A part of me has been dreading writing this post, partly because of what it would mean for me personally working in animation and the entertainment industry. We have already been rocked by two major strikes that have had a ripple effect on everyone working in film and television, with my family having been personally affected, knocking our income in half for the last several months and the foreseeable future. But I didn't learn astrology to sit on my hands, therefore I feel a responsibility to share what I know and have found here in regards to the upcoming Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus.

Astrology works best by looking at the past and noting what happened when certain planetary transits occurred before. When the planet Uranus first entered the sign of Taurus in March of 2019, there was an expectation that topics involving the material value of goods and labor would experience an upheaval. This became fact once Jupiter expanded upon Uranus's goals by entering Taurus and officially setting the revolution in motion on May 16th of this year, exactly 2 weeks after the start of the WGA strike. Both the writers' and the actors' strikes are now over, but with Jupiter headed towards a conjunction with Uranus in April of 2024, the expectation is that themes involving labor unrest and the potential for more strikes, appear to be looming on the horizon. If we want to try to predict what will happen next year, then we need to look back at the last time Jupiter and Uranus formed a conjunction in the sign of Taurus, over 80 years ago:

The exact date was May 7, 1941 and Walt Disney's animation studio was embroiled in a labor dispute over their sham, company union that management had helped form in order to avoid dealing with an actual, employee led union which had recently coalesced. That new union was the American Federation of Labor's Screen Cartoonists Guild and they were growing tired of the company's stall tactics, continuing to refuse to recognize their union which prohibited them from actually negotiating a contract. This led hundreds of Disney artists to authorize a strike against the company, which officially began on May 28,1941 and lasted for nearly four months. Yes, you read that right, the same month of the last Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus. Are we going to experience something similar again? Let's review what we do know.

A.F.L. Screen Cartoonists Guild on strike at Walt Disney Productions (photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times)

The union that the Disney artists formed in 1941 grew to become what is now The Animation Guild, Local 839, a Local that is part of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). The Animation Guild (TAG) once bargained the terms of their master agreement as part of the IATSE Hollywood Basic unit, which currently consists of 13 live action locals who represent different entertainment crafts such as cinematography, editing, costume design, and hair and makeup, to name a few. However, after TAG's devastating and failed strike of 1982 (which coincided with the Uranus opposition of the 1941 strike), Local 839 was removed from the Hollywood Basic unit and was forced to bargain on their own only after the terms of the Basic agreement had been agreed upon each negotiation cycle. This places TAG in a unique position because our health and pension benefits are still determined during the negotiations for the Basic agreement. So if talks go south there, then our Local could be pulled into a strike before we actually have had a chance to start our own talks with the employers. This was nearly the case in 2021, when an agreement for the Basic was reached at the 11th hour, averting a strike at the last minute that had already been authorized by 36 Locals, including members represented by both the Basic and as well as the Area Standards agreements. It is worth noting that although the last Basic agreement was ratified by its members, it was a very contentious outcome, with the popular vote in fact voting "no." It passed, however, because of their electoral college system. Knowing this is relevant since it would indicate that their next round of negotiations in 2024, is likely to be even more contentious with members' expectations set higher than ever considering both their level of engagement and clear disappointment last time around.

So what does this have to do with the forthcoming Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus? Well, that conjunction is set to go exact on April 20, 2024. The current working contracts for both the Hollywood Basic Locals and The Animation Guild, are set to expire after July 31, 2024. So if IATSE were to strike, the earliest that could happen would be August 1st which is a full three months plus from when that explosive transit would have gone exact. I would expect talks for the Hollywood Basic to have started by the time April rolls around given past precedent. So the fact that that conjunction will go exact that month indicates that talks will inevitably be heated and the likelihood of the Hollywood Basic taking a strike authorization vote again, being rather high. Given specifically the history of the animation industry during the last Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus, I want to say that this time around, there is a strong indication that TAG will also take a strike authorization vote in support of negotiating the best terms possible for the Basic. If this were to happen, then TAG potentially would be entering into their own negotiations with a strike authorization vote, which would be a powerful show of force, as long as that vote is passed overwhelmingly by a majority of its members. But will this all lead to an actual, multi-Local strike?

Well if Mars has anything to say about it, I think that answer is more likely to be yes, than no. The planet of fire and war will enter the picture when it enters Taurus on June 8, 2024 and becomes co-present with Uranus in that sign. Mars will form an exact conjunction with Uranus on July 15th, which could indicate a sudden, heated and combative turn of events. In other words, don't expect Mars to help bring peace to the IATSE Basic negotiations, which I fully expect to be ongoing by this point in time. Mars will then catch up to Jupiter's new position in Gemini (the sign of its detriment), and form a conjunction with that planet on August 14, 2024. Mars + Jupiter could indicate the expansion of a battle, and in Gemini, there is an added indication that this will be a multi-pronged effort - que the 13 Hollywood Locals plus TAG, poised to initiate a strike on now expired contracts (provided an extension is not granted on those contracts).

As with my past astrological forecast, I really hope I'm proven wrong here and that IATSE is able to attain worthy, new agreements for the Basic, Area Standards, and for TAG, without having to go on strike. But the upcoming transits plus past historical precedent, strongly indicate otherwise. So my best advice to anyone in IATSE who may be reading this is: start saving now.