Speeding Down the Runway

Inspired in part from videos by José Millán, Pam Gregory and other astrologers, in which they preview the upcoming year, let me try to give an idea of the major energies foreseen for 2024. I mentioned recently that next year will be like speeding down a runway prior to taking off in 2025. In such analogy, besides dealing with a chaotic world in 2023 while organizing the trip, we also selected the direction of our flight: either to be a co-creator of the new civilization based on new paradigms of love and collaboration, or a defender of the current one which is based on old paradigms of individual achievement. For most people, the choice was not made consciously but by a combination of familial, ancestral, cultural and environmental considerations. However, the square formed by Pluto with the Nodal axis for most of the year ensured that such choice be present in our lives, in the form of opportunities and synchronicities, allowing us to decide as consciously as possible.

Pam Gregory is sure that 2024 will be a different year from the last four, to the extent that we will look back and qualify it as “pivotal” and a “turning point”. She says that it will be the year of “collective awakening” and the question is through which lens will we be looking at 2024. The suggestion is to anticipate that which is based on values related to the new and expanded consciousness: integrity, spiritual maturity, humility, love, compassion, and joy. She foresees that we will be fast embracing the new paradigms such that 2024 will feel like a very fast year. I say it behooves us to live as fully as possible every minute of it.

Astrological Landmarks

Since it will become obvious that the old paradigms no longer work, the year will emphasize saying “goodbye to it all”, which was the title of José Millán’s video where he identified three major landmarks:

• Pluto in Aquarius, except for a few weeks (Sept 1st–Nov 19th) when it will return to Capricorn.
• Conjunction Jupiter–Uranus that will happen on April 21st but will be felt from mid-March through May. Also, on August 14th, Mars and Jupiter will form a conjunction in Gemini, and it has been many years since they formed one in an air sign.
• The Minor Grand Trine between Neptune, Uranus and Pluto, which will stay with us through 2030, will stabilize and form tighter sextiles and trine, that is, with smaller tolerances or orbs, making it stronger.

Note that all three involve either Uranus or Aquarius, the sign it rules. I feel that this is the true threshold to the Age of Aquarius. Starting next year, we will see and interact with the world in a new way, particularly after Jupiter enters Gemini on May 25th and forms a trine with Pluto in Aquarius. Expect a lot of information that will make us question much of what we have taken for granted thus far and which was built by Saturn over centuries.

The North Node will be in Aries through the year, bringing a “Martian” nature to our collective experiences, and likely fueling more conflicts. Such nature will be stronger during the eclipses and in particular the much anticipated total solar eclipse of April 8th. Moreover, Mars will be very prominent in 2024, forming conjunctions with Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter, in that order.

With respect to mundane astrology, Millán emphasizes that Pluto will transit over China’s Ascendant and also form a conjunction with its Moon. We have mentioned that Pluto will return to the anaretic degree of Capricorn, associated with “fate” in every sign, just in time for the US, and perhaps the UK, elections. Finally, Uranus and Jupiter will transit over the Sun of both Israel and Palestine.

Pluto in Aquarius

The transformation of humanity to enter the Age of Aquarius is heralded by Pluto in Aquarius. In fact, according to the blue-light beings channeled by Nancy Rebecca, this is much more than a transformation, they called it a metamorphosis for humanity. Just a few weeks ago, in November, we apparently received quite a bit of blue-light energy at three events, each one with a specific intensity. According to Nancy, the blue light is how the beings help us raise our level of consciousness for we are becoming a race of “new humans”. Just this week, two scientific articles about hugely powerful “blue light” rays detected in the past 24 months were published.

Aquarius is the power of civilization, currently stemming from a society that is finally realizing it cannot continue exploiting the planet. You may recall what I wrote about Scorpio and the social sins of a civilization which, unfortunately, we can see everywhere. Pluto in Aquarius will try to make us conscious that our true “nation” is Earth, especially with Uranus in Taurus. That said, the old patriarchal paradigms will resist the new—it’s their conservative nature! We are talking about elites of people with all the money and power and the breakup will be very difficult indeed. This is why Pluto returned to Capricorn after ten weeks in Aquarius: the social sins must be exposed to empower future Aquarian collectivities.

On January 20th, Sun and Pluto will enter hand-in-hand in Aquarius and the plane in the analogy will begin to accelerate down the runway, marking the threshold of the Age of Aquarius, a threshold that will take the next twenty years to cross. What can we expect? Well, as mentioned earlier, Pluto was already in Aquarius for ten weeks in 2023 when we had the Artificial Intelligence craze powered by ChatGPT. The reactions were huge and more than one government passed laws against the misuse of AI, which in its current form is nothing more than an amalgamation of the overall knowledge on which it was trained, reflecting the values of our individualistic western civilization. And yet enterprises fired people to turn to ChatGPT, the US actor’s guild went on strike, etc.

While Capricorn (Saturn) seeks stability and above all certainty and predictability in society so it can be managed, Aquarius (Uranus) brings about sudden and quantum changes that produce just the opposite. The equation of certainty equals safety will be shown to be false, in large part because certainty is a mirage. We will learn to live in safety amidst uncertainty by practicing detachment.

Neither the matriarchal tribe of Cancer nor the patriarchal society of Capricorn are the answer, we need a synthesis of both that Aquarius can and will provide. Pluto is helping us move from a system where the equilibrium had turned precarious to a new equilibrium, but those changes always produce chaos while they happen. The next year will have as much chaos as 2023, but with a glimpse of where we are going at high speed and not just of what we are leaving behind. Let us not forget that Pluto will return to Capricorn for ten weeks, from September 1st to November 19th, spending them all at the sign’s final degree.

More than any other air sign, Aquarius is the atmosphere, and Pluto will further show, aided by Uranus in Taurus (Earth), the position in which we have fenced ourselves with respect to climate change. Curiously, the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840) began to be really felt when Pluto last entered Aquarius (1778–1797) and fueled several important revolutions. Uranus will begin to move direct in Taurus on January 30th, with Pluto already in Aquarius, and any transition of Uranus’ motion from retrograde to direct always bring surprises.

Jupiter and Uranus Conjunction

The conjunction of these two future-oriented planets of visions (Jupiter) and ideals (Uranus) may bring either much progress or an escape into utopian visions and idealism.¹ Any conjunction with Jupiter not only enhances and expands the qualities of the other planet, it legitimizes its functions, too. Thus, a violent and revolutionary Uranus may have some horrible ideas stamped with Jupiter’s seal of approval. Uranus is linked to the extreme expressions of capitalism and Jupiter could validate some excesses socially. However, if Uranus is viewed as galactic intuition, which it is, then the conjunction is likely to result in a quantum jump to the future. Jupiter may legitimize the leap to a new consciousness, especially after it enters Gemini on May 25th, and we may witness how parapsychological phenomena, such as telepathy, telekinesis or clairvoyance, begin to gain acceptance in society.

The storming of the Bastille (July 14th, 1789) happened with Pluto in Aquarius during a Jupiter–Uranus conjunction in Leo. The worst battles in both World Wars, according to Millán, also occurred with that same conjunction in the skies. But it isn’t only about wars and battles. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, there was a triple conjunction in Virgo between Jupiter, Uranus and Moon! As a matter of fact, space science will continue to grow during the transit of Pluto in Aquarius. Cosmology will lead the way and some astrologers think that we will find life in some exoplanet, or the assurance that life exists. However, I have my educated doubts, at least as far as the galaxy is concerned. The more we know about the Milky Way, the more unusual seems to be our solar system.

Financially, we will see the beginning of the end of capitalism and its excesses, giving rise to a plethora of ideas on how to fix it or replace it. Many of them will be unworkable and some will be scams but all with plenty of notoriety (Jupiter) and followers. We will see new digital currencies starting a wave of decentralized liberalism in monetary policies with the central banks blessings, for they are trying to be less involved in micromanaging their economies. Debt questioning and forgiveness will also be an issue (Taurus–Scorpio axis). In Chinese astrology, which loosely operates around the Jupiter cycle, it will be the year of the Wood Dragon which is a very resilient symbol with leadership qualities.

On a personal level, those of us with planets or angles in the 19⁰–25⁰ range of either earth or fixed signs will be most affected. Taurus is also the sign of enjoying the “simple pleasures” perceived by our senses, such as eating, drinking, sex … and it is able to form a stable equilibrium with nature by staying on such simpler side of life, which includes rest and at times just do nothing. The last Jupiter–Uranus conjunction in Taurus was in 1941, when the 40-hour workweek became law in the USA.

Minor Grand Trine

Whereas the twenty-year transit of Pluto through Aquarius represents the threshold to the Aquarian Age, the next seven years will symbolize a quickening of history overseen by the outer planets arranged in a Minor Grand Trine configuration whose aspects will vary in exactness through 2030. This is a cooperative configuration managed by the planet with two sextiles, which I call the “vertex”, and aspects with this planet activate the energies. When the slower outer planets are involved, such configuration lasts several years. In fact, while this configuration is in effect, all three planets will change signs: Pluto to Aquarius in January, Neptune to Aries at the end of March 2025 and Uranus to Gemini in July of that same year. Moreover, both Jupiter and Saturn will be making aspects with the outer planets as well, making sure that all changes are properly integrated in our society and its cultures.

Thus, Neptune will remain in Pisces for all of 2024 and specifically in the final (anaretic) degree from March 3rd to September 2nd, a few hours after Pluto enters Capricorn for the last time. Let’s ponder on this for a moment. Neptune will spend literally half of next year at the final degree of its own sign, the degree of fate, which is the last degree of the zodiac: Pisces 30°! For some people it will feel like the end of the world but in reality is the end of a world, not the world. Neptune’s emphasis on universal love and compassion will be showing us the end of the old world, and we will be witnesses of that ending! But, there is a future, brighter and better, waiting for us on the other side of the metamorphosis.

Such a powerful Neptune will on one side create confusion and misinformation but on the other put us in touch with the essence of love and compassion. It will return to Pisces 30° for three months at the end of 2025 and then, in February of 2026, Neptune will form an important conjunction with Saturn at the first degree of the zodiac: Aries 1⁰!

A similar Minor Grand Trine was formed by the outer planets between 1939 and 1945, the entire span of WWII, a war that caused many psycho-mental changes in humanity. As we have seen, a Minor Grand Trine will turn into a Kite configuration when a planet forms an opposition to its vertex, which then becomes the pilot of the Kite. The opposing planet, called the leader, becomes a member of a Grand Trine with the other two planets. The end result is a highly energetic configuration for the leader of the Kite, under the guidance of the pilot.

During WWII, the pilot was Pluto and so every Kite had an opposition to that powerful planet of destruction and transformation. In the current configuration, however, Neptune will be the pilot of multiple Kites that will be occurring as planets form oppositions to it, either from the final degrees of Virgo in 2024–2025 or the initial degrees of Libra thereafter. The changes for humanity will be just as profound without the need for a third World War, even though there must be unfortunately violence at times to effect major changes.

Most changes will in reality arise from our unconscious, both personal and collective, resulting in unexpected situations that we will be unable to control. Conservative (Saturn) people will have a tough time because the past glories will never return. The old paradigms, with a top-down patriarchal mode of societal organization will be rendered more and more obsolete as years go by, so focusing on the future is our way out of this mess. Having such a strong Neptune in charge will encourage a softer approach to dissolve our differences and realize that we are all equals, spiritually speaking, namely distinct Qualities of Universal Love.

Saturn in Pisces

As mentioned earlier, Saturn will remain in Pisces through 2025 and enter Aries in February 2026 for a key conjunction with Neptune in the first degree of the zodiac. In whichever sign Saturn transits, things acquire form and structure, but Pisces is a “formless” sign, so to speak, and more so when its ruler Neptune is in the advanced degrees of the sign. This poses a conundrum because Saturn will structure and validate socially whatever it finds in Pisces, which is our collective unconscious.

Saturn will reap what was sowed in the past so it is related to karma, but it will also reward constructive work. When we struggle with Saturn’s function, we are left with scarcity, extinction, exclusivity, separateness. Pisces represents the consciousness of large collectivities which may be expressed in religious rituals or give rise to a “mob mentality”. If we don’t comprehend that we are all spiritually equal, Saturn in Pisces will structure the differences and force us to live them.

When taken to an extreme, the acid-like dissolution of Neptune equates victim and executioner, and Saturn in Pisces will be happy to give form and structure to that. A reversal of roles is not uncommon and many genocides have occurred when the formerly oppressed gain power with Saturn in Pisces, which enables them to use the structures of the state against their former oppressors. Saturn in Pisces is able to modify all political rules and state institutions because it is in the sign that doesn’t respect any structures. We have such situations present in Russia and Israel, much like we had them in Rwanda and Bosnia thirty years ago; the orbit of Saturn being about 29.5 years.

Eclipses in 2024

I have spoken about Chiron before. Recapping, it is a centaur, both in Greek mythology and astronomy. To the Greeks, a centaur was a creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. They were said to be wild and uncouth beasts, except for Chiron, called the “wisest and justest of all centaurs”, often depicted wearing a robe and at times with human legs up front. He was raised by Apollo who taught him many arts and sciences but excelled in medicine. Yet, in a twist of irony, he died from a poisoned arrow being unable to heal himself. In astronomy, a centaur is a small planetary body with an eccentric orbit that must stay between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. After Chiron was discovered in 1977, the second object with such an orbit, the centaur category was created and there are currently hundreds of them in the solar system.

Chiron only moves between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus during the 50.65 years it takes to orbit the sun, which gives it a duality of purpose. In a natal chart, Chiron symbolizes our deepest psychological wound, the house in which it is found represents a field of experiences where we are insecure and prone to become defensive. But, if we are able to integrate such emotions within our personality, thus transcending them, they become a source of strength for our evolutionary growth. On a lunation chart, Chiron represents the collective wounds humanity must heal to advance.

The North Node will remain in Aries throughout 2024, bringing an assertive Martian quality to the eclipses, and none more important than the total solar eclipse of April 8th, when Sun and Moon will be exactly conjunct with Chiron, all three at Aries 19⁰24′! The exact conjunction with Chiron in such a powerful lunation seed will bring an opportunity for collective healing, perhaps after showing us a deep collective hurt. That solar eclipse will cross the USA in a NE to SW direction, while the eclipse of October 14, 2023 crossed it from NW to SE, the two paths intersecting somewhere in Texas. Solar eclipses tend to bring the geographies they touch to the forefront, so don’t be surprised if something related to the energy of Chiron surfaces as an actual event or a healing portal.

Finally the September 17th lunar eclipse, off-sign in Virgo–Pisces 25⁰41′, will form a conjunction with Neptune in its sign (Pisces 28⁰36′) and may bring “to light” issues related to Neptune, from fantasy and deception to medicines and illicit drugs.

Astrological Musings

The current level of humanity is such that Pluto marks the rhythm of our growth. When it enters a sign, it immediately shows us which things are not going well and that there are reasons for change, which often upsets people. When it entered Capricorn in 2008, it began to show us the “dark side” of our institutions by concentrating in the financial ones, resulting in the Grand Recession. As I said earlier, it brought panic about AI in its brief run through Aquarius, a sign linked to science in general. I expect Pluto to expose the many scientific shenanigans that have been kept afloat by various special-interests groups. Many scientific dogmas will be exposed as Pluto exposes the bad and the hidden. Perhaps it will help me convince physicists that time is not linear but cyclic…

In January, Pluto will finally move in to the sign of Aquarius, entering with all its belongings, so to speak. In 2023 it only carried one suitcase, enough for a short holiday, much like it will happen in September when it will make a short trip back to Capricorn. The degree Aquarius 1° has been important since 2020, when it hosted the last Grand Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, marking the start of 120+ years of conjunctions in air signs, itself another sign that we are entering the Age of Aquarius. Pluto will activate all air archetypes, including space exploration, aviation, anti-gravity technologies, etc. Uranus and Aquarius are linked to youth, as a result of being a reaction to Saturn (Cronus in Greek mythology, the god of time), so anti-aging will be at the forefront. Also, society will become less patriarchal and listen to the intuitive wisdom of young people.

In mundane astrology, Pluto moving over a nation’s Ascendant focuses its enormous power to effect change. The Falklands War in Argentina (April 2nd, 1982) and the terrorist attacks in the USA (September 11th, 2001) and Spain (March 11th, 2004), all happened with that aspect in their charts. China’s Ascendant is at Aquarius 1⁰44′ and its Moon at Aquarius 3⁰04′. Remember that Moon is the nation’s people, and Pluto’s transit over it will either oppress them further or empower them. Communist China is a representation of Aquarius’ dark side.

On a personal level, the field of experiences denoted by the house where you have Aquarius 0°00′ will be strongly energized on January 20th, when both Sun and Pluto enter the sign forming a conjunction with Mars. This is likely the same house where Pluto has been in Capricorn the last couple of years, so you will notice a lightening of a load in those experiences as it finally moves from a heavy earth sign to an air one.

The Jupiter–Uranus conjunction will be a big deal, Jupiter will expand whatever Uranus represents at the time, perhaps awakening or rebellion (typically both). They were conjunct three times in Libra in 1968-69, when we saw the hippie movement along massive protests worldwide. It would be unwise to underestimate the conjunction in 2024 which, by the way, will occur right over the Sun of Israel in the eighth house of results from partnerships. On a personal level, both Jupiter and Uranus are about living with joy and the thrill of exploration. Anticipating the future while fully living the moment is Uranus and Jupiter at work.

A month later, Jupiter will enter Gemini and expand everything related to information, communication, reasoning. The obvious reference is to new forms of communication, perhaps a better Internet or more than one, but given the trine it will immediately form with Pluto in Aquarius, there may be a sudden inflow of “galactic information”. Even without going to the supernatural, I see important discoveries from the various satellite observatories during the year of Jupiter in Gemini.

Finally, we have Saturn in Pisces, the builder of our current civilization in the sign where worldly structures have no meaning, spending the next two years chasing Neptune and together closing the Age of Pisces where it began, in Palestine. Every ending of a cycle must be referred back to its beginning, for the initial conditions show a desired outcome that will be achieved, albeit with some unknown degree of success.

Epilogue

The greatness in men is his ability to always be greater. That was one of Dane Rudhyar’s favorite sayings, and one that speaks volumes to a humanity speeding down the runway towards the Age of Aquarius. Regardless of the mess in which we find ourselves, everything made by human beings can be changed by human beings. We have embraced a present where some degree of certainty has been achieved at the expense of exploiting both nature and our fellow humans.

Our current world was created from past visions and ideals that are no longer suitable for the new consciousness available to humanity, for we are co-creating a new world. We are “them”, the pioneers who believe in a life of abundance and not scarcity, and who are willing to live with the external uncertainty required for change. If we lock onto Love as the basis for our relatedness, such uncertainty won’t fuel panic or anxiety in our beings. Once we tune to that frequency, it becomes harder to return to the judgemental ways that fuel separateness. Ho’oponopono, which is a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness, gives us a simple prayer or mantra that may be directed toward whatever makes us feel uneasy. Simply repeat: I’m sorry; Please forgive me; Thank you; I love you.

It is important to find our own point of stillness where we are centered amid the external chaos. Rather than letting such ever-present chaos into our hearts, Pam Gregory talks about living “from the inside out”. Let us work on cultivating love, joy and compassion in our hearts while developing our mind’s “witness” that helps us realize what lies behind our actions. It is very important to join forces with like-minded people for the purpose of sharing. The longstanding definition of humanity is being challenged, and we must find our collective with whom we may join hands, ideally in person or at least virtually.

When the going gets tough, and it will at times in 2024, try to calm your mind. Experience your breathing as being initiated from the heart and sense how it flows through your nostrils. Find your center, enjoy feeling the planet under your bare feet and listening to the sounds of nature. Every moment is both precious and fleeting.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

1. The exact conjunction is in Taurus 21⁰50′ on April 20th. Yes, on 4/20! Talk about utopian visions! ↩︎