There are a handful of planetary cycles that are relatively easy to follow and endlessly fascinating to examine for both personal transits and world events. Many mundane astrologers primarily focus their attention on the slower planets beyond Mars: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, along with some other trans-Neptunian objects.

I will focus here on the themes related to the cycles between Saturn and the outer planets. Saturn rules over life's material aspects — that is, economic, political, and social structures of the world — so it's a key player when analyzing the astrology of large groups of people, or what astrologers refer to as the field of mundane astrology.   

When Saturn comes together with the outer planets, we tend to witness events that leave a lasting mark on the affected societies. These Saturnian events often happen over a period of 1-4 years, depending on various factors, such as the speed of the other planet or planets involved. Saturn stays in a single sign for about 2.5 years, and this is about the average for the kinds of transits I'm talking about.

These can be considered global transits, and in our shrinking world this is now more true than ever. Nonetheless, some areas, nations, groups and individuals will be more or less affected depending on their own astrological circumstances. For example, the United States declared independence while Pluto was in the final degrees of Capricorn. This made it a safe prediction that the US as a country would be strongly affected by events around the time of the Saturn/Pluto conjunction at the end of Capricorn in January of 2020. (Read below to see what Saturn/Pluto cycles mean.) 

Saturn's cyclic relationships with the outer planets happen in predictable intervals, and these cycles also relate to each other in interesting ways. For example, during the turmoil of the mid-1960s Uranus and Pluto had their once-in-115-years meeting in the sign of Virgo. In the midst of this, Saturn passed through Pisces, 180 degrees away, thus marking the halfway points in its cyclic relationships with both Uranus and Pluto. A similar, but less-exact series of connections between these three planets is taking place now. This is the reason so many astrologers connect the world's current dramas and unrest to the 1960s, which transformed so much of the world. 

Here is a quick, nutshell summary of the effects that each of the outer planets have on the Saturnian socioeconomic regimes of the world: 

SATURN/URANUS (~45 years between conjunctions)

The Saturn/Uranus cycle connects to cycles of technological and/or social developments that lead to social upheavals, revolutions and mass movements for greater freedom and democratization. These movements often work against existing sociopolitical authority by pushing for new, sometimes-unprecedented social structures. Two paradigmatic historical events coincident with Saturn/Uranus conjunctions include the signing of the Magna Carta and the advent of the Gutenberg printing press. The most recent Saturn/Uranus conjunction of the late 1980s coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the democracy protests in China that led to the Tianamen Square massacre, as well as the end of Apartheid rule in South Africa. The late 1980s also saw the First Palestinian Intifada in Israel, with subsequent uprisings connected with this cycle. All of these events show how forces for change push against existing authorities. This often, but not always, leads to state violence. In the end, some radical change has taken place. 

SATURN/NEPTUNE (~36 years between conjunctions). 

The Saturn/Neptune cycle connects to periods in history when ideological and religious movements have a particularly strong influence on world events. A mark of the Saturn/Neptune relationship is the attempt to impose high ideals onto the social order, ideals which often prove unrealistic and lead to tragic unintended consequences. This is one reason why the connections between Saturn and Neptune are often connected with hopelessness, meaningless tragedy, and sometimes with black humor that attempts to laugh at life's most tragic events. Many astrologers have noted how the various 36-year Saturn/Neptune connections of the last 180 years closely connected with important milestones in Communism, from the publishing of the Communist Manifesto to the Bolshevik Revolution to the collapse of the Soviet Union — all of which happened under Saturn/Neptune conjunctions. Another interesting Neptunian connection between world events and popular culture relates to the Korean War, which happened during the 1950s Saturn/Neptune conjunction. Twenty years later, at the Saturn/Neptune opposition, the hit television show MASH used the Korean war as a backdrop to explore themes of human coping under tragically hopeless circumstances. And speaking of black humor, the original lyrics to MASH's catchy theme song (lyrics which few people know about) are among the most sardonic words ever written. 

SATURN/PLUTO

The Saturn/Pluto cycle relates to transformation and undermining of the power of entrenched authority. Saturn/Pluto conjunctions often coincide with tests of leadership. When Plutonian events occur, they can seem unavoidable, and they call on leaders to marshal all of their resources to mitigate the damage. World War I, which began at a Saturn/Pluto conjunction, is paradigmatic. The conflicts that engulfed Europe in 1914-1918 would wipe away much of European aristocratic tradition, and the failures of European powers to make a lasting peace would lead to the outbreak of WWII barely a generation later. The outbreak of WWII would happen at the closing 90-degree square aspect, which is indicative of WWII as a kind of conclusion to WWI. The next conjunction would happen in 1947-48, as the post-war world order was taking shape and the cold war was beginning. Pandemics present another kind of test for modern governments. The Saturn/Pluto conjunction of the late-1940s coincided with the polio epidemic and the push to create a vaccine. The 1983 Saturn/Pluto conjunction coincided with the advent of the AIDS crisis. Then this most recent conjunction of January 2020 strikingly coincided with SARS-COVID II. Almost 20 years ago, the astrologer and historian Richard Tarnas wrote extensively about the Saturn/Pluto cycle in his book, Cosmos and Psyche, where he predicted a pandemic event to happen in 2020. Each of these pandemics presented real challenges to governments, and while some countries have fared better than others, few governments can claim unmitigated success. 

CURRENT ACTIVE CYCLES

We are currently under the influence of two of these cycles. Saturn and Pluto are still within less than 15 degrees of conjunction, but their conjunction is coming to a close. This should come as good news for those who worry that the COVID-19 pandemic will drag on for years. Themes of acute government incompetence that began in 2019/2020 aren't done yet, but they should take up less of our attention after the new year, when Saturn pulls away from the 15-degree orb.

The second influence has been with us for a year and is again currently gaining strength. This is the Saturn/Uranus waning 90-degree square, with Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus. This square aspect was exact during the January 6, 2021 "insurrection" at the US Capitol, and again during the pullout from Afghanistan in the summer of this year. It will make its final exact square in mid-December of 2021, but these two planets will be in orb for as long as Saturn is in Aquarius.

We can probably expect to see similar sorts of revolutionary energies play out over the next one-to-two years. This Saturn/Uranus square will be quite close to exact during the US midterm election in 2022, and the US can expect to see ongoing fights over things like voting rights, gerrymandering, abortion restrictions, and judicial activism. Street protests are very likely, and it should surprise no one in the US that the potential for political violence has been steadily increasing for a few years. 

You can definitely consider these trying times for governments, but also individuals. But, like I already mentioned, it's important to keep in mind that these influences do not affect all countries in the same ways. It depends on where a country has important planets in its inception chart(s). For example, 2021-22 are particularly trying for countries with strong fixed-sign placements (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) in the way the previous two years were hard on those nations with strong cardinal sign positions (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn). 

I plan to talk about the effects of the current Saturn/Uranus conjunction on individual charts in a future post. 

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment! 

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