The Year Ahead: 2006
By Guy Spiro

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Whatever happens through this period, know that it will be much better
than it could be.

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Any astrological overview of any year since the mid 1940s into the mid 2030s does well to start with a mention of the Neptune sextile Pluto that runs through this ninety year period. This is the saving grace aspect that has seen us through the Cold War, the amazing advances in science and technology, and the ongoing social/religious and philosophical changes going on in the world. This aspect, never separating by more than ten degrees, has signified a period when things have not gotten as bad as they could have and indeed many very significant gains have been made.

     Certainly there have been problems. People have been hurt and unfortunate things have occurred all over the world. But the worst potentials of these many things have not happened. Sure, there was Cambodia, Rawanda, the tsunami, the GWB administration and other calamities. But none of them, as bad as they were or are, have come close to being as bad as they could have been. At the same time, positive advances too numerous to begin to list have also manifested.

     Pluto and Neptune are our two outermost planets. Due to Pluto’s unusually elliptical orbit, it periodically dips inside the orbit of Neptune and they dance together in the positive sixty degree aspect of sextile. Very simply, Neptune rules, among other things, religion and philosophy while Pluto rules deep transformation. The sextile aspect is a positive angle that is of a very harmonious nature. While you deal with what to do about global warming, be thankful that you’re not living through a nuclear winter.

 

The Neptune sextile Pluto aspect periodically separates and then comes closer together. On the 28^th of January, the planets form a parallel which serves to fire off the aspect as if it is again at the exact degree. While all else is going on in the world, our saving grace energy is at a peak. Whatever happens through this period, know that it will be much better than it could be.

     As January opens, Jupiter separates from the positive trine to Uranus that we’ve enjoyed over the past couple months and moves into a square to Neptune. This aspect is exact on the 27^th and will remain with us through mid to late April. This will tend to bring about higher levels of rhetoric and conflict involving religion and philosophy. Tensions will escalate. Saturn formed an exact sesqiquadrate Pluto at the end of December, 2005, and will be in orb through much of this month. This is a minor aspect, but involves the two major energies driving the conflict. Saturn will also retro back into a quincunx to Uranus which will be exact on January 19^th and will stay with us through much of February. This signals a period of greater difficulty. If Iraq continues going badly, we will see much more civil unrest as the U.S. public increasingly turns against it.

     The Jupiter square Neptune that came into focus in January remains very tight through February. This will make for a great deal of threatening rhetoric, but it will mostly be confined to noise. It would not be surprising if some spectacular attack is thwarted or only marginally successful. When Jupiter is involved, things happen in a big way, but almost always turn out to be positive. Things are likely to seem much worse than they actually are. As February opens, Saturn is in quincunx to Uranus, but this fades and by the last week the aspect will be much less potent. Anything major is likely to happen earlier in the month rather than later. While the dark clouds swirl, it remains vitally important that we participate in whatever peace meditation and prayer events get organized.

     March will be much like February in terms of the ongoing international conflict. The Jupiter square Neptune that dominated last month will remain in tight orb throughout this month. You can expect the same high level of rhetoric, but it should still mainly be confined to noise. The Mercury retrograde from the 2nd through the 25th should serve to blunt the effectiveness of any large scale attacks, but you can never be sure and vigilance remains a high priority. Watch the media for a great deal of finger pointing, attempts to evade and reassign blame. Interesting times.

     As April begins, Jupiter is still well within orb of the square to Neptune that has been with us for the past couple of months. The weekend of April 7^th bears special watching as there will be a Mars opposed Pluto. This is among the most dangerous of energies and should be handled very carefully. Do not indulge in hostilities of any kind. Jupiter is retrograde, however, and it will back off in intensity throughout the month. As Jupiter moves away from the square to Neptune, it moves back toward a trine to Uranus which will remain with us through much of May. There will be some glimmers of the possibility of the end of this period of crisis that became so very public on 9/11 of 2001. But as May draws to a close, Jupiter will back all the way to a square to Saturn and we will see a backlash to progress by reactionary hardliners of all varieties. It will be autumn before we see the possibility of real peace, and that will only be the beginning of the end of this round of nonsense.

     There is very positive energy on May 4^th for breakthroughs in the international conflict. This is the Sun’s involvement with the Jupiter trine Uranus mentioned last month. The trine came into focus through the last half of April and will remain with us through most of May. This is not the end, but it can provide some vision for how things will shake out and peace may be arrived at. Jupiter will continue to retrograde, however, and following the trine it will move to square Saturn as next month wears on. This will energize the hardliners and there may well be negative reactions to any perceived progress towards peace. There is a Jupiter semisquare Pluto on the 31^st and you may see a seeming downturn for a few days on either side of that.

     May’s very positive Jupiter trine Uranus gives way in June to Jupiter squaring Saturn. This will energize hardline forces not in favor of any peace that is not completely on their terms and tensions will rise. This will intensify through the month and peak towards the end. It will be important to focus on gains made last month as that is the real direction of things. This will be an intense summer as those bent on force use whatever means are at hand to impose their will. Remember that light obliterates dark and it will be very important that we all do our part to minimize the destructive urge that some will indulge. Meditate and pray for peace.

     The Jupiter square Saturn that came into focus and peaked late in June will remain strong as July begins. It will weaken somewhat as the month progresses, but this is misleading. Jupiter turns direct and will stay at station point through the month as Saturn moves at normal speed. This will decrease the intensity for a few weeks, but as Jupiter picks up speed, it will chase Saturn over the next few months and peak again in October. All of this serves to extend the effect of this aspect and will energize hardliners who will use this time to make whatever trouble they are able.

     As Saturn moves on through July, it will move back into the quincunx to Uranus that was with us through January and February. It will peak at the end of the month and will run through much of August, escalating tensions. Watch for attacks and rising unrest, possibly mitigated by the Mercury retrograde from July 4^th through the 28^th. On the surface, things will seem to get worse over the summer, but undercurrents are leading to the inevitable end of the worst of this period of history. We need to generate as much light as we can through the dark period.

     Things will continue to heat up through August. As the month opens, the Jupiter square Saturn remains weakened but still with us as Jupiter picks up speed in its pursuit of the slower Saturn. This hangs around and intensifies as it builds to its peak in October. It will continue to sustain hardliners who will be attempting to keep the conflict going. The Saturn quincunx Uranus that built up last month is peaking as August begins, and it is likely that attacks have been escalating. These events will tend to involve technology and may especially target power plants. This energy will fade later in the month, but Saturn will be moving on to oppose Neptune. This will energize Jihadis and others who believe that God is on their side. The only answer to this kind of nonsense is the generation of more light. This aspect will remain with us through much of next month and it will be very important to lend support to any global meditation and prayer for peace events that have been organized.

     The good news is that as Jupiter chases the square to Saturn, it moves into a trine to Uranus. This peaks at the end of August and greatly enhances the energy for generating light. Later in the year, we get the first taste of Saturn trine Pluto, which is the beginning of the end of this conflict. Take heart during the darkness that light is on the rise. Do whatever you can to generate more of it.

     As September opens, tensions are likely to be very high. The Saturn opposed Neptune that came into focus in August is peaking as September begins. This will further entrench conservative forces that believe God is on their side and positions will harden. Attacks of various kinds should not be surprising. This energy will fade as the month wears on, but the effects will remain. The propaganda aspect of the conflict will be cranked high. The good news energy from last month, the Jupiter trine Uranus, is still very much with us at the beginning of September, and the positive use of technology will give some advantage, but this will fade by the end of the month as well. Who will have made the best use of the media?

     The Jupiter square Saturn that has lurked in the background all summer remains as Jupiter continues to pursue its final exact angle in this cycle. This will become more intense as September progresses and will peak next month. Rhetoric and violence will remain intense as hardliners on all sides continue the folly of believing that force can bring their desired ends. The most important new energy is Saturn moving toward its first trine to Pluto. This is the energy that signals the end of most of this nonsense, but it will be over the course of the next couple of years that it all shakes out. The extent of the remaining darkness will be in direct proportion to the amount of light that is generated. It is vitally important that we all participate in any and all global meditation and prayer for peace events.

     As October begins, the Jupiter trine Saturn that was a help over the past two months will have faded out. The Saturn opposed Neptune that drove much of the trouble during the period will also be well on its way and will be gone by the middle of the month. The fallout will remain, however, and any mischief that was put into the pipeline will still threaten.

     Jupiter will also finally catch up to the square to Saturn in late October. This energy has been in the background for the past few months, keeping tensions high and hardliners emboldened. It will peak late this month. Fortunately, this will be offset by Jupiter semi-sextiling Pluto at the same time. Some attacks will be thwarted and surprise problems will plague perpetrators. We may or may not be made aware of these occurrences.

     By the end of the October, Saturn will have moved to within a degree of its first exact trine to Pluto. This is the energy to focus on. Over the next two years as this energy comes to dominate, the forces of light will overcome the darkness and this conflict will see the end of the worst. Of course, there will be the die hard conservatives that will seek to keep the conflict going for their own purposes, but the people on all sides will have had enough. You will start to see more movement from mainstream Islam and the developed world’s citizenry. There has been more than enough of this lunacy, and tolerance of violence will wane. Join in the efforts at generating light and participate in the meditations and prayers for peace. A critical mass of light will make for a sooner end of the overt hostilities.

     Be very aware of the Mercury retrograde beginning on October 28^th and running through the 17^th of November. This particular Mercury retro stands out and will be one to remember. As Mercury comes to station point, slowing down for several days prior to turning retro, it will be in square to Saturn. This square will be in effect from about the 19^th or 20^th of October through November 7^th or so. All of the normal snafus of a Mercury retrograde will be compounded and frustration levels will be multiplied exponentially; be much more wary of it than usual.

     As November begins, we still have the contradictory Jupiter square Saturn and Jupiter semisextile Pluto very much with us. This should result in high tension, but fewer actual attacks being successful. The threat level will remain high, but it should amount to more noise than real activity. Vigilance should be maintained as the intention to cause harm will continue to burn.

     There should be a decrease in tension as November progresses. Saturn spends the month within a degree of its first exact trine to Pluto this cycle. Now is when we get our first taste of the end of this conflict, but it will be over the next two years that all of this will shake out. By now, moderate Islam as well as the citizenry of the developed world will be standing up and demanding an end. This, of course, will be met with a hard line response, but the writing will begin to appear on the wall. Enjoy the indications of the end that will appear this month, but don’t fall into complacency. By the end of December, tensions will again be on the rise. There is much work yet to do and it remains imperative that we all participate in the global meditation and prayer for peace events.

     Most of December will remain in the glow of the first taste of the Saturn trine Pluto. This is the energy that signals the end of the current international conflict, but it will take the next two years or so for it all to play out. What you will see this month is a continuation of the uprising of the common people on all sides against the ongoing lunacy of this war. We will also see hard line reaction, however, and those who see a continuation of the war as in their interest will begin to beat the drums harder and tension will rise as the month wears on.

     Saturn turns retrograde early in December and slowly begins to back away from the trine. This will energize pro-war forces and tend to deflate the opposition. Be assured that this conflict will fade away, but we are not out of the woods. By the end of the month, Jupiter will be moving within orb of a square to Uranus and that will give the trouble makers the energy to stage more attacks. Some of these may be of some magnitude and initially be seen as successful, but this will only rebound as the masses grow ever more sickened by violence. This energy will peak in January of 2007 and will definitely bear watching. Participate in the global meditations and prayers for peace. The amount of light we generate will counterbalance in direct proportion the darkness of those bent on war.

 

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This brief overview is adapted from Guy Spiro’s Original Astro-Weather 2006. To order the complete version of Astro-Weather 2006 with precise daily aspects for your time zone, call Lightworks at 847-966-1110 or visit www.lightworks.com, where you can also access the full daily version of Astro-Weather on line. Guy Spiro has been a professional astrologer for over 25 years, publishing Astro-Weather continuously in The Monthly Aspectarian magazine since 1979.

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