The Future of the Internet

Complete Horoscope of the World Wide Web

(September 13, 2011) The horoscope of the World Wide Web (WWW), the core structure of the Internet, reveals what it brings us and what it fails to accomplish. The chart also shows that the Internet will change drastically the coming few years, 2012 to 2017. After 2025 it will deteriorate, to get unplugged no later than the early 2040s.

MY ASTROLOGY BOOK

Your Health in Your Horoscope

This book by Stefan Stenudd explains what your horoscope says about your health, according to the old tradition of medical astrology. The book contains a quick introduction to astrology, as well, and instructions on how to read a birth chart in general. Click the image to see the book (and Kindle ebook) at Amazon (paid link).

On August 6, 1991, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in Geneva posted a message on a newsgroup about hypertext, inviting his readers to try out the first little seed of the World Wide Web. This message, which was sent at 4:37 PM, is widely regarded as the public birth of the Internet.

Few major world events have a documented starting point, which is needed to chart their horoscopes. But the World Wide Web, bringing the world into each computer, is timed to the microsecond. So, we have a fixed birth and a complete horoscope chart for it.

The World Wide Web Horoscope. Click on the image to see the enlarged chart.

Where there are several possible starting points to choose from, and for social matters there usually are, each one has its own theme, which should be considered when interpreting the horoscope. The time chosen here, that of the newsgroup message, is particularly fitting to the Internet, since it was the moment when this resource became publicly available — be it only to a group of computer technicians at first. The Internet is indeed a public medium and as such it has made its greatest impact.

Not an Adventure, But a Tool

The immediate impression that society and all its inhabitants got of the Internet was one of creating freedom, independence, and the means for human minds to take off, explore beyond their previous possibilities, and thereby reach a world beyond their expectations. This is shown by the horoscope's Ascendant early in the sign of Sagittarius.

Although that is true, to some extent, the real forte of the Web is in the second house of the horoscope, where Uranus and Neptune join in Capricorn. It shows that the Internet is a fantastic resource, a revolutionary tool by which to accomplish great things of a concrete and lasting nature.

The two planets are in retrograde, implying that the results this resource leads to are not always obvious or preconceived, but very real and significant nonetheless. It was not imagined beforehand that something so intangible could lead to concrete and lasting results, with such overwhelming influence on how things are done in society.

The Moon Node in the same sign also shows that the Internet is all the time moving from the vague and unpredictable to an increasingly important tool for concrete work. It may have started as a kind of toy, but heads forcefully towards being an instrument of work, where its capacity is again and again surprising the world. Through the World Wide Web, dreams become reality and visions are harvested in the present.

At the end of the second house, Saturn appears in Aquarius. This shows that the more the resources of the Internet are explored, the less there is of play and joy. It becomes a source of deepened knowledge and understanding, somewhat like books of old. The Web will contain widened information of the past, to be treated with respect and sincerity. It will be revised to be as trustworthy as an encyclopedia, and content of lesser quality will fade away from it — or get edited out.

Several Things It's Not

The empty third house reveals that the World Wide Web will not at length be a place for people connecting to become friends and enjoy the company of one another. Connections made are purely intellectual, so they tend neither to last nor to be significant in people's lives. Pisces at the end of the house instead says that such friendships will be lost or disappointing. They don't stand the test of reality.

Families are estranged by the Internet. They spend less time together and it gets difficult for them to keep their ties. The World Wide Web makes them search for compensation elsewhere, so that the traditional family structure and its social functions are gradually replaced by other means. Every family member uses the Web to go outside the home to find his or her place in the world.

Nor is the Internet a lasting leisure thing. Aries in the fifth house shows that we try it with eagerness, but we get tired of it just as quickly. The Web might be a kind of door to activities and entertainment, but this door is quickly passed in order to reach other challenges and fascinations. The World Wide Web is unable to be one of the lasting entertainments, but simply the introduction to them. For those seeking enjoyment, the Web will seem boringly predictable.

As for how the Internet is used in people's everyday work, it is established as a routine tool, used much the same as the typewriter before it, and the pen before that — but not really changing the work in any significant way beyond that. People do the same things, have the same functions, are regarded the same at their place of work. Although the resources of the World Wide Web are almost endless, there are few professions changed by it. At work, life goes on, business as usual.

When it comes to personal partner relations, the seventh house in Gemini tells us that the Internet opens a lot of possibilities to find mates, but they are flirts rather than loves, and will not often last. Partners found on the Web might be fun, but rarely invoke passion.

The moon in the same house creates a longing for finding that someone with whom to experience joy and happiness. It happens sometimes, but true satisfaction escapes most such relations. It's too lighthearted and the attraction appearing on the World Wide Web might not at all be the same outside of it.

People will still search partners on the Internet — both for love and for business — but they will learn to expect little more than fun for the moment.

As for the influence of the Internet on those matters that seem eternal enigmas to us, such as life, death, and the meaning of it all, not much is changed by the Web. That utter confusion remains, the deep mysteries also. The eighth house in the sign of Cancer implies that we nourish a hope that somehow, the World Wide Web will help us find solace and light in the darkness. That's one reason for its popularity.

But it's in vain. That's something the Internet, in spite of all its complexity, can neither penetrate nor encompass. It's a tool, not the hand that holds it. We still have to find the great answers. We still have to chase the elusive meaning of it all.

The Power of Expansion

The great changes that the World Wide Web causes, and itself goes through, are indicated by the ninth house in Leo. This house is heavily charged, with both the sun and Jupiter inside of it. Those two are the greatest heavenly bodies in our solar system, so they announce great power. That's also the theme of Leo.

So, the Internet contains great power and tends to increase and expand it radically, from time to time. Those who make use of the World Wide Web will get the same, to the extent they are able to utilize it in accordance with its characteristics.

This power and influence of the Internet is mainly within itself. It makes its own rules, as if in the hands of one strong individual, a Caesar of sorts. Occasionally, one person can grab that mighty control, but not for long. The power is within the Web. One man can have it for a while, but will find little use of it outside that world. The power of the Internet may seem overwhelming, but doesn't really extend beyond it.

Still, to any one person, the Internet can be the vehicle to wondrous change. It holds potent keys to find and achieve it. Such changes are on a personal level and remain there. They may be almost invisible to the community, although they are fabulous to that individual.

The changes to the World Wide Web itself are also overwhelming when they come, and they often do. It grows in strong bursts, again and again beyond what was previously expected. Any prognosis will be an underestimation. It seems to head towards the size of a universe in its own right. That's the main nature of its increased power — its magnificent size and how it continues to increase.

The sextile aspect between Jupiter and the moon shows that it's this continued expansion of the World Wide Web that feeds the longing of people to find their ideal partner through it. Since the Internet seems to be ever-present, should it not be the landscape in which to find one's soul mate? Many rewarding and amusing meetings are accomplished, but no — true soul mates are found elsewhere.

One thing is for certain — there can only be one World Wide Web. The strength of the sun and Jupiter in Leo makes it doubtless. In its expansion, there may be occasional experiments with additional, separate webs, but they are sure to fail. Its unity is its strength, and it has got plenty of it.

At the very end of the house of change, Mercury and Venus are joined in a tight conjunction. But that's in Virgo, the sign of concrete struggle and attention to detail. They indicate that a lot of previously tedious tasks become much easier through the Internet — to the extent that these tasks are increased and multiplied, just because it's suddenly possible.

Mercury states that it's particularly true about anything dealing with communication. New means of communication are introduced, making it possible to communicate more, faster, with greater accuracy, and still easier, decreasing the workload of it.

This constantly innovative and improving capability of the Internet is exactly what makes it such a valuable and important resource, as stated by the second house.

It must be understood that this constant improvement is directed at using the World Wide Web for work and needs that were already established before its introduction. It's not really aimed at renewal of what's being communicated, just at how it's done. Not much new is being said through it, and it's not helping much in revealing new horizons. It's a method, not a message.

The square aspect to the Ascendant shows that this is a surprise and somewhat of a disappointment, in comparison to what the Internet seems to promise. It's not much of a tool for the liberation of the mind or the freedom of thought. It deals more with quantity than quality, and more with how to rationalize existing tasks than creating or inspiring new goals.

Ruling Social Networks

Venus and Mercury are at the very end of the ninth house, almost touching the cusp of the tenth, which rules influence over the social situation. It's in Virgo, the meticulous organizer, so the World Wide Web's main social influence is one of upholding a structure for social exchange and interaction. It's the basis of social networks, especially work oriented ones.

As such, it's firmly demanding. Social networks have to conform to its order in every detail, and these details have a way of deciding the characteristics and contents of the social networks utilizing it. This is caused by Mars, the only planet in this house, being particularly grumpy and regulative in the sign of Virgo.

The World Wide Web sets the rules for social networking, which cannot do without the Web, since its emergence. These rules lead the networking into certain forms, and excludes others. It creates limitations, but instead of finding ways to surpass them, the social networks tend to oblige and conform without questioning.

Mars has a trine aspect to the planets in the second house, pointing out that this firm structure is what makes the World Wide Web a useful resource. Without it, the Web and its effects would be too chaotic. The detailed structure is essential for the Internet being possible to use in a constructive way.

Further into the tenth house, the Zodiac sign shifts from Virgo to Libra. At the very cusp of the latter is Medium Coeli, Midheaven, in the horoscope of the World Wide Web. This reveals that the makers of the Web, as well as those who continue to uphold and develop it, regard it as an instrument for social equality, by which awareness is spread to each and every one.

This is supported by the trine to Saturn in the second house. The Internet is indeed a resource for finding answers and expanding one's knowledge. That's its higher goal, much thanks to the conviction of its makers. It's not the strongest and most influential characteristic of the World Wide Web, but it continues to be true, parallel to how the Web is used in other ways.

The Internet is to our time what the encyclopedias were to the Enlightenment in the 18th century. Although not the dominating ingredient of the Internet, this is definitely its pride, at the core of its reason for existing.

Dreams and Ideals

Equality and justice are key values behind the Internet, remaining through its development. The World Wide Web should be at the hands of all people, not just a privileged few. This ethical spread of its resources advocates a similar spread of any other resource in society.

This is expressed by the eleventh house in Libra, but it contains no planet to put the principles into effect. The ideal remains an ideal, influencing the Web vaguely, but not ruling it. Still, opposing tendencies will seem out of place and lose the support of the majority of the Web's users.

The twelfth and last house of the horoscope shows what sacrifices are made for the whole of it. It contains the sign of Scorpio and the recently degraded planet Pluto. This means that the Internet carries the possibility of fascination, drama, and exciting adventures. But this is neglected or withheld, because of its practical usefulness. The World Wide Web becomes a tool instead of a wondrous ride, a trusted order instead of shocking surprises.

The Internet could just as well have become the source of emotional spectacles, and some still hope that it will. But no, it has become a utility and thereby lost much of its charm.

But the twelfth house is the region of the private and subconscious. There, in the secret chambers of those who seek it, the Internet is indeed able to induce excitement, amazement, shock, and any other passionate response, sometimes far beyond expectations. In the hidden and behind the scenes is where the Internet causes drama.

The World Wide Web.

The Big Changes Come Now

We may think that we know quite well by now, what the World Wide Web is all about and how best to use it. But its in the next few years that its form and resources go through the most dramatic and revolutionary changes it will ever experience.

These last few years, several planets have been passing through its third, fourth, and fifth houses, giving the impression that the Web might mainly be about friendship, family and entertainment. But that's just temporary and misleading. Its major function remains what its horoscope states, which is one of practical use. A structure for communication, mainly work oriented.

As such, it will soon go through radical and surprising changes. Some constructive, some destructive. It will happen when Pluto passes through the horoscope's Uranus and Neptune in the second house. This is a slow and gradual process, spanning over several years, but when completed it will have changed the World Wide Web forever.

These changes will commence by January 2012, when Pluto passes the cusp of the second house. At first they will be discreet, almost invisible, and few will realize their significance. By September that year, the changes may even seem to be reversed. But already the following month it will be clear that the changes introduced will remain and their influence on the Internet will increase.

Early 2013, Pluto passes over the World Wide Web's Uranus, creating a revelation of sorts about how the Web is to be used and how to develop it further, in order to increase its usefulness tremendously.

In February 2015, Pluto makes its first pass over the World Wide Web's Neptune, radically changing what is imagined for the future of the Web. The actual change is going on, but here also the vision of what it can become in the future is transformed, following what the present process of change implies.

The whole process goes on until early 2017, when the Internet has been completely transformed. By then, its main function as a resource and tool for practical and organized endeavors is undisputed, and alternative dreams for it are fading away. It has ceased to be exciting and no more surprises are expected from it.

The Final Transformation

But that will prove not to be entirely true. One more major transformation of it remains. It starts to emerge in the spring of 2023, but the change is still a couple of years off.

Early in 2025, Pluto makes its first pass over the World Wide Web's Saturn in the sign of Aquarius. This will start to transform the Web into a place for learning. It will be more of an encyclopedia than a tool for getting things done. A place where wisdom of old is kept in its entirety, and this is deemed so important that any other function of the Internet is devalued, even despised.

This is a process that takes about a year. It seems to be the final change of the World Wide Web. It becomes a fabulous library of knowledge, accessible to all. And that's it.

Nothing as spectacular is ahead for the World Wide Web in more than a hundred years, so it's likely that by the end of 2026 it has found its remaining value as a link to things of old, and the world has found something else to take its place regarding any other functions.

If it exists at all by the early 2040s, when Pluto moves into an opposing aspect to the World Wide Web's Mercury and Venus, it will certainly be unplugged at this time. People may not even notice it, since by then it has not made the news for more than 15 years.

2020 Update

(January 1, 2020) A few years after I made the above prediction about the Word Wide Web, I realized what the drastic change taking place 2012-2017 was: the increased use of smartphones. More and more, people surfed the Internet on their cell phones instead of desktop and laptop computers.

I could see it on the statistics for my own websites — they were visited more and more by phones, and at some point in time the phone visits had surpassed those from computers. It was in February 2014. Since then, phone visits far outnumber computer surfing. I just checked the numbers for my sites on the month of December 2019: 67% of pageviews were by cell phones, 25% by desktops, and 7% by tablets. In December 2012 the numbers were very different: 18% of pageviews were by cell phones and 76% by desktops.

That was indeed a revolution of the Internet. It affected both the content and the design of websites tremendously. Also, of course, people's use of the Internet. Certainly, carrying the Internet in your pocket is a fantastic resource, but I sometimes grieve the fact that the big computer screen was replaced by one not much bigger than a playing card. I worried that the benefits of the bigger screen would be discarded completely, and the Internet would be something exclusively for cell phone use.

Fortunately, that does not seem to be the case, at least not with my websites. The pageview proportions between cell phones, desktops and tablets have been pretty much the same since 2015. The desktop has left its golden days, but it remains. Maybe it's thanks to computer games?

As for the final transformation, predicted above to begin in 2023, I still have no other clue to what it can be than the things implied by the horoscope.

OTHER BOOKS OF MINE

Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

Tarot Unfolded

This book presents an imaginative method of reading the divination cards, which is the most appropriate for the Tarot, since it consists of symbolic images.