The Zodiac Dispatch bids farewell to batshit 2020, a year that felt more like two decades, with each socially distant day moving as slowly as grandpa in the shambles of his slippers.
And yet, astrologically, 2020 was predicted to be batshit, bookended as it was by two massive conjunctions: Pluto/ Saturn (which happens every 35 years) and Jupiter/ Saturn (which happens every 20). We have all felt the heft of this mammoth astrological energy.
But rather than dwell any longer on the year of COVID-19, and mass unemployment, and the presidency of Donald Trump, let’s look into what 2021 has in store. It will not be an astrological blockbuster, thankfully, but there will be a major transit occurring in the form of a Saturn/ Uranus ‘square’ that could impact us creative types.
Whenever two planets are 90 degrees apart in the zodiac they are said to be ‘squaring’ each other. Squares are generally not good. Like passengers flying coach on a packed red-eye flight to La Guardia, squared planets get stressed and irritated with each other – there is no easy win that is available to either of them.
When it comes to 2021’s square (beginning January), we have taskmaster Saturn, known as a Great Malefic (meaning a not-so-nice planet), butting up against unpredictable, zany Uranus. It sounds like a bad sitcom on major network television, starring some drab, old dude as Saturn, who is forced to live with his adopted niece, Uranus, an artsy, polyamorous free spirit (played by, say, Zoe Kravitz, or her mom, Lisa). But at least 2021 will feel more like a comedy rather than a morose cosmic drama.
What this means for creative types (Uranus rules creative solutions, after all): expect some belt-tightening on your magical ideas with restrictive Saturn up in Urnanus’s grill for the whole year. It will be a time where you feel your creative mojo may have disappeared somewhat. If you lack inspiration or face a creative block, you may need to take a new approach to your work, try different techniques, or a change of scene. If your duties and responsibilities become too oppressive (Saturn can do that), be aware that Saturn, the disciplinarian, is trying to teach some lesson around work. Saturn can also bring restrictions in the guise of people, deadlines, clients, and products. So if you prefer a laissez-faire approach to your work, you may need to be extra clear when setting expectations or deadlines with your clients. If all this seems a bit daunting, remember the words of good old philosopher Thomas Aquinas, who wrote in fancy Latin: ‘Sapiens dominabitur astris’ (‘The wise man is master of the stars’). Learning how to work with transits, rather than against them, can make for a better 2021. Dealing with this Saturn/ Uranus square, therefore, is about staying Uranus-creative in the face of Saturn’s restrictions, so we come out of this transit stronger and more disciplined because of (rather than despite) Saturn’s influence.