The Astrology of 2020

New Year. New decade. New beginnings.

Sometimes astrology is subtle, asking us to weave together threads of meaning. Other times, astrology is blatant, obvious, dropping the lessons squarely at our feet.

The good news is the meaning is glaring, the teaching direct and loud.

The not so good news, though, is it is also inescapable.

I will be breaking down the choreography as we dance throughout the year, but it might be useful to highlight some significant themes to add to your New Year Intentions.

Where to begin?
Capricorn.

We begin the year (January 2020) with seven (yes 7!) planets in Capricorn. Pluto, Saturn (more on them later), Ceres, the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and South Node all in the sign of the sea-goat. Venus joins the posse mid-month. We also have a Capricorn Solar Eclipse 12/25-26 and a Cancer Lunar Eclipse 1/10. Nothing subtle here.

The last time we had this Capricorn line up was 700 years ago in 1285. Big stuff, no doubt.

This Capricorn/Cancer axis isn’t totally new as we spent all of last year working that terrain. It is reaching the end of the transformative cycle, though, which always ratchets up the energy. Take a moment and assess what themes arose for you last year as those will be in play as you begin 2020.

What does all that mean?

In short, Capricorn symbolizes essential structures, frameworks, leadership, maturity, mastery, systems, centers of power, authority, and masculine energy. Looking outward, that looks like government, infrastructure, laws, big business, our banking/money systems, and politics. Looking inward, that looks like the fundamental laws that govern our psyche- our beliefs, identities, responsibilities, ideals, perseverance, and goals. It is how we show up in this earthly plane.

Done well, our Capricorn force offers maturity, realism, tenacity, discipline, boundaries, self-reliance, and integrity, which create the structure for our authentic mission in the world.

Done less well, and you have a fabric with no foundation. Frameworks lacking sincerity. Motion minus discipline. Laws devoid of humanity. Neediness discarding self-sufficiency. Authority sans honor. Power bypassing empathy. Greed ignoring service. Instead of having the inner advocate offering practical and honest assessment, you have the inner critic kicking you right in the limitation.

Structure, discipline, and boundaries can become a peace or prison, depending on which part of us is running the show.

We begin the year assessing how we use this force in our lives and where the recalibration is required. With the South Node in play, there are likely some shadowy layers that need attending to.

Some assessing.
Some getting real.
Some fact-checking.
Some adulating.

You just have to glance at any news headline over the last year to see this Capricorn realignment we have been living, and it will only intensify in the upcoming year (thanks to Jupiter joining the party).

Why?
About every 31-38 years Saturn and Pluto high five each other as they orbit around the sun. This distinctive time offers a doorway to some significant cycles of restructuring.

Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008, revealing and transforming Capricorn systems (see above).

(Remember the financial crash of 2008? That’s some shadow revelation shaking foundations.)

Saturn has also been playing in Capricorn for a while now, intensifying the Cap themes of late. Just turn on the news, and we can see truth bombs causing structural, political, and leadership reality checks.

Every time these two planets (Pluto and Saturn) meet, the stage is set for the next 31-38 year cycle. On January 12, 2020, at 22 ° Capricorn, we end the period that started in 1981 in Libra and begin a new one in Capricorn.

Looking back to look forward (one of the gifts of astrology), we can catch a glimpse of what this all means for the upcoming year.

1914-1916 (until 1946) Pluto and Saturn met in Cancer powerfully transforming how we see militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism (all shadowy cancer traits) as nations navigated the first and second world wars.

1946-1948 (until 1983) Pluto and Saturn began another 30-year cycle in Leo ushering in new leadership, rising in income, flourishing creativity and inventions, civil rights, women’s liberation, and overall freedom of expression as the decades went on. Not all of it was a party, though. The time was fraught with growing pains.

1981-83 (to now) Saturn and Pluto joined in Libra, beginning the excavation of Libran themes of relating to our world via a significant economic recession and upheaval, the Cold war, and fears of nuclear war. Fashion (very Libra) certainly took a flashy turn, and Michael Jackson ruled the charts

January 2020, Saturn and Pluto will begin a new three-decade cycle in Capricorn.

(Not only that, but we are just beginning the Pluto return cycle for the US at 27 ° Capricorn, which is sure to be a doozy. More on that later).

Certainly, we can look at the world around us to get a glimpse of what this all looks like. Pluto has been excavating Capricorn shadow truths for some time now. Toxic masculinity, government corruption, greed, political discord, and manipulation are at the forefront of the uncovering. The fabric and foundations of society are being challenged in significant ways. And the more that is unraveled, the deeper it seems to go. Pluto has been there for a while, dredging up secrets. With Saturn’s presence now, though, there are no more places to hide.

The jig is up.

Saturn keeps it real.

Ruler of time itself, there is no amount of gaslighting that will work with Saturn. The truth will come out one way or another. This is a time of tremendous, albeit rather explosive potential. The kind of change we have to catch up to. The type of transformation that cannot be changed back.

We have both revelation and discipline at our fingertips. A powerful combination.

We are being initiated into a new reality where our world will look distinctly different at the end of the year. New paradigms are collapsing and reemerging, which is excellent news because the old systems are what brought us here. It is time for a new way.

But first the work.
We KNOW what needs to be shifted. We have lived in the uncovering of 2019, after all. Please note this work will likely not be what we (ego we) WANT to work on. It will be what is showing up. Most often, when setting intentions, we focus on what we want, what we deem lacking, or how our lives should look. Soul goals are often unromantic compared to ego ones. Soul goals, especially flavored with Saturn, are found in the mundane, every day, dare I say tedious decisions that lead to significant change. It is the part of us that says no to the chocolate, or the wine, or the extra work, or the ego goals we create out of insecurity. It is the part of us that takes full accountability, unromantic and humble, knowing we cannot escape the truths in front of us. One of the most challenging inner forces to master Saturn teaches through limitation. Dedication. Sweat equity. Work.

Saturn reminds us soul changes take small, dedicated, daily, habitual steps. Like steering a huge yacht, we may turn the wheel in an instant, but it takes some time for the whole vessel to make that change in direction. Saturn reminds us of the importance of the long game.

But it also and, more importantly, the inner force that offers the greatest reward. Where we have the potential to master a task in a concrete real-world way.

What is important is we start now harnessing the sacred disciple this time offers us.

(Want some support in the process? Join my private Facebook group Soul Journey 2020)

Bring in the fresh air.

While this year and the upcoming years, we will be navigating this Capricorn terrain, we will be doing it in a much more profound and distinctive way. 2019 may have felt somewhat stagnant, with change not as noticeable. The upcoming year promises more momentum, more movement, and more impetus for innovation. I will spare you the astro talk, but important shifts happen from the Earth heaviness at the beginning of the year (Capricorn) to air ( Aquarius and Gemini) at the end.

Earth is rather steadfast and stubborn, while air rules innovation, technology, humanitarian, and visionary ideals. Air looks forward. It speaks the language of inclusiveness, authenticity, and universal truth. It can bring in new ideas, think outside the box, and embrace a genius the Earth signs, in their grounded vision of reality, do not phantom.

As the planets move from Capricorn to Aquarius, we embrace a revolutionary spirit. Although freeing and necessary, revolutions are notoriously messy. Collectively, we will all see how this energy shows up in our outer world. Still, it is also very relevant in our personal worlds.

Where is this paradigm shift happening for you?

You can certainly just note what arose in 2019 and know this is where the soul work is for you. You can also glance at the latter degrees of Capricorn in your chart or contact me for a reading, and we can dive in-depth what this year is asking of you.

If you are doing it right, you will not be the same person at the beginning of 2020 as you will be at the end.

I will be here along the way, reminding you of the gifts, challenges, and choice points available to you as we work with the natural cycles and cosmic weather.

I appreciate each and every one of you for commenting, reading, and supporting the work I am being asked to do (at least for today).

Onward…
Aleka