Thomas Canfield
The message for the year of the Snake can best be summed up by an old quote from W.C. Fields: “I always carry a flask of liquor in case of snake bite. I also carry a snake with me for just such an emergency.” The secret of the Snake is good planning. We are entering the year of the Wood Snake, which last took place in 1965. That was the year of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society”, in which government agencies like Medicare were set up to help the public. However, there is a danger of poor planning as well. An escalation of the war in Vietnam was seen in 1965, and troops were sent in with no clear plan for victory. The result was a military embarrassment which lasted several years and caused tragedy on both sides. Proper planning requires that all questions be answered and all contingencies should be prepared for.
The chart of the Aquarius New Moon shows in what areas major planning is going on. The New Moon falls in the Twelfth House, along with Pallas, Pluto, Mercury, and the Part of Fortune rising above the Aquarius Ascendant. This time of triple Aquarius may mark a period of underground activity, possibly of a revolutionary nature. Pluto and Mercury may stand for hidden news sources, and an underground social media. Rather than be a public forum like Facebook or X, there could be secret websites similar to the dark internet.
The New Moon Rising in the Twelfth House could stand for hidden authority, or even a government in exile. The French Maquis might serve as a model for a modern resistance. There also might be a hearkening back to the German underground, where respectable citizens tried to create an alternative government during the Nazi years. People may be wondering what exactly is being resisted, and that element may be shown in the Second House.
Venus, Neptune, the North Node, Chiron, and Eris are in the Second House, and may represent the economic conditions we are facing in the coming year. Venus, Neptune, and the North Node may create the illusion of economic growth. They are sextile Pallas, trine Mars, and trine Juno in the Ninth House. There may be a façade that the economy is doing well and that prosperity will continue. Political efforts might maintain the image of success, but some of it could be a Potemkin village, being no more real than Russian propaganda.
Some signs of upheaval may be seen with Eris squaring Mars and Pallas. Eris squares usually stand for lesser discord. In this case, Eris could be the fulcrum in a teeter-totter competition between Mars and Pallas. Mars in the Sixth House could stand for upheavals in the health firms, especially with vaccines for family members. Pallas in the Twelfth House could stand for doctors driven underground by the changes in health care. Mars and Pallas are both square Chiron in the Second House. The big controversy could be over what health care people could afford as opposed to whether it is really effective. Also, arguments over the abortion issue may be played out. Ceres in Aquarius is sextile Chiron, and the matter of control of one’s body may be an issue in the healthcare debate.
Juno in the Ninth House will be opposing Uranus, and there could be more court cases springing up over political issues. Uranus could stand for the court of public opinion, trying to sway people to certain issues. However, Juno may represent the courts with the real legal powers. The question is whether those legal powers will be enforced. With Juno sextile Pallas and trine Mars, there could be some legal resolutions on health matters or even employment issues. Organizations like labor unions may be working behind the scenes. With Jupiter trine the New Moon, secret organizers may receive a lot of funding.
Jupiter in Gemini will be moving towards a square to Saturn in Pisces. There may be a struggle between the mythological views of family. Elon Musk seems to be playing out the role of Jupiter by creating as many children as possible. Saturn, as the swallower of children, may stand for more rigorous family planning. Upheavals in family values may be shown by Vesta squaring the New Moon. Vesta in Scorpio may stand for the old principles in family with domineering parents. However, the New Moon in Aquarius may stand for a breaking away from the old family and a need to head out on a new course.
One problem may be that there will be so many upheavals during the year of the Snake that proper planning may be difficult. We are seeing this with Pluto entering into Aquarius. The last time Pluto went into Aquarius was in 1778, when the tide was turning for the American Revolution and the British were to lose their colonies. During the Years of the Snake, all of the other outer planets will be changing signs. Neptune is about to move into Aries, and it made that entry on April 14, 1861, two days after the attack on Fort Sumter. It was that day when news of the surrender of the fort reached the North, and the long-threatened Civil War had begun. Neptune in Aries could see another divisive struggles rising up.
Uranus was last entering Gemini in 1942, and its move from Taurus to Gemini marked the turning of the tide against the Axis powers. Uranus moving into Gemini might indicate another freedom fighting movement rising up. Saturn was last in Aries when Newt Gingrich was restructuring the Republican Party so that there would be no more compromise with the Democrats. He also promoted lengthy investigations into Bill Clinton’s association with Whitewater which proved to be fruitless, but opened up investigation into Clinton’s sex life.
Jupiter was last in Gemini in the previous Year of the Snake in 2013. That was a period of government gridlock, when Republicans in Congress voted against every measure put forward by President Obama. No matter how much he planned, he ran into a dead end with legislation. At the time, plans were being made for the Affordable Care Act, which was ridiculed as Obamacare. Though the act was not perfect, it did provide necessary care for the public. In November, 2024, Mars had briefly entered Leo as Donald Trump was celebrating his election victory, and then Mars went retrograde into Cancer as people were arguing about Trump’s cabinet choices. Mars will be moving back into Leo in late April, just after Neptune has moved into Aries. A trine between Mars and Neptune may spark a fantasy insurgency, with no more threat than the Cowardly Lion.
One lesson that might be learned from the year of the Snake and the New Moon in the Twelfth House is that there may be safety in going underground. A secluded snake pit or the ability to shed one’s skin may be a helpful survival trick. With Pluto and Mercury sextile the Midheaven in Sagittarius, the most successful jobs could be those working behind the scenes and gathering information. The Snake could represent the guardian of truth, just as snakes served as the guardians of the Ark of the Covenant in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” As Indiana Jones said, ”Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?”
