This is the third of a series of posts in which I am talking about the upcoming series of Cardinal Ingress charts from now through the middle of 2026.
First is the Graphic Ephemeris post – A Graphic View of the Coming Changes.
And the second is the Ingress series post, The Shape of Ingresses to Come.
As I pointed out, we have the rare occurrence of all five of the outermost planets, from Jupiter on out to Pluto, all changing signs in a brief period of time.
I want to tie this post in with the theme of a video on Vimeo that I did a few years ago, The Grand Conjunction 2020 and Beyond, about the Jupiter/Saturn Grand Conjunction, in which those two planets started a new series of conjunctions in Air signs.
The theme of that video is that we are in a period where the main focus of control and warfare is the media, and we are in a period of increasingly obvious media pressure for control of our minds and behavior. That connects with the main theme of this Ingress series.
I want to start with the most prominent, and likely most important, sign change going on here.
Saturn and Neptune change signs in unison from Pisces to Aries, right on the Aries cardinal Ingress point. In Pisces, Saturn is peregrine and weak while Neptune is quite strong – whether or not you give the rulership of Pisces to Neptune it is definitely a compatible environment. In Aries, Neptune is greatly weakened by being in a dry fire sign, while Saturn is in abysmal shape, in its fall in Aries, a cold dark planet in a hot bright sign.
I want to cast a wide net here to leave the interpretations open-ended, so let’s consider some of the possible meanings of this pair.
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Neptune can relate to the media, and add the element of fantasy or falsehood, while Saturn can add a dimension of restriction and control. Combining those, we get:
– fantasy used for control
– fantasy within tight limits; censorship; control of media – censoring alternate points of view in the name of “disinformation” or “hate speech”.
In a different contrasting way, we can get fantasy bumping into reality – this is the natures of Saturn and Neptune colliding, where we get fantasy and falsehood bumping into the limits of the real world.
To quote the great Stoic philosopher Chico Marx:
Who you gonna believe? Me, or your own eyes?
I suspect that this meaning will become increasingly important after Neptune moves from Pisces to Aries – that could likely be a period of dis-illusionment, where falsehoods lose their power and are exposed. With Saturn moving into his Fall that could play out as established or old powers losing control by losing control of the narrative, or having their falsehoods collapse so that they are no longer credible. I think we are getting a foretaste of that now as I write this (August 2024) while Neptune is stationed very near the Aries point. The media these days is approaching a kind of incoherence and lack of credibility that is quite extreme, and I know I am not the only person who thinks that way. There seems to be an increasing dis-illusionment going on regarding the credibility and reliability of the main media, and the trustworthiness of those who control it.
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Neptune can also relate to illness and weakness, especially illnesses that are elusive or hard to diagnose, or illnesses related to corrupted or poisonous drugs that weaken the body. Saturn also is related to weakness and illness, so that is a possible interpretation.
You could also consider combining the meanings and get drugs and illness used for control. That is a possible interpretation.
This could also be media news of threat of illness as a form of control.
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There is another, higher side to Neptune in Pisces that is possible if approached right.
– Neptune can trigger spiritual perception.
– Neptune can also relate to turning to religion as a way of dealing with the harsh limitations of physical problems.
This can be good or bad – it can be escape into religion and/or turning to religion for inner support. There does indeed seem to be a renewal of interest and commitment to traditional religions happening now. It is a way of trying to find some sense and sanity in a world that no longer makes any sense without it. I know that is pa_rt of my motivation in becoming active in the Catholic Church the last two years. They help provide an inner stability I cannot get from the world, that is much, much harder to get privately, on my own.
On a deeper level the influence of Neptune can be seeing through the falsity and emptiness of the surface material world, especially the profound emptiness of our consumer and media based society. On a more mystical level this can be seeing past the veil of lies to the reality behind. That is very unlikely to happen at a collective level, but it is a possible response for individuals, and I think there is a hunger for that kind of deep level of reality.
This is a complex, multi-level process we are seeing unfold here.
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The most important warfare in the world today is for control of the media – not a fight against foreign threats, not a battle against plagues and epidemics, not a fight against “extremists” and terrorists, but a fight for control of media – and through that, control of thought. The main weapons are not bombs, or troops, or vaccines, or lockdowns, but media narratives.
Whoever controls the stories controls the world – but when the stories lose credibility the power ebbs, and people go looking for new stories to make sense of their lives.
I think that is the most important core meaning of the Saturn/Neptune conjunction while changing signs.
Could I be wrong about all this? Of course, and that is why I am trying to shape this post in open-ended terms, to allow for a variety of interpretations, and to allow for limitations in my own awareness. Our information media is deeply polluted and corrupted today, and I have as much difficulty as everyone else in trying to disentangle truth from hype. I don’t claim to be immune from the brainwashing, but I can confidently say that no-one is immune to it, and those people who are convinced that they stand above media influence are those who are most thoroughly under its spell.
If you think that you and your friends are all immune to the brainwashing, and you know exactly who is to blame and needs to be silenced and defeated – if you are sure that the problem is Those People Over There – if you think that brainwashing is only something that The Other Side tries to do while Our Side is defending against it by silencing it… think again. Mindless blaming is one of the dead giveaways of brainwashing. Ask George Orwell – and remember that, in the book 1984, Orwell was not talking about Germany and Russia; he was talking about England.
Saturn plus Neptune – the use of media and fantasy for power and control. I think that is the single most important issue for people alive today, and control of media is the main battleground and the main weapon.
Now that we have the main theme in place, I want to talk about the other two outer planets changing sign, and where they might fit in this picture.
Pluto – the Hype is Collapsing
I want to tie this in now with a possible interpretation of Pluto changing signs, from Capricorn to Aquarius.
I am building on the interpretation I explored in my recent post, Pluto’s Swan Song of Pluto as a signifier of hype and obsession, blowing things way out of proportion, of extravagant threats and extravagant promises of new technology, and of threats and promises used for control – where reality doesn’t live up to the hype, the threats are mostly empty, and the grand promises end up being shabby and dysfunctional.
I think this ties in with the symbolism of Neptune/Saturn – a period of dis-illusionment where the overblown hype is seen through and loses its power. I think this will be related to the likely gradual lessening of the obsession with the importance of Pluto, which officially lost its status as a full planet back in 2006. My own guess is that we saw the last grand dance of Pluto in late Capricorn with the covid and pandemic mania, and that it will gradually sink back into relative insignificance as it continues in Aquarius, and the overblown hype loses its credibility.
If I am right about Pluto and hype, then the brief period this fall, from September 2 to November 11, may mark one last big attempt at a major pandemic scare – but it is very likely that if that does happen it will not catch on to anywhere the same extent the 2020 covid hysteria did, and it will likely just lose momentum and fall apart pretty quickly.
Similarly, I think this final Pluto retrograde period in Capricorn could mark a period where the threat of escalation in the active military conflicts in the world are deliberately inflated, and it’s a dangerous period. If I am right, much of the media coverage will be over-inflated hype, tailored to provoke an extreme reaction, and there will be a great deal of misleading flag-waving coverage. How that will play out in reality should at least start to clarify by the end of the year. It is a good time to stand back and check alternate news sources to get perspective.
I also predict that this period is likely going to be the peak of severe censorship attempts on the part of governments and media around the world. We are already seeing the signs of that now, and they are also showing signs of over-reach. If I am right, this period is not the beginning of slamming the door on free speech, but rather the sign that the hinges on the door are breaking, and those trying to control that door are losing their grip. Things are getting ugly for awhile, and I think it is a good time to quietly and discreetly keep the conversations going in those places and ways that just can’t be shut down. If I read the direction of the planets correctly, then what feels like bucking a tsunami today could turn to riding a wave tomorrow.
The main thing to remember through this entire period, at least now through the end of the year, is that a large percentage of mainstream media will be greatly overhyped and crafted to keep people in a state of constant anxiety, fear, insecurity and anger.
Pluto changing signs may mean that the overhyped control is losing credibility and dissipating, and is being seen through for what it really is. This is a great type to limit media, take media vacations, and stand back and check alternate news sources.
So if we are in a period where the credibility of centralized, mainstream and legacy media is failing and losing control of the narrative, what do we have to replace it?
I think we have signs of the new media taking shape today, and talking about that brings in Uranus.
Uranus – Out of Earth and Into Air
It strikes me, when I look over the group of four outer planets changing sign, that Uranus is the only outer planet that is becoming significantly stronger in the sign change. Saturn and Neptune will both be a lot weaker, and while it remains to be seen how Pluto plays out, my sense is that he will be nowhere near as dark and threatening in Aquarius as in Capricorn.
Uranus is moving from an earth to air air sign – how might that play out?
In the fixed earth sign Taurus Uranus is more uncomfortable, and possibly more violent, which could bring out the worst of it. Some modern astrologers view Uranus as exalted in Scorpio, though there is no general agreement. That would put Uranus in its fall in Taurus, and that does feel appropriate.
By contrast, Uranus moving into air sign Gemini is much more in its element, and is likely to bring out the best effects of the planet.
In this period of change we are entering, if you take Uranus as being a Prometheus kind of archetype, I think there is some good food for thought.
But first, we need to clear away a layer of hype. In modern popular astrology Uranus is the symbol of the bold and free Age of Aquarius, a period of free and open expression, peace love and harmony – but of course this will be free and open, peaceful expression once all evil extremists and purveyors of hate speech have finally been silenced once and for all – we believe in Inclusion and will exclude and censor everyone who disagrees with us…
If you spot a contradiction in with the grandiose hype, good; that’s the point.
Yes, I do think that Uranus will likely be prominent in the coming period, but I think it will be something more subtle, more nuanced and more substantive – and likely grittier and more unsettling – than the grandiose peace-and-love-utopia hype. We’ve seen signs of it while Uranus was underground in Taurus, and it’s there if you know where to look.
I think we can discern the starting trends of a coming information network by paying attention to the seeds of it that are visible now, and have been increasingly emerging over the last few years. Here the substantive symbolism of Uranus/Prometheus is useful.
Uranus is the person who dared to ask the uncomfortable questions that got them kicked off of Facebook and demonetized and canceled on Youtube.
Uranus is the one standing up to peer pressure and risking ridicule and ostracizing to abide by conscience.
Uranus is the person who, when they were locked out of the big news and media sites, very quietly went elsewhere and found ways to share their ideas. That has been quietly going on for years now, and it seems to be coalescing and networking in a new way over the past year.
That is where I look for pointers to the future, and to the future’s intellectual and cultural leaders. Not in the mainstream, not on Youtube and Facebook, but out on the fringes, the disreputable areas. That is where free speech and thought is being kept alive, and where the forbidden questions are being talked about. For now these people are off the mainstream radar, but it is there on the fringes that they are to be found.
I think this is a harbinger of the rise of alternate news and information networks. Unlike the legacy media this is de-centralized – there is no controlling hub and no single narrative. This is not a single coordinated network and narrative, but more like a cross-linked, widely varied web of networks, and many stories are being told. They vary wildly in quality and in interest, and that is part of the price you pay for the open exploration of ideas. It takes discretion and discernment to deal with it.
It’s a network where people are asking the forbidden questions, digging up censored and hidden data, listening to silenced voices. I also see cross-referencing going on, where people in those networks refer to each other, and their audiences increasingly overlap. I follow leads and recommendations to find new people worth following. I find that helpful in sorting out who is worth listening to and who is best ignored.
It is those communities of alternate voices that are the places online these days that I find really satisfying and intelligent conversation and exchange of ideas going on. A lot of that community-building interchange goes on in the comments sections of the better blogs. In fact, there is a new word coined for that sort of community – the Commentariat. There is a freedom of expression and level of intelligence there that was banished from Facebook a long time ago.
Through those communities, with their overlap, I have connections to far more good sources of thought and information than I could possibly find time to dig up on my own – and I get to have interesting conversations with people far more intelligent and informed than I am.
That is where I look for signs of the future. Hopefully, as Uranus comes out from underground in Taurus and emerges into an air sign, that will become more open and visible. That is a very good thing, because it is precisely those kinds of independent thinking people who still have open questioning minds that we will need in navigating the rocky changes and challenges of the coming decades.
In a Nutshell
I want to summarize this set of transitions in a single, three phrase sentence that includes the meanings of all the planets.
(Saturn/Neptune) The lies and fantasy being used by media to hypnotize and control people
(Pluto) which are way overhyped
(Uranus) are being seen through, are cracking, and are falling apart.
If most of what is going on in the media is lies and fantasy, and those lies are losing credibility and falling apart, then we had best wake up to that as quickly and thoroughly as we can to deal with the reality of the post-lies world.
What this Transition Does Not Mean
Before I sum up it is worth considering what this period of change does not mean.
– This is not the dawning of the Age of Aquarius – in fact, I expect that particular fantasy to be one of the things that finally explodes and dissipates once and for all when Saturn/Neptune do their sign-changing dance. No, you will not see the one world government where you own nothing and everyone is happy…
– This is not the Singularity, that mystical point in time where computer generated “intelligence” is supposed to reach a critical point at which the computers start thinking for themselves and taking over the world. I think that is yet another illusionary bubble that will likely pop with the big changes, and the current obsession with “Artificial Intelligence” will be seen as the over-hyped hubristic fantasy that it seems to be shaping up to be. More and more people are paying attention to what it is actually like dealing with completely automated call systems, order processing systems, and automated answering lines – and, to the sort of Automated Inanity that AI generated responses often turn out to be. Consider your own experiences dealing with automated problem report systems, and ask yourself if the “intelligence” at work there is about to take over the world and think for itself…
– This is not the period where much-hyped Virtual Reality dictates what is real and what is not, and where reality is something plastic to be shaped to human whim. That is hubris, and we need to learn that we cannot over-write reality to do whatever we want like changing a channel on a TV set, or wiping a canvas clean and drawing something else. Or, like putting on a pair of goggles and escaping to a new fake reality. When you take the goggles off, or when the battery fails, reality will still be there patiently waiting for you to deal with it.
– This is not apocalypse and collapse. There are a lot of shaky systems in the world today that I think will crack and break under the stress of the changes, likely including some major governments, but this is not the end of the world. Hard times, yes; mass die-off and final apocalypse, no. Great world powers have tottered and gradually fallen before, and life goes on. Just ask Rome. And remember, Rome was not built in a day, and it took decades to decline and finally fall.
Summing Up
Above everything else, I think we are in a period of increasingly pervasive attempts at manipulation and control of people using the media at all levels – news media, advertising, entertainment in video and audio, government pronouncements, all of which attempt to dictate the narrative that is to believed as reality, and that is becoming increasingly heavy-handed at silencing all dissenting voices.
To put it plainly, we are being manipulated and brainwashed and we had best wake up to that and take control of our own minds.
That is our most urgent problem, and everything else hinges on that.
All my instincts tell me that this next few years is a critical watershed period in the fight for an open and honest media, and for open and honest thinking, and it takes a lot of work, a lot of awareness, and sometimes a lot of sheer grit and courage, to stand up in the teeth of the overwhelming media barrage we are saturated with, and of the relentless government and collective peer pressure that works with it.
There is a lot at stake here in this transition, and it is very important to be as aware as we can going into it. If I am reading the astrology correctly, then the planetary configurations are helping to show us a way forward that makes sense.
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I am now convinced that with the astrologers and other writers I follow – and there are very few astrologers I follow these days – their technique is far less important than their awareness. Astrology gives us interpretive tools, but then we map astrology interpretation to the worldview and awareness we have in our minds. If our minds are filled with media propaganda then we map our astrology to that, and the result ends up being pretty worthless bias.
Your astrology is only as good as your awareness, and no amount of technique can compensate for that.
So, to do astrology right – actually, just to survive in today’s world – we badly need self-awareness, media awareness, and language awareness. That is something that no-one else can do for you, and it takes time, and work, and meditation, and silent time to just think. If you find yourself too busy to just sit down and be quiet then you can be certain you have no time to think. That will kill any chance of self-awareness faster than anything else.
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I am convinced that the big shifts of the next few years that are foreshadowed in the major changes in world astrology are going to be very important, and are also a very rare and golden opportunity to become more aware and awake.
I plan on doing more writing on this subject of media awareness and waking up, as it is my own personal battle.
Stay tuned.