Why This Year Will Bring Completion to What Began in 2020

The year 2020 was, without a doubt, one of the most transformative years—not only in world history, but also in the personal histories of many people for whom I have done readings in recent years. Transformations triggered by powerful planetary transits rarely occur only on a collective level; they also touch individual lives deeply. For many, the impact of what 2020 brought into our lives continues to echo to this day.

The problem is that when powerful, transformative events enter our lives, we often lose sight of the bigger picture. We keep asking the wrong questions, such as, “Why me?” or “How do I fix this?” instead of asking, “What am I learning from this?”, “How will this shape me?” or “Who am I becoming?”

This year will offer many of us an opportunity to finally integrate the lessons of the past several years and see more clearly where the chain of events that began in 2020 has been leading us all along.

Jupiter and Ketu Conjuction

The year 2020 began with a relatively common conjunction, occurring approximately every seven years: Jupiter and Ketu. In early January 2020, Jupiter and Ketu met at the same degree in Purvashadha Nakshatra in sidereal Sagittarius. This indicated a grand purification, or “grand reset,” followed by a destabilisation of beliefs, a redefinition of how we relate to the world, and a complete transformation of what connection means.

Whenever Ketu meets Jupiter in the sky, it reveals which existing beliefs or power structures the world is beginning to outgrow. At the same time, it calls upon us to update our personal belief systems. However, although Ketu always attempts to disillusion the overly idealistic Jupiter, it does not necessarily lead us toward truth and genuine inner knowing. Sometimes, it simply replaces one illusion with another, such as a particularly tempting conspiracy theory. The difficulty of a Jupiter–Ketu transit lies in separating truth from falsehood rather than merely replacing old lies with new ones.

This year, Jupiter and Ketu will meet for the first time since 2020—and not just once. From November this year until April of next year, Jupiter and Ketu will meet at the same degree three times: first in Magha Nakshatra, followed by two meetings in Ashlesha—once while Jupiter is retrograde and once while it is moving direct. You can find the exact dates in this article.

This indicates major shifts in both collective and personal belief systems, particularly because Jupiter will repeatedly meet Ketu while moving through the sensitive gandanta zone between sidereal Cancer and sidereal Leo. Old beliefs, no matter how comfortable they may have made us feel, will no longer hold, and we will be compelled to update them.

However, given Jupiter’s extraordinarily high dignity, this period will also present us with a remarkable opportunity to outgrow old patterns, heal, and become better versions of ourselves. It will be a powerful time to heal the past, integrate its lessons, and move forward with greater wisdom.

The Venus Rose Cycle Comes to an End

Another significant transit pointing to the completion of what began in 2020 is the start of the final petal of the Venus Rose Cycle this year.

It takes approximately eight years for Venus to trace its famous five-petalled, flower-like mandala in the sky. The small knot formed where one petal ends and another begins marks the period when Venus turns retrograde. You can read more about the Venus Rose Cycle in this article.

The current Venus Rose Cycle also began in 2020, although not at the beginning of the year, but roughly halfway through it. At that time, many of us were learning how to navigate a new way of relating to the world, connecting with others, and coping with imposed isolation. Needless to say, this period reshaped not only the world, but also each of us.

This October, when Venus turns retrograde once again, she will symbolically begin drawing the final petal of the Rose Cycle in the sky. This will mark the beginning of the completion and integration of the cycle that started in 2020.

This transit points to major shifts, resolutions, and profound realisations arising from within. We will be able to see with far greater clarity what life has been trying to teach us over the past six years and which aspects of this inner work still require our attention.

The Unusually Harmonious Configuration of 19–22 July

The transits discussed above—the cyclical conjunction of Jupiter and Ketu and the Venus Rose Cycle—occur regularly, although not frequently. However, there is another, far more mysterious pattern that deserves investigation—and it is much rarer.

Many astrologers predicted that 2020 would bring a pandemic. It was clear that it would be a year of powerful events capable of reshaping the world. One of the signs was a conjunction of six planets (if Pluto is included) in a single sign: sidereal Sagittarius.

Many attributed the beginning of the pandemic to Saturn and Pluto meeting at the same degree—a considerably rare event that occurs only once every 31 to 38 years. However, one astrologer recognised an even more intriguing pattern. He had spent decades studying the angular relationships among the five slow-moving planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—and comparing them with historical events. His name was André Barbault.

André Barbault, a French astrologer and researcher, passed away in 2019, before he could witness one of his major predictions come true: the pandemic of 2020.

His reasoning was simple: when all the slow-moving planets are positioned at their smallest distances from one another—and are therefore concentrated within one region of the sky—the result has historically been some of the most collectively destabilising events. He measured this concentration using a scale known as the cyclic index and repeatedly demonstrated the pattern throughout his research.

This was certainly the case in early 2020. Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto were already conjunct in sidereal Sagittarius, while Neptune and Uranus, although several signs away, remained relatively close according to the cyclic index scale.

Barbault also predicted that six years after the transformative transit that reshaped the world as we knew it, another, surprisingly harmonious pattern would emerge. Why was he so astonished by it? Because it resembled nothing he had encountered while studying the ephemerides of previous centuries. It is exceptionally rare.

The planetary event to which Barbault referred is a rare geometrical pattern formed by the slow-moving planets, taking place between 19 and 22 July this year. 

Consider the configuration carefully. Pluto will be in Capricorn, Neptune in Pisces (alongside Saturn), Uranus in Taurus, and Jupiter in Cancer. What makes this alignment truly remarkable is that four of these planets will occupy exactly the same degree within their respective signs: the tenth degree.

This is one of the most precise celestial formations we have witnessed in more than 800 years. Even the comparable formation of the early thirteenth century was considerably less exact than the one occurring now.

Retrograde Pluto will form a perfect trine, or trikona, with Uranus in sidereal Taurus, positioned exactly 120 degrees away. Retrograde Neptune will be located precisely halfway between them, creating an auspicious geometrical relationship known in Western astrology as a sextile.

The planet that will truly activate this rare configuration, however, is exalted Jupiter. The moment it reaches the tenth degree of sidereal Cancer, Jupiter will powerfully connect with all the other planets involved, forming a sextile with Uranus, a perfect trikona, or trine, with retrograde Neptune, and a perfect opposition to retrograde Pluto.

It is also noteworthy that all the slow-moving planets will occupy feminine signs during this period, primarily within the Uttarayana rashis, which represent energy rising through the zodiacal chakras. Yet this energy does not appear fierce or destabilising. Instead, the alignment points toward a gentler and more harmonious form of transformation.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime planetary event. Barbault described it as “one of the most beautiful planetary configurations imaginable.”

He predicted that this harmonious distribution of the slow-moving planets could bring considerable good to the world, and a positive resolution of processes initiated in 2020. He associated it with rising living standards, particularly for disadvantaged populations, the alleviation of poverty, and an unprecedented degree of solidarity. He saw within it the possibility of raising both our external and internal standards and evolving into a more compassionate form of humanity.

Barbault was not utopian in his views, however. He understood that every planetary configuration, no matter how beautiful it may appear, also carries its shadows.

He recognised that the same unifying impulse represented by this precise alignment of the slow-moving planets could lead to ideological conflict, fanaticism, or seemingly unifying ideas that ultimately create another form of bondage. On a personal level, it may manifest as exchanging one illusion for another that appears more “awakened,” or as becoming attached to ideals that are neither embodied nor grounded in reality.

Cosmic geometry never dictates outcomes; it simply presents opportunities.

Ultimately, it is always up to us, as human beings, to decide what we make of the opportunities and diverse energies the universe sends our way. But this does not make the opportunity any less real or potent. By understanding that it is approaching—and recognising its potential to support personal transformation and healing—we can do our best to engage with it consciously and make the most of what it offers.