December 31, 2017
Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous 2018
The transit of Mars in the sidereal Capricorn is likely to dominate the headlines for 2018. Mars enters the sidereal Capricorn on May 2, 2018 and it stays in Capricorn for more than six months till November 6, 2018. During that stay in Capricorn, Mars turns retrograde on June 27 and then it becomes direct on August 28.
Mars is the planet of action, energy and strength, and it becomes exalted in Capricorn. Capricorn being the earth and cardinal sign, it’s the perfect sign for Mars to explode (cardinal being the lead sign) with a tremendous strength. And the manifestation of that energy will be reflected in the material world (earth sign) with tremendous ups and downs (ups during its direct motion and downs during its retrograde motion) that will be intensely experienced by the entire world, especially by the military personnel (Mars being the fire sign with tremendous energy and strength), sportsmen, warriors, fighters, commanders, leaders and people in power in almost every field (especially in politics and business). Also, Capricorn being the earth sign, the sign of accumulation of material wealth, the transit of Mars through Capricorn means volatility in the financial markets.
During May 2 – June 27, we are likely to enjoy the positive energy of Mars as it begins its journey through Capricorn. But then during June 27 through August 28, we are likely to feel the negative energy of the retrograde Mars as the ride starts becoming painful and frustrating. Thus, during June 27-August 28, the possibility of war, violence, destruction of material wealth due to natural as well as man-made calamities, social and political uproars, financial markets coming under tremendous pressure, political leaders and business executives feeling the pains are very real. After August 28 till November 6, we are likely to go through a slow period of recovery for at least few weeks before we regain the full speed of positive energy of Mars.
The intensity of negative energy of Capricorn Mars will be more apparent during its close square (with in three degrees) with Uranus (May 12-17; July 28 – Aug 4; Sept 15-20) and opposition with the lunar north node, Rahu (June 9-18; July 12-22; Sept 19-23).
While for those who have well placed Mars in their natal charts are likely to do well during this transit of Mars, the others will feel unbearable pain and perhaps emotional breakdowns depending on the Mars placements in their natal charts.
Other important planetary stories for 2018 include the transit of Uranus in Aries, Saturn in Sagittarius, Rahu in Cancer and Jupiter in Libra/Scorpio.
Uranus being the planet of change will certainly affect the matters related to Aries in a big way. Aries being the fire and cardinal sign, which is very suitable for independent, ambitious, energetic and impulsive Uranus, the changes in world political landscape are going to be tremendously influenced by Uranus’s transit in Aries. The people who are most affected by this transit are military personnel, business and political leaders. In scientific and technological areas expect a lot of drastic changes; and emerging new ideas will find their way into innovations and discoveries. The scientific and technological growth will rise at a very rapid pace. A new wave of world political and corporation leaders with their new perspectives on world order will certainly transform our world in next 6 years to a new level to which we must adjust to.
Looking back to 2017, in light of President Donald Trump’s achievements and challenges, in my opinion, he represents the symbol of the current state of the American public sentiment. Despite all the challenges, chaos and his defiance of the established norms, the reason he is still in power is solely due to the strength of his tenth house Rahu-Uranus conjunction in his natal chart representing the powerful force of entanglement of his destiny with the country’s destiny. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if on one the fine mornings during 2018 we wakeup with his tweet of quitting his job or resignation or by legally being removed from the White House due to the Sun-Rahu conjunction in the tenth house of his natal chart.
The next important planetary transit is that of Saturn in Sagittarius. Sagittarius being the fire and mutable sign, for the next two years, Saturn will strongly influence the world psyche and world religions. Philosophers, pioneers, scientists and reformers will shape the future of the world. Those who have Saturn in Sagittarius will see their lives transformed to a new level due to a drastic change (mostly at emotional and psychological level) in their perspectives about the world around them. In my opinion, it’s going to be a very positive and exciting two years for those who have dominant Saturn in their birth chart and have Pisces, Aquarius, Libra, and Cancer as their natal ninefold ascendant.
In the next two years, on the world political scene, countries like India and Pakistan will make news headlines. Religious leaders, reformers, philosophers and scientists will likely to further transform the world with their successful, creative, pragmatic and productive activities.
The transit of the north lunar node Rahu is in sidereal Cancer. Those who have well placed lunar nodes in their charts and have Taurus, Aquarius or Virgo as their ninefold (Navamansa) ascendant are likely to experience a very positive year.
Jupiter transits in sidereal Libra until October 11, 2018. Since Libra is a cardinal and air sign, Jupiter’s transit will likely be responsible for increased awareness of human spirit, new emerging philosophies explaining the growth of the continued spiritual evolution. Righteousness and compassionate activities will also be on rise.
The good news is that while some of the chaotic events dominate the news, the worldwide spiritual expansion will continue (due to the transit of Pluto and Saturn in spiritual Sagittarius and Neptune in spiritual Aquarius) to provide the light for transformation of humanity as a whole. In a very subtle way the ongoing spiritual expansion is likely to eventually transcend the world beyond the normal norms such as religion, race and perhaps nations despite the rise of populism and protectionism.
Advances in technology and sciences will absolutely be phenomenal due to the favorable placement of the modern planets: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The major scientific and technological breakthroughs in fields of medicine, biotechnology, information technology and space science will therefore be remarkable.
Thus, while the uncertain and painful manifestations of the Mars’s transit in Capricorn and Uranus’s transit in Aries will dominate the events, simultaneously, in a very subtle way, the year 2018 will continue to transform the world to a new level, a necessary step as a part of our collective spiritual growth.