The Astrology of 2021 – An Overview
From Possibility to Probability
All dates are UT
We enter 2021 at a critical point in human history after events of last year revealed what has lurked too long in the shadows, manipulating agendas to its own ends. The Saturn / Pluto conjunction of January 2020 cast light on those shadows, for all to see. The smoke screen of Covid-19, both tool and camouflage, has beguiled many but not all. The new religion of Covid which tolerates no debate, no question, no doubt, has spread its reign of terror across the globe whilst those who struggle to preserve the most basic human rights and retain some semblance of a life worth living – an independent livelihood, the right to make personal health choices free of state and societal coercion, a nurturing social network of real-life human connection – they are vilified and silenced. Independent, nuanced thought is now a crime in a world where propaganda rules and facts are sacrificed on the altar of mob-rule and the tyranny of fear.
Saturn in Aquarius squares Uranus in Taurus
Exact on 17th February 2021 – 14th June 2021 – 24th December 2021
There’s no point beating about the bush: 2021 won’t be easy. Far from it. Dominated by a square between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus, no one can avoid the challenges ahead. A square demands timely action and wise choices. A signifier of mounting tension and frustration, it presents external obstacles we must navigate to facilitate progress and positive change. The longer we try to sidestep, ignore or deny the elephant in the room, the greater the stress. Squares don’t go away. They niggle at us, gnawing away at our peace until we look them in the eye and take charge of the situation. Once we do this, things begin to shift. Change is triggered. We increasingly return to a state of flow as we move not against life but with it, taking our cues from the greater intelligence that connects all things.
As such, it is time to take charge, to speak up, to stand our ground. Pariahs no more, we have a right to a voice, an opinion, a perspective. We are not beholden to a narrative that makes no sense on deeper enquiry. We do not have to agree when every cell in our being is screaming ‘no!’. We do not have to conform to be accepted and respected. We can accept and respect ourselves, knowing that integrity is more important than any pat on the back for toeing the party line.
The rise of technocracy facilitated by the prevalent narrative of the past year will not be served well by this dance of Saturn and Uranus. Saturn in Aquarius – the sign of technological innovation – can stall and slow development, upending any arrogant assumption that the future’s a done deal on the part of those striving to control it. Likewise Uranus – the planet of technological innovation – in the earthbound sign of Taurus, can slow the real-world application of new technology, casting a spanner into the works and arresting development. When these two planets square each other the technocrats will have their hands full for a while! Progress won’t come easy. Nor will wide-spread acceptance of their methods. The world is waking up and taking back its power.
By the same token we should not rely too heavily on technology either! Expect the unexpected. Forge real world contacts as much as online ones. Get phone numbers, street addresses and make connections aside from social media. Consider what empowers you to stay in touch with those who matter as Saturn and Uranus play around with our virtual world of online interaction.
This square between the traditional (Saturn) and modern (Uranus) rulers of Aquarius, the sign of egalitarian humanity, encourages wise reflection and catalyses innovative inspiration from which to weave a creatively fertile present. In the wake of December’s Great Conjunction it comes to us replete with energy and raring to go, beckoning us onward to embody what, right now, is still more mystery than manifest.
Mercury retrograde in air signs
Mercury retrograde in Aquarius: 30th January – 21st February 2021
Mercury retrograde in Gemini: 29th May – 22nd June 2021
Mercury retrograde in Libra: 27th September – 18th October 2021
Mercury’s three retrograde cycles this year occur in the three air signs. Just as the Saturn / Jupiter conjunction in the first degree of Aquarius on 21st December signified the need for a recalibration of thought and understanding, Mercury’s 2021 retrograde activity facilitates review and reflection on what we think and why. Whose thoughts are we thinking? Whose words are we speaking? Do we hear and repeat or listen and enquire? In a world where nothing is as it seems and a web of deceit has been spun all around, reclaiming our mind, our ideas and our truth is an act of creative power. Doing so catalyses a perceptual home-coming, which ensures we’ll never again be held hostage by those who pedal fear to achieve their questionable ends.
Eclipses and supermoons
27th April 2021: Full supermoon in Scorpio
26th May 2021: Full supermoon & lunar eclipse in Sagittarius
10th June 2021: Solar eclipse in Gemini
19th November 2021: Lunar eclipse in Taurus
4th December 2021: New supermoon & solar eclipse in Sagittarius
2021 eclipses occur in Sagittarius, Gemini and Taurus, with supermoons in Scorpio and Sagittarius. The polarities of Gemini / Sagittarius and Taurus / Scorpio reflect the realms of learning by rote (Gemini) versus discovery through experience (Jupiter), and emotion (Scorpio) versus physicality (Taurus). This year we must ground ourselves so securely nothing can blow us off course. It is time to feel and know our every emotion whilst not allowing them to overwhelm. Radical self-care is called for, alongside fierce courage. We may have to speak our truth when everything is stacked against us and doing so feels like the greatest risk. We must be prepared to be profoundly alone if that’s what defending truth demands. This is our greatest test, for which all previous challenges have prepared us. Our personal and collective futures hang in the balance right now and we are the arbiters of our fate.
Unhelpful narratives may arise, so remember, ‘everything is happening as it should’ does not mean there’s nothing to be done. We are not pawns in this cosmic game but players. Who we are and how we live impacts the whole as much as the tiny theatre of our personal lives. Be aware that fear does strange things to people and the world is awash with it right now. Spiritual bypassing is as much a symptom of fear as crossing the street to avoid contamination by another human-being. With the eclipse cycles shifting into Taurus / Scorpio in 2022, it’s now vital to know fear inside out, to look it in the face and recognise its many guises, even as our legs buckle beneath its gaze. We can only change the future by looking without guile at the present and learning from how we reached this point today.
Wisdom is key. Discernment is vital. The truth will set us free.
Blue moon in Aquarius
22nd August 2021
This blue moon in the final degree of Aquarius serves as a signpost on our personal and collective journey. In the month prior to this moon we will encounter the consequences of how we’ve lived the first six months of this year. The extent to which we’ve opened our minds, refused to bow to fear and embraced new possibilities will become unavoidably evident both personally and collectively, so where we find ourselves at this point will largely depend on the choices made between now and then.
Aquarius is a sign of cerebral detachment. It questions, considers and envisions the future, casting aside the messy world of emotions for another day. Whilst knowing and embracing our emotional selves is undoubtedly a task of awakening, we are reminded this year that being able to set aside our emotions and consider from a cooler, more objective place is a great strength which can help us manage otherwise overwhelming feelings and perceptions.
Emotionalism and sentimentality has gotten us where we are today. Public perception has been manipulated to generate fear and feelings of vulnerability. Facts have been sacrificed on the altar of collective terror. At this point in our becoming there is great power in a disciplined and ordered mind, which isn’t the same as a closed one! Aquarius blows away mental cobwebs, refreshing perceptions and possibilities. The more we throw open the doors of perception this year the greater the potential for bottom up, top down change. For when the air elemental is as dominant as it is in 2021, our mental focus and thought processes will be absolutely key to turning possibility into probability and arresting the tyranny of fear.
Venus retrograde in Capricorn
19th December 2021 – 29th January 2022
Venus in Capricorn is at home in the pragmatic world of social graces that get you ahead, relationships that serve an agenda and material gain that furthers social mobility and vice versa. In the spiritual world such things can be dismissed as shallow or too mundane, but they are simply one aspect of the tapestry of human interaction. When Venus is retrograde in Capricorn we have time to reflect on how we manage the currency of relationship in our own life and how well our relationships serve the aspirations we nurture for ourselves. 2021 will reveal new alliances and challenge long standing ones. We may well have to part ways with those so radically opposed to our truth we cannot help but repel each other. That’s all part of relationships too. We can’t take everyone with us and nor should we expect to. But we can live with integrity, speak as honestly as we can and be as courageous as possible in our affirmation of independent sovereignty. Then, like beacons in the night, those who share a path will find each other.
At the close of a year in which honouring truth is key to both finding our tribe and recalibrating the future, Venus retrograde offers some quiet reflection. Who have we aligned ourselves with this year and why? Who has stood beside us and who have we drifted from? Whose strength have we called upon and who has drawn upon ours? Whilst hard truths can still be spoken with love and conflicting opinions met with grace and poise, this Venus reminds us our most important relationship is with ourself. When that’s out of kilter, all other connections will suffer. If we’ve stayed silent, denied our own truth or ignored our own inner voice to appease others this year, the final days of 2021 will offer an opportunity to reflect on how we could do things differently in 2022.
So much still to play for!
Many are weary as the new year begins. Others feel renewed. Some are consumed by confusion. Others have found their way. Overwhelm is rife but all is far from lost. Everything is still to play for. Courage is needed, as is fierce dedication to the truth. In the words of Martin Luther King:
‘Cowardice asks the question ‘Is it safe?’. Expediency asks the question ‘Is it politic?’. Vanity asks the question ‘Is it popular?’. But conscience asks the question ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when you must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but you must take it because your conscience tells you that it is right.’
That time is now.
Sarah Varcas
© Sarah Varcas 2018 All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to freely share this article in its entirety on the condition that full credit is given to the author, it is distributed freely and the URL www.astro-awakenings.co.uk is included.
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