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2014 Predictions by Steffan Vanel

Predictions for 2014

The Astrological Grand Cross of 2014

Pluto in Capricorn squaring Uranus in Aries seven times between 2012 and 2015 is the defining Astrological theme of this decade. Those of you who have followed my newsletters know that this theme is one that I have returned to many times. This seems to especially be the case when faster moving personal planets ‘activate’ the square and we have events like the Boston Marathon bombing etc.

This is not all about horrible destruction; however, it does involve tensions in the transformations indicated.

Historically the connection by hard aspect between Pluto and Uranus have been reflected by the 1960’s, a time of both freedom and liberation, i.e. civil rights in the U.S., student riots in Paris, etc, as well as intense repression, i.e. Russian tanks in Prague, the Cultural Revolution in China, Vietnam, etc.

Other time periods reflect the 1930’s Great Depression and rise of fascism, but also FDR and the ‘New Deal’, and we can also look back at the brotherhood and liberty ideals of the French Revolution and some of the excesses that followed.

In 2004 I predicted that when Pluto went into Capricorn that that would likely pull the rug out from under any tendency to over rely on Concrete, material, financial reality for your security and your identity, and it was likely to wreak havoc with the world economy. Now, if I had known what ‘shorting’ stocks meant I could have made some money in 2008.

Pluto will be in Capricorn until 2025. So this is the beginning of a major death/rebirth of the world economic system. The U.S. was born with Pluto in Capricorn. That is the last time Pluto was in Capricorn, another period of rapid transformation of the world economic system, from the land-based, feudal, hierarchic static structured society to the rise of the merchant class, urban centers and industrialization.

This was also the period of the emergence of the firs international corporation, the Dutch East Indies Company, and the nation which first legalized the entities known as corporations, the United States of America.

In the 200 + years since that period of economic transformation and scientific discoveries transforming our sense of the limits of material reality (another likely theme of Pluto in Capricorn) the corporate model of economic functioning is clearly fully entrenched and the transformation of the limits of physical reality have spun to unbelievable heights.

But now we are revisiting, or being revisited by, the planet of complete death/rebirth transformation of which you have no choice, on a higher arc of the on-going spiral of evolution.

There are many ways in which one can say that the corporate model of economic functioning, as it has been practiced thus far, has out-lived its purpose and it is time for a new transformation to take place. Some of these ways include the inability to adequately address economic inequality, the impending global warming, and the inevitable approaching decline and eventual exhaustion of fossil fuels.

Now, if we bring Uranus in Aries into the picture we can see how this larger Plutonian theme is being activated in this decade.

In the book ‘Astrology Plus’ channeled from the Ascended Master Hilarion he says that someone who is Aries is someone who, in a previous lifetime, risked their own life to come to the rescue of another individual. As a reward for this courageous act they are given an additional energy, physically, mentally, or emotionally.

Their lesson is to be able to control this extra ‘energy’ in such a way that it doesn’t harm others, or themselves, through aggressive or violent expression or behavior.

Uranus is the planet of surprise, sudden change out of the blue, and freedom from old patters that have outlived their purpose.

That liberation seeking Uranus in the courageous energized sign of Aries, in tension with the Plutonian underworld control of economic, political powers has led to such events as the revolts of the ‘Arab Spring’ etc.

As I said earlier, I will look at the specifics of this upcoming ‘Grand Cross’ upon the birthchart of the U.S. later. But another easy recognition of this Pluto/Uranus tension is in the current entrenched conflict between the Republicans and Democrats. Just taking the example of the Affordable Care Act or ‘Obamacare.’ Clearly each side identifies with the Uranian ‘liberator.’ The Republicans feel they need to have the impulsive courage to liberate us from the entrenched powerful control of ‘Big Government’ in our lives. While Democrats are trying to liberate us from the powerful entrenched control of the corporate model of healthcare, which has little compassion for our health needs, especially those most vulnerable or unable to afford their high premiums.

The surprise Uranian liberation vs. Uranian reckless disruption is also relatable to the Edward Snowden National Security Agency leaks.

I know this is a lengthy introduction to my Astrological forecast for 2014, but I feel the necessity to explain the deeper background to the specific formation I am trying to explain here.

This upcoming ‘Grand Cross’ involves two other planetary players moving into tension with both Pluto and Uranus, and each other.

The slower-moving planet, thus at play for a longer time, is Jupiter in Cancer. Generally this is quite a positive placement of Jupiter. In an individual’s chart it indicates having received some very positive, benefit from one’s childhood, Cancer being the sign of home and family.

I think we can expand this concept of home and family to include your group, your community, your clan, your nation. Jupiter here will expand this sense of beneficence, caring and generosity towards these groupings.

Jupiter in difficult aspect, however, can exaggerate or distort, or be a bit fanatical and ‘over-the-top’ in its exuberance.

Opposing Pluto and squaring Uranus, Jupiter is likely to ‘pump up’ the various themes being activated by the Pluto/Uranus Square, perhaps with some exaggerated tribal belief system.

The fourth corner of the Grand Cross tension will be activated by Mars in Libra. Hilarion has two pronouncements about Mars in Libra. One is resonant or easily recognized relative to traditional schools of Astrology, and one comes from the category of Hilarion pronouncements which you would likely never hear from any other source. Here is the direct quote:

Libra Libra is the social sign — the sign that wants to be with others. It is opposite the home of Mars, namely Aries, and thus Mars here will be badly placed by sign. Regardless of aspect, the positioning of Mars in Libra will bring about periods in the life when the person feels cut off from others, almost like an outcast. This is for karmic reasons, for it is always the case with Mars in Libra that the individual, in an earlier incarnation, has caused some other person to be shunned or driven away from society. In the present life, the loneliness that is felt during periods of isolation is setting aside a karmic debt. In addition, Mars in Libra will bring about a tendency to create strife, argument and discord in the marriage. This is usually the fault of the person with Mars in Libra, but sometimes the partner is primarily responsible for the strife. (End Quote)

It is hard to say how this being outcast from society will affect us individually or collectively, unless you have Mars in Libra in which case it will likely energize or activate this aspect of your life.

But looking at this in combination with the tendency to being too aggressive in how you approach relationships, and looking at that in tension with a Jupiter in Cancer tendency to exaggerate your sense of beneficence towards the needs of your ‘clan,’ and in tension with Uranus in Aries impulsive, violent liberation (Mars /Uranus itself creates: a lack of self-control, usually physical self-control. The negative aspects are the most problematical in terms of angry outbursts, fits of rage and violence, but even the positive aspects call for extra effort in controlling those urges which can damage others in some way.)

And all of those players at odds with the Plutonian underworld transformation vs. control of Capricornian financial, material, earthly reality, it does seem to bear the likelihood of some powerful manifestations reflective of the themes involved. It could be the aliens landing and our reactions to it. Or something similar.

To know how this is likely to affect an individual nation, or yourself personally, one would want to look at what points in your own birthchart, or the birthchart of that nation will be activated by this Grand Cross.

This article is already overlong so I am not going to look at various nations that may be particularly affected except the one I am most familiar with, and is going to be especially ‘activated’ by this Grand Cross, the USA.

But before I continue with that discussion, I can say that anyone born within these dates: April 2nd-6, July 4th-8, October 4th – 9, and January 2nd-6 might want to take a look at how this Grand Cross is going to affect your Sun, the soul essence of who your are, and the ‘house’ it is in i.e.: the stage where you are performing in this life.

As the USA was born on July 4th we are going to be activated by this Grand Cross in a major way. The Sun in Cancer indicates someone who has, in previous lives, dedicated themselves to the care and nurture of others, as in a family or with children, and they have a potential connection with these qualities in this life. Sometimes they can be a little possessive in their relationships with others. And sometimes their sense of identity or security can be too dependent on those they care for and nurture, in which case they may have to experience an increased insecurity in their personal relationships, so as to be forced to seek the only security, that between you and the Great Spirit.

I have previously identified the Sun in Cancer of the U.S. with the positive potential of the U.S. to be a caring, nurturing beneficent force in the world, ‘bread basket to the world,’ the best symbol of which, to me, is the Statue of Liberty, the female Goddess at the edge of the sea and the poem at her feet about accepting ‘poor huddled masses’ to these shores to create a new life.

Now the Sun in Cancer is also in the Seventh House of relationships which will give one a great idealism about relationships, and about how a relationship should function, which can involve manipulation of others to live up to your ideals, an obvious tendency of U.S. relations with other nations, especially in the developing world.

This negative tendency is aggravated by our Sun being square to Saturn. The Grand Cross will be activating both our Sun and this Saturn so let me explain a bit about this Saturn.

Saturn is in the 10th House of work, career, ‘role’ in the world of which Hilarion says:

Tenth House When Saturn is found in the tenth sector, the meaning is that the individual must put considerable effort into his job or career in order to make it a success. Lacking this effort — and a good deal of care and caution the career will tend to turn sour again and again. The lesson is simply to devote a reasonable effort to making one's job a success. If this is done, then no problems will be encountered . However, past life habits of sloth and inattention have usually been brought forward into this life, and it is these which the job reverses are meant to correct.

The Saturn is also in the sign of Libra of which Hilarion says:

Libra In Libra, Saturn brings problems into the partnership area. Marriage is either delayed, denied or made a focus of limitation and restraint in some way. These limitations are an exterior reflection of internal difficulties in terms of the kind of mutual sharing that a marriage requires. This problem is always a component of the soul, and not just of the personality. The problems encountered in the marriage area are for the purpose of laying bare the internal difficulties so that the personality can attempt to rectify the internal imbalance by taking positive action to improve the partnership department of the life.

In previous writings including my book ‘The Astrological Karma of the USA’ I have noted this laziness around accepting full responsibility for our role in the world and the likelihood of a relationship involving ‘limitation or restriction’ in some way, squaring our Sun in Cancer, as a major polarizing tension within the American experience of itself, going back to Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, the North and South in the American Civil War, and our current Red and Blue States.

Slow-moving Pluto and Uranus have already been intensifying this polarized tension. Pluto causing death/rebirth in, and coming out of, our 1st House of self-image of ourselves. And that liberating, if not overly aggressive, Uranus in Aries is coming out of our 4th House of home, family, and sanctuary.

The U.S. was born with Jupiter in Cancer relatable to positive, beneficent forces at play in our birth and early life, as well as our penchant for exaggerated enthusiasm, a theme further enhanced by our Sagittarius Rising self-image.

We have already had our Jupiter in Cancer ‘Return’, a once every 12 years occurrence, in the last year, pumping up those emotional ‘clan’ enthusiasms. On April 19 Jupiter will conjunct our Sun in Cancer in the 7th House of relationships, pumping up everything I said, positive and negative, about that placement.

On April 19/20 Mars in Libra will conjunct our Saturn in Libra in the 10th House of work, career, ‘role in the world,’ so whoever is feeling cut off from mainstream society with a penchant for aggressivity in relationships, who wants to join with a US laziness and restriction of our U.S. Sun in Cancer nurturing potential with a resentment of those restrictive relationships involved, like other political parties, or disliked elements of your own party may be feeling the time to fight is now.

The easiest likely effect is to say that the midterm political primaries and elections are likely to be pretty heated.

Now I have been making reference to difficult relationships within our own borders, but it is also entirely possible, if not likely, for this to also involve profound manifestations involving our relationships with other nations as well, which in itself could aggravate this internal conflict, as was evidenced in the reactions to the possible military attack against Syria for her use of chemical weapons.

Although us Astrologers are often expected to play our hands at this predicting ‘game’ and I have had some luck at this game in the past, I do prefer to know what the deeper themes of the approaching Astrological ‘weather’ involve and then to recognize how those Astrological themes manifest or activate the Astrological karmic themes in the birthcharts of individuals and nations, and I am pretty certain I will be doing some of that in the coming year.

That being said, all four of the above-mentioned planets will be in exact tension with each other in the 14th degrees of the Cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn on April 23rd of 2014. So if there were a time period next year to be paying attention to what comes up, in your life or the world at large, it would be then.

There is a positive way of viewing such difficult aspects. It is true that planet which are opposite or square to each other will never see ‘eye to eye’’ but they can learn a mutual respect and a willingness to make integrative compromises. I also feel that it is difficult aspects which force us to ho to our Higher Selves, because it is only through that transpersonal perspective that we can heal and integrate these seeming conflicting incompatible energies.

Psychologist called this the conjunction of the opposites. He also said that there is no growth without pain and confusion. The trick is to have enough awareness to grow through the pain or difficulties. I think this is relatable to something Hilarion has said, which was that Astrology is one of the greatest gifts which the Creator has given us, to help us to much more quickly accept and learn the lessons our souls have accepted to grow through in this lifetime.

I am completing this on the day of the Solstice, December 21, but it won’t be posted until December 31st. As I noted in my December forecast, a prelude of these same dynamics will be at play from December 25th to January 2nd, so we may already have a foreshadowing of the times that are arising.

Blessings,

Steffan Vanel

About Steffan Vanel

Steffan Vanel is the author of The Astrological Karma of the USA, and: Charles & Diana: The Inside Story: An Astrological-Karmic View. He is known internationally for his unique synthesis of Astrology, the Tarot, Kabbalah, and Jungian Psychology. He is a primary exponent of the Karmic Astrology channeled from the Ascended Master Hilarion. Steffan does short readings for immediate answers to specific questions/decisions as well as in-depth psychological/spiritual-karmic readings. He publishes articles of timely interest on his website: www.spiritualcompany.com and sends out an email newsletter.