2020 has only just begun—and already it feels like a whirlwind of news and emotions. We called up our friends the Spellsisters to help make some sense of what’s to come this year based on planetary movements and what’s going on in the stars. They’ll take us through the big picture and then their predictions season by season.
2020 OVERVIEW
The overall theme of 2020 is intensity. You’re entering the year with the urge to maintain what you’ve learned in 2019, but in order to manage the enormous changes and pressures you’ll undergo, you can’t have your hands full. Something’s gotta give.
Right off the bat, a long-winded and powerful transit occurs between Jupiter and Pluto, the planetary gift-giver and grim-reaper, respectively. Transits occur anytime the planets move, and this one will happen off-and-on all year and challenge you to dream bigger than you ever have. You will have enormous breakthroughs in how you feel and handle the innate power within you and you may physically explore ways to make your body stronger and more alive. Since Jupiter and Pluto also rule over investments and dividends, all manner of money concerns will be partially alleviated as expenditures are met with new sources of income. You are learning to take the big opportunities that scare you. Taking risks gets easier when you have less to lose and more open space in your life.
In addition to the hefty outer planet emphasis, we also have four lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses this year, indicating a laser-sharp focus on shedding skin and moulting heavy lessons out of your consciousness. Lunar eclipses necessarily bring changes, particularly endings and culminations. The emphasis this year is on letting the parts of your life go that are no longer serving you. Since there are fewer solar eclipses, which usher in new beginnings, you will not fill in all the gaps at once. It’s time to loosen up your inner gridlock before you start adding more pieces to the puzzle. The universe abhors a vacuum, so enjoy the empty space while you get a moment to breathe.
With all this emphasis on endings, Mercury (the planet of communication and analysis) is ensuring you go over your life with a fine-tooth comb to figure out what needs to be discarded and what needs to be saved this year. We have three instances of Mercury going retrograde this year—significant because it usually only goes retrograde two times a year. Mercury retrograde is a period of three to four weeks where events and people from the past resurrect themselves and old ways of thinking are reexamined. Mistakes in communication, electronic issues, voided contracts are often par for the course during this time, but these disruptive events happen to make sure we have all the information that we may have missed. Having this many retrograde periods will be positive since you will be focused on preparing a clean slate—and what better way than to have one last look over all the details to make sure it’s really what you want. Like a cosmic history lesson, you’re learning a lot about where you’re going from looking back on the past.
WINTER
The year starts heavy with a difficult aspect between two of astrology’s biggest bad boys, Saturn and Pluto. Aspects refer to the relationships between planets given their position in relation to one another. The image this conjures is of being squished by a big Victorian bookcase: beautiful craftsmanship by the universe in knowing *exactly* how to mess with you, but could you get this *off* me please? The intensity and heaviness pushes down on some of the spots you typically gloss over or numb yourself to ignore. You may notice a healthy seat of rage stirred up as you work through your own personal issues and limitations and feel the crushing weight of reality.
Once this season is fully underway, you’ll notice some exciting and fated opportunities appear, as Jupiter and Uranus conspire to help you with what can feel like the impossible. Dreams may come true once Saturn’s pressure lifts, and you’ll have already primed the path with a ton of elbow grease. Mercury will retrograde during this time period, but again, this will be a shift backward on your past so you can rebuild your future differently. Take your time.
SPRING
As new life thaws this spring, we have Venus and Jupiter going retrograde, encouraging periods of reflection and introspection. You may undergo a wild change in mindset that spurs a new life philosophy or perhaps you’ll rethink your go-to style combos. That hairstyle you hide behind…maybe it’s time to mess it up a bit. If you’re feeling “meh” or even straight up *not cute* this season, don’t be discouraged. You’re being asked to love yourself even when you’re not feeling like yourself.
Relationships may go through changes this season, as you reevaluate what it means to be a couple. If single, past flings may suddenly touch base out of nowhere to reconnect with the part of you that’s undergone the most changes, be it physical, intellectual, or emotional. With Jupiter also retrograde at the same time, good luck may come to you in an ugly package—the proverbial baby that you initially throw out with the bathwater. Don’t let appearances fool you: Sometimes difficulties can bring the most opportunity. Saturn will also change signs into Aquarius and causes fated endings on issues that you haven’t wrapped up during the last two years. Pencils down! It’s time to move into weirder, wilder territory as Saturn rocks between Capricorn and Aquarius (his fav signs) over the rest of 2020. Things may be topsy turvy, but you’re ready for change again.
SUMMER
You are in your element as major shakeups force you to choose your priorities this summer. Uranus enters retrograde and slows you down, bracing what would have been explosive personal growth. June and July showcase three eclipses (wowza!!), two lunar and one solar, indicating that endings are making way for new beginnings. It might feel like you’re on a rollercoaster—just when you think you’re getting comfortable with your new life, surprises appear that require a readjustment. Mercury enters retrograde in the middle of all these unsettling circumstances, calling you back to revise your New Year’s resolutions…or even your life plan. You can let the universe take the wheel this summer as you lay back and watch the kaleidoscope turn. You have a lot less control than you think, so keep space open to let things fall in and fall out of your life. Don’t get too attached to any one particular outcome: This summer will showcase a mèlange of movement, and may show you feeling cramped in your current space. Take the time to reassess your home and see if you might benefit from a new residence or at least a renovation.
AUTUMN
November and December will give us a lunar and solar eclipse in Gemini and Capricorn, respectively, commanding us back into alignment during this harvest season. These signs are like the story of the ant and the grasshopper. You are realizing which character you want to identify more with: the hard-working one who has less fun (ant) or the carefree one who has more of it (grasshopper). It’s not a parable—it’s a choice for how you want to proceed into 2021 and what changes you will draw into your life. Will success or fun be more important?
There are fewer aspects this month which indicates that things will be settling down into the routines you’ve created in the earlier part of the year. Pluto is in a tense aspect toward the end of the year and with Mercury going retrograde during this season, you may decide to make a very serious legal decision—something that’s hard to undo but has the potential to level you up. A lot of the drama will be behind you as you realize you need a rest after all the tension of change. You’ll be simplifying your life and new things will appear to fill the gaps you created from removing circumstances that have overstayed their welcome.
So there you have it, a big picture look at the year ahead! For more information on the Spellsisters or to book an individual reading, check out spellsisters.net.
