As I reflected at the start of 2026 on what this year might bring I was very concerned about the first quarter of the year for several reasons. I noticed that the the solar eclipse of 17 February would be close to the Ascendant in Washington DC and also opposite Trump’s Mars/Ascendant conjunction. This looked to me like an indication that Trump would either be attacked or go on the attack, it seemed possible that there could be some dramatic event in Washington DC or that the USA as a nation would experience some sort of cathartic event. I also noticed that the Lunar Eclipse of 3 March would be conjunct Pete Hegseth’s prominent Mars (in his Whole Sign 10th House and squaring his Ascendant), which, combined with the way the 17 February eclipse activated Trump’s natal Mars, made military action of some kind look quite likely. There was also the Saturn/Neptune conjunction on the Aries Point on the 20th of February to consider, and the Mars/Saturn conjunction around 19-20 April. All of these major astrological events occuring in short succession looked messy at the least, and potentially dangerous at worst. As it turned out, the first quarter of the year did not disappoint in terms of vindicating the astrological portents of a tumultuous period. I discussed many of these points in a YouTube video posted on the 3rd of January 2026.
I also noticed at the start of this year that the Solar Eclipse of 12 August would occur not too far from Jupiter, and that moreover Jupiter would be exalted in sidereal Cancer. My first thought was that perhaps this could mark a turning of the tide, that just maybe this could be an indication of new leadership emerging with a new more sane message anchored in more humane values than those that have dominated world affairs of late.
This transiting Jupiter (empowered by being located in its sidereal exaltation sign) will be forming three conjunctions to the 12 August eclipse degree between early October 2026 and May 2027, and I would speculate that these transiting triggers of the eclipse by Jupiter could mark major milestones in the release or infusion of beneficent influence into the zeitgeist. I have come to consider such transits to eclipses as extremely significant. In fact, you see far more of the manifestation of eclipses when these transiting triggers occur than at the time of the actual eclipse. One clear example of this is the fact that the recent attack on Iran by the USA and Israel occurred when transiting Mars reached the 17 February eclipse degree on the 28th of February.
Enter Pope Leo XIV. Despite the fact that the Trump administration has leaned into associating itself with Christianity and the so-called Christian values of the Western world through many of its most prominent members and supporters, the thinly veiled admonitions of Pope Leo XIV have been too much for them bear. Pope Leo has denounced their warmongering, and in particular, he has suggested that their attempts to insinuate that their military escapades have God’s blessing are false and illegitimate. On Palm Sunday Pope Leo quoted Isaiah 1:15 – “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood”.
In response Trump has openly criticized the pope and JD Vance, himself a relatively recent convert to Catholicism, stated that the pope need to “be careful” when speaking on “matters of theology”. Theology may or may not be your thing, but as far as Christian theology goes, the pope’s authority is for all practical purposes supreme and suggesting he needs to be more careful when speaking on this topic is nothing short of insolence. The Trump administration may not like the pope, and they may not agree with him, but they cannot question his credentials as a representative of the “Christian values” they have been trying to appropriate and distort for their own ends.
The pope’s courage in calling out the evil nature of the Trump administration’s zeal for war, including their religious hypocrisy, has earned him the respect of people of all faiths, and even those of no particular faith. There is now an open rift between the papacy and the Trump administration. The pope’s social influence is formidable and the Trump administration is clearly threatened by the fact that he is not afraid to shine a light on their moral bankruptcy. This is quite a profound development, because although various nation states may meekly express their concerns about the brazen lawlessness of the Trump regime, Trump’s readiness to lash out and punish anyone who dares to stand up to American aggression has effectively cowed the entire world.
Could it be that Pope Leo XIV is emerging as the voice of reason and sane human values that the Jupiter tinged August eclipse seems to be hinting at? Well, one compelling piece of evidence that this may be the case is the fact that the 12 August Solar Eclipse occurs less than one degree from Jupiter’s position in the natal chart of the pope!
It is universally accepted by astrologers that eclipses have an effect or influence for several months, at the least, after they occur. It may seem hard to believe, but it is also true that many astrologers consider eclipses to have an effect even before they occur. Could it be that Pope Leo’s recent agitation of the Trump administration through his principled response to their lawlessness is an early manifestation of this powerful amplification of the pope’s Jupiter by the coming Solar Eclipse? Whether or not we view it this way doesn’t really matter. The globally significant coming dance between the 12 August Solar Eclipse and Jupiter in the months that follow will incidentally have a powerful stimulating effect on the pope’s chart, suggesting that it is unlikely that he will be withdrawing into docile acquiescence and moral cowardice any time soon. It seems more likely that his role as a beacon of light in the darkness will grow in potency and prominence.
Pope Leo XIV may or may not be the primary or the most visible agent for this new tide of more enlightened values emerging in the world that I’m anticipating due to the Jovian eclipse of August 2026, but it’s looking to me like his pushback against the destructive militarism of our times is, at the least, something of a prototype of what’s coming. Maybe other leaders and social currents will emerge that reinforce and even overtake his efforts. Any combination of these possibilities would be a welcome contribution to the current world situation.
I don’t expect this Jovian eclipse to solve all the world’s problems in one fell swoop, but it does seem to me to hold some hopeful possibilities for a course correction in a world where the true noble values and ideals which “theology” is the traditional custodian of are so sorely needed. Pope Leo XIV, it seems, is already leading the way.