COVID-19

There probably aren't many astrologers who didn't foresee that 2020 was going to be an extremely tough year. This was because of the conjunction on 12th January between Saturn and Pluto, an influence so strong it was going to reverberate throughout the entire 12 months. These two astrological heavyweights represent power, control, world politics, the economy, and they also symbolise death. In astrology we observe cycles and when a major planetary aspect occurs - or is about to occur - we look to see when it happened previously and what the historical implications were. From that perspective, the politics, power and death scenario of the Saturn Pluto conjunction in Capricorn looked like a major catastrophe, possibly a war. We didn't comprehend for one minute that it would be a world-wide plague. However, the fight against coronavirus is a war.....

One thing had puzzled me since the coronavirus outbreak began. Why would we experience a global pandemic just because Saturn and Pluto were in conjunction? Don't get me wrong, this would have brought a major drama anyway, but these two planets are conjunct approximately every 34 years and although we have the usual political calamities, a new disease sweeping the planet isn't normally part of the equation. So, what's different this time around and why have our everyday lives been turned upside down so drastically? The answer lies not only with Saturn and Pluto, but also with two other major players in world events - Uranus and Neptune.

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Neptune is the planet which symbolises contagious diseases, contamination, infection, and the drugs we use to eradicate them. It rules the immune system - which, of course, due to the absence of both a vaccine and a cure, is the only thing we currently have to fight coronavirus. The influence of Neptune is all about the things we cannot touch or see, and it's also about going beyond physical boundaries. 

Neptune had to be implicated somehow. It couldn't just be sitting there doing nothing when everything it stands for was becoming a reality. So, what was the connection? Transiting Neptune has been situated in the sign of Pisces since 4th February 2012. When a planet is in a certain sign its influence becomes much more powerful and everything it symbolises is accentuated. Neptune rules Pisces, therefore it is at its strongest there. When Neptune was last in this sign, during the 1850s, millions of people died in a Cholera pandemic. But why now, in 2020, when Neptune has already been in Pisces for eight years? There has to have been a trigger, an aspect from another planet. There is, and that other planet is Uranus.

Situated in the sign of Taurus since 7th March 2019, Uranus symbolises sudden, shocking, unexpected and traumatic change which disrupts the status quo. This is the planet of anarchy and rebellion as it triggers social unrest and upheaval. So, what was the connection from Uranus to Neptune? 

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In September 1991, three suspected measles cases were reported among athletes from New Zealand participating in an international gymnastics competition in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. More than 60,000 people were potentially exposed to the virus, including athletes and coaches, trainers, and managers from 51 countries, as well as volunteers, staff; international media, families, employees; and spectators attending the competition. As a result, the subsequent epidemic which followed killed thousands of people that year. Throughout 1990, 1991 and 1992, transiting Uranus and Neptune were in conjunction. The conjunction is classified as a 'hard aspect'. 

In 2019, Uranus began to form a hard aspect to Neptune called a semi-square (45°). When this occurs, it triggers changing states of consciousness affecting most people through issues which embrace the whole world. There are many physical and world events associated with the semi-square aspect including earthquakes, hurricanes and epidemics. Uranus connected to Neptune almost always brings the threat of disease.

The semi-square aspect was at its strongest in December when the emergence of COVID-19 was announced. On 31st December 2019, the government in Wuhan, China confirmed that they were dealing with a new virus that had infected dozens of people. On this date, the Sun (drama, vitality) and Jupiter (travel across continents) were conjunct the South Node (loss). The Moon was in a semi-square aspect to Saturn and Pluto, and a few hours later it was conjunct Neptune. Mercury (medical matters) was conjunct Chiron (healing). On January 11th 2020, Chinese state media reported the first known death from an illness caused by the virus - on the day after a Lunar Eclipse, the day when transiting Uranus went direct after months of retrograde motion and the day before the only exact conjunction between Saturn and Pluto. There was no way coronavirus was not going to be a global event....

Right now, the coronavirus is winning and is a force to be reckoned with, but hopefully with sensible behaviour,.forward planning and a rational co-operative attitude we will overcome this period of uncertainty and fear. Yes, there will be deaths. Yes, there will be financial and political upheaval. But the human race has been here before. There have been countless plagues, natural disasters and wars throughout our history. We have survived before - and we will survive again. Saturn brings patience, perseverance, resilience and stoicism. Pluto brings willpower and the ability to rise above circumstances and situations. 

Under the effect of Uranus in Taurus, there's no doubt we have all been in a state of shock and forced to come down to earth, back to basics, putting value on everyday requirements like food and toilet paper, and abandoning our usual, sometimes obscenely extravagant lifestyles. We have more equality at the moment - everyone is in the same situation, facing the same threat, and having to take the same precautions. This planet's nickname 'The Great Awakener' encapsulates what is happening right now. We are being shown the error of our ways. We must change. 

Neptune has brought fear and confusion, but this is also the planet of compassion and sacrifice. It enables us to shift the focus of our lives from purely selfish concerns to a vision of the greater whole of which each of us is a part. There are very profound lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and if we accept this experience, our future - and the future of our planet - will be assured. If not, perhaps we have reached the point of no return. As a friend of mine said recently, "Reality just got more real." This is a challenge for the human race. Let's face it together and win the COVID-19 war.