The Decline of Empires

When one looks at astrological charts, you look for patterns in the sky. The importance depends on the planets that are involved, as the significance can vary. Planets from Mars inwards are considered personal planets, while Jupiter and Saturn tend to represent social order. The outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, are referred to as the transpersonal planets. They belong to a more universal theme of the times.

When examining the sky happenings for July, I noticed there was a three-way aspect of the outer planets.  Pluto is in a sextile aspect to Neptune, Neptune is in a sextile aspect to Uranus, and Uranus and Pluto make a trine to each other.

Pluto trine Uranus is about revolutionary destruction, Pluto sextile Neptune is the shattering of an illusion, and Neptune-Uranus is about coming up with a new illusion. Learning history can help us understand where we are going in the future.

Past Events

Using Air software’s Super Search program, I examine when in the past 2000 years this configuration occurred. This is the result of the analysis.

Zooming in closer, we can see it spanned from the years 477-482.  What were some of the major events in history that occurred in this period?

Events of Previous Configuration

In 477 in China, as the Liu Song dynasty began to crumble, Xiao Daocheng assassinated Emperor Houfei and installed the ten-year-old Emperor Shun as a puppet ruler, paving the way for the establishment of the Southern Qi dynasty. Around the same time, the famous Shaolin Monastery was reportedly founded on Mount Song by Emperor Xiao Wen Di of the Northern Wei dynasty.

In the Byzantine Empire, around 478, Emperor Zeno was facing internal strife because of his deals with other military leaders, has his military commander Armatus killed.

On September 4, 476, the Western Roman Empire traditionally came to an end when the Germanic chieftain Odoacer deposed the young emperor Romulus Augustulus in Ravenna. Rather than declaring himself emperor, Odoacer sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople and ruled as Rex Italiae (King of Italy). Although this event is often seen as the beginning of the Medieval period, the transition was gradual, and many Roman institutions, including the Senate, continued to operate under his rule. In the following years, Odoacer consolidated his control while the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno struggled to maintain stability in the East.

In 480, Julius Nepos, the last Western Roman emperor still recognized by the Eastern Empire, was murdered in Dalmatia, further cementing the collapse of Western Roman imperial authority. Soon after, in 481, the fifteen-year-old Clovis I became king of the Salian Franks following the death of his father, Childeric I, and began the campaigns that would eventually unite much of Gaul under Frankish rule.

Current Configuration

The current configuration started late in 2024 and will last until early 2029

In summary, the previous period marked the collapse of empires, the Liu Song Dynasty in the east, and the gradual demise of the Western Roman Empire. What can this similar configuration lead to now?

In the previous configuration 1500 years ago, we saw the demise of an empire in the east and one in the west. Could we be experiencing a similar change in the global powers? Most of the period between World War 2 and the present, the geopolitical situation, with the exception of the Korean War and the Vietnam War, has been dominated by the United States and Russia/USSR.

Russia

The invasion of Ukraine, which led to sanctions against Russia, has weakened Russia’s economy. Not only did the Kremlin misjudge how the war would go, but they also did not anticipate the number of casualties they would incur.  Most news and government agencies suggest around 1.2 million casualties, with an estimated 350,000 killed. These are incredible numbers for a battle the Kremlin expected to take only up to ten days.

Their military was completely unprepared, and the soldiers being sent to the front were highly inexperienced. Even amongst the former Soviet bloc nations, there is growing apprehension, with Belarus remaining as the only closest ally. The Central Asian countries are starting to expand trade with other nations, in particular China.

Countries like those in the Caucasus region are becoming more suspicious of Russia, as shown by Georgia’s desire to be part of NATO. Even with the American threat to overthrow the government in Cuba, it is not being contested by Russia, which was the centre of the Cold War in the 1950s.  All of these scenarios are showing a decline of Russian influence globally.

United States of America

The United States has been the engine of the Western World, driving culture from blue jeans to Mickey Mouse to rock’n’roll. French was the dominant international language from the seventeenth century up until World War II, when English started to become the dominant language thanks to the influence of the United States.

Since that time, the United States has started to lead the world in business, technology, and military influence. They established military bases in many countries all around the world.

With the second election of Donald Trump, the world saw the Make America Great Again campaign lead to high tariffs being put on goods from all nations. The government belittles other world leaders and is venturing into other nations, such as Ecuador, threatening to enter Cuba, and now the conflict with Iran in the Staight of Hormuz. When the US asked for help in a war it started with no basis, allied nations did not join. It was unjustified, and nations outright refused to back the US, showing there is a growing lack of support.

The current administration is full of inexperienced “friends” rather than informed, educated diplomats. Their “show of force” is forcing allies to form trade packs with other nations, to form alliances with each other, and to shift focus from the US. This is not happening overnight, but over the next few decades, there will be a decline.

The USA is going through a Pluto return. This is when Pluto comes back to its exact degree when the nation was born, a cycle of approximately 248 years. With Pluto being the planet of death and destruction and of rebirth, in a nation, it represents tearing down unsustainable systems, confrontation of its dark past, and forces it to deal with issues such as debt and power structures. It doesn’t mean the nation will be dead, but after this change, it will not be the same.

Conclusion

I won’t be around to see if this prediction comes to fruition, but signs are there, and only time will tell. Trust is a thing that, when broken, is hard to regain. Think about when it happens between you and friends or family. People will form new alliances, and one person’s influence wanes as another’s increases. We see this every year with people, and countries are no different; it’s just the time frame.