him to lash out.

The degree of the eclipse is just one degree shy of the U.S. Moon at 27º Aquarius. Uranus is making an exact square to that moon, which suggests a great deal of tension throughout the country. This may represent a difficult turning point, a time when we will need to be clear, emotionally grounded, and well-resourced in order to stay stable through the turbulence.

Saturn-Neptune Conjunction of February 20, 2026

Saturn and Neptune will reach exact conjunction at 0º Aries. Russian history is bound to the Saturn-Neptune cycle, whereby every time there is a Saturn-Neptune conjunction, a major shift in Russian leadership occurs. For example, this conjunction was occurring when the Bolshevik Revolution blew up in 1917, when Stalin died in 1953, and when the USSR dissolved in 1990. This conjunction looks to be a very rough transit for Putin, a transit I've used since 2022 to illustrate why I think Ukraine will not be taken by Russia.

Uranus in Gemini (2025-2033)

Uranus will move into Gemini on July 6, 2025, retrogrades back to Taurus in December, then enters Gemini again in April of 2026 and stays for seven years. This is one of the major warning signals astrologers have been raising that the U.S. could be heading into war, because every time Uranus has entered Gemini the country was embroiled in a major military conflict — Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War II. But it's important to note that every one of those wars was won by the side that was promoting democracy: First for independence, then for abolishing slavery, then for the defeat of fascism. Every time, democracy emerged stronger than before.

Yorktown, Gettysburg, Normandy — We might call Uranus's transit trough Gemini the "victory transit."

Uranus through Gemini also correlates with disruptive technical inventions that dramatically affect communication and travel, connecting people and ideas in new and unpredictably transformative ways. In the 1770s it was the steam engine, in the 1860s it was the telegraph and transcontinental railroad, and in the 1940s it was the transistor (an integral part of whatever device you're reading this on). For the 2020s we can easily point to AI, and perhaps inventions still unknown, such as innovations in energy production. This transit also correlates with revolutionary political documents that promote widely liberating reforms, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

The "Cradle" Formation of July 2026

In mid July of 2026, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will all be aligned at exactly 4º of their signs, making a cradle shape across the zodiac. This is a highly stabilizing formation, made more symbolically stabilizing by the numerological significance of four planets each at 4º. The number four implies stability, structure, and completeness. Indeed, the great French astrologer Andre Barbault called this formation "the most beautiful alignment of the 21st century," and decades ago predicted this time as a reversal of crises began in 2020.

Outer Planet Frame

All of these alignments are framed by the rare mutual alignment of all three outer planets at the early degrees of their signs: Uranus in early Gemini, Neptune in early Aries, and Pluto in early Aquarius. This kind of grouping occurs during great transformations of world culture, whether the Fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity, or the transformation of Europe from monarchy to democracy. There is no doubt that we are in highly transformative times, the outcome of which none of us can predict.

But it is not a future of gloom, rather one of possibility and renewal. The road is bumpy for a while, and we may each be called to play a part in the unfolding drama, with all the risk that might entail. We may need to lower our barriers to former enemies, and join hands with those with differing political, religious, or cultural viewpoints from our own. When we do, hope will be kindled more brightly than we thought possible.

Entering a time of renewed unity implies healing old divisions, however roughly. The Japanese art of kintsugi turns the seams of repaired pottery into gold, making what was broken even more beautiful after it is put back together. Our future can lay claim to this metaphor, creating a more beautiful re-paired world than the one that is falling, if we keep our vision clear and our hearts strong.

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