Forecasting Future Trends: Science or Wishful Thinking, Part II
From the June-July 2006 Issue of Success Matters
By Pauline Edward

In Part I of Forecasting Future Trends (read complete article) we presented a brief overview of the transits of Uranus and their relationship to current trends and events. Adding the transits of the slower moving planet Neptune, we obtain yet another layer of detail to our story of where we have been, where we are now, and most likely where we are headed. Neptune takes 164 years to complete its cycle in the solar system, and is currently transiting the sign of Aquarius. Neptune is associated with more subtle actions, energies and movements, including research, development and advancement in the oil, gas and chemical industries, alternative medicines, advancements in medicine that relate to fluids and bacteria, the oceans, natural sciences, elusive enemies, pharmaceutical industries, drugs, alcohol, cancer, infectious diseases, biochemistry, conspiracies, hidden forces, images, dreams, ideals, sleep, peace, cinema and illusions. Its action dissolves boundaries and is often unseen.

If we recall, Aquarius is typically associated with cutting edge technology, the future, progress and breakthroughs, liberty and freedom, humanitarianism, and radical thought. If we go back to the last time Neptune transited Aquarius, 1834 to 1847, we find a period that saw much biomedical and chemical advancement such as the discovery of pepsin, the ozone, cell-growth, ether, artificial fertilizers, but also some financial uncertainty due to land speculation and inflation of values, the British-Chinese opium wars, the Bonaparte conspiracies, the institution of child labour laws, the potato famine in Ireland and the start of the Anglo-Sikh Wars.

In 1998, Neptune joined Uranus in Aquarius, and will remain there until 2011. For a period of 5 years, both planets transited Aquarius, the sign of radical thought and ideology, humanitarianism, and advancement. As you will recall, this was indeed a period of tremendous technological and scientific advancement and social change, but also of increasing uncertainty as we witnessed the spread of terrorism and expressions of radical ideologies.

The following prediction for this same period is from an astrology textbook published in 1973 by a respected professional.

"Neptune will enter the sign Aquarius along with Uranus about the year 2000, which marks the real beginning of the Aquarian age. At that time a new civilization will be born, based on enlightened humanitarianism and on a science using new technology and new forms of energy. This will mark the beginning of a thousand years of peace, which was spoken of in the biblical Book of Revelation. The intuitive, clairvoyant faculties of humanity will be highly developed and universal brotherhood will be established in practical reality."

The truth is that it is not easy to set aside personal desires, hopes and values when attempting to make predictions for the future of humanity and so it is not uncommon to find forecasts that are laden with good wishes, but not very realistic in terms of content.

The turn of this century certainly has been a period of radical change in the world, with the dissolution of traditional economic and commercial boundaries, increasing environmental concerns, the rapid growth of the communications industry, but with the spread of terrorism and biochemical warfare as a very real global threat, it certainly has not been a time of peace and enlightened humanitarianism. The price of oil and gas (Neptune) is going through the roof, women are dying by the millions in AIDS-stricken Africa, drug related gang violence is on the rise, children are starving around the world, while obesity and diabetes is plaguing America. All these developments, the positive with the less desirable, are reflections of potential manifestations of the energy of Neptune and Uranus in the signs of Aquarius and Pisces.

In 2011, Neptune will enter Pisces, the sign with whose energy it has the greatest affinity, and will remain there until 2025. Pisces is the sign of the masses, the collective unconscious, hidden and elusive forces, subtle action, medical research, film and cinema, chemistry, the oceans, the natural sciences, the supernatural, spirituality, psychic phenomena, espionage, subversive activity. Before we begin to paint a portrait of this future transit, let us examine the last time Neptune transited Pisces, from 1847 to 1861. The period begins with revolutionary activity in several spots including Paris, Vienna, Venice, Berlin, Milan and Czechoslovakia, and then the Crimean War. Bunsen produced the gas burner, chloroform was used as an anesthetic during childbirth, the refining processes for crude oil were developed, the first commercial oil well was drilled in North America (in Oil Springs, Ontario, by the way) and the oil refining industry began in the US. It is interesting to observe the natural inclinations of the planets and signs coming into manifestation, a flagrant example being the development of the oil industry during the last transit of Neptune through Pisces.

As for the transit of Neptune in Pisces beginning in 2011, in order to make reasonable and realistic projections, we must base ourselves on events and trends leading up to this period. No matter how well intentioned, a rising desire for a more peaceful world will not generate the desired results unless not only a trend but actual progress in that direction is established. Although the future is a natural extension of the present, its trends or style are reflected by the nature of the transits in effect at the time. Also, those ideologies, products, industries, trends, approaches etc. whose energies best reflect those of the times are more likely to be successful, whether for good or for evil. This has always been so in the past, and there is nothing that indicates that this pattern will be any different in the future.

Given what we know about Neptune and Pisces, what might we expect during this upcoming transit? No doubt, we will likely see continued progress in the biochemical and pharmaceutical industries, the development of alternatives to oil and gas as well as advancements in the treatment of cancer and immune related diseases. By the same token, there is as much likelihood that we may suffer new strains of bacteria, especially as the population grows increasingly immune to antibiotics through over use over the past several decades. We may also witness acts of bio-terrorism, chemical warfare or the spread of infectious disease, all Neptune-Pisces in nature. The world will continue to grow into one large community, as technology brings more people together, but we can expect a natural backlash to economic and commercial globalization as the boundaries of old are dissolved (Neptune). No doubt, more and more people will develop and manifest psychic talents and abilities, growing awareness and consciousness. One would also expect a resurgence of spiritual practice, faith and belief, especially those ideologies that espouse selflessness, oneness and devotion, but also fanaticism, sacrifice and martyrdom, two sides of the same coin. On the other hand, with the current unique combination of Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius, mutual signs of rulership, we might expect an increasing number of people experiencing hightened states of awareness, even enlightenment over the next few years.

You may feel that a rather negative picture of the future has been painted, and that it is better to focus on the positive. And yes, it is better to focus on the positive. Yet, at the same time, since the future is a natural consequence of actions taken in the present, would it not be unrealistic, even irresponsible to look towards the future with eyes that project only our desires, no matter how positive or peaceful these images? If the present is ignored, if action is not taken today to resolve the issues that are at the root of our problems, how can we realistically expect a future that will be any different? Are we not fooling ourselves by burying those aspects of the present with which we are not comfortable while waiting for the arrival of an elusive peaceful and harmonious future for all of humanity? Is this behaviour not a less worthy manifestation of the current Neptune (faith and hopefulness) in Aquarius (future) transit?

We could add the transits of Pluto and Saturn, and a variety of other techniques, and continue to speculate about the future. But, if we really wish to experience a better future, should we not examine the causes of our current state? Do you really believe that simply waiting for the next best transit will bring peace to the world? The fact is, the future remains a distant unknown, over which we can have an influence only from where we stand now. In the present moment. If peace is what we seek, then perhaps we might begin by examining what it is and where it comes from. We may ask ourselves what it is that prevents us from experiencing peace. What we do know is that peace is a state of mind, and comes from within. That being so, does it not fall on each of us, individually, to find peace within ourselves? Might our efforts not be better spent by uncovering peace for ourselves rather than by waiting for peace to be brought to us from the world without? To quote The Disappearance of the Universe: "The people of the world will not have peace until the people of the world have inner peace."

Remember that the more things change, the more they remain the same, until we do something different. What will you do differently to make this world a better place for yourself, your children, and your children's children?