This is it, people. This is the week that we get one of our last major closing aspects of the great COVID clump of astrological planets that has defined the year 2020.

I’m talking of course about the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction happening on Nov. 12, the third and final meetup of these two planets during this calendar year. After Thursday, Jupiter and Pluto won’t see each other again for 13 years, in 2033, and god, when that happens, I hope they don’t usher in another plague.

I say that because Jupiter and Pluto together kind of have a track record of causing massive health crises. According to AstroStyle.com, the 1918 Spanish Flu happened on a Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in the sign of Cancer. In 1981, the planets met up in Libra and then came HIV/AIDS in the U.S. The list goes on — you can find more examples on the Astro Twins’ website.

But it hasn’t been just Jupiter and Pluto that have been interacting with each other this year, ohhh no. Saturn, the planet of restrictions and rules, has also been in the mix. Saturn and Pluto met up in Capricorn on Jan. 12 of this year in a conjunction that happens just once every 34 years. Saturn is all about rules and restrictions, and Pluto is death and transformation, and having them both in Capricorn at the same degree meant there were both forces trying to uphold the rules and forces that wanted to burn everything to the ground.

Then there’s Jupiter and Pluto. Jupiter is all about luck and expansion. It has met up with destroyer Pluto twice so far this year, first on April 4 at 24 degrees Capricorn, right at the beginning of the pandemic. The two planets met up again around the time the U.S. was experiencing a second wave of COVID cases on June 30, also at 24 degrees Capricorn while they were both retrograde (as you can probably tell from those degrees I just listed, Pluto moves extremely slowly!)

Pluto went retrograde April 25 at 24 degrees Capricorn, and Jupiter started to go backwards at 27 degrees of the same sign May 14. Both planets have since started moving forward again. Pluto retrograde ended Oct. 4 at 22 degrees Capricorn and Jupiter went direct Sept. 12 at 17 degrees. This week’s meetup will be at 22 degrees Capricorn.

Between all of the retrogrades I just mentioned and the once-in-a-generation planetary meetups, are you starting to see why 2020 has been such a fucked up year?

Saturn, for the most part, has moved on. It’s ready for what’s next. The zodiac’s daddy planet is at 26 degrees Capricorn now, past Jupiter and Pluto which are both at 22. Saturn got out of its retrograde Sept. 29 and is now moving full steam ahead into Aquarius, where it will meet Jupiter on Dec. 21 at 1 degree for an aspect called the “great conjunction.” After the year Saturn has had, I feel like it can’t WAIT to get out of Capricorn.

But before that can happen — before the new world order is ushered in under big thinker and group organizer Aquarius -— Jupiter and Pluto need to say goodbye to each other first.

What can we expect with this conjunction? Probably another spike of COVID cases, which we’re already seeing. Probably more destruction of the governmental and institutional entities we’re used to relying on. Already this week we’ve seen President Trump fire the Secretary of Defense and there are news reports that our now lame-duck president might fire more people. There could also be some rioting or protesting of some sort, which wouldn’t be a surprise given what’s been going on over the past few months in America.

It’s not just the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction causing this, by the way. It’s also Mars retrograde in Aries, which is ending this week after a two-month cycle. Normally, Mars really likes being in Aries. Aries is one of two signs ruled by Mars, and it’s all about new things, running full steam ahead, passion, independence and being headstrong.

But the problem is, Mars in Aries is retrograde right now, which means Mars is pretty cranky! He can’t run and jump like he wants to. It’s like when you boil water in a pot and put a cover over it, so the boiling water spills over on to the stove.

That’s a lot of pent up aggression combined with the rarity of the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction. This year ain’t over yet, kids.

We also just came out of a Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio and Libra, which ended on Election Day in the U.S. and is still in its shadow. After going retrograde in Scorpio Oct. 13, Mercury finally went direct Nov. 3 and as of Nov. 9 is back at 28 degrees Libra.

As much as it sucked to have almost all of the votes in the U.S. cast during a Mercury Retrograde, at least things were going forward again by the time they got counted, although there are some concerning aspects ahead.

Mercury in Libra right now is good though. It feels like fairness and justice have played out so far in a big way when it comes to communication, as annoying as it may have been to have Election Day be extended to basically half a week. Officials in Nevada, Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania were dedicated to doing their jobs the right way (Libra), rather than the fast way that perhaps the public, the media and the candidates would have preferred.

When Mercury moves back into Scorpio on Tuesday, Nov. 10, I expect that we’ll see some secrets or ugly truths revealed. Or maybe people will just start saying what they’ve been too polite to mention during Mercury’s Libra transit.

Mars squared Saturn Sept. 29, meaning there was a lot either trying to be disciplined and falling flat on your face or outwardly rejecting any rules. The Oct. 1 Full Moon in Aries was a powerful time for new beginnings and the New Moon in Libra 16 days later brought about balance and peace in relationships. Then of course there was the big earthy Full Moon in Taurus on Halloween, which I absolutely lived for.

By the way, with the “great conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius, I’m not saying coronavirus is going to be over, okay, thank you, everybody go home, nothing to see here. What I am saying is that we’re going to start to create a new world order and there will be new, innovative (Aquarius) rules (Saturn) and ideas (Aquarius) that will have extra power (Jupiter) and usher us into the next phase of whatever the “new normal” (gag) looks like.

The election results are in, so we can all take a little breather. But we should expect some chaos with this last meetup of Jupiter and Pluto, as well as cranky Mars’ stationing direct. But we can definitely expect some big changes and new ideas when Jupiter and Pluto meet up in Aquarius, which I am looking forward to, and holding out for — dare I say it — hope.

***P.S. — I want to make sure to credit the term “COVID clump” or more loosely, COVID planets, to astrologer Anne Ortelee. It refers to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto being close to one another all year.