Life on this planet: 2018 The Year Ahead

The horrific Hell year of 2017 is finally over!!!! Yay!!!!!!

So now using my Virgoan energies of analysis to try see if 2018 will be any better. That means analysing the planetary alignments of 2018.

The major influence of 2017 sealing my fate for a catastrophic 2017 were the Saturn Chiron squares. A "square" means the planets forms a 90 degree angle with the Earth at the centre, and the energies or squares, oppositions and conjunctions are very potent. So where Chiron is involved, it is always catastrophic for me, cos Chiron is in my Ascendant in my chart, and Chiron in a Piscean ascendant indicates instances of persecutions and martyrdom for religious/spiritual beliefs in other lifetimes. This flows through to other catastrophes in current lifetime.

In 2017, starting with December 2016, the time of the catastrophic bond fiasco, the $1000 repair job on my car, and instances of heartbreak, Saturn Chiron squares turned exact, meaning exactly 90 degrees, three times. Thankfully there will be no more exact Saturn Chiron squares in 2018, however in July the two planets will be just 2 degrees away from the exact square, meaning, getting as close as an 88 degrees angle. July is when the dreaded "The Three Weeks" falls stemming from the destruction of the Jewish Temples, catastrophes always happens to me during that time. So this combined with a near-exact Saturn Chiron square, July is destined to be a very catastrophic month.

August and September could be just as catastrophic with Saturn and Chiron moving to as close as 1 degrees from an exact square, meaning a 89 degrees angle from August 14 until September 3, and will remain within 2 degrees until September 28. So the three months from July to September seems destined to be very challenging months with catastrophes happening.

Chiron the Centaur

The other potentially catastrophic celestial event for 2018 is Chiron moving into Aries for the first time in 5 decades. The last time Chiron moved into Aries was back in 1968 marking the start of the 8 years of Hell, almost exactly coinciding with Chiron's 8 year transit of Aries.

Chiron moves into Aries on April 18. Chiron turns retrograde at 2 degrees Aries on July 5, and moves back into Pisces on September 28, turns direct at 27 degrees Pisces on December 9, before making a final exit from Pisces on February 19 2019 for its 8-year transit of Aries.

The last instance of Chiron move into Aries was back in 1968, the start of the 8 years of Hell, abuse and childhood poverty. Aries is my 2nd House which begins at 29 Pisces, this deals with Pleasure, Money, Possessions, etc. The opposite was the case during Chiron's transit 50 years ago, very little pleasure, and being in poverty with scant possessions, and what possessions I did have were often 2nd hand or hand-me-downs. We always had to improvise and make do with what we have. And then the physical abuse at the hands of a step-father, as well as witnessing abuse of my Mother.

Will there be another 8 years of Hell ahead for me? Our souls have evolved a fair bit since then, as well as collective awareness. Back in the 1960s and 70s, childhood abuse even with the stick or strap were seen as a normal part of child discipline, and the abuse of women partners (eg my Mother) were seen as a normal part of relationships. Nowadays of course, most thankfully, abuse in relationships are no longer seen as acceptable nor a normal part of relationships!!

As for prospects of another 8 years of poverty, any likelihoods of this stems from the predictions of a wide variety of groups including Christians and conspiracy theorists of a worldwide economic collapse to happen anytime soon. Indeed some are surprised it hasn't happened yet!! There has been economic collapses before, such as the 2008 event, but due to my employment in a govt job, I escaped the worst of the effects. Indeed unless the govt literally runs out of money and supply is blocked by opposition parties effectively preventing govt workers from being paid their salaries, any future economic collapses is unlikely to affect me personally. Of course societal collapse cannot be ruled out. Things are definitely changing on this planet, the status quo no longer applies.

Even if such scenarios does not eventuate in 2018/19, there are other dangers to my economic security. My car is not getting any younger, it will be 14 years old in 2018, and just last December I forked out over $1000 for the cooling system replacement. Perhaps 2018 could be the year of a choice between forking out $1000's worth of further repairs on the car, or simply choosing to enter life without a car. A car is currently necessary until I finish clearing out my storage unit, but thereafter I could live without a car should it become necessary due to economics.

And then some likelihood that my job will be cut, though it is currently safe for the foreseeable future. However this govt can't be trusted. Just two months ago there was no inkling that the govt would close certain schools, indeed promising not to close any schools, only to turn around and close a few schools last month!!

Either way, nowadays I should know better. To a certain extent we are masters of our destiny, and well it often comes down to the fact that we just have to trust the universe or whatever higher entities we choose to trust our lives with.

Another aspect of Chiron's entry into Pisces could come into play during 2018/19. My chart shows Chiron in Pisces my Ascendant sign, and the 50-year return to Pisces was marked by certain catastrophes. Chiron's entry into Pisces around 2010/11 was marked by Mother's death in January 2011. My Chiron return to it's exact point in my chart at 11 degrees was marked by the death of my wife and her funeral in April 2013. This makes me wonder what will happen on Chiron's exit from Pisces? Will there be another death in the family?

Despite its detractors, Astrology is not about making such predictions, nevertheless, this is definitely something that will be on my mind as I watch for Chiron's initial exit from Pisces in April 2018, and the final exit in February 2019. Mother's death was a consequence of a terminal illness which sealed her fate, it would be just a matter of time before it claimed her life. My wife's death was the result of one of a multitude of health problems turning nasty on her, sealing her fate once it took hold. There is at least one other family member who is currently dealing with a terminal illness whose fate is similarly sealed.

It remains to be seen how things will pan out over the next few months.

2018 marks the first year of Saturn's 3-year transit of Capricorn.

First we had Saturn just moved into Capricorn during the last few days of 2017, though it won't actually reach my 11th house at 4 Capricorn until near the start of February. The 11th House deals with the Cosmic Overview of things, community and friends. The last time Saturn entered Capricorn around late 1988 I had made the biggest mistake of my life. There are no mistakes I had made that are bigger than the mistake I made near the start of Saturn's last transit into Capricorn 30 years ago!!! My then Cosmic Overview was utterly shattered, and I was cut off from both family, my friends, and the community I belonged to at the time - the church. Escaping from a Mother who didn't believe in me to cohabitate with a woman, which turned out to be a classic case of "out of the skillet and into the fire". I ended up moving back with Mother by the time Saturn moved on into Aquarius. Very hard lessons learned during those Hell times!!!!

Obviously things are very different 30 years hence. My Mother had since passed away. I am alone in my cosy little abode. Of course my Cosmic Overview of things has long since evolved from those days of Christianity, and I am at least broadly involved with the alternative spiritual community albeit mostly online at this time. I am hopeful of getting back into ecstatic dancing in 2018, and taking up Yoga but currently have no set plans. I am not in any romantic relationships nor do I plan to be in any romantic relationships.

Nevertheless the lessons from Saturn's last transit of Capricorn/11th House seems destined to prove valuable. My pathway is mine alone. I will not self sacrifice myself for the sake of any other soul, any partnerships I may find myself in will be 50/50. Obviously no likelihood of any romance, but the lessons can apply to any kind of friendships and partnerships. I will not be with anyone whose main task is to "fix" me, I do not need to be "fixed". We all evolve as the universe leads.

As far as romance goes, I am indeed the Wandering Wolf, destined to be forever wandering alone, never to find a home, never a place to settle, never a soul to settle with......

The 9 weeks of no retrograding planets.

When Uranus turns direct on January 3, this will mark the start of 9 weeks of no retrograding planets, all planets will be in direct motion. This coincides with 9 weeks until my Mexico trip. Jupiter will mark the end of the 9 weeks when that planet will turn retrograde on March 9, just two days before I am due to depart for Mexico.

Thanks to the 2017 sting in the tail I did not receive the financial breaks I had hoped for. The small windfall and the December bonus payment were spent on bookings for hotels and internal flights between cities in Mexico. The backpay on my wage rise will have to be spent on my Passport renewal with my current Passport set to expire April 2018. Most countries including Mexico prohibits travel on a Passport within six months of expiry.

I did not receive any money for Xmas, and with the Saturn complex in my chart, my gifts of scratch lotto tickets failed to produce any significant winnings. Consequently I remain without a fridge, and I have just 9 weeks to save my pennies for the tours, bus trips/transfers, food and spending money.

The tours are the most expensive items though still relatively cheap in Mexico. The bus trips, even on luxury coaches, are relatively cheap. The food is very cheap. And well it will be great to have ample spending money in case I am led to acquire more Mayan artefacts.

As long as I stick to my Virgoan saving plans with some mild austerity measures I should be able to reach my savings goals in 9 weeks. But I will need for things to go my way with no spanners thrown into the works. Hopefully the lack of retrograding planets over these 9 weeks will help my cause. Retrograding planets often leads to spanners being thrown into the works.

Two planets, Jupiter and Pluto, are currently in the pre-shadow of their retrogrades. Saturn will join the pre-shadow on January 10, near the time I will receive my car license and insurance bill, the only major expense I will have to deal with during these 9 weeks, and Neptune will enter the pre-shadow on February 26. Mercury enters the pre-shadow on March 8, the same day as Jupiter's station retrograde, just 3 days before my departure for Mexico. Chiron enters pre-shadow on March 13, the day I arrive in Mexico.

Hopefully my storage unit will be cleared out before the end of the 9 weeks, leaving me with even more funds for Mexico and beyond, it will mean I will not have to deal with paying for the storage unit rental while in Mexico, giving me funds for at least two tours!!!

Despite these challenges, I am hopeful 2018 will be a better year. As it is said, forewarned is forearmed, and so if one is aware of these upcoming planetary alignments, one can to a certain extent mitigate against any potential catastrophes. It doesn't mean that the catastrophes won't happen, but we can take certain steps to lessen the impacts of these catastrophes.

My immediate plans revolves around my Mexico trip now just 9 weeks away. I am currently in the process of renewing my Passport, a necessary step for my trip as my current Passport is close to expiry. I already have acquired the photos and submitted my application details online. My next step, as soon as the Post Offices opens again after the New Year holidays, is to arrange for a meetup at a Post Office to complete my renewal application. Fortunately being a Passport Renewal application, I need only to bring my current Passport, the photographs, and $300 - most of the amount of my backpay after Australia's very high taxes. Then about three weeks later I should have my new Passport in my hot little hands. Then apply for the transit Visa in the USA since I will once again stopping over in America.

The next 9 weeks will be devoted to saving my pennies for my trip, so still be without a fridge. However if I can get my storage unit cleared out before my Mexico trip then I should be able to FINALLY get a fridge soon after my trip. Two months rental on the storage unit would pay for a small but decent fridge. I need something bigger than a bar fridge due to the fact of doing my cooking on weekends then storing my meals in the freezer for the next fortnite or so. Somewhere in the 200-300 litre range would suit me perfectly. I know what I want, I have the space allocated in my kitchen for a fridge, so the trick is to just manifest a fridge, and realistically this won't be until after March, or after I manage to clear out my storage unit, the last legacy of my bower bird wife!!!!!

The storage unit represents one of the last major expenses impacting on my economic viability and ability to raise funds for my trips. On a slightly longer term basis, the last major expense is my car. It is due for a service, and it does have issues. My car reaches 14 years of age this year in 2018, thus like me, reaching the end of its life. I know I will need new brakes which will be expensive, and the heads are still cracked causing leaking in the cooling system. The leakage is currently relatively slight, needing a top-up in coolant fluid once per month, but over time the leak will grow worse.

So crunch time is coming, probably during the catastrophic months of July-September. It will come down to whether it be worth my while spending $1000s on my car, or to simply just live without a car. A car is currently necessary while I am clearing out my storage unit with my trailer, but after I finish clearing out my storage unit, a car won't be so necessary. I live within walking distance of a train station, I am also within walking distances of shops, convenience stores and supermarkets, and I have a Uber account which I currently use for getting to and from the airport.

Basically when it comes to a stage where it will cost more to repair my car than to go on my trips, that will be when I will finally preside over the burial of my car, sending my car into that garage in the sky, and is likely to take place between July and September 2018.

Now my quirky and sometimes dark sense of humour as I prepare for my return to the workforce on January 4 - this Thursday!!

In my childhood it would either be God, or Santa Claus, or that pesky little birdie..... nowadays it's the government!!!!!