A global transition - The astrology of Coronavirus (Covid-19)

by Wendy Stacey

A student of mine the other day told me that in Greece people are saying, “We are now living through the questions which will be set for history exams in the year 2115”. There are no words or explanations that could possibly describe the enormity of suffering and anxiety the world is enduring in this present day. Certainly, the coronavirus pandemic is on a scale that is a first for many decades.

Most astrologers understand the correlation between the coronavirus outbreak with current planetary cycles. In particular, the Saturn-Pluto cycle which came to conjunction in Capricorn on 12 January 2020, at 5 p.m. UT. This conjunction has not occurred in this sign since 1518. The 2020 conjunction was also conjunct the Sun and within a degree of Mercury. Mercury rules the lungs and respiratory system – the Sun rules the heart. But in mundane astrology, it also rules the leaders of the world. Weeks later these planets were joined by Mars and Jupiter, and together they have signified unprecedented fear and social breakdown at every level.

The same student of mine gave the image of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: the red horse representing war with the rider bearing a sword in his hand (Mars); the white horse signifying hope and whose rider carries a bow (Jupiter); the black horse as the oppressor of society (Saturn); and the pale horse known as death (Pluto)“1. This biblical symbolism has woven its way into every fabric of society as we have observed the expansion of the virus to every corner of the globe.

However much the infrastructure of our society has broken down, a social cohesion has grown, evident by the life-enhancing sounds we have heard from across the globe – from the chant “Wuhan is strong” shouted from the apartments of Wuhan; from songs sung by the people on their balconies in Italy and Spain; and from the clapping of UK citizens in the streets to say “thank you” to National Health Service (NHS) staff – those working on the front line to save lives whilst risking their own. Even Britain’s traditional structures or monuments were lit up in blue, the colour of the NHS. Another sign of cohesion is the increasing humour and kindness spread over social media, email and phone. When the NHS called for volunteers on 24 March to help vulnerable people with food and medicine supplies, the target was exceeded hugely, with 750,000 registered to help at time of writing.

That day, in the UK 1801 chart#2, tr. Neptune at 18°59’ degrees of Pisces made a grand water trine from the 6th house to natal Neptune at 18°44’ of Scorpio and natal Moon at 19°25’ of Cancer.

The Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn (along with Mars and Jupiter) has heightened fear around the world. As Saturn is involved here and is ruler of this stellium, it has come to represent a comprehensive global lockdown, a freeze on the economy, a need to safeguard and obey the rules of authority (or face punishment) – all to avoid death. Nations have tightened their borders and the global advice from WHO (the World Health Organisation) is: test, test, test. These Saturnian measures have been necessary. On the other hand, Saturn has reminded us of our community responsibility, slowed us down, made us streamline our basic needs and (as I watch my children learning to preserve fruit and vegetables) appreciate the more basic and traditional ways of living. With planets in Capricorn we can also see the shadow sign of Cancer being illuminated with so much emphasis on the home, food, family, safety and caring.

Globally, we are faced with ageing societies. Currently in the UK there are over 12 million people over the age of 65#3 and this age group is the most vulnerable in our society with regards to this virus. Much of the very elderly are unique in that they are a generation that will experience a Pluto opposition which is a rare thing in modern society#4 (this is due to Pluto’s elliptical orbit). Many of this generation are facing a pension investment wipe out on the stock markets. Those in care homes are unable to receive visitors and those self-isolating are separated from their families. They are not just vulnerable. They are suffering and are feeling deprived.

There is also another generation suffering enormously from this conjunction and line-up in Capricorn – the ‘millennials’, born with two-to-three planets in Capricorn, particularly those born between 1988-1993, with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the sign. Whilst these transiting planets conjoin their own natal planets, we have a generation enduring great fear and anxiety and who will undoubtedly be concerned for their future and what their role is during these unprecedented times.

Conjunctions of Saturn and Pluto are not unfamiliar to other epidemics throughout history, such as the rise of HIV Aids in the early 1980s. Alignments of the two planets are also associated with the Plague of Justinian in 541-542 AD (which may have killed up to 100 million people) or the smallpox outbreak in the Americas of 1520. Previously when these planets have conjoined in other cardinal signs, such as Aries, we have (for instance) seen the Great Bubonic Plague (the ‘Black Death’) of 1350.

However, it is important to note that the world is a different place. And although we are now a global society and therefore the spread is wider, we have the ability to work together and we have the added medical knowledge and advanced technologies to combat this much faster and more effectively. Bill Gates spoke on the urgency to address the threat of pandemic in 2015#5. With the increasing awareness and medical advancements, particularly while Neptune is in Pisces (which rules pharmaceuticals) and Uranus is in Taurus (which rules technologies and the body, and currently is semi-square Neptune) we would hope that this experience could bring an end to pandemics for humanity.

Neptune in Pisces (along with other planets that have journeyed through this sign in the last few months) has also echoed the dread and fear the Capricorn planets have indicated. Together, stelliums in Capricorn and Pisces have generated global paranoia and with justification. Neptune is about connecting on a mass scale – it dissolves all boundaries and wants to spread and connect.

Florence Nightingale introduced rigorous handwashing into health and medical care in her work in Scutari, Italy, during the Crimean War. Interestingly, when the war ended on 30 March 1856, Neptune was at 16°35’ Pisces. When the WHO announced coronavirus to the world on 31 December 2019, advising everyone that the best way to combat infection was to wash hands, Neptune was at 16°15’ Pisces. At time of writing, the UK government has just announced that the new mega-hospital set up in London, created to accommodate thousands of patients with Covid-19, will be called ‘NHS Nightingale Hospital London’.

Four days after the Spring Equinox 2020, the Aries New Moon that was building in the ingress chart conjoined Chiron. The symbolism here is interesting (and hopeful). In Greek mythology, Chiron was the centaur poisoned by an arrow. Bound to his cave, he was wounded and suffered greatly but through his endurance, wisdom and knowledge of medicine, became a healer, teacher and wise master. This is very representative as the whole world waits in their own cave for the healing of a vaccine – which effectively comes in a small ‘arrow’ filled with poison. Hopefully, Chiron correlates with a push for pioneering and innovative endeavours in this field.

A few days later, when the Sun exactly conjoined Chiron, it was announced that the UK’s King-in-waiting, Prince Charles, was diagnosed with the virus#6. This echoed the Sun conjunct Saturn and Pluto aspect – possibly more heads of states or leaders of the world will be spotlighted during this lunar cycle. This position of Chiron in early Aries (perhaps associated with fever) might compare to pandemics such as the Spanish Flu of 1918–1919 as well as the Hong Kong flu of 1968-1969.

There are many charts and astrological points we can look at to help understand this phenomenon, from ingresses and eclipses, New and Full Moons (and these will give further information). In the astrocartography for Wuhan, China (thought to be where Covid-19 originated), at the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, the Capricorn line up sits close to the IC, with Uranus close to the Descendant, and sits on the MC for New York and Washington – in the very week U.S President Donald Trump was impeached, reflective of the conjunction of Saturn-Pluto (and Sun) in Capricorn.

At time of writing, New York is the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US. The chart for when the WHO declared the virus a pandemic is also relevant#7. It is also challenging to get further timing because the incubation period of the virus is unknown: it can be several days (if not weeks) before symptoms appear.

On 31 December 2019, the coronavirus was reported to the Chinese department of the WHO (although it is possible that the first case was around 1 December 2019,#8 with an incubation of up to twenty-four days)#9.

On this date (see chart – 31 December 2019 at the Chinese department of the WHO in Beijing, time set for 9 a.m., but this is unverified) we see a line-up of five planets in Capricorn. This is a challenging assembly but also indicative of the creation of a new infrastructure to combat the spread and threat of death and the necessity to impose immediate lockdown. The Moon in Pisces is making its way to Neptune, indicating the threat of spread and the investigation into the mystery of how this all started – which is still unknown at the time of writing. Mars is prominently placed but most importantly, at 27°, sits exactly at the MC on the chart of China#10. This may explain the speculative discussion on rats, bats and snakes (all very Scorpionic) as the potential source of the virus. There is a significant absence of air and fire in the chart (which continues over the next few months) which has not helped matters in acting fast enough or with the generation of ideas and theories on how this situation might be combatted.

Interestingly, on the day Saturn moved into Aquarius (22 March 2020), the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that an antibody test was being worked on which could detect whether one had previously been infected by the virus – this would be a game-changer. When Mars moves into Aquarius (30 March 2020) hopefully more ideas will be generated in moving these innovations forward, although further conspiracy theories may also proliferate.

We shall be moving into another unprecedented era later in 2020 (December) with the conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn in Aquarius, which will be followed by Pluto a few years later (2023-2024). We can look forward to the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions moving into the air element, where they have not been for 600 years. We will be living our lives in a much different way from this point.

As this cycle nears, we can feel the Aquarian nature building with our urgent address to climate change – whilst the world self-isolates, the air is clean, the skies are blue, and the rivers are clear. We become more unified; however, we are forced together as families yet separated from others. Aquarius is also not the most tactile sign and we now have a large number of the global population instructed not to shake or hold hands and not to kiss or embrace one another. There’s also the regulation to maintain social distancing in public and workplaces. This may seem an odd human restriction but one that is emblematic of the sign of Aquarius. Before we get to this conjunction, we have the Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions in Capricorn to consider which will occur during this year on 05 April, 30 June and 12 November at 24°, 24° and then 22° of Capricorn – the last on the same degree as that of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in January 2020. This is hopefully when we finally see the end of the virus.

There are also some amazing things we can be thankful for from this situation. Firstly, that most children are relatively safe from this virus – they are not regarded as a ‘vulnerable’ group; and if infected, they usually recover quickly. Another social factor is that the many divisions between people (based on factors such as age groups or political differences) have for now been circumvented. The unification of people has enabled us to reset our priorities (and hopefully our economy) and adjust our moral compass going forward.

This unprecedented experience is certainly a test but also a reminder of our humanness, which is simultaneously both frightening yet most wonderful.

Published by: The Astrological Journal, May/June 2020

Author:
Wendy Stacey is the principal of the Mayo School of Astrology, mundane tutor of the LSA and Chairperson of the Astrological Association. She has written over 50 articles for students in The Astrological Journal and is the author of Consulting with Astrology and Uranus Square Pluto. She has also contributed to The New Generation, and to OPA’s The Professional Practice of Astrology and Bitcoin. In 2014 Wendy was the recipient of the UK’s Charles Harvey Award for Exceptional Service to Astrology. Wendy lectures around the globe and has an international clientele.

© Wendy Stacey 2020 - All articles at a glance