Thugs and Miracles: The Astrology of 2025-2026 and the Fall of Western Rome
You’ve probably heard by now the Astrology of 2025 and 2026 indicates that we’re at a crucial turning point. You might have also heard that we’ve never seen Astrology like this before— but indeed we have— right around what’s recognized as the fall of Western Rome.
From 480-483 CE Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn all changed signs just as they’re in the process of doing now. This would be a lot on its own, but to thicken the plot, they did so in a specific configuration called a Minor Grand Trine, which they’re traveling in again now. This is a web of harmonious aspects between heavy-hitting, generational planets.
The Fall of Western Rome sounds dramatic, but I encourage you to keep in mind that not everyone loved being a Roman citizen, especially as the empire began to deteriorate. Historian Gregory Aldrete describes uncanny parallels from that period of time to a lot of the popular consensus today: the aristocratic class becoming a smaller and wealthier group, frustration with power-hungry, less than honest leadership, the ability religious ideology had to spread among those discontent with the social hierarchy, and more on Lex Fridman’s podcast– I highly recommend checking it out for perspective’s sake.
It’s all par for the course when we’re talking about the outer trio of planets: profoundly powerful Pluto, nebulous, spiritual Neptune, and autonomy-seeking Uranus.
Despite the uncanny parallels between the Astrology of then and now, there are some crucial differences to keep in mind that offer hope for a brighter trajectory this time around.
At the outset of the earlier configuration in 480, Jupiter in Aquarius opposed Pluto in Leo. Yale History Professor Paul Freedman dubbed this period of time “a combination of thugs and miracles.” As I summarize on YouTube, a period of barbarian soldiers carving up Western Europe ensued. One in particular, Clovis I, claimed to have been lead to miraculous victory on the battlefield, telling his men he’d been chosen by God to be King. Sound familiar? The Church was both politically and supposedly supernaturally powerful at this time, with Church leaders alleging the ability to cure illness via powers ordained to them by one almighty God. Pluto in Leo seems to have represented monotheism— the ultimate concentration of Solar power— as a coercive tool over the collective beliefs of the people (Jupiter in Aquarius).
In the summer of 2026 Jupiter in Leo will oppose Pluto in Aquarius, exactly the reverse. With AI’s potential, might we see actual miracles this time around? Aquarius is affiliated with innovation and technological advancement, as well as social ecosystems. Will the transparency modern technology offers put power in the hands of the people to combat attempts of world leaders to overreach?
In Planetary Cycles: Mundane Astrology author and legendary Astrologer André Barbault identified this coming opposition as a potentially profound turning point of collective unity and humanitarian ideals. While considering the parallel to the early 480’s— a point of no return as far as the way Western Europe was politically and socially organized— there’s reason to be hopeful that Jupiter and Pluto’s reversal could have a very different effect, tilting the scales of power in the favor of the people.
We can draw another uncanny parallel between the early 480’s and now with the Eclipses taking place. The Nodes determine what pair of signs Eclipses occur in for roughly 18 month periods. For at least a portion of both periods, we can see the North Node in illusive, mystical Pisces, and the South Node in dutiful, service-oriented Virgo. This indicates religious ideation may play a heavy hand again, with questions of who the people serve.
There’s one more stunning synchronicity between our two periods. Jupiter and Saturn’s cycles are reflective of the personal morals and beliefs of individuals (Jupiter), how those shape our social constructs and ultimately our collective reality (Saturn). For roughly 200 year periods these two make a series of conjunctions in signs of a designated element: air (intellect, communication), fire (inspiration, spirit), earth (material, practicality) or water (emotion, interpersonal connection). December 2020 marked the beginning of 200 years of Jupiter and Saturn meeting predominantly in air with their conjunction in Aquarius. Note that this was just weeks before the events of January 6th— a hint toward the impetus for changes to come. That this conjunction took place in Aquarius reflects the heavy emphasis on the conceptual frameworks we all agree to be governed by, whether we know it or not.
The conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn that preceded 480-483 was also in Aquarius. However, it was the tail end of that series, and the planets would start making conjunctions in water for the next 200 years shortly after. Hence the emphasis of religion as a political and social cohesive during that time. Currently, we are coming off of a series of Jupiter - Saturn conjunctions in earth, meaning we are moving away from a heavy emphasis on the material. Our collective concept of what holds value is already showing signs of this shift with the recent “no buy 2025” social media trend. In both scenarios, we’re at yet another point of major collective transition.
There’s another important elemental difference to consider through this historical comparison: from 480 - 483, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn were all moving from masculine or yang signs to feminine, yin signs. We will experience the reverse this time around– Saturn and the outer planets are moving from yin to yang signs. The yang signs are of the fire and air elements: they’re easily inspired to action, they move quickly, they can be detached from emotion, and not consider consequences. The yin signs are more passive, emotional and can get stuck in the past. With the shift from yin to yang signs this time around, the road ahead signals a collective inspiration to take action.
Part of Barbault’s optimism stems from the fact that the planets are forming predominantly harmonious aspects, indicating constructive turning points in the midst of long on-going cycles. Now we’ll consider the origin of these cycles to help us understand where we are now, and how we got here. Each cycle between planets begins with a conjunction, like the New Moon each month between the Sun and the Moon. At first they form a series of building or waxing aspects. Think of this as the plot thickening in whatever story the two planets are weaving together. The opposition (180°), is the peak of the cycle, like we experience with the Full Moon each month. This is what will occur between Pluto and Jupiter in 2026, the peak to the cycle seeded between them in April of 2020 as the world entered pandemic lockdowns.
After the peak of the cycle, the same series of aspects are made in reverse order in the waning or retirement phase until the next conjunction, where the process starts all over again. In contrast to the Sun and the Moon who repeat their cycle every month, the three outer planets cycles with one another take more than 100 years to complete.
The waxing sextile between Pluto and Neptune has been felt and holding for a while because these planets move so slowly. This cycle began when Pluto and Neptune made a conjunction in Gemini, Mercury-ruled air, in 1892. Pluto represents evolutionary forces, power, death and rebirth, as well as strong influences that are often hidden from view. Neptune is transcendent in nature, affiliated with spirituality, religion, universal oneness, imagination, empathy, vulnerability, escapism, illusion and deception. The initial conjunction held for about 25 years, during which science was at a significant peak, lending to many discoveries, innovations and the beginnings of the ‘modern’ or ‘western’ crisis we’re very much still feeling today.
Barbault writes “Just as Rationalism began to be universally accepted, the number of unknowns, instead of decreasing, had started to proliferate with the ‘irrational’ concept of the infinitely large as well as the infinitely small… It was like an earthquake that brings up unknown substances from the darkness below; the feeling that something had overtaken reason.” Fast forward to 1989, earlier in the sextile between Pluto and Neptune that we’re feeling now, when Don Henley sang “The more I know, the less I understand.” Here we are now, in yet more twists to this Gemini-esque paradox: a loneliness epidemic despite having more access to one another than ever before, as well as infinite sources of information at our fingertips, but little ability to recognize truth from pure and often targeted fiction.
Albert Einstein was coming of age at the time of the conjunction, and Sigmund Freud was well into his career. Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays was born the year prior to the conjunction in 1891. Bernays would move to the United States and become the “Father of Public Relations.” His notable achievements include using psychology to make cigarettes appealing to women, branding them “Torches of Freedom,” as well as his work during World War I for the US government building support for its war efforts. Bernays referred to the latter as “psychological warfare” on the American people. “While credited with advancing the profession of public relations, his techniques have been criticized for manipulating public opinion, often in ways that undermined individual autonomy and democratic values,” reads Wikipedia. In interviews toward the end of his life he expressed regret that he hadn’t ensured Public Relations required licensure like is needed to practice medicine, seeming to acknowledge its potential for mass harm in the hands of the wrong people. We can see a clear link between Bernays’ efforts and much of what we experience from marketing firms, influencers, celebrities, large corporations, political parties, and both legacy and social media algorithms today.
Next we have Pluto and Uranus traveling in the waxing trine to the cycle they seeded in 1965 in Virgo— Mercury’s other sign of rulership, it’s earth domicile. So we have both of our major outer planet cycles with Pluto, the God of the Underworld, occurring in signs ruled by Mercury, the trickster planet, also known as the psychopomp. This one occurred at the midpoint of the Vietnam War. Uranus is known for disruption, innovation, awakening, and efforts toward autonomy. Pluto and Uranus combinations are loud and intended to disrupt what’s stale and hidden from conscious awareness. As you might recall, this was a period marked by the Civil Rights movement, thick with social change, anti-establishment sentiment, and rethinking traditional values. Psychedelics and cannabis use were prevalent at this time. We can clearly see an evolutionary arc to today’s drug culture: cannabis’ legalization efforts, research into the psychological benefits of psychedelics, the opioid crisis, the emergence of fentanyl, and drug sales through social media platforms.
Birth control became available to the public just prior to this conjunction, in 1960. Barbault writes this “had a belated liberating effect on women, but equally it was infinitely devastating for a youth that was immature to be presented with unbridled eroticism, and then there were the drugs that made a sudden and devastating appearance across the world.” A significant factor to consider here: the generation who were young and impressionable during that time are hugely influential today, many currently in positions of power.
Women’s reproductive issues are a hot topic once again in public discourse for a variety of reasons, both progressive and regressively. Positively, two of the most listened to podcasts episodes of 2024 just so happened to be on the topic of menopause! Podcasts are very Mercurial in nature, and Virgo is concerned with health and the body.
The first personal computer came to the market shortly after the conjunction in 1973, and gadgets of all kinds saw technical upgrades during this period of time– true to Virgo’s Mercurial, practical, and materially useful nature. The first man to set foot on the Moon occurred in 1969 when Jupiter joined Uranus and Pluto still within orb of their conjunction. With Pluto in innovative Aquarius now, in the waxing trine with Uranus, we are likely to see a continuation of these themes and accomplishments in similar form.
We can condense from here because we’ve crossed into more recent territory with multiple cycles seeded in close succession, heavily influencing one another.
In 1988, Saturn and Uranus met in conjunction at the critical (last, potent) degree of Sagittarius. They then both entered Capricorn, where Saturn met in conjunction with Neptune in 1989, and Uranus caught up to Neptune seeding their current cycle in 1993. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune combined can indicate compassion, grounded idealism, a disillusionment preceding rebirth, disruptions that prompt awakening, feelings of lost security, ideological rigidity and extremism, according to Renn Butler’s The Archetypal Universe. Sagittarius is idealistic, expansive and inspired, while Capricorn is tribally-minded and concerned with cultivating land and/or resources.
These years saw the end of the Cold War, the Pan-Am flight disaster, the Tiananmen Square protests, the US and USSR signing nuclear disarmament treaties, the Gulf War, the fall of the Berlin wall and reunification of Germany, Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the signing of the Israeli - Palestinian peace treaty. So again, we can see parallels in the reshaping of Europe back to 480-483, and clear evolutionary tracks to some of the major issues on all of our minds today. As well as some hope! Keeping in mind, once again, that many of the aspects playing out over the next two years are points of positive development in any planetary cycle.
Finally, the Capricorn theme continues with our last conjunctions to consider. Saturn and Pluto seeded their most recent cycle in 2019 in Capricorn. They continued to travel within orb in the late degrees, with Jupiter catching up and conjoining both as we saw our first global pandemic in a very long time. Now as we approach Saturn and Pluto’s waxing sextile, which will include Neptune, we are obviously still in the wake of all of the change and disruption the pandemic initiated. It is likely information comes to light that transforms public sentiment, breaking down previous certainties, and lending to necessary systemic reform. This combination can also highlight rigid dualisms, so it’s an excellent period of time to stay ideologically flexible, open to new perspectives, and accepting of different walks of life.
Saturn and Neptune are wrapping up their current cycle in the last degrees of Pisces, the end of the Zodiac. It’s a vulnerable, nebulous, somewhat depressive influence, amplified by the North Node’s presence. It’s seeming to indicate mass futility, with many young people feeling a lack of purpose, inspiration or direction. If this is you, just wait– and watch for where needs open up in the new cultural landscape taking shape. Try to study the trends, and where you might be able to find purpose through necessary service as we forge ahead.
Consequences of climate change seem like they’ll be a driving force for the shifts on the horizon. Saturn and Neptune’s coming conjunction will be at 0° Aries– which is where the North Node was during the recent bout of wild fires that devastated Los Angeles. The North Node in oceanic Pisces now strongly indicates a continuation of hurricane-like events.
One of the reasons we’re at such a crisis point in so many different ways is due to what Dr. Brian Klaas calls the Myth of Predictability. As I mentioned, Mercury is the trickster planet, ruling over Virgo, where Pluto and Uranus’ current cycle began during the Vietnam War. It also rules Gemini where the Pluto-Neptune conjunction was seeded the year after Edward Bernays’ birth. True to Mercury’s nature, Dr. Klaas points out that for all of it’s benefits, modern convenience has another side to it that we need to be wary of. If we’re not careful, it can and has warped our perception of the true nature of reality. As luxuries like Amazon and UberEats have permeated our lives, many have come to believe the world around us is more in our control than it is in reality. When we look at our world leaders and wonder why so many crises have been left festering in plain sight, Klaas explains, our ability to practice acceptance and adapt when necessary appears to have suffered.
What the challenging events ahead of us through this period of time will do is reemphasize the need for community and for our governments to be effective, resourced, and accountable. It will also proliferate opportunities to be of service to one another. Change is uncomfortable, the unknown can be scary, and the rapid pace of events since the pandemic has been overwhelming. But these can also serve as doorways to curiosity, acceptance, opportunity to serve, and incentive toward action.
Which doorway will you choose?
Thanks for reading! I'm Colleen, a professional Astrologer with 5+ years experience working with hundreds of clients. I offer monthly Lunar Cycle overviews, special transit forecasts, educational resources, private consultations, book recommendations, and more. I use the Tropical Zodiac and the Whole Sign House system, and was trained in the Hellenistic tradition. But I believe Astrology is ever-evolving; I study and incorporate influences from the Indian tradition and more modern approaches as well. To book a personal session with me please visit: astrologywithcolleen.com