Sun Into Aries 2020: So It Begins

A big shift of the planets from earth to air signs and from water to fire is about to unfold.  This will break up a lot of the inertia that has surrounded the start of 2020.  it will also stimulate our desire for forward progress.  However, during this Sun cycle, Venus will enter the shadow of her coming retrograde, an aspect with big implications for the economy.  Equally significant, traditional Saturn will take its first steps into futuristic Aquarius.  When the Sun enters Aries, it marks the start of spring.  Serendipitously, the Venus and Saturn transits coming online during this Aries Sun cycle will be hallmarks of the entire season.

Leading the way, the Sun will move into boisterous, independent Aries on March 19th.  Like no other sign, Aries sparks irrepressible levels of enthusiasm, warmth and courage.  On March 21st, Saturn will venture into inventive Aquarius, followed by Mars on March 30th.  In experimental Aquarius, Aries ruler Mars, will find compatible energy for its expeditious impulses.  Next, Venus will enter sociable Gemini on April 3rd, and finally, Mercury will surface from its extended stay in shadowy Pisces and enter fast-acting Aries on April 10th.  If you’re counting, that’s the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn moving from introspective yin to outgoing yang signs.  Normally, this would signal a collective move from the brakes to the gas pedals.  But, we’re living through some pretty extraordinary times.

Materialistic Venus is considered to be one of astrology’s money planets.  One of its homes is in fact in the fixed earth sign of Taurus.  In this regard, Venus is concerned with real assets, raw materials, financial markets and income.  Curious Gemini adores people.  Its appetite for news, pop culture, gadgets and trivia is nearly insatiable.  In the context of the forthcoming Venus retrograde in people-oriented Gemini, nationwide lockdowns, travel restrictions and the banning of communal events make perfect sense. They speak to negative social impacts and substantial economic challenges.  Allowing people to gather in public presents the threat of further disease spread, potentially collapsing medical systems, while imposing lockdowns stifles commerce.  Venus will enter the retrograde shadow zone on April 9th, be retrograde from May 13th to June 25th, and leave the retrograde shadow zone on July 29th.  The onset of the Venus retrograde period during the current Sun cycle accentuates the various dilemmas.  At one point in June, the Venus retrograde will coincide with those of Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto.  At the same time, the genius of Aquarius, with its humanitarian orientation, is about to be inhabited by astrology’s most stoic, disciplined and persevering planet, Saturn.  That transit will also initially be accompanied by a boost from action-taking Mars.

Saturn is the planet of endurance, time and limitations.  Aquarius is the sign of scientific, cultural and technological innovation.  Saturn’s upcoming and brief visit to Aquarius is a precursor to its two-year-stay in the fixed air sign. That will begin in late December and last until March of 2023.  In the short term, Saturn will be in Aquarius from March 21st through July 1st, before retrograding back into Capricorn.  Spring of 2020 will give us a sample of how the longer transit, from late 2020 to March 2023, might play out.  Of the many possibilities is clearly the immediate experimentation with treatments for COVID-19, such as hydroxychloroquine with zinc.  Later, perhaps when Saturn returns to Aquarius next winter, the more promising findings emerging now will undergo the riggers of formal study and clinical trial.  Another example of this structured humanitarianism is the recently announced UK budget that includes robust NIH funding, compensation for workers impacted by work stoppages, loans for small and medium sized businesses, and money for long-range rail, road and other infrastructure projects.  Applications of quantum computing are also likely to be put to practical use during the greater Saturn transit of Aquarius.  Spring 2020 will offer the first glimpses.