2025 Preview

by Frank Clifford

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The following is an edited version of transcription of a talk given by Frank for the London School of Astrology in October 2024. With thanks to Wendy Blume from the FAA Journal for transcribing.

As my friend and colleague Brian Clark is fond of saying, transits are about participation rather than anticipation. And with four of the outermost planets—Saturn to Pluto—moving sign in the coming months, 2025 is an opportunity to be actively involved in these changing times.

The astrology I practise focuses on honouring the planets and recognising the invitation in the transit. So once we determine what is being activated in our chart during 2025, we can ask: Which part of our sacred contract are we being asked to read, understand, explore and carry out differently?

Elemental shifts

From late 2024 to 2025, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto not only move signs but also elements.

Uranus and Pluto transit from an Earth-centred energy towards a more cerebral, Air energy. Earth is attached to the tangible, while Air is interested in possibilities and ideas. Earth is grounded to the physical, while Air has its mind on mental realms. Earth can get stuck in routines, whereas Air is about debating, questioning and problem-solving to get unstuck. Earth says, “This is it; this is what I can build on,” while Air offers, “Here’s an alternative—try it!” Both are fact-driven and focused on the verifiable, but Earth focuses on the material and Air is ideological.

Both Saturn and Neptune are moving from Water to Fire, from Pisces into Aries. Water moistens and dives in deeply, while Fire warms up and rises. Water can be passive yet responsive to the inner and outer tides of emotional change, while Fire pursues challenge and new horizons with enthusiasm. Both Water and Fire are introspective for different reasons, and both elements take things very personally. Not only are Saturn and Neptune shifting element, but they are also ending the zodiac and starting afresh. When they come together in early Aries in February 2026, this will feel like a powerful new era for many.

Mid-2025

The months of June and July 2025 highlight some dramatic planetary activity. Jupiter will square both Saturn and Neptune, while Saturn and Neptune almost reach conjunction, giving clues as to which topics will become key issues from early 2026 (they meet on 20 February 2026). If our chart has planets or angles at the very early degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), it is being heavily activated during these months.

The Jupiter–Saturn square is the first significant aspect between the pair since they met at 0º Aquarius in December 2020. This gives us all an opportunity to see how far we've come since then. What were we trying to create in our lives that was seeded at the conjunction? Mid-2025 is the time to fill in the report card and assess how far we’ve come four-and-a-half years on.

The square involves two very different cardinal signs: Aries and Cancer. What do they have in common? They like to do things their own way and to be in charge, but they have very different methods and motivations. Both signs feel under threat easily but have different ways of attack and defence. If we imagine Fire and Water coming together, we might picture a situation where someone reacts impulsively, gets emotionally fired up and then finds themselves in hot water. Jupiter is focused on connecting emotionally (cardinal Cancer) but Saturn (in cardinal Aries) says, “Hold on. Slow down. Not yet. Wait.”

From a mundane astrology stance, this square may see further conservative values pitted against progressive ideology. For instance, one side fighting to protect family values, while the other fighting to protect individual rights. This square can be seen in the on-going battle in the US over the right for women to choose to terminate pregnancies.

The Jupiter–Neptune square between Cancer and Aries is softer. Both planets have a mystical quality about them so it’s likely that we’ll see fashions, music and films that explore the imagery of Cancer and particularly Aries.

On a personal level, the Jupiter–Neptune square suggests putting energy into manifesting a long-held dream. Perhaps it’s about travelling to that foreign land we’ve always dreamt of, or taking the plunge Aries-style and reuniting with family or researching our genealogy, as Cancer is linked to history and Neptune is nostalgia. There’s an instinct to preserve the past, to protect it. Does it mean taking care of family in a new way? Or perhaps finding a way to honour the past and our ancestors. Or maybe it’s simply having a DNA test and visiting some of the places we’re connected to.

The invitation with Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune is to dream big and have the courage to put in the energy and the effort. And as their squares take place at the very beginning of their signs, it’s possible that it may herald the beginning of a new enterprise for many of us.

As noted, Saturn and Neptune get close to a conjunction in July before coming together in February 2026. These planets are in dialogue when there’s a weakening of authority or the undermining of elected leaders. It’s also the signature for the House of Windsor in the UK (founded under the conjunction in Leo over a century ago). In July 2025, we’ll have a glimpse of the Old Guard deteriorating and making room for a new generation.

The Major Ingresses

Jupiter in Cancer

(from 10 June)

Jupiter’s continued journey through Gemini until June 2025 is an opportunity to move forward in social and intellectual areas—to get to know new people, to learn a language, and go deeper in our studies of astrology.

Wherever Jupiter is moving through our charts, we’re being asked to envision a future of possibilities in that area (house) beyond where we are now. “What am I missing? What’s the meaning here? What’s the lesson?”

Jupiter was born with a map in its pocket, while Gemini was born with a question mark over its head, so it’s important to keep exploring ideas and keep the conversations going—an area of great importance when Uranus enters Gemini soon.

Jupiter in Cancer invites us to embrace the whole world, rather than focusing on any differences that could divide us. With Jupiter in Cancer we need a reminder that we’re all one big family.

In our chart, Jupiter reveals where our blessings are, and it also shows our big talent. If we’re having a Jupiter return this year, link your ambitions of 2025 to the activities of 2013.

We should also see an increase in real estate prices with Jupiter in Cancer.

Saturn in Aries

(25 May to 1 September)

Saturn is the planet of discipline and dedication. When it moves into Aries, the key lesson of the period is to develop the courage needed to pursue long-term projects—to structure a dream we’ve held (while Saturn has been in Pisces) and turn it into form.

Maya Angelou used to say, “One must learn to care for oneself first, so that one can then dare to care for someone else.” Saturn in Aries will encourage us to love ourselves in a new way, to put ourselves first, to recognise and prioritise our strengths, our abilities, and our individuality. It’s also asking us to work on exploring our inner child (Aries is the infant of the zodiac)—Saturn is hard work, while fiery Aries is about childlike play.

Pluto in Aquarius

(from 20 November, 2024)

We live in a time where opinion has replaced news. Pluto in Aquarius promises much technological progress, but at the same time we must resist being manipulated and told how to think and what to buy. Perhaps the “new world order” is turning out to be a “new world disorder”. With AI, seeing is no longer believing. Seeing is doubting and being suspicious of what has been created.

With Pluto in Aquarius, we must remain vigilant and fight to keep personal freedoms that we may have taken for granted. More than in any other time, information is power—and advertisers target our personal information, our favourite things and our purchases to ensure we buy their product. Pluto in Aquarius will provide us with tremendous tools at our fingertips but every now and then we might benefit from signing out of our phones and closing laptops for a few days. Disengaging every so often may be the one way of staying alert to the information targeted at us.

Neptune in Aries

(31 March to 22 October)

Neptune spends seven months in Aries in 2025, and it will return to complete the ingress from January 2026 onwards. We access Neptune through music, painting and film, while on a deeper level we do it through our connection to our intuition, to the God in us, and honouring those around us.

While we might look at Neptune ingresses and hope for humanitarian and spiritual progress, Neptune’s journey is often about societal fashions and how we are seduced or swayed by popular trends. One way Neptune influences us is through film and we can expect heroes to return to the big and small screens, and to watch stories of bold adventures to the unknown.

We can gain insights into this ingress by exploring the last Neptune in Aries period, which lasted from 1861 to 1875. Interestingly, Uranus was in Gemini for the first four years of that period, as it will be in 2025.

Back in the mid-1800s, Neptune in Pisces laid of foundation of compassion that then became action in Aries. Florence Nightingale had just opened a school for nurses and antiseptics were developed to fight infection. The American Civil War—and its fight to free victims of slavery—was raging and, in the UK, labor unions were created to fight for the rights of individuals.

Interestingly, the early 1860s saw the bicycle craze and the launch of first underground railway (suggestive of the Aries energy and Uranus in Gemini), while many people moved from farms to towns and cities (Aries and Gemini are both urban signs). There was also the invention of dynamite, the telephone, plastics and synthetics. The London Fire Brigade was founded, too.

The power and influence of the Pope increased during this time, and is a reminder that in the upcoming period we’ll encounter more leaders, dictators and autocrats who expect no questioning of their authority. (The previous Neptune in Aries period coincided with colonialism and imperialism.)

The last time around, Neptune in Aries began with the publication of books such as Les Miserables, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, and Around the World in 80 Days. Readers were also treated to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass—writer Lewis Carroll’s way of delighting and entertaining children (Aries) with a magical world of make-believe (Neptune).

The last decade of Neptune in Pisces (from 2015–25) has seen identity dissolve or lose focus. Many people have attempted to redefine themselves with a series of labels that express their position and suffering—but this has, at times, led to a lack of clarity. Neptune moving into Aries should lead to sharper definitions of the self and individual rights. The fashion (Neptune) will be to bring individuality back to the fore. We can also expect the emergence of genuine heroes (notable for their achievements rather than for being social media influencers).

Competition is going to be the new energy—getting back to work, wanting to strive and be the best. Neptune through Pisces has seen some people, especially after lockdown, declare, “Why bother working until you drop? Why bother travelling to work or having a 9 to 5? I’ll work my own way—from home and in my own time.” The Neptune in Aries period declares “Come off the drugs!” We’ll no longer want to feel numb or use suppressants that take the edge of living. The fashion will be for living in the moment!

Neptune romanticises the sign it’s in. Here we have Aries, the Lone Wolf, the individual, fighting for (and fighting not to be) the underdog. The energy of Aries reminds us of our mission in life and who we signed up to be.

Uranus in Gemini

(8 July to 9 November)

We’re currently living in the Uranus in Taurus cancel culture era: “I will cut you off if I don’t like something you say.” Uranus in Taurus has seen the cementing of opinions where there’s no room for discussion. You’re either on my side (of the divide) or you’re not. There’s been a stubborn divide and great attachment to our ideas—plus a resistance to anybody who opposes them.

Uranus in Taurus has been focused on Venusian topics: the fight for women to have power and control over their bodies, the fight for trans rights, and fighting for women’s spaces and sports.

Oscar Wilde famously said, “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” When Uranus moves through Gemini, we’re going to continue seeing groups and governments attempt to take away our freedom of expression. So we’ll be invited to stand up and say, “I have the right to say this” and “Do not get rid of that book from my library!”

When Uranus moves into Gemini next year, we must have the courage to stand up and say what we believe—and to continue a dialogue with those who have different opinions. We must take responsibility for our words, but we shouldn’t take responsibility for how somebody else interprets them. That’s their issue, their story, their work. During this time, it’ll be useful to seek out the people that drive us crazy: the Uranians! They’re the ones that might just open our mind to looking at things from a different perspective. Uranian people show us who we are and what we’re not.

We’re entering a war of the words, a battle to maintain freedom of speech, the right to both receive and impart the information we choose. We will be called upon to bring back debate and fight against censorship. We will need to keep the dialogue going.

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Images and charts:

1. Title image taken from the FAA Journal
2. 2025: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay, edited by Astrodienst
3. All ingress charts are set for Sydney and taken from the FAA Journal

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Published in: FAA Journal, December 2024.

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Author: Frank Clifford

Frank Clifford has built an eclectic, 35-year career as the writer of a dozen books, a consultant astrologer and palmist, a publisher/editor, a researcher of birth data, and the Principal of the London School of Astrology. In 2012, he was the youngest recipient of a lifetime honour from the Astrological Association for his contribution to astrology, and a writing award from ISAR and various ISAR and Regulus Award (UAC) nominations have since followed. Frank is looking forward to his sixth consecutive in-person FAA conference in January 2025.
Visit his website at: www.londonschoolofastrology.com