(1 January 2013) As we turn the calendar over for a new year, it is a good time to see what might lie ahead in 2013. While there are any number of ways to make astrological forecasts for the next 12 months, I like to keep things simple wherever possible. That is why I defer to the New Year’s horoscope on these matters. Although there is no astronomical significance to midnight on 1 January, it does carry a lot of symbolic importance all over the world as the beginning of a new year. In that sense, the midnight chart represents the "birth" of a year and therefore provides some indications for what may come in the next 12 months. To be sure, this is not a precise method of prediction and it does not reveal specific events. At best, the New Year’s chart only offers an impressionistic window on the future and should not be taken as a definitive chart. In my experience, however, the New Year’s chart provides useful clues about significant themes and collective moods for the year to come.
At the outset, a quick note of interpretation may be worthwhile. As a rule, planets that are emphasized in the chart either by house placement or aspect will tend to have a more important profile in human affairs in the coming year. For example, a chart that has a strong Saturn suggests that tradition and old institutions may take a special significance. And if Saturn is afflicted in the New Year’s chart, then some of those institutions may come under pressure. This is what happened in the 1989 New Year’s chart that featured a close aspect from Ketu (South Lunar Node) to Saturn, while Saturn was conjunct both Uranus (change) and Neptune (weakness) and prominently positioned close to the 4th house cusp. Of course, 1989 will be remembered as the year that communism ended in Eastern Europe and marked the beginning of the end of socialism. All those afflictions to Saturn corresponded quite neatly with the end of the ossified Soviet Empire as the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in November.
By contrast, a prominent Mars in the New Year’s chart is often correlated with situations of violence and destruction, whether it be natural or man-made. The New Year’s chart for 2001 features a very close square aspect between Mars and Neptune. Mars represents violence while Neptune can symbolize secret or hidden matters. The 9/11 attacks were a shocking terror attack that seemed to come out of nowhere from a relatively obscure and secret organization known as Al-Qaeda.
Three years later, the New Year’s chart for 2004 showed a very nasty alignment of Mars, Saturn and the Sun that was also angular. This alignment of the malefics, Mars and Saturn, with the Sun portended a violent and destructive year. On 26 December, the Asian Tsunami killed more than 250,000 people in one of the most lethal natural disasters of the modern era.
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The 2013 New Year’s Chart
Fortunately, this year’s horoscope is not quite as suggestive of damage and destruction although there is no shortage of prominent aspects. Perhaps the strongest aspect pattern is Saturn’s very close sextile/3rd house aspect to the Sun-Pluto conjunction. This is a rare combination of these three planets and is likely to correlate with some noteworthy events. The symbolism of the planets involved suggests that government and large organizations will come under increased stress and interruption this year. The Sun represents governments and leaders, whether elected, appointed, or inherited as in the case of monarchies. Whenever the Sun is afflicted by Saturn, it usually translates as governments being defeated in the polls. Leaders are more likely to be replaced under this aspect. US President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 when the Sun was aspected by both Saturn and Rahu in the New Year’s chart. Both Saturn and Rahu are considered first class malefics that have the greatest potential to cause harm.
Pluto tends to focus on larger scale organizations which wield power including corporations and international organizations. Saturn aspects Pluto also so these organizations may also be in the spotlight this year. These may include the likes of the UN, the IMF, the Federal Reserve and NATO in addition to larger corporations like Apple and Google. Saturn’s influence here suggests constraint on the exercise of power, or perhaps negative outcomes from the policies and actions of these organizations. There may be more greater criticism against these organizations as the public grows increasingly wary of their size and scope.
The other potential bad guy, Mars, is also in the mix this year, although it does not look as aggressive in this chart. Mars is in a tight sextile aspect with Uranus in this chart. While the Mars-Uranus aspect is often synonymous with destructive events and sudden violence, this aspect is less damaging that the hard square or opposition aspects. I would therefore be less inclined to predict that we will see any major natural disaster or large scale military action from this aspect alone. Uranus is angular though as it is setting in the 7th house in the New Year’s chart. This ramps up its power to some extent. But there are mitigating factors. First, Mars is in Capricorn, a sign where it is exalted and its qualities are said to find a more constructive outlet. This is perhaps even more likely to be the case since Mars is disposited by Saturn, which is also exalted in Libra. Second, Mars is aspected quite closely by benefic Jupiter here. Jupiter aspects tend to restore balance and may be seen as an offsetting influence on any purely negative energy that Mars may be transferring. Perhaps this Jupiter influence on the Mars-Uranus pairing can be seen as a necessary or constructive outcome of situations that feature sudden eruptions of energy and violence. This may manifest as a just or welcome military resolution to an ongoing international dispute — the civil war in Syria comes to mind although that is only one possible example.
New Year’s Chart — 1 January 2013 00.00 EST Washington, DC
The Mercury-Neptune sextile aspect is another possible source for optimism this year. Mercury is the planet of communication and rational intelligence and its alignment with the more ethereal Neptune suggests more awareness and discussion of humanity’s collective and spiritual aspirations. In its more secular guise, the Mercury-Neptune combination can translate into a greater awareness our global responsibilities both on environmental and socio-economic levels. So we could see significant advances in the campaign to end poverty and a desire to open up new ways to expand human consciousness. In a more explicitly spiritual context, we could see a greater interest in religious ideas as they enhance our quality of life. This enhanced human and spiritual consciousness may also focus more on women since Mercury (7 Sagittarius) is conjunct the node of Venus (6 Sagittarius).
In terms of this year’s aspects, I am drawn to the Saturn-Neptune trine aspect that occurs in the middle of 2013. Saturn will station direct in early July, and it will form a very close trine aspect (120 degrees) with Neptune at that time. Saturn-Neptune aspects are generally not indicative of positive developments, although at least this aspect is the less stressful trine aspect. Nonetheless, the station may be bringing too much Saturn energy into the equation and I wonder if this aspect will correlate with some difficult or painful situation. Saturn and Neptune both symbolize sickness and death in different ways, so there is some collective health danger here. Moreover, Saturn’s station occurs at 11 degrees of sidereal Libra. This is exactly the spot in the sky where a lunar eclipse will occur in late April. I am assuming the eclipse will serve as a magnifier in this case so that the Saturn-Neptune aspect will take on a greater importance in terms of its effects. Possible manifestations range from a new viral outbreak, a chemical leak, or more generally harm from liquids and water. Readers may remember that the 2010 Gulf oil spill also occurred at the time of a very close aspect between Saturn and Neptune, when both were near their respective stations.
On the economic front, there is some risk that the aforementioned Saturn-Sun-Pluto alignment will tend to depress optimism in a general sense. Economic sentiment is often a self-fulfilling prophecy so that if consumers are anxious about their economic future, they tend not to spend as much. As a result of reduced spending, economic activity slows and the downward spiral begins and the economy tips into recession. The Saturn aspect to the Sun is the potential culprit here in that respect since Saturn represents caution and pessimism while the Sun symbolizes confidence. If Saturn is influencing our collective confidence, that does not bode well for an optimistic view of the future. There may therefore be an ongoing problem this year with consumer confidence. This may therefore have a depressing effect on the economy. I’m not sure there will be a full-fledged global recession but this aspect would tend to support that bearish view.
Overall, it promises to be a very interesting year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers for their support and continuing interest. I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
