Solar Cycle 25 began in 2019. You’ve probably heard of sunspots or solar flares. Since official record keeping began in 1755, we just entered the 25th solar cycle since that time, which lasts approximately 11 years. Looking at the chart below (borrowed from NASA’s website), the green lines represent the observed number of sunspots, often way exceeding predictions. We have a peak coming in 2025, after which point it will gradually recede again.

Astrologer Steven Forrest talks about Solar Cycles in his book with Jeffrey Wolf Green entitled Measuring the Night. It seems pretty intuitive that increased solar activity corresponds with increased human activity. We could say a solar maximum correlates with war, economic cycles and generally more drama. However, since planetary alignments also figure into the equation, certain transits cause their own problems. As you can see from the graph, 2020 looks flat and innocuous, which we know wasn’t the case from a transit perspective. Hang on a minute. Most of us were stuck at home in 2020.

So what happens when the solar cycle peaks during tense planetary cycles? The main shifts that happen next year will be Pluto’s initial ingress to 0 degrees of Aquarius, then as it dips back into Capricorn, there’s only about a month before it squares the lunar nodes as they move into Aries-Libra. Pluto and the nodes ride this 2-3 degree orb together all the way until November 2023. Pluto squaring the nodes is a bit tense, as Pluto in hard aspect with the nodes generally encourages some form of strife.

In 2024, the most erratic transits would probably be the Mars-Saturn conjunction in Pisces and the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus in April, followed by Uranus conjunct Algol at 26 degrees of Taurus for the month of July. July 16th, 2024, Mars will conjunct Uranus on Algol, which will only heighten the aggressive energy. Because Uranus turns retrograde at 27 degrees of Taurus, it will conjunct Algol again for the month of October. Uranus conjunct one of the most powerful fixed stars seems like it would disrupt whatever it wants to with a sense of purpose.

The square between Jupiter and Saturn that begins late December of 2024 will bleed into January of 2025. This square will happen again in June 2025. This lines up with the peaks in solar flares that cause the zenith of this solar cycle.

In March of 2025, Neptune will conjunct the North Node in Pisces. At the end of May, right after Uranus finishes its last pass on Algol, Saturn and Neptune will conjunct in Aries. That will be a strange and erratic transit, not only because both planets will be in the Mars-ruled sign of Aries. Saturn is structure, but Neptune lacks boundaries. Something energetic will be forged between the two but those two planets don’t have compatible agendas.

Saturn and Neptune will travel through Aries and then dip back into Pisces together for most of the 2025. In July 2025, Uranus will enter Gemini. The U.S. has been at war during every Uranus transit through Gemini, starting with The Revolutionary War, The Civil War and then WWII. Uranus takes 84 years to return to the same position. Uranus is already a natural disruptor in hard aspect with planets like Mars (like we saw in August 2022), but in a mutable sign like Gemini, the energy is even more volatile and unpredictable.

Back to the solar cycle. Looking at the chart below, you can see how the peaks are getting progressively smaller. From about 1645-1715, the solar activity was so low that it was the given the name the Maunder Minimum, based on the carbon-14 content of tree rings. This was a very cold period that caused famine and migration in Northern Europe (when many began making the trek to North America).

Even though consistent record keeping didn’t happen until 1755, we can naturally deduce that when it’s colder that there might be reduced solar activity. However, the little ice age began in Northern Europe from about the late 1300s up until the early 1800s. This cycle was traced by marine records. An abnormally warm water current from the tropics made its way to the Arctic, warming the Atlantic throughout the 1300s. This unusually warm current gradually started melting arctic ice caps, which diluted the salt content of the Atlantic and ultimately caused a severe cooling trend. This was a brutal time for Northern Europe and the British Isles, though many humans elsewhere managed to survive and even thrive.

If a mini ice age happens again, it won’t be until around 2050. It’s a more complex process than just having reduced solar activity.

There are other recorded cycles to consider. In Mayan prophecy, Earth entered what is called a Katun in 2012 (19.7 year periods), which will end in 2032. These roughly 20 year cycles had particular themes for the Mayans. The Katun that began in 2012, 2 Ahau, can bring times of famine and uniting for a cause. Katun 13 Ahau, from 2032-2052, signifies total collapse. Epidemics, plagues and famine were common for this Katun. This lines up with the Uranus-Pluto opposition that begins in the late 2040s.