Saturn in Sagittarius

(Excerpt from Trend Analysis for 2015: Dealing with Hot Spot – An Astrological and Historical Analysis of Upcoming Trends by Misty Kuceris ©2014)

General overview regarding Saturn

Saturn entered the sign of Sagittarius on December 23, 2014. It will only go up to 4 degrees when it turns retrograde on March 14, 2015. Normally the retrograde motion of Saturn doesn’t really mean a lot, but in this case it does because it’s new to the energy of Sagittarius and getting ready to go back and clean up what was not completed when it was in the sign of Scorpio. This clean-up period will start on June 14, 2015 when Saturn re-enters the sign of Scorpio and remains there until September 17, 2015 when it once again re-enters the sign of Sagittarius. Once Saturn re-enters the sign of Sagittarius on September 17, 2015, it will remain in that sign until December 19, 2017.

In general, Saturn deals with the governance of a nation: Its administrators, social structures, and, most importantly, its culture which built those social structures and created administrators to make certain society didn’t deviate from the rules. Saturn shows where the brakes need to be applied because certain situations have gotten out of control. But, it can also show where barriers to growth are erected to keep people in line with what the social order believes must occur in order to be safe as a nation.

Because Saturn deals with structure, it represents the infrastructure of a nation: Its highways, roadways, water systems, communication systems, and other means of uniting a nation under one leadership. The sign that Saturn is in indicates which systems may be getting old and outworn and need to be repaired. Or, it could indicate which systems need to grow in order to continue performing at maximum efficiency. Saturn can also represent architecture, archeology, and building in general. Parts of the structures of the earth are commodities taken from the earth, such as coal, diamonds, and other minerals.

One of the most important infrastructures of a nation is its agricultural stability: Its ability to feed its people. And, Saturn represents agriculture and the farming industry. It represents the need to cultivate the planet and create a system where food can come to the table and the population doesn’t need to worry about not having enough sustenance.

Saturn also deals with preservation. As such, it represents the aging population of a nation and the impact, if any, this population has. In some instances, the aging population has stories to tell which can assist the younger generation as it moves into leadership positions. In other instances it indicates where the younger generation wants to ignore it in hopes that the old lessons aren’t important or don’t matter.

For all the positive aspects that Saturn can represent, it also represents harnessing energy. Metaphorically this can represent learning how to use various aspects of fuel and harnessing that to bring more energy in the world. In the negative, that can represent having to finally pay a price if aspects of society were out of balance and need to be addressed right now.

Representations of the sign Sagittarius

Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign that represents the desire to reach for the stars and hope to at least make it out of the atmosphere so a person can feel a sense of freedom rather than suffocation. In trend analysis, Sagittarius represents that part of society which deals with the bigger picture. It represents the court system which reviews the laws created by legislators and politicians to either ensure that people are protected or the leaders are protected, depending on the governmental structure.

Sagittarius also represents higher education, such as universities, where the minds of individuals are meant to go beyond the normal routine lessons learned and taught to think in abstract ways. The purpose is to open individuals to new concepts and hope that these new concepts can lead to a better society.

Religion and various religious orders are also ruled by Sagittarius. Here Sagittarius represents the various organizations with their rituals and special laws for implementing their belief systems. While there may be a desire for spiritual achievement, the desire is tempered with the belief that spiritual achievement can only be reached through a specific process and specific rules.

So, what does it mean when Saturn enters the sign of Sagittarius, as it will for the next 2.5 years? The cycle of Saturn occurs about every 29 years. The last time that Saturn was in Sagittarius was from November 17, 1985 to February 13, 1988 and again from June 10, 1988 to November 12, 1988.

Saturn in Sagittarius

Saturn isn’t really comfortable in the sign of Sagittarius because Sagittarius is a sign that indicates the expansion of boundaries while Saturn is a planet that indicates constriction and cultivated growth. As a mutable sign, Sagittarius needs to constantly stay in flux, embracing change, especially future change. As a stabilizing planet, Saturn wants to hold on to the past in order to build a better foundation for the planet and personal lives.

Metaphysically, Sagittarius is the ending sign for energy that is activated by Saturn. Sagittarius is the ninth house, a succeedent house, while Saturn rules both the tenth, an angular house, and the eleventh, a cadent house. While Sagittarius represents the shifting of energy from grandiose schemes to earth-bound realities and Saturn represents the initiation of energy where concepts need to be incorporated into the status quo.

When Saturn is in Sagittarius, it’s important to understand what past mistakes have possibly occurred so they are not repeated in the future. At the same time, it’s important to sit down and create plans so that future growth can occur in a positive manner.

The Economy

There are specific economic trends when Saturn is in the sign of Sagittarius:

  • The economy turns sluggish
  • Oil prices decline
  • Taxes are lowered, leading to less income for the government
  • Attempts are made to decrease government spending
  • Credit becomes easier for the middle/lower class in hopes of stimulating the economy
  • The United States goes through a trade deficit

The last time that Saturn was in Sagittarius, there were several strong leaders in the world: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom, President Ronald Reagan in the United States, and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union. Both Thatcher and Reagan came to office during the late 1970s while Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party on March 11, 1985.

All three individuals focused on improving the economies of their countries. Reagan and Thatcher focused on lowering taxes, decreasing government involvement in private corporations, and increasing corporate strength, both economically and politically. Gorbachev introduced his policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). He gave media and religious organizations more political freedom. And, he tried to institute new reforms for the purpose of improving living conditions as well as worker productivity. Unfortunately, rather than resulting in economic improvements, the reforms led to the downfall of the Soviet Union.

Economically, based on what occurred during the last cycle when Saturn was in Sagittarius, the world economy will continue to grow very slowly, if at all. Oil prices will continue to drop which may help consumers with lower prices but worry investors creating problems with the stock market. Corporations will continue to gain political and economic strength. And, the economic divide between the middle to lower classes and the upper classes will continue to grow. Meanwhile, the trade deficit in the United States will continue to be a problem.

Companies which are involved in data mining, such as Google, Uber, Microsoft, Facebook, and Alibaba will continue to pave the way for corporate strength as they start holding more information than the government on the private lives of individuals. Unemployment, or underemployment, will continue to be a problem. Corporate rules and regulations will favor employers over employees. It will only be through socially responsible companies that employees may get better benefits. It won’t be through government rules or regulations.

In Russia, the story is different. The population is still smarting from what it considers a major loss to their culture, prestige, and world standing. During the time period that Saturn is in Sagittarius, you’ll see a change in the freedoms and openness that were gained during the mid-1980s. There will be more media control and less religious freedom. President Vladimir Putin will attempt to regain many of the countries which he and many Russian/Soviets believe they lost. Unfortunately, there will also be some similarities with other countries. The Russian population will also experience a disparity between the middle/lower class and upper class in income distribution. The continued lowering of oil prices which will create difficulties with proposed economic reform.

On October 19, 1987, or “Black Monday,” in the US or “Black Tuesday” in Australia, the stock market lost 22.6% of its value in one day. Immediately historians drew comparisons with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. While perhaps there were some comparisons of note, the real issue was that stock trading had changed: Moving from an “open-call” system to “electronic monitoring and trading.” The computer was now the force behind the curtain. So, a system of “circuit breakers” were put in place to electronically halt stocks from trading if they plummeted too quickly.

Today there is a concern about high-frequency trading (HFT) where algorithms are used to buy and sell shares in a short amount of time. The process works by companies with computers monitoring various purchase or sell orders that are issued by other traders. Before the trade is completed, the computer may buy up or sell these very shares and the initial trader is left with different prices than initially seen.

The Great Depression began at the end of the period Saturn was in Sagittarius and continued throughout the time period that Saturn was in Capricorn. (Saturn entered Capricorn on November 12, 1929.) What led up to the stock market crash was a convergence of events precipitated by the Roaring Twenties: The actual driving force during that the time period that Saturn was in Sagittarius.

Prior to 1929, people were relieved that World War I was over. They wanted to turn their lives to more prosperous times. They purchased cars, immigrated to the cities, left the farms, and tried to find more adventure and fun. It was easy for consumers to use loans and credit for their various purchases. During the latter half of the 1920s, industry records were set for steel production, building and construction, retail turnover, automobiles, and railways. Profits were increasing for corporations, but the increase in profits was not passed down to the workers as increase in wages. At that time, more than 30% of the assets owned in the United States were owned by 1% of Americans. Yet, people were still happy. Flappers, speakeasies, and other forms of entertainment existed. There were breakthroughs in travel as Charles Lindbergh flew The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic in 1927 and Amelia Earhart made a similar flight in 1928.

But the roaring economy turned sluggish once Saturn entered Sagittarius between December 1926 and November 1929. In an attempt to stimulate the economy, President Calvin Coolidge supported the signing of the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928 which led to lower taxes for individuals, especially those in the higher income tax bracket. Meanwhile credit became easier in hopes that individuals would make purchases that stimulated the economy. For the first time, banks were loaning money to workers for various reasons, including purchasing stocks, and stores were issuing lines of credit for purchasing various household goods. By August 1929, more than two-thirds of the face value of a particular stock was being loaned by brokers.

Once the market crashed on October 29, 1929, the economic problems from easy credit and over speculation became evident. And, once the United States suffered economic hardship, it could no longer afford to bail out anyone else. As a result, Europe, which was already suffering economic problems from World War I fell as well.

There is concern that another economic collapse is waiting in the wings. It’s possible to avoid another collapse if several things are acknowledged and acted upon. While the government may try to cut costs and trim the budget, it won’t be able to succeed due to long-term contracts already signed, cost-of-living increases for both employees and those on social services, and other current built-in fees. That was one of the causes of failure with Reaganomics which lead to the 1987 budgetary shortfall. If that failure occurs again, the Federal deficit will climb way beyond its current figure.

The Environment and the ozone layer

  • Focus moves to the elimination of hydrofluorocarbons HFCs (greenhouse gases) from refrigerators, air-conditioning units, aerosols, solvents, creating new changes in various consumer products
  • Concern over ground-level or tropospheric ozone continues to increase in an effort to eliminate smog, acid rain, and other environment problems which lead to increased health risks, especially for children and people with compromised immune systems, as well as vegetation.
  • Continued design changes to lower vehicle emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx)

Perhaps concern over the ozone layer may seem like an anomaly when it comes to Saturn in Sagittarius, but not when you think about it. Sagittarius rules the need to travel beyond the confines of the world as you know it while Saturn represents the boundaries around that travel. The ozone layer represents the boundaries that you find around the earth as you reach out for the stars. There are two types of environmental ozone: the “bad” ozone which is found in the troposphere (between 6 and 10 miles or 10 and 17 kilometers above the earth’s surface) and the “good” ozone which is found in the stratosphere. This good ozone is known as the ozone layer that protects everyone against harmful ultraviolet sunlight (UV-B) and only lets a small amount reach the earth’s surface. In 1956, the Halley Bay Observatory was established on Antarctica by the British Antarctic Survey. By measuring the ozone layer with a Dobson Spectrophotometer scientists were able to establish that there were problems with the ozone layer. By 1986, satellite data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and data from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) instrument showed NASA scientists that there was a hole in the ozone layer. During the next two years, 1986 and 1987, several scientists, such as Susan Solomon detailed that CFCs contributed to the ozone depletion. Meanwhile scientist Michael B. McElroy indicated that bromine was involved in the ozone depletion. As a result, The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed on September 16, 1987 to address this this situation. (There have been several amendments and adjustments to the UN Montreal Protocol since that time period.)

Over the past decades, scientific evidence indicates that specific combinations of chemicals used by humans have been responsible for ozone depletion. Some of these chemical compounds, such as chlorine, fluorine, and carbon are called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and are used in refrigeration, air conditioning, foam blowing, cleaning of electronics components, and solvents. Halocarbons, composed of carbon, bromine, fluorine, (and in some cases) chlorine are mainly used as fire extinguishants. What’s really amazing is that governments came together and created products that could replace those using CFCs. Some scientists are calling this a success in preventing the ozone layer’s hole. Now, through an update on the Montreal Protocol, countries are discussing the dangers of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which are potential greenhouse gases. HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, but as greenhouse gas it could impact the climate. HFCs have replaced CFCs in refrigeration, air-conditioning equipment in homes and cars, foam products, aerosols, fire protection systems, and solvents. It is expected that another update to the Montreal protocol to eliminate the use of HFCs will be made during the 2014/2015 time period.

While there is success with the good ozone and the ozone layer, the problems created by bad ozone need to be addressed in 2015. Bad ozone, which is found in the troposphere is also called ground-level or tropospheric ozone. This is the main component of smog. It increases in the atmosphere on hot days in urban areas but can also travel through the air to other locations. Children are at greatest risk because their lungs are still developing, but other people are at risk as well. In addition, ground ozone can harm vegetation, especially during the growing season. It’s created when oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) chemically interact. This interaction can occur from the emission of vehicles, industrial facilities, and electric utilities, as well as paints and chemical solvents that contain VOC.

The United Nations held a meeting where various countries agreed to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. It was adopted on October 31, 1988 and signed by 23 countries on November 1, 1988. Two more countries signed the 1979 Convention in 1989. The purpose of the Convention is to control the emissions of nitrogen oxide entering the atmosphere. As a result, there will be more changes in the way automobiles are designed.

Ozone in the health field

  • Increased technology in third world countries where smaller systems employing ozone can be used to purify water
  • Increased use of ozone therapies in the medical and dental fields.

While there is natural ozone found in the atmosphere, ozone is also a chemical element which is used in aquaculture applications, municipal wastewater treatment, industrial applications, and health applications. It was Christian Friedrich Schonbein, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Basel, who first isolated ozone. He issued his first findings on March 13, 1839, at Naturforschung Gesellschaft in Basel. The molecular formula for ozone (O3) was determined by Soret and confirmed by him in 1867. Before Schonbein named the element ozone, many people called it the odor of electricity.

Ozone has been used as a purification tools in various areas, such as municipal drinking water systems, fish hatchery waters and industrial wastewater. It’s even being used, in conjunction with ultraviolet radiation and hydrogen peroxide to destroy organic contaminants in groundwaters at manufacturing plants and at Superfund sites (hazardous wastes). Some researchers have identified ozone as a technique for cleansing drinking water from contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

In 2001, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened the door for use of ozone in food processing. It approved the petition to consider ozone as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and approved it as an antimicrobial agent. Since that time period, studies have been conducted in the use of ozone for agri-business, such as preventing Black Rot disease in onion and increasing the shelf life of salad mixes.

But, according to an article, “Ozone Therapy in Dentistry: A Strategic Review” by Rajiv Saini for the Journal of Natural Science, Biology, and Medicine, the use of ozone as a antimicrobial agent is not new in the medical or dental fields. In 1870, Dr. C. Lender purified blood in test tubes. More than 114 diseases were listed for treatment with oxygen/ozone therapy by 1929. And, ozone was used by German dentist Dr. E.A. Fisch on a regular basis in his dental practice in Zurich, Switzerland. While Dr. Saini indicates that more research needs to be conducted into the use of ozone therapy for periodontal disease or in the field of dentistry, he writes in his conclusion, “The ozone therapy has been more beneficial than present conventional therapeutic modalities that follow a minimally invasive and conservative application to dental treatment. Treating patients with ozone therapy lessens the treatment time with an immense deal of variation and it eradicates the bacterial count more specifically.”

(Excerpt from Trend Analysis for 2015: Dealing with Hot Spot – An Astrological and Historical Analysis of Upcoming Trends by Misty Kuceris ©2014)