How the 2021 Saturn-Uranus Squares Will Disrupt and Define Your Life

Excerpted from The Astrotwins’ 2021 Horoscope | by the AstroTwins

Three times in 2021, stalwart Saturn and disruptive Uranus will get into cosmic clashes, locking into 90-degree angles (squares).This battle between old-school and new will shake up society as we know it.

Old-school Saturn is in innovative Aquarius, while scientific Uranus (the ruler of Aquarius) is hunkered in traditional Taurus. Talk about a double, or quadruple, paradox. Our digitized reality could drive what experts are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution, transforming everything from money to manufacturing, banking and government.

Many of these predictions, written summer 2020 and published in The AstroTwins’ 2021 Horoscope annual guide, are already unfolding and will continue throughout 2021 and into 2022.

Saturn-Uranus Squares: Global Disruption and the Digitization of Reality

February 17, June 14, December 24

Much of the palpable tension is supplied by a standoff between structured Saturn and change-maker Uranus—the co-rulers of Aquarius. These planets may be next-door neighbors, but they’re the Hatfield and McCoy of the solar system. Each possesses a valid claim over the Water Bearer’s realm while enforcing contrary agendas (think “square peg, round hole”) providing for many of our most vexing, intractable problems. And three times in 2021, they lock into a stressful square (a 90-degree angle), grappling for the upper hand.

Before Uranus was discovered by telescope in 1781, Saturn was considered the galactic guardian of Aquarius (Uranus is its “modern ruler”). That means Water Bearers have two celestial sentinels: quirky, side-spinning Uranus and disciplined Saturn. Quite the contrasting energies! Perhaps that’s why Aquarians possess such range, flipping from metaphysical wizards to science-bound empiricists.

Saturn and Uranus square each other roughly every 14 years

The contradictory push-pull expresses itself in every zodiac sign’s life and also in world events. Can change happen without a collapse of key infrastructures? Can order be kept without suppressing the voice of “the people”? Historically, these tumultuous standoffs can force deep structural changes in society, often involving widespread disruption and destruction.

As suppressive Saturn tightens its authoritarian grip on freedom-fighter Uranus, a war between chaos and control erupts. Like an earthquake, the stable ground beneath us is left shaken. Later, we must rebuild from the rubble. Put plainly, Saturn wants law and order; Uranus wants change at any cost.

We’ve been feeling this since the two planets began their dance in January 2020, bringing everything from economic shakeups to the global COVID-19 pandemic to sweeping Black Lives Matter protests. As the Saturn-Uranus tension reaches a head in 2021, society is embroiled in heated efforts to change “the system” (Saturn) through (Uranian) protests, citizen uprisings and attempts to redistribute rights and resources through the greater population.

Saturn-Uranus Squares and the Economy: America 2.0

Disclaimer: The information should not be considered professional financial advice. All writings on this site are purely based on the authors’ opinions and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a certified professional financial advisor when considering any investment or financial decision.

Saturn and Uranus were square from 1929-31, during the initial stages of the Great Depression. Shortly after the 1929 U.S. Stock Market crash, when stocks lost 90 percent of their value, Saturn and Uranus began squaring each other in lockstep for two years. At the 2008 Great Recession, another time of profound economic turbulence, these two outer planets were embroiled in an opposition.

As 2021 began, Saturn and Uranus were back in a square aspect, a conflict intensified by their positions in the staunch “fixed” signs of Aquarius and Taurus. It’s conceivable that an avalanche of negative events and sentiment could pierce the current Wall Street “Everything Bubble,” echoing the great ’29 crash by eventually consuming every index and currency market on the planet.

When Pluto makes its grand return to 27 degrees Capricorn in the U.S. natal chart on February 21, 2022, Saturn and Uranus will still be square—a double impact we’ll feel. As Lord Pluto completes a 246-year revolution around the Sun, his arrival could catalyze this domino-like collapse, unleashing a national disaster that includes armed civil conflict between various polarized social groups vying for social dominance.

In this cosmic unfolding, which will extend through 2022 and accelerate into 2024, dynamical and mathematical forces will likely compound overlooked stress points in the economy. These could include municipal bond downturns, unavailable shipping containers, declining commercial real estate values (including REITs), corporate insolvencies and eventually, unfunded government liabilities—plus a wave of sovereign “bad actors” taking full advantage of the dystopic atmosphere.

The Saturnian deleveraging of the economy

Set against the Uranian volatile conditions, the Saturn deleveraging will impact the growth of the country well beyond 2024. There’s also the likelihood of large-scale populist strikes emerging by 2025, protesting the liquidation of America.

This continued Plutonic deterioration will be able to trace its origins to three unambiguous signals in the autumn of 2019: the October outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, the Wall Street repo market collapse and the death of the WeWork unicorn, all of which provided for the initial “Minsky Moment” shockwave of March 23, 2020, when the Dow index fell from 29,568 to 18,213, an event that Astrostyle reported upon at that time, given the gravity of the collapse. The retesting of this March 2020 low would parallel the 1929-31 second-year crash.

If markets follow the patterns of 2008 and 2019-20, a crisis in 2022-24 will result in the U.S. Federal Reserve again pumping trillions of stimulus dollars into the economy in an attempt to keep it buoyant. Into this inequity, new, questionable concepts about the utility of money will be circulated, in economic circles what’s known as MMT (Modern Monetary Theory). Essentially, MMT aims to replace the role of the Federal Reserve central bank to control inflation and employment with a fiscal policy steered by the government, in all likelihood featuring UBI (Universal Basic Income) to maintain money velocity for our economy.

Some key questions

Can we have faith that the U.S. Congress will do any better than the Fed or disengage from its endless, polarized strife to responsibly lead the global economy? MMT’s many critics point out that it’s a fiscal policy for inflating our already unmanageable national debts past the event horizon of a debt blackhole into fiscal oblivion with no hope for recovery.

Will foreign nations accept the U.S. saving itself while their countries, unable to print dollars, sink into depression? From the rest of the world’s perspective, the U.S. economy is a Frankenstein monster being kept alive by Federal Reserve stimulus and corporate stock market buybacks—an illegal practice until 1982.

In such a scenario, which will extend from the present to 2022 then accelerate into 2024-25, margin call trading requirements will force many investors to sell off all their assets in a scramble to raise cash before the market hits bottom. Deep-pocketed investors and large institutional players, watching from the sidelines, will no doubt wait for the bottom of the market before moving in, reconfirming the ancient Wall Street adage, “Buy low, sell high.” From there, we’ll see Bitcoin skyrocket, along with safe haven assets like gold and silver.

Pluto’s role in redistributing wealth and changing the economy

Since Pluto is associated with generational wealth, especially as it transits through Capricorn, the sign of long-held family assets, vast fortunes will be made. The take-all winners? Those who are positioned to capture the largest wealth transfer in global economic history after a massive deleveraging of the U.S. economy.

The disconnect between the stock market and the rest of the economy has been a feature of the U.S. economy since at least the 2008 financial crisis, promoting calls for a reevaluation of the role between the Federal Reserve central bank and the markets, which have diverged with such force that it can prompt us to question whether we have free markets at all. Nonetheless, the Fed pumping the markets with stimulus could—incredibly—cause a rising stock market, perhaps surpassing the psychological barrier of 30,000-plus Dow points before eventually succumbing to a market contraction.

It’s likely that this “melt up” would bring no-growth, stagflating forces to bear on the U.S. economy with inflationary pressures exerting more destabilization on the lives of consumers before a reordering of the economic system is mandated. Remember, previous market highs were the order of the day before each catastrophic crash.

Is there hope for America ahead? Perhaps our future is also guided by Uranus, the planet of “electric” genius and the estimated $100 trillion electric vehicle market? No doubt your purchase will be transacted with a digital currency, itself ruled by Uranus, too.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency bring more curveballs

It should be no surprise that the eventual preeminent reserve asset will be governed by hardy Capricorn. Bitcoin, which minted its genesis block on January 3, 2009, is a tough, decentralized Goat while also being ruled by the shrewd Rat, the first of the Chinese zodiac signs. Bitcoin, unlike government-issued fiat currency, is a digital currency that is not subject to central bank manipulation or devaluation. In financial parlance, Bitcoin is “hard,” which is why it’s poised to be coveted by individuals, companies and countries alike as the ultimate reserve asset in any portfolio when we find ourselves deep in the Aquarian financial winter.

In this charged financial environment, stalwart, must-have commodities plus a basket of rare earth elements, to name a few, may be so difficult to come by that they increase in price due to supply chain disruption. The term “supply and demand” will make itself known again, taking on foreboding meaning with every new lockdown from continued seasonal waves of the COVID-19 virus. This volatility could easily send fragile nation states into regional warfare, per Astrostyle’s March 2020 prediction.

As the world teeters at the precipice of imminent change, we again forecast a restructured global financial system, one that’s on par with the 1944 formation of the Bretton-Woods monetary system and incorporates emerging blockchain technology. The question: Will it be administered by the U.S. Federal Reserve… or a larger global entity, such as the IMF?

Of course, there’s a probability that an extended no-growth period lasting a decade is our financial lot, too, one that mirrors the perpetual flatline of Japan and its 30-year balance sheet recession. A long period of “stagflation”—persistent high inflation paired with high unemployment rates and low or stagnant demand—is a grim possibility after the dust settles, given our catastrophic debt levels and global encumbrances.

In the second half of this decade, after the U.S. completes its Plutonic restructuring and the icy dwarf planet enters Aquarius from 2024 to 2043 (yep, nearly 20 years), changes can occur in a zeptosecond. The United States will have the opportunity to revisit and determine its core values, as we move into our high-tech future, prompted by the deglobalization occurring now. In this view, it’s likely that technology and sciences will lead us into the Age of Aquarius, where the material becomes immaterial, and technological and transcendental revolutions await.

Just as when we wrote about 2020 back in 2019, when we could not foresee how the dynamics would exactly play out (COVID, protests, lockdowns) only time will tell how these historic patterns will specifically unfold in 2021 and beyond.

Preparation is the best antidote when outer planets clash

Which is why we’ve chosen to include these stark predictions. As 17th-century Enlightenment philosopher Baruch Spinoza said, “If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.” Accurate astrology is not only about seeing the future; it demands that we understand history and its cycles as well.

Planetary history also teaches us that the American Civil War erupted when Saturn was similarly squaring Uranus in 1861, troubling to note in a year where this seems like a distinct possibility. Complicating matters, Saturn is in rebellious Aquarius until March 7, 2023—the zodiac sign that’s ruled by Uranus!

Meantime, destabilizing Uranus is in its weakened “fall” sign as it occupies Taurus, the sign of security and finance, which, as we shared above, has already caused major fluctuations in the global markets. Certainly, this won’t make for an easy moment in history, but the changes we see in 2021 will likely bring awe-inspiring developments in many sectors.

Is a “Great Reset” imminent?

With Saturn in Aquarius, a “Great Reset” is undoubtedly in the stars for all of us. We expect the commercial banking sector to implode with the arrival of negative interest rates during Saturn’s wintry transit through Aquarius as everyday account holders will refuse to pay banks to hold their money.

Is this why Virgo billionaire investor Warren Buffet (aka “the oracle of Omaha”) sold his bank stocks and exchanged them for gold stocks? Who is the real beneficiary to these momentous changes? The Federal Reserve central bank may see the utility in this NIRP (negative interest rate policy) landscape, as it will allow the consolidation of power among a select group of survivor banks, eventually allowing the Federal Reserve to hold the existing notes of an entire economy, thereby making it easier to issue a new financial system, one that is cashless and controlled directly by the Fed in a blockchain offering as the world’s non-dollar currencies collapse. Are you ready to download your Fed wallet app?

The Minsky Moment

With this monetary transition descending below the zero threshold into negative territory, along with yield rate control and the rise of digital currencies, the time-value of money is being inverted in ways never witnessed in history. This state of “neganomics” (negative economics) will give rise to a virtually controlled monetary system, one where the public good of money is rendered inaccessible from behind a cryptographic veil. In the mounting battle for control of the world’s reserve currency, likely between the dollar and the Chinese yuan (and Bitcoin?) will the very technology designed to free money from state control create a techno-totalitarian grip on humanity?

This “Minsky Moment” morality play will bring a more centralized control of the economy and the ability to tax private citizens as all consumer transactions will be observable on the blockchain ledger. A Big Brother Bank by any other meme, this is a harbinger of Saturn’s de-democratization of our common goods and a radical expression of Saturnian self-interest blended with high-tech Uranian genius. If the charter between the Fed and the government is modified, expect this scenario to play out over the ensuing years as a digital moral hazard is stepped over. Astrostyle predicts that during the Age of Aquarius, the next great political revolution, among many, will be the separation of money from the state.

A New Relationship with Hopes and Dreams

Wishful thinking: interrupted? Future-minder Aquarius is the sign of hopes and dreams. But how do we keep optimism alive while dour Saturn curbs collective enthusiasm? The answer may lie in changing our perception of time, which is clock-watching Saturn’s domain. Rather than fixating on the long game, the next two years could deliver a master class in mindfulness and presence.

When Saturn last orbited through his sign in the early 1990s, Aquarius Eckhart Tolle was planted on a park bench, contemplating the nature of time, which he subsequently recorded in his first New York Times bestselling book, The Power of Now, a universal paean to both lords of Aquarius, Saturn and Uranus. While Tolle’s popularity has hardly waned over the past 30 years, this topic is due for a resurgence. From his perspective, “As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease.”

These could be words to live by in 2021

In recent years, the Uranus (and Aquarius) ruled technology community of Silicon Valley has embraced stoicism—an ancient philosophy that sits in sharp contrast to the embarrassment of riches this group enjoys. CEOs slipped off to Joshua Tree for plant-medicine ceremonies, plunged into cold pools, fasted on liquid-only diets, or followed former American Apparel marketing exec turned stoicism guru, Ryan Holiday (a Gemini), who authored books in both categories, including The Ego Is the Enemy and Trust Me, I’m Lying.

In a nod to wise Saturn, it’s worth mentioning that some of the wealthiest men of ancient Rome also practiced stoicism, disabusing themselves of many bodily pleasures exactly as our Silicon Valley overlords do today, including the second wealthiest Roman in history, author of the play Medea and chief counsel to infamous emperor Nero 2,000 years ago. That was none other than the great Seneca who, tragically, was ordered by Nero to take his own life shortly after the Great Fire of 64 A.D. consumed Rome.

Whether you care to become a modern-day stoic like Holiday or not, self- disciplined Saturn in idealistic Aquarius could raise the bar on this “pain and punishment as social currency” trend. And with Uranus squaring Saturn, we expect people may go to great lengths to prove their mettle. Scary schemes could gain cultish followings, like the 2003 “Spiritual Warrior” retreat led by James Arthur Ray, which ended in the death of three participants in an overheated sweat lodge. For others, the Saturn time warp will initiate a profound social awakening. When Saturn toured Aquarius in 2020, the death of George Floyd sparked a worldwide reckoning over the inhumane treatment of Black citizens.

In June 2020, Aquarian attempts to ease the racial disconnect included the rising popularity of White Fragility, a 2018 book that occupied the number-one spot on USA Today’s bestselling book list last summer. Other books on anti-racism also soared to the top ten in sales, including So, You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. We anticipate more movement in this woke direction as Saturn takes up residence in Aquarius again until March 7, 2023.

The Aquarian Era mind shift

No matter what philosophies you subscribe to, there will be an undeniable period of time when this Aquarian mind shift between future-tripping and here- and-now presence will feel like a buzzkill. Prior to moving into Aquarius, Saturn took a three-year lap through ambitious Capricorn (December 19, 2017, to December 17, 2020). High achievers bounded ahead of the pack, inspiring the world as supercoaches, influencers and masters of the expert industry—with the TEDx talks and YouTube channels to prove it.

Then along came the COVID-19 pandemic, imperiling the world’s markets and our dreams with every lockdown, highlighting that none of us afflicted were experts on real viruses as our deepest cultural fragilities were exposed and found to be as invisible as the virus, yet located right under our proverbial noses.

The pandemic shock

Of course, Saturn was in Aquarius for the initial pandemic shock, ushering in the viral devastation on a global scale, taking its preview lap through Aquarius from March 21 to July 1, 2020. Uncertainty, fear and safety concerns dominated our moment-to-moment thinking as the virus impacted the simplest decisions on how to thwart its rampage through our bodies and cities. The newly arrived burden of sheer survival blurred our thought processes, leveling each consideration to the maddening logic of the pandemic. All flights were cancelled, whether flights of fancy or flights to remote locations to escape each other. Could there be any more socially impoverished condition to typify Saturn’s oppressive effect on neighborly Aquarius?

As we raced to take advantage of low interest rates, grace periods and remote work arrangements, the impending sense of doom created its own kind of depression—an emotional one. Without a bright future to dream about, we were deprived of one of the major drivers of human survival: the neurochemical dopamine.

In his book, The Molecule of More, Harvard University professor Daniel Lieberman writes how this single molecule “not only allows you to move beyond the realm of what’s at your fingertips, but also motivates you to pursue, to control, and to possess the world beyond your immediate grasp. It drives you to seek out those things far away, both physical things and things you cannot see, such as knowledge, love, and power. Whether it’s reaching across the table for the saltshaker, flying to the moon in a spaceship or worshiping a god beyond space and time, this chemical gives us command over every distance, whether geographical or intellectual.”

With technology advancing exponentially since Saturn’s last lap through Aquarius from 1991-94, doors opened to unforeseen possibilities. No wonder we’re all such excitement junkies! Yet, even before we had this much opportunity within swiping range of our fingertips, humans have been on an eternal quest for inspiration. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, given while Saturn was in Aquarius, has spanned the decades as a timeless call to action.

So how do we find our flow?

For the Gen Z crowd, this crushing moment is a particularly heart-wrenching entry into adulthood. With university classes relegated to Zoom, internships cancelled and the job market dwindling in many sectors, there’s hardly a world of options awaiting. This generation has already inherited a climate crisis and, in most countries, a monetary policy that has perpetually saddled them with colossal, non-repayable national debts.

It is little wonder that studies are showing an ongoing increase in opioid use among the Millennial and Gen Z age groups, drugs which flood the brain’s reward circuit with (you guessed it) dopamine. They are starved of hope and dreams, and they know it. Again, it’s a neurochemical signature of Saturn’s obdurate presence.

Clearly, we need some sunshine during this long Aquarian winter, whether from safe amounts of dopamine or Vitamin D3. Our bodies thirst for a surge of health. Good news: There are ways to nourish dopamine that don’t require a Percocet prescription. Brain-boosting nootropics have become the latest, er, buzz, in performance enhancement, some of which amplify dopamine production. With scientific Saturn squaring high-tech Uranus in earthy Taurus, there could be an upward trend in the “natural” versions of these, like the amino acid L-theanine that’s found in green tea and certain mushrooms.

Taking care of ourselves

With sage Saturn in Aquarius, the sign that rules the technical mind, squaring eureka-seeking Uranus in Taurus, taking care of mental wellbeing will be more important than ever. Remember, the ecology of the inner self is maintained in homeostatic ways no different than the green outer world. Let “balance” be your mantra for optimal health, which also includes a message from Neptune, ruler of REM and currently transiting its home sign of Pisces. Turning off your devices and sleeping on a regular schedule in a dark room is proven to protect your body’s immune system and any precious existing dopamine stores.

And when you’re not sleeping? Perhaps this is the time to start a new meditation practice: Doing breathwork and yoga and, of course, embracing the power of now, are all associated with restorative Neptune and feeling better. And please, talk to your health care provider if you’re feeling overwhelmed, or before taking any sort of supplement. There are people who care about you, we promise.

A New Wave in Energy

The glyph for Aquarius is a set of two waves representing the flow of energy. Aquarius is an air sign that is represented by the Water Bearer—spanning two elements is just another one of this nimble zodiac sign’s gifts. Timelord Saturn in Aquarius could sound a louder alarm about the relationship between air, water, and human survival. As greenhouse gases trapped in the air from carbon emissions warm the earth, many climate scientists are telling us that waters are heating up, promoting animal species to migrate with the temperature changes.

Glacier retreat is being documented, too, allowing comparisons with earlier periods in Earth’s history in an effort to determine exact causes. Although we’ve only had weather satellites since 1960, other terrestrial data suggests climates are shifting with unknown storm patterns and frequent flooding in some areas, and prolonged fires and droughts in others.

No surprise, renewable energy is a crucial topic as we enter 2021. Our modern lives require power. Solar and wind could potentially solve the crisis. But a viable green solution for producing those panels and windmills has yet to be obtained. Will the Saturn-Uranus squares yield the scientific breakthroughs we need to get to net-zero emissions by 2050? Uranian conversations about the Green New Deal are sure to resurface in the year ahead while Saturn could bring funding from big business to support developments.

Auto manufacturers are already in a high-speed chase with Tesla, with a fresh fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) coming to market. Not to be outdone, Cancer Elon Musk (who shares a zodiac sign with Nikola Tesla) has been beta-testing the Full Self Driving software on his vehicles.

UFOs, Aliens and Mega-Constellations: Are We the New Sky Gods?

The technological revolution occurring at warp speed suggests that maybe we’ll skip this whole automotive thing and board a spaceship…or voluntarily follow the aliens onto their UFOs like many abductees self-report. When Saturn buzzed Aquarius in 1962, M.I.T. sent TV signal by satellite for the first time. Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, and Project Apollo—NASA’s lunar landing program—was being developed in earnest. Glenn called upon mathematician Katherine Johnson, a pioneering African American woman and the subject of the movie Hidden Figures, to hand-calculate the computer-generated orbital equations that ensured the safety of his missions. In 1992, Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to go into space aboard the

Similarly, Saturn’s squares to “Father Sky” Uranus have dovetailed with developments in flight, both for airplanes and spaceships. The Saturn-Uranus squares of the mid-70s were particularly active! In 1975, the U.S. and Soviet Union had their first joint space mission. NASA unveiled the first space shuttle, Enterprise, in 1976. That same year, the Viking 1 had its first successful mission to Mars while the high-speed Concorde hosted its first commercial flight. Fun factoid: Chiron, a small, comet-like solar system body known as a “centaur” that orbits between Saturn and Uranus, was discovered in 1977 while the two planets were assembled in this dynamic break dance.

In recent years, Amazon and SpaceX have launched “mega-constellations” of satellites into orbit. While these fleets provide much-needed broadband Internet to the wired masses, they’re creating disruptions for astronomers. Since satellites can reflect sunlight, they appear as bright streaks when viewed or photographed through a telescope, mimicking the appearance of stars, potentially confounding our view and understanding of the constellations and the zodiac itself. In the coming years, tens of thousands of these satellite stacks are expected to be photobombing the sky, impacting cosmic observations from Earth.

That is, if the aliens don’t get in on this Aquarian/Uranian party first.

Esteemed ufologists like Jacques Vallée have been advancing the “interdimensional hypothesis” for decades, an idea that some UFOs could actually be visitations from coexisting dimensions, or more shocking, these UFOs are ourselves, humanity returning from a future time as ETs, confirming our latent intuitions that we, in fact, are the Promethean sky gods. With clock-ruling Saturn, a fascination with time travel and time dilation could emerge.

In recent years, Simulation Theory, a contemporary idea with ancient roots extending back to Greek philosopher Plato in the 4th century B.C.E., has been gaining interest as our computational powers have increased. Sometimes called matrix theory, its various iterations propose that the universe and all of reality within it, including humans, are expressions of a vast digital construct loosely akin to an advanced computer program that allows the laws of nature, including evolution and the biological creatures animating it, to unfold.

The cognitive scientist Donald D. Hoffman has expanded upon his alternative view of human consciousness, speculating that we don’t know the actual truth of our cosmic condition since it’s not in our best evolutionary interests to do so. He states that we are limited by our human perceptions, casting doubt on whether our theories of space-time and quantum mechanics can ever grant us a total understanding of the cosmos. His ontological pessimism posits that we are biological “interfaces” at the behest of selective pressures in which to support our genetic fitness to propagate the species.

Big Brother is Pixeling You

Complex technology often becomes accessible to the masses when business- minded Saturn gets in a dynamic dustup with technocrat Uranus every 14 years. Both Microsoft and Apple formed during the Saturn-Uranus squares of the mid-1970s, making home computing a groundbreaking reality. Currently, the Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing the ways we use technology. As thumb-sized computers with tiny sensors are being programmed to make our devices “smart” and our homes totally automated, we don’t need Rosie the Robot to push any on/off buttons for us. But Alexa, where did I leave my mask?

Quantum computing is also revolutionizing digital capabilities. In October 2019, Google announced that it had achieved “quantum supremacy” with its qubit technology. Bounding beyond the binary “0 or 1” coding model of classic computing, the qubit has the capability to exist in both states of 0 and1 simultaneously.

The qubit allows computers to handle vastly higher operational speeds while consuming far less energy, and this technology is poised to revolutionize the industry in years ahead. The drawback? Quantum computing puts at risk present-day encryption. That computational hard reality will demand that a new processing arms race will ensue as superpowers and leading companies attempt to protect themselves from the onslaught of quantum computing hackers in a race for global dominance.

Google is embroiled in a major antitrust lawsuit, battling claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that it maintained a monopoly and impeded the growth of other search engines. During the Saturn-Uranus squares of 1999-2000, Microsoft (who owns rival Bing) was embroiled in its own trust- busting case. After being ruled a monopoly, the DOJ ordered the company to split into two entities. Bill Gates appealed the case and won after agreeing to share computing interfaces with other companies.

The Atari 2600 console dropped during the Saturn-Uranus squares of 1977, bringing gaming to our living rooms. Today, the struggle to separate kids from screens has only intensified with classes being taught via Zoom. Parents juggling work with their newly minted roles as co-teachers are often too busy to notice their kids “multitasking” with multiplayer games. Livestreaming on Twitch and TikTok while listening in on their English Lit class? Taking an extended recess because…Roblox? We’ve heard countless stories of parents taking away phones during class time for this very reason.

How much power are we handing over to the tech lords of our times?

Thanks to the pandemic, most people can’t work or go to school without a wi-fi connection, which, in turn, elevates anyone who controls our Internet into dangerously empowered deities. While Saturn briefly toured Aquarius in 2019, Human Rights Watch issued a warning about government-imposed Internet blackouts. As countries including Ethiopia, Myanmar and Bangladesh shut down online access to citizens, HRW alerted the world to the grave impact of limiting access to health information during the pandemic.

With disruptive Uranus in his zodiac sign since 2018, Taurus Mark Zuckerberg has become something of a Silicon Valley villain, as people delete their Facebook accounts to protest the company’s policies. Yet the human need to “tend and befriend” during stressful times has prevented a mass exodus from his Facebook and Instagram apps. While we scroll through envy-inducing #TBT posts from the days when we could group hug or dance at a festival, we ignore the knowledge that our behaviors are being tracked, our profiles “pixeled” by ad servers and our privacy sacrificed as the cost of admission. Somehow, it seems harder to step away from this social machine than to rebuild what has become, for many of us, the ultimate contact database.

And let’s be honest: For many, social media has become a sanity-saving lifeline. It’s a place for cathartic #WineTime confessions, a resonant respite from the uncertain modern world. As news outlets become increasingly biased, we log in to these apps to share realtime videos of real-world events, many which are brutal, shocking and revelatory. Conversely, it’s also home to much of the fake news and doctored memes that have spawned legions of misinformed citizens.

Saturn in Aquarius may bring stricter regulations on how individual data is protected and shared across platforms. During this brief cycle last year, Seattle imposed its controversial JumpStart payroll tax. This directly impacted Amazon, which had flexed its power to avoid such expenses in recent years. But with many small businesses relying on Facebook ads to boost sales and Amazon.com as a virtual storefront for products (not to mention a safer way to acquire goods during the pandemic), there’s no easy solution.

Balancing Technology and Biology

Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual everything…while Saturn’s in tech-savvy Aquarius until March 7, 2023, the geeks (not the meek) shall inherit the Earth. In fact, the World Wide Web came to life during the prior Saturn in Aquarius cycle. On April 30, 1993, the www source code was released by CERN, making the software free and available to anyone. A year before that, in 1992, futurist (and Aquarius!) Ray Kurzweil’s book The Age of Intelligent Machines, essentially forecasted the wild popularity of the ‘net as we know it!

While many people worry that A.I. developments could make human labor obsolete, pragmatic Saturn cautions against spiraling into doomsday thinking. Nevertheless, the ringed planet wants us to hustle and bring our skills up to snuff. Train on the software, apps, social media and whatever technological advances are happening in your industry.

When Saturn orbited through Aquarius back in 1962, ABC premiered its first animated color TV series, The Jetsons, about a family living in the Space Age. The Hanna-Barbera producers imagined an “impossible” world where people could talk to each other on video screens, food could be programmed to come from a machine and robots worked as household servants. In 2021, we’re suffering from Zoom fatigue, much like George Jetson taking calls from his boss Cosmo Spacely on a giant screen in the family room while his son whizzed by in a jetpack.

But seriously Siri…does everything need to be upgraded to 5G? For some, the crush of apps, social media and rapidly developing technology has spurred a move in the extreme opposite direction. The Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing, involves spending time immersed among trees. A study from the U.S. National Library of Medicine showed that a walk in the woods supported both subjects’ immune systems by raising Natural Killer (NK) cell activity, an effect that lasted for more than seven days.

The Saturn-Uranus Square’s analog uprisings

The #CottageCore movement is another of many analog uprisings that is sure to gain even more popularity as Saturn squares Uranus in terrestrial Taurus. Defining this ethos is a love for simplicity, with home-baked, hand-sewn, woodsy wonderland everything. It’s a bit like living in a 1970s dollhouse. Or make that a tiny house…or a Scamp trailer with gingham curtains parked on a patch of land. (A Sagittarius astrologer can dream!) High tea on the lawn replaces the high anxiety of modern life. Both Instagram and TikTok offer a rabbit-hole of #CottageCore videos with upcycling projects, mushroom foraging tips, salvage decorating and much, much more. (Trust us.)

Agricultural updates have also been big in the news since Uranus began its seven- year tour of earth sign Taurus in May 2018. We’ve literally been reinventing the cow since innovative Uranus moved into the sign of the Bull. To wit, Beyond Meat is now available at fast food chains. Rival company Impossible Foods is busy developing a plant-based milk that mirrors the creamy texture of cow milk, can be frothed and won’t curdle in your coffee. (Barista, we’ll take one venti Caramel Impossiccino, please!)

With water shortages around the world, agricultural products that don’t require copious amounts of hydration will grow in demand. And while gene-editing software like CRISPR could produce crops of pesticide-free super-plants, this is sure to engender more backlash from the non-GMO activists as science develops rapidly in the coming years. Recent scientific studies are even tracking electrophysiology—currents sent between plants to signal to each other! With Uranus, planet of electricity, in earthen Taurus, germinating more data about the secret language of plants and crops seems inevitable. In the meanwhile, don’t feel guilty for pulling those carrots out of the ground, okay?

The Revolution Will Be Hashtagged

Saturn’s tour through idealistic, humanitarian Aquarius is sure to shift society. But how? Major divisions between left and right continue to grow, while also getting hacked by technology in head-spinning ways. Agreeing on the perfect utopia? One nation under a groove? That seems like the most far-fetched notion from our current view.

Through the Internet and encrypted message apps, people are fracturing into micro-societies, mobilizing around their ideals. With righteous indignation and Twitter accounts as the common threads, we expect to see every incarnation of Aquarian/Uranian energy spin up through 2021: sci-fi conspiracists, one-love bohemians, metaphysical interdimensional travelers, and anti-government radicals…plus some new unicorns who will emerge in the high- tech kaleidoscopic herd.

Prior Saturn-Uranus squares have been associated with unrest, uprisings and new parties

The American Civil War erupted during this cosmic configuration in 1861. In 1930, Mohandas Gandhi led The Salt March, an act of non-violent civil disobedience protesting British rule in India. South African riots, thought to be the beginning of the end for Apartheid, exploded during this disruptive transit in 1976.

The NAACP was founded during the Saturn-Uranus square in 1909. In 1930, during another dust-up between these two planets, the Communist Party of Vietnam was established, while in Detroit, Wallace Fard Muhammad founded The Nation of Islam. That same year, the International Left Opposition (ILO) was formed in Paris, France. While Saturn squared Uranus in 2009, the Tea Party movement emerged.

With many U.S. citizens fed up with the two-party system, will the government convulse and go through a revolution? Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be polarizing to both the left and right, but are undeniably popular among younger voters ready for a dramatic change. For years, Pacific Northwesterners—spanning Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, parts of California and Idaho—have snarked about seceding from the union to form the independent nation of Cascadia. With the X-factor of a Saturn-Uranus square, it’s anyone’s guess what could erupt in 2021.

Simultaneously, this very area of the U.S. has given rise to anti-government, anti-police militia groups like the Boogaloo Boys. With a passion for libertarian politics, Hawaiian shirts, body armor and Second Amendment Rights, some members call for the collapse of the American government while others claim to be preparing for a race war—both as white nationalists and as supporters of Black Lives Matter.

Are you confused yet?

Don’t expect the Aquarian air to clear in 2021. In fact, life could take a further turn for the sci-fi. In 2020, the far-right network QAnon surged in popularity, spreading conspiracies about the “deep state” and Satan- worshipping pedophiles across social media and 8kun forums. The ANTIFA (anti-fascist) ideology was hacked by trolls, setting off hysteria about busloads of non-existent protesters showing up to loot suburban towns.

Hashtag wars are likely to intensify under the technology-fueled battles of Saturn and side-spinning Uranus—and not just with fringe groups. Last year, the K-Pop stans called upon their loyal legions to get involved. When police departments urged citizens to send videos of “illegal protest activity,” users flooded the feeds with short “fancam” videos of their favorite performers and overwhelmed the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag with K-Pop clips.

It’s noteworthy that the K-Pop phenomenon came to life with support and special protection from the South Korean government. During a financial crisis in Asia in the late 1990s—near the time of a Saturn-Uranus square, incidentally—a fundraising idea was born. The Ministry of Culture was formed in South Korea with a department focused on K-Pop. While the karaoke bars may be closed due to COVID-19, the hologram technology and hashtagging fans will wage on.

Will music lead the revolution in 2021?

Music is in large part ruled by the eleventh house, home of Aquarius and its co-ruling planet, Uranus. We can’t say for certain, but prior Saturn-Uranus squares gave birth to renegade genres that shape movements to this day.

The 100 Club Punk Festival of 1976 is thought to be the moment that mainstream culture was introduced to this form of music. The Clash released their first album during the squares of 1977. During that same mid-1970s period, another revolution was brewing in the South Bronx. DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invented the record scratch in 1975—a quirky Uranian twist on music if ever there were. One year later, DJ Afrika Bambaataa and Disco King Mario had the first DJ battle on record. In 2021, new forms of electronic music could emerge, along with a slew of special effects and revolutionary ideals.

With this anarchic footnote, it’s likely that songs of insurrection and suffrage will continue in the digital airwaves for the foreseeable future. So grab a Moog and a Fender Stratocaster guitar and let it rip. Uranus will amp your efforts!

New Waves of Social Justice

Saturn in Aquarius has historically brought developments for gender rights. During a prior cycle in 1993, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took her oath of office as the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her 27 years on the bench earned her the title of “The Great Dissenter” due to her fierce stance for women, the LGBTQ community, undocumented immigrants and voters.

The “Notorious RBG” lived through the 2020 pass of Saturn in Aquarius. Her fierce resolve kept her going to age 87, but she lost her battle to pancreatic cancer in September 2020. Justice Ginsburg’s “fervent” dying wish was that she would “not be replaced until a new president is installed.” Despite this, hearings began within the week for conservative-endorsed Justice Amy Coney Barrett, provoking fears about women’s reproductive rights being overturned.

When Saturn was in Aquarius in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the U.S. Equal Pay Act into law to “prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers.” Later that year, Dorothy Hodgkin was the first British woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on penicillin and Vitamin B12. Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate, claimed her seat in November 1993, when Saturn cycled back to Aquarius. Saturn-Uranus squares have brought developments for women on both sides of the aisle. In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was the first woman chosen to lead the British conservative party. In 1976, the first class of women was inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy.

Aquarius’ “one love” mantra puts the A in androgyny (and LGBTQIA)

With Saturn here, we may add more gender checkboxes to the list—or do away with the category altogether on many forms. Some states are now allowing “X” to be checked as a third gender option on drivers’ license. Gender rights activism will continue to expand beyond the binary male versus female categories. Notably, in the summer of 2020, Black Trans Lives Matter marches called attention to the murders of this population by police. The Brooklyn Liberation March drew 15,000 people in support of the cause. Tragically, two more black transgender women were slain within 24 hours of the event, Dominique Rem’Mie Fells, 27, and Riah Milton, 25.

In June of 2020, a historic decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the 1964 Civil Rights Act would hereby protect lesbian, gay and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. Two conservative judges, including Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump, joined the four liberal justices in this landmark decision.

Three days prior to this ruling, however, the Department of Health and Human Services erased provisions in the Affordable Care Act protecting the rights of transgender patients against discrimination. The changes now narrowly define gender as the biological male-female binary assigned at birth. This new language makes it easier for providers to deny coverage and treatments to trans patients. At time of writing, two transgender women in New York have brought a lawsuit against the DHHS to contest this change as illegal in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.

Gender rights reformation may intersect with religion in new ways under the Saturn-Uranus squares. In a documentary that aired in late 2020, Pope Francis expressed support for same-sex civil unions. While he has not endorsed gay marriage, this is a major admission, and some believe that this is a step in a proactive direction for LGBTQ rights within the Catholic Church.

Will the Saturn-Uranus Squares Give Way to Cyber-Communing and Co-Sharing?

As the world adapts to climate change, pandemic-spurred population decline in major cities and shifting economies, we may need to pool more of our resources. But how to do so fairly without destroying the vibrancy of free will that is so essential to an Aquarian or Uranian transit? At a time when we need to share more than ever, Saturn is restricting our ability to gather in person. That said, in future-minder Aquarius, Saturn is pushing us to find new ways to commune. Tapping into technology has allowed us to connect in unprecedented ways, at times from remote regions that were previously denied access.

Silver linings like these are sure to emerge during 2021, perhaps in a more organized fashion, thanks to Uranus in super-planner Taurus. Some school districts are testing out the “neighbor helping neighbor” concept of time-banking to lend support with educating kids. For example, a small pod forms of 5-10 parents. They select a leader and agree upon their currency structure. In many timebanks, individuals receive one “time credit” for each hour of service given. But it’s conceivable that a pod could assign values like “five credits for preparing and dropping off lunches” or “two credits for an after-school study hall.” At some point, these credits could be traded for services from other parents in the educational pod, like afterschool care or morning dropoffs.

While successful timebanks require structure (and adulting!), that’s where Saturn comes in. Community Weaver software already exists to help organize and track credits for timebanks.

The first Israeli kibbutz was formed during a Saturn-Uranus square in 1909. Residents were given food and housing in exchange for service, which often involved farming, schooling the children, or production of goods that were sold to fund the community. We may see collective land purchases become a new trend in 2021—perhaps out of necessity! Job losses from the virus have plunged millions below the poverty line, spurring many to think in this communal, Aquarian way. Cities like New York and San Francisco are reportedly depopulating, with record vacancies both in residential and commercial buildings.

New configurations for work, home and school

Tenants may pool funds to buy a building from their landlord, turning it into a co-op. And hey, if they’re really on the Saturn-Uranus bandwagon, they’ll install solar panels and other clean energy upgrades. Let’s keep going with this vision: These modernistic Meccas could offer childcare, Zoom rooms for students, WFH office pods, and a co-op grocery store for tenants only. Heck, why not throw in an urgent care clinic with COVID testing and flu shots? With residents abiding by distancing regulations, safety could be far more ensured. Utopian mini-societies like these require agreement and integrity, but that’s not impossible to imagine with Saturn in idealistic Aquarius.

The nuclear family is no longer considered the ideal option for many. According to Greek mythology, the Water Bearer was a young man named Ganymede who was the object of Zeus’ affections. He served cups of life-giving H2O to the gods in exchange for eternal youth. While adulting is never overrated with wise, maturing Saturn in town, communal living could extend the dormitory vibes into old age—especially now that a safe, successful vaccine is available.

Additional research and reporting by astrologer Matthew Swann.

Photo by Victor Garcia on Unsplash

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The AstroTwins

Identical twin sisters Ophira and Tali Edut, known as The AstroTwins, are the founders of Astrostyle.com and the authors of multiple bestselling astrology books. Their horoscopes reach millions here and through their resident astrologer column at ELLE Magazine.