Musings on the Coronavirus

Over the years I have studied a great deal of correlations between historical events and the associated planetary configurations.  Often there are clear connections that are easily described.  The conjunction of Uranus (radical change) to Pluto (destruction and regeneration) in the mid to late 1960s is one example – it’s easy to see how this planetary combination correlated with the dramatic social upheavals during that decade.  Same thing with the square aspect between Uranus and Pluto between 2010 and 2017.

To prepare for this article I wanted to see what other astrologers said about the Coronavirus.  Several astrologers say “this is definitely the result of Uranus in Taurus,” creating sudden changes (Uranus) in the stability of our world (Taurus).  One says “it’s the lunar nodes shifting into Gemini/Sagittarius” (by the way, this doesn’t happen until May 2020).  One says it’s because Mars was in Scorpio when the first case was announced, and Mars rules death in traditional astrology and is in its domicile where it is most powerful.  Frankly, none of these explanations really make sense to me.

For the past year I and many other astrologers have been predicting some sort of crisis to occur when Saturn and Pluto collided in January.  Neptune has been in its own sign of Pisces since 2012, where it is associated with flooding, addiction, conspiracy theories, and mysterious illnesses with no apparent cause or cure.  We are certainly seeing this with the Coronavirus.  Where did it originate? How is it transmitted? There is no known answer to these questions – all very Neptunian.  At the same time, Saturn and Pluto converged in mid-January of this year, on the exact date that the first death from the mysterious new virus was announced (the illness began to appear in Wuhan in December as the two planets were approaching the exact conjunction).  A Saturn/Pluto conjunction was present just before the Spanish Flu of 1917-1919 (which also correlated with a conjunction of Saturn to Neptune), and the Sars epidemic of 2003-2005 correlates with an opposition of Saturn in Gemini to Pluto in Sagittarius.  It makes sense that this would have been a more fleeting event since Gemini and Sagittarius are active signs associated with quick movement.

In any case, we can’t forget that Pluto is in the sign of Capricorn which rules the material world.  Pluto correlates with Shiva – the destroyer and Lord of the Dance – he has the potential to destroy and clear away the old so that the new can be reborn in the dance of life.  Coronavirus has the potential to accelerate the work of Pluto’s travels through Capricorn which are almost complete – Pluto will begin its shift into Aquarius in 2023-2024 – but either Jupiter (expansion) or Saturn (compression) will travel closely with Pluto throughout 2020.  I believe it is likely that this virus will have the effect of forcing a readjustment of global financial and governmental structures to better suit an evolving world.