2019 will bring an opportunity to resolve past debts and teach us that we must take an active role to implement positive changes in our lives. While day-to-day we may feel challenged, throughout the course of the year, there is great potential for growth and learning. The fruit of challenging times is always self-knowledge. By examining the path of the 4 slow moving planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu) we can understand when the dominant energy will be supportive of change and when we must remain patient and use that time to ensure we are taking care of ourselves and our loved ones until the energy shifts again.
Each month I will publish a look at all the planets, but I wanted to share this summary of the major trends so that you can start to develop your self-care plan for the coming year. This year, simple, frequent, self-care activities will pay huge dividends.
Self-Care routines are unique to each person, but here are some ideas that you might want to consider.
- As many mornings as possible spend a few minutes watching your breath and ask your version of the universe to help you and your loved ones through the day. This is a great time to turn-over any concerns to a higher authority.
- Around Noon, take a brief walk and look at the sky or Moon any chance you get. The sky and Moon remind us that we are part of a vast consciousness and are not alone.
- Be selective about your consumption of media, both social and traditional.
- Spend time with people who are supportive and accept you unconditionally
- Ensure you get plenty of sleep
- It is also important to have frequent fun events, Friday is always a good day to dress up a little and have a nice meal with nice people since Venus rules Friday.
As we turn to discuss the challenges in the coming year, remember that your simple self-care routine, will help you maintain balance in the coming year.
Saturn exerts his focused guidance throughout the year
The first sunrise in 2019 occurs at the 16th degree of Sagittarius. This can be taken as the birth chart for the coming year. Saturn is seated at the 17th degree of Sagittarius which brings the first indication of how the year that will unfold. Saturn, the planet of frustration and delay, is rising with the Sun and will permeate the entire year. Saturn is a difficult master who brings challenges that we must face in this life and does not allow us to move on until we have addressed these issues. During 2019 he will dominate the global mindset. He remains within Sagittarius for the whole year where he reminds us that we have debts from the past which must be repaid before we can move forward.
The most intense period will be when Saturn turns retrograde from 29 April until 18 September. Saturn will move from 26 degrees of Sagittarius back to 19 degrees of Sagittarius. If you have planets in these degrees, you will personally experience the pressure that Saturn can exert on your life.
It is worth noting that the United States Chart (4 July 1776, 18:30, Philadelphia PA) has Sagittarius rising, so the US population will feel effects of this transit. More specifically, the Sun in the US chart is seated at 22 degrees of Gemini which means the Sun, indicator of the US President and general fortune of the country, will get the full obstructive aspect of Saturn during most of the year. There are 3 weeks when we will see these effects most clearly. First around 18 February 2019, then Saturn will oppose the Sun while moving backward around July 15 and finally the Sun will oppose the US Sun for the last time around 17 November 2019. Therefore, issues that arise in Mid-February will be addressed again in Mid-July and resolution will come in late November. This is how we use the retrograde cycles of the major planets to understand the karma that is maturing in a particular chart.
The Nodes: Rahu and Ketu are promoting technological advances but also social unrest
2019 begins with Rahu in early degrees of Cancer and Ketu in early degrees of Capricorn. On March 6 they move back into Gemini and Sagittarius, respectively.
The transits of Rahu and Ketu are the indicators of emerging and resolving karma in the world. These planetary aspects affect the entire globe. It is no mistake that the last time Rahu was in Cancer and Ketu was in Capricorn the US experienced the Columbine shooting and since they returned to these signs on 9 September 2017, the public has had renewed focus and activism related to gun violence in Schools. Likewise, in 1981 when Rahu and Ketu where in Cancer and Capricorn, Sandra Day O’Conner was the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme court. In this cycle of Rahu and Ketu, we have seen a renewed effort to promote justice for women across the globe through the #MeToo movement.
Therefore, a review of the events which occurred last time Rahu and Ketu occupied Gemini and Sagittarius may shed light on Karmic trends which will be revisited in the coming 18 months.
In Technology, Rahu and Ketu in Gemini and Sagittarius coincided with the introduction of compact disks (CD’s) in 1981 and the launch of the iPod in 2001. In 2001 Napster, an early music sharing service was closed down. And that year saw the start of Wikipedia. Therefore we can say that significant innovation in music, social media and entertainment may be forthcoming. Perhaps the wide-spread adoption of virtual reality. Also in 2001, Dennis Tito was the first space tourist, having paid to visit the International Space station. This return of the nodes could be good news for the companies innovating in commercial space flight.
In climate change, President George W. Bush refused to sign the 2001 Kyoto Agreement on Climate change…Yes, the global warming debate has been going on that long. However, The Eden Project in Cornwall, England opened the world’s largest greenhouse in and effort to save the world’s largest collection of plants. This project continues to this day. Climate change will be a central focus of global conversations in the next 18 months.
In the Business Sector Enron Filed for bankruptcy which led to sweeping changes in corporate regulation in the US. Recently we have seen elimination of many corporate regulations so we can be sure that the idea of corporate regulation will be a topic of discussion in the coming months.
Unfortunately, the last nodal transit of Gemini and Rahu is most notable for the start of the War on Terrorism which began after the 9/11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. 2001 also saw a series of anthrax attacks by mail and the shoe-bomber on a flight from Paris. It is timely to note that these terrorist attacks derailed a comprehensive immigration plan between the US and Mexico. So perhaps we will finally make progress on resolving this ongoing issue with our southern neighbor. Rahu indicates foreigners and immigration and is well placed in the sign of Gemini.
In the chart for the US, Sagittarius is rising and Ketu transiting that sign is likely to bring widespread change in the US culture just as it did in 2001. We are more experienced and hopefully wiser this time as we evaluate who to respond to these issues as they resurface.
Jupiter occupies troubled Cosmic Waters during much of the year
Jupiter brings luck, good will, protection and a feeling of optimism to the world. At the start of 2019 and for much of the year, Jupiter is seated in Scorpio, a sign of subconscious turbulence and transformation. Jupiter tends to expand the energy of the sign where he is seated so many people will be looking for new ways to resolve old problems.
Jupiter’s transit this year is complicated by his movement between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The border between Scorpio and Sagittarius is the most complex transition in the zodiac as it represents a move from self-centered, desire-driven thinking to universal, values-based reality. Aries to Scorpio is the energetic progression which centers on worldly existence and gives us the ability to survive and thrive in the world. From Sagittarius to Pisces we have the opportunity to accrue knowledge which will develop our higher consciousness. This higher knowledge will benefit society and our soul in future incarnations.
The transition between Scorpio and Sagittarius is like being in turbulent rapids or an energetic tornado. Astrologically we consider a planet to be in the turbulent and knotted energy from 29 degrees 12 minutes Scorpio up to 0 Degrees 48 minutes of Sagittarius. Jupiter will be in this disturbed energy from March 14, 2019 until May 6, 2019 as he will turn retrograde while in the first few minutes of Sagittarius. This also means that Jupiter will make a second pass through the turbulent crossing later in the year (October 31, 2019 until November 9, 2019). While Jupiter has a retrograde cycle each year, it is unusual for the retrograde station to occur in the Scorpio Sagittarius transition degrees (Gandanta). During these times, we are likely to feel a lack of optimism. These will be times when your daily self-care will help you to feel stable and supported.
Jupiter turns retrograde on 10 April 2019 at 0 degrees 14 minutes of Sagittarius. He will retrograde back to 20 degrees Scorpio 20 minutes on 11 August 2019. Finally, he re-enters Sagittarius on November 4, 2019. If you have planets located between 20 degrees of Scorpio and 1 degree of Sagittarius, they will experience deep transformation in 2019. This means that the areas and indications that they rule in your chart will be a source of growth and ultimately deeper understanding.
The United States of America has Sagittarius rising which is ruled by Jupiter. Therefore, Jupiter is the most important planet for the US. Jupiter will spend the majority of 2019 in the 12th house in the sign of Scorpio. This indicates that Jupiter’s beneficial qualities will not be available to support the country this year. Planets in the 12th house of any chart indicate a sense of loss, isolation and separation from society. The 12th house is the place of jails, hospitals and asylums which indicate a forced withdrawal from the world. The deeper meaning of the 12th house is that thorough these separative experiences we learn to release old patterns and connections to this world so that we can connect with the eternal reality and prepare for the next cycle of experience.
Summarizing the Major Planetary Transits
The combined interactions of Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu create the foundation of the year’s energy. This background will be further refined by the movement of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Venus who move more quickly through the sky and provide emphasis to the trends outlined by Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.
Sagittarius is occupied by Saturn and Ketu and has a direct aspect from Rahu. There is an unusual pattern this year as Saturn’s retrograde cycle parallels the movement of Ketu and Rahu from the end of April through late October. The combination of Saturn, Rahu and Ketu represents an alignment of 3 obstructive forces. These three planets block the Sagittarian impulse to promote higher ideals. Further, Rahu in Gemini keeps the global mindset focused on satisfying our personal/local/national interests rather than addressing global concerns. This unfortunate pattern is further emphasized by Jupiter’s placement in Scorpio for most of the year which separates him from promoting the Sagittarian ideals.
By using Brighu Nandi Nadi Transits[1], we see that there are different sets of signs which are receiving aspects from all 4 of these planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Rahu and Ketu) throughout the year.
- From January 1, 2019 until March 6, 2019 – Scorpio and Capricorn are the focus.
- From March 6, 2019 until March 30, 2019 their focus shifts to Libra and Sagittarius.
- From March 30, 2019 until April 22, 2019 the they aspect all the odd signs (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius)
- From April 22, 2019 until November 4, 2019 the focus returns to Libra and Sagittarius.
- From November 4, 2019 until the end of the year the focus shifts back to the odd signs (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius)
The focus of 2018 was primarily on Scorpio and Capricorn, however from March 3 onwards the signs undergoing deep evolution from the major transits will be Libra and Sagittarius. This is a second indicator that the global consciousness will be concerned with understanding our personal/local/national wants and needs (Libra). The global outlook will evolve through the lived experiences of a nationalistic world.
The periods where all the odd signs are active are likely to be times when we will see this conflict in action as odd signs are expressive and manifest in the world. These are the periods when Jupiter joins Saturn and Ketu in Sagittarius which indicates an intensification of the energy but at the same time it may give an optimistic global outlook which will be short lived.
Remember to breathe and take care of yourself and watch the planets play upon the screen that we think is reality, but is truly only shadow.
[1] All planets aspect the 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12th sign from their current location.