In the ancient art of numerology, eight was associated with balance, harmony and prudence. Accordingly, the year 2015 (2+1+5), which adds up to the Universal Year of Eight, starts off somewhat sluggishly as the baggage of 2014 balances itself out. From a bull-headed and hard-nosed “cardinal” outlook to a serene and relaxed “mutable” perspective, 2015 is the year of missions, and not necessarily of the military variety, relaunched and of strategies reassessed and reworked. The sense of spectacle with which politicians and policy-makers in 2014, a Universal Year of Seven, excelled, will not be on display in 2015.The year ahead is forecast by many of the world's leading astrologists as being a time for restructuring. But no one need be cajoled into parting with their most precious possessions. Prudence is the buzzword. At a deeper level, three illusions will be unmasked in 2015. Global policy-makers ought to know they are no magicians. People around the world have long suspected that in 2015 the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved, and neither will the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day and the reduction by half of the proportion of people suffering from hunger. “For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good,” Jesus Christ was supposed to have said, according to St Mark in the King James version of the Bible. The vast majority of the world's poor will remain poor in 2015, many becoming even poorer. For them, this dreary world of poverty will continue to be a wretched place. The followers of Jesus may not be as welcome in their homeland either. The exodus of Christians from the Middle East, which has been going on at an alarming rate, could be accentuated in 2015. Christians have lived alongside Muslims for millennia in the Middle East, but the poor opinion many Christians in the region have formed of their motherland has taken its toll. Efforts by the authorities in this region in turmoil have given many Christian and other religious minorities in the Middle East a civil status few Muslims would covet. Religious intolerance and even genocide in areas under the control of the so-called Islamic State (IS) may have sealed the fate of the remaining Christians in the Middle East, with Lebanon perhaps an exception. This is the painful context in which the Christians find themselves, nostalgia for a distant utopian past notwithstanding. But an ancient Christian symbol, the Lamb of God, epitomises 2015 in a different cultural context. According to a Chinese horoscope prediction, 2015 is the Year of the Ram, coming to replace the chaos of the past few years and projecting a period of peace. Western tradition also confirms the Chinese zodiac predictions of peace and prosperity in 2015, and in August the world will witness Jupiter's transition into the sign of Virgo, ushering in a period of economic prosperity. Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. It is also closely associated with Pisces and is indicative of cleansing positive energy. Grand openings in metaphysical spheres are thus the order of the day in 2015. Health, the healing arts and in particular metaphysical and unconventional healing methods will be taken far more seriously. Whether conventional medical practitioners' misgivings prevail or not will depend on the strength of the symbolic coming together of Venus and Mars. Herbs and homeopathy will also reveal new horizons. The burst of intellectual energy in 2015 will be triggered by Saturn in Sagittarius. Mars is a warrior, but Venus will soften the bellicose energy of Mars in the mutable times ahead. Opportunities for change will arrive as mutable energy takes hold, propelling forward a period of flexibility. Shows of force sent shivers throughout the world in 2014. Not so in 2015, even though some astrologists believe that the “re-Sovietisation” of Russia and Central Asia may still be on the cards. The Eurasian Union (EAU), a political and economic grouping masterminded by Moscow and consisting of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, will take shape. This massive land mass has an estimated 171 million people and a gross domestic product of US$3 trillion. The United States has consistently opposed Eurasian integration, ostensibly on human rights grounds. Commerce professor at Delhi University, renowned Indian financial astrologer Alok Puranik, predicts that 2015 will be of particular importance to the world's emerging economies. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will witness an unprecedented period of prosperity, he says. Washington, abiding by the coming together of Venus and Mars, will also make an effort to appear calmer in 2015. Sagittarius personifies the seeker, and 2015 will be a year when research triumphs. American astrologist Barbara Goldsmith predicts the easing of tensions prompted by mutable energy, forcing people to become more flexible. The mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces will spread their special characteristics. “The good news is that the Cardinal Climax ending is receding. 2014 was a difficult year for many individuals, given the loss of jobs and health challenges,” Goldsmith notes. Illiberal luminaries of industry will scale down their criticisms of bohemian artistic ways. Jupiter in Virgo in August 2015 means that the onus shifts to health. The US Affordable Health Care Act will most likely be enhanced, even as “Obamacare,” the new healthcare system in the United States, will come under increasing scrutiny. Miracle healing is also in the offing. “We have to be careful not to be sucked in by the message of fear broadcast by the media,” Goldsmith predicts, with tsunamis, extreme climate events, the melting of the polar ice, drought and floods, and especially environmental issues related to water, all being on the agenda. Ecological questions are destined to take precedence. Entirely pre-planned and self-contained, the world's first carbon-neutral, zero-waste and fully sustainable city, Masdar in the vicinity of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, will be completed in 2015. Indian stellar astrologist Venkant Subramanian is also optimistic as far as 2015 is concerned. Environmental protectionists will make great strides in saving the planet, he says. Meanwhile, the first large-scale solar updraft towers will be completed in 2015 constructed by EnviroMission, a start-up company that has purchased land in Arizona in the US. In July 2015, the first close-range, high-resolution pictures of Pluto, along with its five moons, will likely mesmerise the international community. Nano-technology and digital healthcare are going to be priorities. Virgo is a selfless zodiac sign when in the highest dimension. Mother Teresa was a Virgo, and her altruistic and magnanimous nature, labouring in a self-effacing manner, will be better respected in 2015. Nano-surgery will also be in vogue. The French firm Carmat has announced that artificial hearts will be made available within the European Union, priced at between 140,000 and 180,000 euros or $190,000 to $250,000. The poor will have to contend with less sophisticated ones. Environmentally friendly electric cars on the world's roads will pass the million mark by the middle of 2015, just when Jupiter moves into Virgo.
