The astrology of 2024 – accelerating transformation

The bigger picture

As I mentioned in my 2023 post, we entered into a cosmic transition period (2023-2026) during which all the slow-moving planets change signs. 2023 was a rather gentle start with Pluto dipping it’s toes into Aquarius for 2.5 months between March and June. In 2024 this will intensify as Pluto will say goodbye to Capricorn between September 1st and November 19th and settle down in Aquarius for the next 20 years. This is a huge generational event that will bring dramatic changes in our society (more on this here). 2025 will be the peak of this cosmic shift, when both Uranus and Neptune will change signs temporarily and by 2026 all of them will complete their ingress to their new signs, starting a new chapter.

2024 is a special year for several reasons. This is the last year when Uranus is fully in Taurus where it has been since 2018. In Astrology, Uranus symbolizes freedom, technology, rebellion, innovation and total transformation. It is also the planet that forces us – via external events – out of our comfort zone and encourages us towards change for the better. Taurus, the fixed Earth sign is connected with all things grounded, material, solid and it is the zodiac sign most resistant to change. So Uranus in general does not feel great in Taurus. During its 8-year stay in Taurus Uranus could and did rock our foundations in the Taurean areas of our life: our finances, our possessions and even our value-system.

2024 is also the last year when Neptune is fully in Pisces where it has been since 2011. The ruling planet of Pisces is Neptune which means that they have a shared symbolism of dreams, ideals, boundlessness, humanism, but also fear, disillusionment and escapism. The topics Neptune and Pisces symbolize in the mundane world are religion, spirituality, music, art, natural waters (lakes, oceans etc), alcohol, drugs and lack of boundaries. The transit of Neptune in Pisces has led to a boom in spirituality, mystical thinking, astrology, magical practices and psychedelics, as well as mental health problems and addiction. We are also witnessing the virtual reality business and VR-gadgets gaining ground. Personally, we have been experiencing a new challenge in our everyday life: learning to differentiate between what is real and what is „fake” or an illusion.

Since March 2023, Saturn is also in Pisces, and during the whole year of 2024, Saturn will co-exist with Neptune in Pisces. Saturn is all about limits and restriction and it has to meet Neptune’s boundlessness. This means that Saturn can bring some sense of reality and grounding to these Neptunean areas and we have an opportunity to anchor some of our dreams into reality. A watch-out is that Saturn tends to work by applying pressure and forcing us to reckon with reality, so this process sometimes might be rather uncomfortable at the start.

Let’s see what are the main astrological events of the year. You will find a mix of comments in mundane astrology (focusing on the world, on global events) and personal astrology (focusing to our inner experience as human beings).

January 21st – Pluto enters Aquarius

Pluto enters Aquarius for the second time which still won’t be the last time. The transit of the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) from one sign to another is usually a 2-year long dance on the cusp of the sign. Pluto is in the middle of this dance. What a 20-year long transit of Pluto in Aquarius can mean, you can read here. We can expect that the topics that start to blossom during March and June 2023 (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and its risks) will have a second bloom between January and September 2024. This transit can have a more personal impact for those who have important planets in the first two degree of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius).

March 25th – April 8th – First Eclipse Season

On March 25th we are entering the first of two eclipse seasons with a penumbral Lunar Eclipse at 5°  Libra opposing the Sun at 5° Aries. Lunar eclipses are about relationships and polarities. Having it on the Libra-Aries axis, it highlights the awareness about what is needed to maintain a relationship (compromising, negotiating, balancing) and our inner drive to compete, assert and dominate. The theme of this Lunar Eclipse is to find balance between meeting our personal needs and attending to the needs of our significant other.

The Lunar eclipse is followed by a Total Solar Eclipse at 19° Aries on the 8th of April. Solar Eclipses symbolize new beginnings. The ruler of this Aries eclipse is Mars that is approaching the exact conjunction with Saturn. This means that we might need to come to terms with a new set of reality in our Aries-ruled area of our life and start a new journey from this new baseline. From a more mundane point of view, we might see some sudden vacuums in leadership or some kind of crisis related to leading authority figures. This eclipse is exactly conjunct with asteroid Chiron, the archetype of the „wounded healer”. This might bring the topic of wounds and healing into the forefront, probably in relation with wounds caused by wars and weapons. This stunning Total Solar Eclipse can be witnessed from Mexico and the Eastern half of the US.

April 10th – Mars conjunct Saturn in Pisces

Just about a day after the Solar Eclipse, Mars will form an exact conjunction with Saturn at 14° Pisces. This transit happens around every 2 years and on a mundane level it can be seen as a start of a new 2-year cycle of challenge. As a reference, the last two Mars-Saturn conjunctions marked the start of the chapter of very particular set of challenges: the one in April 2022 (at 22° Aquarius) marked the start of financial challenges (e.g. inflation) caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and the one in March 2020 (at 0° Aquarius) marked the start of the pandemic with its own unique consequences. So what can it be this time? Difficult to tell, but here are some of my ideas: water related issues (floods, water contamination etc.), crisis of faith, migration, border disputes and even the topic of pandemics (and regulation around their management) might come back.

April 21st – Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus

The most anticipated event for most astrologers is clearly the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction which only happens around every 14 years. Jupiter symbolizes opportunity and expansion while Uranus is associated with technology, rebellion and innovation. On a mundane level it can signify events of significant technological or scientific breakthroughs, or a major social or political progress. It does not mean of course that this will happen on this specific day, but 2-3 weeks before and after we might see some related headlines. Sometimes the event itself might not seem significant at the time of happening, only retrospectively we can understand and appreciate its significance. A great example for this is the last Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus in 1941. During this transit, in the middle of the WWII, the Brits captured a German submarine, which turned out to be the one carrying the Engima machine. This catch enabled  the Allies to be able to decode the German messages which was a major breakthrough and turning point in WWII.

In our personal lives we might experience rapid, sudden, surprising expansion in understanding. Unexpected epiphanies  or „eureka”-moments might hit us, providing new and profound knowledge and clarity on certain topics. Those with important birth chart factors at 20-24° of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius might feel this transit the most personally.

May 26th – Jupiter enters Gemini

About a month after the conjunction with Uranus in Taurus, Jupiter enters Gemini and stays there for a about a year. Gemini is an air sign associated with thinking, communication and intellect. During this 1 year transit we probably become more mentally adventurous, ready and eager to learn and generally we can become more curious, open-minded and objective than usual. We might become more interested in the „big picture” than in the petty details .

It takes 12 years for Jupiter to complete its journey around the zodiac, so the last time Jupiter was in Gemini was between June 2012 and June 2013. It could be useful to take note of the main themes of our life at that time as they might come around again. Your personal experiences related to this transit will be depending on your birth chart and which area is ruled by Gemini.

General watch-out for intellectual overstimulation, overpromising and even deceit during this period.

August 19th & December 24th – Jupiter square Saturn

After Jupiter enters into Gemini, it will form an exact waxing square to Saturn in Pisces 3 times: August 19th, December 24th 2024, and the last time in June 2025. These two planets signify very different energies: Jupiter is about expansion, joy, hope and optimism, while Saturn is about limitations, obligations and the need for realism and order. With this challenging aspect between these two planets, we are forced to strike a balance between our inner drive for growth and the demands of reality and discipline. During this period we need to work much harder than usual for much smaller results, which can cause a lot of frustration. We might feel an increased need to find balance between optimism and reality, independence and responsibility, risk-taking and caution. These topics will pop up in the area of life where these two planets can be found in your birth chart.

On a mundane level, this waxing square is an important phase in the Jupiter-Saturn synodic cycle, that started with their conjunction at 0° Aquarius in December 2020. Topics and discussions which were starting at that time (e.g. COVID-vaccination and regulations around them) might return as headlines during this period.

September 2nd – November 19th – Pluto in Capricorn

On the 2nd of September Pluto will retrograde back into Capricorn for one last 2.5 months stint before it moves into Aquarius for 20 years on the 19th November. This will be the season finale of Pluto in Capricorn and all the things we’ve seen since its ingress in 2008: market crash in ’08, Bitcoin, Brexit, Trump-ism and the me-too movement for example. We might see a spectacular exposure of corruption, or power-abuse in the traditional institutional systems (government, banking system and other authorities).  

Interestingly, the US election will happen during this period, so we might see some shake-ups and destabilizing, dramatic escalation of events in the fall.

Personally, we might experience the last time occurrence of a certain theme which posed a challenge on us since 2008. This can be anything, career, money, relationships, family etc., depending on which part of our chart is ruled by Capricorn.

September 18th – October 2nd – Second Eclipse Season

The second eclipse season will bring enhancement into the volatile energies of Pluto’s season finale in Capricorn.

On September 18th we will see a partial Lunar Eclipse at 25° Pisces opposing the Sun at 25° Virgo. This is a significant eclipse as this is the first one on the Virgo – Pisces axis since 2017 and is the first of an upcoming eclipse set occurring along the Virgo-Pisces axis. As this eclipse will conjunct Neptune in Pisces and square Jupiter in Gemini, the most likely theme of this eclipse will be separating truth from illusion.

On the 2nd October we will witness a Solar Eclipse at 10° Libra, the final eclipse in this sign till 2033. We might feel that we need to stop trying to agree with everyone and to release our people-pleasing tendencies. As this eclipse conjuncts with Mercury, we might feel the need to also communicate what we think in a rather spicy way. This Solar Eclipse will be visible only on the most Southern part of South America.

November 19th – Pluto enters Aquarius for 20 years

On November 19th, Pluto will conclude its stay in Capricorn and ingress into Aquarius, starting his circa 20-year stay there. We might clearly feel that a certain period of our life ended and a new started. You can read more on this transit here.

December 7th – Mars stations Retrograde in Leo

On the 7th of December 2024, Mars, the planet of action, assertiveness and conflict, turns retrograde (as it appears from Earth) at 6° Leo and retrogrades back to Cancer on January 6th 2025. In these last weeks of 2024 we might see some fiery conflict in between world leaders. Internally we might need to re-assess our motivations and strategy. We might temporarily lose our courage and drive, but might feel ready for action again around February 2024. Those, who have important planets in the first 10 degrees of fixed signs, might feel this transit more personally.

Overall, 2024 has all the ingredients to become a landmark year both on a personal and on a global level. In my opinion it will be much more eventful than 2023 was, especially April and November. For sure it will bring a new set of challenges and opportunities personally and globally, but luckily we have astrology that can help us to successfully navigate through these intense times.

No need to fear these upcoming changes as they are opportunities to adjust the course of our life if we need to. We are not helpless bystanders of these cosmic events, but we have the opportunity – and probably the responsibility – to take matters into our own hands.

If you are curious what 2024 has in store for you, please consider book a consultation with me.

Wishing you a wonderful 2024!