© Canadafirst/Dreamstime

Next Wednesday, July 21, Saturn enters Libra — or, more precisely, re-enters. Once this happens, we’ll be in the final ascent toward the peak of the 2010 cardinal T-square.

The Lord of Karma briefly stepped onto the Scales from October 29 to April 7. Since then, he’s been finishing up his business in Virgo, where he taught us practical lessons like taking our Omega-3, paying attention to the environment, and doing our duty to help others. He also served as an anchor to keep the volatile energies of the cardinal T-square in check.

Once he enters Libra, it’s going to be a whole new game. Cardinal energies favor swift, targeted action. Libra is an air sign, so we might expect some violent wind storms and probably a big shift in political and financial winds, too. Saturn in Libra will enforce balance. If we’re out of alignment in any way, we’ll have to adjust accordingly.

There’s a lot more I could write about Saturn in Libra, but the most compelling issue is that the cardinal T-square is now fully activated and powering up toward peak output in late July and early August. In the first degree of Libra, Saturn will be tightly opposed to Uranus at 0 degrees Aries and Jupiter at 3 degrees Aries, and he’ll square Pluto at 3 degrees Capricorn. Jupiter is stationed, two days from turning retrograde on July 23. That’s a whole lot of shifting going on.

The biggest bang may be heard in Washington, D.C., where Saturn will be dead on the Ascendant at the moment he enters Libra. Saturn rules the government, while Jupiter rules the banks and the justice system, and Uranus is associated with explosions, political protest, and unexpected events. All three planets will be in a tight square to Pluto, which rules subversive elements, espionage, and the very wealthy and powerful.

There are way too many variables in there to make a reliable prediction, but I’ll be watching the news headlines. Whatever happens, it looks as though President Obama will play a major role.

Saturn is said to be “exalted” in Libra, where he demands peace, social justice, diplomacy, equality, and fairness. Although Saturn is very challenged in this T-square arrangement, he’s the strongest of the outer planets, since he’s direct and in the sign of his exaltation. All of the other planets are retrograde or stationing. That said, he’s getting slammed from all sides, and Mars is approaching conjunction with him as well. All in all, it looks like we’re in for some dramatic developments.

From July 31 to August 20, Venus and Mars both will be conjunct Saturn, and that could have implications for male-female relationships everywhere, perhaps even for the balance of masculine and feminine energy on the planet as a whole. I’ve written a lot about this imbalance, which appears to be slowly correcting.

I’ll have more about these aspects in my upcoming weekly forecasts. Be sure to check back often!

Pat