I have shared my archetypal prediction for 2024 in previous issues of The Deep Now, mainly honing into the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction (peak experiences, quantum leaps, and potential crashes from a mighty high).
Today, I'd like to take it further and share my archetypal prediction for the years to come. When I say archetypal prediction, I do not mean concrete prediction. All I am sharing is the cosmological weather forecast––the emotional quality of our collective consciousness in both its light and shadow forms.
The next major transit that is coming our way is the Saturn-Neptune conjunction from March 2024 to April 2027. This is the transit that will most likely define the next US presidential election (a story I'm actively tracking and will continue to share).
Saturn is the archetype of structure, authority, and tradition. Neptune is the archetype of permeability, wholeness, and idealism. An image of Saturn-Neptune that you can hold is that of oceanic waves crashing against sturdy cliffs.
The cliffs (Saturn) stand against the waves (Neptune), and yet at the same time the waves erode the cliffs. The waves and the cliffs are in a ceaseless dialogue.
Saturn has just come out of an alignment with Uranus (change, freedom, and innovation) which was active since 2020. At least in the US, and now in the Middle East, a sharp political split has taken root in the collective psyche. You're either left or right, pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, etc. This is an archetypal case of Saturn-Uranus––a tension between the old and the new.
A couple of months ago, a music video from a completely unknown country-folk-singer-songwriter named Oliver Anthony went viral.
His song Rich Men North of Richmond is a cry against the current state of America. It's worth listening to the entire song, but here's a section from the lyrics to give you a sense of what it's about:
I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat
And the obese milkin' welfare
Many on the political right applauded Anthony, but he wholeheartedly rejected this approval because he did not want to be put into a political bucket. His song was cutting through the political divide in an attempt to touch the heart of the everyday person. There's a profound grief in his voice––a longing for something beyond.
This is the signature of Saturn-Neptune: grief, longing, and the softening of division. For instance, the American Civil War which initiated the abolition of slavery coincided with a Saturn-Neptune opposition (1861–1865). Saturn rejects while Neptune dissolves.
On a similar note, John Oliver recently did a segment on the Israel-Palestine war in which he took quite a politically grounded stance, asking whether it was possible for us to hold both sides with a deep sense of empathy. This narrative is tilting away from the sharp edge of Saturn-Uranus and toward the tender nobility of Saturn-Neptune.
So, keeping both the light and the shadow in mind, we may perhaps witness a political integration during the next few years. However, there's the slight potential for that path to look as painful as the Civil War. Or perhaps, a divine calmness will embrace the collective entirely away from the pursuit of war.