We all wonder what is upcoming in the world, in our lives. Many things look bleak. Will conditions get worse? Or better?

We have to remember that where things are going depends on their foundation, their history, their present circumstances, and their true intentions. (Some older people, realizing this from experience, tend to increase their interest in foundations and history.)

The matrix for the new year, the nest in which it will thrive, is set at Winter Solstice, when the Sun enters the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn. Read my long entry for that day to gain some understanding of the coming year’s primary influences.

I will focus here on the United States. Not only does the U.S. have a great deal of influence on the entire world, but for many of us, in and out of the U.S., the U.S. Administration is the most worrisome entity on the planet.

Cycles affect us all.

I find the nine-year numerical cycles to be extremely telling in regard to the course of our lives. We find those by simply adding our birth month and day to the current year. For instance, for the U.S. we add 7 and 4 to 2005, the year under consideration now. This gives us 9.

The first, fifth, and ninth years of a given cycle are the biggest change years. In the first we begin new things, in the fifth we shift gears, and in the ninth we are letting go of the business of this particular cycle. This means, then, that the ninth and first years are two big change years back-to-back.

2005 itself is a "7" year, another change year. We are all living in a 7 year, regardless of our individual years. "7" is when we lift our nose from the grindstone, climb out of the rut, and look around. We see broader vistas and new pictures. I have found that images which are in our minds in a 7 year become new paths which we pursue in the next "one" year, in this case 2008.

The foregoing applies to everybody. The other influence which applies to everybody is that now that we have entered the third millennium, we are dealing with whole new sets of numbers. These lead to entirely different circumstances and combinations of factors than those we have known from the last century.

Back to the U.S., which is beginning the ninth year of a cycle which began in 1997, and spanned the big number change of the millennium. 2005 is the final year, then, of a cycle. It is time to end many things. And 2006 will be the first year of a new cycle, time to begin new things.

We have, then, two big change years coming up for the U.S., 2005 and 2006. We will be ending and beginning many things. During a "9" year, we tend to feel uncertain. We know things are ending, but we don’t yet know what is going to take their place. We are all apt to be feeling uncertain during this year, especially since we are, in fact, seeing many of the old systems breaking down. It’s time. In 2006 we can feel excited about new ways of doing things, such as seriously pursuing sustainable energy.

There is an additional uncertainty in 2005. It is the changing direction of the U.S. progressed Mars. For the first time in history, it will be slowly shifting from direct motion to retrograde motion, in which it will be engaged for the next 80 years. Sometime during 2006, progressed Mars will steady itself in its new retrograde path. Already we have a new thing for 2006, the U.S. Number One year—a national retrograde Mars. What does it mean?

Mars represents spirit, animus, energy, initiative. Retrogrades are like applying the brakes. It will be more difficult for the nation to express its assertion. We will have to dig more deeply for it. Going with the blocking of Mars energy, there may be more opportunity for expression of the feminine in all of us. Reacting against it, macho stances could increase.

All retrogrades bring us back to the past, and this could be very much to the detriment of the nation, just as we need to move into a new, more egalitarian present. (The U.S. progressed Saturn has already begun that work. It turned retrograde—in Scorpio, yes—at the election of 1994, when right-wing Republican candidates swept the Congressional field. It will travel retrograde for about 150 years.)

Another difficulty is that Mars is making this progressed directional change in Libra. Libra, who tends to see all sides, and wants synthesis, is a challenging sign for aggressive Mars at best. The armed forces, an expression of Mars, is likely to be undergoing a great deal of apprehension right now, unsure of its direction. Rumsfeld’s intention is to create a quick-strike force, which can be easily deployed anywhere. Military spending will grow.

The number 2(000) supports cooperation and partnership in the long run. 1(000) supports competition and trying to be number one. I believe we are (all) in the process of making such a shift, from competition to cooperation. Perhaps the competitive stance is what we are letting go of in the 9 year. We have had an Administration which has rushed that mode to its inevitable dead end, so that many of us, throughout the world, can feel keenly the need for a change to a more cooperative, multilateral way of being.

Mars is not apt to make that change gracefully. Mars in the U.S. chart is in the seventh house of relationships, and that retrograde Mars is already being expressed as the U.S. calls itself "exceptional" and withdraws from multilateral agreements. The immediate future will not be easy for this nation.

I think that our next 9-year cycle will be one of the turmoil of making that transition. Aspects are volatile for the next nine years, and show that the crux of the current revolution will be over by 2015 (see feature in the November issue of Daykeeper), nine years from 2006.

We are also in another completion cycle, a longer one. The U.S. progressed Sun has just entered Pisces (with this 2004 election), and it will travel there for 30 years. Pisces is the end of the line. It is the last of the 12 signs. In Pisces we dissolve many earthly accoutrements, as we open to spirit. Pisces can be confusing and maybe chaotic. Ego must be sacrificed; not always easy.

In general, then, in 2005 the U.S. is being called on to let go of many of its ego props, and to open to a higher level of spirit. This is not easy for any of us, and it will be particularly difficult for a nation showing the arrogance that the U.S. is presenting to the world.

The result is likely to be an Administration which becomes increasingly authoritative and repressive. Some people will go along with this. Others will fight it, and try to make more room for spirit.

It is likely, then, that divisiveness will increase. Another likely outcome is that the progressive movement becomes more realistic, more determined, and finds ways to more effectively express itself. The shift into Pisces will make it more difficult for the establishment, but will open doors, often unexpected ones, for progressives.

There is a burgeoning underground movement for a more sustainable, more livable culture. Uranus, now in Pisces, will help it move rapidly along for the next six years.

The coming One year, 2006, will likely see the blossoming of sustainable living. The amount of conflict in the cycle beginning then will depend on the amount of resistance of the old, outworn institutions to changing their ways, even if new ways are better. We all partake of this syndrome. A current example is that of renewable energy. We have the know-how to make it happen soon. It would provide more jobs, a healthier environment, fair profits, and an improved lifestyle. But still it will probably take a deep crisis to make us change our national energy policy.

We all know that many changes are necessary—even for survival. And yet we do not tend to undertake change on our own initiative. Thus crises are probably necessary to push us in new and better directions.

Be ready, then, for crises in our future. Be prepared to ride them out with equanimity. Accountability is in short supply in our culture, but with accountability and responsibility, much discomfort can be prevented, circumvented, accepted, or used for new opportunities.

Supporting one another in groups of like-minded people is most essential. With that kind of moral support, people can weather anything. Keeping our spirit channels open is another essential. All help ultimately comes from spirit. Neptune in Aquarius can help with both of these endeavors.

Above all, nourish hope and love, for we will go through this dark tunnel, and emerge into the light. Again, read my article in the November Daykeeper for an idea of the major transits and of the timetable. Hope, inspiration, and light can be a reward of Pluto in Sagittarius—when we face and incorporate our darkness.

Other specifics: Jupiter is traveling in Libra for most of the year, giving special help to movements of social justice, and to struggles for equal rights everywhere.

Saturn will move out of Cancer, where it is concerned with (and fearful about) security. In August it enters Leo, where it focuses on leadership, and at the same time is insecure about being in charge. Fire signs will be activated in a constructive way.

Mars passes through the universal signs until Summer Solstice, when it enters Aries, its favorite sign. In the universal signs, Mars is prone to direct its energies towards social goals, and in the service of larger interests.

However, Mars gets downright personal for the rest of the year. At the end of July it enters Taurus, and remains there until mid-February of 2006. It is retrograde in Taurus from October 1 until December 9. Mars in Taurus tends to be slow anyway, and those will be very slow months. Taurus is a money-resource sign, and the extremely precarious dollar may fall then. Global warming may also reach an even greater crisis point.

Work now to get your debts paid as much as possible, and get your money trip in order.

Mercury will continue to ply its retrogrades in fire signs, in which we re-evaluate the spirit which animates our lives. Mercury has three 3-week retrograde periods in a year. (Seems more, doesn’t it?)

This year they are:

March 19-April 12
July 22-August 15
November 13-December 3

That last period will be very interesting. Mars is retrograde in Taurus then, and Mercury dips from Sagittarius back into Scorpio. Scorpio is another very generative money sign. Solutions to money problems are possible with that combination.

Perhaps the biggest transit of the year is Jupiter square Saturn on December 17. This will be the first turning point of the famous 20-year Jupiter-Saturn conjunction which occurred in May of 2000. That conjunction was at 23 Taurus, which is where Mars turns retrograde on October 1. Indeed it looks like money and resources are the subject, and like there will be some action in December.

Eclipses in 2005 are mostly in the Aries-Libra polarity, the polarity of self and others. These signs reflect the change of millennium numbers from 1, self, to 2, more than self. Eclipses are catalysts for permanent change in the areas which they contact.

So buckle up for an unpredictable Nine year. Make sure to maintain—or develop if necessary—your grounding practices, and spirit will carry you along on an interesting ride.