After the “earth-shattering” nature of the 2020 transits, the transits for 2021 are quite mild and ordinary. Like every year, there will be two Eclipse Seasons and three Mercury retrogrades.
Saturn is now in Aquarius to stay and will be in this sign for the next couple of years. Jupiter is also in Aquarius, and is quickly traveling through this sign. Jupiter will even dip her toe into Pisces as early as May before going retrograde back into Aquarius. Mars will be direct all year, and Venus will be direct until December. All of these transits are within the ordinary harmony of the year.
If it had not been for the past year, these transits might even seem rather boring, marking a rather uneventful year.
Aftermath of 2020
The events of 2020 did occur, however, and we are living in the aftermath. In particular, many places in the world are still dealing with rather severe outbreaks of Covid-19. There are new vaccines that have been developed, however, which seems to be a “light at the end of the tunnel.”
Aside from the pandemic, there has been other turmoil on the world stage which is not resolved, and it is undeniable that things have changed. The direction of this change is still unclear.
Many have drawn parallels between Covid-19 and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. This pandemic led directly into the 1920s, which can arguably be seen as the true entry point into the 20th Century. It is quite likely that the 2020s will be the true entry point into the 21th Century.
Although Covid-19 was and is a worldwide crisis, not everyone experienced it in the same way. Some faced devastating losses, such as loved ones, jobs, and businesses. Many suffered deep poverty. For others, it was a time of annoyance and restriction, but other than that, they came through relatively unscathed. Still others prospered and even thrived during this time.
This will undoubtedly have lasting consequences for 2021 and beyond.
Free will and Freedom of Agency
One of the biggest philosophical issues for astrologers is that of Free Will. Are we governed by Fate, or do we have Free Will in order to direct our lives? The question itself is based on a misunderstanding of Free Will, and it confuses Free Will with Freedom of Agency.
Freedom of Agency is the ability to direct our life circumstances, to be the Mistresses of our own destinies. Some people have more Freedom of Agency than others, and the amount of Freedom of Agency we have changes throughout our lifetime. The Freedom of Agency of children is usually quite limited. Many people have a great deal of Freedom of Agency when they are young adults, assuming they are healthy and able-bodied. We often lose quite a bit of our Freedom of Agency as we age.
People with money have more Freedom of Agency than those that are poor, as do those who are privileged by race, gender, or ethnicity.
Our Nativity Charts can also show us how much Freedom of Agency we have. If everything in our charts points in a certain direction, that is the direction we will go. If our charts are more diverse, we will have more choices.
Free Will is different. It is the ability to choose between Good and Evil. As Axial Beings, we ALWAYS have Free Will. Even if our Freedom of Agency is severely limited by our circumstances, we can choose to be the best that we can be within the limitations of our power.
For more information, see:
In 2020, much of the world saw their Freedom of Agency severely restricted with governmental lockdowns, quarantines, and travel restrictions. In contrast, with respect to Free Will, we saw the best and worst of humanity during this time, with the emergence of both heroes and villains. Most of us, including myself, fell somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, with some responses that we are proud of and others that we are not.
It seems like many of us will slowly regain our Freedom of Agency in 2021. The mild transits will give us the opportunity to collectively catch our breath, take stock of where we are, and make decisions about where we want to go in the future.
With that in mind, let us look at the transits of 2021, month-by-month
January
The big news of January will be that Mars finally will leave the sign of Aries and move into Taurus on January 6. On the one hand, Mars will lose a lot of dignity, going from a sign that she rules to one that is hostile to her. On the other hand, we have had over six months of Mars in Aries, and this time has been extremely volatile for many. With the change in signs, everything will seem to calm down.
For some, this will feel like a welcome relief. For others, it may seem like a let down. Many may experience feelings that seem like depression. This is a natural response to the extended emotional High that many of us have experienced recently. It also may become much more difficult to get things done. This is a natural response to Mars in Taurus as well.
Be gentle with yourself during this time. Keep your expectations low and get as much rest and relaxation as you can. This is part of the natural cycle.
Mercury will go retrograde on January 30 and will remain retrograde until February 20.
February
The Sun, Venus, and Mercury will all be transiting through Aquarius. This, in and of itself, would be nothing unusual because these planets always transit through this sign around this time of year. The difference is that Jupiter and Saturn are also both in Aquarius, following the Great Conjunction of 2020. This means that for a time, five out of seven of the Traditional Planets will all be in Aquarius.
This will make for a very active month for those who have planets or major chart points in the Fixed Signs, which are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. This is especially the case as Mars will still be moving through Taurus.
This will also highlight the themes of the sign of Aquarius. For more information about these themes, see:
March
March will bring relief to those with Fixed Signs as Mars moves into Gemini and the Sun, Mercury, and Venus all move into Pisces.
This month will see a great deal of movement towards the future as Mars forms a trine with Saturn on March 21, which is the day after the Equinox. This is likely when there will be a widespread easing of restrictions and greater freedom of movement.
April
The beginning of April will be a continuation of March. Mars will trine Jupiter on April 17, which should continue the trend of more technology and greater freedom that began in March.
The next week, things will start to get tense, however, as the Sun, Mercury, and Venus move into Taurus and conjunct Uranus and square Saturn. Most likely, there will be a widespread reaction and resistance to recent changes.
On April 23, Mars will go into Cancer, which could create an atmosphere of grouchiness and hostility.
May
Mars will continue to be in Cancer through May, but Mercury will enter Gemini on May 3, which will open the doors to better communication. Jupiter will move into Pisces for a time starting May 13, which will create a general feeling of Good Will, at least for a week or two.
The end of the month could get difficult, however. Saturn and Mercury will go retrograde, and the first Eclipse Season will begin. There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse on May 26.
June & July
These could be rather tense months. The Solar Eclipse will occur on June 10. Jupiter will go retrograde on June 22 and reenter Aquarius on July 28.
Mars will be leaving Cancer and entering Leo on June 11. While in most cases, this would be an improvement, this year, it will bring Mars into opposition with Saturn and then with Jupiter. Mercury will go direct on June 22, will quickly go through Cancer, and will join Mars in Leo by the end of July. Venus will follow suit.
This could make for a tense situation when it comes to world affairs, and it can also bring discord on a personal level. Just like it was in February, those with major planets and chart points in Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius will feel the most impact.
August
The Sun will be making her yearly trip through Leo in August, but Mercury, Venus, and Mars are moving on to Virgo. This should bring some clarity to the situation that occurred over the summer as well as some resolution. Personal relationships may suffer, so do your best to be kind to those that you love.
The difficulties with relationships should be over in the second half of August, when Venus moves into Libra. The August Full Moon on August 22 will have a conjunction with Jupiter, which should make for a pleasant and fortunate Lunation.
September
This will be a rather ordinary month, with short lived ups and downs. Venus has moved ahead of Mercury and the Sun, who are now moving along with Mars. These planets move pretty fast and will not stay in one place for more than a day or two.
Mercury is slowing down, however, and will stop and go retrograde for the third and final time on September 27.
October
In October, both Saturn and Jupiter will go direct. Interestingly enough, Mercury will go direct on the same day that Jupiter will, which is October 18. This will mark a huge impetus to move forward with ideas and plans.
November
Mars will be in Scorpio throughout this month, which means that she will again butt heads with Saturn and Jupiter. On November 10, both Mercury and Mars will be square Saturn. This could again cause disruption for those whose charts are heavy with Fixed Signs, who will have had the hardest time this year. Fixed Signs have the hardest time adapting to change, so it would make sense that they would struggle more than most this year.
The second Eclipse Season will start this month, and there will be a Lunar Eclipse on November 19.
December
The last eclipse of the year will occur on December 4, which will be a Total Solar Eclipse. Mars will square Jupiter on December 8 before moving on to Sagittarius. That will be slightly disruptive, but less so than when Mars squared Saturn in November.
Venus will go retrograde on December 19 in Capricorn and it will be conjunct Pluto at the same time. This could cause some people to face darkness from their past.
On the other hand, we will end the year with Jupiter moving into Pisces to stay. Jupiter rules Pisces, and this transit will help people renew their faith and optimism.
Conclusion
Overall, 2021 will be a good year for most people. It will be a time to rebuild after the disruption of the previous year.
People who have a heavy influence of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius will struggle a bit. These are the signs that are most resistant to change, and change is coming whether we like it or not. We are in a new world now, and all we can do is to try to adapt.
I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year!