Dynamism, DragonFire & Cheerios
Innovative 14-year cycle begins anew.
If Aries is the sign of the warrior and initiation, Taurus is the sign of the strategist and the situation room. The Sun moves into Taurus on the 19th, kicking off the season of the bull. Stubborn to move with any quick speed, but also once set off in a direction, slow and steady wins the race. Aries is the sprinter, Taurus is the marathon runner. Planning and endurance is the way in this fixed earth sign. The cardinal fire of Aries burns off too quickly in Taurus, slow and steady calories is how this bull like to consumes. Taurus is determined, dedicated, and methodical in search of value and high quality experiences.
Taurus is ruled by Venus and the Moon finds sweet exaltation here. The day of the Sun’s entrance into fixed earth, Venus joins Mercury who is still moving backwards through retrograde. The two planets meet in Aries at 17 degrees on April 19th, and this can bring a Venusian drive towards compromise and conversation. Mercury and Venus are touching down close to the solar eclipse point on April 8th, an eclipse that provoked a lot of fiery provocations. The imagery, metaphorical and literal, of rockets firing up the collective consciousness, I wrote about it here. This meet-up signals war room strategies and conversations that ultimately seek love not rockets. This meet up also comes at one of the most potent astrological transits of the year, the Jupiter and Uranus conjunction in Taurus.
This transit perfects on April 20th at 21 degrees Taurus, but it is building and quite palpable currently. Jupiter and Uranus come together every 14 years, but the last time it occurred in the sign of Taurus was 1941 and the next time will be 2107! In 1941, the world was at war, and the US would officially enter the war stage this year with the attack on Pearl Harbor in December. On the very date of the transit, we see revolutionary Emperor Haile Selassie liberate Ethiopia from Italy, coining this their Liberation Day. It was also at this time, the US issues the first Defense Bonds and Defense Savings Stamps to help increase the production of military equipment.
Now we must look at what other planets were co-present with Jupiter and Uranus at this period, and one big daddy was Saturn. This really colors the house of Taurus quite differently, toning it with more somber color, and gives me a little hope that this conjunction does not signal the US’s all-in on the Israel-Palestine war, yet their position thus far isn’t encouraging. Yet what I can project, is that with Venus and Mercury convening in the war room, perhaps there is a change of heart on the United States side to not keep funding more weapons to Israel, which further digs the heel of the US into another endless war.
Astrologically, Uranus can signal a revolution, a breakthrough, a great disruption that jumps the current track and switches direction. Uranus is associated with Prometheus, the bringer of fire to the people, providing a “God” technology to the earthly human. Uranus, the disruptor switches tracks. Jupiter is symbolically associated with law, wisdom, courts and magistrates, it points to values, ethics, and morals. Jupiter seeks to expand and amplify. Jupiter is coined the greater benefic, known for great blessings and fortune. When the two planets come together in the fixed earth sign of Taurus, we may see an explosion of new innovative technology especially in the realm of mundane matters like the food industry, the stock market, environmental concerns, and public health. This is a combination of dynamism. The conjunction may bring reversals in legal cases, disruptors of current systems, protests and revolutions, new laws enacted. It can also encourage groundbreaking art, music, fashion and cinema.
This conjunction can mark the new cycle, like a New Moon, seeds being planted around revolutionary art forms, inventions, fashion, food, and health. We may see big break throughs for the culinary world and food industry, including chefs, cuisine, farming and gardening. This is a cycle that begins on April 20th, and resets a 14 year cycle. There will be turning points ahead when Jupiter and Uranus have a square in 2027 and the opposition in 2031. These harsher aspects will present the growth of this period and may present collective challenges like a teenager coming into his own, but be certain that what ever begins now will have a life cycle that has growing pains, forks in the road, and ultimately a systems upgrade.
Nighttime demonstration of a DragonFire laser in Scotland shooting down an aerial target. Image: Ministry of Defense.
Jupiter and Uranus together can signify sudden explosive technological changes. This could be in the way of weapons. I recently saw that the UK is developing the most intense laser to shoot drones and aerial targets out of the sky, dubbed DragonFire. This technology can also be attributed to Saturn in Pisces, since they want to install these lasers on Royal Navy ships. This is quiet apropos for the Aries Solar Eclipse cardinal fire, home of the north node, aka the head of the dragon, and the Mars and Saturn conjunciton that also coincided. Could we see such technology making its way onto the world stage under this inceptive conjunction? Will this be technology that is quickly adapted by other nations and changing the face of war, again?
Jupiter*Uranus Case Study
The marketing evolution of “puffed oat” technology that came on the scene at the 1941 Jupiter*Uranus conjunction in Taurus.
A fascinating example of a Jupiter*Uranus innovation in Taurus occurred initially in 1941, right at the time of the conjunction. Remember Taurus is associated with food and farming industry, Uranus is associated with innovative technology and Jupiter will expand all of this and bring good fortune when aptly placed. General Mills, Cheerios, came on the scene at the conjunction in 1941, it was first named “Cheerioats”. The name itself, Cheeri, possesses a Venusian spark, illustrating a food product that incites happiness. This cereal would find a place at many highchairs, being the first cereal introduced as a “solid” transitional food for upcoming toddlers. The cereal came about because of a new technology that developed the ability to “puff” oats. Cheerioats were distributed to American soldiers during World War II, in special one ounce packs, called “Yank Packs”.
Opposition phase of Jupiter and Uranus resulted in a newer marketing strategy of cross-promotion, many companies would follow General Mills lead.
The first conflict Cheerioats hit as in 1945, right at the first Jupiter*Uranus square. Quaker Oats had a issue with Cheerioats, and it was its name. The company was forced to drop the “oats” in the name due to legal matters, and it became the household cereal, Cheerios!
The opposition phase which began late 1940’s into 1950, General Mills began playing around with a fairly new and untapped marketing strategy, cross-promotion. General Mills began sponsoring a radio show in 1949, The Lone Ranger, right at the opposition. This sponsorship began what would be a cross-marketing strategy to be further employed with Disney and the Mickey Mouse Club as it neared its closing square. One could say this cross-promotion began to entangle companies and products in a pioneering sense, for good or bad, and a marketing tactic quite embedded in our current culture. This was a competitive strategy, one that created the tension with opposing cereal companies, a tension the opposition aspect promises.
The closing square, General Mills company would continue to have an explosion of different cereals, due to the technology it first implemented at the beginning of the cycle, including; Jets in 1953, Trix in 1954, Cocoa Puffs in 1958 and Total in 1961. It is interesting becuase the shape of the cereal went from circle technology to flat grain with Total at the new Jupiter/Uranus cycle.
The closing square brought a new marketing image, and the cereal Cheerios began to find its own identity in the market.
In 1954, as Jupiter and Taurus closed out the cycle and were resetting together in the sign of Cancer, Cheerios established a mascot, The Cheerios Kid. The Cheerios Kid went on adventures, which involved saving his buddy, Sue, from various dangers after he ingested Cheerios and gained energy. This closing aspect we see the cereal brand finding its own place and identity in the market. Cheerios was marketed as an energy technology, and one that could save the day, very Venusian and quite successful, celebrating near 82 years.
Cheerios is currently not only experiencing their Uranus return, but also an exact Pluto opposition. We should expect some unexpected turn abouts for the company, or new directions. Just reported today is that Cheerios is bringing back two discontinued flavors for summer, including Peach and Fruity, very Venusian. On a more Plutonic note, recent studies reported in early 2024, have found the pesticide chlormequat in 92% of oat-based foods, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios, reported by Environmental Working Group in a study published by Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. This pesticide can be a hormone disruptor, reducing fertility, delaying puberty and altering fetal growth. This study is under current investigation with the EPA.
REFLECTIVE POINTS
On the world’s stage, the wheel is turning again towards new systems, and it will no doubt turn our own wheels. In our own individual life, we can see personal revolutionary break throughs whether it be regarding our personal values and morals we hold, arrival of new technology that we embrace, entrance of new teachers or advisors, implementation of a whole new upgrade in our own life that is better aligned with personal values and objectives. Pay attention to the next couple weeks, keep your eyes open to what is breaking through, and if you feel its time for a complete CTRL* ALT* DELETE, maybe now is the time to push the buttons. A new revolution is upon all of us, where will you rise up in your own life?