An excerpt from the 2025 Global Outlook Live Review on March 30, 2025.
Transcript edited for print.
One of the big problems I see is Saturn-Neptune making a direct hit along the Ascendant–Midheaven axis for the United Kingdom. And that Saturn-Neptune will also be opposing the UK’s natal Uranus. Saturn-Neptune is also going to be crossing over the UK natal Sun in 2026 and 2027.
So what does that imply? Well, it implies that once a global empire, modern Britain is now economically comparable to U.S. states like Mississippi.
Immigration is high, especially from India and Nigeria. London—a city worth over $618 billion—remains the economic hub because of its financial legacy from the British Empire and its global time-zone advantage, but there’s a severe divide between London and the rest of the UK. They call it a two-speed economy.
London holds 13% of the population, but generates over 57% of Britain’s financial service revenue. London mainly makes its money from Britain’s financial services.
So what’s happening now in Britain is that London is a first-world economy, like the United States, and outside of London proper—let’s say 50 to 80 miles outside of downtown London—you enter a second-world economy.
And this is being exacerbated by the housing crisis. Rent hikes are brutal. Housing prices rose 1000% since the 1980s, but wages haven’t kept up. Not only have they not kept up, they’ve actually gone down.
Inheritance tax and the lack of housing construction only make the problem worse.
The Cost-of-Living Squeeze and the NHS Breaking Point
So the British population feels poorer despite higher income, because of inflation, tax pressures, and rising costs from compounded crises—Brexit, COVID, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
And on top of that, the National Health Service is collapsing under pressure. There are 124,000 vacancies, and there are 7.4 million citizens awaiting treatment. Burnout is rampant among healthcare workers, and many are quitting and leaving the country entirely.
So what’s happening is London’s financial success strengthens the UK pound, but it harms exports and the wider economy. It contributes to a national productivity trap and a “brain drain” (they’re all going to the U.S., by the way)—a phenomenon historically similar to what they call Dutch disease.
So here’s the United Kingdom’s transit black box.
When you look at a black box like this, the question becomes: will the current government survive? Will the current UK Prime Minister remain in power? Because when I look at a black box like this, with an economy imploding right before our eyes, that’s the big question.
We’re seeing the UK declining from within. There’s no reinvestment in its core infrastructure or its people. And we’re seeing persistent economic hardship intensifying.
Something is going to break in the population.
Populism, Polarization, and Growing Independence Pressure
So what I’m predicting here is a rise of populism—Saturn-Neptune opposing Uranus—and political polarization.
As Britain goes from a recession to a catastrophic recession, we’re going to see the rise of populist movements and extreme parties, as British citizens seek alternatives to the traditional political establishment.
We’re going to see policy shifts, social unrest, and governments facing pressure to implement significant changes.
So I do not see the current government surviving. I don’t see them muddling through, at least.
And then we’re going to see challenges to national unity. We’re going to see Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland—everyone wanting to break away from London. They’re all going to say, “You know what? We can become our own countries. We don’t need this anymore.”
The economic disparities between the regions—especially the divide between London and the rest of the UK—will intensify calls for autonomy or independence, like Scotland. And it threatens the integrity of the union.
So I think we’re going to see an existential crisis occur in the UK for different reasons.
Here, with the Saturn-Neptune conjunction hitting the UK’s 7th house, we see the schism, where the UK is talking about basically wanting a divorce from the United States. They want to go independent. They don’t want to be a vassal state anymore to the U.S., their closest partner.
But can they pull that off? Can they be autonomous, especially when they don’t have a functional economy?
They’re no longer an empire. They never had a plan after Brexit to re-engineer the economy or re-engineer their trade agreements. They didn’t do anything.
Then they got caught up with COVID. And they “woke-ified” the culture to the point where now everything is breaking down. There’s a stupor. People are in a state of hypnotic disbelief—either they’re in disbelief, or they totally buy into what the BBC says and they’re in a hypnotic stupor. They just go through the motions.
So this is a very dire situation I’m seeing unfold.
Germany’s Downturn: Energy Dependence, AI Lag, and Political Gridlock
And Germany—once hailed as Europe’s economic powerhouse—is now facing a faster, dramatic downturn since 2022.
Again, I’m looking at the chart of Germany, with Saturn-Neptune right on the ninth house cusp—in the eighth house of debt, on the ninth house cusp of the nation-state, which has to do with international relations.
And it’s opposing, out-of-sign, Mercury and Venus.
So what we’re seeing is an economic downturn due to the country’s over-reliance on cheap Russian natural gas, exacerbated by the nuclear phase-out. They phased out almost all their nuclear power, and there’s been a very sluggish—if any—transition to renewable energy. They do have renewable energy, but it can’t make up the difference.
They’re also not keeping up with AI. There’s low digital adoption. There’s no AI company there. They’re not keeping up with technology.
And then you’ve got a rigid regulatory framework and internal political gridlock, which has resulted in stagnating productivity, severe housing shortages similar to Britain, rising energy prices similar to Britain, and a persistent budget crisis—similar to who? Britain.
There are disagreements on everything: debt brakes, climate fund cuts. And it’s compounded by demographic issues like aging.
Germany has the second-oldest aging workforce in the world, and a skilled labor shortage. And they’re not replacing workers with AI robots like China or the United States. So we’re seeing a political schism.
And again, looking at the black box, if these trends persist, the situation will worsen before it improves. We’ll see deeper economic decline and heightened social challenges.
Like the AfD party—sort of the equivalent of MAGA, which is the Republican Party, for the moment—that party went from fringe to the second most popular party in the last election, and it will continue to gain power.
So the real issue here is heightened social challenges, more protests, layoffs, and all that stuff. Large-scale labor strikes will probably emerge before we see any comprehensive reform or energy policy.
And Germany is in no way ready to break from the United States, rearm, and provide defense—not only for Europe, but for itself. They’re not in that position.
Austria’s Recession and the Shadow of the 1930s
And also, the country right next to Germany—Austria—its economy is deteriorating too.
Looking at the chart of Austria, note how the Saturn-Neptune conjunction is squaring Austria’s Pluto in the third house, making a direct hit.
Austria’s economy is deteriorating fast as it enters its third year of recession—the longest period of economic contraction since the end of the Second World War.
And by the way, when Germany and Austria were in economic contraction year after year, what happened? You all know what happened.
It got worse and worse until finally, this party called the National Socialist Party rose to power really quickly. And a guy named Adolf Hitler said, “I have the solution,” and he explained what that solution was, and everyone bought into it.
So when you see this happening, the situation in Austria and Germany is becoming closer to what we saw in the 1930s.
Austria’s GDP is shrinking. Germany’s GDP is shrinking. It’s happening at the same time.
And you look at the black box of Austria as well—I mean, look at that. Does that look like a recovery? Does it look like the GDP is going to bounce back?
Gold, Distrust, and the Public Turning on Global Leadership
So again, that’s part of the reason you’re seeing people buying gold all over the world—all of this uncertainty.
People no longer believe these politicians who get elected are going to fix anything. Maybe they will, but it looks like the global leadership has lost global public trust.
So people are writing off government. They don’t believe anything is going to get fixed because these leaders serve a secret oligarchical elite, especially in Europe.
Everyone who’s awake in Europe knows that even the elite serve the WEF. The European Union in Brussels serves the WEF. The elite in London serve the WEF—the World Economic Forum, the Bilderberg Group, and all these different groups that basically pontificate. And now they don’t even hold back. Governments push it through.
And remember: in Brussels, there’s no taxation by representation. These are not directly elected people. And whatever Brussels says, all the other governments have to say, “Yes, sir,” and push it through and promulgate that policy.
So that’s all breaking down.
For nearly four decades, William Stickevers has empowered business leaders, independent thinkers, and visionaries to navigate global shifts and critical turning points with clarity and confidence. His unique blend of astrological techniques, macroeconomic insights, and strategic forecasting equips clients to stay ahead of the curve and thrive in uncertain times. Discover how William’s in-depth forecasts, programs, and astrological consultations can help you make more confident, well-timed decisions, and recognize opportunities others overlook. Visit williamstickevers.com for your strategic advantage in business, finances, and life.
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William Stickevers is a strategic astrological advisor, advising clients from 28 countries for nearly four decades with strategy and cosmic insight and foresight to gain an asymmetrical advantage in their investing, business planning and decisions, and to live a more fulfilled life according to their soul’s code and calling.
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