One word best sums up the current energies: “tense.” Eight planets in fixed signs, including Mercury retrograde, doesn’t leave much room for flexibility and tolerance. Fixed signs have a tendency to be blinkered and rigid in beliefs and actions. While we can be optimistic about the big planetary alignment in forward-thinking Aquarius — which suggests new beginnings for society — Saturn sits like an authoritarian school teacher alongside Jupiter, who always knows best and can be rather arrogant. This suggests that rules and restrictions are still coming thick and fast and that what is being implemented (or attempting to be implemented) will not be to everyone’s liking.

Enter Uranus and Mars in Taurus. When Uranus and Mars get together, the result can be anything from dynamic and electrifying to destructive and violent. And because these two rebels are forming a tense square aspect to the big sky gods of Jupiter and Saturn, we can expect a certain amount of unrest, from awkward questions to protests and violent actions. This might not be what we want to hear, but we have reached the end of one astrological age (Pisces) and are moving into another (Aquarius), and chaos, disruption, and uncertainty are inevitable during any transitional period.

We are in uncharted territory, and most people are trying to muddle through and find their feet on what will be the New Earth. When we consider that an astrological age lasts for a little more than 2,000 years, the transitional period will take time. We actually began the transition around the beginning of this century, before the financial crash of 2008, and we are now fully in the transition period.