The Cyberpunk Generation – Part 21 – On the Generations
In 2025 we straddle the edge of the future, anointed to tumble through a transition from water and earth to air and fire, a time ahead where that which is solid twists and turns with the wind and combusts and crumbles under the heat of fire. The old ways of a world long recorded are dismantled at record speed while some kind of machine rapidly assembles a new one out of the thousand pieces left scattered. In the early days of this swirl is mystery, tension, and fleeting new-normals that seem to drift away just as soon as they have blown in. We’re not even all of the way into the future yet, but the tumbling confusion already tosses us to and fro. Meanwhile under such configurations, a new generation is being born.
What awaits them is tbd but what tools they have to meet the times are within our grasp thanks to the calendar. There is no common name for them yet but they will certainly come to be known as the Cyberpunk Generation. To understand, let’s explore their ways of thinking, aesthetics, and values. These are determined by their generational placements:
The newest cohort begins on July 7th, 2025 and the last of them will be born in the early months of 2040. This period will be dominated by Neptune in Aries and Pluto in Aquarius, making those the core generational placements. Their Uranus placements will be familiar – it is the return of the Baby Boomers! Let’s explore what this means:
- Uranus tells us how these people think
- Neptune tells us about their aesthetics
- Pluto tells us what they value
Aries is the cardinal Fire sign, ruled by Mars. It is the firestarter and the ram, and Aries is the exalted position for the Sun while being the first sign of the Zodiac. Aries is where things begin and it has a bias toward action fueled by confidence and energy to go forth. It is not known for its endurance. Neptune is the dissolver and it will make matters in this area fuzzier, unclear, dreamy, and often delusional. Neptune is showing us how these people want things to be and how they wish them to appear. With Neptune in Aries we should expect an aesthetic sense that appreciates initiative, action,and confidence. It is a fire sign so the motivations that go into style and expression of the world will be paramount. Aries is about going for it without hesitation and it is very capable of getting things started. Just as quickly it will change course and direct its attention to the next thing that needs a kick in the pants. For this cohort we can expect aggressive new styles that change with every season, many of which will be cringe but funny in retrospect. They will want things to be fresh and new and will be fruitful in generating new things. Neptune’s influence will always obscure clarity and will produce in volume both the dream and the delusion. This cohort will appreciate originality and new creative directions but will be quick to move past them when distracted by the next thing to come along, or when the moment feels like it has passed. They will blaze a trail of creativity that will open up a dozen new ways while never quite exploring any of them to their destination. They will struggle with follow-through and will be easily deceived by marketing that tells them what is exciting. Neptune in Aries fears inaction and being left behind.
Uranus is the intellectual compass of a generation and its sign placement at the time of birth indicates how functional they will be as well as the methods they will apply when thinking through the world and what is presented to them. The Cyberpunk cohort will bring back Uranus in Gemini and Cancer which we last saw in the Baby Boomer generation. As such we will use the same systematic interpretation of the placements that we did for their previous iteration:
Gemini is the mutable air sign, ruled by Mercury. It is interested in ideas, innovation, and communication. Uranus is the disruptor and it will make matters in its sign more electric, shocking, and surprising. With Uranus in Gemini we should expect a way of thinking that comes on quickly and is multi-faceted, original, innovative and disruptive. The action of Uranus combines very naturally with Gemini, which is sort of doing the same thing already (moving around in the air). Uranus gives it a boost, sending those ideas out further than they would otherwise, encompassing an ever wider scope of possibilities. These people will be flexible, ideas-oriented and very communicative. When disrupted, this cohort will consider doing things differently, explore and invent what could potentially be done, and communicate about it. Their thinking will evolve quickly, consider multiple possibilities, and be very creative, if unfocused and out there. In my estimation this is one of the strongest placements for Uranus as Gemini is fundamentally antifragile when it comes to being disrupted. The main downsides will be an overly-intellectual orientation and some potential for getting distracted by inconsequential things.
The second seven-year group has Uranus in the sign of Cancer, a distinctly different experience. Cancer is the cardinal water sign, ruled by the Moon. It is reflective of that which it comes in contact with, emotionally-driven, and biased toward action. Uranus combines harshly with the Moon because its nature to disrupt contradicts the drive to nurture. This placement will be very emotionally driven and will think from the heart. When Uranus combines with the Moon it disrupts the natural order and tradition and this cohort isn’t so much open-minded as open-hearted. When disrupted, they will do what feels right without great concern for how things are “supposed to be done.” As Cancer is cardinal this cohort will not be shy about taking action. If they feel that things need to be a certain way they will make it so, and there is great bravery and strength possible with this combination. The main downside will be the potential to act out in irrational ways in response to emotional upset.
The key difference with the Cyberpunk Generation from the Baby Boomers will be the presence of Pluto in the opposite sign from Leo, Aquarius. This will present a distinct contrast and another “side of the coin” rather than a full repetition.
Aquarius is the fixed air sign, ruled by Saturn. It is the water bearer in that it sees things that others do not and is fixated on bringing that to others. Aquarius defines the new rules and provides boundaries and discipline for the scattered air, like a glass beaker on some scientist’s lab bench. Pluto is the magnifier and it will exaggerate the characteristics of the sign which it is in. With Pluto in Aquarius we should expect original but stubborn values, applied outwardly. This generation will be primarily interested in defining and preserving what it has found. Aquarius is granted new insights but is also tasked with solidifying them. This is an outward-facing value system that is more concerned with how their society and culture work than with individual glory. Take the Pluto in Leo fixation on self-identity and apply it to the group instead. Pluto will magnify the importance of ideas for this cohort and demand that definitions and boundaries be established to contain and shape them. They will want agreement on things that are known to be and will will not concern themselves with prolonging what was previously consensus. Aquarius is coldly realistic and we can expect this cohort to be somewhat unsentimental about what is left behind. In times of challenge and disruption the Cyberpunk Generation will choose to respond based upon their primary value and will invariably take the option that produces order and understanding, as that is what is most important to them.
The combined influences at work in the Cyberpunk Generation will mark a significant break from the generations that have come before. They will be the primary benefactors of the work done by older generations in the transitional period they are being born into. Theirs will be the first cohort born fully into the future and they will embrace it enthusiastically. This is for two reasons – one is that it is all that they will know and the other is that they will be gifted with the perfect tools for the time. If the times we live in are a relay-race these will be the star runners who are handed the baton for the final stretch. It is they who will determine the order of finishers in that race and the final times that will be posted on the leaderboard.
Neptune in Aries is particularly influential here in that it gives them the initiative that will be necessary to navigate a fast-moving and futuristic world. They will love the hot new thing which is great because it will be coming from all directions as they grow into adulthood. The Uranus in Gemini cohort in particular will be gifted with the rapid-fire mental acuity to navigate a world that is exploding with new ways of doing things and they will enjoy sifting through it for new connections and gems that their Neptune in Aries colleagues will seize upon and elevate. These people are given a skill-set that will be appreciated and useful in their own time. The Uranus in Cancer cohort will infuse this generation with much needed emotional thinking that will ensure a human component is always considered as the new arrangements of their society are defined and deployed. Pluto in Aquarius serves to anchor the entire generation in common cause, one that builds upon the heavily-Aquarius Gen Z and the new paths and ways of doing things which they will have established. The Cyberpunk cohort will be great editors of that work and the ones who make the future we are collectively dreaming up over the next twenty years real.
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