Having Trouble Sleeping?
Astrology Can Help
All astrological years and the planetary configurations they display are unique. But some years are uniquer than others. 2025 is one such.
And 2026 will be uniquer still.
You may have already heard this but the big astro news this year is that, beginning last November with Pluto leaving Capricorn and moving into Aquarius, all three outer planets will change sign and element within 9 months. Pluto for starters, then Neptune (end of March) then Uranus (July 7th).
The last time the big three did this all at once was way back early in the 18th century, but then, no one knew because none of those planets had been discovered. Now we do know, will that make a difference?
But wait; there’s more.
Today.
Yes today. (25th May)
Today, as if the above wasn’t enough, Saturn moved from Pisces to Aries. And what is special about that is that it will closely approach Neptune, who as you may remember, led the way into Aries at the end of March. The conjunction will come to its closest point this year, on July 14th (Bastille Day), and will linger, very close to, but not exact, conjunction for some weeks
Saturn, photograph courtesy of NASA
Saturn and Neptune have a 35 year cycle so the last time they got together was November 1989. And in that month the Berlin Wall came down and in that period the Soviet Union ended.
But wait: there’s more.
This energy is a preview only, or as we actors say it, a rehearsal. The real action comes next year, starting February 20th 2026 when Saturn, planet of reality, which will have flirted with Neptune, planet of dreams, this summer (northern hemisphere), makes a truly exact conjunction on that date.
Neptune, photograph courtesy of NASA
Still with me? There’s more.
A noted feature of this preview of the Saturn/Neptune conjunction next year is that it occurs at the very first degree of the zodiac, the starting point, the beginning of Aries, the place of new beginnings.
When that last happened is shrouded in the trackless wastes of time.
Total reset anyone?
And then in April of 2026 the action ramps up when the Uranus finally commits to its 7 year passage through airy Gemini and an Air and Fire theme is established and will continue for several years. We also get a preview of Uranus in air this year.
This post comes to you on May 25th 2025 and I wonder if the month will end on a fiery note. On the 31st there will be no fewer than 4 planets plus the Moon in fire signs and just last week the asteroid, Ceres, lately upgraded by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to dwarf planet status, entered the fire sign Aries where she will sojourn back and forth until March of next year.
It may be worth bearing in mind the Ceres (AKA Demeter) - Persephone myth.
Dates, number, degrees of arc.
Fortunately an ephemeris can now give precise to degree and minute of arc, planetary positions as they occur. The data is laid out in a manner reminiscent of the an old school train timetable, pages and pages of columns with numbers in small print, and zodiac symbols thrown in.
But yes, the planets do seem to reliably run on time, although as is the case with Pluto, some of them in a very eccentric orbit. Pluto’s orbit is inclined at 17 degrees from the plane of the solar system hence the time it spends in each sign is variable. Currently it is in airy Aquarius where it will travel until January 19th 2044, a 20 year sojourn.
But Pluto’s next destination is Pisces and it will travel through that watery realm for 24 years. See? Planetary motion given in facts of figures, courtesy of an ephemeris.
Screenshot of one month
If you are having trouble sleeping there can be no finer narcotic than to thumb though such a volume while counting asteroids.
I recommend the hard copy, not the digital.
