Civilizational Crisis, not just Political Turmoil
This podcast explores the Fourth Turning as a civilizational initiation, how the current crisis is reshaping our world from the inside out, what lies ahead as we move into 2026, and how to navigate the coming year and beyond. We look at the generational and psychological dynamics unfolding, the astrology that mirrors these shifts, and what this era is asking of us spiritually as we move toward the world that follows.
Show Notes Part 1:
- Introduction to the Strauss–Howe Fourth Turning and why this era marks a civilizational crisis, not just political turmoil
- The four historical turnings and how they map onto the last 80 to 100 years of history
- Why 2008 marks the official start of the Fourth Turning, and when the escalation truly began
- Key signs of the crisis era: collapsing trust, polarization, economic instability, and breakdown of social contracts
- How 2020 accelerated the crisis into daily life and hardened tribal identities beyond reconciliation
- Why 2026 is the catalytic crisis point and how it will intensify into 2030
- The four internal phases of the crisis: trigger, escalation, catalytic crisis, and resolution
- Why reform is no longer possible and why the old systems are structurally unable to be repaired
- The death of the old story: loss of meaning, collapse of shared values, and spiritual disorientation
- The rise of authoritarianism and surveillance as a predictable function of collapsing institutional trust
- The psychological cost of this era: mass anxiety, information warfare, and emotional volatility
- The generational archetypes at play: Boomers (Prophets), Gen X (Nomads), Millennials (Heroes), Gen Z (Artists), each with a specific role
- How propaganda exploits the psychological shadows of each archetype
- There is no middle ground or “sitting on the fence” during a catalytic crisis
- The real spiritual task of the Fourth Turning: inner alignment, discernment, and preparing to inhabit the world that will be born after the fire
Bernhard Guenther & Laura Matsue
Go HERE to listen to Part 2 if you’re a member or REGISTER to become a member to have access to the membership section (including the membership forum.)
In Part 2 (only for members), we go deeper into:
- Gen Alpha, as the crisis-born Artist generation, shaped by collapse, destined to inhabit and humanize the rebuilt world
- Gen Beta, as the next Prophet generation, born into reconstruction, who will later challenge those rebuilt systems and ignite the next Awakening
- Saturn Neptune conjunction in 2026: disillusionment, unmasking, and deeper faith forged through reality rather than fantasy
- Shadow expressions of Saturn Neptune: deception, rigid beliefs, idealistic denial, and identity protection through dogma
- Positive expressions: exposing illusions, rebuilding faith from lived experience, reality-check without cynicism
- Metaphysical skepticism rising: rationalism and empiricism as coping mechanisms for spiritual disorientation
- Creative potential in the dark night: art, imagination, and spiritual vision rising through the friction
- Saturn Neptune in Aries with Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini: collapse of old myths and illusions, ignition of a new cycle
- Spengler’s Second Religiosity: dogmatic religious revivalism as imitation of spiritual life rather than authentic rebirth
- The danger of weaponized Christianity and openings for hostile forces
- Pluto in Aquarius (2022 to 2044): individuation as collective initiation, breaking conditioning without losing humanity
- Leo Aquarius polarity: heart-centered self-expression balanced with collective awareness
- The healing path forward: creative self-actualization, heart-led leadership, and offering one’s unique contribution as medicine
- How to navigate 2026 and beyond through discernment, embodiment, and alignment with the next cycle
- Final message: the future belongs to those who stay human and give their gifts as we transition into the next era
Go HERE to listen to Part 2 if you’re a member or REGISTER to become a member to have access to the membership section (including the membership forum.)
www.lohas-magazin.de/veil-of-reality
Learn More Here:
Becoming Who You Are Meant To Be
How To Heal Toxic Shame And Not Feeling “Good Enough”
Your Psychological And Spiritual Survival Guide For 2024
Toxic Shame Is Spiritual Bankruptcy
“Toxic shame is unbearable and always necessitates a cover-up, a false self. Since one feels his true self is defective and flawed, one needs a false self that is not defective and flawed.
It is crucial to see that the false self may be as polar opposite as a superachieving perfectionist or an addict in an alley. Both are driven to cover up their deep sense of self-rupture, the hole in their soul.
They may cover up in ways that look polar opposite, but each is still driven by neurotic shame.
In fact, the most paradoxical aspect of neurotic shame is that it is the core motivator of the superachieved and the underachieved, the star and the scapegoat, the righteous and the wretched, the powerful and the pathetic.
Toxic shame looks to the outside for happiness and validation since the inside is flawed and defective. Toxic shame is spiritual bankruptcy.”
– John Bradshaw, “Healing the Shame That Binds You”
We talk more about it on our recent Cosmic Matrix podcast episode, “Your Psychological And Spiritual Survival Guide For 2024,” where we give an overview of what to expect in this new year from a physical, psychological, and spiritual perspective. We give practical tools and advice on how to align with the evolutionary forces and use them to catalyze your growth and ride the immense waves of change during this Time of Transition
By Bernhard Guenther, January, 2024
