Retrospective of the Aquarian Decade (2014 – 2024)
In mid-2015 I published This is the Dawning of the Aquarius Micro-Age Decan which technically concluded in November 2024. Combined with its overflow period, this Aquarius period ruled from December 2014 until November 2024, and it defined much of the turmoil, consternation and angst that has occurred in the world during this time. For all Baby Boomers and later generations, this has been the greatest experience of Aquarius that 99% of people alive today have experienced. (This analysis is based exclusively on the astrological ages – for more details, see the Age of Aquarius for Dummies )
During this decade, the main effects on politics were the shift to far-right political parties and politicians and a loss in support for center-left or middle-of-the-road social democratic parties. How many people expected in December 2014 that someone like Donald Trump would be elected twice as president over the coming 10 years? Who expected that the UK would vote for Brexit? Concerns and fears about illegal immigration and refugees sparked a plethora of populace leaders and growing calls for border restrictions. Democratic backsliding in many countries has made it difficult to determine the integrity of elections. Who would have imagined that most of us would be locked down or be thwarted in our travel plans due to a pandemic?
This ‘deterioration’ was also observed in the previous Aquarius period of note, though much milder for the recent Aquarius period as it was based on a 10-year micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 2014 – Dec 2019 – Nov 2024) whereas the previous Aquarius period was far more powerful based on a full micro-age and overflow covering the period (1910 – 1925 – 1940). This saw the rise of autocratic governments and the twisted ideologies of communism and fascism that in essence, brought hell to the world. We are experiencing the same but fortunately a smaller dose.
The new breed of dictators, autocrats and far-right politicians include Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Boris Johnson, with many minor supporting leaders such as Israel’s Netanyahu, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, India’s Narendra Modi, and as I write, even Austria is currently experiencing political turmoil as their far-right political party won the most votes in their recent election held in 2024. Far-right politicians are also on the rise in France and Germany. Many democratic nations are experiencing their right-wing political leaders ape Donald Trump’s political style of forceful and repetitive lies. There is no suggestion that the contemporary right-wing populist leaders are, in most cases, anywhere near the vileness and evil of the early 20th century.
Why do far-right and extremist political parties and their leaders get traction in an Aquarius period? It is because Aquarius’ opposite sign Leo rules the mainstream and consistency, while Aquarius rules extremists and interruption. In modern times, aligned with the growing momentum of the Age of Aquarius, the trend has been away from monarchs and tyrants towards liberal democracies, so extremists tend to oppose liberal democratic ideals in reaction, which is why they are commonly called reactionaries. Reactionaries are currently having a field day, especially in the USA with a regurgitated President Trump. Putin is doing his best to stomp on the democratic-aligned population of Ukraine and Georgia but has recently failed in Syria, while Netanyahu’s revenge against Hamas appears more like genocide. And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
I only had an inkling of what was in store for the world when I published my expectations in 2015, as like nearly everyone else, I had never experienced Aquarius at strength. Not everything I wrote in 2015 was correct, but the major thrust was in accord with what occurred. probably my major oversight was that in 2015, I did not realize that Aquarius is the sign of major disruptions and interruptions. Not everything was reactionary as the sign Aquarius is strongly associated with homosexuality, and very early in this Aquarius period in 2015, legally recognized gay marriage in the USA applied to all 50 states. Even that formerly staunch conservative stronghold of the Republic of Ireland legalized gay marriage in Ireland in May 2015.
The reason why immigration has been such a volatile issue and weaponized by right-wing reactionary forces is that while this Aquarius period is derived from a decan of the Gemini micro-age (Dec 2014 – Nov 2029), this is also the timeframe for the Cancer micro-age overflow, with the greater emphasis always linked to overflow periods. In Cancer times, many people in dire circumstances seek a new home. The immigrants, legal or illegal, are just doing what humans have always done since time immemorial, which is to look for a better home with a better quality of life. However, for the incumbents sitting in the USA, Europe and other developed countries, the waves of immigrants look like an invasion, especially when they bring different ethnic, cultural and religious values with them. It can feel like a breakdown of (Capricorn) structure, order and discipline as Capricorn is deficit in a Cancer period. Most reactionary political forces have seized upon this situation, promoting and exploiting the opportunity to denigrate and persecute the ‘outsiders’. The immigration conundrum will remain a high-profile issue for the rest of this decade, and will not fade from view until well into the next decade until the world hits the Capricorn micro-age decan (2029 – 2034) and especially its overflow (2034 – 2039). Cancer periods also produce a deficiency in (Capricorn) wise and responsible leaders. The current combination of Cancer and Aquarius has produced eccentric and extremist anti-leaders. There doesn’t seem to be a Franklin D Roosevelt or a Churchill in sight?
Another side of Aquarius is excitement. The last Aquarius micro-age coincided with the Roaring 20s and the Jazz Age. The cultural aspects of the Roaring Twenties began in leading metropolitan centers, especially Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin and London; then spread widely producing a period with a distinct cultural edge. The French called it the “Crazy Years” emphasizing the era’s social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood and Art Deco peaked. In most major Western countries’ women won the right to vote. The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity associated with (Aquarius) modernity and a break with traditions. Everything seemed to be feasible through modern technology. New technologies, especially automobiles, movies and radio enhanced the surge of “modernity” to a large part of the population. The discordance of jazz matches the eccentric nature of Aquarius. This was also the key period when electric lights lit up the world for the first time. The 1920s saw the large-scale development and use of automobiles, telephones, films, radio, and electrical appliances in the lives of millions in the Western world. Aviation turned into a business due to its rapid growth.[1]
While the recent Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow is far weaker and shorter than what was experienced early in the 20th century, the technological marvel of AI came to mass attention leading to the spectacular rise of Nvidia. As an example of the inroads AI has made, in January 2023 ChatGPT had more than 100 million users only two months after its launch, making it the fastest-growing consumer application to date.[2] Aquarius rules excitement, and people are very excited about AI.
Cosmology experienced a revolution with the launch in December 2021 of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It has made many groundbreaking discoveries in advanced understanding of exoplanets, the first billion years of the universe, and many other astrophysical and cosmological phenomena revolutionizing cosmology.
It is not only technology that gets people excited, they also get excited about fringe political leaders under Aquarius. Hitler’s speeches were stated to electrify his audience, he thrilled them to bits. People seem to get hypnotized by alpha males wanting to conquer the world. Enough Germans became so excited, that they killed tens of millions of people before watching much of their homeland get turned into rubble. In early 2025, Trump’s supporters are incredibly enthusiastic about their demigod becoming president again. Half the British public were excited and overjoyed about Brexit, but the fanfare seems to have now disappeared as reality sets in. Leo UK will always suffer under Aquarius – last time round they came very close to being invaded.
The current batch of extreme rightwing leaders are not so vile or cruel, but the contemporary watered-down versions still vie for policies of similar flavor. The lowest common denominator in the Western world has improved since the first half of the 20th century as the momentum of the Aquarian age continues to make progress over the centuries. The lowest common denominator of any period is a better gauge of society compared to their ideals or achievements.
Another commonality between the current Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 2014 – Dec 2019 – Nov 2024) and the previous Aquarius micro-age and overflow (1910 – 1925 – 1940) is disruption. Covid-19 certainly disrupted the world to a greater extent compared to anything since the Second World War, but pails to insignificance compared to the Spanish Flu (1918 – 1920) that killed between 17 and 100 million people worldwide.[3]
The beginning of any period in macro-astrology is clinical, but the endings are not. Despite the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 2014 – Dec 2019 – Nov 2024) ending in November 2024, the momentum it created will linger on, but progressively reduce in intensity. The peak in late 2024 of the Libra micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 2019 – Nov 2024 – Nov 2029) is nudging Aquarius aside as Libra wants to take the focus away from Aquarius. The focus of these Libra periods in the world is usually to create division, conflict and war, but also some peace accords and armistices. The ceasefire engineered between Israel and Hamas in mid-January 2025 is a good example. Historically, most peace accords over the last 500 years follow terrible wars and great loss of life such as the Second Treaty of Paris, signed in 1815, ending the Napoleonic Wars which is believed to have killed 5 million combatants alone.[4] The Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815) is associated with the Libra micro-age and overflow (1791 – 1806 – 1821).
We should expect the current round of populace leaders to ride the tail end of Aquarius and with Libra currently the sign of the day, we should expect greater and more conflicts, interspersed with some peace agreements. This could include some resolution to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The potential astrological signature for Ukraine contains Taurus, Gemini, Cancer and Capricorn, and all four zodiac signs were strongly stimulated at the beginning of 2022 with Taurus heavily afflicted by the potent Scorpio sub-age overflow (1970 – 2149).
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 is typical of a country with a strong association with Aquarius. The Russian Revolution in 1917 occurred in the Aquarius micro-age and overflow (1910 – 1925 – 1940) cementing post-Tsarist Russia to Aquarius. Russia expresses its Aquarian nature by always seeming out of synch with Europe and most Western nations before and after the Russian Revolution. It also expressed its Aquarian nature through its advances in space technology, and accordingly, sent the first satellite and person into space.
Oligarchs, who are currently having a feeding frenzy, seem to be in a boom time, and this is associated with the Cancer micro-age and overflow (2000 – 2014 – 2029). The previous Robber Barons became noticeable in the USA by 1870, and include Andrew Carnegie, John Jacob Astor, John D Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, JP Morgan, Leland Stanford and Henry Ford.[5] They flourished mainly under the massive Cancer sub-age decan overflow (1851 – 1925), but the current crop will have less impact due to the relatively short-lived Cancer micro-age and overflow (2000 – 2014 – 2029). Oligarchs seem to thrive under Cancer, as like Cancer, they don’t like letting go of anything they have in their possession, especially due to taxation. The astrology indicates they will be dethroned or marginalized by the coming Capricorn micro-age decan and overflow (2029 – 2034 – 2039), especially in the second half. Oligarchs always depend upon the relative ignorance and stupidity of significant sections of any society. In a Cancer period, such as we are currently experiencing, Capricorn wisdom, logic and rationality are in detriment.
Finally, the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow (Dec 2014 – Dec 2019 – Nov 2024) form part of the backbone of the Age of Aquarius, and Aquarius will pack as much of its archetypes as possible into any Aquarius backbone it encounters. But it also has another function – it is the preview for the soon-to-arrive massive Aquarius sub-age and overflow (2029 – 2088 – 2149). Elements encountered in the Aquarius micro-age decan and overflow will mushroom in the coming Aquarius sub-age and overflow, especially in the second half in its more powerful overflow period. This coming period could be labelled the baptism of the Age of Aquarius which was born over 500 years ago and the Aquarius epoch will continue to strongly affect the world for almost another 4,500 years.
There is no necessity to get into what the Aquarius sub-age decan and overflow (2029 – 2088 – 2149) will mean towards the end of this century, but while we should have a short respite from the weird nature of the world over the last 10 years, the heat will return with the arrival of the Aquarius sub-age decan and overflow (2029 – 2099 – 2149) in late 2029. Though the first 45 years of this will be its weakest quarter, it does suggest that the new instability and weirdness, that has particularly affected us over the last 10 years, will get entrenched into the modern world, one way or another, for the rest of this century. The drive for democracy, equality and justice and the strength of reactionary elements will probably both increase. The January 2021 attempted insurrection in the USA was just a preview of the future.
We have entered a period promoting conflict, and the new US president has commenced his presidency promoting conflict and division in numerous areas. As the influence of Aquarius temporarily subsides over the next few years, the incoming Libran influence will not just bring conflict and peace treaties. It will also stoke the fires of justice and female rights. It seems that the world can simultaneously advance and backtrack. Over the long term, history indicates that progress wins, but anything can happen in the short term.
References:
[1] Roaring Twenties. (2025, January 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties [2] Timeline of artificial intelligence. (2025, January 7). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_artificial_intelligence [3] Spanish flu. (2024, December 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu [4] Napoleonic Wars. (2025, January 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars [5] 20 of America’s Most Notorious Robber Barons, https://historythings.com/20-of-americas-most-notorious-robber-barons/
