Everyone’s talking about an economic downturn or recession. So, I thought this astrologer could put her piece in too, – just for the non-astrologers 

A special note for non-astrologers – this article is more for your benefit than for astrologers, because we already have this information. This is for you to give you foreknowledge of what you can expect over the next few years – and to alleviate your fears and helplessness in the face of the upcoming events. We are NOT victims – the Universe is NEVER out to get us!!!

We are about to enter a strong period of challenging aspects between Saturn, planet of boundaries and structures and Uranus, the planet associated with breaking boundaries and sudden changes. While this may sound pretty innocuous – and on an individual birth chart, they may be – however, on a world scale their effects can be enormous.

Astrologers work with cycles: Solar – which last a year; Lunar which last a month; Mars which last 2 years, etc. In fact in the world of financial astrology, which is NOT my particular speciality, they seem to concentrate on the cycles of Jupiter (12 years) and Saturn (30 years). Just to note here that I specialise in individual lives and their relationships.   

As this is such an important period we are about to enter I want to unpack it slowly for ease of understanding. So, first of all, I wish to note a few previous periods when Saturn and Uranus were facing each other off across the heavens – just so that you begin to get a flavour of this. And while Saturn’s orbit is 30 years, Uranus is 84 years, hence the duration of a couple of years for each meeting or aspect. Each cycle is 40 years. It is also worth mentioning that there is always a build up of events before the planetary aspects are exact. If a house is to be built, for example, what we actually see is the foundation being dug before the bricks are put in place – however, the digging is the final piece of a long process that began perhaps the previous year.

New phase on the same degrees  – 1898-1900 beginning a new cycle.

First Quarter – 90 degrees – 1909-10

Opposition or Full – 180 degrees – 1918-20

Final Quarter – 270 degrees or 90 degrees – 1930-32

Together – new phase – 1941-43

First Quarter – 1952-53

Opposition – 1965-67

Final Quarter – 1975-76

New Phase – 1989-1990

First Quarter – 1999-2000

Opposition – 2008-10 – which starts in October 2008

As you can see for yourself, these dates reflect challenging times in our recent history. It is important to remember that contrary to some beliefs, the planets do NOT make things happen – a simple analogy is that of a clock, while it indicates the movement of time, it does not cause that movement of time. It is the same with the planets. They act as signals, or signposts. That we ignore and even ridicule them is a tragic result of the so-called Age of Reason that cut us off from our cosmic connections; thus leaving the majority of us to blindly stumble through our lives without this valuable information to hand. 

Obviously, just like the house analogy above, this period of economic downturn has been building up for some time – and for some perspicacious types, like Dr Nouriel Roubini, a Persian Jew from Istanbul who is one of the most respected economists in the USA, it was predictable in 2006 – although they howled him down at the time. He also suggests that we will have a technical recovery from this recession by the end of 2009. 

My guess is that it will go on somewhat longer than that as we are about to enter a period of Puritanism with Pluto entering Capricorn in December, and picking up both Saturn and Uranus a little further down our time line – in 2010/11. This is a repeat of what happened in the early 1930s when Saturn and Uranus aspected each other and at the same time they tangled up with Pluto, the planet of profound irrevocable changes. And so we can see a similar historical period that will echo along the corridors of time to a couple of years beyond this present period (2010/11). Armed with this information, we can begin to put in place NOW the circumstances and attitudes that will to help us get through the next 3/4 years and create a more realistic future for ourselves and the world.

So it’s really not all doom and gloom. Although we cannot change the movement of the planets, we CAN change our reactions towards the ensuing events – preferring to see them as opportunities, for example. If we know that we are heading for difficult financial times, then we need to ensure that we are going to be OK. For many people this is a very scary prospect – however, we need to remember that we are not being punished by God. We are simply going through this time now with its own particular flavour. 

Pluto was in Capricorn during the Reformation and the rise of Puritanism. And so, like the Puritans, we will wear, and indeed are wearing, grey – it’s the height of fashion now. We will make soup out of the slightly tired vegetables at the bottom of the fridge, instead of throwing them out – or if we do throw them out they’ll go in the compost bin for the vegetables we’ll be all happily growing. 

We will remember that the bus only runs once an hour instead of every 20 minutes, because our local authorities are cutting down on fuel costs. We will begin to take care of our clothes and have our shoes repaired, rather than throwing them out. Small things, but extremely effective. And it won’t kill us – in fact, we could all lose weight!!

As a war baby of WW2, I know how to survive – as does everyone in their 60s – and although it was tough, we still had fun. Having a 200lb bomb through my childhood home certainly taught me a lot about survival! We only had a bus once a week to the food market – and no icebox to keep it fresh. However, that’s for another article.

It is vital to act now – not wait until October and then pretend to be surprised at the consequences. This is what maps are for – they alert us to the territory ahead. 

From the viewpoint of the Law of Attraction, it is important to watch your thoughts. Turn off the TV and stop reading the newspapers that love to whip up a sense of terror in their viewers and readers. This is a period where all that is happening is that the extreme greed of those in the financial industries is being brought down to a level of reason, to restore its balance in the world. Please, please, please, remember that no-one is out to get you – adopt a mental attitude that says that this is all a natural part of the wealth creation cycle and then adjust your financial dealings to take care of it.

It is always interesting which major events occur during planetary standoffs. This October, at the beginning of this Saturn/Uranus opposition, the US Presidential elections will be underway. Combined energies such as these result in mass insecurity and anxiety, which serves as bait for a huge media feeding frenzy. On the day that the population of the US get to the polling booths and make their crosses on the ballot paper, they will be astonished to find exactly who it is they put on the steps of the White House; because it is he who will have to deal with the upheaval of the next 2-3 years.

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Below is a letter sent by a dear friend of mine to the Financial Times on Friday, 29th August. Although the FT will publish it, I’m not sure which day it will appear on the news stands. 

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