Astrology Predicted The 2020 Revolution. Here’s What’s Coming Next

The year was 2032. Jupiter, the Planet of Expansion, was in its final months in Capricorn, getting ready to shift into Aquarius. It was retrograde season, and my 7-year-old niece Efua, a fellow astrology enthusiast, was sitting next to me at the kitchen table. We were chopping up plantains for a midday snack when she pulled out a school notebook and asked me to tell her about what life was like in the previous decade, the 2020s. 

“Where do I begin?” I playfully asked, before starting at the only logical place: Jupiter’s previous shift into Capricorn — the one that occurred 13 years earlier, on December 2, 2019. 

Jupiter represents luck, abundance, growth, and prosperity, I reminded Efua. The planet could feel awkward when placed in serious and practical Capricorn, as if it couldn’t move as quickly as it wanted. Of course, at the start of 2020, that was a feeling familiar to Black and brown abolitionists, change-makers, educators, and revolutionaries, who were exasperated. At times, they wondered if the dismantling of oppressive systems in America and around the world would ever occur. 

They wouldn’t have to wait much longer. In January 2020, a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse was a harbinger of change. Eclipses open people’s eyes. January’s, along with several other major eclipses that occurred in the first half of the year, helped expose the deeply rotten roots of racist, oppressive, and genocidal colonial nations. This activated a phenomenon that I called the 2020 Ascension. More people began to awaken and understand that the fight against racism isn’t a Black issue, but a human one.

Stepping back a little, I told Efua how, in 2018, Uranus, the Planet of Revolution and Surprise, had shifted in steadfast Taurus for the first time in 84 years. That had created a revolutionary rumble that reverberated through all aspects of society. Uranus was also one of the only generational planets transiting direct during the start of the 2020 global uprisings, which accelerated the process of revolution. 

“What about Mars?” my genius niece interjected. “That’s the planet astrologers encourage us to look at for individual and collective revolution.” 

“That’s right,” I responded, nerding out. The Planet of Action had been in Pisces during the start of the global uprising against the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the thousands of Black and brown beings, and humans of all races, who were being systematically targeted and killed around the globe, I told Efua. While stationed in the empathetic sign — from May 13 to June 29, 2020 — Mars demanded: “Open your heart enough to feel something for your fellow human.” 

Another astrological event that contributed to the revolutionary spirit of 2020: The asteroid Chiron was in courageous and determined Aries from 2018 to 2026. Chiron represents our inner wounds, so this movement slowly but insistently encouraged us to express and heal centuries of trauma and oppression that disproportionately affected Black and brown communities all over the world. 

Her wise brown eyes brimming with deeper comprehension, Efua looked at the astrological calendar that hangs in my kitchen, and noted that Saturn, the Planet of Challenge and Responsibility, had entered Aquarius on March 21, 2020. 

“Precisely,” I said: Right around then, COVID-19 and heightened policing began spreading throughout the United States and around the globe. But Aquarius has strong associations with rebellion, revolution, and disrupting the status quo. Saturn’s transit through Aquarius from 2020 to 2023 (with a brief journey back into Capricorn from July 1 to December 17, 2020) sparked one of the biggest changes in collective consciousness known to humankind. The Water Bearer sign is also closely linked to technology, which makes sense, since social media played a major role in the transmitting of information, no matter how uncomfortable.

“Did you notice certain signs more at the forefront of the revolution than others?” Efua inquired, as she poured us some fresh mango juice. 

“That’s a great question,” I told her, recalling how I’d called Water signs — Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces — The Creators of the revolution. Their deep sensitivity and vulnerability allowed them to find ways to express their pain, rage, passions, and desires for justice through their art. Sticking to regular restorative practices was essential for all signs during the 2020 Ascension, but particularly for Water Signs, who wanted to heal everyone’s pain or trauma — to the point where they’d take on other people’s burdens. But Water signs serve as a mirror, and when they focused on their inner healing, they taught others how to heal too. 

The Fire signs were The Disruptors. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius actively engaged in physical protests and demonstrations, or wrote viral tweets to spread awareness, I told Efua. Not all Fire Signs felt called to be leaders — but their action-oriented drive encouraged them to make their voices heard in some shape or form. Many of these skymates were the influencers of the zodiac, reminding us all to keep going even if the battle seemed endless. It’s due to the optimism and candor of Fire Signs that the momentum was so strong. That was particularly true during the last half of 2020, when Mars, the Planet of Action, spent six months in fiery Aries. This transit was a game-changer, encouraging all skymates to no longer ignore what obviously needed to be faced on a personal and collective level.

The Earth signs — Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn — were The Regenerators of the movement, I explained to my niece. They’d been the ones to encourage their fellow humans to start gardening or learning about herbalism; to teach skymates how to ground themselves through yoga and meditation; and to help us consider living in a communal setting rather than stubbornly holding onto individual consumerism. This shift in consciousness led by Earth signs not only helped heal Mama Earth, but it also helped heal our minds and souls, as we collectively shifted from a scarcity-based mindset to an abundant one. 

“And what about Air signs?” my loving Libra protégé asked. 

“Air signs, like Aquarius Angela Davis, were at the forefront of the social change movement,” I told her. Geminis', Libras', and Aquarians’ airy nature allowed them to view change as being as natural a part of life as breathing, and this helped them influence their communities to shake up the status quo. These brilliant communicators were the ones creating and sharing petitions, crowdfunding, and demanding transparency and accountability from local governments and police departments. Saturn’s presence in Aquarius at the start of the decade placed Air signs in a prime position to lead with intention. 

Based on this description, I asked Efua what she would call the Air signs of the 2020s. 

She paused for a few seconds, and then exclaimed, “The Change-Makers!” with excitement and pride. 

“I love that,” I responded, laughing at her enthusiasm. I explained to her that Air signs’ main challenge was to take the revolution one step at a time. At times, their desire for change made them impatient and easily distracted. Ultimately, though, all the signs had to work together to balance out each others’ strengths during this revolution. 

“They probably used their birth charts as a tool for better understanding their roles in the movement, huh?” Efua asked. “Our birth charts are literally a secret weapon.”

I smiled, my niece providing living proof of how much astrology really took off in the 2020s, as more skymates sought spiritual insights regarding the revolution they felt happening in the world, and within their own selves. 

“Exactly,” I responded. “The more humans took time to get to know their selves, and studied the diverse range of astrological placements that existed in their birth charts, the greater empathy they were able to cultivate for their fellow human being. Knowledge of self, healing of self, and forgiveness of self, was key to our great awakening.”

We still have work to do in the 2030s and beyond, I stressed to my niece. But the 2020s paved the path for our continued battle.

It was during this decade, I told her, that Black people in particular learned that the fight for justice was not theirs alone to bear. Expansive Jupiter’s shift into revolutionary, social Aquarius in December 2020 activated a period of profound awakening within humanity, one that helped us understand why the 2020 decade had started off so wildly and knocked everyone off their feet. Humans of all races continued to fight for our global liberation from a capitalist and greedy model of living, to a deeply sustainable, equitable, and Indigenous-centered reality. And this all came to be with the help of astrology gently, and sometimes quite aggressively, guiding humanity to the other side. Nothing was ever the same in that post-eclipse 2020 world.

I ended my history lesson by explaining to Efua that once Jupiter entered Aquarius 12 years ago, at the end of 2020, it marked the end of an era as we knew it. The five groundbreaking and eye-opening eclipses that took place from June to December 2020 sparked a massive decolonization and unlearning movement, teaching us that questioning what we’ve been taught to be true is an essential part of the revolution. So is rest, and so is laughter. We had to allow ourselves to laugh at hilarious and poignant Twitter memes, while actively seeking out educational resources and donating to our local mutual funds. Activism in the 2020s had to be continuous and tangible.

By the time my trip down memory lane had ended, Efua had already gobbled up half of the plantains I had fried, and her notebook was filled with notes, underlines, highlights, and exclamation points. I smiled, satisfied that I was able to help her immortalize a part of the 2020 Ascension that I know influenced the course of humanity forever. 

We’re made of stardust for a reason, and the key to our liberation has always existed within us. May we continue to activate our ascension by using astrology and activism in tandem, as we co-create a vibrant new reality.